Lily Rose: Legendary

Chapter 31: Prisoned

I threw myself against the door for the hundredth time.  I could already feel the bruise forming, but I didn't care.

The guards had locked us in a small room similar to the one I had first stayed at.  It was comfortable, and they had given us food, but it was still a prison.  A prison that was surprisingly secure for being a guest bedroom in a palace.

"It's no use, Lily," James said. "You can't break it down."

Sweat streamed down my face as I once again charged at the door.  I crumpled to the floor in a heap, pain radiating through my body.  James sat beside me and rubbed my back comfortingly.  

That's when I realized the tears mixing with the sweat on my face.  I wiped them away, but they just kept coming.  I left the floor to burry my face into James' shoulder.  James wrapped his arms around me, and I just cried.

I cried for the pain in my shoulder.

I cried for the consequences of the king's stubbornness.

I cried for everything The Jackal had done.

For everything he had taken away from me.

"Is he going to keep us here?" I finally mumbled when I had stoped crying.

"He has to let us out for tonight," James replied.

"But what if he doesn't? We've already discussed everything. Knowing your father, he'll probably think we're useless. And still knowing him, he'll probably throw part of the plans away and use his own ideas. He's going to fail--"

"You're underestimating my father. Despite how it seems, he's been successful with many things."

"All those things were to help nobles. He always fails when it comes to common citizens."

I turned away from him.

"Will you ever tell me why you dislike my father so much?" James asked.

"If you want to hear the story..."

"I want to know what my father did."

"Okay." I breathed in. "Remember how I told you that story about my father defending himself against the thieves? The last day I saw him?"

"Yeah," James replied. "The day he...died."

"Died?" I questioned. "Oh, no, he didn't die. I said he was gone--like disappeared."

"Wait, so there was no body?"

I shook my head. 

"Then why didn't you try to look for him?"

"I went to the king for help, and...he refused." I bit my lip. 

"The king? My father?"

"Yes. This is my birth land." I swallowed. "He refused, saying he had more important matters to attend to. He was trying to pass a law that allowed nobles to take food from farmers."

"Why would he do that?"

"Because he believed common citizens owed it to them."

"Oh my goodness, Lily. I had no idea."

"He got it passed and that's when me and my mother moved away. But not before I found a blood trail coming from our barn. I guess I had been so sad and frustrated that I hadn't noticed it before."

"Was it from your father?" James asked hesitantly.

"Well..." I sniffled. "I followed it and...it was enough for man of my father's size and age to...bleed to death."

"Oh, Lily. I'm so sorry." He pulled me into a comforting embrace.

"Yeah..." I mumbled. "Me too. Maybe if the king had helped me right away, we could have saved him. But...he didn't care. He doesn't care about any of his people. So many people die of starvation and sickness every year--"

"While we live splendidly," James finished. "I'm really sorry, Lily."

"It's not your fault," I replied quietly. 

The hours passed slowly.  We had nothing to do but stare at the ceiling until we went crosseyed. 

"Ugh," I groaned. "I can't take it anymore!" I stood up and walked to the door, putting my ear against it. "Four men," I said. "No taller than six feet. They're talking about...bread? They're trying to decide which one of their mothers makes the best loaf. Fruit bread? That sounds delicious..."

"You can hear them?" James asked.

"Of course," I replied. "You can't?"

He walked over and put his ear to the door.  "I can't hear a word," he said. "And how did you know how many there were and their sizes?"

"Their breathing," I began. "How they shift their weight--how much noise their clothes make..."

"You can tell their body shape, just by listening to them?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Wow, you have really good hearing."

I just shrugged. 

"So what does this information do for us if we can't even get past the door?"

"I don't know," I mumbled.  I put my back against the door and slid down.  James sat down beside me.  I leaned my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes tight.

The silence brought me back to the thoughts and questions I had been thinking about for hours.

Would the king leave us here?

Would he change the plan?

Was Matthias a traitor?

It was all too much.  

I took a deep breath and pushed all the thoughts from my head.  Then I filled my clear head with wonderful memories of my father.

The father who was always there for me.

Who would never lock me up if I spoke against his judgement.  

Instead, he would gather me in his arms and urge me to tell him everything I thought and believed.  

My lips twitched into a smile.

He would say, 'My strong, little girl, sometimes you are wiser than me. And a grown man like me should always listen'.

If my father were still here, he would make the king let us out.  And he wouldn't give up no matter what.

But he wasn't here.

And no one would save us.

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