The Iron Grip

Chapter 11

That same day, Lillie reached the desert with Gogoat. They rode for hours until they found it. A small stretch of stony beach that bypassed the mountains. And if that wasn't enough, Lillie swore she could see some vaguely familiar faces.

"Kiawe? Lana? Soph?!", Lillie called curiously.

"Lillie?", they replied in unision.

They walked up to one another, trying to figure out if this was real. After bandits, blizzards and boiling deserts, Lillie had found her back into their lives.

"So this was the boy you ment!", Lana exclaimed. "Nice to meet you Sophocles."

"Nice to meet you too", Sophocles replied.

"Let us not waste time. The border is just ahead", Kiawe said. The friends began to trudge hastily across the stony, uneven beach. Lana began to bombard Lillie with countless questions.

"Where did you get that sword?"

"Outlaws."

"Did you meet anyone?"

"A girl called Mallow." Lillie's voice turned hoarse and crackled.

"Ooh, another admirer?"

"Did you hear me properly? I said girl."

"What is wrong with liking people of the same gender? Your brother does it."

Lillie looked as if she had been hit by a brand-spanking-new train. Her mind raced through her past, and she realised how much of a fool she had been.

Everything was going smootly. Gogoat followed eagerly behind its new master, and the border was in sight. Yet it seemed Lillie hadn't been the only one smart enough to use this place as a back door.

In fact, so many smugglers had used it that the border was guarded by a crumbling stone hut that housed a small army of ten Royal Guard members. The guard had been on high alert  ever since the tent city had been destroyed.

"What do we do now?", Sophocles asked.

"Sprint across quickly? Try and sneak around?", Kiawe suggested.

"No. I am done running. Today I will stand and fight!", Lillie shouted.

With sword in hand, Lillie charged at the guard that was on duty. With a crazed thirst for blood, she cut the first guard down before he had a chance to draw his weapon.

The remaining nine flooded out of the building. All followed a similar fate to the first, and each one made Lillie more determind to slaughter the next.

With her bloodthirsty rage satisfied, Lillie rejoined the group. "Shall we cross the border then?"

"Okay", Lana said cheerfully. "That was really impressive Lillie!"

"It was nothing. Aparently the gem in this sword is what created the huge Drednaw."

"You mean you were responsible for destroying the tent city?", Sophocles said. "That is amazing!"

Many days passed and the friends had set up a long-term camp on a vast plain beyond the border. Lillie grew restless. This life of staying put just didn't suit her any more.

"I have decided", Lillie declared.

"What?", Sophocles asked.

"I am going back to find Mallow, and there is nothing you can do", Lillie said proudly. She hopped on Gogoat, wished everyone goodbye and rode out into the sunrise.