The Rose Necklace

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

He found Lilly lying on the ground, unconscious. He dropped to his knees beside her, already sobbing her name. He clutched her cold hand with one of his, stroking her cheek with the other. "Please, Lilly, don't die. You can't die. How can I marry you if you're dead? I should have told you this long ago, but I love you, so, so much. You c-can't leave m-me!" He gripped her as he wept, remembering his plan. He supported her head and neck, gently lifting her face toward his. Their lips met, and Adam felt her move. He was filled with so much relief that he began crying again, holding her. She was alive! He had done it! He wasn't too late after-

"Lilly? Lilly. What's wrong? What's going on? You should be better!"

She was jerking under his grip; she appeared to be having a seizure. Adam panicked, unsure of what was happening. He was prematurely relieved when she went limp again; it was better than the horrible shuddering. He felt her tense, and could tell that she was regaining consciousness.

"Lilly? Can you hear me? Everything is going to be alright, I promise. Don't worry, you're safe."

"You're wrong." It was Adam's turn to jerk away. It was Lilly's voice, yet it wasn't. She had used that kind of malice only one other time, and it wasn't a pleasant thing for Adam to remember. She opened her eyes, and they were a solid emerald green. "I assure you, I am not Lilly," the voice said with a sneer. "My name is Rose, and this is my body now. If I were you, I would get used to having me instead of your beloved Lilly."

Adam had jumped away from her when she spoke. He was trembling, certain that he had somehow misunderstood the situation. He could see now that he may have committed a grave error. "Who are you?" he demanded, trying to keep the trembling out of his voice. "What have you done with Lilly?"

She ignored his questions, instead saying, "You were correct in guessing that Lilly's life was tied with the lilies, but you forgot to factor me into the equation. You see, with each new rosebud that bloomed, I became a little more powerful, a little more in control. My body died long ago, you must understand, and I was in need of a new one. Ivy knew that, of course, so when the King and Queen came to her after Lilly drank a disguise potion as a child, she convinced them, the idiots, that the only way to keep her from looking like a hag the rest of her life was to make her wear a powerful charm: my necklace. Too bad it didn't actually help her much; oh, it kept her beautiful, but it didn't cure the potion. You should thank me really," Rose said in a sickly sweet voice. "I'm actually saving her from a life as an outcast. Too bad it won't be much of a life, living in the background. Well, now she'll see what I have had to live with all these years."

At that moment, an unexpected voice interrupted Rose. "Lilly? Can you go fetch the rest of the herbs? They're in my bask- What's going on here?" Ivy took in Adam's pale face and Lilly's green eyes with alarm.

"Ah, Ivy, you're just in time. Your plan worked, as you can see. I'm alive." Rose twisted Lilly's face into a horrific, cruel smile. "Why don't you tell Adam your part in all of this? I would hate for him to remain in the dark."

Adam gave Ivy an appalled look. "You did this to Lilly? Why? Why would you do that to her?"

"Adam, I had no choice! Rose was fading; the necklace was too powerful for her alone to sustain, and- and I had no choice! It's not my fault! I never expected this to happen! I didn't realize how much power the beast had."

"'The beast?' Is that what you call me now? You know, long ago you called me something much different, Mother."

"Mother? Rose is your daughter?" Adam was thoroughly confused now. The women had lost him.