Heiress

Chapter 9: It's Real

The next day went no way Lily had planned. She expected it to be full of doom and terror but nothing happened. At least regarding Starguider's vision. Other than that, it was mostly Turtle talking with Tsunami about the funeral for her grandmother. At least she didn't have to worry about someone trying to kill everydragon. 

Lily walked down the dark ominous halls of Jade Mountain with a forced smile on her snout. Although her aunt told her that she didn't need to pretend to be okay, the young SeaWing princess knew that she did. For the sake of everydragon who resided in these caves. For the sake of her family. And to be honest, for the sake of herself. Lily grew up hiding her emotions in fear of what others would think if they found out how she really felt. If...if they found out that she was animus. Lily shook her snout. She couldn't think like this. Not right now. Not...Not when her grandmother just passed and everyone was on edge. Mostly Aunt Tsunami. Yeah. She was very stressed. With her being the eldest of the SeaWing princess sisters and running a school Lily could tell that she was pulling her scales out. 

I wonder what she's going to do with who's going to be queen, Lily thought as she rounded the corner. Certainly Aunt Anemone is going to want to rule the kingdom and I understand why, but then again why not make a King for a change? There has always been a queen  but why not a king? I bet Dad would be an amazing king. But then again Mom can't breathe underwater and I highly doubt she'd want to leave the Rainforest.  And I don't even know my other uncles. Yeah...maybe we should stick with a queen. But who? Aunt Auklet is very young just a few years older than me and Aunt Tsunami has too much work to do. I doubt she'd want to be queen--

Lily stopped her thoughts. She was going way to into this drama. She was sure that her family would find a way to figure who was going to rule. But...she couldn't help but imagine how Isla or Oceana were feeling. After all, they had to witness their mother's worry and stress. Whereas Lily and Toucan only had to see glimpses of their dad's stress since he was away in the rainforest with their mom. 

With a sigh, Lily turned toward the library. She already packed for the trip to the Kingdom of the Sea but with everything she packed the more it felt like she was lifting boulders. However, Lily knew that Nighthowler was going. At least that was the only good thing with this. I wonder where they're going to host the funeral? It's not like they can host it in the Deep Palace since Mom was going to come. And Grandma didn't spend much time in the Summer Palace. Lily sighed. Why were these things so difficult? 

Although Lily knew that her grandmother was old but she wasn't that old. There was no way that she could die that peacefully in her sleep without her knowing she had something. It wasn't like she was 100 years old. 

Lily finally made it to the library before she could gather her thoughts. And she would have time to do that if it weren't for Firefly stomping in her way. She rolled her eyes at the sight of the RainWing/NightWing hybrid princess. "Yes, Firefly?" Lily grumbled. 

"Listen, I understand you're in mourning or whatnot, but...I'm nervous--"

"What? Firefly? Princess of the RainWings and NightWings? The all mighty Firefly is nervous?" jeered Lily. Firefly let a small snarl escape her mouth, showing hints of the fangs that don't squirt venom. 

"I understand we aren't the best of friends, but what if this thing...this prophecy is real? What if my parents really are in danger?" whispered the princess. Lily hesitated before she continued with her journey. She had never seen the Prized Princess so distressed. For a moment, Lily let her sympathize with her. 

"Well...the best thing we can do is hope that it isn't real. That it's just some horrible nightmare Starguider had," reassured Lily. Firefly sighed then muttered a thanks before she vanished into the halls. Lily gazed after, letting herself feel bad for the dragonet. After what felt like hours, she turned her head and continued her way toward the library. Along the way, she refused to let the contagious fear flow into her brain. Once she reached her destination, she found Nighthowler helping his dad fix the bookshelf. Lily let herself smile at the sight of Nighthowler helping his dad. 

That was until she remembered all the horrible things that are happening. As if Nighthowler could read her thoughts, he turned to face her and gave her a weak smile. "Sorry, I'm helping my dad with these books. But if you want you could wait of there," the NightWing said. With a small smile, Lily walked over to the small little nook between a small window and a study table.  As Lily lingered by the table, she gazed out the window, staring into the unknown. Into the cruel world. She stayed there for what felt like hours until Nighthowler finally came, sweat dripping down his snout. 

"I didn't think you were working that hard," Lily smirked. 

"Believe me when I say that being an assistant to the librarian isn't easy," chuckled the NightWing. 

"I can tell," Lily smiled. "Are you ready?"

Nighthowler's smile dwindled away at the question and nodded. "I'm sorry about your Grandmother..."

"Yeah. Me too," she whispered. Lily turned her snout away, not daring to allow Nighthowler to see the tears that were threatening to fall. 

"Hey...it's okay you know--"

"LILY!" a manic voice screamed. The young dragonet jumped to her talons, her eyes widening in alert. "LILY!" the voice shrieked again. Not a second later, Starguider slid down the nook she was hiding in. 

"What? Starguider what's wrong?"

"It's real! I-It's real!" blubbered the hybrid.