More Than Magic

Chapter 34: I wasn't asking General

Lilly and me are in the main hall waiting for the General to enter with news of our sister. Yesterday night Lilly had come bursting into the castle completely hysterical, it took us nearly twenty minutes to understand what she was trying to say. Ever since we learned that something happened to Athena me, Wilfred, and Lilly have been waiting for her return. Sleep wasn’t an option so we are all a mess of worry. Peter had gone to Neverland before I heard the news so he hasn’t been here to comfort me.

A short while ago the red and white queen arrived for our meeting and they are now waiting respectively with Wilfred in the ballroom. I did not inform them of the situation our kingdom is in at the moment, only that something came up and I needed to address it quickly.

“When do you think they will find her?” I whisper, the thought escaping my lips. Lilly stands beside me nervously hugging herself but does not look at me, just the way it has been for the past ten hours.

“I really do not know, but Knox will find her, I’m not worried about that,” She states as if her life depended on it. There she goes calling him Knox again, at the beginning I really wanted her and Knox to be together but now I fear how close they have gotten.

“You trust him a lot don’t you?” I say, trying to start up a conversation. I need to know more about their relationship and I need to take my mind off of Athena. This conversation will kill two birds with one stone.

Lilly finally looks at me but quirks an eyebrow at my comment “You don’t?”

I think about her question long and hard. At the beginning I did, I hesitated because of how much Peter seemed to dislike him but from what I knew, there was no reason not to trust him. Then when he busted into an audience with my people and acted as though he worked for himself, demanding things of me and keeping very quiet about what he was doing. Now I know he had found a very dangerous weapon that could have killed me, reason enough for him to have done that but then I mentioned the Queens of Wonderland and his reaction was very questionable. Especially with Wonderland being such a strong suspect with the Malum. But Knox is from Narnia so what would that have to do with anything?

“I’m not to sure I do,” I mutter.

Lilly gives me a strange look, like she wants to argue my statement but then brushes it off. I’m sure she just realized it wasn’t worth it, or she just didn’t have the energy to defend our General.

I want to say more but can't because to my happiness the General flies through the door looking solemn. As soon as Lilly sees him she runs over and starts demanding answers, words flying out of her mouth at a speed I couldn't follow.  

The General looked at her with sad, sympathetic eyes and at that point I knew something bad had happened. I wanted to fall to the floor and cry, to let my heart crumble more than it already has. I already couldn’t breath, there was no air in my lungs and my stomach was caving in making it feel like I was going to throw up. Was this how it felt when my sisters learned that I was gone?

“Innocence,” The General pleaded in a soft voice to Lilly. What kind of nickname is that? I stood still as I watched him grab her hands that were flying through air as she spoke and pulled her towards him. She struggled against him still hysterical, probably not able to help herself, this would be the second sister that she would have to lose “Lilly!” He yelled still trying to calm her down “She is going to be fine!”