Lavender & Lilies

Escape

Cassie Atwater hugged her little brother close to herself, flinching as she heard another crashing, shattering noise outside the door.

The shivers that wracked the bodies of every child in the room were close to knocking them over like dominoes.

David Dandridge was aggressively biting on the arm of his well-worn teddy bear, and Faye von Elway couldn't stop tapping her feet against a pillow that Lilliana put underneath them.

Speaking of Lilliana, she was now hiding at the side of the door. She had tied back her bangs to keep them out of her eyes, prepared for when there was an inevitable bang or two on the door.

She was shaking just as much as all of the children, but she had a duty to keep them safe and couldn't possibly leave them high and dry. At this point, she just has to hope against hope that the inmates would be caught before they reached the room.

It was horrible how loud the heartbeat was in her ears, how chilly the insignificant little breeze coming in through the window was, how annoyingly terrifying the resounding yells and blasts throughout the palace wing were.

She tossed her hair back, set her jaw, and refreshed her grip on the smaller-than-usual axe. It really paid off to know how to properly handle weapons if this was the world she'd be living in now that Edelgard ruled.

No sooner had Lilliana von Elway calmed herself somewhat, the dreaded thumping on the door began, and she jumped almost a foot in the air.

Olivier Carrick, aged ten, let out a strangled scream, and the banging grew more agitated. Cassie reached over her little brother Espen to cover Olivier's mouth, and everyone's face was white with fear.

At last, the door smashed inwards, and every child in the room gave a loud cry; Lilliana recovered quickly from her fear to prepare for a swing at the intruder.

The newcomer wore a black and blue coat and had light blonde hair that seemed to hang over his face, skin as white as the malevolent crescent moon hanging in the sky outside.. His disoriented yet angry expression caused the children to inch back further, and Lilliana itched to give him a taste of her axe's bite.

However, that would traumatize the kids, especially if the young man didn't mean any harm. It seemed she would have to wait until she could find out.

"Dimitri! There's no time to stand around," a soldier Lilliana couldn't see yelled, seemingly at the young man, who blinked once or twice. "We need to find a way out!"

The young man, presumably named Dimitri, wiped his mouth free of the blood dripping in rivulets down his chin. "Don't worry, Webbs. I believe I found one."

Espen whimpered, burying his face into Cassie's legs. "I want Mama," he whispered, terrified.

Lilliana lessened her breaths, trying to keep quiet. The blood in her veins turned icy when she saw the deranged smile on Dimitri's face.

Suddenly she knew what he was planning.

Lilliana shouted something even she didn't understand, but took a vicious swing with the axe.

Dimitri whirled around at the sound of her cry, struggling to dodge her attack. He was nicked on his shoulder, but that wasn't enough for Lilliana. She spun on her heel, using the momentum from her first swing to prepare for a second.

Dimitri overcame his surprise and smacked her wrist with his lance, knocking her off balance. The girl knew how to fight, he figured, but it seemed she had never been in one and experience made all the difference.

The snarl on her face flickered when he blocked her from reaching the children to keep herself safe.

He didn't know how old she was, and had no idea if she was a caretaker or not, but he was determined to escape from the palace of Enbarr with Dedue.