[The Messenger's Past]
Many minutes in the past, Rose confronts Lily as she runs after DD. "Where the heck did you go Lily! She's trying to kill Helian!"
Lily grinned wickedly. "But you didn't try to hëlp him ëithër." Her eyes glowed. A true fire burned behind them.
Lily watched as Rose rushed passed her and ran up the mountain side. A crunching noise echoed down the ragged rocks. She smiled knowingly.
She couldn't see over the ledge, but knew because she was Tigerlili. And Helian was simply a martyr to the loops. The story Lily told earlier was mostly true.
Lily watched as a screaming streak of blue fell past her. She giggled. It was just so amusing to her. She heard voices moving towards her and darted behind a convenient and full bush. The wind started whipping around and pushing leaves off of her hiding place. Lily stayed still as strong wings flapped and thunder rolled in the distance. Rose appeared at the mouth of the cave, silent. Moving slowly, she went past Lily's bush without noticing her.
Lily waited a while before she was certain Rose had left. But she had to hurry. The storm had grown furiously and pushed and pulled at every available surface. In addition, small drops of drizzle splattered on the ground. She got up and run up the mountainside, until she reached the top. Lily stared at the impressive sight. "What a vëiw."
A gigantic boulder stained with blood stood solemnly, unmoved by the gusts of wind. Lily pulled out a small bottle and dipped it into the puddle beneath the rock. Luckily, it had not been diluted by the growing rain. What little light still existed passed through the liquid and casted a red shadow on her face. A string connected to the vial hung loosely around her neck.
Lily did not like the rain because she had the ability to control fire. If she hadn't been so snarky, her reply to Rose's question would be, "Unlocking my powër." She had the choice to help stop Daisy and save Helian, but her instincts told her to protect herself. Lily was always selfish. She had to be if she wanted a chance to survive. Lily knew because she had seen part in the past.
With the Moon's eye she could see into past loops. Technically Tigerlili does not exist anymore, because she no longer had the eye. However, now that she was back in Suun, she wanted to cause trouble. The reason she let Daisy kill Helian was because she wanted to join Daisy. That would be in her best interest because she would be allied with one of the most powerful beings in the land.
The rain pounding on her back now. She took the time to carefully make her way down the slippery mountain side, but she could barely see 10 feet in front of her. Lily trudged forward tripping over a fallen branch. She looked in front of herself with a groan. There was a path that appeared to be cut into the grass. Lily smiled. She followed it knowing where it led.
lily stopped at the end of the path and found herself in front of a rickety old house. The rain had died to a trickle. She snuck around the side and peered into the window. Daisy was facing away from her and talking to her reflection. Lily quickly ducked down and ran into the cover of the nearby forest.
She gazed back at the house through a hole in a tree. Daisy walked over to a chicken coop. It was quiet until an inhuman screeching rang out. Black birds flew out of the nearby canopy. Lily's instincts told her to leave the ranch. She followed the clear steam up until she found the corpses of two burnt figures. She grinned in reminiscence.
Many years ago, after she lost the Moon's eye, Lily worked for the Sun. This was one of her missions. She remembered.
...
Lily walked into the grand throne room of the Sun. His eye peered down at her imperiously. "Ah Tigerlili! I see you're back! Just in time for a new mission!" He stood up and looked down at her. "It is almost time for your other worldly visit. We need to make preparations. You lost your eye and the stones to our greatest enemy, but it was just as planned! Well done."
Lily picked at the dried blood around the hole. Even without the eye, her senses were still stellar.. "I'm glad thë loss of my ëyë was usëful to you, sir. What ëlse do wë nëëd to do?"
The Sun reached behind himself and grabbed a pile of stuff. There were books, clothing, and other stuff. She took it and put it in her bag. It was still wet. "Wnhërë am I taking this?"
"The Perennis house."
"That's whërë shë is?"
"Yes. But she's still young. When you complete your task, you will receive your reward." Lily nodded curtly and went to leave. "And Lily dear." She turned to face his voice again. "If anybody gets in your way, feel free to do with them what you wish."
Lily walked out of the large ornate gates and down the grey path. A large grin found its way onto her face as it usually did because she received the authoritative consent to burn people.
At the ranch house the chickens clucked lively, and the horse ate the vibrant green grass. Inside the brilliant blue painted house a family sat together to eat lunch. Their father helped bring food to the table, while their mother fed the youngest child a smooth mixture of greens. The child ignored the spoon and feel asleep on her mother. "Are we having more ham?" One of the little children asked. An odd strand of hair bounced along with his speech. Next to him, a girl rolled her eyes.
"Of course Bellis! That's what we have everyday for lunch!"
He giggled at himself. "I'm surprised you notice! You're always hidden behind one of your books."
"Why do you say books that way? Just because I'm 5 and reading something that doesn't have pictures, doesn't mean that it's not a book." She pointed her nose upwards.
Their father laid a plate of ham in front the squabbling duo. Their mother looked at them with annoyance. "If you two keep bickering, you'll wake up your sister!"
The boy stopped and pouted. "Why does she have to eat that stuff and I don't? She is only younger than me by a few minutes! Also why does she get to take a nap? I help Daddy with the animals all day while she sleeps and reads!" He stopped complaining when his mother held up a finger to silence him.
"Darling, you know why. She is different. At the moment her body can't take such heavy foods. I have no doubt that she'll grow out of this, but for now she must eat what comes from the garden."
Their mother stood up holding the child. "You know what happens when she doesn't get her sleep." She looked away from them. "I'm going to go lay her down in the crib." The women walked away swiftly into her room.
"Why does Daisy still sleep in a crib? She's 4." Bellis continued to question.
The girl swallowed and turned to him. "One, she is tiny. Two, our house is too small to fit another bed."
"I ask a lot of questions." He stated.
"No really" The girl said before she took a bite of the meat on her fork.
The man glared at her intensely. She shrank back in her chair and averted her gaze. He finished his last bite and scolded, "Rose be nice. If you can't, we can easily throw you back into that orphanage." The man and women had a lot of trouble before they had the twins, so they adopted Rose. Soon after the twins were born. They were unexpected, but welcome.
A scream came from down the hallway and their mother ran towards them. "They're here! They're here!" She panicked. "One of the Sun's workers! She took Daisy! Why would they want my baby!"
The father lifted the others in his arms and ran through the door. His wife follow closely. But they did not have to leave in such a rush. Lily was not even chasing after them. She held a young sleeping Daisy in her arms. She stirred, but Lily calmed her. "I will be back for you latër swëëty." Lily laid her back down and reached for her messenger bag. She dumped it out on the bed. After finding the shelves that were next to the bed, she placed clothing one side and books on the other. Lily looked at the books. How she hated books. They were so drab.
"Powër in the Ëlëmënts?" she read out loud. "It should be Powër in Firë!" She commented as she placed it in the shelf. Next she took two journals and placed them under the first. Lily recognized one as the Sun's journal. She flipped through it causing the pages to fall all over the floor. She cursed under her breath and did her best to put them back in. The other journal was new and unused.
After making sure that everything was set, Lily left her bag in the chest that leaned up against the front of the bed. Now it was finally time to get some ash on her hands. She stalked out of the house and looked through the shacks on the farm. They weren't in the stable, so she looked in the small chicken coop. She was greeted with small clucks and cocked heads.
"Wow, birds arë rëally stupid." She told them. Their reply remained constant. Lily growled and left it. She slammed the gate closed, but it bounced open. She stomped away into the forest.
A chicken head peaked out the open gate. Then it slowly walked out fully. It's head twitched. Then it went back into the coop.
Lily ran through thickets and ferns, splashed through the stream, and tripped over rocks before she caught up with what was left of the small family.
She jumping off a perturbing rock and pounced on the woman by. She screamed in agony. Her husband put the children down gently and went to attack her. He stopped suddenly, when Lily put out her hand. A flame oscillated back and forth. He stared at it mesmerized and scared. Swiftly, Lily threw the fire down where she had pinned down his wife.
The women writhed under her as her flesh and clothes burned. The heat spread up her flammable dress and jumped into her hair. Her horrified husband tried to jump Lily, but he was met with the same fate. The stream was just out of his reach. The children watched and cried as their parents scream and burn.
Once the only sound was hissing and popping, Lily turned to the couple. They stepped back. Rose held her brother protectively behind her. Her fierce eye were almost filled with the same fire as Lily's.
"Now now. Thërë is no nëëd to hidë from më. I am not hërë to hurt you." She held out a warm hand. Rose hit it away. And turned to run, but a strong hand held her back. "I am not going to hurt you if you don't try anything." Lily grabbed their hands and held them tightly. The children struggled to get out of her tight grip. They were dragged along the path back to their house where Lily tied and bound them together.
The oldest girl was in front, the boy was in the middle and the little girl trailed in the back. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. Lily looked at her handy work and nodded once she was satisfied. "Now lëts not start singing likë you'rë prisonërs alright?" She tried joking, but only made herself laugh. The redhead glared at her. Lily stopped laughing and tugged on the rope train.
"Wëll finë thën. Lët's go kiddiës."
Once they had walked back to the Sun's palace, Lily handed the children over to him. At last, she could get her eye fixed! She was going to see a witch that worked for Mr. Sun. He had promised that once everything was over, her vision would be restored, but she was not sure how that would happen since they never retrieved the Moon's eye.
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