The Dark Realm

The Power of Love: Part I

"Luke," Lilly mumbled, gazing at the young man's face. He was still incredibly pale. Michael was calling for medical attention and Emily was working her magic to keep Luke alive. Lilly grabbed Luke's hand and squeezed. "Please, stay with me. Stay here. Don't- don't, you know," Lilly took a deep breath, worried. A lump grew in her throat. "Die on me."

To Lilly's surprise Luke squeezed back. He didn't seem like he was going to wake up but he seemed to be trying to reassure her he was going to be okay even though he was still unconscious and couldn't actually hear her.

There was still many people shuffling around on the battlefield. Lilly couldn't help but take notice. Soldiers rushed around trying to help injured friends or stuck in the crowd.

Mr. Parker made his way to the group. He looked astonished at Luke's limp body. His eyes went wide.

"Oh no, kid! This is all my fault. I overestimated you. I'm so sorry." Mr. Parker said in a worried tone. Luke was like one of his own kids. He had been Lilly's best friend for years and knew their house as well as Lilly did. So the thought that Luke might pass on clearly had a negative effect on Mr. Parker.

"Dad, he's still alive." Lilly told him, trying to be strong when in reality she was still worried about Luke, even more so than Mr. Parker was. Mr. Parker looked at her.

"Lilly," He kneeled down and wrapped his arms around her. She wrapped one arm, her free arm, around him and hugged back. She was still clinging onto Luke's hand with her own.

"I'm here, dad. I'm alright now." Lilly told him. In truth she wasn't alright. Luke's life hung in the balance. Eventually Orion sensed that his daughter wanted to focus on Luke and let go. He knew her feelings towards the skinny blond nerd.

"I'm going to find your mom and sister. They are going to want to see you." Mr. Parker told his daughter. He knew that she wasn't going anywhere. She nodded. He stood up and began looking for his wife and his youngest daughter.

Lilly sighed. It had been a long day and it wasn't over yet. Luke wasn't alright. Luke had to be alright or else she would never be alright again.

Suddenly a thought entered her mind. Luke was always there for her. Always. When she had gone on vacation for two weeks it was miserable because Luke wasn't there. He had been so excited that she was home when she had gotten back that he had tackled her in a hug before she had even got in her house. She always wanted to be by his side and she knew it was the same for him.

Lilly suddenly remembered who she had been thinking of on her wedding day. She had been hoping and wishing for Luke to be there with her. A thought she had never even took into consideration popped into her head. She wasn't in love with Luke... Was she?

Lilly shook her head as if to get rid of the thought. Now was not the time to think about that. Once Luke was alright then she could think about it.

Emily's eyes went wide. Luke's breathing had stopped.

Lilly had noticed too and the natural color had drained from her face. Her painted red lips quivered with fear. She knew she would have to hold back tears soon. She could no longer see the many soldiers that were still on the field. All she could see was Luke. The rest of the world had disappeared.

"No! No! No!" Lilly grabbed Luke's head gently. "Luke, don't leave me! Wake up! Please!" Her eyes started to sting with tears and the lump in her throat grew. "Please,"

She felt herself lose it. She tried to hold the tears back. Lilly couldn't help but shake with terror. Her gorgeous sea blue eyes seemed to lose their light. Salty tears blurred her vision.

All of a sudden Lilly heard the sound of a deep breath being took. Luke's chest rose up slowly.

A pair of green eyes popped open. He was confused. The last thing he remember was being impaled with a sword. He should be dead, shouldn't he? Wasn't he dead? He felt a sharp pain in his chest. Was there pain in the afterlife?

"Lilly," He mumbled. His voice was somewhat raspy as if he hadn't used it in years. Lilly was the first person he saw. Was she dead too or was she proof that he was alive? Maybe she was an angel. She was beautiful enough to be. Lilly and Emily stared at him in shock. He sat up. "Am I dead?"

Lilly tackled Luke in a hug. "Ow! I'm still sore-" Luke was interrupted by what he thought would only happen in his dreams. Lilly was so ecstatic she didn't even think about what she was about to do. She just acted on an instinct.

Lilly pressed her lips on Luke's, not caring that he had coughed up blood earlier. Luke's eyes went wide and he tried to steady himself. It lasted only a few seconds and Luke was too shocked the entire time to completely kiss her back.

"Okay, I'm definitely dead." Luke came to that conclusion. He would never be able to kiss Lilly in real life, so he had to be dead or imagining it. Emily was conflicted between being happy Lilly finally realizing her feelings and wanting to give Luke medical attention. Eventually the smarter choice won out.

"Lilly, let go of the poor boy. We don't want to injure him further." Emily said with a slight smile on her face.

Lilly let go of Luke, still completely shocked by her action. She had kissed Luke. Luke, her best friend, the skinny blond boy she had known since she was six. They had kissed and she had come to a sudden realization. She was in love with Luke Liten. Lilly couldn't believe she had been so blind not to realize it sooner. What if she ruined their friendship? What if he didn't like her back? But she knew that she was definitely in love with him.

The two just stared at each other, shocked by what happened. Emily mumbled a couple spells trying to fix Luke's wounds. She wasn't sure how Luke was alive. His health had been dropping fast and he had stopped breathing, how did he survive?

"No, Luke, you are very much alive but I'm not quite sure how." Emily told him. Emily had a theory though. It was an obvious and odd theory to her, but it made some sense. The power of love had saved him.

Luke was still wide eyed and staring at Lilly completely shocked.

Lilly took a deep breath. What she had to say couldn't wait. "Luke, it took me some time to realize this. I can't lose you. I've always known that I care a lot for you but I didn't realize how much for too long. Luke, I'm in love with you." As Lilly confessed her feelings, Luke's eyes went wider. He had to be hallucinating from blood loss or something more plausible than what had just happened.

"I understand if you don't feel the same way," Emily snorted with laughter at Lilly's words. "But after what happened I had to tell you."

This was too much for Luke to handle. His head hit the hard ground once more and his eyes closed.