Tower of Dove

Chapter 19: The White Caskets

Tower of Dove Chapter 19: The White Caskets

Lilyana walked through the forest alone. She wasn’t sure exactly where she was. Somewhere by the river, she guessed from the faint rush of water she could hear distantly. The same river that Hiero had jumped into just to prove himself to her. The same one by which she’d first willingly hugged him and threw a rock against his head.

She stopped walking and stared at the surrounding trees. Their leaves were falling with the autumn, littering the ground with their yellows and auburns. The sound of the rushing river suddenly seemed much louder than before. It was hammering in her ears. She could practically smell the misty water as it sprang off of the rocks and feel it splashing her face. Hiero flashed across her face as he removed his clothes and jumped into the river, only to come back exhausted and soaked. Yet he’d still smiled as brightly as she’d ever seen anyone smile, happily accepting the consequences of pursuing someone as ill-tempered as her.

“I can’t do this.” She smacked her head repeatedly with her fists, trying to remove the image of Hiero from her mind. She turned and ran in the opposite direction, back towards the forest trail that would take her back to the Quail. At least there were few fond memories of Hiero in her village. But there were a million with Posy.

“STOP IT!” she screeched to the trees. Birds rustled in the canopy above and flew away, scattering her in disorienting sprinkles of faded sunlight. She looked up and saw that they sky was yet again turning grey with rainclouds. Posy’s favorite.

How long had that child been gone? Weeks. It had definitely been weeks upon weeks since she’d heard that charming little laugh and seen the way her face lit up when she covered herself in wreaths of flowers. Lilyana shook her head, which now throbbed, again and picked up her pace. She was torturing herself. Every waking moment had become her thinking of Posy and Hiero, Hiero and Posy, and it wasn’t getting any better.

“You know what you need to do,” she told herself as she tried to relocate the village path. “You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself. So what if everyone you love isn’t around? You still have your mother.” She spat the word as if it were venom on her tongue. That woman had not only holed herself up after Posy’s disappearance, but blamed Lilyana for it. Screaming at her that if she hadn’t been with that commoner, then Posy would never have felt the need to go fix Lilyana’s “happy ending.” It was easier for Lilyana to feel fury towards her mother than to let other emotions overcome her. Especially because she knew Calanthe was right.

She walked deeper into the forest, feeling unusually misled. She didn’t recognize much of the area. She must have gone farther than usual, or she was just slowly receiving amnesia and beginning to lose bits of her memory. Maybe tomorrow she would wake up and forget how to get to her living room.

She was so distracted by these thoughts and intent at starting at her bright blue slippers—the ones Posy had given her—that she hadn’t heard or seen Rhea until she walked straight into the woman. Lilyana jumped backwards, surprised, and raised her fists as if to fight off a predator. Rhea just smirked at her.

“R-Rhea,” Lilyana sputtered. She hadn’t seen her in months, since the masquerade. She was still as beautiful as ever with her cascade of dark hair slung over her shoulder like a braided cobra; her dark eyes glinted as she appraised Lilyana, but not in the same way they usually shined. She looked as if she were holding back tears. Her red lips parted as she said, “Hey, Lily.”

“What are you doing here?” Lilyana demanded. She didn’t want to see her. She was Hiero’s best friend! She didn’t want to bring back the memories so quickly; not yet! He could already be dead; she was never likely to see him again. She didn’t want his memory suffocating her. She was just about to unleash her building anxiety and anger onto Rhea when tears slipped from her eyes and sprinkled down her cheeks. Lilyana froze and her hands dropped to her sides. “Rhea?"