“I know you are not actually a part of this, but roaming around could give away our position, so if you would please sit down and stay quiet that would be very helpful.”
He was surprised by Lilly’s aggressiveness and Charles smirked. Loud voices were coming from outside the window. Lilly held out her hand so everyone would remain seated while she got up to see who it was. Four Armorians were walking down the street. Three boys and a girl.
“Looks like they haven’t made it here yet,” said one of the men. “This could be easier than we thought.” They all laughed with one another and started searching buildings on the opposite side of the town.
“It’s the other team,” said Lilly. “We need a plan.”
No one moved, and she began to get very irritated.
“Charles, help me move this Demorite.” Together they raised him up and sat him in the chair behind a desk on the back wall. “If they come in here they will get a nice surprise.” Lilly laughed to herself. “We need to hide somewhere.” Lilly was about to open the door when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs and she began to panic. “Everyone in the closet.” They all crammed into a small coat closet by the door.
The door opened and a girl let out a loud shriek. She threw a knife at the Demorites head and ran forward to retrieve it. Another person followed in behind her.
“What happened?” he asked.
“A Demorite,” she said. “But I killed it.” Lilly could hear by the tone of her voice that she was so proud of herself. The second set of footsteps drew closer to the Demorite.
“This Demorite was already dead,” he said.
“It was not,” she said. “I just killed it.”
“There is a puncture wound to the heart,” he said. “The other team has been here.”
“That doesn’t mean they are still here,” said the girl. “Let’s try the next town over.”
“Unless,” he said.
“Unless, what?”
Lilly could hear his footsteps drawing closer to the door. She gripped her knife tighter, ready to fight back. He opened the door, and Lilly knocked him down. The girl screamed as Charles ran toward her and pinned her down. Lilly took the hilt of her knife and knocked the guy in the head with it, rendering him unconscious. Charles gently squeezed the girl’s neck just enough to make her pass out.
“That wasn’t so bad,” said Charles.
“Yeah, but we have two more to worry about,” said Sophia.
Arrows started flying toward them from the stairwell, sticking into the door, one of them grazing Lilly’s side. Lilly quickly shut the door and locked it.
“Lilly, are you okay?” Charles cried.
“I’ll be fine,” she said.
“Can they do that?” Sophia yelled.
“There are no rules,” said Lilly. “Let’s just hope our team gets their flag before we are forced to give up ours.”
Lyla and her group had split into two teams. Giselle and Joseph would take one side and Lyla and Thomas would take the other. Lyla tried to object because she would rather pair up with Giselle, but they were already moving away.
“Come on,” Lyla said to Thomas.
“I get the feeling you don’t really like me,” Thomas said.
“Is this really the time to talk about it? We need to focus on the mission.” Lyla ran forward before he could say another word. They came to the back of the buildings as planned, and quietly made their way up the fire escape. When they reached the top, their opponent had his back to them, just as they’d hoped. Thomas ran forward and wrapped his arm around his throat until he fell unconscious. Across the street on the rooftop Joseph signaled that they had done the same.
Thomas and Lyla made their way into the building maneuvering down the stairs and onto the next level. They tried their best not to creak the floors if possible. They stopped when they heard voices in a nearby room. Thomas nodded, and they snuck into the room next to the room where they heard the voices. In the room, Lyla found an old paperweight on a desk and threw it down the stairs making a loud noise.
“What was that?” said a voice from the other room.
“I don’t know. Go check it out and I will guard the flag.”
Lyla pulled out her bow and arrow as footsteps passed the room and down the stairs. She followed Thomas, and together they opened the door. Inside was a girl holding a red flag with the words Team B written across it. William was sitting at a desk with a smile on his face.
“You will not get this flag,” she said.
“Give it to us or this arrow is going through your head,” said Lyla.
“Y-you can’t do that,” she stammered.
“There are no rules,” said Lyla. “I can do whatever I want.”
“But you wouldn’t.”
“I wouldn’t wait around to test that theory,” said Thomas.
The girl hesitated and reached out to hand the flag to Thomas when the second person from her team came up behind them.
“Thomas, take care of the problem.” Lyla wasn’t about to take her arrow off this girl and risk their chances of winning. Thomas unsheathed his sword and swung it around at the person behind him. Lyla kept her glare on the girl––who was quivering, knowing that Lyla was prepared to end her life––while listening to the sound of swords clashing behind her. Minutes had passed, and fatigue was growing stronger in Lyla’s arms. She wasn’t sure how long she could keep it up.
“Enough,” said a voice from the doorway. It was Giselle and she had her arrow pointed at Thomas’s opponent. “Give us the flag or you are both dead.”
The boy fighting Thomas threw his sword down in rage, and the girl finally handed the flag over. They had won. It was finished.
They all walked out to the street, and William let off a loud horn that was sure to be heard from miles away.
Lilly was crammed into the coat closet with the rest of her teammates when she heard the other two Armorians from the other team smash through the door.
“Come out or we will shoot through the door,” said one of the men.
“What do we do?” Sophia asked.
Lilly sighed in defeat. “We can’t risk out lives. We have to give them what they want. We’re coming out,” she yelled.
She opened the door and stood in front of her opponent, who grinned, knowing he was about to win the challenge. A girl was standing behind him with her arrow pulled back, ready to shoot should they change their minds.
Charles, Sophia, and Robby stepped out behind her, and Morgan was still in the closet.
“We can’t surrender,” Morgan shouted. “How can you all give up so easily?”
“If you want to gamble your life away, so be it,” said Lilly. They stepped out of the way and let the man pass them to take the flag from Morgan. He was about to grab it from her when they heard a loud horn ringing from the distance.
“Well, that’s it then,” said Robby. “Team A has successfully acquired Team B’s flag. They win the game.”
Lilly couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. Lyla had done it. They had retrieved the other flag and they had won.
“See, it’s a good thing I didn’t surrender so easily, huh?” said Morgan.
“Oh, be quiet,” said Lilly as she walked out of the room, and then took the stairs that let out of the building. Charles and Sophia laughed as they followed her, and two of her opponents from the other team were stomping their feet in anger as the other two team members were gaining consciousness.
William and Robby gathered all sixteen members that had competed in the final challenge of the tournament. They were now back in Armoria and waited for William to make a final announcement. He wanted them to get back to Armoria as soon as possible, just as a precaution in case some nearby Demorites heard the horn sound off.
“Congratulations to Team A for completing the challenge victoriously. You will all be able to join me on my expedition. There will be a celebration this evening in your honor, and everyone is welcome to attend.”<
br />
The members of Team B were discouraged, but they couldn’t help but get excited at the sound of a celebration.
“I will see you all in a few hours at the town hall.”
With that being said, they all went their separate ways.
Chapter 12
William, Giselle, Lyla, Lilly, and Thomas rode home together to prepare for the evening. It was not a formal gathering, but a casual event. They all did their own makeup, while Lilly did their hair. Lyla had no idea she had such a hidden talent. Giselle had her hair up in beautiful curls, Lilly had her hair half up and half down with a few curls dangling over her shoulder, and Lyla insisted she wear her hair down, should her collarbone be exposed.
When the girls were finished preparing themselves, William stepped through the door and had two outfits dangling from his arm. He put them on Lyla’s bed so they could examine them.
“I thought if you didn’t know what to wear you could wear these.”
One outfit was a pair of black pants and a dark purple short-sleeved shirt that matched perfectly with a nice blazer that was lying next to it. The other was similar and came with a long-sleeved button-down light pink shirt.
“Where did these come from?” Lilly asked, still admiring the clothing on the bed.
“Before I asked your mother to live with me in Armoria I had
some clothes picked out for her. That’s why you have clothes in both of your closets. I divided them up before I went to find you.”
“How different things would have been if she had just said yes,”
said Lyla.
“Yes,” said William. “But let’s not ponder on the things we do not have the power to change.” He hugged both Lyla and Lilly before leaving the room. “I will see you both downstairs.”
Lilly chose the outfit with the purple shirt and Lyla had no other choice but to wear the other one. They were both very nice, despite the fact that William had them from over twenty years ago. Lyla buttoned her shirt and pulled on a pair of jeans instead of the black pants, which she believed to be more her style.
William had a carriage waiting outside.
After they all stepped into the carriage, William followed in after them. He would be joining them as well, of course, because everyone in Armoria was invited. Thomas, however, was nowhere to be found.
The carriage arrived at the front steps of the same large building in the courtyard that Lyla thought looked like a church when they first arrived in Armoria. This building was their town hall, in a sense, and it held many purposes. They held weekly meetings with any Armorian that wanted to attend to discuss various suggestions about Armoria’s well-being, which were held by the head councilman Monroe Feeble. It was also a sanctuary for Armorians if they wanted to seek God in their time of need, and it also had a large ballroom just for occasions like this.
After they walked through the front door, they were escorted by a man down an open hallway that came to two large wooden doors that were propped open. Lyla could see a bright light coming through the doors and people dancing all around from down the hall. She could tell before she reached the doorway that the room would be massive.
A large open floor stretched out far and wide, and pillars stood around the entire room. Lyla looked all around and noticed the very high ceiling that was covered in beautiful art. Cream and gold were the two main colors that were spread throughout the entire room, including the detailed molding on the walls and pillars as well as the floor. This was how she imagined the ballrooms in her fairytale books to look like, and at that moment she felt like she was living in one.
Giselle found Joseph, and together they walked to the dance floor. William, Lyla, and Lilly sat at one of the tables that was placed around the perimeter of the room. A large table was set up on the side of the hall covered in food, desserts, and colorful drinks.
Lyla was surprised. She thought this was supposed to be a small celebration, but this seemed massive and a bit excessive. Charles approached the table and asked Lilly if she wanted to dance, but she denied him several times.
“Lil, go dance with the man,” said Lyla. “You love to dance, and it’s not going to kill you.” Lilly thought it over before finally giving in.
“Fine, but it doesn’t mean that I like him.” Lyla laughed as he escorted her sister to the dance floor.
William wasn’t one to dance around much, but he asked Lyla to dance, so she didn’t feel left out even though she could care less if she danced or not.
Lyla noticed that Giselle and Joseph were having a great time dancing. Most importantly she saw that Lilly was having a great time. She had not left Charles’s sight since he asked her to dance, and even though Lilly wouldn’t admit it, Lyla noticed how happy she was. Of all the years they had been together she had never seen her sister so happy. They were always training and hunting, and Lyla didn’t mind, but she thought if Lilly had a choice she would have chosen a completely different life. This was the life she deserved.
Lilly was dancing with Charles until a little girl interrupted them. She had dark hair and brown eyes.
“Lilly, this is my sister, Anna,” said Charles. Lilly thought she was the cutest little girl, and she had the same eyes as Charles.
“Hi, Anna.”
“You’re really pretty,” said Anna giggling to herself. She was pulling at her dress and swaying around nervously.
“Not as pretty as you though.”
The little girl smiled and ran off.
“She’s so precious,” said Lilly.
“She really is,” said Charles. “I love her more than anything.”
Lyla was sitting at the table alone. William disappeared for a few moments and then returned with two drinks, one for each of them. Lyla took a drink and almost spit it out.
“What is this?” she cried. “It’s disgusting!”
William couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s fruit punch with a little bit of alcohol. Keep drinking it and you will like it.”
Lyla did as he said and she did come to like it. She almost couldn’t believe that William was offering her alcohol, but then again she was old enough. It was then that she remembered her birthday was coming up. She had forgotten all about it with all the chaos that surrounded her. She still had to get Lilly something, but she had no idea what to get her. She was thinking about it until her thoughts were interrupted as someone approached the table.
A man in a casual shirt and tie sat at the table beside her. A few random men had asked her to dance throughout the evening. She would dance with them only for a few songs and then sit back down afterwards. This time it was a familiar face.
“Thomas?” she said.
“Yes, it is me,” he said giddily.
“Have you been drinking?” Lyla asked. She was completely astounded. She had never expected to see him this way.
“I have and I’m still working on it. It put me in a pretty good mood if I do say so myself.”
Lyla wanted to ignore him, but she couldn’t help but laugh at his behavior.
“Would you like to dance with me?” he asked Lyla as he held out his hand.
Lyla’s mouth opened, but she was unaware of what to say. She looked at William, who smiled and nodded, encouraging her to dance. She took Thomas’s hand as he led her to the dance floor. The music slowed, so he grabbed her waist and she put her hand on his shoulder. Lyla’s heart began to pound in her chest and she could feel her temperature rising. This is what she had wanted, until she decided otherwise. Her mind was running a thousand different ways and she didn’t know which direction to follow. She did not want to stare at him so she looked at the people around him until his hand pulled her chin toward him. His eyes were staring into hers.
“Are you having a good time?” he asked.
She could barely get a word out because her nerves were getting the best of her. She thought it was silly that she felt this way. Or was it? She was supposed to be tough, not this girl that was trembling with every touch from him. She
took in a deep breath.
Be strong. Be confident. Be fearless.
“Yes, I am having a great time,” she said softer than she had intended.
He smiled at her and she moved her head to his chest and let it rest there for the remainder of the song as he held her.
“Do you want to get out of here? We can go somewhere and talk if you would like,” said Thomas. Lyla looked up at him in confusion.
“You want to talk?” she said.
“That is if you want to.”
Lyla wanted to, but at the same time she was trying to forget about him and he was making it very difficult. Her heart told her to go with him, but her head told her to stay. She thought about what Giselle had told her earlier that day.
Love is the most beautiful thing we could ever experience in life. Don’t give up so easily.
Lyla forgot what her head was saying and followed her heart without a second thought.
“Let’s get out of here.”
Chapter 13
Lyla and Thomas left the town hall and Lyla followed him to a garden that was beyond the far buildings on the other side of the square. The moon was shining brightly above them, and they could see everything. Low trimmed bushes lined the outer edges of the path and flowers were all around. Red, white, and yellow lilies surrounded them, and in the center of the garden was a small fountain.
“I haven’t spent any time over here,” said Lyla. “I had no idea this was here at all, actually. This is beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful,” Thomas said. Lyla turned and looked at him astonished by what she’d just heard or at least thought she’d heard.
“What did you say?”
“I said you are beautiful.”
“Um, thank you, Thomas.”
“Lyla,” said Thomas. He had both hands on her shoulders, and then slid then down past her arms to her hands. “I need to tell you how I really feel about you.”
Aftermath_The Armorian Chronicles Page 12