Where Lilies Bloom

Corsets

The whiskey tasted cheap.

Lily could taste the water they had dropped in to enhance the flavor, but it only made her throat burn so intensely that she couldn't help but cough into her sleeve. Doing so caused her corset to pinch around her waist, leaving any attempts of breathing to go to waste.

Lily Evans didn't mind wearing corsets, as a matter of fact she quite liked them. Whatever men believed to be "rib crushing contraptions" were none the more painful then the shoes she had to shove her feet into, and she enjoyed the ounce of femininity they brought to her figure which was usually drowning in old fabrics and trousers.

The difference with this particular corset was that it was far too small. She had stolen it without thinking a few measly hours before, not realizing her mistake before Marlene started cackling as Mary helped her into it.

"You've truly outdone yourself, Evans."

"Can you even breathe?" Remus asked. His voice carried from where he was behind the door, keeping watch as their ship swayed from the currents pulling into the dock.

Mary pulled at the strings. "Totally, totally can, absolutely." Mary told her that if she grinded her teeth for a moment longer, they'd be sure to fall to the ground like flakes of snow.

"You have a reputation to uphold."

"I do?"

"Do you know a single pirate that had a good set of teeth?" Mary asked, admiring the box of shoes they had snagged by the nearby market. "Marlene's already gone off the deep end." Marlene threw her dagger at Mary's head, which she caught with ease.

"What did we talk about yesterday?"

"No killing the captain Marlene, it's not safe Marlene." She replied mockingly. She flopped down on a red velvet chair that had tufts of stuffing falling from its seams. The first thing they all stole, still standing, by some miracle. "You're no fun."

Lily chuckled as she retraced her day. She came back to the present as the cord of a piano rang throughout the room.

And thus, the fun begins.

She downed the rest of her cheap whiskey, her adrenaline kicking in and leading her throughout the sea of gowns and tailcoats. There were plenty of valuables here, just one chunk of the wall could buy them a new ship, which made the watered down whiskey that much more pitiful.

Her eyes fluttered, outlining every figure she could see. She weaved her way through pompous conversations, women fanning themselves as if they could pass out any minute, which Lily knew was highly possible. As couples marched hand in hand to the center of the floor, Lily caught sight of a young woman gliding towards her. She was awfully pretty, Lily admitted to herself, with pale blonde hair that almost looked transparent, adorning a dark grey dress that contrasted her pale skin, and a gorgeous necklace that made sunspots dance on her chest.

Jackpot.

Lily felt their bodies collide. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" Her voice heightened. She forced her eyes to gaze into pale young woman, who looked to be close to her age, maybe younger.

"Dora are you - who are you?" A young man spoke. Beside the young woman stood a gentleman with extremely sharp features. His hair was jet black, along with his garments, that held an emblem that she had seen throughout the kingdom.

She gulped. "Your majesty." She dipped her head. Prince Regulus Black - he was smaller than she thought he'd be, and far less intimidating.

She regained her posture. She muttered a few short apologies as the two of them walked by her, arm in arm.

She looked down at her hands. What a pity that this kingdom could have such an oblivious prince. She brought the necklace to her neck, clasping it, praises running through her head as she felt every jewel.

She felt a hot breath against her ear. "That's a gorgeous necklace."

She whipped around, knocking the person's head with such force that they fell backward. Few people gasped, then carried on with their conversations.

Lily's heart was threatening to leave her body completely.

"What in god's name are you-" She stopped. Laying at her feet and clenching the side of his head as if he had done to war, laid a man with dark curly hair.

She was angry to see that he had a seemingly gorgeous face.

She was terrified to see another royal.

She became horrified to see that his glasses were in smithereens beside him.

Her grip fell onto his arm as she stumbled over her words. "I'm so sorry, I didn't- good god you're heavy - which isn't a bad thing, not at all!" She needed to stop. She dropped down to grab the remains of his glasses, which are round and bent in opposite directions. One of the lenses was shattered - she tried to avoid pricking her fingers on the glass.

"It's really not a problem." He replied. He was standing now, making her more aware of his presence. She was grateful that they were around the same height, she had an unconventional fear of tall men.

"You should get that checked out." Marlene had once suggested.

"Says the girl who's afraid of men." Remus countered while hoisting up the sail.

"I don't fear men, men fear me."

"I have extra pairs, so don't worry." The stranger smiled, which made Lily squirm.

"I'm sorry I hit you." Liar.

"You could do it again if you'd like." He smirked. Sorry, he tried to smirk. In Lily's eyes he just looked like he was making a sad attempt to smile to no avail. "I'm into it."

"Pardon me?" Okay, now she really wanted to hit him again. She could've taken him by his coat collar and dragged him to the balcony- toss him over the ledge and watch as he got consumed by the tree's below.

He made a knocking motion to her head. "I'm kidding."

She dug her fingernails into his wrist, causing a wince to escape his lips.

"Listen, I don't care who you are, but if you talk to me like that again, I'll have no choice but to drag your ass out to the docks and feed you limb-by-limb to the hungry creatures that lay under the ocean's surface, got the sweetheart?"

They were close, close enough that the people of this kingdom would talk of the scandalous evenings of James Potter, seen flirting with a fancy nobody. They'd chuckle until their lungs cease to have any purpose, flopping over each other like dead fish.

The young prince laid no reaction in his face, which pissed Lily off. He held his gaze with her.

"Who are you?"

"An angel that was sentenced to true punishment - a life as a human." She tried to not let her sarcastic venom drip into their conversation.

"Really?"

She wanted to respond, wanted to mock how gullible he was, but she couldn't.

There was a crash, and then a scream.

And they were both covered in blood.