50. Lily

As we walked back into the Holy Clearing the people of the Court came closer. Many reached out their hands to me, the light of hope shining in their eyes. It reminded me of what Alira had told me in my dream…

"Those in power seek to take…you must face them when you wake. And though all alone you stand…the power you need is close at hand."

Her words echoed in my head and as I looked at all the Dark Fae who wanted me to be their Queen, I knew what I had to do.

"Fae of the Midnight Court, both High and Lesser!" Mordren called, stepping in front of me. "The time has come! Our lost Princess Lilliana has returned to us and now we must crown her and hear who she will choose as her consort!"

A cheer went up from the crowd and then they started chanting that strange verse again.

"Blessed is she whose Bite is Sweet—who gives Pleasure with Pain—who Fills us all even as she Drains us. Blessed is she whose Bite is Sweet…"

"There you are, my dear—the people are with you," Lady Nolana—who was still holding my hand—whispered in my ear. "You must find a way to refute whatever Mordren says—don't let him have your Power!"

"I won't," I murmured from the corner of my mouth. "Just keep holding my hand—and take hands with someone else, too. In fact, I need the whole Court holding hands. Can you do that?"

Her eyes widened but I thought I saw a glimmer of understanding.

"I can try," she said and then reached out to the Fae beside her—who happened to be the little girl I'd met down in the basements of the Palace, where the Lesser Fae lived.

But when Lady Nolana tried to take her hand, the little girl shrank back in fear—probably because she didn't know her.

"Hello, Leeza! I said, smiling down at her. It seemed safe to talk now—Mordren was busy strutting importantly in front of the gathered crowd and Elgiana was standing to one side, still holding the vial of antidote in one hand, watching him.

"Princess!" she breathed, looking up at me in wonder. "You look beautiful!"

"Thank you, sweetheart—so do you," I told her. "But I need you to do me a favor—I need you to let Lady Nolana here hold your hand. In fact, I need everyone to hold hands."

"We used to hold hands in our class—back when I got to go to school," Leeza said wistfully.

"I promise you're going to go back to school," I said fiercely. "But you have to help me by holding hands. Can you?"

The little girl nodded, her eyes shining.

"Yes, Princess!" She reached for Lady Nolana's hand and then reached with her other hand for her mother who took Leeza's hand automatically. She had been talking to the women beside her, but she looked down when the little girl tugged impatiently.

"What is it, Leeza?" she asked.

"The Princess says everyone needs to hold hands!" Leeza nodded at me and her mother's eyes widened as she saw how close I was.

"Oh, Princess! Forgive me for not noticing you before!" She sank into a curtsy and then straightened up.

"Hello Teela," I said, smiling. Mordren was coming towards me with a glittering crown studded with Royal Purple gems. I knew my time was growing short. "Leeza is right—I need everyone to hold hands," I told her quickly. "Please—can you pass the word along?"

"Hold hands!" Leeza exclaimed again. "Hold hands, Mama!"

"Oh yes—of course!" Her mother took the hand of the woman to her left and I heard her murmuring what I had asked. The Lesser Fae woman looked at me, curtseyed, and took the hand of the person next to her. And then she held hands with the next person and so on and so on, down the line.

All this time, I was still holding Lady Nolana's hand, our fingers tightly entwined. I wasn't sure if she was visible to everyone again, since Leeza could clearly see her, so I stepped in front of her, putting myself between her and Mordren and twisting so the hand she was holding was behind my back.

"Well, well, Princess," he remarked sarcastically. "I suppose it's time for your coronation now. Do you remember who you're supposed to name as your King Consort?"

"You—I'll name you the King," I said, keeping my face blank.

"Very good! All right then, let us proceed. People of the Midnight Court, I give you…the Crown of Midnight!" he shouted, raising the glimmering silver crown high above his head. "It is my honor to place it on the head of our Princess and declare that she is a Princess no longer—she is instead the Rightful Queen of the Midnight Court!"

As he spoke, he set the crown carefully on my head. It was heavy and I felt it tighten magically and mold itself to my temples. But that wasn't the only magic I was feeling.

As the Lesser Fae that made up the first half of the crowd all clasped hands, I felt a kind of electrical current coming from them. It was flowing down the line of linked hands and into me, making me feel tingly all over.

But it wasn't until the last Lesser Fae—one of the servants I think—linked hands with the first of the Higher Fae that the power began to feel like something I could really do something with. And as each High Fae Lady and Lord linked hands, the Power grew and grew.

The Nobles of the Court had the greatest magic—I could feel it flowing into me like a river rushing into a reservoir. There was more and more of it until I wondered if I could take much more. But still I had to hold still and keep my face calm—at least for now.

"And now," Mordren went on, clearly oblivious to what was happening. "The new Queen will name her Consort—who shall rule and sit beside her on the Silver Throne!" He looked at me. "Queen Lilliana, whom do you choose? What lucky male will be your King?"

I opened my mouth, but instead of answering his question, I called on the seeds in the soil beneath his feet.

"Grow!"I commanded them, using the magic I had gotten from Krynn and the power pouring into me from the Court.

Suddenly thick green vines erupted from the ground and began twining around Mordren's legs.

"What?" he gasped, clearly too startled to move at first. By the time his paralysis broke, it was too late—the vines were already wrapping around his arms and chest, holding him in place.

Lady Elgiana, who had been standing beside him, gloating, went wide-eyed for a moment and then started to run.

"Grow!"I shouted and a thick bush with long thorns on every branch burst out of the ground under her feet. It grew up around her, trapping her in the middle of its long, thorny branches. She shrieked and struggled, but she couldn't get free.

The Power was pulsing inside me and though the people were staring in surprise at what had happened to the Lord Chancellor and Lady Elgiana, they were still holding hands and their magic was still flowing into me.

"People of the Dark Fae—citizens of the Midnight Court!" I said and my voice rolled through the Hallowed Clearing as though I was using a megaphone. "I am honored to be your Queen, but I will not allow my reign to begin with treachery!" I pointed at Mordren and Elgiana who were both still struggling futilely. "The Lord Regent and the Lady Elgiana have conspired to take the Silver Throne," I said. "They wanted me to name them King and Queen, though neither has the blood of Lolth in their veins. Tell me—do you wish to be ruled by them?"

"NO!" The roar from the crowd was almost deafening, drowning out Mordren and Elgiana's protests.

"Lies! All Lies!" Mordren called, still fighting the thick green vines wrapped around him from ankles to neck. "She's lying!"

"Am I lying?" I demanded. "Or are you? What do the people think?"

"It doesn't matter what they think!" Mordren practically shrieked. "I should be the rightful ruler of the Dark Fae and the Midnight Court! I've worked hard all these years! I've sacrificed so much! I've?—"

"You killed my mother," I interrupted him.

A hush fell over the crowd and I saw the glowing eyes of every Fae in the clearing grow wide with shock.

"Do you dare to deny it?" I asked, glaring at Mordren.

"No, he doesn't!" Lady Nolana exclaimed, stepping up to my side. Our hands were still firmly clasped and I felt her determination flowing into me along with the Power she was channeling from the Court. "I was in the room when it happened!" she said, raising her voice. "I heard Lord Mordren plot with Lady Elgiana to poison the Queen! They wanted to poison the Princess as well—which was why I had to hide her away in the Mortal Realm. Otherwise, they would have killed her as they killed her mother!"

There were more gasps, but honestly nobody looked very surprised. I was pretty sure a lot of people hated Mordren—especially the Lesser Fae—and of course, Lady Elgiana already had a reputation as a sadistic, poisonous bitch.

Speaking of Lady Elgiana, she was struggling even harder and the long thorns of the branches that were caging her in were cutting her Royal Purple dress (yes she was wearing my color again) to ribbons.

"It's not my fault!" she shrieked, clawing at the branches. "Mordren told me to do it! He told me to poison the Queen—I never would have done it if he hadn't told me to!"

Mordren's face went dark with fury.

"You stupid bitch!" he snarled. "What's wrong with you? Shut up! Shut up!"

But the damage was already done. I could see comprehension dawning on the faces of everyone in the crowd—both the Lesser Fae and the High Fae were murmuring to each other and shooting hard looks at Mordren and Elgiana.

"Well done, my Queen," Lady Nolana murmured to me. "The old Queen was well loved and sadly missed after she died. You did well to expose Mordren and Elgiana's treachery."

"But what do I do now?" I asked. "Punish them somehow? Put them in prison?"

"Listen to the people," Lady Nolana said, nodding at the crowd. "Let their will guide you."

I don't understand—" I began, but then I realized that the crowd was chanting again. This time it was just one word, over and over again.

"Death! Death! Death!"

The glowing eyes of every Fae in the clearing were trained on Mordren and Elgiana and there was a lust for vengeance on every face.

And now I began to feel the emotions of the people flowing into me along with their Power. They wanted revenge for the old Queen—my mother. They still mourned for her—she had been quiet and kind and loving towards all. A true ruler who put her people ahead of herself. The Dark Fae hated the ones who had killed her—hated Mordren and Elgiana. The only true penalty for killing such a beloved Queen was…

"Death…Death…Death!"

The chanting was getting louder and louder and the Power inside me was building to an almost unbearable level. Lifting my right hand to the sky, I used the magic I had gained from drinking from Seldarin and called for the heavens to open.

"Come to me!" I shouted. "Come, now!"

"No!" Mordren shrieked—he seemed to know what I was doing. He looked up, his bluish-purple eyes wide with fear. "No!"

With a loud CRAAACKKK a jagged fork of lightning ripped out of the sky and came straight down. It hit the Lord Regent right between the eyebrows, incinerating him instantly.

I could feel the heat of the lightning bolt, but because the Power was still flowing into me, it didn't hurt or burn me. Still, I was momentarily blinded by the brilliant flash of light. I blinked several times and when I could see again, I found that all that was left of the slimy Lord Regent was a little pile of black ashes.

The crowd cheered and I felt their approval rushing into me. Justice had been served!

"Very good, my Queen!" Lady Nolana exclaimed. "You don't know how often I've wanted to do that. If only I could have gotten to your mother in time to stop them—but alas, she had already drunk the poison."

"The poison!" I exclaimed, my eyes wide. "Sel and Krynn—now that Mordren's out of the way, I have to help them!"

But it seemed I wasn't the only one who was thinking of the antidote.

"Oh, Princess!" Lady Elgiana called to me. She was still caught in the thorn bush but when I looked at her, I saw a wild light in her yellow eyes.

"She is your Queen now, Elgiana," Lady Nolana said loudly, glaring at the other woman. "I suggest you respect her—especially considering what just happened to your accomplice!"

"Oh, I respect her!" Elgiana gave a crazed laugh and I realized uneasily that her mind must have given way. "I have plenty of respect for anyone who's about to kill me!"

"I never said—" I began.

"But I'm not going to die alone!" she continued. She held up the crystal vial of antidote and waved it at me. "Because your two half-breeds are going to die with me!"

It felt as though my heart stopped dead in my chest.

"Wait," I said, putting out a hand to her. "We can talk about this, Elgiana."

"Talk about what?" she demanded. "Are you going to offer to trade my life for the lives of your half-breeds? Well tell me this, Princess, what kind of life would I actually have? Are you going to strip me of my title and servants and lock me in the basement of the Palace with the Lesser Fae? Because I'd rather be dead!"

And with that, she flung the crystal vial as hard as she could. I watched it arc up into the air, glimmering in the light of the bonfire in the center of the clearing…and then smash against the trunk of a tree and shatter into a million tiny pieces.

Lady Elgiana began to laugh hysterically—a sound that had no sanity in it whatsoever.

"There!" she screeched. "Kill me if you want to, but they'll die with me! Good luck finding some more bitterworm antidote because there isn't any!"

I turned to Lady Nolana, feeling sick.

"Is she telling the truth?"

"I'm afraid so." She looked stricken. "Bitterworm is an incredibly dangerous poison—it's said that working with it for too long can drive you mad—which is why the old King, your Royal Father, outlawed it. Elgiana is probably the only one foolish enough to have it in her possession—which means she's also the only one who has the antidote. Or had the antidote," she added sadly.

Suddenly I couldn't stand there one more minute talking—I had to get to my guys! If they only had a little while left to live, I couldn't leave them alone.

I dropped Lady Nolana's hand and ran from the Hallowed Clearing, heading for Sel and Krynn.

I just prayed I wasn't too late to see them one last time.