Tales of the Children in Mavis Grove

The Tale of Lily and Kio (III)

Lily felt helpless as she watched Kio die in front of her.

She screamed bloody murder as they took his body away.

Mazdur came over to her and she tried to bite his hand from touching her. She tried to fight and Mazdur knocked her unconscious.

Before Lily blacked out, she wished that her death would be a quick one.

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Kio woke up wondering whether he was in paradise or hell.

He looked down at his chest and he saw that he was whole.

He was startled by a woman as he came in and he realized that he was the woman who killed him.

But before Kio could attempt to kill her, the woman surrendered and told him that he was alive and so was Lily, but not for long.

She introduced herself as Arianna and she was from the same kingdom as Mazdur and Trent. Their people could use magic and she used all of her magic to make an illusion that neither Trent nor Mazdur can recognize that the blade was a fake.

She and a couple others were against the brothers's vendetta against the dawn treaders and the night stalkers. They joined their crew as double agents and they were determined to hinder the two's plans whenever possible.

"All we want is peace. It was too late for our people but your races can still deviate from this destructive path." Arianna explained.

She told him that they couldn't get to Lily because Trent plans to make her watch the outcome of the war.

"But why keep her alive?"

"Trent is a sadist and thanks to Mazdur, he knows that Lily has ideals. He wants to watch her see her ideals come so close and then crumble the ground. That's the way he is."

Currently, Kio was a ghost. No one knew he was alive and he should use it to his advantage. He should gather people who he trusts and the people who trust Lily. He could prove that she was alive by using the necklace she gave him.

It was a night stalker moonstone that changes color based on its owner's life force. If Lily was dead, the moonstone would change color from blue to gray.

And so it began, Kio gathered the people he trusted and he showed the night stalkers Lily's moon stone as proof of her life.

The night stalkers were unervingly loyal to their Makir and knowing that they were deceived, they rebelled and killed Mazdur and his followers. All but one.

The survivor came to Trent and reported his brother's death and Arianna's betrayal. In his rage, Trent killed the follower and vented out his frustration by making Lily suffer worse and worse.

"I will protect you." The voice said.

"I will protect you forever."

And all was still.

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Kio and his supporters stormed the castle but they encountered almost no resistance. All of the guards were massacred.

Confused, Kio orderd his supporters to search the castle as he made it to the throne room. 

He opened the doors to find Lily on the throne, bathed in blood.

"You took long enough, Kio Faitlin." Lily said in a foreign voice.

"Lily?"

"My name is Leanne, Faitlin."

"Where's Lily? What did you do to her?"

"I kept her safe and I will keep her safe forever." She said with a smile.

But the look in her eyes were cold and cruel.

=+=+=Three Years Later=+=+=

"How are you feeling?" Kio said as he sat across from her. He looked straight into her cold, calculating eyes.

"The real question is why are you here again, Faitlin?"

"Where is Lily?"

"Ah, there it is. She is safe, as always. What about you, your majesty Faitlin?"

"This isn't about me, this is about you doing the right thing."

She smiled, a genuine one. "Heh, I did the right thing." She said grimly.