The Other Me: Chapter Two

WRITTEN: 1 June 2012
==PART ONE: LILY==
==Chapter Two: Preparation==
Several days later, Lily was leading Logan across the Shifting Sands, in Aurora, towards Sandfall Palace to find the priceless gem.
‘You seem to know your way around the Auroran desert pretty well,’ Logan commented conversationally as he slipped slightly as they walked down a sand dune.
‘One would hope that I would know my way around,’ replied Lily. ‘I’ve explored every inch of the Shifting Sands.’
‘Really? Was there any particular reason or were you just bored?’
‘No, I wasn’t bored.’ Lily laughed. ‘I was helping out an Auroran Priestess by finding flowers for their sacred dye, but it’s a good thing I did. I ended up benefiting by it.’
‘How?’
‘For starters, I know my way around the desert and secondly, I know where the Sand Furies like the ambush people… like here.
Lily calmly gathered a large ball of fire in one hand; Logan had given her a fire gauntlet, and made it split into three separate balls of fire as three sand furies jumped out of the ground. The fire balls shot from her hand and hit the sand furies. As the fire slowly killed the creatures, Lily tugged on Logan’s sleeve to make him follow her.
‘I’m impressed,’ said Logan. ‘I always wondered what land sand furies came from. When Page and I had to face them at Uncle Reaver’s we struggled a lot.’
‘I bet you were if you were fighting with Mum’s hammer,’ replied Lily. ‘How did you defeat them?’
‘It was one of my rare occasions for using a lot of Will. Unlike you, I take more after Mum. I’m stronger in strength.’
‘I’m the opposite,’ said Lily. ‘Even though I can fight with a sword, I’m better at using Will. Of course, I can’t use Will like Dad could.’
‘Lillian can,’ Logan said, ‘but I don’t know how. I still don’t know how her blood was awakened, though Walter thinks that her blood was awakened when she nicked Dad’s Guild Seal.’
‘It probably was. That was when my blood was awakened. As for how she can use Will without the gauntlets, I’m as knowledgeable as you.’
‘So tell me, do sand furies always hide in the same spot, like mercenaries?’ Logan asked conversationally.
‘Sometimes... they are a lot smarter than mercenaries, which is quite sad.’
‘Indeed. So that group before, was that a usual hiding spot?’
‘No, that was the first time I’ve seen them hidden there.’
‘Then how did you know they were there?’
‘They leave a distinct marking in the sand that shows where they are hidden,’ Lily explained. ‘After many injuries, I discovered it. Like there.’ She pointed a short distance in front of her. ‘See how the sand has a strange pattern?’
Logan stood there staring blankly at the sand.
‘I don’t see anything – oh, no wait… yes, I do. Wow, I can’t believe you noticed that that fast.’
‘It’s a talent.’ Lily joked.
Logan snorted.
By the time they reached Sandfall Palace, Logan was getting the hang of spotting hidden sand furies. He found that they were easier to kill when they first appeared.
At the entrance of the Palace, Lily stopped.
‘Listen, Logan, before we go in I need to warn you that we will be facing a few sand furies in here,’ she warned. ‘They are the guardians of the diamond.’
‘How much is a lot?’ Logan inquired.
‘Let’s just say that I only just managed to make it out alive when I came here by myself.’
‘Sounds like a barrel of laughs,’ Logan said sarcastically.
‘Trust me when I say it will be,’ Lily replied equally sarcastic.
Lily was right when she said that it wouldn’t be any fun. They walked through the palace slaying sand furies every few minutes, and by the time they reached the diamond, they had a trail of dead bodies behind them.
‘Is this the diamond?’ Logan asked Lily warily as he circled the diamond.
Lily nodded, looking a little amused at Logan’s hesitancy.
Logan looked at her and miss read her amusement.
‘When I pick up the diamond something’s going to jump out at me, isn’t it?’ he asked suspiciously. ‘That’s why you’re trying not to laugh.’
‘I'm amused at your hesitancy,’ Lily replied truthfully, leaving out the part about the sand furies that were about to attack them when they took the diamond.
Logan believed her and took the diamond, before nearly dropping it as the sand furies appeared, scaring him.
‘But yes. Something does stop you from taking the diamond!’ Lily laughed as she barbequed the sand furies. ‘You should have seen your face!’
‘Are you honestly telling me that you didn’t jump when you took the diamond?’ Logan demanded, breaking a sand furies horns.
‘Oh, I did more than jump. I had to change my undies when I left.’ Lily wasn’t exaggerating.
Logan laughed loudly at her confession, and by the time they were outside the palace, both of them were hysterical.
Logan glanced at the laughing Lily, and began to wonder what kind of relationship she had with him in her world. Was it the kind that they were having now? If it was, he envied his other self. He would love to have this kind of brother-sister relationship with Lillian. He wondered if it was too late to still have one with her.
‘I guess it was a barrel of laughs after all,’ Logan said, grinning broadly.
‘I guess so,’ Lily agreed. ‘It’s definitely easier having another Hero with you.’
‘It was probably easier too since you knew what to expect instead of going forward blindly, like you first did,’ Logan said reasonably.
‘Good point. Come on, let’s head back to Albion.’
-----339 DAYS TO GO-----
Lily stood to the right of the throne in which Logan was sitting. She had told him to be the ruler and make all the decisions since he knew more about this time than she. She was just a guide, after all. Not the mention the people of this time would prefer him as a king than her as a queen.
They were currently in the throne room ready to decide on the status of Aurora. This resulted in Lily having déjà vu as she listened to Kalin.
‘I am here to seek the protection you promised,’ she began. ‘It is too long since my people felt safe, or new of life without suffering. We were honoured to join in your fight to reclaim Albion and now it is time for us to join your kingdom. Help us rebuild Aurora and protect it as you would your own land.’
‘Your majesty, there is nothing so noble than embracing other cultures and I for one couldn’t be happier than to count Aurora as part of Albion,’ Reaver began, making the Royal Court groan, ‘but surely they must work for that privilege, and I happen to know how to put them to good service. There is an abandon mine in the Auroran desert which holds enough materials to benefit the entire kingdom. Let us employ Kalin and her people to gather what resources there may be. That can be there payment.’
Kalin turned angrily to Reaver. Lily was still amazed that she didn’t punch him. She knew she would have, and Page had come pretty close to punching him.
‘You are talking about forced labour!’ she growled.
‘Let’s not get bogged down in semantics,’ Reaver said heartlessly. ‘It’s a fair transaction.’
‘I take it you’ve heard this argument before,’ Logan whispered to Lily.
‘How’d you guess?’
‘Your facial expression gave it away,’ Logan replied before addressing the rest of the room, ending Reaver and Kalin’s heated argument. ‘I will keep my promise. Aurora will become a part of Albion and its people will be our equals in every way. They have earned it with their loyalty and willingness to help our kingdom. We should be honoured to have them apart of Albion!’
‘The King has spoken,’ Walter declared, settling the matter. ‘Albion shall be rebuilt as part of Albion, equal to every other part of the kingdom.’
‘Thank you, Logan,’ Kalin said with a small bow. ‘You have proven to be a man of honour. Aurora is proud to stand by your side.’
‘I shall begin work at once,’ Reaver announced, sounding very disappointed as he looked at Lily suspiciously, before leaving the room with everyone else.
‘I think Uncle Reaver might be catching on,’ Lily said to Logan as he stood up and stretched.
‘Even if he does, he has no way of proving it,’ Logan said with an unconcerned shrug.
-----252 DAYS TO GO-----
As the weeks rolled by, Logan and Lily were constantly on their toes. Over the past few weeks Logan lowered the tax policy from Lillian’s ridiculously high one – and there was Lily thinking that her brother’s taxes had been high -, developed Bowerstone’s first school and made it illegal to have child labour, raised the guard budget, restored child benefits, turned the Bowerstone Brothel back into a Shelter and Orphanage, and he nearly removed the drinking outlaw. Lily had advised him to make a drinking limit unless he wanted the citizens vomiting everywhere.
On top of Logan’s kingly decisions and duties, he was also going out questing, not to mention he had a job’s with different blacksmiths. From a young age, he had always been interested in melee weapons, and he would often go down to the Iron Hoof to watch the blacksmith work.
While Logan was out building swords, Lily would stand in town squares playing her father’s old lute. She loved playing it, and after Sparrow’s death, she would play the same lullaby he used to play to her, just to be close to him. Neither Logan nor Lily even considered doing the pie making jobs. Neither of them could cook to save their lives.
It was on a rare afternoon of relaxation that Hobson found Lily and Logan quietly talking in the War Room.
‘Good afternoon, your majesty, your highness,’ Hobson greeted. ‘I trust the court was not too dull today.’
‘How could the court ever be dull?’ Lily asked sardonically.
Logan chuckled while Hobson looked at her disapprovingly.
‘In any case, I’m confident your final task will be most enjoyable.’
‘Final task?’ Logan questioned.
‘A loyal and wealthy member of our community has offered to make a sizable donation to our treasury. Her only request is that you go to Millfields to make the collection in person. It’s a perfect chance to stretch your legs, your majesty.’
‘A pleasant walk to and from Millfields? Huh, never had that before, except when I went to Uncle Reaver’s masquerade party with Page,’ Logan said, getting to his feet. ‘Do you want to come?’ he added to Lily, who had remained seated.
‘Oh no, one enjoyable trip to get the statue was enough for me,’ Lily replied cheerfully, and just as Logan was about to leave the room, she yelled out, while trying not to laugh, ‘Have fun on your pleasant walk!’
Logan paused and looked at her suspiciously before heading off to Millfields to pick up the statue. About an hour later, Page came looking for Logan.
‘Hello, Page,’ Lily greeted, walking into the throne room.
Page’s hand automatically went to her gun. She still did not fully trust Lily.
‘Where’s Logan?’ Page demanded suspiciously.
‘He’s in Silverpines retrieving a stolen statue,’ Lily answered calmly. ‘I expect he’ll be back later tonight. In the meantime, would you like me to help you with anything or are you still convinced that I’m waiting for my time stab Logan in the back? Which, by the way, I’ve had a thousand chances to do, and many involved making it look like an accident.’
Page stared at Lily, absorbing what she had just said. She eventually came to term with what Lily had said. Lily would have had thousands of opportunities to murder Logan.
‘I hope I won’t regret this,’ Page sighed, before looking Lily straight in the eye. ‘Even though Logan extended the guard budget, crime is still a serious problem. There’s one man in particular, Nigel Ferret –‘
Lily held up her hand to stop Page.
‘Say no more, Page, for I know what you are asking, and I’ll do it,’ Lily said before leaving the room. Page just stared after her wondering what had just happened.
-----THE OTHER ME-----
Lily headed straight for the Cock in the Crown, Bowerstone Market’s tavern, where she knew she’d find Nigel Ferret’s men. After all, she’d done it before. As she walked to the tavern, many citizens gave her mixed reactions. Some screamed and ran away, others insulted her as they shared Page’s views by believing that she was pretending, while others believed that she was pure hearted and greeted her cheerfully.
When she arrived at the tavern, she wasn’t surprised to see a crowd of nervous guards and worried citizens outside. Shaking her head, Lily slipped inside the tavern regardless of the guards’ startled and urgent orders telling her to stop. Sometimes she found it amusing and annoying when the guards thought they could order royalty around.
‘If you co-operate, you won’t get hurt,’ said a familiar voice of one of Ferret’s men, Gaz.
They were yet to notice Lily’s presence, but the three hostages had seen her. Their eyes widened with fear and relief. None of them knew whether she was friend or foe.
‘If you give us any trouble, we’ll kill you,’ he continued. ‘Now, just so you know we mean business, I’d like one of you to give us trouble, so we can kill him as an example to the rest. Who’s it going to be then?’
‘Trouble is behind you,’ Lily said loudly, making a number of Ferret’s men jump slightly.
‘Well, looks like we have a volunteer,’ Gaz smirked before realising who it was. ‘Princess Lillian, what a pleasure to see you.’
He and his men looked scared to see her.
‘I know why you are here,’ Lily told him coldly, using Lillian’s reputation to get the job done without any violence. ‘So, unless you wish to meet my balverine friends, you are to drop your weapons and walk outside with your hands on your head. ‘
The men did as she ordered.
‘Wait a moment, Gaz,’ Lily said as she saw him about to leave the building to join his friends in the Albion guards’ clutches. ‘I want the key.’
‘What key, your highness?’
‘Don’t play games with me. You know what key I want.’
Grumbling, Gaz handed her Ferret’s rusty hangout key. He then made his way outside with the now free hostages and Lily, who went straight for the hideout.
Once at the hideout, Lily calmly unlocked the door, walked down a short corridor with stairs and though a pair of dark doors where she found Ferret and his men dining.
‘Sorry, boys, I didn’t mean to interrupt your dinner,’ she said as many of them choked on their food.
‘Princess Lillian!’ some of them gasped.
‘You’re as bad as your brother,’ Ferret informed her nervously. Lily had never seen him so nervous. She was beginning to wonder how frightening Lillian truly was. ‘It does tend to obligate the entire objective of maintaining a secret hideout if your enemies can simply infiltrate whenever they’ve the inclination.’
‘Fortunately, you are rather pathetic at maintaining secret hideouts,’ Lily replied with a cold smile. ‘Do you know why I am here?’
‘I would hazard a guess to say that you are here because of yours truly.’
‘Good guess. Are you going to come quietly to prison?’
‘I have no desire to go to prison, your highness,’ Ferret said looking at Lily slyly. ‘So I entreat you to entertain a certain proposal. I happen to have on my person a substantial quantity of gold currency. Let me go free and the money is yours.’
Deal!’
‘Good for you!’ Ferret exclaimed as he walked over to Lily and handed her a bag of gold filled generously.
Lily smiled coldly at him before grabbing his arms and binding them behind his back.
‘What the – you royal –‘
‘Be careful what you say, Ferret,’ Lily said coldly, forcing him towards the hideout exit, and motioning for his men to go ahead of them. ‘That gold only paid off not even a fraction of your debt to society. Who knows, if you behave, Logan might let you out for good behaviour in twenty years’ time.’
By the time Lily arrived back at the castle, Logan had returned. Lily found him in the War Room talking to Page. It was for this reason that Lily stopped and stared from the door. Logan and Page were sitting on one of the couches together, exceptionally close. Logan had his arm around her shoulders and had the same expression on his face that Elliot wore when he look at her. She couldn’t believe that Logan and Page were dating. Why was she only just discovering this?
‘Now that’s something I never thought I’d see,’ Lily said, walking into the room, startling Logan and Page. ‘How long have you two been dating?’
‘Since Reaver’s masquerade party,’ replied Page.
‘You seem surprise,’ Logan noted. ‘Doesn’t your Logan and Page date?’
‘I think there’s more of a chance of me sleeping with Uncle Reaver than my brother and friend dating,’ Lily answered seriously. So, Logan, did you enjoy your walk?’
‘Oh very funny,’ Logan replied sarcastically. ‘As if fighting Uncle Reaver’s guests wasn’t hard enough. I seriously don’t know how people can live in Silverpines.’
‘The same thing could be said for Mourningwood with all the hollow men,’ Lily said as she chucked a bag of gold on the table.
‘Where did you get that?’ Logan exclaimed.
‘Nigel Ferret was kind enough to make a donation and he’s currently in jail with his men.’
‘Thank you,’ Page said sincerely. ‘I was wrong about you. You’re nothing like Lillian. I’m sorry.’
‘Apology accepted,’ Lily replied cheerfully.
She then watched as Logan counted the money. He sighed sadly when he finished.
‘We’re still a hundred-thousand short,’ he informed the girls.
‘The Crawler will be here in a few days,’ Page said glumly. ‘There is no way we can get that kind of money by then.’
‘Lily, did you have this problem?’ Logan asked urgently.
‘Now that you mention it… yes, I did,’ Lily replied thoughtfully.
‘Well? How did you get the funds?’
‘I don’t exactly know,’ she admitted. ‘A few days before the attack, Logan left the castle and when he returned, he had the gold. He never said how he got it though. Every time I asked, he would change the subject. The same way he does when I mention Uncle Reaver…’
Lily gasped.
‘What? What’s wrong?’ Logan asked quickly.
‘I have to see Uncle Reaver!’ Lily said abruptly, hurrying out of the room.
Logan and Page exchanged confused and worried looks.
-----THE OTHER ME-----
Lily now knew how Logan got the money. He had gone to Reaver, the richest man in Albion, and had asked for help. Of course, Reaver is not one to give for nothing. He must have made a deal with Logan… his body for gold. It was the only explanation as to Logan’s strange behaviour, especially since he disapproved of selling one’s body for money. Lily made a mental note to give Logan a huge hug for his sacrifice for Albion when she got home.
When Lily arrived at Reaver’s Manor, in Millfields, it was midnight and no lights were on.
Taking a deep breath, Lily pounded on the front door, waiting for an answer.
‘What do you want?’ the butler asked rudely when he opened the door. Lily has obviously awakened him.
‘I need to speak to Reaver –‘
‘He is currently asleep, so I suggest you come back tomorrow at a more reasonable hour,’ he replied as he attempted to shut the door in her face.
Lily prevented him by throwing her weight against the door.
‘It wasn’t a request,’ Lily informed him coldly. ‘Let me in now, and get Reaver, otherwise I’ll do it myself!’
‘Whatever,’ the butler said, stepping aside and letting her in. He then walked off grumbling about rude people and saying that she could get Reaver herself.
‘I think I liked Barry better,’ Lily grumbled, heading towards Reaver’s bedroom. She remembered where it was from the time she had to find his underwear for a crazy fan.
When she arrived at Reaver’s bedroom, she knocked on the bedroom door and waited for a reply. None come. She knocked again. Still there was no answer.
Frowning, Lily opened the door and saw that his bedroom was empty. Sighing, she went to a bookcase and opened the secret passage to Reaver’s secret room. She then went down the passage to the hidden room. However, just as it was about to come in sight, she called out, ‘Uncle Reaver?’
She received no reply so she cautiously looked around the corner into the room. It too was empty.
Where the hell is he? Lily thought angrily.
She then started walking around the manor looking for her godfather. She eventually found him in his study with a chalice of wine in hand.
‘What an unexpected surprise,’ Reaver said as Lily walked towards him. ‘What can I do for you, my dear goddaughter?’
‘I need a favour,’ Lily replied bluntly. ‘I need to borrow a hundred-thousand gold pieces.’
‘Of course, my dear, but you know the price,’ he replied, putting his wine down and walking over to her.
‘Or you could just grant me this favour seeing as I’m your goddaughter and sleeping with me is disgusting,’ Lily suggested.
‘I knew it. You’re not Lillian,’ Reaver said quietly, looking Lily up and down. ‘The real Lillian would never dismiss an opportunity like this.’
‘So is that a “no” for the money?’
‘I did not say that,’ replied Reaver, ‘but my price must be paid, or you leave here empty handed.’
‘Or I could get very creative with my sword!’ Lily growled.
Reaver’s eyes widened.
‘What did you say?’ he whispered.
‘Aw, are you getting deaf in your old age?’ Lily asked mockingly, even though Reaver didn’t look much older than thirty.
Reaver didn’t answer straight away for he was looking her up and down again. However, when he did answer, his eyes and voice were colder than ice.
‘Hammer.’
‘What hammer?’ Lily began looking around for a hammer.
Reaver frowned at her answer. He could tell that she wasn’t acting as though she had no clue what he meant.
‘So you’re not Sparrow’s barbaric lover reincarnated?’ he inquired.
He had thought for sure that it was Hammer. She looked like Hammer, only a smaller build, and she had said, ‘Or I could get very creative with my sword,’ which was the exact same thing Hammer used to say to him, only it ended with hammer instead of sword.
‘My mother wasn’t barbaric… at least I don’t think she was.’
‘How can the barbarian be your mother?’ Reaver demanded. ‘She only had two children; her murdering son, Logan, and my goddaughter, Lillian.’
‘I am Lillian!’ Lily explained angrily. ‘Just not the Lillian you know. I come from a different time. I time where Logan never became a Hero, and where you love Logan and me as though we were your own children!’
‘What are you doing here?’ Reaver asked after a moment’s silence, in which he processed what Lily had told him.
‘I’m here to borrow some gold. Logan will pay –‘
‘No, what are you doing here, in this time?’
‘I’m here to help Logan prevent Albion from being destroyed by a monster call the Crawler,’ Lily answered. ‘If I don’t, it will kill everyone. So please help us by lending us the necessary funds!’
‘No,’ Reaver replied stubbornly. ‘You know the price and you refused. Now get out!’
‘How can you be so heartless?’ Lily yelled. ‘Many people will die if you don’t help us!’
‘Not my problem. People are a bit over rated, in my opinion.’
Seething, Lily headed towards the door and just as she was about to exit, she turned innocently to Reaver and said, ‘Pity you won’t help us. After all, it the Crawler wins, you’ll have no one to sacrifice to the Shadow Court.’
She then left the room and headed for the exit. Her godfather had told her how he was about to stay young.
Just as she was about to exit the manor, Reaver appeared and handed her a bag of gold.
‘Tell Logan that I want every piece of gold back!’ he said coldly, before heading back to his study and wine.
Grinning broadly, Lily practically skipped all the way back to Bowerstone Castle.
-----THE OTHER ME-----
By the time Lily arrived back at the castle, news of the Crawlers attack had reached Logan. Hence, Logan, Walter, Page, Sabine, Ben and Kalin had gathered in the War Room and were currently discussing what to do.
‘Let me guess, it’s here, isn’t it?’ Lily asked, entering the room.
‘Good guess,’ replied Logan. ‘Where did you go?’
‘I went to see, Uncle Reaver,’ Lily answered, handing him the bag of gold. ‘He told me to tell you that he wants every piece of gold back.’
‘How did you convince him? You didn’t –‘
‘EW! No! Course not! I’d rather stick pins in my eyes than sleep with him! No, I’m just very persuasive.’
‘It’s a good thing you are,’ said Page. ‘This money will help a lot. We have come up with a battle strategy. You are to go with Logan, Ben and Walter to find the Crawler and defeat it.’
Lily nodded her understanding.
‘It will be here by nightfall,’ said Walter.
‘Then we better get ready,’ Lily replied seriously.