The Great White Lion

Chapter 14: A White Lily

"Excuse me, miss?" A little hand tugged on her coat, and she turned her head, spotting the little girl with a small frown on her face. Lilla smiled and extended her arms for her to jump in.

"Didn't I tell you to just call me Lily, Sam?" Lilla said, and Sam snuggled into her lap like a little cub to her mother. The young woman smiled sadly as she stared into the fire. It had been a long time since she got to hold a small child in her arms, not since she was forced to flee the home she knew and loved . . .

and her brother.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Lily." Sam replied politely, "It's just . . . my head really hurts. I'm not sure why."

"Oh really?" Lilla leaned back, gazing into Sam's hazel, almost grayish eyes. She looked just like her mother.

"And I've been having these thoughts of big brother," She muttered and gazed down at her own fingers, "I really miss him."

"I know, sweetie. I'm sure you do." Lilla whispered, her smile faltering at the statement. She could see so much grief in this little child's eyes. Her life was a paradise one day, and it was brutally ripped from her the next. All Lilla could do is keep her here, keep her safe until someone comes to rid the village of mages crawling around, left to help rebuild after Anazella's and Valider's clash of magic and swords. With their food supply running low after just a week of this mess, Lilla couldn't just escape her warded home that protected her identity. If they were to find out . . .

"When do you think he will come back, Lily?" Sam asked, acting wiser than most five-year-olds. She shuffled in the woman's lap, deciding it was time to remove her discomfort of her position. Her head ached and burned, one mystery to be solved quickly.

Lily continued to watch Sam get alarmingly sicker by the minute as the little girl began to deteriorate. With her forehead burning up as well as her nose, Lilla rushed into the small kitchen where she retrieved a makeshift first-aid box she had created herself. Rushing back just as quickly, the woman dropped to her knees only to gaze at the five-year-old confusingly. Sam was up and with a smile on her face.

"Big brother is here."

Lily's eyes widened when the sounds of a dangerous roar seized the silence of the outside.

*

The journey to the village wasn't a timely one, that's for sure. Somehow, the ritual had made Noble's lion quick on his feet, quicker than before. It may have just been his increase in size, but Noble doubted that. Raja had become more agile, quick, lightweight in a sense. Noble could notice since the lion he rode on bore no heavy breathing and his muscles moved quite often at a much quicker pace. In all of that, Noble achieved not falling off. It felt as if he did such a task a million times over.

However, Noble wasn't expecting what he would see as soon as he reached his home, his village.

Mylo hadn't warned him, even Noble wished he had. The Beast Tamer choose to not directly enter just yet, but there was a clear view of the town hall from his point of view. The pillars were wrecked, and the dome had fallen in the result of that. Burn marks littered the ground where snow once was. Windows were shattered to glass pieces while the steps were no longer usable. This was only the first of the destruction Noble would come to spot once he got a closer view of his village.

Noble leaned down onto Raja and laid his head on top of Raja's mane. Mylo dipped low since he had seen the threats Noble had dipped for. A couple men, obviously foreign, stepped out of the damaged town hall with grim expressions. They were holding staffs and laughed among each other like they owned the place. Noble fought to growl as well as Raja. Behind them were familiar folks in chains, the elders.