A light shone through the treetops and landed upon the glistening petals of the lily in full bloom. Its audience was captivated by it's fullness of color. It was the same shade of ivory as Lily's skin though its center bore the same shade of blue held in her eyes.
"I cannot believe I am here," muttered her father. He stood motionless as if frozen in time. "I never thought I would ever see this place again."
"Twas Bayla's favorite spot in the forest," offered the old elf. "She must have brought you here many times."
"I have only been here twice," he recalled. "The first time was when Lily was born. Bayla had brought her here to bless her and this is where I named her Lily." A slight smile graced his face but it quickly faded as he remembered his final visit. "The second was to lay my wife to rest. I knew how much she loved this garden and I couldn't think of a better place to lay her body." His account stunned both the young and the old elf.
"She is buried here? In this garden?" they asked together.
"Yes," he admitted. "I buried her near the lily so she could be with her most treasured pleasures. I know she should have been buried in the royal cemetery, but I could not bear her to be away from her favorite spot. It was the only thing left I could give her." He made no effort to hide his tears as he knelt by the lily gently caressing its petals. "Can you ever forgive me; my beloved Bayla for failing to keep my vow?" the farmer asked the lily.
"The burial sight of our greatest queen has been unknown to us all these years. To find she has been with us all along is more than I can bear," admitted Toame. He fell prostrate before the lily and began praying in the ancient language. The farmer seemed a bit confused at his actions and looked to the old one who was now kneeling himself near him.
"He pays his respects to her; as is custom among our people." The elf offered. "Her burial sight had remained a mystery to all until this day." He directed his attention to Toame was had risen his face to him. "No one must know if this until our battle has been won."
"What did Philip mean when he said his daughter was responsible for her death? How could that be true when it was a band of men who attacked?" inquired the farmer.
"I know not of what he speaks," admitted the elf, "but if there is truth to his words than she must face justice for what she has done."
"Agreed," said Toame. "If she is responsible; she must pay."
"What do we do now?" asked Jacque who had accompanied them from the cabin but had not been noticed until he spoke. "We cannot return to the cabin and Master Toame will not be able to return to the palace as I am sure the medicine man will mention his presence to our enemies. We cannot remain in this garden for the enchantment of sorrow that is upon it will not be able to offer protection for long as it is weakening as we speak." The others looked around at the garden and noticed tiny buds were beginning to bulge on the tender stems of the roses.
"I wish my father were well," piped Toame. "He would help us defeat Mother."
"Yes, indeed he would," thought the old elf. He directed himself to the farmer and said, "You said Amri was the daughter of the medicine man, did you not?"
"Yes, she is." Came the reply.
"Then, we need his help to counter what evil she has done to him."
"How would we get to him? He's in the village by now and Amri has her spies looking for us all over." questioned Lily.
"No one seeks me," stated the skunk. "I shall fetch him."
"How can you fetch him, Jacque? He is human and will not understand you," remarked Toame.
"The human will hear him if he truly wants to assist us. We shall tie a note around your neck, Jacque that will tell him what to do in order to hear your words." The old elf jotted down the instructions for Philip and attached them to a band around the skunk's neck. Jacque left the forest immediately. Then the elf continued. "I know of many elves who keep themselves hidden from the queen. They are loyal to defeating her and will fight with us if they know of Lily."
"I have never heard of such a band," admitted Toame.
"They have kept themselves secret to protect their lives. Many of them live in the deepest parts of the forest while others work in the castle to stay abreast of the queen's intentions."
"Who is the leader of this band of rebels? How do we meet with him?" asked the farmer.
"Her," the old elf corrected. "Their leader is female. She works in the castle as Toame's tutor. Her name Amidal, she has led the resistance since the beginning. She was Tokint's younger sister, though their relation was kept a secret. She adored Bayla and has proved herself loyal."
"Amidal? The leader of the rebels is Amidal?" Toame was astonished as he couldn't believe she was his mother���s enemy. "Is she not the one who spies for my mother? It was her that ordered the hunters to track me. It was her that was my jail keep when Mother restricted me to the castle. I don't believe you this time Master Elf. She is not to be trusted."
"She has indeed done the things of which you speak. Someone needed to get close to Amri to discover her plan and reveal it to the rebel forces in order to defeat her. She had no reason to believe you would resist your own mother and therefore did not trust her secret with you. Her treachery has been necessary for all of us to survive."
"How do we meet with her?" asked Lily. "We need her help if we are to fight this battle we now face."
"One of us will have to get themselves caught." He said.