Lilly Lionheart. The Lost Crown

Chapter 2

Gathering wood from the forest Lilly prepared for fire only to find the wolf's carcase missing. "Did you eat that whole wolf by yourself?" Lilly asked the baby dragon who raised her head and looked her rider in the eyes. "I suppose that means we still need to find food," Lilly said.

"Why are you out here?" a man's voice came from behind her.

Lilly went for her dagger but stopped realising there was a dragon present now as well. "I was left here as a child and don't really know where here is," Lilly said.

"That dragon is she yours?" the rider asked.

"Yeah but she only hatched last night," Lilly said.

"You know what that symbol on your hand means right?" the rider asked.

"No I do not know what it means," Lilly said.

"It means you are a dragon guardian. This place isn't safe for you, you should go up to the main cities of Caledonia. There you will find more guardians like you," the man said.

"Why should I go?" Lilly asked.

"It's for your own good and safety. There are those that will kill you if they find you," the rider said.

"How do I get there? I don't know the outside world as you do," Lilly asked.

"I will take you," the rider said.

The rider took Lilly to the main city of Caledonia. His dragon was dark blue and he was wearing almost black armour. His sword had a sapphire blue stone embedded into it. She wanted to ask about it but didn't think the man would answer a stranger. 

Lilly enjoyed the flight and was surprised when the dragon and his rider dropped her off outside a city and said, "Here take this money at the city gate just tell them you lost your documents. Go to the guild and register yourself and Lilly don't tell your real name or surname to anyone," the dragon rider said and left.

Watching the man flying away on his dragon. She looked at her dragon and asked, "What do you think that was about?"

They headed towards the city gates and did as the rider said she should do. At the guild, she registered herself as Lilly Heart. She didn't reveal to anyone that she was a guardian and so her adventure started.

She started taking quests and killing monsters in the forest. Her speciality was collecting herbs and other rare materials. Then one day the lady at the front desk asked her, "You're really skilled at collecting rare artefacts and hunting monsters. Where did you learn these skills?" she asked.

"I have been an orphan for as long as I remember. I lost my family in a fire and so I lived in a forest. Being alone I had to learn to use my power or I wouldn't survive," Lilly said.

"Wow, but how did you find your dragon?" she asked.

"I found her in a cave not long before I came here," Lilly said.

"Strange those markings tell me that she is a guardian," the lady said.

"Yeah, you're not the only one that has told me that, As her rider, I suppose I am a guardian as well but being alone for so long I learned how to fight but the truth is I don't know anything about the guardians," Lilly said.

"Tell me are you really Lilly Heart?" the lady asked.

"Yeah, as far as I know, that's my name why do you ask?" Lilly asked.

"Because your name sounds like the deceased princess Lilly Lionheart and she was chosen as a guardian. Her death at such a young age was a hard one for the guardians to take. I guess what I am saying is that the guardians know when a new guardian is born. How are you a guardian? I asked several guardians and they all don't recognise your name," the lady asked.

"Look I don't know," Lilly said taking a mission off the quest board. "I'll be out for a few days," she said and left the guild.

"What's got into her?" the guild master asked.

"She is the new guardian the one no one knows about," the lady said.

"She insists that's her real name?" he asked.

"Yeah and that she lost her family in a fire but if the guardians knew about her they would have helped. They would not have let her grow up as an orphan would they?" the lady asked. 

"There is one possibility that she could be the lost princess but as far as we know she died in that fire. You know the one where the dragon queen fell asleep," a guardian asked. 

"That's what I am thinking but that also means she might not know who she is," the guild master said. 

Looking around the guild hall the stone floor and walls were hard to miss. The wooden furniture made the room a gathering place for many guild members. All though there are new guardians now only a few know about the war and the true price one sometimes have to pay for them. 

A guild member came into the guild and said, "Another one of those dark creatures was spotted not far from town. We defeated them but they are getting hard to fight," the member said. 

"Wait another one, how can this be?" another guild member asked. 

"Why would this be happening now of all times?" a guardian asked the guild master. 

Looking into the town the guild master looked at the people in his guild and said, keep an eye out for her. Who knows she might be the real deal and the reason all this trouble keeps happening," the guild master ordered. 

Lilly stopped at the edge of town looking in the direction of the market. She felt the necklace around her neck. Hearing children playing she could not help but admire them. She longed for the time when she could play with friends but it was never meant to be. Her life in the forest was a difficult one and in some ways, it's what made her into the person she is today. Lucky for her there was help at times but most of the time she was all alone.