The next morning, or a few hours later, as it was already the early hours of the morning when they went back to bed, Lillian sat up in her bed. She looked over at Liana's bed and saw that she was still asleep. She got out of bed quietly, making sure not to wake Liana in the process. She went outside and found John and his men standing in a circle around the dome. John saw her and walked over to her, then bowed saying,
(John) "My lady, we are ready to set out now."
(Lillian) "Good. Oh, and make sure none of your men tell Liana who I am. I want her to find out when we get there."
(John) "Yes, my lady."
Lillian nodded, then headed back inside to wake Liana up.
(Lillian) "Liana."
Liana woke up, rubbing her eyes, and when she finally opened her eyes fully, she got a shock for Lillian was staring right at her.
(Liana) "Lillian! Don't do that!"
Lillian tried to hide her mirth, while saying,
(Lillian) "Oops. Sorry. But I do remember you doing that once to me."
(Liana) "Huh. So, you were doing this for revenge is it?"
Liana asked with a playful glare. Lillian chuckled, then said,
(Lillian) "We'll leave when you're ready to go."
*
When Liana was fully dressed and ready to go, they went outside with their stuff. When they had gotten everything ready to leave, Lillian turned to the dome and made it disappear, leaving no trace of it even being there before. When she was done, they all mounted their horses, but some of John's men stayed on foot. The men that had followed Liana from the castle were sent back as John and his men were sufficient, and Liana trusted Lillian to protect her if there was need for it. They trotted for a little while, Liana saw a tall wall, about two hundred meters ahead. She found it a little strange and decided to ask Lillian about it.
(Liana, through mind-link, to Lillian) "What is that wall for?"
(Lillian, through mind-link, to Liana) "Protecting the outer village from enemies. Even though it's the strongest and biggest tribe, we still need protection. Something like your castle gates."
Then out loud she said,
(Lillian) "Welcome to the Loyal Eagle Clan!"
As she spoke, the walls began to move. As they opened, Liana realized that there were five walls, not just one, and each one thicker than the last. She saw Lillian stop and dismount, so she did the same. When the walls were fully opened, a girl about Liana's age came running out and directly towards Lillian. When she reached Lillian, she wrapped her arms around her in an almost crushing bear hug.
(Girl) "Lil, why'd you take so long to come back? Everyone was wondering where you were."
Lillian hugged the girl back, then said,
(Lillian) "I was busy. Besides, you know where I went. And, Liz, this is Liana."
When the girl looked at Liana, her eyes seemed to widen with shock, then she turned to Lillian. After a few moments she turned back to Liana as if nothing had happened and said,
(Girl) "Hi, my name is Elizabeth. You can call me Liz."
(Liana) "Hi, Liz. Err, well, you already know who I am."
Liana said after a moment's hesitation. She turned to Lillian then said,
(Liana) "Is this your sister?"
Lillian nodded.
(Lillian) "How'd you guess?"
(Liana) "It's quite obvious, really. She has the same eye and hair colour and looks quite much like you."
Then, seeming to realize something, she exclaimed,
(Liana) "You never told me you had a sister!"
Liz chuckled, then said,
(Liz) "She never tells anyone."
(Liana) "Why?"
Liz shrugged and replied,
(Liz) "I dunno, ask her."
They turned to Lillian, but she merely shrugged and turned to look at the walls.
(Lillian) "Hey Liz, look after her for a while, would you?"
Liz looked serious for a while, then said,
(Liz) "You can trust me with her."
The three of them chuckled. Lillian nodded, passed her horse's reins to one of John's men, then walked towards the walls. She walked until she was directly in between the now-opened walls but didn't stop. As Liana watched her walk further into the tribe, she noticed that the people were slowly coming out of their houses, and those that were out of their houses were bowing or greeting her. Liana heard a marching sound shortly before she saw it. A platoon of soldiers in a uniform which was different from the uniforms that John and his men were wearing, was marching towards Lillian as she stopped and waited for them to reach her. The man leading the soldiers stopped directly in front of Lillian and bowed. The rest of the soldiers followed suit. Even from the distance, Liana could just vaguely make out Lillian nodding. The man moved to the side, then the soldiers split into two groups, making a path wide enough for three people to walk through. Lillian started walking again, this time through the soldiers, and when she got past them, they closed ranks and followed behind her.
Liana frowned slightly as she turned to Liz.
(Liana) "Is she like a high-ranking person or something?"
She had already assumed that Lillian was a high-ranking person, as John had showed up to escort them back to the tribe, but she didn't expect the soldiers to treat her with that much respect. Liz laughed, then said,
(Liz) "She never told you? I would have thought she would tell you. If she didn't even tell you, she probably won't tell anyone else."
(Liana) "Tell me what?"
(Liz) "She's the village chief, or chieftess, if you like. Honestly, if she was going to bring you here, why didn't she tell you if the first place? But actually, it's not too surprising that she didn't tell you. She doesn't even tell some people her real name."
(Liana) "What?!"
(Liz) "Heh, but don't worry, she told you her real name."
(Liana) "Whoa."
(Liz) "Come on, I'll show you around."
She started walking towards the village, and after a few seconds, Liana passed her horse's reins to the person standing next to the one that was holding Lillian's horse, then followed her.
They entered the village and Liz started explaining things to Liana.
(Liz) "This is the outer village, the one closest to the walls. Because of it being the closest to the walls, Lil stationed more soldiers here than further into the tribe. You won't actually see soldiers, but they're here. Most of the men here, and some of the women, who wanted to, are trained warriors. They don't wear armour at all times, but sometimes you can see that they are warriors. The soldiers also help those who need help, which is good. Some of the soldiers can do magic too, but those who can do magic are trained differently."
(Liana) "What do you mean by differently?"
(Liz) "They are trained by a small group of people, all who are very skilled in magic. Though they are trained with magic, they also have to learn how to use weapons as well as the others. As a result, the training is more vigorous and longer. And as a result, they start younger."
(Liana) "Whoa."
They continued walking for a while, Liz telling Liana about all the places and who lives in them, and what they're for, until they got to a gate.
(Liz) "This gate separates the inner city and the rest of the village, or tribe."
(Liana) "So… I am guessing this is where you and Lillian stay?"
(Liz) "Pretty much. And the rest of the village leaders."
Liz waved her hand, and the gate opened. Liana saw two ladies walking towards them, and Liz hadn't started walking yet, so she asked Liz,
(Liana) "Who's that?"
(Liz) "You'll find out soon enough."
As she said this, the two ladies had stopped directly in front of them. The greeted them, then bowed.
(One of the Ladies) "My lady, the chief has instructed us to escort you to the great hall."
Liz raised an eyebrow, then said,
(Liz) "Very well. Liana, I think she wants you there too. Are you coming?"
(Liana) "Sure."