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

Chapter Twenty

Lilly woke up feeling refreshed, she slept thru the entire night and the dark woman didn't invade her dreams. The sun was just coming up and she needed to get dressed for her morning run. She quietly slipped out of bed and looked at her beautiful husband sleeping peacefully and stretched out over the bed. She forgot how tall he was. She took a moment to appreciate his muscular build and smiled. She looked out the window and the entire mountain was blanketed with snow. It was still gently falling. She loved running in this weather. There was something about the stillness and peace when it was gently snowing. Like the forest was mesmerized by the power of nature. She put on her winter running clothes, grabbed her new cloak and headed down the hall. She placed the cloak on the bannister by the front door, ready to be worn when she was done running. She stepped outside took in a breath of cold fresh air, headed down the steps and started her run. Her spiked shoes helped her keep her balance and she found her steady rhythm. She could see Drexoste and his guard in the distance, running with her to keep her safe. It sent a small spike of fear thru her because she still felt like she didn't have the full picture of the danger she and the realm were in and why everyone felt so sincere about keeping her safe. It troubled her constantly. Drexoste could read her thoughts and said, "You are troubled, you are feeling afraid aren't you?" Lilly started a thought back to him, which she realized was way easier than trying to talk while running. She chuckled a little at that thought. "Drexoste, everyone seems to be so sure that I am to save everyone yet no one will tell me from what or why. I'm being forced into training and learning my magic but I'm completely in the dark about why and what I am supposed to do. It doesn't feel right."

Drexoste ran towards her and took up a stride next to her. He said, "I can't share all of it with you, I wish I knew myself. I know that Arella felt very strongly about you and this is why she gifted you with so much. We do have word from our brothers in the south that there is an evil presence there. I could try and find out more for you if that would help?" Lilly thought back, "Is there a Queen and King there, like here?" "Yes", said Drexoste, "her name is Marasen but she has no King. She rules her Kingdom alone and refuses to take a husband." "What does she look like?" Drexoste replied, "I have not seen her myself, but I am told she has very dark hair and dark eyes. She is rumored to be exotically beautiful." Lilly thought about her nightmares and wondered if she was dreaming about this Queen. "Thank you Drexoste, and yes it would be helpful if you could find out more for me. I feel so blind and unprepared. If you can help me learn more I would feel safer." They continued to run side by side in silence. The forest was so still and silent and it gave her peace. She thought about Rhylan and already missed him. How strange that she could feel so connected to someone. It was amazing and scary all at once. She wondered how Jarron and her family would feel about it and suddenly felt a pang of hurt thinking about being so separated from everyone she cared about. Even Rhylan would have to leave the mountain soon. He couldn't leave his duties for much longer. She finished off her run with a hard effort and was breathless when she made it back to the steps.

She walked around for a while, allowing her breathing to come down and saw Logan waiting for her in the sparring yard. He smiled at her when she walked up and said, "Good morning, I hear yesterday was quite an eventful day for you. Are you happy Lilly?" Lilly smiled back and said, "Yes, I guess being blissful can actually happen. I'm going to go inside and put my boots on and get my cloak. I'll be right back." Lilly walked inside and started to change her shoes. She put her cloak on and was about to head back outside when she heard shouting down the hall. She walked silently down the hall wondering what was going on and she could hear Rhylan, Colvin, Aeron and Ashley arguing. Rhylan said, "We need to tell her Aeron, I can't keep this from her anymore. It isn't right and she is my wife. Secrets are not acceptable." Aeron replied, "We've been thru this before. She does not need to know about these pictures. We have William and the others taking care of it. Lilly can't be distracted by this, we need her here and focused on her magic and training. Colvin agrees with me on this Rhylan, don't push it." Ashley joined in and said, "William knows her friends, he will try to find them but he can't get to all of them at once. What if while he is finding one, another gets abducted? If we could send Lilly in, she could help find them and get them to safety." "And she would be putting herself in danger by doing it. You know the Queen wants her and is only looking for her friends to get to her." Lilly had heard enough, if they were talking about Sam and the girls, she was going to be very upset. She walked around the corner and confronted them.