Chapter Three

More years passed and now Arthur was the age of seventeen. Since that day, Lilith had moved them to a new phone on the other side of the Kingdom. He expected it to happen so he did not complain. That day always stayed clear in his memory as if his mind was telling him that it was important. At the moment, he was more worried about his sister.

Over the years she seemed to change. To his face, he would be the same gentle, kind sister he had always known and loved, but he saw her when she wasn't paying attention. The pained look of worry would always plague her face and her clothing changed. Even on extremely hot days, she would wear something that covered her entire body. More than once he had to bring her inside because she would faint due to the heat. He was starting to get really worried.

It was morning, and Arthur was in the kitchen waiting for breakfast to be done while he brewed some tea for them to drink. He was never allowed in the kitchen ever since he exploded something in the oven. "Lilith. I have something to ask you." he said. Lilith sighed and pouted. "I beg you, call me Lily. I never understood why you stopped." she said. She missed his little childish quirks like that. He seemed way too grown up for her tastes these days.

Arthur got slightly irritated but continued. "I know you're hiding something. Was it is? I see it on your face whenever you think I'm not looking. Dear sister, what plagues you so? Come, you can tell me. We've always shared everything before, haven't we? You're worrying me." he concluded.

Lilith was silent for a few moments, collecting her thoughts. It's been a few months since the voices in her head started speaking again. The Queens of the Past have been telling her that it was time to let him go, but she couldn't. She didn't believe that the Jack was capable of protecting Arthur. Her nightmare got worse, and this time there were only two things that could happen.

The better outcome was Arthur was alive, and, though needing some serious tender, love and care, the Kingdom was safe. That one had something in it that helped keep him safe but all she could see was the color blue. The other outcome...

"I-" she started to say but something happened. All her markings that have slowly grown overtime started to burn all at once. She cried out in pain and dropped on the floor. The sky outside started to change color but she knew that they were the only ones to see it. Arthur ran to his sister, scared that something bad was happening to her. She grabbed a hold of him and looked him straight in the eye. "Arthur, hide now!" she yelled. He knew that look better than anyone and he did as he was told.

He hid in one of the closets and closed his eyes. A sickening tearing sound, accompanied with a mix of growling and hissing could be heard outside. A series of unexplainable noises continued for several minutes. It sounded like whatever was making those noises was tearing the whole house apart.

Then all went quiet, and he was didn't know if that was good, or bad so he stayed there. Footsteps were heard and he stiffened, ready to run if someone, or something, opened that door. The light hurt his eyes as the door opened and the silhouette of sister framed the opening. Immediately, he jumped to give her a hug as relief filled his body, but that feeling was quickly erased when he felt something warm and wet soak his clothes.

He stepped back and really looked at his sister. Her dress was torn in many places, displaying several wounds that were still oozing blood. Her body was covered in these black markings that didn't seem to have any form of writing. Her eyes were as cold as ice and she was covered in blood. A sick feeling fell over him and he hoped that it wasn't all her blood. Some of it got on his blonde hair and it was all over the top part of his clothing. She reached up and grabbed his shoulder, digging her nails lightly into his shoulder and looked down.

"Please, you need to run. Go to east and you'll find a horse ready to take you to where you need to go. I know this is sudden but please don't be scared. I need to do as I say. I love you. Please be safe." she said. Tear were running down her face but she wasn't going to let anyone hurt him. With inhuman speed she disappeared from his sight, leaving him all alone.

"Lilith you idiot! How could you leave me all alone? Why do you always have to carry the burden all by yourself? Idiot, Idiot, Idiot!" he yelled. His hands were shaking by his sides and he bit his lip before running out of the house and in the direction of the horse. The dark shadows in the woods seemed to be alive. His heart beat faster as he ran through, trying to avoid any of the monsters that were lingering.

A claw lashed out at him and it ended up hitting him in the arm. "Bloody hell!" he yelled but didn't stop. He knew if he did, he would die. More monsters started to attack him. Some were stopped by an unseen force that he could only assume was his sister, but he got his share of injuries before getting to the horse. It was desperate to get away from all this. Arthur mounted the horse and took off, letting the animal do the guiding.

Blood was pouring from his wounds and his vision started to blur. It took a few hours before he looked up to see the giant gates of the castle. They opened and the horse lead him to the steps. A few guards were running down to see who entered the castle without permission. Yao was on their heels.

Arthur got off of the horse and slowly walked up to them. "You have to help. There's these monsters and my sister! You, Jack. You have to help her!" he said. The way he was giving orders would be somewhat amusing if it wasn't for the fact that he was covered in blood. A small part of the mark on his chest could be scene through his ripped clothing and Yao's face paled. He had been right all those years ago. He knew he should have looked harder.

"Arthur?" said a familiar voice. Alfred had come to see what all the commotion was about. He wasn't a small young boy anymore, but a young man, looking quite dashing in his royal attire. His eyes were still the same color blue Arthur remembered. Relief flooded him as he tried to walk closer to him but he was too weak. Before he could collapse onto the stone steps Alfred ran over to catch him. "Arthur! Arthur! What's wrong? What happened? Yao, call a doctor!" he barked at the others.

The last thing Arthur remembered was being carried up the steps into the castle. It felt so warm and safe in his arms. He could hear his strong heartbeat and muffled voices as he barked more orders. He wasn't sure why, but everything felt so much better with Alfred there. He knew that it would all be okay, and that he could just pass out and let darkness take him, if only for a short while.