Blazing Shadows

Chapter 4

"Lord Nicholas Alexander Rosas at your service, my lady."

Lillianna's heart raced, fear constricting her throat, her vision blurring. She couldn't believe it: the enemy was standing right there in front of her!

"Won't you introduce yourself?" his deep voice cut into her thoughts, and she felt anger replace her fear. In a flash, Nicholas found himself backed up against a rock, the tip of a gleaming sword against his chest. The princess glared at him furiously and he chuckled. "Is this any way to treat your guests, Lillianna?"

Her eyes widened a fraction but then her face became blank, "Julian would never invite the likes of you to his party. No offense or anything." 

He felt a flash of anger but he too masked it well.

"Your brother didn't invite me, princess. Lord Ayres did," he smirked as her eyes widened further. She recovered quickly though.

"Even if my father did invite you, that doesn't give you any right whatsoever, to spy on me," she ground out, her eyes furious again as she pressed the sword against his chest. A streak of pain flashed through him and Lillianna saw him wince slightly. She felt guilt rise up inside her, but pushed it down.

He is the enemy, she reminded herself, the spawn of Satan himself. The moon was covered by a cloud at the very moment, shrouding both of them in complete darkness. One second Lillianna was holding the sword offensively at Nicholas, the other second he was gone, a taunting chuckle lingering in the air. She ground her teeth in frustration, stamping her foot. She couldn't believe she'd let him shadow-travel away.

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Princess Lillianna sat on the four-poster bed in her extensive purple and black bedroom, fuming. That very morning, her father had called for her and then had proceeded to lecture her about the previous night's events. When she had talked back to him saucily, he'd then grounded her for a week and taken away her trusty sword. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. When she was fairly composed, she got up and reached under her bed, searching for a box. What with the appearance of Lord Nicholas yesterday and her father's rantings, she had completely forgotten about Julian's gift. Retrieving the box, she stood up and made her way out of the castle. In her peripheral vision, she saw Carl, her bodyguard, follow her, but except for a frustrated sigh, she did nothing. Reaching the stables, she mounted Onyx, her black mare, and galloped across the grounds in the direction of the waterfall pool. She reached there in a few minutes and sure enough, she saw Julian in the water in nothing but his swimming trunks.

He saw her coming towards him and waved to her, getting out of the water and drying himself. She dismounted, and walked towards him, the box held carefully in her hands.

He looked at it questioningly, and she smiled slightly, "I forgot to give you your gift yesterday."

He grinned, "You didn't have to, sis." He took the box from her and she saw his eyes widen as he felt the pulse of energy from within, "Is this what I think it is?"

Her grin broadened, "Happy birthday Julian."

There was an expression of pure joy on his face as he retrieved a glowing dagger from within the box. The dagger was unique because unlike all other daggers, this one was made of pure light. Only light, nothing else. When Julian saw the signature on the hilt, he looked up at his sister, eyes wide, lips parted.

"You made this yourself?"

"Its not that difficult, you know."

He pulled her in a bone-crushing hug and she gasped for air, trying to push him away.

"Can't........ breathe...."

He pulled away, grinning from ear to ear. "Have I ever told you you're the best sister ever?"

She shook her head at him, though secretly, she was the happiest person alive.

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Later that evening, Lillianna was sitting with her brother near the waterfall, when she heard a hiss followed closely by a slithering sound and she saw Slinky the snake, gliding towards them.

She glanced at Julian to see him smiling softly annd extending a hand towards Slinky. She smiled too as Slinky crept up Julian's arm and coiled himself around his neck. Lillianna watched as the snake ran its forked tongue across her brother's neck; to any outsider, it would look as if the snake was preparing to bite Julian, but Lillianna knew that was not the case.

"Hold still, my lord!"

She looked up to see Carl running towards them, a bow in his hands. Confusion overtook her as Julian tensed and Carl positioned himself, aiming an arrow at her brother.

Too late, she realized what was happening, and a scream ripped itself out of her. Her body shook with fear and fury. Fear for Slinky, fury at her father.

She tried to defend the snake, throwing herself in front of him, but the arrow had already found its mark: Slinky's vulnerable underbelly.
She couldn't tear her eyes away from the blood, and she watched, mesmerized, as Slinky writhed with pain, 'My lady.'

And with that last hiss, Slinky the snake went still.

Tears blurred Lillianna's vision and her chest tightened. The image of Slinky wriggling with pain kept on flashing through her mind, followed by her father's satisfied and grinning face.

All at once, the sadness she felt was replaced by anger- at her father, for so unreasonably ordering the guards to kill any snake they saw. She shut her eyes and clenched her fists tightly, trying to keep herself from exploding.

Julian unwrapped the limp, bloody snake from his neck, wanting to throw up. All his life, he had wanted a pet, but because of 'safety' reasons, he had been forbidden to have one. Even though he had been afraid of snakes at first, he had come to think of Slinky as a pet and to have the snake snatched away from him so quickly...

He could only imagine what his sister must be going through. He looked over at her and felt his heart clench. Lillianna's face was screwed up with agony, eyes squeezed shut, hands fisted.

A sudden movement caught his eye and he looked up to see Carl's outstretched hand, his expression one of regret. A sudden streak of fury went through him, and with a wave of his hand, he dismissed the bodyguard.

Even though he knew Carl had only been following orders-his father's orders, he reminded himself- he still couldn't bear to look at the bodyguard.

Lillianna's blue eyes flew open and startled, Julian stared as they glowed with fury and-he thought to himself- a thirst for revenge.

As he studied her face, Julian suddenly felt afraid. Not of his sister, but for her, because he knew exactly what Lillianna was planning and if there was one thing he knew for sure, it was that her plans never ended well.