Page 27 of Lily of the Valley

"Let's just get back to the others."

Penelope smiled. "As you wish." She hummed a few bars of a lullaby, something she did often when she was thinking. "Going to have my work cut out for me when we return. Lots of people know I'm one of the ways to get to you, and many will be seeking to curry favor after all of this."

"This," Lily said with a soft snort. "What a summary. They'll have to try very hard, as I sort out who did what and consorted with who throughout the mess. I'll need all of you to help me."

"Don't worry," Penelope said dryly as they reached the others. "Alice and Josiah already have plans on that."

Josiah quirked a brow. "Plans on what?"

"Rooting out the rot in the court."

His eyes shifted to an eerie dark red, the very color of blood from a deep wound. "Oh, yes. It will be my pleasure to figure out who else was part of this nasty little coup, who is sitting pretty right now while so many other suffer, or are no longer alive to suffer."

"Good," Lily replied. "I can't wait."

The rest of the day passed quietly, night slipping over them peacefully. Dinner was eaten largely in silence, everyone lost in their own thoughts, though Josiah, Scout, and Alice spoken occasionally in quiet murmurs, ever refining their plans for taking back the palace.

It would be no small task, and much of the plan relied on the army rallying to their true queen.

By the time she crawled onto her bedroll, hopefully the last time she would ever have to sleep on the cold, hard ground, Lily was so mentally drained and anxious about the coming day that exhaustion won out with relative speed.

Reclaiming

Only the barest hints of sunlight were visible when Penelope shook her awake. Lily groaned, but as she remembered sharply all that was about to happen, the grogginess vanished beneath a sharp stab of anxiety. That was in turn quickly buried beneath determination. She could do this. She would do this, and woe betide the fools that tried to stop her. She was done with running away.

Climbing out of bed, she packed everything up before hurrying to the brook to wash her face and fix her hair into a proper braid and pin it up. As ready for battle as she'd ever be, she returned to camp—and stopped short, breath catching in her throat.

A wolf stood there, even larger than an ordinary wolf, bigger than the ones who'd taken her from the cabin. "Scout?"

Scout chuffed at her, shaking her head. She was absolutely beautiful. Her fur was almost entirely sable, with only a dark, silvery ruff around the throat and on her head, as though she wore a collar and crown. She padded over to Lily and pushed into her hand.

Heart in her throat, an ache in her chest that she couldn't define, Lily stroked her fingers through the soft, thick fur. "You're magnificent."

Making a noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, Scout licked her hand before stepping back.

Nearby, Josiah was dressed in his armor once more, sword at his hip, shield on his back. Alice too was dressed to fight, though her armor was leather rather than metal, and she had a pair of long, wicked looking daggers.

Penelope came to stand with Lily, the two civilians amongst all the fighters, and clasped her hand, squeezing tightly before letting go. "Ready, Your Majesty?"

"Ready," Lily said. "Let's move out."

They arrived in early afternoon, amidst gloomy, drizzly weather that worked in their favor.

"First, we get into the castle," Josiah said. "From there, I think we'll secure allies quickly."

Scout chuffed, licked Lily's hand, and then padded off, slipping through the trees, keeping low as she reached open ground, and vanished quickly from sight via a drainage hole in the castle wall. Lily wrinkled her nose at how that must smell, but they had far bigger problems. "What is she doing?"

But the question was answered as a long, haunting howl filled the air and was almost immediately answered by several others. "Oh, gods, she's going to challenge isn't she? That's how she's going to handle all the wolves—by taking over the pack."

"Yes," Josiah said. "She rightfully won the position of Alpha once, so she has the right to reclaim it."

Penelope frowned in the direction Scout had gone. "What if she wins and someone immediately challenges her?"

"That's not allowed," Josiah said. "In the aftermath of an alpha challenge, no new challenge may be submitted for at least three months, and the wait can be longer if the new alpha needs time to heal. Taking advantage of the weak and wounded is considered cowardly and dishonorable. If you can't fight an alpha when they're at full strength, you don't deserve to be alpha." Josiah smiled crookedly. "Wolves take these matters seriously."

Another howl came—not Scout though, Lily didn't think, the tone was slightly different.

Josiah stood. "The fight begins, that's our sign. Let's move. Stay close, be alert." He went first, followed by Penelope, then Lily, with Alice taking up rear guard.

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