THE QUEEN'S CROWN [2]

20 : CLOCK STRIKES TWELVE

        Jeremy was gone. He had only sent her a text, telling her that he had left with Elena, Bonnie and Professor Shane to his family lake house, needing to know how to control his urges after almost killing his sister at the pageant and Lily hadn't even realized they had gotten that bad, but she did hope he was okay. She had spent the time worrying for him, especially after Elena killed him, but he assured her that it hadn't been her fault as she had been under the control of the Hunter's Curse at the time, and she wouldn't do it otherwise. She worried for Jeremy, so it hadn't occurred to her that Elena might actually be the one in danger, from Jeremy himself. She may not always like the doppelganger, but she didn't want her dead and she especially knew how much it would kill him if he harmed his own sister. She tried not to focus on that.

Instead, Lily found herself glaring at her uncle as she watched him through her bedroom window, as he easily slipped through the gate in the fence Maggie had made some years ago, so she and Charlie could go back and forth whenever they want without needing the front door should they wish. He gave an exaggerated bow to Maggie from where she was sitting by her back door, her legs lifted onto a second chair as she sewed what appeared to be a hat (she'd always been rather good at sewing, unlike Charlie, which Lily knew since she'd gotten her sister to try it) while music played. Due to the music, Lily couldn't hear what they were saying, but she didn't know what Maggie and Albus could have to say to one another anyhow. Apparently, according to Louis, they'd somehow became friends? Lily didn't understand it, for it did not make sense. Maggie was a good thoughtful person who was a little too cheerful for Lily's liking and Albus was....well, she found she didn't know that much about him really. He seemed to like playing the violin, an instrument he brought to Mystic Falls with him, and his nose was so often buried in a book, but other than that, Lily didn't know what else he liked to do. She had no idea what the two of them could even talk about.

"What are you staring at?" Louis asked from where he was on her bed, trying to sort through his homework, as he had started to fall behind due to all the time he had spent with Asher. He had only just finished telling her about the adventure his boyfriend had had when he tried to talk his friend Kimberly into not killing Caroline, only for Tyler to claim leadership of the hybrid pack, which included Asher feeling the need to do as he says, like a werewolf would his alpha. Louis had expressed concern for that. Lily didn't blame him.

"Are you seeing this?" She frowned, gesturing to her window as she turned back to her best friend. "Are they flirting? Is that it?"

"You mean Al and Mags? I dunno."

"First, it's Albus, not 'Al'. Do not nickname him like he's your pal."

"I like Harry Potter but hated Albus Dumbledore, so I will not call your uncle that." Louis firmly expressed. "He manipulated Harry, you know. And don't get me started on Snape-"

"Blah, blah, blah." She had read Harry Potter alongside him when they were twelve, so she knew his opinions on the books (and the movies) even if she didn't agree with them. She rather liked Snape, something Charlie disagreed with too. "Look, Maggie is seven months pregnant. She can't seriously be considering dating a vampire."

"She never mentioned liking him like that," he sighed, seeing she was actually concerned. "I think she misses Char and just likes the company."

"She has other friends,"

"Not like Charlie. Maybe Al reminds her of your sister."

"He and Lottie are nothing alike." She sat at her desk, where her own abandoned homework sat. "I just don't want her getting hurt."