Lillian turned to Liana and raised an eyebrow.
(Lillian) "You can just ask your question now, if you want."
Liana had a slightly surprised look on her face for a moment, but it quickly faded as she asked,
(Liana) "Didn't you have something to do? What are you doing here?"
Lillian shrugged.
(Lillian) "I finished faster than expected, so I decided to look for Elena and see if she wanted to spar, but you were talking, so I decided to just join you."
Liana had to hide a grin as she felt Elena's reaction to Lillian's statement. From wariness to relief when she heard that she didn't need to spar Lillian.
(Liana's thoughts) 'Seems like even Elena, who is stronger than Rose, doesn't want to spar Lillian.'
(Liana) "Where's Liz?"
Lillian shrugged.
(Lillian) "She probably went where she goes when she gets off days."
Liana raised an eyebrow, remembering a few days prior when Liz asked whether she could go visit Ruby. She then wondered how she had never heard of Ruby prior to Liz asking whether she could go visit her.
(Lillian, through mind-link to Liana) "It was never mentioned because Liz had not gotten an off day since you arrived, until that day. Not because we didn't trust you or anything like that."
Liana smiled at Lillian's words, but didn't make any other physical reaction to it.
The four girls turned to the door just as someone knocked on it. Lillian tilted her head downwards slightly and Elena called out,
(Elena) "Come in!"
The door opened and Bridget entered, bowing to Lillian and greeting the others.
(Bridget) "Chief, the Chief of the Copper Blades Clan sent a messenger to say that she'll be arriving here soon."
Lillian raised an eyebrow.
(Lillian) "And my sister?"
(Bridget) "She's with her, along with Lady Ruby and a few guards."
Lillian nodded and stood up before turning to Liana.
(Lillian) "Well, it seems like they decided to come and pay us a visit, so you'll get to meet them earlier than expected."
Then turning back to Bridget, she says,
(Lillian) "When they arrive, tell Liz to bring them to the third floor of the great hall."
Bridget nodded and bowed again before exiting the room. Liana noted the uniform Bridget was wearing was different from the Elites, and from John's, being closer to the soldiers that had greeted Lillian the day she arrived. There was also an emblem on her chest that Liana guessed signified her rank. She noticed she had spaced out and Lillian was standing in front of her, holding a hand towards her with a gentle smile on her face.
(Lillian) "Are you coming?"
Liana blushed lightly as she took Lillian's hand and stood up. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed both Rose and Elena fight to hide their smiles. Lillian led her towards the great hall and went upstairs. Liana's eyebrows raised as she took in the sitting room in front of her. Then her eyes narrowed as she noticed something. Lillian smirked as she lifted her free hand towards the wall Liana was staring at, as her other hand was still firmly holding Liana's. Liana's brows now furrowed as a figure materialized. The figure had copper-red hair along with dark blue eyes. Liana immediately knew this was Chief Robyn Adkin of the Copper Blades Clan, although she had never seen her before.
(Liana's thoughts) 'She looks exactly the way she was described.'
What happened next made her frown slightly, but she quickly changed it into a smile.
Lillian grinned as she saw the figure materialize before running over to Robyn and flinging her arms around her. Robyn chuckled as she said in her deep and slightly husky voice,
(Robyn) "You're fifteen and you're still acting like the child I met the first time."
Lillian chuckled as she let go of Robyn. As she gazed up at Robyn, Robyn realized something.
(Robyn) "Are you going to introduce me to your — friend?"
Liana, who was standing behind Lillian with a soft smile on her face, raised her eyebrows slightly.
(Liana's thoughts) 'Did I hear wrongly or was she about to say girl friend?'
Lillian blushed lightly as she turned and gestured to Liana while saying,
(Lillian) "Rob, Liana, Liana, Robyn Adkin."
Liana chuckled and shook Robyn's hand. Robyn smiled and said,
(Robyn) "I'm guessing you already knew who I was the moment you saw me."
She didn't say anything more, but Liana had a feeling she knew her real identity.
(Liana) "Lillian told me about you, but she didn't mention that you were so much taller than her."
Robyn chuckled, Liana realising how low and throaty it sounded,
(Robyn) "She's growing really fast. The last time I met her she was barely at my shoulders. I'm sure she'll be taller than me soon."
Liana smiled and was about to reply when the door flew open and Liz entered, a girl her height following behind her. Again, Liana immediately knew who it was. This time though, it wasn't because she had been described in documents she had seen before. It was probably more because the girl looked exactly like Robyn, except being considerably shorter, and with darker hair and lighter eyes. Liana also noticed the girl was being dragged by Liz, her hand firmly in Liz's, and smiled to herself.
(Lillian) "Hello, Ruby. This is Liana. Liana, Ruby."
Ruby smiled at Liana, her head slightly tilted towards the ground, which meant that she was looking upwards at Liana.
(Ruby) "It's nice to meet you."
Liana was surprised at how different her voice was from her sisters'. While Robyn's voice was low and husky, Ruby's was much more feminine, and gentler as well. It looked as if she would have shaken Liana's hand, but Liz was still holding tightly onto her. Liana smiled and replied,
(Liana) "The pleasure is mine."
She had to hold back a laugh at the rise of Liz's jealousy and protectiveness. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Robyn do the same.
(Liana's thoughts) 'I wonder what skill she has.'
(Liz) "Can we sit down before you start talking?"
Robyn and Lillian chuckled as all of them moved to sit down. It was then that Liana noticed the person standing close to the door. She didn't know why, but she didn't like the feeling of the person. The person didn't move as Liz and Ruby walked further into the room and sat down on a sofa together. She was about to ask about the person when Robyn spoke.
(Robyn) "Close the door and wait outside."
Liana gulped at the dark emotions coming out from the person, although he nodded and closed the door. Lillian snapped her fingers and Liana felt a pulse of her magic, although faint, cover the room.
(Lillian) "Why did you bring him here?"
Robyn sighed.
(Robyn) "I wasn't sure what to do with him, and I thought you'd probably want to deal with him yourself."
Liz frowned and spoke up.
(Liz) "Are you talking about your guard? He didn't seem very happy about being told to stand outside. No, he seemed outright mad at it, though his expression certainly didn't show it."
Robyn nodded.
(Robyn) "He's a spy that was planted in my Clan years before, but he was always kept under supervision. The moment I laid my eyes on him, I knew he was a spy. When he finally worked his way up the ranks of the soldiers and managed to score a spot in my personal guards, Ruby told me he was more than overjoyed."
Her expression and emotions turned grave as she continued.
(Robyn) "However, when we had informed the guards that we were coming to visit the Loyal Eagle Clan, and that they had a guest so they were to be on their best behaviour, his feelings turned dark and his intentions were exposed."
She turned to Liana.
(Robyn) "I'm afraid he knows who you are and is targeting you."
Liana's eyes widened, even though she already guessed that this had something to do with her. She wasn't expecting this, though.
(Liana) "What do you mean by his feelings turned dark and his intentions were exposed?"
Robyn smiled, and Liana could tell that for some reason, she was happy that she had asked this question.
(Robyn) "Ruby has a skill that allows her to detect a person's true feelings, even if they haven't admitted to themselves. I have a skill that allows me to see through any disguises and see who a person truly is. That's how I know who you are. I also have a skill that tells me a person's true intentions, no matter if they have discovered it or not and no matter how much they try to hide it."
Liana blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected Robyn to just tell her all this. Robyn chuckled and said,
(Robyn) "Lil and Liz both know this already, and even if Lillian didn't, she has so many skills that it's impossible to keep anything from her."
Liana nodded slowly, processing the information she had just received. Lillian inhaled and sighed softly before saying,
(Lillian) "I suppose we have to deal with him."
Her jaw visibly clenched and Liana raised her eyebrows at the reason she was so reluctant to do it.
(Liana) "It'll be fine, Lillian. I trust that you'll keep me safe and you know I can protect myself."
She noticed Robyn tilting her head to the side slightly, wondering what was going on. A few seconds later, Lillian relaxed and nodded.
(Lillian) "I know. I just…"
She trailed off, the rest of her words unspoken, but still heard by Liana, who fought the blush that rose as she heard it. Lillian stood up and walked over to the door, speaking softly to the guards standing outside. Other than the guards Robyn had brought over, there were a couple from the Lillian's guard posted outside as well.
(Liana's thoughts) 'What is she doing?'
Five guards nodded, then bowed and walked off, leaving one of Robyn's guards, along with the spy, and one of Lillian's guards. Lillian then walked back into the room, closing the door behind her, but not fully. She sat down next to Liana, placing Liana in between herself and Robyn. They then continued talking about unimportant matters, catching up with each other, and Liana getting to know Robyn and Ruby more as well.
It wasn't long before there was a loud sound from the outside and the door opened, revealing the spy who Robyn had earlier identified as Anton. They all stood up in preparation to fight. He stalked in, a fireball floating above his hand, ready to fire at a moment's notice. His eyes were crazed and Liana and Liz, along with Ruby, knew that his emotions and feelings were far from stable.
(Liana's thoughts) 'This is not natural.'
His eyes swept the room until they landed on Liana. His mouth curved up into a grin that sent shivers down Liana's back. Liana could feel Lillian tense up beside her.
(Anton) "Well well, Princess, I'm afraid that despite me not wanting to hurt such a pretty face, I have to fulfil my mission and destroy you."
As he finished, he fired the fireball, and quickly charged and fired another in quick succession. Lillian stepped in front of Liana and took the fire blasts full force and protecting Liana from them in the process.
Liana would have screamed at the sight if she didn't notice that Lillian didn't take any damage at all from the fire. Anton's eyes turned hard when he noticed that his shots didn't hit his intended target, and at that, the one it did hit didn't take any damage from it at all, in fact appearing quite unfazed by it. He cursed loudly before shouting at Lillian.
(Anton) "Get out of the way unless you want me to kill you first! Or maybe… I may be able to find a different use for you."
Liana's eyes narrowed and she almost stepped forward in anger when she heard laughing. The strange thing about this laughing was that there was genuine amusement in it, unlike what Liana was used to in these situations. Robyn was laughing, actually laughing, and from the looks of it, had a difficult time gathering herself.
(Robyn) "Sorry. It's just that, did you completely ignore the fact that she didn't even use any spells to block your fireball, and just stood there taking the full blast, but still took zero damage? Do you seriously think you can kill her?"
Anton's eyes blazed and he formed an ice spike before shooting it straight at Lillian. It went right into her chest. Lillian blinked in surprise as she stared at it. She then looked back up at Anton who was just getting madder that his attacks didn't seem to be doing anything. He formed attack after attack, now using earth magic.
Lillian finally made a move: to create a dome over Liana; with her still on the outside. Liana was now thoroughly confused as to what was going on. Each attack hit Lillian directly and disappeared shortly after. He then changed tactics and started firing all three elements at once. Lillian turned to look at Liz, a befuddled expression on her face.
Liana noticed this, as the dome Lillian had created was completely transparent, and you wouldn't even know it's there except for the fact that of course, magic was being constantly thrown at it and deflected by it.
(Liz) "Sis, can you just knock him out or something? I think the others are probably going to pass out from laughing too much if you let this drag on."
(Lillian) But… I didn't even do anything! I have no idea what he's trying to do, seriously!"
Liana, who was laughing at the expression on Lillian's face, now doubled over as she heard Lillian's indignant voice. Liz merely shrugged and said,
(Liz) "Well, if you're not going to do it, I gladly will, but I think you'd rather do it, especially with the nature of his 'mission'."
She said the word mission in a mocking voice, then continued,
(Liz) "I don't know what they were thinking, sending someone who's so mentally unstable to be a spy for so many years before changing his mission to something completely different."
Liana raised her eyebrows as a sound emerged from Lillian's throat. A sound she had heard before, but not when Lillian was in her human form.
(Liana's thoughts) 'Did she just… growl?'
Lillian turned back to Anton and shot a spell at him, knocking him out in one go. Instantly, the barrage of spells stopped and Lillian's dome dropped as she glared at Anton's motionless figure. Liana frowned lightly as she stepped up beside Lillian and placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned her body to directly face Lillian's and slipped her other hand into Lillian's. Lillian lifted her eyes up to meet Liana's, tears glistening in her eyes. At the sight, Liana wrapped her arms around Lillian, completely ignoring everyone else in the room.