Princess Lily

Chapter 45

"I want to see Lily!" said Sasha angrily.

"She's sick!" exclaimed Lady Molly. "She's not well."

"I just want to see her. No need to wake her up!" Sasha said slyly. She tried to push past Lady Molly who stayed firmly put in place. "I order you to move!" Sasha exclaimed.

"The Princess has ordered me to stay put," Lady Molly shot back.

Sasha threw her fan on the floor angrily. "You-you-... You're nothing but a lowly ranked noble! Now, move out of my way!"

"Now, now Sasha we must keep that temper in check," Georg said coming up behind her.

"Tell me where Lily has gone," insisted Sasha turning on Georg. Georg paled but Edisson behind him spoke up calmly.

"Sasha, she hasn't gone anywhere. What would make you think that? She's in her room and she's feeling a bit ill."

"I know she's gone somewhere! She's gone to save Bella! Hasn't she? Hasn't she?!"

Everyone remained quiet, their suspicions confirmed that Sasha was in league with Vesky. Sasha looked at them smugly. "Just wait until the Empress hears about this."

Sasha turned and left. 

Georg looked at his pocket watch. "It's 6:30. The Empress wakes up at 7. What's taking her so long?"

"Go down and wait for her," Lady Molly commanded biting her lip. "Bring her back up as fast as you can."

Edisson and Georg both left for the grounds of the palace, praying to every deity known to man that Lily would arrive back in time.

*    *    *

"We're going to be late,"  said Lily worriedly biting her lower lip. "We're going to be late and someone is going to find out I'm missing!"

"Not if I can help it!" Alexei replied determinedly.

He sped up on his horse and Lily found her own horse also speeding up to catch up. They were reaching the palace grounds.

"How do we get past the palace guards?" Lily asked worriedly. She looked at the tower clock on the palace grounds that could be seen from their vantage point. "There are only ten minutes left until 7 o clock! The Empress is going to wake up soon!"

*    *    *

"I demand that you wake her majesty up right now!" Sasha yelled at Empress Sophia's personal maid. 

The maid looked at Sasha snottily.

"No," she said. "Now do be gone. The Empress will wake up at her proper time and neither Heaven nor Hell will make me wake her up earlier. She's very particular about her morning routine."

Sasha's hair was coming out of it's bun. She stared at the maid menacingly.

"You wake her up now!" Sasha bellowed. "Otherwise I'll-"

"What's the meaning of this?" Empress Sophia questioned coming out in a dark purple nightgown. She seemed quite upset about being woken up early. "Who's making such a ruckus?"

"Your majesty it's important!" Sasha exclaimed and Sophia cringed at Sasha's loudness. "It's Lily! She's been out all night and hasn't come back home yet."

"What?" asked the Empress slightly alarmed.

"I'll show you," said Sasha. 

She grabbed Empress Sophia's hand and led her down to Lily's room.

Georg, Edisson and Lady Molly all stood there uncertainly.

"Lady Molly move aside," demanded Empress Sophia. "I want to see Lily."

"The Princess is sick," Lady Molly protested fervently. "She's not well at all. She said no one is to come-"

"Now Lady Molly," warned the Empress. "I have been woken up early this morning and you do not want to get on my bad side today."

Lady Molly moved to the side. Sasha walked in and pointed to the bed. "See! She's not here! See!"

"Yes I see." the Empress said with a tad bit of annoyance in her voice. "I see her sleeping like a baby!"

Sasha turned to look at the supposedly empty bed. There lay Lily, sleeping soundly. 

She mumbled din her sleep. "James."

"Let's let her sleep," said the Empress in a slightly softer tone as she looked at Lily, who had a smile playing on her lips. Both left the room.

"And the next time you get a preposterous idea in your head, confirm it before bothering me," tsked the Empress and turned to leave.

"Hey purple really suits you Soph!" Georg called after her. 

Empress Sophia just walked on without looking back.

Lady Molly entered Lily's room. "Lily?" she prodded gently. She looked back up at Edisson and Georg. "Bless her soul! She's actually fallen asleep."

*    *    *

"Fool!" Vesky yelled at Rothberg. "Our aim was to catch Alexei! What use is the girl when Alexei got away?!"

Rothberg cowered under Vesky. "B-but they will try again," he supplied weakly. "We can catch Alexei next time."

Vesky thought for a moment. "Move Bella back to the palace. I don't want a whole army of Pacem's trying to attack Deathgate Prison. We're going to execute the girl. Time to play rough with these rebels."

Rothberg bowed and left the office. Eyes in a picture of Counselor Vesky followed Rothberg leave the office. Anya removed her eyes from the two peep holes and made her way to Lily's room hurriedly.

*    *    *

"We expect Alexei and Bella back in a week's time," said Dennis to James. "I hope I'm not making a mistake sending you back otherwise there will be hell to pay," he threatened.

"I had no idea that Alexei was in Fortius or that Bella is his friend," James said sincerely as he stepped into his carriage. "I give you my word that you'll find both of them back in Pacem safe and sound."

Carl stepped in after James and the carriage led them away from the suspicious glare of Dennis.

*    *    *

"We're going to have a party tonight for the orphans," Lily said determinedly.

"But the Empress-"protested Lady Molly.

"The Empress said no parties," Lily said with twinkling eyes. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her anyway. We'll have it in the butterfly conservatory," Lily announced, her eyes lighting up. She turned to Georg and Edisson. "You three will help me won't you?" she asked.

"Of course," the two chorused and left.

"Odd," Lily muttered as she began to search her room. "I can't find Sir Henry." 

She shrugged it off and left her room.

Lily walked down to the butterfly conservatory and let her mind wander from her lovebird  to James. The decorating of the area then began. As Lily hung up decorations while standing on a small ladder, she felt a tug on her gown. Looking down, Lily saw Anya with wide worried eyes. She motioned for Lily to bend down and whispered something in her ear. Lily's eyes widened. "Tell Georg and Edisson to keep an eye out. Anya, you must not let Alexei know this. I want you to take full responsibility for keeping a lookout for the carriage in which she will arrive in. Tell me the moment the carriage with Bella in it arrives.

"It won't arrive until tomorrow though," Anya said." It'll take time for the carriage to go and come back. It'll probably take a whole day to get Bella." 

She left to inform Georg and Edisson.

That night...

Sasha, Counselor Vesky and Empress Sophia sat around in the dining hall. Dinner had been eaten and no body was touching the pudding that Sasha had asked to have specially prepared. Counselor Vesky yawned. "Well, busy day tomorrow," he said getting up. "I must leave."

Empress Sophia also got up. "Yes tomorrow is rather busy," she said. "Must get some sleep tonight. I have to go visit so many places tomorrow." She got up and also left.

 Sasha was left sitting alone at the table. "I worked so hard to have a wonderful dinner tonight!" she sobbed angrily and threw her napkin down on her empty plate. Getting up, Sasha left angrily.

She stepped into the corridor and chanced a look outside. She saw the butterfly conservatory lit up scones and torches. Counselor Vesky and Empress Sophia were secretly walking from opposite directions towards the conservatory, neither knowing the other was also going there. Sasha saw them though and let out a distressed cry and ran up to her room. It seemed like Lily always won in the end. 

"Oh that-that LILY!" she spat and fell down into bed.

*    *    *

"Alexei must be in the butterfly conservatory," Counselor Vesky said to his guards a few feet from the conservatory. "Keep an eye out. I'm going to be hiding behind a tree on the far left at the very back." He said before walking in discreetly and making his way around the edges of the conservatory, careful to not be seen. .

Empress Sophia entered secretly and walked a few feet down the path to where the party was taking place right in the middle of the conservatory. She hid behind a tree before anyone could spot her.

Children were laughing as they, Lily, Edisson, Georg and Lady Molly clapped along to a song that two clowns were dancing too. They both bowed and left. Another clown with a clown face mask came out on a unicycle and began juggling.

He suddenly lost his balance and fell back into the bushes decorating the conservatory. Guards hiding behind the bushes tried to attack him and succeeded in taking his mask off. Alexei took his mask and put it back on quickly. He wasn't a colonel for nothing. Deftly, he punched at one guard, knocking him unconscious and ducked as another attacked.  He turned and hit the guard the still conscious guard on the head with one of the pins he'd been juggling. The second guard was also rendered unconscious. Alexei then emerged from the bushes with leaves covering him. He got back on the unicycle to continue juggling as the children laughed.

After the clown had done his act, it was time to leave. Lord Wodsworth gathered the children in his hay cart.

"I'm coming too!" called Lily. 

She also took Alexei, still dressed as a clown, along with her.

Sophia emerged from the conservatory. "Well that was...different." She said finally and began to walk towards the castle. A small chuckle escaped her lips. "That last clown was rather funny."