The Dark Realm

The Lost Girl

A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's not one of my bests but it should be okay. Today is my birthday! I'm fifteen years old. :)
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"Serena, I'm sorry to bug you but can you show me where the library is in this place?" Lilly asked the dark haired girl. Serena scowled.

"Fine, follow me." Serena led Lilly around the castle to a large room full of many books. Lilly smiled. If she was going to find a way to get rid of the mark and leave the Dark Realm it was in one of these books.

The room was grand looking, but empty of people besides a woman who  sat in the corner, reading.

"This library has everything from fiction to reality. Any book you would ever want is most likely here." Serena exaggerated.

"Thank you, Serena." Lilly said as she went to explore the library. Serena nodded at Lilly in acknowledgement.

I don't have anything else to do and I do love the library. I guess that'll stay for a while. Serena thought to herself. She scanned the shelf for something interesting to read. She spotted a tall book with a silver cover.

"Light and Dark?" She mumbled to herself reading the cover. The summery on the back said that it was a love story about a prince from the dark realm falling for a princess of the light. She set it back. It sounded cheesy. She instead decided to settle with one of her favorites "The Enchanted Novel".

Meanwhile Lilly searched and grabbed dozens of books of the shelves. She grabbed everything to do with curses, magic, dark realm history and traditions, and breaking curses. Her arms were full trying to not drop all of them as she walked over to a seat.

"Sweetheart, I don't think that you can carry that many books." The woman who sat in the corner told her. She got up to help Lilly with her stack.

"Thank you, Ms.-"

"Call me Danica. I don't believe we've met before." She held out her hand. She had brown hair that went to her shoulders and looked to be in her late thirties. She seemed very friendly.

"I'm Lilly, Lilly Parker." Lilly said as she shook Danica's hand.

"Parker... Parker... Where have I heard that name? Oh you must be the young girl whose marrying my son, Max."

"You're his mother?" Lilly exclaimed in shock. She hadn't expected that.

"Yes, I am... Sadly he's not the boy he used to be. Something has made him turn cold and power hungry." Danica frowned. "I can tell that he's not the one for you. I know he kidnapped you. I can see it your eyes, that you already have someone. You have a soulmate back in your realm, don't you?"

"What? I don't-"

"You don't know that you do. You don't know that you love someone so deeply that you would do anything for them and they would do the same for you. You just don't realize it yet."

"How do you-?" Lilly was curious. How much could you know simply by looking at them.

"It's all in your eyes. I've seen it before. Those eyes... They're the eyes of someone who is naive to their love. I remember seeing eyes like that in a young prince once. Eyes are the gateway to the soul, you know." Queen Danica sat Lilly's books next to a large arm chair near her own. "I've been studying the magic of eyes. You wouldn't believe how much they reveal. That young girl," Danica pointed to Serena who sat alone reading a book with a blue cover. "Serena, has been living here since she was only a couple days old. I've never seen eyes like her before. They hold the feeling of abandonment and the desire for a real family. They look identical to yours in shape, but are different in feeling. I can tell."

"Wow, that's really interesting." Lilly stated, truthfully.

"She's not a bad person. She's just following orders." Danica said, somewhat sadly. "I wish that I could give her the family she deserves. I've tried, but I've been forbidden to." She gazed at the lonely girl.

"I suppose that she could probably use a friend." Lilly thought about giving her a shot. Maybe Serena wasn't as bad as she seemed. The queen nodded at Lilly. She smiled.

"She probably could." She gave one last glance at Serena before saying. "It looks like you have some stuff to do. You have a lot of books. I'm going to get back to my own. It was nice to meet you, Lilly." Queen Danica sat down in a comfy looking arm chair a couple feet away and continued to read her book.

Lilly looked at the stack next to her and back at Serena. She knew that reading was the only way to find a way to break the spell now but maybe it could wait a while. She walked over to Serena sitting alone at a table reading.

"Whatcha reading?" Lilly asked, turning her head to see what the cover said. "The Enchanted Novel? I love that book!"

"Really?" Serena asked, not completely believing her.

"Yeah, my favorite part is when Noah and Skyler are reunited right after Skyler gets the silver stone."

"Hey that's my favorite part too." Serena almost smiled at Lilly.

"What do you think of the spin off, "In a Fantasy World". I think that one was great too."

"I think that trilogy was amazing. My favorite part is in the second one where you find out that Jasper and Prince Charming are twins. And the prophecy was great of course."

"I know right! May I join you?" Lilly asked. This time Serena did smile. She nodded and Lilly took a seat. They continued to discuss their favorite author's books.

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Basically this chapter is about Lilly and Serena getting closer. The lost girl title refers to both of them. Lilly is a little lost because she's in a completely different world and for the first time in her life she doesn't have her group of friends who always know what to do. Serena is lost because she loves the Dark Realm but it's never felt like home. She grew up as an outsider to every family in the Dark Realm. She wants to be part of a family. It was a little duller than some of my other chapters, but it was very important.

Anyone catch my reference to my own story? Sorry, I had to. :) In a Fantasy World is not the spinoff though. It's a story of mine that I'm working on in the real world and The Enchanted Novel is the spinoff of it. I will not publish In a Fantasy World on here because I actually want to get it published.