The Rose Necklace

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"What's wrong, Adam?" Lilly asked. It was the beginning of winter, and it had snowed for the first time last night. Adam and Lilly were in the yard, building a snowman near the ever-blooming roses and lilies while Potter and Ivy were inside. Lilly thought it odd that Potter kept coming to visit instead of Aster, but he told such great stories that Lilly didn't mind. She had noticed that the adults seemed solemn when Adam and Potter arrived, but to Lilly, they were always solemn. She hadn't thought much of it then.

What worried her now was that Adam had become quiet and solemn too, hardly helping her with their snowman. While he was often quiet, listening instead of speaking, he usually threw himself into her plans with great enthusiasm; she noticed the lack of excitement now.

"Ivy hasn't told you?" he asked, quietly surprised. The look in his eyes scared Lilly; he wasn't as shocked as he should have been. It was like someone had muted all his emotions and they could no longer shine through as brightly. "It's my mother."

"What about her? Is she alright?"

"N-no," he said, beginning to cry. Now Lilly was really alarmed; she had never seen a boy, much less Adam, cry before. In fact, it had never crossed her mind that they even could.

"What's happened?"

"She's sick. Ivy has been giving us medicine for her, but it hasn't helped at all. Potter says she told him that sometimes people just reach this point where medicine can't help them anymore; I guess she reached that point. She can't move or even talk, and she's lost a lot of weight. She's always hot, and sleeps most of the time." He was crying in earnest now. Lilly walked over to him and gave him a big hug.

"It'll be alright, Adam. If Ivy could help me, she can help your mother. I'm sure of it." Lilly tried not to think about the dying lilies; they would make her lose confidence, and Adam needed her support. She touched her necklace lightly as she pulled back, more out of habit than anything. She knew what would happen if she took it off.

"How did Ivy help you?"

He had asked the one question she didn't want to answer, that she couldn't answer. "She- she, well, umm, I was pretty little; only three. To be honest, I don't really remember anything that happened, and Ivy doesn't really believe in talking about the past, so I'm not sure. I just know that she helped me when no one else would have been able to." While Ivy didn't like talking about the past, Lilly had lied when she said she didn't know anything. She didn't remember when she was three, true, but Ivy had talked to her since and Lilly had even taken off the necklace once, just to see what would happen. She shuddered as she thought about it, remembering the effects. No, she didn't want Adam to know; he would never look at her the same again.

She hugged him again, to distract him if nothing else. She knew how he felt about her, but had never told him that she felt the same. She knew, even at the young age of nine, that the chances of them ever being together were slim to none. She wouldn't want to be with him as she was now; that would be too dangerous. But if she were ever healed, she would have to marry someone of a higher rank. She would never be allowed to marry a commoner. This was why she had never told him that she adored him too. It would be cruel of her to give him a false hope.

"Everything will work out in the end. I'm positive it will," she assured him.

"I hope you're right."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lilly came inside after Adam and Potter left. Ivy had been contemplating something for a while, ever since she had given Aster the incapacitating potion. She studied the young girl's face for a moment, noting how she lit up when she spoke of Adam. Yes, she decided, it is necessary. Lilly trusts him too much; working together, they might easily discover the secret. When Ivy poured Lilly a drink to warm her from the cold, she slipped the contents of a small vial in it. Just to be sure, she thought.