Blazing Shadows

Chapter 1

"Lillianna Jezebel Ayres! You will address me with the proper respect! Need I remind you of this everyday!?" The thundering voice of her father made Lillianna flinch internally, but her face showed no expression.

"No, my lord," she emphasised the last two words; it had the desired effect. Lord Ayres looked crushed. Lillianna felt a twinge of guilt but pushed it down. Her father had to be stopped. It was the third time this week that he had ordered her snakes killed and it was only Tuesday. Yes, she knew that snakes were bad omens and much feared creatures in the land of Serpens Caput, yet she couldn't help but befriend any that she saw. Her father Lord Ayres, king of Serpens Caput, should at least respect her wishes if not approve of them. After all, she was his only daughter.

"Go to your room. Now," her father's voice was cold; he had had enough.

With one last glare, Lillianna spun around and marched out of the throne room. Her hands were clenched at her sides and it was all she could do to not hit something- or someone, preferably her father.

So focused on self control was she, that she did not look where she was going. The result was, that she bumped into a hard wall, or at least, something that felt and hurt like a hard wall.

Looking up, she found herself face to face with a certain brown haired brother of hers.

"Hey sis," he greeted, his grin widening.

Since Lillianna didn't feel like chatting, she dodged his outstretched arm and made to move past him. When she felt his restraining hand on her arm, she turned around and glared at him.

"What do you want Julian?"

"Hey now, can't I just want to spend time with my little sister?"

"No."

"Well, that's harsh," he put a hand on his heart dramatically.

"I'm supposed to be in my room Julian."

He laughed, "You never do what you're supposed to, sis."

Lillianna bit back a retort and sighed defeatedly. Seeing this, Julian laughed and happily led her to the stables, his brown eyes sparkling. Soon, they were both riding across the grounds, the sun beating down on their backs.

"Race you to the waterfall," Julian shouted to his sister.

And for the first time that morning, Lillianna smiled.

He smiled slightly and then squeezed the sides of his white stallion; the race had begun.

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"I got here first."

"No I did."

"Come now Julian, you know I won cause I'm better at this sort of thing. Everyone knows that."

"Excuse me? That is so not true. And you know it. You're just jealous that Dad complimented my horse-riding skills and Crystal admitted that I'm the best at archery and Carl said if I trained enough I could easily ace my swordsmanship exam and..."

Lillianna grinned as her brother rambled on about how he excelled at everything and anything. He stood with his back to the pool, oblivious to his surroundings.

It was too good of a chance to miss; she took a step closer to him and with a sudden thrust of her hands, she sent him tumbling down into the pool.

His rant cut off abruptly and he went down, screaming like a little girl. It was too much; Lillianna clutched her sides as tears of laughter ran down her cheeks.

When he surfaced, spluttering and coughing, it only made her laugh harder. In her moment of amusement, she forgot to keep an eye on Julian, the result being her thrown in the pool as well.

That cut off her chortles immediately and wading out of the pool, she glared at her brother, whose face was red as he howled with laughter.

She tried to hold the angry expression but ended up giggling along with him.

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"I was wondering...."

"Yeah?" Lillianna looked up from where she sat, staring at the pool. They had both been sitting in silence, enjoying the beauty and the peace of the castle's grounds and each other's company.

"Well...." he trailed off again, hesitating.

"I won't blow up, promise," she said, attempting to lighten the mood.

A corner of his mouth curled up and he half smiled.

"Okay then. What did Dad do to get you so worked up this time?"

Lillianna sighed, "I should've known you'd ask."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Lilli," his voice held a slight warning; his patience was running thin.

"Fine then. Just don't you blow up on me."

When he nodded reassuringly, Lilli opened her mouth. Instead of words, what came out sent chills down Julian's spine.

Lillianna hissed.

What happened next was something Julian would never be able to forget. Another hiss sounded, but when he looked over to his sister, her mouth was pressed in a thin line; it was not her who had hissed this time.

That meant.... That meant that there was a- before Julian could finish the thought, there was another hiss, followed by a creepy slithering sound.

When Julian looked to his left, he saw it: a snake.