𝐀 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝

chapter 25: The stand off (Amy/Lily)

***POV: Amy***

         We run as fast as the wind. We run until we only heard our heavy breathing and our rapid beating hearts. It felt like Lily, Alice, and Emmet were not even beside me. It was just me. Running through the forest from the kidnappers all alone with my thoughts. I couldn’t believe it. I knew how much Wren and Rose meant to Lily. Even though she ran away from them I could tell she still cared about them. How did the kidnappers manage to get to the Enchanted Lands and kidnap them? Are they humans or are they from the Enchanted Lands too? But the most important question is what do they want with Lily? If they wanted her to come back they wouldn’t have gone as far to pretend that Rose and Wren were getting kidnapped. No, they did not want her back. They wanted her for something else. But what?
         We couldn’t keep this up for long. We were in the trees by now. Jumping over logs and tree roots. I could hear everyone panting for breath. My muscles were burning to the point where I wanted to faint because of the pain. But the kidnappers were still on our tails. And they were catching up with us.
         “Guys, we need a plan. They're catching up with us.” I say, breathless.
         “I” Pant, “know” Emmet gets out.
         “I have-“ pant, “An idea.” Lily says.
         “What?” Alice asks.
          “This might be crazy, but everyone stop.”
         The kidnappers were only a few feet away and were getting closer every second.
          “WHAT? If we stop they are going to get to us in seconds.” Alice says.
          “I know but….I don’t have time to explain. Just do you trust me?” Lily meets everyone’s eyes, meaning the question.
          “Yes,” Emmet answers first.
          “Yes,” I say, and I mean it. She is one of us now. She has always been but we were to stupid to keep her away.
          We all turn to Alice. She huffs, “Of course I trust you.” That’s when we all know we won.
          Lily has a smile on her face and her face glows.
          “Then everyone stop.” We all skid to a stop kicking dirt everywhere. The kidnappers are right in front of us with shocked faces. Now that they were. Closer I could see one of them was slightly taller and skinner and the other one was a little shorter and buffer. 
          Lily all of a sudden dung out a stick that almost looks like a wand out of her bag. She pointed it at the kidnappers, a silent threat. She can do magic now?
          She has a confident face on, making her look like she can actually beat them. Even I kind of believe for a second. But I can see the cracks in her mask. Her hand shakes violently, her eyes fill with fear, the way she looks at Wren and Rose with longing.
          The kidnappers don’t even flinch. The shorter one even chuckles.
          “Don’t even try, little girl. I know you can’t even do magic and if you even move.” The guy that was talking takes unconscious Wren in his hands and makes a cutting motion across his neck.
          Lily takes that like a slap to the face. Her mask fades a bit, her skin turning paler and paler. Her lips tremble and she backs up a few steps, lowering her wand. But Emmet finds Lily’s other hand, tangling his warm, assuring hand in Lily’s. She looks to him and through silent commutation the color in her face comes back.
         “You don’t know I can’t do magic. And you can’t kill them yet. You kidnapped them for a reason.” She says, with all the confidence in her voice.
         “And that reason was to get you.” The shorter one says, pointing at me.
         Before he could get out another word Lily interrupted him, “What do you want with me?” She asks, in a strong, stern voice.
         They both threw their heads back laughing like there was no tomorrow. Until they saw how serious Lily was.
         “You really don’t know?” The taller one says in a taunting voice.
         “You're going to have a nice talk with the king and queen then.” The shorter one says, so quiet I almost don’t hear it.
         Lily looks at them in confusion, “what? What does this have to do with the king and queen?”
         They both just responded with chuckles.
         “Back to business,” The taller one says, clearing his throat. “We got you now so there’s no reason they need to live.” He says, with a sneer in his voice. He pulls out a short dagger hidden in his shirt. It looks sharp enough to slice through rocks. The handle has an elegant rose wrapping up like a snake.
         He puts the dagger to Rose's neck digging it deep enough to let one drop of blood trickle down her neck. The guy had a cold, curel, smile on his face. Making me feel like an ice cold drop of water flowed down my spine.
         Rose whimpers, eyes wide with panic, not for her, but for Lily.
         “NOO, STOP. I will do whatever you want just stop. Please.” Her face turns into desperation, clasping her hand together in a begging motion. The guy only smiled more. Enjoying this way too much.
          “Put your wand down.” The taller guy says, nodding to her wand. Rose, still held with a knife to her throat, was bold enough to shake her head no.
          The guy felt that and shaked her aggressively.
          The shorter guy got down on his knees and yelled, “YOU DO NOT MOVE.” In her face. The taller guy that was still holding Rose moved his knife away and I could see Rose take in a relieved breath. I knew it was too good to be true. Sure enough, all of a sudden in one swift move, so fast no one could see what he was doing until there was a long shallow cut on her right arm. Starting almost at her shoulder all the way down to her elbow. No permanent damage but deep enough to leave a scar. Slowly but surely blood started trickling down her arm like rain drops. He didn’t even give her a cloth to wipe up the blood. At this rate she was going to die from blood loss.
          Rose was on the verge of balling but her eyes were only a little tear full, wanting to stand strong for everyone watching her.
          Lily, meanwhile, was trembling, barely standing on her legs. Her wand was shaking now in her hand, having not put it down yet.
          “You can see now what I can do. And there’s more where that came from.” He raises his knife now towards Wren. Wren was just opening his eyes sleepily. He looked around in bewilderment, panic sletting down in his eyes. He locks his eyes and Lily, his eyes were not filled with panic like I expected, but with a silent apology to Lily. And Lily was doing the same.
          I knew those two had a history. And I knew they meant the world to Lily. She must be falling in on herself right now.

***POV Lily***

           I can not let this happen to them. I can’t imagine the world without them. But the knife is getting closer and closer to Wren. Wren is still looking at me even though he should be worried about himself. His sea green eyes that I could get lost in on any day looked at me with everything that he wanted to say before he died.
           The kidnapper brought his knife close enough that he could cut his neck off. But he didn’t, moving it closer and closer very slowly. Killing me inside with every inch.
           The other guy was leaning against the tree still holding on to Rose. Something about him seemed familiar. The way he moved and the way he was leaning against the tree. Suddenly I knew who he was. He was the shadow leaning against the tree when I jumped into the portal back in the Enchanted Lands. Now that I see it, he looks exactly like him. He was watching me. He could have been anyone walking down on the street. They knew every step I took, every plan I made, every person I cared about. Who were these people?
           Wren’s duck tape somehow came off and he said, “Lily, I will never regret becoming best friends with you. You are the person that made my day brighter. I will never forget you and you better not forget me.” He says, his voice breaking. His eyes were filled with tears streaming down his face slowly. I was blinking back tears and that was not an easy feat. It was like holding back a waterfall. Nothing was going to happen to them. I won’t let the kidnappers hurt them.
           The taller guy didn’t care about what he said. It was all over for us. Rose was struggling in her ropes trying to get free. Her eyes wide in fear for Wren. But the shorter guy held firm.
           I could not let this happen. I will not let this happen. So I closed my eyes, digging deep inside me to find some magic left in me. I thought of all of the days when Wren and I would spend time together. The time when it was his birthday and I gave him a charm that was the same color as his eyes with a w in the middle. “So that you can carry a little bit of my luck with you.” He did the same thing to me the next year. He was the one that found me on the first day of school. He was the one that came to look for me. I thought of his smile, his laugh, all the bright things that Wren had brought into my life. He is my best friend. Then I thought of Rose. Even though she is not my birth mother she is my mother. All the years I spent with her. She might have ignored me most of the time but she was all I had. I remember she would come in the middle of the night and we would laugh together telling each other secrets. I know she loves me in her own way and I love her.
           I pulled the happiness and love I felt from each of those moments, pouring all of my emotions into my wand. I thought over and over again. I can’t lose them, I can’t lose them. All of a sudden there was a flash of blinding, white, warm light, like it was filled with cookies that just came out of the oven, came in waves out of my wand. The light knocked everyone off of their feet. Throwing everyone hard to the ground. The kidnappers were thrown against the trees, knocking them unconscious.
           I did it! I saved them! I could do magic! I was filled with relief and happiness but it was short lived. Because when I looked on the ground I realized I was too late.