Henry watched Lilith run across the corridor that was overlooked by his window. Did the fool honestly believe that he had not realized that she had been listening at the door? Well it didn't matter anyways. Tonight's job was done. He crossed the murder out on his mental checklist.

Queen Lilith ran as fast as she could through corridors and flights of stairs, not caring whether she broke her neck if she tripped. She just had to warn them. Hang on a minute she would care if she fell and broke her neck because then she wouldn't be able to-

"Ummph!" Just as she had been thinking that, she actually did trip. She tried to concentrate more. I t was just like her to start rambling inside her head. Lilith had no time for ramblings though, she had to warn Edward and Betsy. The plan was for Betsy to be gone by midnight; she would not let that happen. If only she had not broken her wings! She would be able to go so much faster through the halls arched with the high ceilings. It was really beautiful architecture that had been there for the longest time, according to the never land fairies. It was built especially for their flying purposes, but Lilith had run into one of the structures at the end of one of the hallways last week in her hurry to get to the springs that one day that they were all supposed to go to-

Stop right there.

She had gone on rambling again. She needed to concentrate her efforts on getting to Edward and helping Betsy escape. She also needed to remember everything she had over heard.

She couldn't believe Henry would be capable of such a thing, but then she remembered the days when they had been friends and remembered the strong sense of ambition and vanity that were harbored by his character. But never in a million years did she think he would do this. Edwards's cousin was going to try to overtake the throne. It involved the sacrificing of 12 maidens. Something about a plague befalling the land. And an evil plot for the humans world as well. She hadn't heard everything but she had caught the name Victoria just as she had arrived. Best tell Edward before she forgot.

The Queen flung open the door to her husbands' chamber. Half a shriek managed to get out before she clamped her hands over her mouth. But the sobs she could not stifle as she looked down onto the body of her dead husband.

"No! No! No! Edward, please, no!" She flung herself at him and began to shake him, hoping against hope that he might still be alive, but of course he was not. She was too late for him. Then another dreadful thought came into her head

Betsy

Lilly picked herself up and was heading towards the door, when a silhouette blocked her way.

"Going somewhere?"

Wendy sulked in her room. She had wanted to pass the time by continuing her book but then remembered that Thomas still had it. It did not matter though; it would not be much time before her parents came up to scold her for having thrown a temper tantrum. Again. Her parents would no doubt be mad only at her; they would certainly find Tom's cheek charming. The nerve of him honestly; he had not only mocked her by calling her a lady, (for Wendy often did her best to not act like a lady in mild bouts of rebellion) but he had called her "my" Lady. What did he mean by doing that, her parents had been present. Then something that her Aunt Millicent had done once came back to her.

It had been back during one of Thomas's first visits, when Wendy and Tom had only just begun to become friends. Millicent had told Wendy to do her best to behave herself in front of Thomas better than she behaved to other people. It was normal for Millicent to tell her to behave and it was expected but totally uncalled her (at least in Wendy's opinion) that she had to be reminded of that yet again, but she had had the most curious expression when she had said it. At the time Wendy had wondered if her aunt might be constipated but now an assumption began to form in her head. She rolled over in her bed not noticing that she was already perched on the extreme edge of it. She fell over. Wendy groaned as the two realizations both hit and thumped her head. She'd been so blind. Yes that is correct Wendy; gravity tends to pull people down. What an idiot, she thought to herself. Then her thoughts returned to the other more important matter.

Thomas fancied her. He might even have stayed downstairs and asked her parents for her hand. How come she hadn't seen it before? The patience he had with her, talking with her on subjects that no one else would talk about with her, listening, and the long looks he gave her. She now understood it all. Wendy knew that Millicent had been trying to stitch them together, but her aunt saw marriage in everything (one time she had even assumed that Wendy liked the chimney sweep and quickly forbade him from coming near their house ever again). Wendy had thought that Thomas only found a friend in her therefore the playful manner he used with her was accepted all around however, she now saw that his cheek had been flirting with her.

Why was she so naïve? For the past few years the only thing she had done was yearn for the one that was not coming back. She had been looking the wrong way.

A knock came at her door.

"Come in," she called out. She had expected to see her parents' tall figures but instead Michael's small person held the door open.

"Wendy I've a terrible feeling. Do come sleep in the nursery, please." His imploring face told her that the boys weren't planning on playing a trick on her. So she went to bed for the first time in a while in her old bed in the nursery after Michaels request to spend the night due to a few bad dreams. For some reason they were not able to get the bed out of the room when they tried to get it out of the room. When Wendy asked how they got it in no one could remember. She enjoyed the feeling of it, they had not been able to move into her new room and left it in the nursery for occasions such as these, which sadly beginning to occur less and less often a sign of the passing time. Wendy finally went to sleep, pondering on how she could have possibly missed it, the signs were obvious, but yet somehow the highlight of her night was not dreaming of being with a boy with blue eyes, but emerald green.

Wendy at first dreamed that she was asleep in Tom's arms under a tree when she woke up he was laughing, his curly, dark brown hair falling into his eyes. They were in Kensington gardens playing cricket. Wendy laughed too, but she knew that she was not as happy as she should be. She began wondering about why this might be when she caught the eye of Samantha Noble. The girls face was bursting with hate and jealousy. It served her right she was so vain and full of herself. Tom saw the direction of Wendy's gaze. In the strange way that dreams sometimes do, she thought she heard or heard but without really hearing that Tom was telling her not to worry he didn't like her either. That was when she saw him. The earlier part of the dream was already completely forgotten. He was under the shade of trees…in a tropical forest that looked completely out of place in England. She followed him in for a while, she couldn't tell for how long until he finally turned around. It had grown dark, a warm twilight underneath the trees.

"Wendy," was all he said but his voice had a sort of clarity that she couldn't quite place. He sort then flew out of frame and Wendy stared at the spot where he had disappeared from for a long while. That unimaginable bastard had left her stranded in the middle of the woods. Wendy then noted that the spot was lighter than the rest, dark blue, and now that she had seen the lighter bit of color everything else just looked black. She held her gaze slightly off center again until it came back into focus. It was dawn not twilight, and the softer patch of light was

Her window.

Had she dreamt it, or had Peter flown out her window a few moments ago? She must have dreamt it she had already accepted that he was not coming back. So was she things? She didn't want to be locked in an asylum. She had simply woken up while looking at the window.

For some reason she decided that there was no better way to solve a mystery than to sleep it off which was a mistake because she woke up at it was eight in the morning; she was due at her prep school by nine. By the time she was dressed and had eaten it was near eight thirty. She arrived only just in time; she was still breathless from having run half the way. School would have been a waste that day, she was so caught up in the occurrences of the last twelve hours, but luckily seeing as she was about to be introduced this very season a bit earlier than usual but it was rapidly becoming he fashion and she wasn't the only one. The day was busily spent with a board strapped to her back and books that were precariously balanced on her head as she practiced curtsying and dancing was learned as well. Thankfully they let out near an hour early, but the journey home was treacherous. The early beauty of the day which Wendy had barley appreciated because of her rush was gone. It was raining hard and water sloshed around and over her boots it was mid spring so it was still cold. She entered the warmth of her home almost to be turned out of it immediately, her mother wanted to send her father his dinner so that he wouldn't have to come back in the evening when the common

rainstorm was supposed to get worse. Instead of being angry at her mother, she directed a glare at her aunt who was lounging on a chair with a happy little smile on her face. How Wendy wished that she could wipe it off. She knew her mother was not capable of such cruelty; this must have been her scheming aunts' idea. Tom was destined to take over the bank, his father was Sir Edward, and since he was so close to manhood he often stopped by the bank. Wendy set off again and arrived at the bank positively soaked and delivered the food to her father promptly at 5: 20. The days were still very short and dusk would hit before Wendy would make it home, then with the cloud cover it was guaranteed that she would have to go most of the way through the dark and dangerous streets of London. But Wendy would rather trapeze about in streets filled with murders than spend a night at Toms house. She was about to defy all of Mr. Couches offers and walk when a thunderous boom sounded over head. "Tom's house it is." She said quietly.