Ch.3

Liliana

Liliana had been born for the wilderness or so she told herself, pushing her feet to run harder into the tall grass at the point of midnight her nine-year-old body propelling itself further and harder, the brusk wind filling her eager lungs. Fireflies danced around her and her dark luminous skin shone like the night sky, long tight curls trilled in the breeze. She’d snuck out so many times she was used to every nook and cranny of the forest behind her parent’s humble home.

The distance helped to center her breathing. The anger and resentment that filled her chest slipped away with each cricket’s song. Her parents had fallen on hard times in the late 80’s, what once was happy was now broken and lost. If only she could stay in the woods forever, living with the deer and sleeping in the protective embrace of milkweed and clover. Her worries would ebb as if finally seeping into the cold earth.

But like always at the edge of her parent’s property, her feet would still, and longingly she’d gaze at the life she’d leave to the distant fantasies of her young mind. The moon high and bright shone a blood orange on this night, and she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Resting a bare shoulder against an aged oak she stared fixedly at the distant moon and wondered what it meant. A snap of something startled her out of her quandaries, instantly she jerked toward the disturbance. Were her parents looking for her? She doubted it, they fought most nights into the early hours of the morning.

“Hiding little one?” with a shriek she tumbled back losing her footing. A soft chuckle followed her, filling the quiet night with an ominous mirth. Liliana, spooked and in a state of torpor should have run. She should have dashed towards her home like a rabbit before a chase but for a reason, she couldn’t comprehend she felt compelled to lean towards the softly spoken words. A man with skin the color of lily pads, and eyes the yellow of sunflowers stood before her. His skin looked as though it was made of the soft moss she would squish under her bare feet near the swamp. She blinked rapidly and thought surely it had to be a trick of the light. The man approached in a slow deliberate pace as if afraid she’d run. Once 10 feet away he crouched and she could make out the odd look of leather and onyx gear he wore, with glittering gold pins all over it like stars. She was supposed to be afraid she knew but all she felt was mesmerized, she was captivated by his surreal beauty. He shouldn’t have been beautiful but he was.

A bemused expression rested upon his features, he gave her an assessing look, and finally, with words like a wolf’s growl he whispered “Are you hiding little one?” Finally, heartbeat stumbling back to steady she gathered her courage and squared her shoulders, looking him in the eye she said “No.” He looked surprised, “So what are you doing then?” he looked at her with distinct interest. Liliana swallowed “I’m pretending.” with a short pause he said “Pretending?” as if mulling it over. With a jerky nod, she waited and began to stand, brushing off the dirt and debris from her white nightgown. He asked, “What are you pretending?”. Glancing at the distant forest she said hollowly “That I live free.”

They shared a look before he murmured “Free from what?”

She looked back at the distant image of her parent’s home hiding behind a veil of darkness before shrugging and wistfully replying, “From rules.”

Grinning he stood and supplied “I know a place where they are free of most rules.” She felt suspicion grow within her but she was also intrigued. Feeling uneasy she asked, “Where?”

“Onylia.” Quirking a brow she thought about why this man would want to help her. What could he possibly gain from helping a nine-year-old girl? Wary she stepped back to create distance between them, preparing to run. She knew she could beat him. He tracked her movements with his eyes, she didn’t think he ever missed much. “You see I am looking for a Queen, one who would fit our needs. We don’t have many rules but one is we must always have a Queen.” Liliana didn’t quite see where this was going. “What do you say?” He breathed. Snorting she laughed, tinkling chimes in the dead of night. “You can’t be serious, why would you want a nine-year-old as your Queen?”

Eyes alight with mirth he assuaged, “Age isn’t as important as soul.”

“And why would I want to be your Queen?” She countered. Snickering the man retorted, “Because Queens make the rules, they don’t have to follow them.”

Liliana looked back at her home. The outline of those meager walls could just be seen as light started to peak over the horizon. “I can’t leave my parents” she whispered and tried to squash the feelings of trepidation curling in her belly.

He chuckled sourly “Your parents don’t even know you’re gone, why should you stay for them?”

She felt tears prickle her eyes, was he right? “They may be broken, but they love me.”

Tilting his head, he seemed to think on that “And if we could give them the life they so desperately want, in exchange for you. Would you come?”

Letting her mind wander over the countless nights she had run from home, over the countless instances of never having enough money for food or electricity. Sitting with her Mom in the late hours with only candlelight. Her mother’s tears, a tap that never ran dry. Her Father’s angry fists. After his accident, her father couldn’t work like he once had, slipping further into his shame and anger he drank until there was nothing of him left. Reveling in his hatred for himself neither she nor her mother were ever allowed to be happy.

If her parents could have a rich life, and she could live a life without the confines of this cage. Wouldn’t that be ok? She hesitated gnawing on her lip. “Can I think about it?” she whispered, so softly she was worried he wouldn’t hear.

The man’s eyes glimmered in the early morning sun and she gasped at the look of him, he was so beautiful and unnerving. She thought she would wake up from all of this in her bed, everything blending into the blur of her dreams.

“You have a day and a night to decide, when the moon is no longer crimson you will have lost your chance.” Nodding she turned away and raced her towards her waiting home. Feeling her heart pound as though it would rip itself from her chest, her tired feet finally crawled to a halt. She was giddy and scared. She’d never felt so much conflict, not knowing what the right answer would be.

Sneaking in through the back door that always remained unlocked she slipped into the dark kitchen and could just make out the sound of her father’s snores in the living room. Steeling herself for the acrobatics of avoiding empty beer bottles she tiptoed down the hallway and peeked into her mother’s room. Her mother lay curled on her side moaning softly in her sleep. Liliana moved silently to her room and closed the door with a quiet click, locking the brass knob as she went.

What would happen to them if she left? But what if they could have a life where they didn’t need to work? What if they could start over? She thought back to before her father was injured at work when he was lighter and knew how to smile. What if he could finally get the medical care he desperately needed? What if her mother never had to wear a bruise as her only accessory ever again?

She huddled under her blankets and tried to rest her mind enough to sleep. Pushing away the war of thoughts that ripped apart her consciousness.