"I will not let our children go homeless!" King Adonijah spoke with assurance. "Neither will I allow our women be raped by savage men. Our men will not fight for our enemies in strange lands neither will our boys bear cups for Macedonian cunts of lords! Lustre might be small but we are courageous. But then we have a princess. Our princess and through a marriage, we will have an alliance of blood." He paused, perusing the face of his people. "With Castle Franklivania!"
She saw the people scream in joy at the last statement. She heard them whisper. And through it she understood that Lustre was at the brink of war. The denizens were quivering in fear. Children cried as if they knew what was coming for them. She understood that the Castle Franklivania is the seat of the Kingdom of Arecia. The strongest kingdom in terms of military strength. Their strategy is top tier that no kingdom would ever dream of challenging them in an open field.
She saw also heard those who loathed Arecia despite them being their only hope. She understood that Arecia were greedy. Their hunger for more lands and territory drove them into countless conquest wars, of which they prevailed. But Lustre has refused. She heard them say that it is only one thing that has kept them from turning Lustre into a sea of blood and claiming their land. Their beauty.
She saw that Lustre, was by far the most beautiful city in the continent, rich in minerals. They were not strong, but they were Indeed, courageous.
Lily watched herself in those visions. Beautiful, with a princess dress and a crown upon her blonde hair. But she saw that she was not the gaily princess. The visions continued.
*************************
However, the merging ceremony was yet another successful mess. Successful cause despite everything, the merging was announced to the general public. A stretcher, just like during their marriage, took her out of the hall and an ambulance rushed her to the hospital to Dr. Harriet!
Nurses gave her cheeks a mild slap as the stretcher moved her into her supposed ward, hoping that she will, at least, blink an eye but she didn't wake. She didn't even blink. Lily was lost in a strange land.
*************************
After the announcement, king Adonijah dismissed the crowd and entered inside with his household. Lily watched herself enter.
"I do not want this" she heard herself say.
"It doesn't matter what you want" she heard her father reply. She watched the whole conversation.
"It does!...."
"Lily!" He barked. "How many times will I tell you this? The only importance your birth is to me is this. To be sold out when the need arises; when the time is due. At a time like this, you should be happy to serve your land. It is your duty!"
"So I'm nothing but simply your tool?" She asked with bitterness.
"Of course you are" the king answered to her surprise. "Macedon is a strong kingdom and the Castle Franklivania of Arecia is our only hope"
"Or your tool is" she rolled her eyes at him.
"You know better"
"I'll rather marry the bush men of the Fraser Valleys than into the house of Franklivania!" She said, earning herself, a resounding slap.
"I didn't pick you up for you to disrespect me!"
She held her cheeks. She didn't seem surprised as if she's been getting a lot of that; like she saw that coming.
"Of course." She kept speaking. "Has that not been my only crime? To be picked instead of birthed properly. You should have left me at the mercy of those boars you claimed to have saved me from than raise me only to subject my life to this insanity."
"You're testing my patience.."
"Hmph, I would be the happiest girl, the happiest princess ever if that's ever true. I'll gladly marry prince Nicholas if you ever had patience with me. Tell me when you ever played my father. My adopted father at least"
"I will give you the death you've been praying for if you disappoint me now"
"And I'll gladly accept. Haven't I been your source of pride. Are you not unable to father a child" she spewed, earning herself another resounding slap.
"I shouldn't have picked you. You're the most ungrateful foundling I ever knew"
The statement drove her out from the visions into full consciousness! She saw herself in a hospital with Harriet towering over her head.
"What did I just hear?" She mumbled to herself, behaving as if she never traveled to her past just few hours ago.
"Castle Franklivania, an alliance of blood. A bond of blood " she continued mumbling. "Picked, boar, Arecia, found.. what did I just hear?"
"Child" Dr Harriet called her back to reality. She turned with such sharpness and watched Harriet for a minute as if trying to decipher who he was.
"Child!"
"I need to go, doctor. I need to"
"But you haven't...."
Lily quickly removed the drip that was connected into her skin with a syringe, groaning mildly at the pain of it. Harriet was speechless as she watched her get down from the bed and made her way for the threshold.
"I need Old Bloom. I need Old Bloom. It can't be true. Lily was not picked!" She screamed on the road. People watched her with a thousand questions swirling up in their mind.
"So much drama by this people." A bystander said.
"They've changed our Lily" another murmured.
Lily didn't care about the whole murmuring. The truth she's about to uncover was more important. She flagged down a taxi.
"Get me to Granville Grove" she told the driver.
Harriet alerted the company. Nicholas felt worried. Lily has been doing this more often now. For the first time, he went ahead of his father and summoned their bodyguards, all dressed in expensive suits.
"Find her. Harriet said she flagged down a taxi" Nicholas ordered.
"What is happening Nicholas?" His father thundered across the hall.
"Move. Now!" He ignored his father and issued the order.
Mr. Franklivania held him by the shoulder; a firm grip.
"You choose to ignore me now"
"Is that not what you've been doing. Who's better than you when it comes to snubs?"
"Nicholas. You're raising your shoulders at me?" Mr Franklivania asked with a tone of great devilry, clear in his voice. A dangerous tone that caused Nicholas' heart to beat twice fast.
"Don't get any wild ideas" he said. "No one can rub shoulders with you" he stared at him with confidence, sarcasm clear in his statement. Mr Franklivania could feel the challenge that he's trying to cover with satire. Nicholas bowed and left him to join the search.
"Let's see how much you can keep up son"
As soon as they reached the place, Lily paid and rushed into the compound.
"Lily, the news said...."
"Is it true grandma?" She cut her off.
"Is what true?" Old Bloom was surprised.
"Am I just an adoptee? Is there more to it? Is it true?!!" She screamed. Just as she had dreaded before. So there's actually something worse than being bought from a random orphanage.
"Calm down"
"Is it?" Tears welled up in her eyes. "Am I not just my father's daughter?" She hoped to be proved wrong. She hoped to hear the opposite.
"What did you see?" Old Bloom answered with restraint calmness.
"Answer me!"
"It's true!" Old Bloom screamed back, running out of patience trying to calm her down. Lily widened her eyes in shock on what she's about to hear. It came like a scorpion's sting.
"You were picked by.."
"No.." she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Huh?" Old Bloom stopped in confusion. "Lily I'm sorry.."
"Fraser Valleys" she mumbled.
"What are these variables? Is something wrong with.."
"Floria"
"Lily!" Old Bloom screamed with her crooked voice.
Lily turned, with such madness in her eyes.
"Where in the seven hells have I sent Floria to?"