章節 20: Awakening
A few moments later, they were back in Liana's bedroom. When Liana noticed where they were, she raised an eyebrow at Liz, who simply shrugged before telling Liana,
(Liz, through mind-link to Liana) "It was the first place I thought of. And besides, you're the one carrying her."
Liana then recognized the look on Liz's face as her expression when she was planning something. Which usually did not turn out well, for whoever she was plotting against that is.
(Liz, through mind-link to Liana) "Well, I'll leave you to it."
She disappeared before Liana could comprehend what she said. Her mouth dropped open in surprise as she realised that this time, she was the target of Liz's plotting. Letting out a resigned but soft sigh, she put Lillian on her bed gently. She considered helping Lillian change, but she had no idea what she wore to sleep. Deciding against it, she pulled the covers over Lillian and went to the bathroom to change and get ready for bed. When she was done, she sat down on the chair next to the bed and watched Lillian sleep.
(Liana's thoughts) 'She looks so peaceful when she sleeps.'
She crossed her arms on the bed in front of her as she watched the steady rise and fall of her chest.
A few hours later…
Liana woke up to the sound of screaming. She didn't remember falling asleep, but she was sitting next to her bed. On the bed was Lillian, who was screaming and writhing in her sleep. Jumping onto her feet, Liana moved as if to touch Lillian, but stopped short.
(Lillian, so softly that Liana could barely catch it) "No..! please… stop… don't…"
Liana's eyes widened when she heard Lillian mumbling in between screams. Frowning lightly, she bent over so that her mouth was closer to Lillian's ear, but still did not touch her.
(Liana, whispering) "Lillian, you're safe. It's not real… Please wake up…"
She repeated those words a few times and other comforting words before Lillian stopped screaming completely and her body stilled. Liana's shoulders relaxed as she let out a strained breath. She sat back down on the chair, the whole time not taking her eyes off Lillian's face, nor touching her. When Liana was certain Lillian's breathing had gone back to normal, she let her gaze wander around the room, activating a scanning spell Lillian had taught her.
(Liana's thoughts) 'As I suspected. Silencing spells.'
(Liz) "How did you know what to do?"
Liana jumped, a gasp escaping from her mouth at the sudden sound of Liz's voice. Liz's body appeared out of thin air on the other side of Liana's bed, her arms crossed over her chest. Liana glanced at Lillian's peaceful sleeping form and said softly,
(Liana, softly so that only Liz could hear, but not whispering) "I'll explain later, when Lillian wakes up."
Liz's eyes narrowed, but she nodded. Her eyes travelled from Liana's face down to her sister's sleeping form as she said,
(Liz) "I put a spell on her. She won't wake up until her body is fully rested, no matter what goes on, unless she's shocked out of her sleep."
Liana's mouth opened slightly in surprise. Liz's serious expression dropped as she grinned cheekily.
(Liz) "You better not tell Lil I put a spell on her or she'll double my training."
Liana raised her eyebrows but played along.
(Liana) "I wouldn't dare. She puts me through almost the same training as you, remember?"
Liz chuckled. She dropped her arms to her sides and walked over to Liana. Wordlessly, she embraced Liana in a tight hug. Liana returned the embrace, though she wasn't sure of the reason behind it. She remembered something and as Liz released her, she exclaimed, a hint of playful hurt in her tone,
(Liana) "Why'd you teleport us here and then just leave me?"
Liz tried and failed to hide a grin. She shrugged her shoulders innocently.
(Liz) "I wanted to see what you'd do if I left you with her."
Liana frowned, but didn't reply, only looking at Liz with a weird expression. After a few moments, her eyes widened. Liz tilted her head with a curious expression on her face. She looked like she wanted to say something, but both of them just stared at each other in silence. Eventually Liz smirked and said,
(Liz) "I assume I can leave Lil in your care then."
At this, she disappeared again. Liana's eyebrows rose, but she simply shook her head and sat back down next to Lillian.
This time she didn't fall asleep, and when Lillian stirred a few hours later she stood up, stepping away from the bed and towards the door. This proved to be the correct decision as Lillian shot up from the bed a few seconds later, her magic flaring up around her. It didn't damage her surroundings, but it would have either killed or fatally wounded Liana if she was in the range of her magic. Lillian quickly realised her mistake and withdrew her magic, smiling at Liana apologetically. She took in her surroundings and realised that she was in Liana's room, lying in her bed. Liana herself was still standing next to the door of the room, seemingly waiting for something.
(Lillian) "What… happened?"
Lillian suddenly bent forward, clutching at her head as a scene from her memories was forced into the front of her mind.
(Recollection) Lillian was about to head to bed when she felt a sharp pain in her chest. 'I need to shift.' Gritting her teeth, she teleported into the woods. 'Please let Liana be safe if she and Liz find me while this is happening.' Although she had control over who she attacked usually, she could never be too sure. Running into the trees towards a camp of bandits, Lillian dropped to her knees in pain when she was halfway there. Her body started the process of turning into a wolf. No matter how many times it'd happened, it was still painful, even if bearable. By the end of it, she was a large black wolf.
Liana had stepped forward in concern, but still didn't speak or reach out to Lillian. Lillian herself was frowning.
(Lillian's thoughts) 'Did I completely black out again? I can't remember anything—'
(Recollection) Lillian was in her wolf form, on top of Liana lying on the ground, her teeth dangerously close to Liana's neck. Liana held eye contact as Lillian saw her hand move. A growl erupted from her chest—
Another scene appeared in her head, causing her head to hurt again. Her eyes swung to Liana, examining her body for injuries. When she couldn't detect any, she visibly relaxed but it was a storm inside.
(Lillian's thoughts) 'At least I didn't hurt her… But what exactly happened?'
She turned to Liana, who had resorted to leaning against the door, her arms crossed over her chest. She frowned when she saw Liana in that position. Liana noticed Lillian's cautious gaze on her and stood up straight, dropping her arms to her sides and smiling sheepishly, but didn't make any attempt to move closer to Lillian. Lillian realised she had missed something very important the first time they had met and up until now had never noticed. Liana had never worn anything that showed her arms before. Although she had worn shorts before, her sleeves were always up to her wrists and now Lillian knew the reason for it. She had a tattoo on her right arm, a dragon curling around and covering most of her forearm, the head at the bottom of her wrist.
(Lillian's thoughts) 'A dragon? That means…'
Her eyes went back to Liana's face, which now had an unreadable expression on it.
(Liana) "I guess I have some explaining to do, huh."
Lillian's expression didn't change but it hadn't calmed down inside her head, though now it was caused by something else, though still the same person.
(Lillian's thoughts) 'How did I never notice it? Is she—'
Her eyes widened, and now there was an apologetic look on Liana's face.
(Liana) "You're probably wondering how you never noticed it before… I'll explain it all later, when Liz is around."
She avoided Lillian's steady gaze and lowered her head slightly. Lillian had a slight frown on her face, but Liana knew she was feeling a lot more than what was written on her face. Lillian nodded slowly and moved to get off the bed. Before she swung her legs over the side of the bed to stand up, Liana was already by her side, offering a hand.
(Lillian) 'She's abandoned all pretences. I knew something was up, but I never expected…'
Her thoughts trailed off as she took Liana's hand and stood up. She stumbled slightly, and Liana put her arms around her to steady her. Lillian's cheeks were a light tint of pink as she stood up properly and thanked Liana. Liana smiled coyly and said,
(Liana) "My pleasure."
Lillian was glad she didn't blush more, feeling more like her age than ever, unlike her usual demeanour as the chief of her tribe. Liz's timing was impeccable and she chose this moment to appear, directly in between the two of them. Liana jumped backwards; shock written all over her face. She smoothed out her expression and flashed an annoyed look at Liz.
(Liana) "Seriously, Liz?! Couldn't you just have used the door?"
Liz grinned and held back a laugh as she said,
(Liz) "Sorry, I was too lazy to walk."
Liana gave her a sceptical look.
(Liana) "And yet we jumped out the clan walls, instead of just teleporting out."
Liz shrugged with a sheepish smile. Lillian chuckled, seeing her sister and Liana banter with each other so comfortably.
(Lillian) "You two sure have bonded in the past few weeks."
Liz turned to glare at her sister.
(Liz) "Who wouldn't, when they are put through your crazy training?"
Lillian shrugged and said,
(Lillian) "It works fine for me."
Liz and Liana's expressions were nothing short of incredulous. This time, it was Liana who spoke.
(Liana) "Erm… No offence Lillian, but not everybody has as monstrous abilities as you."
Lillian smiled.
(Lillian) "And how do you think I got those abilities?"
Liana gave her a blank look and Liz laughed.
(Liz) "Sis, you were born with a much higher potential than most people. Things just don't work the same way for you."
As she said this, her gaze moved to Liana, but quickly shifted back to her sister. Liana felt her look and her expression faltered slightly but neither sister noticed it before she covered it up. Lillian raised an eyebrow at Liz's statement and shrugged her shoulders again.
(Liana) "Liz is right."
She tensed slightly as both sisters turned to stare at her.
(Liana) "I promised Liz I'd explain when you woke up, so I have a promise to keep."
Both sisters frowned at her tone. It was soft and resigned, with a hint of guilt laced into it. Lillian eventually nodded and said,
(Lillian) "Let's move to somewhere we can all sit down."
When Liana gave her a concerned look, she grinned and said,
(Lillian) "I'm fine, I wasn't even injured, just exhausted."
Her expression changed as she turned to her sister.
(Lillian) "And thanks to Liz, I didn't wake up until my body was fully rested."
(Liz) "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Liana chuckled softly.
(Liana) "If you're sure you're okay, we can move to a different room."
Lillian nodded and led the way out of Liana's bedroom and into a sitting room. They all took seats facing each other, sitting in a sort of triangle. Neither sister said anything, waiting for Liana to speak. Liana took a deep breath and said,
(Liana) "Before I start, I just want to apologize for not telling you this earlier."
Both sisters frowned, but Lillian said softly,
(Lillian) "It's not something you go around telling people randomly. We understand your reasons for not telling us earlier, and even hiding it."
Liz nodded in agreement and Liana smiled gratefully.
(Liana) "Liz asked me how I knew how to calm Lillian down earlier, and I'll explain that before I explain the dragon, even though I'm sure Lillian already knows something about it."
She sat up straighter in her seat and said,
(Liana) "Remember the friend I told you about when I told you about Drew? Her name was Emily. She was my closest friend up until two years ago. I was thirteen, but I was never innocent. My father made sure to always tell me what to expect in the real world, and although he never told me about the gangs and other things, I did hear of it from time to time."
Lillian and Liz listened quietly, but Lillian got a bad feeling when she heard the way Liana talked about her. Liana smiled apologetically as she said,
(Liana) "There is more to the story with Drew and Emily than what I told you the other time. A lot more. When I said he hurt her a second time, what I didn't mention was that he never stopped trying, until he succeeded."
This time, both Lillian and Liz knew the story ran a lot deeper than it appeared to.
(Liz) "Succeeded… doing what?"
Liana had a smile filled with pain as she answered the question.
(Liana) "In killing Emily."
創作者的想法 
Phoenix169
Phoenix169 Edited/Proofread by: c_wyvern
You know I was writing this chapter and I realised something. I should probably warn you guys that I don't exactly have a fully planned out plot, so while I will NOT stop this story out of nowhere, the plot may get confusing cos I'm just writing as I go along. I do have a rough plot in mind, but it changes slightly.
And I changed the cover pic to a drawing I got from my sister for my birthday
Anyways, Thanks for reading!!
(To whoever even reads these)
WC: 2242
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