After Lily's bath, she slipped on a white gown and, after putting her hair into a messy bun, went to look for Liz.
She walked down the hallway, now busy with maids and butlers getting the palace ready for their guests.
As she passed her father's study, she tried not to think about their earlier conversation, she didn't want it to ruin her day. Instead, she repeated the words Liz had told her, 'Just go with it...for now...'
After walking down the elegant staircase, she stepped into the room to her left, the servants' courters. She was greeted almost instantly by one of the older maids, Bella.
"Princess Lily! What a surprise. To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"I'm looking for Liz, is she here?" Bella thought for a moment, I'm not sure. If she is, she would be with your other handmaids. In the sewing chamber if I were to guess."
"Thanks, Bell!"
"That's what I'm here for princess." Bella bowed to be polite, but Lily was already halfway to the door. When she got to the sewing room, she scanned it for Liz, but she wasn't there.
Suddenly, a milky-brown hand touched her shoulder.
"Are you looking for someone princess?" A young maiden with dark curly hair and a small scar on her upper lip was standing behind her.
"Savanah! I'm looking for Liz, have you seen her? Is she here?" Lily couldn't help but notice the flash of disappointment in her chocolate eyes.
"I'm sorry, you just missed her. I saw her head into town, if you hurry you could still catch her." Lily thanked Savanah and quickly left, she had just enough time to hear her handmaid holler after her.
"Lily! You can't go out dressed like that! The king will be furious!"
Lily half walked, half ran down the hallway, only slowing her pace when she had to pass somebody. She didn't want anyone to ask where she was going in such a hurry.
When she got to the main door, she saw one of Alastors' troops returning. They looked ruffed up and exhausted. Their armor was covered from the waist down with mud, and one of the guards was being supported by two of the others. Lily tried to see who it was, but his face was concealed by a bloody bandage. 'Jesus! What happened to them?', she wondered, 'they look like they just came back from a battle or something...' Then she remembered the conversation she had overheard that morning, about the "scum" that needed to be caught.
She hid behind a display case full of swords, axes, knives, and a few shields, and waited for them to pass. Since most of them were wounded and exhausted, they moved at a painfully slow pace. When they walked by the display case, Lily could smell the musky stench of the mud. She suppressed the urge to gag. 'That smells worse than swamp water!' She didn't bother waiting till they were out of sight to slip out of her hiding spot and towards the door. They were too distracted by fatigue and whatever mission they came back from to notice her anyway.
She stopped by the exit and slipped on one of the dirty cloaks they had hanging by the door so no one would recognize her. At first glance, she would just look like another merchant leaving the palace.
She took her time as she walked through the city, even stopping at booths where the common folk were selling whatever they had to offer. It was the first time she had been out of the palace in months, and she planned to enjoy it. She had almost forgotten the purpose of her trip when she heard a familiar voice behind her.
"Yes, this is perfect! As for the corset, I think that one will fit better, may I see it?" Liz was at one of the few stalls that weren't for the common folk.
It sold all manner of quality jewels, perfumes, dresses, jewelry, and anything a woman of high stature could want.
"Liz!" Lily called out. Liz looked around, her gaze passing right over Lily. She called out again, this time waiving her hand in the air.
"Liz! Over here!" She ran over to the booth and wrapped her arms around Liz.
"Lily! I didn't even recognize you! What are you doing here? And looking like that! Your father would be outraged if he saw you!"
"I know, I know" Lily sighed sarcastically as her eyes grazed from item to item. She picked up a crystal candle holder and admired the intricate design. It was shaped like a coiled-up snake, carved into purple quartzite.
After staring at it for a few moments, she put it back on the table and went to pick up the next trinket, but Liz stopped her.
"I've got what I need, lets go, Lily."
"But I want to look around more! I haven't been out since the fall festival!" Lily argued.
"I know, and I'll try to talk to the king about letting you visit the town soon, but if he finds out you're here without his permission, especially dressed like that! He'll kill me!"
"Don't worry, he'll never find out."
"But, what if one of the guards catches us? Or-!" Liz protested,
"It's fine! All the guards are busy, I haven't seen a single one since I left the palace."
"Still! Just in case, we should go- Lily!" Liz interrupted herself when she saw Lily walk off. It was no use arguing, Liz knew how stubborn Lily was. Once she made up her mind, there was no convincing her otherwise.
"Fine! But only for a few minutes."
"Yay! Let's go to Miss Wrens, I heard she just got a new batch of herbs, and last fall she said she'd give me some of her seeds!" Lily beamed with excitement as she grabbed Liz's hand and started dragging her from stall to stall, till they got to a small booth far from the expensive stalls that Liz was buying from. It was called "Wrens Herbs and Tinctures" and was only well known among the common folk. Most royalty wouldn't be caught dead near the old, shabby booth, but Lily loved it.
"Welcome Miss Elizabeth! And...Princess! What a lovely surprise." Wren's shock at Lily's appearance was unmistakable, but she knew better than to comment on it.
"Is there anything specific you're looking for?"
"Yes actually! Bella told me that you just got a new batch of dried herbs, can I see them?" Lily didn't mention the seeds that Wren had promised her, she didn't want her to feel bad in case she forgot about it. It had been months ago, and she knew she wasn't Wrens' only customer, it could have easily slipped her mind.
"Indeed I have. Normally I wouldn't bring them out yet, but for you princess, I'll make an exception." Wren gave her a playful smile and pulled a box out from under the table. When she opened it, the aroma surrounded Lily. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and let the smell seep into her soul. She loved the smell of herbs more than anything. It reminded her of her mother, and how she always used to smell like fresh herbs.
The box was full of glass jars, and the aroma smelled of lavender, sandalwood, and sweet citrus. Lily dragged her hand across the tops of the jars and pulled out one in the middle.
"That one's called peaceful sleep. It is one of my more popular ones, so I would recommend getting it quickly if you're interested. It's made of-" Lily put her hand up to stop her. Smelling the jar, she quickly named out the herbs.
"Lavender, Chamomile, Rosemary, and..." She looked up at Wren curiously, "What's the last one?"
"Very impressive princess, but what else would I expect from you? Catnip, the last one is Catnip."
After what seemed like no time at all for Lily, and hours for Liz, Lily picked out four of the glass jars. Liz paid her, and as Wren was wrapping the package up, Lily saw her slip something into the side of the parcel.
"Don't think that I forgot about your special request dear." She gave Lily a wink and gave her the neatly wrapped package, smiling as Lily shook it slightly to see if it was what she thought it was. The slight rattle of seeds confirmed it.
"Did you get what you wanted?" Liz asked.
"Yep! She even remembered the seeds!"
Applause from a crowd distracted them.
"I wonder what all the commotion is about?" Liz said but didn't stop for a second glance.
"I dunno. Let's go check it out!" Lily didn't wait for Liz to answer before sprinting off into the crowd. When she made her way to the front, she saw a lady wearing a dark green gown, her jet-black hair hanging half in her face in small braids. She was sitting in a circle drawn on the floor with charcoal. Lily looked at the sign hanging behind her. "Tabitha the enchantress! Palm reading, future telling and much more!", it said. Lily watched as Tabitha put her hands on a person sitting in the circle with her, and started to prophesy. The crowd began to cheer again and the man seemed thrilled to hear about his future.
"Lily, PLEASE stop running off." Liz had finally pushed her way to the front of the crowd.
"Oh, Liz! Look! I didn't know we had witches in town!"
"She's not a witch, she's an enchantress. And please stop running off!" Liz repeated, "You know I'm responsible for you right? The only thing worse than the king finding out you were here, is me having to tell him that I LOST you in town! He'd skin me! ALIVE!!" She said as she grabbed Lilys arm tightly so she couldn't run off again.
"I know, I know, I'm sorry ok. We can go now." Lily had just turned to leave when someone grabbed her other arm. It was the witch. She tried to pull free, but her grip was stronger then Liz's, in fact, it seemed almost in-humanly strong.
She seemed to stare deep into Lily's eyes, as if she was peering into her soul.
"U-Um...I-I don't want to hear my fu-"
"You, have a vary hard journey ahead. But don't let yourself be frightened, Lily. If you let yourself live in fear, you will never know who you truly are. Be brave, and stay true to what you know to be right. You will -no doubt- have to make difficult, and heartbreaking decisions, but you must choose your side, and fight for it! however, you can't do it alone, you must find them!! You must! You can not surrender Lily!" The crowd cheered as they did for any of the other prophecies, but Lily was confused.
"Huh? W-what do you mean? Choose my side? Surrender? Who's "them"? I don't understand." The witch pulled her arm hard, bringing them closer, till her face was so close to Lily's ear, she could hear the witch's raspy breathing and smell the stench of her rotting teeth. Then she whispered,
"You have to fight the darkness underneath! the plans are already made. Someone's waiting for you. You must meet them in the garden!" She let go of Lily's hand, almost pushing her backwards, then, slowly sat back into her circle, never taking her eyes off Lily. The witch's gaze sent chills up her spine, something about it wasn't right, it was almost...'Not human.' Her father's words echoed in her mind. She gulped, and suppressed the thought.
"What did she say?" Liz asked.
"I-... I don't know...It made no sense." She wasn't exactly lying, she didn't understand most of what she said, but she did understand "fight the darkness underneath", and she didn't want to. What was SHE supposed to do about it? It's not like she had any power over the things her father did. Plus, who was she supposed to find-or meet in the garden? Surly nobody else knew what was happening in the dungeons. None of it made any sense.
"Well, that was bizarre then. Kinda creepy too. I thought she was only supposed to give good prophecies. Come on, Let's go before they try to make us pay for it."
They didn't talk for the rest of the way home, both of them were too wrapped up in their thoughts. 'The plans are already made...The plans are already made...What is that supposed to mean? Could she be talking about the marriage?' She wondered. They walked passed the display case Lily had hidden behind on her way out. The stench was long gone, but the muddy footprints still littered the floor.
Liz stopped once they got to the staircase.
"I still have a few things I'd like to do before the guests arrive, would you mind if we parted here?"
"Not at all. I believe I can find the way to my room without assistance." Lily joked.
"Ok. You should go straight to your room and get ready for the dinner as well."
"Uhg-! Don't remind me!" She grumbled.
"It won't be that bad!... hopefully. I'll see you before the dinner."
"Bye Liz" Lily walked up a few steps, then looked back to watch Liz leave. Once she heard the sound of the door closing, she headed back down the stairs. 'I don't know WHEN I'm supposed to meet this person in the garden, but now should be as good of a time as any. Maybe they can answer some of my questions.' Lily hoped.
She walked quickly toward the courtyard, not slowing her pace for anyone. She didn't mind anymore if they knew she was in a hurry. When she got to the royal garden in the heart of the courtyard, she kept going. She was pretty sure the witch didn't want her to meet with this person in such a public place. 'The secret garden. Yes. That's where I should go.' Doubt flickered in her mind for a second, 'what if she meant one of the other gardens? Ah, man! Why couldn't she be more specific?! Does she even know how many gardens there are in the palace? How can I know which one to pick?' The more she thought about it, the more unsure she became. Eventually, she picked the one she had thought of first. The secret garden. The place her mother taught her almost all that she knew about herbs. It was the least likely place for someone to be since almost no one knew about it, but if nobody was there, she would simply enjoy the peace it gave her. she needed it.
Finally, she got to the tinted glass door. For years this garden had been her safe place. It was in the middle of the court yard, completely surrounded by the castle, yet when you're inside, you were completely hidden from it. It was the only place she was able to forget about her troubles.
She opened the door, only a crack, and slipped inside. Fresh air hit her cheek's, and she could hear birds chirping from the dozens of houses she had made for them as a kid. She walked into the heart of the greenhouse where there was a simple wooden bench. Although she went there to meet someone, she was surprised to see someone already sitting there. Waiting. 'A...guard? What is he doing here?', she wondered.