Midnight till Dawn

Chapter Three

Two days after Queen Natalya was killed, she laid inside her tomb for her final rest. The country was black in mourning, for all the people of Firmula had loved their beloved Queen, as well as the young Princess Lillyan.

Though Lillyan was young, the people had fallen in love with her. They had rejoiced at her birth, certain that she would someday be a great ruler of integrity and honor. And having that same child stolen soon after crushed that certainty. And with the Queen gone, and the King's heart broken, few believed there would be another direct heir to the throne.

On the day of Natalya's burial, hundreds of people stood outside the castle to pay their respects. Each held a lit candle to represent the life she had lived, and the lives she had touched. And at teh end of teh day, the candles slowly went out one by one, and the people returned to their homes. But their sorrow was not ended.

The country remained in mourning for the next week. Ashes were spread on the street. Much work and labor slowed during that week. but at the end of that week, the people of Firmula went back to their normal lives, trying to put the great loss behind them.

But the King could not, for his heart had broken twice. His dear Queen, the woman he had loved, had been killed. And his infant daughter, the joy of his life, had been taken away.

Rupert sent his troops out to the far ends of the country in search of the young Princess. He wrote numerous proclamations, offering rewards of gold and honor with the return of his precious daughter. But all was in vain.

For over a year, Rupert tried to keep his promise to his wife. He tried everything to find Lillyan, but to no avail. His daughter was lost, as was Rupert's hope of ever finding her.

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It had been quite troublesome, trying to hide the young girl for over a year. Anna had underestimated the King's persistence in finding his daughter. If only the Queen hadn't discovered her kidnapping the baby. Everything would have worked out fine if that woman hadn't woken. Anna had to kill her, or she would have identified her. 

Anna had heard Rupert's promise to his wife, just moments before her death. She had been hiding in the same passageway she had come in through. Anna knew that the King never broke a promise, and that he would continue searching.

So Anna kept running, kept hiding, and her magic was running out. After all, it was only stolen magic, some of it even borrowed, nothing she possessed of herself. And after a year of running, her magic was gone. She had used it all in hiding the Princess Lillyan rom her heart-broken father.

Being so young, Lillyan knew nothing of her nobility. And after a few months of being on the run, she ahd forgotten her true mother. By the time Lillyan was walking and speaking words, the word "Mamma" was directed towards Anna, the woman who had stolen the Princess away.

Poor Lilllyan, the only mother she could remember was the murderous woman with venom running through her veins.

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Lillyan was seven years old when Anna decided it was safe to come out of hiding. The King still sent out a proclamation every year on Lillyan's birthday, raising the reward amount for Lillyan's safe return, but he sent no more troops out. He had nearly stopped looking completely.

Anna knew that she had to begin the next part of her plan, and she couldn't do that with Lillyan around. She had to leave her in the hands of someone she could trust, knowing that there no one would find the lost Princess.