KGWrites

Lillian

Autumn District, Fallen Kingdom of Aldiron

Alone.

If there was one word that Lillian could use to sum up the past month of her life, it was that. Alone.

Yes, she had the rebels, Marius, Haster, even Junice. More people knew her and were friendly with her than ever.

And yet she had never felt so lonely.

Years she had spent almost completely alone, begging and stealing within the Winter District just to survive. She hadn’t been able to trust anyone else, they’d have sooner stabbed her in the back than helped her.

Until she’d met her family. Alyx, James, and later Meghan and even Iona too. She’d been safe, cared for, loved even.

But they’d left her here.

They hadn’t abandoned her, she knew that. They hadn’t had a choice, and she hadn’t had a chance to join them after being swept away.

But knowing that didn’t make it hurt any less.

Lillian was sat on a rooftop of one of the taller warehouses that still stood at the docks of the Autumn District, staring out as the moon and stars dipped down towards the ocean. It would be sunrise soon, and the moon was reflected in the ocean waves as it sank ever downwards. A pair of bright silver discs, moving towards one another.

She longed to follow in those movements. To sneak from the city and find her way, as sure as the moon towards the horizon, to her family. Getting out of the city walls would actually be a fairly simple task, especially with the number of people passing through the gates with tributes for Draconeus and supplies for his new arena in the upper city.

But Lillian would then be a small kitten in a big, wide, dangerous world, with no inkling on where to find her family beyond their last known destination. And she had no idea how she would even get close to getting there.

No, to find her way back to them, the best thing for Lillian to do was to stay put. Stay in Aldiron and let them come to her.

Though that wasn’t exactly much safer for her to do.

The past few days had seen the city go from bad to worse for the rebels. Marius’ secretive spy within the palace had managed to warn the rebellion about the arrival and recruitment of Aaron Trident, along with the plans for the Village. But even that warning hadn’t covered the sheer ruthlessness of Trident’s attacks.

Lillian had believed that she knew all there was to know of avoiding Trident in the lower city. It was what Alyx and James had done for years, and they’d spent months teaching her what they knew.

But a Trident with the power of the crown behind him rather than against him had proved to be a very different beast.

Every major road between districts now held manned checkpoints, guarded by a mixture of second legion soldiers alongside Trident’s own forces, a militia recruited from his old criminal gangs and locals willing to sell out the others for a better chance at survival. The only saving grace was that the Accursed had been pulled back. They were more like a royal guard protecting the palace now. Every other road was patrolled. People on the streets were regularly stopped and searched and what few homes that still stood were now also searched, without any need for warning. Any resistance was met with violence and being often dragged away to the new arena to face Draconeus’ “justice”.

These new measures had effectively cut the rebellion off from its new bases in the upper city that they’d barely finished setting up. Meanwhile the lower city was more dangerous than ever.

Lillian’s old skills were still up to the task of being a messenger for the groups, entrusted with the more important jobs by Marius and Haster. But even she’d nearly been caught a few times, one time she’d only escaped by fitting through a gap in some rubble that she couldn’t be followed through.

Lillian sighed and looked out over the water as the two moons met at the horizon and began sinking into one another. Best get back, it’ll be sunrise soon. Standing, Lillian walked over to the edge of the warehouse roof and simply stepped off.

Air rushed past her for a split second before she reached out her hands, gripping onto the metal bar that had once held a coversheet over the alleyway. The sheet had been lost, probably burned away during the siege, but the metal frame had stood the test of time. It creaked slightly as Lillian came to a stop, hanging from the metal, still nearly a full three metres off the ground.

Flexing, Lillian swung her legs back and forth a few times, building up a rhythm, before she let go on one of the forward swings, letting herself arc through the air. As she landed, she tucked her head into her chest and rolled forwards, expertly coming to her feet again.

The whole thing had taken less than ten seconds and, aside from the creak of the metal, had been completely silent. A smile of satisfaction flashed on Lillian’s face. Still an alley cat. She thought, pulling her hood up over her head and taking off at a run towards the Pearl.

The sun was just setting the ashen grey clouds to flames again as Lillian ducked beneath the window entrance of the bathhouse. This time though, the guards didn’t smile at her, their looks were grave.

Something’s wrong. She realised. But she didn’t stop to ask them, if there was trouble, those guards needed to be on watch. Instead, she quickly crossed to the door and stepped out into the main room.

Instantly Lillian knew her instincts had been correct. People were hurrying around the space grim faced. At one end of it, raised voices could be heard coming from a crowd that had gathered around Marius, who stood stony faced, staring down into the eyes of the group’s leader. He seemed completely calm, even as the man pushed right up into Marius’ face.

Lillian couldn’t make out the words that were being said yet, but she spotted Junice stood to the side of the group, watching the encounter cautiously, as someone would a riot about to erupt.

She crossed the space over to him quickly.

“What’s happened?”

Junice seemed startled to be spoken to, pulled out of his focus on the group. But he visibly relaxed when he saw who had addressed him. Lillian spotted his eyes trace her, trying to hide panic. He’s checking I’m uninjured. Why?

“Xeros and some of his men managed to grab a group of ours, on their way through the Winter District.” Junice explained quickly, putting his good hand on Lillian’s shoulder and guiding her in front of him. His angle gave her a clear look at who exactly was getting in Marius’ face.

“That’s Elias’ father.” Lillian breathed softly, and Junice grunted an affirmation behind her. Elias was another runner like Lillian. A little older than her at fifteen, he’d been a Spring District boy with hopes to join the city guard before the fall. He’d been keen to help out, smart and fast, so he’d helped out the same way she had. Lillian liked him, he was funny, and he never gave her trouble for being so young. But if his father was getting so angry with Marius…

“He was with them, wasn’t he?” Lillian asked quietly, already knowing the truth and preparing herself for the wave of numbness that she’d gotten used to feeling over the last while. Junice said nothing, but his hand gave her shoulder a soft squeeze. Which was answer enough.

Lillian thought of Elias, of his smile that sent laugh lines up his cheeks, of how he went scarlet when she pointed out a spot on his forehead and of the challenge, he’d given her to race across the city the first time they’d had a job together. The numbness didn’t come. Instead, embers of fiery rage began building in her chest.

“We don’t know that they’re dead!” Elias’ father was yelling at Marius. “They could be taken to that arena or imprisoned by Trident for information. We can still do something!”

Lillian felt that fire in her chest flare as if fuelled. The man was right, they couldn’t just stay here, hidden under a bathhouse. They needed to stand, they needed to fight back.

But Marius shook his head, his face impassive and calm as he spoke.

“That is what Draconeus wants. He’s trying to push us into desperation, so we have to strike back. And then he drops the full army on us and crushes us in one move. We couldn’t beat that army at Aldiron’s full strength, and that was before the second legion and Trident. Trying now would kill us.”

“Coward!” Elias’ father yelled. Lillian couldn’t help but agree. Alyx wouldn’t hide from a fight, she never did.

What Lillian did not expect though, was that Elias’ father would swing his fist in a wild punch for Marius’ head. It was a clumsy punch, but still Marius barely dodged it, taken aback by the sudden attack. But Marius didn’t give a second chance.

He gripped the man’s outstretched arm and whirled, tossing him over and onto the ground and pinning his arm behind his back.

“You have my sympathies, truly. And I hope that Elias and all our others are alive and that an opportunity comes for us to free them. But do not make the mistake of thinking that my refusal to counterattack comes from a place of cowardice.” Marius said, his voice a low growl.

“I am doing all I can to protect what remains of Aldiron and that means sacrifices, for all of us. Many of them will be painful, like today. But if we want the sun to rise here again, we must endure them.” He stood slowly, letting Elias’ father roll into a sitting position. Then he offered the man a hand.

“You will get the chance you want. But we can’t risk everyone else here for it. You can’t risk your other children.” Marius concluded. Elias’ father thought for a long time, before finally he reached up and gripped Marius’ wrist. Marius hauled him to his feet and laid a hand on his shoulder, staring into his eyes for a second before nodding and patting his arm gently. The man kept his eyes down as he walked away, and the crowd dispersed from around Marius.

The former general ran a hand through his long hair, looking instantly exhausted. Then he walked away, disappearing back into the side chamber that led to his war room. He was rubbing his eyes with his fingertips as he passed through the door, his mouth downturned in a grimace.

Lillian glared after him, her teeth grinding in her jaw. He had been right! It is time to fight back! And Marius stopped it. Why?

She felt Junice’s hand tighten on her shoulder as she began to tremble in rage that felt ready to explode out of her. With a growl, she shrugged him off and stalked away before he could say anything.

She reached the door to their private space and threw it shut behind her as her vision flashed with yet another memory of Elias. One that morphed into Alyx, then James. Then faces she hadn’t thought of in months, the gang that had taken her in when she’d first became an orphan on the streets. The blurred, half-remembered faces of her parents, ravaged by hunger and disease as they wasted away and left her alone.

Alone.

When Junice entered the room, it was unclear whether Lillian was sobbing or screaming in anger as she swept along the table, scattering plates and cutlery and pieces of Junice’s armour over the floor with a clatter.

He said nothing as she stood in the centre of the room, taking deep breaths. She didn’t look at him. Her vision was half blocked anyway by the tears sticking her black hair to her face.

“We should be fighting!” She snapped out, her voice hoarse between sucked in sobs. “We’ve done nothing! I run things for them every day and it makes no difference! We rob caravans of supplies, and they still tear down the Village and build the arena!”

She turned to face Junice, her eyes blurry and stinging with tears, her teeth bared in a snarl.

“Everything we’ve done, and it just gets fucking worse!”

“Marius is doing what he thinks is right. He’s making choices I could never. I don’t always agree with him, but he’s right about it protecting all of us to not fight back.” Junice told her gently, unstrapping his sword belt and leaning it against the bed.

“Then you’re a coward too!” Lillian snapped at him. She rushed forwards and shoved him hard, making him stumble. But his good hand gripped her wrist and held her. She started hitting him with her free hand, beating it weakly against his chest.

“How many more people need to die? Elias? Haster? Marius? You? How many more are going to leave me?” She choked out the last question, her voice cracking into sobbing now.

In response, Junice pulled on her wrist and drew her forwards, pressing her into his chest and wrapping his handless arm around her shoulders, hugging her to him. She didn’t try to push off, she didn’t have the strength. She simply buried her face into his chest, wrapped her arms around him and sobbed.

“They left me! They promised.” She wept. The anger was gone now, exposed for what it really had been. Junice’s hand slowly began to run through her hair, and he made no sound as he held her to his chest, letting her cry.

Eventually, the sobbing eased enough that Lillian felt she could breathe again, and she stepped back from Junice, though she still held onto his hand like a lifeline. He guided her to sit on the bed and dipped to a knee in front of her. His brown eyes met hers, steady and warm as he lifted the stump of his severed hand and brushed her hair from her face with the end of it.

“I’m not leaving you Little Lady Cobalt. And I know this won’t take away the pain, but neither did they.” He said softly, his mouth turned upwards in a calm, gentle smile. Then he dropped his gaze and nodded slowly.

“I know that it feels like we could be doing more. And the day will come when we will. But it needs to be at the right time. And angry like this? That isn’t the right time, yeah?”

Lillian nodded slowly. It was like something James had told her. Just because you can see the gold in someone’s coin purse doesn’t mean you snatch it straight away. Getting caught won’t help anybody.

“But.” Junice began, lifting his hand from hers. “When that time comes, I am no longer the warrior I was.” He lifted the stump again as if to emphasise his point.

“And while I may not like Alyxandra Cobalt much, she is out there protecting someone important to me. So, I plan to do my best to do the same in return for her.”

He stood up from his crouched position, stifling a pained groan as his damaged knee stretched out.

“Seeing as you seem to have inherited her love of getting into trouble, and I can’t be there to protect you all the time, how about I teach you how to use that dinner knife of yours properly?” He offered and Lillian lifted her head in confusion, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

“You want to teach me to fight?” She asked him and he shrugged.

“I’m no Marius Fridolf, even in my prime. It won’t be as… extensive as how Alyx and James were trained, but I can show you how to protect yourself properly. And be ready to help when we do take the fight to these bastards.” He caught himself, eyes widening slightly in embarrassment before he remembered that Lillian had lived with Alyx and had clearly heard worse.

Lillian considered it. On one hand she knew that fighting wasn’t what had kept her alive the past few years. But it had helped Alyx and James survive, and she could count easily the number of times that she had been forced to simply run when it came to a fight, which had resulted in people getting hurt for her.

No-one else would need to protect me.

She looked up to Junice, her tears forgotten and already drying on her cheeks. She nodded quickly.

“Okay.” She said, with a grim smile. Junice smiled back and nodded.

“Good. We’ll start later on today. But for now, Little Lady Cobalt, get some rest.”

Lillian nodded and kicked off her boots, rolling onto the bed and pulling the blanket over herself. Behind her, she heard Junice cross the room and soon the space went dark as he blew out the lantern lighting the small space.

As Junice walked from the room, leaving her in darkness, Lillian Cobalt settled down to sleep, one eager hand resting on the hilt of her dagger.

Alone, but not helpless.

That sounded much better.