The Knight of the Forest Series

Chapter 3

"It's not fair!" Margaery screeched, throwing her arms up in a tantrum as she stomped her foot angrily, ignoring Garlan who was trying desperately to calm his sister down but couldn't get close due to not wanting to be swatted by her flailing arms. "I hate father! I HATE HIM!"

Willas sighed from where he was confined to the seat. After being crippled from the waist down a few years prior at a joust, he was unable to move from room to room without the assistance of Garlan or even teenage Loras who would assist him by use of his wheeled chair.

"Margaery, calm down," he said firmly.

Margaery slapped Garlan's soothing hands away from her and flipped her hair out of her face angrily, "Five years ago father sent Maya away because "her powers were attracting unwanted attention" and now he is sending Lillia away!"

"It was not entirely father's doing," Willas pointed out. "Lady Arryn was the one who finalized the decision to send Lillia to Kings Landing."

"But Father was the one who ratted to Lady Arryn!" Margaery pouted, spitting as she yelled angrily. "He told her that Lillia wasn't a "perfect lady" and you can rely on Lady Arryn to imagine since her imagination is so broad! Sure, Lillia is not the fine lady who walks around in gowns all day long, talking about stitching and husbands! Sure, she is better at hand-to-hand battle axe combat than any of our knights and sure she is not the best at sewing but that does not give father the right to talk trash about her and then suggest that she leave for Kings Landing!"

"You know she has a point," Garlan pointed out to his brother. "Father does have a habit of feeding the lambs to the lions. But at least Lillia will have Evelyn there. She just recently moved there with Sansa and Arya when she was wed to Jaime Lannister."

"I still cannot believe that her father agreed to that marriage," Margaery huffed. "But that is beside the point and nevertheless, Evelyn left Kings Landing. Didn't you hear?"

Both brothers frowned and shook their heads. "After Ned Stark was killed by Joffrey, Arya ran away and shortly afterwards, Evelyn disappeared. No one knows if she is dead or if she managed to escape the clutches of Cersei Lannister. Sansa is still stuck there poor thing."

"Well then at least Lillia will have Sansa even if she was better friends with Evelyn." Garlan soothed.

"Hey... as anyone seen Loras?" Willas inquired.

When Lillia finally located Loras, she wasn't sure what she was going to say to him. She had been living with the Tyrell family for almost six years now and needless to say, her little crush on the youngest Tyrell had grown into something that Lillia knew was more than a crush... possibly even more than love. However, the only inclination that Loras gave her was that she was a friend in his eyes. Not once had he ever shown an interest in her other than his sword partner and playmate.

That was just how teenagers were right? The girls were the ones to fall in love with the one guy who was completely oblivious and thought nothing of her other than a friend. This was what was running through Lillia's head as she gently knocked on Loras's bedroom door.

When she got no answer, she assumed he must be asleep and hoping to possibly leave a note on his bed before leaving, she cracked the door open. That was when she realized her mistake. Loras was not asleep but rather sitting up on the edge of his bed, his front to her but his body bent so far in half that she couldn't see his expression. His knees were pulled up, arms crossed over the caps of his knees and his head pressed into his arms.

"Loras?" Lillia whispered, watching as light from the hallway flooded the pitch-dark bedroom.

The boy's head snapped up, obviously not having realized her presence or possibly even her previous knocking. Lillia took a full step back in shock at the expression on Loras's face. His usually rosy freckled cheeks were stained with red lines from hot tears, his bright golden eyes were puffy from extensive crying. His unmistakably slender lips were puffy and trembling as more tears continued to flood his eyes but now, he was more shocked and embarrassed at the predicament that Lillia found him in to continue crying.