The Mark of Arella(Book One of the Dragonfly Chronicles)

Chapter Seven

"Lilianna!" King Marlin said with a bright smile on his face. "I am so happy to see you well and walking like you were never hurt!" He turned and gave master Aeron a relieved and grateful smile. "Now that you are feeling well, we are going to have a celebration to welcome you back. We will hold it in three days to give people time to arrive. Sorcha is beside herself with excitement. We haven't had a celebration here in almost three years." Lilly didn't know what to say. They were having a party for her? They had no idea how much she despised parties and being in big crowds. This was not going to be fun and she was already getting nervous thinking about it. She was pulled from her thoughts when she realized the King was still rambling about the food, the decorations, the guests and the dancing. Dancing? She thought with panic? Oh no, no, no. I can't dance, I hope they don't ask me to dance. "You should go find Sorcha, she will tell you all about our celebrations here and help you prepare." Lilly turned to leave and then hesitated a moment. Marlin looked up at her, his eyebrows lifted. "Father, I was thinking about the story you told me of when I was a baby. If I was in danger here and needed to live as a human, wouldn't that mean I am in danger now? Is that why you have two knights following me?" Marlin looked at her and sighed. "Yes Lilly, you are still very much in danger and I worry for you. When the celebration is over, I plan to send you with master Aeron so he can teach you how to protect yourself should we not be able to." Your brothers are strong fighters and Prince Rhylan is the best in the entire realm of Fannon. If you stay close to them, you will be fine". Lilly felt a bit of fear go thru her. She remembered the day when she was 8 years old and wondered if that was why they were attacked. She swallowed hard. "Will all of you be safe? Am I putting everyone in danger by being here?"

King Marlin walked over to Lilly, kissed her on the forehead and said, "Lilly, our castle is well protected by magical wards and over 200 knights and guards. There is no possible way someone with ill intentions could get onto our grounds and hurt any of us. I don't want you to worry. Having you here with us is much more important than missing you every day while you grow up in the human realm. We will all be safe." Lilly looked up at her father with hope in her eyes and nodded at him. "Where can I find Sorcha?" "Oh!" Marlin said, "She is in the gardens."

Lilly was walking towards the gardens to look for her sister when she caught a glimpse of soldiers sparring in a large dirt area. She could hear metal clanging on metal and grunts of effort and pain. It was still odd to her that she was now in a place that used swords and horses, when at home guns, bombs, and computers dominated. It felt like she was living in the past, but at the same time, it was nice to see the beauty of nature unharmed by industry. She wondered if the faeries did this on purpose. She was certain they had the money and intelligence to create such things. If they had magic they could probably make anything, yet they lived simple. She liked it and decided she had to learn how to ride a horse. She heard a bunch of cheers and clapping from the soldiers and walked closer to see what was happening. There were two men sparring in the center of the yard and she could see right away why the cheers and clapping were happening. These two soldiers were incredible. They moved quick and graceful and had steps and movements she had never seen before. When she lived in the human realm, William had taught her to fight with wooden swords and knives so she knew the basics of sword fighting, but this was beyond anything she had seen before. Not even in movies where stunt men played the part. The fight lasted several more minutes and she crept closer to the soldiers and moved in for a better view. Both men were tall, but one had a bit more height and moved with much more grace and power. He was fast and his blows seemed to hit twice as hard as the other man. Finally the taller one brought the sword onto the other ones arm and his sword flew out of his hand. The tall knight stood over him with his sword to his chest and said "yield?" and the defeated soldier conceded. Cheers went up again as the taller one took the defeated ones hand and pulled him up. They clasped each other's hands and took off their helmets. Lilly gasped out. It was her brother Jarron and he had been fighting the Prince who was in her room when she woke up this morning. Her cheeks flared red as she thought about his blue eyes staring into hers. The feel of his touch when he moved her hair behind her ear. She turned to walk away before anyone saw her and then she heard her name. "Lilianna!! Wait"