"So yours and Mike's is a male, and mine's female." Lily watched the two pups frolicking on Snow's cabin rug. "Yes, but since they're brother and sister, we'll have to make sure they don't get together later in life, you know." The girls giggled. "So what's his name?" Lily inquired to her sister. "Well, I wanted to try and keep it close to his father's name Max, like 'Maxine' if it had been a girl. So then Mike came up with 'Maxwell' as in 'Maxwell House coffee'. He laughed quite heartily at that. Frankly, I just didn't get it." Lily smiled and continued staring at the pups as they yipped and chewed on one another ears. Snow could see that her sister was lost in thought. "Lily, you know Mike and I have been a little concerned about you...especially me. I mean, yesterday in going to the mine after Neville, and now today that Jennifer has brought Natalie back...I can see how you must be quite shaken up. Is there anything in particular that you'd like to talk about? I just want you to know that I'm here for you." Lily smiled and took Snow's hand, "Thank you Snow. I appreciate that. I'm sorry I've been so distant. I just have so many things on my mind right now...I'm still trying to sort them all out myself, you know?" She sighed in frustration, "I guess I'm just tired of it all...feeling this way. I want to feel better, feel different. I don't want to feel confused anymore or scared or angry. Sometimes I feel trapped and I just want to be free, like when I'm dancing. I can't even do that now," motioning to her ankle, "It makes me crazy! I'm even tired of this stupid hair!" She shook her head vigorously, causing the two pups to stop what they were doing and rush over to try and grab onto the flying mess of hair with their tiny mouths. "Your hair? What's wrong with your hair?" "Well, nothing's wrong with it....it's just that I'm tired of it. It looks like straw to me! Yuck, I hate it! I put the red streaks in it all these years to try and make it look somewhat interesting, like something a gypsy might do. But I'm not really aiming to be part of a gypsy clan, now. I'm here with you and my new friends, and what have you." Snow formed a large grin on her face, "Now I don't suppose that this sudden desire to change your looks would have anything to do with a certain fellow here in the Willows, would it?" Lily giggled as Snow nudged her with her elbow. "I don't know...maybe. Well, think about it, Snow. Here's a whole village full of men who are falling all over themselves to be a part of us women's lives...what few of us there are. And you really don't count anymore, anyway." Snow giggled. "So, I think I'd just feel better about myself, prettier, if I had a 'new look' perhaps." "Gosh, Lily. I think you could be bald, and the guys would just stick a scarf on your head and be done with it. You're female!" Both sisters laughed, and then Snow brought her tone to a more serious level, "So, you're not afraid anymore?" Lily looked at Snow and then at the two puppies who licked at her hand. She thought of Neville and Thomas, and then of Phillipe...and she really didn't feel afraid anymore. "No, Snow. I'm not. I feel much better here now, even with Phillipe around. I have friends and family here...people I care about and who care about me." "Some more than others," Snow added. Lily simply smirked and looked back at the pups. "I think if I had the choice, I'd like to be blonde." "Blonde! Why blonde? I think you've been listening to the guys too much when they say 'blondes have more fun'!" Lily tutted as she giggled, "No! We had a dancer in our band once that was from Sweden. She had such beautiful long blonde hair. Ever since I saw her, I've always wanted to know what it would be like to have long blonde hair." Snow gained a thoughtful smirk, "Would you really? I mean, if you really had the chance to, would you do it?" Lily looked with suspicion at the mischievous look on Snow's face, "Why? What are you cooking up in that 'bow-head' of yours?"

She carefully laid her wrist in her lap with her other hand. Thankfully, Jennifer hadn't stuck around to 'taunt' her at the moment. The nerve of her, Natalie thought, dragging her back here and locking her up...then breaking her wrist. "Ouch," she moaned as the streaks of pain continued to shoot up her arm. She hadn't even noticed she had a visitor until he spoke up. "Is it broken?" Looking up, she scowled. "What would you care?" "I care." "Oh yeah? Since when?" "I know you'll never believe me." "Why should I?" She turned away and tried to fold her arms, then winced from the pain in her wrist. "You abandoned me, Phillipe...and for what? Riches, power?" Phillipe sat down on the bench outside the cell. "You never understood, did you?" Natalie whirled around to look at him, "What more was there to understand? You ditched me for that witch-queen, just so you could have your shot at ruling in the kingdom. It was never love with you, Phillipe...only greed!" "I can get you out of here. Margurite can..." She again turned away as she cut him off, "I don't want anything form you, and I especially don't want anything from her. I'm doing just fine, thank you." Phillipe peered around inside her cell, "Yeah, you're doing great. You've got right royal accommodations, there, Nat." "Don't call me that...you don't have the right anymore. You changed too much, Phillipe. You're not the same person you were, and neither am I. There are men here in this village who are falling all over themselves to be with me, you know. I don't need you anymore." Phillipe folded his arms, as Natalie looked on with envy wishing her wrist injury weren't hindering her from doing the same, "So the men are going to get 'conjugal visits' with you here in your cell, eh?" "Maybe!" she pouted. "Look, Natalie. Putting the past aside, we need to work together, here. How can I get you on my side?" Natalie sighed in thought, then looked back at him. "There's a book." "A book?" "Yes. A book of spells. I want it. Jennifer has it." "Was that the book that Snow took from Margurite? She's been looking for it." Natalie turned her full body toward him and made her tone more stern, "Well, I want it now! She has enough books of her own, but this one in particular is mine. If you want me on your side, then you'll get it for me. Jennifer has it locked up somewhere in her cabin." "Consider it done." He tipped his hat to Natalie as she scowled in return. After a quick scan of the area, he quickly left the jail.

"You say you took this from Margurite? This is so interesting!" Lily was amazed as she flipped through the book of spells that Snow had borrowed back from Jennifer. "Yes. And there is one spell in particular in there where you can change your hair style and color permanently." "Permanently?" "Mmmhmm. Margurite once tried it, but then she decided she didn't like it, and changed it back to brown. She made hers blonde, too. I thought it was pretty, myself. She wouldn't let me try the spell, though." Lily swallowed, "Is it safe?" "Sure it is. I know one of the servants tried it without my stepmother knowing about it. Since she always wore a kerchief to work in, Margurite never knew. She loved her new look, she said." Lily looked back at the book, then took a deep breath, "Well, what are we waiting for, then!"

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She shook the golden flowing locks about her head and her new long blonde hair whisped about her shoulders and back. "Wow! Lily, you look beautiful! Come and see!" Snow led Lily to the bathroom where there was a mirror on the wall. "You will have all the men after you now! I hope you’re ready for this, sis." Lily beamed a proud smile as she turned from side to side, inspecting her new look in the mirror, "But I did this for me…not for all of them. I suppose that would just be a ‘fringe benefit’." The girls giggled. Lily clasped her blonde hair in her hands and then combed through it with her fingers, her face became solemn, "Snow, I know that I told you that there was nothing wrong…that I just wanted to make a change or two, which is true, but…" Snow finished for her, "But there is something wrong." "Yes, well not wrong, really. Oh, I don’t know." Lily sighed in frustration. Snow took her by the hand and led her back to the living room, "Come on in here and let’s talk."

Karen was recording her last bit in her medical journal as she looked to Nigel’s room, "Lazy bum…just like him to sleep all day. Keeps him out of my hair at least." The surgery door opened slightly and Snow’s head popped around the corner, "Anyone here?" Karen closed her book, "Nope…just me and ‘sleeping beauty’ in there. Come on in." Snow popped into the room followed by a totally different-looking Lily. Snow’s eyes stayed fixed on Karen to see her expression, "Wow! Lily! You look so different! It looks very nice on you. But how…" Snow cheerfully offered, as she motioned to the book Lily held in her hand, "Margurite’s spell book. We were just looking for Jennifer to return it to her. I remembered that there was a spell in her book that she tried a while back that will change one’s hair…so we tried it on Lily." Lily looked to Karen with pleading eyes, "So, are you sure you think it looks OK?" Karen chuckled, "Yes, dear! It looks wonderful on you! Which kind of makes me wonder who exactly it is that you’re trying to impress?" She winked at Lily and gave her a curious smirk, as Lily blushed and looked down at the book for an escape. Suddenly, into the room burst Stevie panting for breath, "Jennifer’s cabin’s been ransacked! Did any of ya see anyone over there?" Karen held up her hand, "Whoa, Stevie. Ransacked? Someone was in Jennifer’s cabin?" Stevie nodded wildly, "Oi! An’ it’s a mess! She’s there right now tryin’ ta sort it all out. She says she hadn’t found nothin’ missin’ yet, though. No one knows who it was or what they was after." Snow was horrified, "Jennifer must be so upset! I’ll go see if she’d like any help." Snow hurried out the door followed by a very concerned Stevie. Lily stepped toward the door to follow, then stopped and winced from the pain in her ankle. Karen frowned, "Lily, please. Hop up here and let me have a look at that. I’m not gonna bite ya." She patted the cot with her hand and smiled. Lily finally sighed, giving in and sitting down to accept Karen’s medical attention. She carefully unwrapped Lily’s ‘make-shift’ brace. Quickly, Lily reached down to scratch at it. "Don’t do that!" Karen lightly slapped her hand. "I’ll make ya a better brace, hon. Just let me look at it first. Why didn’t you want to come and see me? Does it hurt that much?" Lily shook her head and said softly, "No." Karen soaked a cloth in the cool water of the wash basin, as she looked to Lily for any further answer to her question. "I didn’t want…I mean, I just haven’t been in the mood for talking much lately, you know? I’ve had so much on my mind with Phillipe and now that Natalie’s back. I just…" she sighed, "I just didn’t want you to ask me any questions…and I knew you would, just like my sister. She says I’ve been acting ‘strange’, she and Mike. And I figure that you probably think that too." Karen went on with her work, "Well, Lily…I’ll never force you to talk, ya know. And I’m not going to read your mind, if that’s what you’re afraid of." "No, I know that. I just…it’s been hard. I’ve had a very confusing…time lately. That’s all. What can I say?" "Do you want to talk about it?" "Well, see…ouch!" "Sorry, Lily." "I talked to Snow a little bit. Sometimes it’s hard to know what to say to my sister. We’re alike in some things, but in others we’re so very different. As Kahlua used to say, ‘it’s not the years, it’s the mileage’…whatever that meant." Karen chuckled and then smiled sadly. "But, my sister was raised in a very good life, but a very sheltered one, too. I’ve seen so much more than she has regarding what people say and think and do…at least in my time. But, the one thing I don’t know much about is actually something that she does know…and that’s about true love. She knows exactly what that’s like, and I don’t really…at least I don’t think I do yet. Oh, I don’t know!" She sighed in frustration, "See, that’s what I mean! I’ve had these feelings lately, and I don’t know how to read them clearly. I’ve found myself falling for Thomas, Karen…very much. And I finally got up the nerve to tell him. And he told me that he loved me too. But then Phillipe broke out of jail, or was let out or whatever, and all hell broke loose. I just wanted to go home…I was scared. So I ran to the mine. I was going to go home through the mirror. That’s how I sprained my ankle. But Thomas followed me and told me he wanted to come with me. Phillipe found us at the mine and knocked him out and so then I had to find a way to get him back here to get some help. So then the mother wolf cub saved us. She dragged Phillipe away! And then I ran to the mirror, see. And in there I saw my father and everything…" Karen was nodding politely as she tried to keep up with Lily’s quick-paced story. She also found herself dodging Lily’s flailing arms as she told her tale, "My ankle was hurting so badly by then, I asked if we could rest at the mill. And when we got there, I got this thought. How can I explain it? I was so scared at almost being…attacked again by Phillipe, that it was if I didn’t want to feel like I belonged to him anymore, which is how I felt." "You felt like you belonged to Phillipe?" "Yes. I know it sounds stupid, but that’s how I felt. I just…I didn’t want to feel that way anymore. I felt like I loved Thomas and…well, then after his kiss at the bridge and all, well…quite frankly, I wanted to belong to him instead." "So, you slept with Thomas?" Lily made a quick glance into the room where Nigel was, who appeared to still be sleeping. "Well, no. I mean, I wanted to…but…and he did too…but, he was afraid I wasn’t ready. He was afraid that I would then be afraid of him too. Of course, I didn’t know that’s what he was thinking. He told me later…only he didn’t know he told me…or rather he didn’t know I heard him. Oh dear, now I’m just making this all confusing. To make a long story short, there was a misunderstanding, and I thought Thomas didn’t want me, so I was upset and I went to the loft to think about things. When I got there, Neville was there. You know, he’s a good friend and we talked, and I just…well, I knew how he felt about me, and he does so much for me, and I do really love Neville in a way, so…" "So you slept with Neville?" Lily looked down at her dress, as she fidgeted, "Yes. I really thought I loved him…I mean DO love him…oh, I don’t know anymore." Karen put her hand on Lily’s and asked softly, "So who DO you love, Lily?" She shook her head still looking down, "I don’t know…I mean I do but I don’t ." She looked up, "I don’t want to hurt anyone Karen. I love them both, really." Karen nodded and smiled, "Lily, it sounds like you need some time to think things over before you torture yourself over who you want. Don’t rush it. They’ll wait for you…and if they don’t want to wait, they aren’t worth it, right?" Lily nodded. "So, I think you should just take some time to think about everything. Be nice to them, but just be friends with both of them for a while until you’re positive. And believe me…you’ll know it when you are. It’s certainly not something you should beat yourself up about right now. Just take some time. There is so much going on right now, that you will probably find yourself busy enough to keep your mind occupied, you know?" Lily nodded, "And Jennifer said there was something she wanted to tell us tonight. I wonder what it is?" "I’m curious about that myself, Lily."

Lily thought hard about what Karen had said. She was right, thought Lily. Why was she rushing things, trying to decipher her feelings right then and there? She had plenty of time…time she needed to take in order to figure out what it is she really feels. With Phillipe and Margurite on the prowl and with Natalie back as well, Lily figured they’d all have their hands full enough as it was. She smiled at her little Gypsy pup as she looked down at her hands now being full with her. "You have to stay here. Lily’s got to go to a meeting at the hut. But I’ll be back." The puppy yipped as she her put her in her bed as though she knew Lily were about to leave her. Lily looked in the mirror at her new golden tresses and sighed. "It’s just not a good time to show everyone tonight. Perhaps I should have waited." She grabbed a scarf from her drawer and hid her hair up in it carefully so no one would notice any differences.

Lily petted the mother wolf sitting at hers and Neville’s feet at the dining table, as she pondered the questions in her mind. Stevie now calls the female wolf ‘Mum’, and so the name has stuck with her. An identical village, thought Lily? But how? And who was there? And how did Natalie know this? Lily had so many questions, but kept them to herself. She figured the men and the others would probably have the same questions, and she’d rather stay quiet for tonight. Her mind was just too cluttered, as she tried to push her own thoughts back away and concentrate on the issue at hand. At the same time, she couldn’t help but notice Neville’s occasional grins at her, and Thomas periodically concealing his gazes towards her. He doesn’t know about Neville…how can she ever tell him? ‘Stop it, there you go again!’ Lily scolded herself. ‘It’s Natalie we’re discussing now, Lily…Natalie and the other village.’ This in itself was quite disturbing. Is it like having yet another twin? She looked over at Snow who seemed quite frightened about the whole thing and clung onto Mike’s arm. Lily envied her somewhat. At that moment, Lily herself wished she had a strong arm to cling to as well. Time. She knew that at this point in her life, time was her best friend. She needed to just take some time. If she could just remember that, she’d be alright.

"You’re here rather boldly." Natalie scowled at him once again as he stepped into the jail. "All of the others are in the hut for some kind of meeting." Phillipe replied with a hint of exhaustion. "So where is it?" He plopped down onto the bench outside the cell and ran his hands through his hair, "It wasn’t there, Natalie. I didn’t see any kind of spell book. Are you sure she kept it in her cabin?" "Yes, yes, I’m positive!" she started with some urgency, "She kept them locked up. You’d have to break into her locked cabinets." " I did that," "Well, maybe you didn’t look hard enough!" He jumped up and began pacing the floor, "I covered every inch of that cabin, Natalie. It just wasn’t there." Natalie slumped onto her bed in a pout. "What so important about that book, anyway? What’s in it that you want so badly?" Natalie sighed, as if she grew tired of humoring a child, "Just spells…things you don’t need to know, but that I do." "You know Jennifer has probably read every spell in that book. It probably wouldn’t do you any good now, anyway." "No she hasn’t…not all of them." "What makes you think that?" Natalie sat up straight on her bed to look at him, "Because there were certain spells written into the pages of other spells secretly. The only way to read them is to use a special substance to make the ink come through. In essence, they’re invisible. And if I’m right, there’s one spell in particular that would prove invaluable to me, and probably anyone else that finds it. That’s why I want to hurry and get that book away from these…people." She finished with a look of disgust. Phillipe looked at her with suspicion, "How do you know so much about what’s in Margurite’s spell book, Natalie? Have you seen it before?" Suddenly Natalie became uncomfortable and turned her back on Phillipe to try and change the subject, "Look, you’re useless to me…so just go and leave me in peace. Go play with your witch-queen. I’m rather tired and I’d like to get some sleep." He cleared his throat, "Sleep, eh? How do you know that one of these men in the village here won’t decide to pay you a visit with a key in his pocket?" She flipped her hair, "Well, that’d be better than talking to you!" He walked up to the cell as near to her as he could get and leaned against the bars, looking at her with intent. She side glanced him and tutted with an annoyed chuckle, "Ha! If you think you’re getting any favors outta me, you’re insane!" She then laid down on the bed and turned her entire body away from him and toward the wall. A few seconds later, she heard him turn and leave quietly. As she prepared to drift off to sleep, she pondered Phillipe’s words, and actually did hope she received a visitor that night…one with a key.

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Thomas had been trying to talk to Lily for the past few days. It was almost as if she were hiding out…and why not, thought Thomas. She thought he’d rejected her that day at the mill. He wanted so desperately to talk to her. But he needed to see her alone. When he did see her, she was always with either Stevie, Snow or Neville. Neville! The name made him grit his teeth. Why can’t he just stay out of this? Wasn’t it clear that his pursuit for Lily was futile…or was it? He hoped the charms of the young ‘surfer dude’ weren’t starting to get to Lily. For the past few days, Thomas could see that Lily had been trying to keep to herself more than before, perhaps spending that time with her new puppy. But she wasn’t with Neville as much now as before the mine incident…even though Phillipe was lurking about. Tom wondered why that was. He missed her already. Even though he hadn’t spent that much time with her, the time he had that day with her was pure heaven…the cart ride, the bridge, the mill…until their interruption, of course. He wanted to talk to her so badly that he ached inside. And even though it was only a small substitute, he thought it would at least take his mind off of things for a while. That cart. The cart that Lily had pulled him from the mine with that sunk into the shallow stream…he was going to pull it out. He didn’t know why he felt compelled, but why not, since he didn’t have much else to do after Lily disappeared again. Suddenly, he heard yelling…like cries for help. He ran in the direction of the voice. It was definitely one of the Willows men. Of course the clearing was a familiar one, but as he entered it, he couldn’t have been prepared for what he saw. It was Eddy. He was standing up against Betty, which in itself was a strange thing. But what’s more, he didn’t have a hold of the tree…the tree had a hold of him. The branches or ‘arms’ of the tree were clutching Eddy’s arms and he was struggling to get free. "Tom, help me!" Thomas rushed over to try and help to free Eddy. It seemed as though no sooner had Thomas approached them, that the tree immediately let go of Edward and instead grabbed Thomas. Eddy rubbed at his scratched arms while at the same time trying to pull Thomas free, "What the hell! I was just minding my own business and this blasted tree just reached out and grabbed me…just like it did you just now! I don’t understand!" After about a minute of yanking and pulling, they managed to break Thomas free and both went sailing to the ground. "Dear God! What’s happening with that thing?" Eddy shook his head, his wide eyes never leaving the tree, "I don’t know. But that just gives me the creeps. You suppose that witch put a spell on it? She’s been trying to get to me ever since she got here." Thomas shook his head and then noticed something strange. "I don’t know, but look at that." He got closer to the tree’s trunk, but was careful to not get too close. "Look…the marks at the base of the trunk. It looks like someone started to chop at the tree, but then stopped." Eddy backed away as he got up and brushed himself off, "Maybe one of the fellows got grabbed by the thing and tried to chop it down." "No, they would have said something. They would at least tell Duncan. After all, he carved the thing. I’ll definitely have to tell him about this." Eddy took one more cautious look at the tree as he grabbed his fishing gear, "Well, I think I’m going to go tackle some fish, before another tree tries to tackle me." Thomas halfway chuckled, "OK. See ya." ‘How very odd indeed,’ thought Thomas as he took one more look at the tree.

She gathered up the beads from the pocket of her dress the other day. They were still covered with dirt and dried blood. "Well, Gypsy…are you ready for your first outing? We’re going up by the mill to wash these out and fix ‘em up." Leaving unnoticed, she took her purse with her gun. Although she felt guilty for doing it, she had been doing her best to try and stay away from both Neville and Thomas as much as possible. Gypsy trotted happily beside Lily, as she limped along with the aid of a ‘walking stick’ as they called them in her time. Gypsy would occasionally stop and sniff or ‘yip’, but then would run back over to lick at Lily’s sandaled toes. When Lily reached the side of the pond isthmus, she shuddered, wondering if perhaps she should find another place. Phillipe followed her here before…perhaps he would find her again. So, she decided to move down to another portion of the lake. She took her long golden hair out of its scarf-hiding place and allowed it to flow down her back, "You’re lucky you aren’t dirty Gypsy, or I’d be forced to give you a bath!" Lily giggled at her puppy’s antics as she carefully placed the black and white beads from Neville’s bracelet in a thin cloth that would allow the water to flow through and rinse them thoroughly. Then, with some extra string, she began to put the beads back together carefully matching the original pattern of the undisturbed portion of the bracelet as best she could. Her thoughts continued to haunt her. Even now as she repaired Neville’s bracelet, she felt as though she were leading Neville on, which she didn’t wish to do. But once she discovered that Thomas did indeed love her after all, her world became cloudy. Overall, she had denied it. Ever since she had been with Neville in the loft, she denied her true feelings. The one thing that she didn’t want to admit to herself was that it truly was Thomas that she loved. So why did she sleep with Neville? It really was because she thought Thomas didn’t share her feelings, but what kind of lousy excuse is that? And how unfair to Neville. She felt like the ‘town harlot’, and to her memory suddenly came the day when Neville likened her to Natalie when he thought she’d been with Thomas that night he saved her life. Silently and for the first time, she wished that she and Thomas had made love in the mill that cold winter night. Lily sighed as she worked, occasionally glancing over to her pup…the pup that Neville gave to her. But since it was Neville that she’d been with and not Thomas, she didn’t want to admit to herself that it was Thomas that she loved. She’d rather be able to say that it was Neville she loved…even if it wasn’t. Gypsy looked up at her as Lily grunted in frustration at her thoughts. She was so confused, now. She did love Neville, just in a different way. How could she explain it? To her, Neville was loving and gentle and kind and giving…but see, so was Thomas. But there was this one difference…with Thomas there was this…’passion’. It was a passion that ignited in her soul and then sent it flying through the skies like a bird. She closed her eyes in her thoughts and let the breezes of the spring day hit her face. And true, she enjoyed being with Neville, and he went out of his way to make her happy…but that passion that she feels about Thomas just isn’t there with Neville. Why? Why isn’t it? Lily was angry with herself. What’s the matter with me? She remembered how panicked she got when she thought something terrible would happen to Neville and they went after him to the mine. The wave of relief that washed over her when she saw that he was alright in the surgery, was like a huge weight lifted from her shoulders. ‘That’s love…isn’t it?’ The sincere fondness she feels for Neville must be love, right? Of course it is. Here she is, fixing his bracelet and sitting enjoying the company of his precious gift to her…a gift that almost cost him his life. She must be in love with Neville! ‘Right…take a deep breath.’ As she tied off the last of the string, she smiled and admired her work, "Good as new…well, I hope at least. Hmmm…," she smirked, "And I wonder what he’ll say about…" She flipped her hair as she remembered that Neville hadn’t seen her new look yet. With a giggle, she happily put the bracelet into her pocket. Gypsy had set herself out on a mission. She was determined to growl and tug and tear at the bark hanging off of a nearby tree. Lily laughed, "You get ‘em girl! Show ‘em who’s boss! Get that bark! Get it, get it, get it!"

After his strange experience with ‘Betty’, Thomas decided to put the cart on hold and headed on back to the village to discuss what happened with Duncan. On the way back, he heard a noise. It sounded almost like growling down by the edge of the lake. Assuming it must be a wolf, he drew his pistol. Still not as comfortable with them as most of the other men in the village, he wasn’t very quick to use it…but was always prepared. As he peeked through the hedges, he saw a woman from behind with long golden hair. ‘Margurite?’ Thomas thought they’d said her hair was brown. Perhaps she changed it. In any case, it must be her. Quietly, he put his gun away. They will want her alive to answer questions. Thomas was a bit nervous, as he didn’t quite know how to handle a witch. What if she put a spell on him or something? Maybe he should use the gun? No. He wasn’t that good of a shot…he might kill her. Dangerous or not, Margurite must be captured. So he decided, as he approached quietly, that he’d simply tackle her to the ground.

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As hard as Neville tried, he simply couldn’t get the blood out of Lily’s green kerchief. He’d had it with him when he went after the puppies…luckily for him, because he needed it to tie off his arm when the mountain lion attacked him. But now he sighed in regret, as he held up the blood-stained garment. Nigel now stood over him watching, "Can’t she just get another one? Surely they can’t be all that hard to make. I don’t see why you’re going to all that trouble…it’s not gonna come out." Neville looked at him annoyed, "Because I owe it to her. She didn’t give this to me, I took it…and it’s not fair of me to have stained it like this, now is it?" Nigel grinned and rubbed his chin in questioning jest, "Owe it to her, eh? So you two been ‘having it off’, then?" Quickly, Neville leapt to his feet, grabbed Nigel by the shirt with both hands and gave him a vigorous jolt, "Don’t EVER let me hear you speak that way about Lily! You got that!" Surprised, Nigel grasped Neville’s hands with his own, "Man, take it easy…I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you’d get so upset over it." Neville shoved him back, "No one better be talking about her like that around here…least of all, you!" Angrily, Neville picked up the kerchief from the side of the basin, glared a warning at Nigel and stormed off. Nigel watched as Neville disappeared into the barn. He’d been retreating there quite often lately, Nigel noticed. He knew Lily and Neville had slept together from overhearing Lily’s and Karen’s conversation in the surgery. The poor fools thought he was asleep. Nigel found it quite curious that Neville would not only choose not to brag about his encounters with Lily, but practically deny them as well. Hmm…perhaps it was a ‘beach bum’ thing. In any case, Nigel had quite admired Lily’s lovely new ‘golden girl’ look. It would be a shame to let it go to waste on such a sheepish boy as Neville, now wouldn’t it?

As Lily suddenly felt a strong grasp cling onto her forearms from behind, she was frozen in fear…Phillipe! She knew she should never have left the Willows on her own…she should have brought Neville with her! She had wanted the bracelet to be a surprise, but at what cost? The adrenaline now surged through her body as her strong assailant turned her about and thrust her back into the leaves, pinning her to the ground. Thomas’ scowl turned into a confused gasp, as he found himself hovering over what looked to be, "Lily?" Like a breeze of wind, the adrenaline pumping through Lily’s veins suddenly became a wave of calming and surrendering relief. She panted out in a breathless sigh, "Thomas." She’d never been so happy to see anyone in her life as she was to see Thomas at that moment. She thought her captor had been Phillipe, and she could not have been farther from the truth. "I’m so sorry, Lily. I thought you were…" Thomas swallowed hard as he gazed at her face and the golden locks that fell about her head upon the ground, "God Lily, you’re beautiful. How did…" His voice trailed as he reached up to gently brush his hand through her hair. Lily stammered to get the words out, "I…I just thought it was time for a change." Thomas took a second to compose himself, as he thought to help her up, "I thought you were Margurite. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry." As he raised to pull her back up, she whispered, "No." Quickly, she grabbed the material of his vest and pulled him back down into a kiss. Thomas responded passionately as Lily put her arms around his neck. Amidst the kiss, he rose and pulled her up with him so he could put his arms around her and hold onto her tightly. As if her previous thoughts of loving Neville washed away with the rain, Lily absorbed herself in Thomas’ kiss. Urgently, he pulled away from her lips and brought his kisses across her face and down her neck, hugging her tightly, "Lily, I want you so badly. I’ve wanted to tell you…that day at the mill, I wasn’t rejecting you. I just wanted things to be right for you. I wanted to tell you…" Lily gasped in a sob, "I know. I heard you…I heard what you said." Slowly, Thomas pulled back to look at Lily, "What?" "I heard what you said at the jail. I only pretended to be asleep…but I heard every word." She grasped his hand with hers and brought it to her lips to kiss his fingertips. "Why didn’t you say anything?" Sniffling, she leaned her head against his hand, and he in turn wiped her tear with his thumb and cupped her face with his palm. She slid her hand down his arm and rubbed it tenderly, "Thomas, there’s something I have to tell you." Suddenly, they heard the sound of a whistle blowing. It was coming from the direction of the village…and then there was another. Thomas turned quickly, and then jumped up, helping Lily to her feet. "We’ve got to get back." Assisting Lily with her sprained ankle, Tom put her arm around his shoulder for support. As they hurried toward the village, Lily periodically looked back to be sure that little Gypsy was still indeed following behind.

As they grew closer, more and more whistles joined in the symphony. Upon entering the village, they witnessed sheer chaos brewing within. There were horses in the village that Lily had never seen before, now being inspected by Ribold and Edward. Over by the surgery, there was much shouting going on. As Lily looked that direction, she saw Jennifer getting assistance from Nigel and Bart to lead a man into the surgery…a man, that to Lily’s shock, looked a lot like the late Dinger. Everyone in the general vicinity was calling for Karen. Lily knew that anyone wounded wouldn’t have much chance of survival without Karen. Gritting her teeth to prepare herself for the pain, she pulled from Thomas and sprinted toward the surgery as fast as her injured leg would allow. Upon reaching the surgery steps her ankle buckled under, and she was caught by Stevie who helped her the rest of the way into the surgery.

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 Chapter Eighty Five- "Heavenly Child"

The baby. Lily couldn’t get the thought of Kahlua losing her baby out of her thoughts. She walked out of the surgery exhausted but relieved that both Kahlua and Dinger would be alright. However, Kahlua’s baby would not. How could it have happened again…the poisoning like before when Dinger was poisoned in their own village? Was it the Natalie in the other Willows? Does our own Natalie know anything about it? Surely, it was the poison that doomed the poor child. Now, he would never take his first breath, nor walk his first step. The only comfort Lily could find was to know that when he or she opened his eyes, he was in the arms of God. That was the only comfort Lily had to cling to when she lost…her own child. Since she’d sprained her ankle, the thoughts returned to her. The last time Anne helped her nurse a sprained ankle was when she’d lost her baby. She was fourteen, had been raped, lost her father figure and was now suddenly with child. A child she didn’t want…the product and reminder of the horrible nightmare she would suffer to relive for years to come. Back then, she wanted it gone…what a foolish girl she was. Her mind was so cloudy after the attack, she could barely remember one day to the next. Finally, on one very emotion filled day, she had to get away. She found the tallest tree she could and climbed to the top…as high as she could. She was far away from the pain, from the danger, from the everyday struggle of life. But she wasn’t, really. She knew that she’d have to come down sometime…come down and face the pain and the nightmares. Someday, she’d have to tell her baby what happened…how its very existence was based on a brutal crime. Lily couldn’t bear it. She didn’t want to face any of it. The last thing she remembered was slipping off that tree branch, whether she fell or jumped…she didn’t know. She awoke in the wagon under Anne’s care and smiling face. With the tree branches breaking her fall on the way down, Anne said she’d been lucky to have only sustained some minor scratching and bruising plus a possible fractured rib and badly sprained ankle. Her baby, on the other hand, hadn’t been so lucky. Anne insisted that she merely fell, and that it was an accident to be blamed upon no one. Lily believed differently. In her emotionally depressed state that day, she could only conclude one thing…she killed her own baby. Lily could picture her child standing in heaven. They say there is no sadness or pain or anger up there. Maybe her child would not be angry with her now, but how could that be, Lily thought? As she saw Neville rushing across the green towards her, she quickly brushed a tear from her cheek and offered a plastered, but cheerful smile. Neville’s eyes were wide with delighted surprise at Lily’s new look. When he reached her, it took an extra second for him to remember what it was he wanted to tell her as he gazed upon her new golden locks. Then he squeezed her green kerchief and remembered. "Lily. You look so…beautiful, altogether different!" Neville was dumbfounded as his gaze switched back and forth from her hair to her face. "Thank you Neville. I just decided I needed a change." Neville didn’t notice the sadness in her voice that she so desperately tried to hide with a warm smile. He simply reached out and touched his hand to her cheek and held her eyes for a moment. Then as the breeze blew the garment in his hand, his memory snapped back to attention, "Oh, yes. I tried and tried to get this clean, Lily. But I think it’s a lost cause." With regret in his eyes, he held out the green kerchief. Faint blood stains were still evident throughout the garment. "I’m sorry, Lily. Maybe Snow could make you another one? I shouldn’t have taken it with me that day…" It dawned on Lily why the cloth was stained. Of course! That day she was so panic-stricken to find him and was so relieved to see him doing fine in the surgery, as Karen wrapped his arm after being attacked. She interrupted him, "Neville, please don’t even worry about that silly thing!" she took it from him and shoved it into her pocket, "You risked your life just to bring me a gift…one I’ll always treasure." Quickly, in her mind her thoughts drifted to Gypsy. She hoped that Thomas was watching her, or had perhaps left her with Yvonne. She had run to the surgery without even a second thought of her pup. She pulled from her pocket the black and white bracelet that she’d repaired for Neville. His eyes twinkled at the sight as he took it in his hands, "You found this?" "It was in the woods…I fixed it. It was no trouble." Where before she kissed Thomas a while ago, Lily would have wanted it to be a bigger deal that she’d fixed Neville’s bracelet. But now she’d rather it just be considered as almost nothing, really. "Thank you Lily! This means so much to me." Gratefully, Neville hugged her quite tightly, while lovingly rubbing his hands up and down her back. Could he actually know that was one thing that drove her wild, Lily thought? No, he couldn’t. But Lily had to concentrate to pull back, as she smiled at him, "You’re welcome." He quickly put it on his arm, taking careful notice of the way she’d repaired the torn part so closely like the rest of the bracelet’s pattern. He didn’t know what to say to her really, as he looked back up at her. ‘How wonderful she is,’ Neville thought, ‘to care about me enough to repair something that she knew meant a lot to me.’ His admiration for Lily suddenly grew even deeper. Where he had done little things for her here and there, she had now done this special thing for him. Of course, nothing could take the place of their time together in the loft that day. His thoughts drifted there, and he wished he could take Lily into his arms and back to their special place…a place he finds himself residing at more and more these days. Neville stood fixed on Lily’s hair and eyes. It was quite obvious to Lily that Neville’s mind was taking them places…perhaps the loft again. What could she do? She didn’t want to lead Neville on, but she was very fond of him. ‘Time.’ She remembered Karen’s advice. Until she could take that time to figure out just what she was feeling, she would just be friends with both Neville and Thomas. It would be difficult, but something she had to do. Right now, there were others things going on…other lives that must be thought of first. Almost as if Neville had read her mind, he inquired, "How are Kahlua and Dinger." "Much better. Karen and Ritchie will be staying with them through the night I would imagine." Neville nodded, as he tore his eyes from her hair and peered down at the grass, desperate to think of something to say…something intelligent that is. "Neville," it was Lily who broke their silence first as he looked back up into her blue eyes that captivated him so, "This village has a way of talking and…" He wouldn’t let her finish. He knew what she would say, "Lily, I promise to you," as he took her hands in his, "that I won’t say anything about…us to anyone." Lily started again urgently, "It’s not that I’m ashamed or anything…" "I know that, Lily. And I know that it’s none of anyone’s business, now is it?" Lily shook her head. Neville pulled her into a hug and whispered, "Don’t worry." As he pulled back, he kissed her gently and again gazed into her eyes. His desire wasn’t difficult to read and again Lily began, "Neville, I wanted to tell you that I haven’t been avoiding you, really. I just need some time, you know? There’s so much going on right now and…" "Shhh. I know. It’s OK, I understand." He picked up her hand and kissed it, "I’ll be here if you need to talk." He grinned at her with a friendly grin and started off toward his cabin. Lily was tormented with her thoughts as she watched him. ‘He’s so wonderful…he’s sweet and kind and understanding and caring and…and I just can’t bear to hurt him. What am I going to do?’ Lily’s tears began again as her heart literally ached within her chest. She felt a close bond with Neville, being her first encounter there in the barn...an encounter that was not against her will, that is. What she and Neville shared was something she held special in her heart. He was very loving and tender. But still, there was Thomas. With her being torn between these two most loving men, and Kahlua and Dinger returning injured and then Kahlua losing the baby and, of course on top of it all Natalie being back...it was just too much for Lily. Perhaps it would help to climb a tree, she thought. No, that would only be a temporary escape…like when she lost her baby. No, Lily knew what she should do. She would go and see her sister. Now, there was one baby who’d be well looked after if she had anything to say about it.

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 Chapter Eighty Six - "Ocarinas"

"You know, Lily, sometimes I can feel this fluttering in my stomach. I used to feel …like these butterflies when I was nervous or excited, " Snow looked down shyly, "like when I was with Mike. But now the fluttering is kind of different. It’s the baby, isn’t it Lily?" Snow beamed a smile at her sister as she waited for the answer she wanted to hear. Lily grinned as she made gentle presses on Snow’s stomach, "Yes, sis. I’m sure that’s what it is." Snow shrugged up her shoulders as she grew a cheeky smile, causing them both to giggle. They giggled all the harder when the knock at Snow’s door made them both jump. Lily felt Snow’s butterflies in her own stomach as she answered the door to find Thomas standing there. He stood for a second and smiled warmly, as if just taking in the sight of her. In his hands was a gun holster, "Ribold asked me to give this to you and to apologize for it taking so long." "Thank you, Thomas." As she took the holster tenderly, their fingers touched. Thomas then leaned over as if to kiss Lily when he spotted Snow peeking around the door’s frame, "Hello, Snow." "Hi Thomas!" she sputtered cheerfully, oblivious. Lily took a deep breath to try and give off a friendly tone rather than a nervous one, "Would you like to come in?" Tom looked at Snow smiling back at him, and deep down, he wished he could have given the holster to Lily alone. However, he didn’t want to visit Lily alone at her cabin, for fear that perhaps she would think that he was expecting anything from her…which he certainly was not. He just couldn’t tear himself away from Lily’s eyes as he spoke, "No, but thank you. I just knew that Lily was wanting this so I wanted to bring it over as soon as I could." The emotions bubbling inside Lily caused her to glance down at the holster in order to avoid Tom’s gaze, "Please tell Ribold that I very much appreciate his making this for me." Lily suddenly heard the cabin door squeak and turned to see that Snow had slowly shut the door almost to a close. It was Thomas taking her hand in his that made her turn back to him, "Lily…I know we haven’t had much time to spend together. And I’m not quite sure how to say this, actually. But I believe the words Raif used were, to ask you on a ‘date’. Does that sound anywhere near correct?" Lily couldn’t help but giggle at Thomas’ uneasiness with the moment. It made her feel better to know that he was just as nervous as she was, "Yes, Thomas, that sounds lovely." He smiled and looked into her eyes once more. This time, he couldn’t help himself. He leaned in to kiss her gently. From that gentle kiss, he pulled her in closer to him and started to deepen their kiss. ‘Time!’ The word echoed its way about Lily’s head and slowly, she pulled back from the kiss. ‘Time’…that word was starting to grate on Lily’s nerves, but still she stuck with her original plan. "Thomas, I wanted to talk to you, actually. Um…I do think we should, you know, take things slowly." Afraid that his rather forward kiss may have frightened her a bit, he jumped in with urgency, "Oh, yes. I agree with you completely." Lily took his hand and smiled, "So, where are we going on our ‘date’?" "Where would you like to go?" Her thoughts wandered to the mill, which of course she knew wasn’t a good idea under the circumstances…at least not yet. "What about a picnic in the woods?" Thomas face brightened, as he basked in the thought of spending a lovely sunshine day alone in the woods with Lily. "That sounds perfect. What about tomorrow for lunch? I’ll pick you up at your cabin at eleven?" She smiled and nodded as she squeezed his hand. Then she shyly lowered her eyes as she went back into the cabin. "Well?" Snow waited with curious eyes. "Well what?" "What happened?" "Nothing. Why did you close the door?" Snow tutted, "Because I wanted to give you two some privacy, of course. So nothing happened?" "We made a ‘date’." Snow cooed, "A date! I remember mine and Mike’s first date." Lily came over and sat beside her sister, "Really?" What did you do?" "We had the most lovely picnic." Lily’s eyes suddenly twinkled as she helped Snow fold some towels, "We’re having a picnic tomorrow. Where did you go?" Snow sighed, "The barn loft." Lily quickly turned away to pick up another towel as her uplifted tone sank, "Oh." Snow became inquisitive as she continued, "So what will you tell Neville?" "What do you mean?" "Well, since you’re going to be seeing Thomas, you must be planning to break the news to Neville? You can’t see them both." "Why not?" Snow stopped folding and looked at her sister in surprise, "You’re going to see both of them at the same time? Is this still my sister Lily I’m talking to, here? The same girl who just weeks ago would rather clean a fish than be alone with any man?" Lily sighed as she watched the two puppies playfully fight over one of the clean hand towels, "Snow, I’m torn. I don’t know what to do. Like I said the other day, I love them both." "But Lily, I remember what you told me about your feelings for Thomas. Clearly, he is the one you love. When you mentioned dating Neville, it was more casual, and that was before Thomas told you he loved you. Why all of a sudden do you feel so close to Neville?" Lily was silent as she grabbed a pillowcase from the pile of clean laundry. Snow didn’t take her eyes off her sister, "There’s something you’re not telling me isn’t there?" Lily stopped and held the pillowcase in her lap, fidgeting with it like a child, "Snow, there’s so much going on in the village right now…I’d just rather not talk about it. There’s so much going through my mind." Snow touched Lily’s hand lightly, causing her to look back up to Snow, "OK, I understand. You’re right. There’s a lot going on." Now, Lily’s mind was flooded with images of Neville up in the loft alone while she was off at a picnic with Thomas. ‘What a two-timer I am!’, Lily thought.

Running at a dead sprint from the river bank, Edward didn’t even think twice about grabbing his fishing gear or bait. He just had to get away from there…away from what he saw. Arriving at the village completely out of breath, it dawned on him that he’d left all of his equipment behind. He’d just have to fetch it tomorrow. As he entered the hut, he was still a bit winded, but it was his general appearance that got Yvonne’s attention, "Eddy, you look pale…and you’re out of breath. Are you alright?" "Yeah, I just…I guess I just need to get in better shape now that spring is here." Duncan also noticed, "But Yvonne’s right…you look like you’ve just seen a ghost, Ed." Eddy’s head snapped back to look at Duncan, "I’m fine, alright! I just need a drink or something. That’s all." He turned and with urgency stormed into the kitchen. Yvonne threw Duncan a quick look, as she thought about how seldom Edward drinks. Duncan simply shrugged. "Hello." They were greeted with the chipper resounding entrance of a very cheerful Thomas. "Duncan. I’m glad you’re here. With all the excitement, I haven’t had a chance to tell you. There’s something I need to talk to you about." Thomas came over and sat in lounge chair near Duncan, as Yvonne continued her knitting on a baby outfit for Snow. In all seriousness, Thomas offered, "It’s about Betty." Taken by surprise, Yvonne let out a hearty chuckle and missed a stitch on her work. She glanced toward Duncan whose appearance was suddenly looking more the flustered, so she tactfully asked if either of them would like some tea, and then excused herself to the kitchen. Tom began, "Yesterday, before Dinger’s and Kahlua’s return, I found Eddy over by Betty and he…" Duncan raised an eyebrow as he interrupted, "You found Edward over by Betty?" "Yes, but the strange part was that the tree had a hold of him. It wouldn’t let him go." "The tree did?" "Yes. I tried to help him, but then the tree grabbed me." Duncan chuckled, "Betty grabbed YOU?" "Yes, I know it sounds absurd, Duncan. But it’s true." Just then Eddy emerged from the kitchen with a large mug of ale and with a quickened pace was heading for the door, "Here, Eddy could tell you. Ed…tell Duncan what happened yesterday…you know, with Betty." Eddy’s thoughts still distracted with earlier, he breathed out heavily, "That tree? Can we discuss it later? I’m rather exhausted." "No Eddy, just tell him. I know he thinks I’m insane." Duncan looked at Edward with intent, "Did Betty grab you yesterday, Eddy?" He sighed annoyed, "Yeah, I told Thomas it was probably that witch after me again, like before. She’s running around these woods somewhere." "Something else," Thomas offered, "There were marks at the base of the tree…like someone tried to chop it down, then stopped." Duncan folded his arms becoming quickly annoyed, "Chop down Betty? Who would do that?" Thomas shrugged. Edward shifted his weight in discomfort and sighed at the detainment, "If you need me, you know where my cabin is." Turning quickly, he left the hut. Duncan watched his actions with concern, as Thomas urged, "What do you make of it, Duncan?" "Maybe it is Margurite, then. We’ve been in this village long enough to know that there’s never been a problem with Betty before…she’s just a tree. I would think we need to stay clear of her under the circumstances, though." "You’ll get a lot of moans and groans over that one, Duncan, " as Yvonne returned with three cups of tea. "Well, until we can figure out what is going on, I think it’s for the best. I’ll tell the men. It’d probably be best if I told them individually, quite frankly. Thank you, Thomas."

As Lily returned home from Snow’s with Gypsy, she was met by a very upset Stevie carrying his dulcimer. Lily already guessed what had happened. "Lily, I’m sorry. I broke the strings again…three this time." He had such a sad look, Lily wanted to reassure him, "Stevie, it’s OK. It’s no big deal. You know what? I’m glad this happened, in fact. How would you like to learn to fix the strings yourself? Then no one would ever know when they broke. It’s really not hard." Stevie’s face lit up, "Really?" "Sure. And while we’re at it, there’s something else we can make…something I think you’ll really like. But…we’ll probably get quite dirty, so be prepared!"

Once the dulcimer was repaired, Lily led Stevie to the Willows lake’s edge, "Now, we have to find a type of dirt that we can hand mold into a type of clay, see." She spotted some mud on the bank, "There. This should do nicely. Have a sit." Lily took about half a handful of mud and formed a small clay ball. "Now, flatten it out just a bit like this…sort of like an oyster." Stevie followed Lily’s lead molding the small clay mass in his hands. "Then with a string, cut it in half." With a strong length of string, they cut their clay balls in half. "We then dig out the middle of both halves like so." Lily had brought two spoons and a small pick tool. They proceeded to dig the middle out of the two halves, then with the pick tool, made different shaped holes in the small round objects. Afterwards, they added water to the edges of the clay halves and carefully put them back together and smoothed them around the edges. Finally, Lily held hers up, "See. After we bake it, we’ll have a little clay flute. It’s called an ocarina." "Ocarina," Stevie repeated. "The music it plays is lovely and it isn’t hard to learn. Plus, you can paint them with all sorts of different colors and designs…that’s the fun part! You can also wear it around your neck if you want. I used to wear mine when I was playing. That way, I wouldn’t set it down somewhere and lose it if I took a break." While the clay was still soft, Lily made an extra indentation at the top of each one so they could put string through the ocarinas and wear them around their necks. "I’ll write up a little songbook for us and we’ll play together. Sound good?" Stevie happily nodded as he carefully turned the object over in his hands for inspection. "Now, all we have to do is bake them in the oven a while and let them cool, and they’ll be ready." On their way back to the village, Gypsy happily trotted back with them as Stevie teased her by bounding back and forth across the path. Lily giggled at the two of them. Mike allowed them to bake the ocarinas in the oven at the same time as his bread after Lily assured him that the clay wouldn’t make the bread taste ‘funny’. Stevie watched as Lily began to write up a songbook for him to learn to play the ocarina with. The songbook consisted of a series of dots and circles that represented the holes on the ocarina and the order of finger placement. Stevie was amazed at how Lily could remember the notes and finger placement on the little round flute so well without even having the instrument in front of her. "What can I say, Stevie? Years of practice and teaching, I suppose." Lily chuckled. Thomas smiled at the two of them as he watched from across the room. He would have loved to have stayed and basked in the sight of her longer, but he had business to attend to. He had to go and prepare the ‘surprise’ for their date tomorrow.

He thought he was going mad. As he practiced his archery outside his cabin, Edward tried to shake the haunting visitor from his mind. At first he thought he was merely seeing things. But then the visitor spoke to him, clearly and concise. Could his imagination seem that real? He couldn’t confide in anyone about it, lest they think him insane. Perhaps he was. Perhaps all those months of previously being possessed by that witch had left him without his wits about him. In any case, he couldn’t tell a soul. He hoped it was merely the excitement of everything that had gone on the past few days. It seemed to leave the entire village shaken up a bit. Perhaps he was just a bit more shaken than the others. Unable to concentrate on his aim, Eddy threw his bow to the ground, frustrated. ‘I’ll just turn in early tonight,’ he thought. ‘Maybe in the morning I can just laugh the whole thing off.’ He may have been able to, had he not walked into his cabin to find his visitor sitting in a chair by the window smiling at him, "It’s been a long time, eh?" Edward coughed on the word, as he choked on his own saliva, "Gaveston?"

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Neville just wasn’t in the mood to help Travis out with the generator today, which he knew he’d get sucked into lest he find an escape. It wasn’t a difficult decision. The night before, following dinner in the hut, Neville noticed Stevie’s and Lily’s ocarinas cooling after coming out of the oven. Lily observed him admiring the little clay flutes and asked if he’d like to borrow one. So the next morning, with the ocarina and one of the songbooks Lily had prepared, he decided to try his hand at playing. As he headed up to the barn loft, "What the…?" he was taken by surprise to find Eddy asleep in the loft. Either he’d been there all night, or he got up pretty early just to come and fall asleep in the hay. "Hey, Ed!" Neville’s hail wakened Eddy with a start. "Dear God, man! Can you announce yourself next time?" " I did. I said ‘hey Eddy’." Edward gave him an annoyed look. "What are you doin’ up here? You been ‘ere all night?" Edward peered around at his surroundings as he gathered his bearings, "Yes…I mean no. No, I just…inadvertently fell asleep here, I guess." "So you’ve been here all night then! Man, I’ll bet ya have quite a stiff neck there, eh?" Ed rubbed at the back of his neck re-configuring in his mind the situation, "Yeah," covering for himself, he tried to chuckle lightheartedly like his friend, "I guess that’ll teach me to take naps in strange places. I suppose I’ll go and get some coffee. Want any?" Neville brushed past Eddy and plopped down into the hay, "Nah, but thanks!" Edward didn’t want to go back to his cabin. What if…HE…was there? "I must be going mad." That coffee suddenly sounded pretty good. Quickly, Ed made his way to the hut.

"Lily, what’s this?" Yvonne held up a book as Lily turned from primping in the mirror for her lunch date with Thomas, "Oh, that’s Margurite’s old spell book that Snow gave to Jenn. We borrowed it, but since poor Jenn’s been trying to get her cabin in order after being ransacked, I just held onto it. I was going to hide it in a safe place. Where would you suggest?" Yvonne set her other hand on top of the book, "Considering its contents and the strange things that have been happening around here lately, why don’t I get Duncan to lock it up for you at his place? It would probably be safer there than anywhere, given the circumstances." Lily gave a surrendering motion towards the book, "Excellent idea! Could you please?" "Sure." Yvonne placed it in her purse with a smile. Lily’s heart leapt at the sound of a knock at the door as she whirled around to face it. Yvonne watched for a few seconds as Lily merely stood there staring at the door. "Do you remember how the door opens, Lily?" She offered with a wink. Lily giggled at herself and nodded with embarrassment. She took a deep breath and opened the door. Smiling brightly there in front of her was Thomas holding out to her a bouquet of fresh cut flowers, "The first flowers of spring for a lovely ‘Lily’, herself." Lily blushed as she took the flowers, inhaling their sweetness. "Thank you." Tom’s eyes twinkled as he offered her his arm. Lily shut the door behind her and then took it, "You may still need to help me limp along the trail, I’m afraid." "Aha…but we won’t be walking to our destination today, lass." Lily threw him a puzzled look, "We won’t?" Thomas shook his head as he led her to the barn. There parked in the front was the mare Nugget, and attached to her harness was a newly converted wagon. Lily recognized this as the ‘one-horse open sleigh’ that she’d seen over in the corner of the barn so many times. The sleigh now sported wooden wagon wheels, much like those on her gypsy cart back home. Hence, it was now a ‘one-horse open wagon’. He stepped ahead, grinning proudly at the delighted expression on her face, and opened the small door for Lily. Taking her hand, he helped her inside, "Thomas, this is wonderful! Did you complete this all by yourself?" He smiled and sighed as he sat down at the reigns, "I wish I could take full credit, but alas, I did get help from Bartolome and Raif." She placed her hand on his as he took the reigns, "Well, it’s still quite wonderful and so very thoughtful." Thomas looked to her hand and then gazed up to her smile. He wanted so badly to kiss her, but not here…not in the middle of the village, as he spotted Nigel over by the workshop smirking at them. So, as Thomas returned her smile, he quickly snapped the reigns and they were off into the woods for some privacy. Of course, Tom did remember Lily’s words yesterday…that she wanted to ‘take things slowly’. Thomas knew that this was best, although he knew just how very hard it may prove to be as well.

Grabbing his coffee and leaving the hut quickly, Edward was not in the mindset to answer questions about his struggle with ‘Betty’, nor was he up to mundane ‘chit-chat’. He headed off to the stream to pick up his fishing gear and perhaps find a different fishing spot. While he was at it, he maybe should find another cabin to reside in as well. ‘Now I’m just being silly,’ thought Ed. "Hello." Whirling around with a start, he half-expected to see his haunting image standing there, until he realized the voice was female. It was Snow, thankfully. "Whatcha doin’?" Recovering from the sudden surge of adrenaline, he took a deep breath, "I was just going fishing. I left my gear by the stream." "Could I tag along? Mike’s going to be pretty busy baking pies with all the new fruits sprouting up now…and Lily’s gone off with Thomas. So it’s just me and Maxwell and Gypsy here." Eddy looked down at the two pups playing around Snow’s dress hem. He thought to himself that it’s probably best that he not be alone right now, and Snow was a good friend to him…the nonjudgmental kind. Plus, the pups were so cute, he rather fancied having them around quite frankly.

The wagon ride was slow and soothing. The air was fresh and the spring colors were vibrant as Lily continued to admire her flowers from Thomas. How well they go with the backdrop of the woods itself, she thought. She was enjoying herself so much, she wouldn’t have minded the picnic being right there in the wagon itself. As she sat next to Thomas, their legs just barely touching, she dared to look at him. As she leaned back in the seat, she looked up to his strong jaw and cheekbones. His hair was tied back with a leather strap, and he was quite clean shaven. Lily wondered if he had done that for her? Sensing her gaze, Thomas was happily surprised to find Lily looking at him. He thought for sure she’d be enjoying the view amongst the woods. But to his delight, he found her beautiful bright blue eyes searching for his and he smiled at her. What a friendly smile, thought Lily. He has such a calming effect on me, she thought…and those warm brown eyes. She could gaze into them for hours. Catching herself, she quickly averted her gaze back outwards towards the landscaping of the woods. However breathtaking the view was, it could never compare to Thomas’ face. The words went through her mind yet again…’time’…’take things slowly’. To hell with it! This wagon ride was as close to ‘bliss’ as she’d probably see for a while and she was going to enjoy it. Without looking up meet his gaze, Lily leaned over close to Thomas and rested her head against his arm. Gently, he lifted his arm and put it around her. Lily wanted to keep her eyes open to watch the spring countryside as it rolled by. But she couldn’t help it. As Thomas cradled her and rubbed her arm, a warm feeling washed over her and she had to close her eyes and savor it. Inhaling deeply, Lily could smell the scent of fresh cedar from the wagon and the clean smell of Tom’s newly washed shirt. He hadn’t told her just how far the picnic spot was that he’d picked out, but she was curious, "Are we there yet?" "Not quite." Lily sighed as she smiled dreamily, "Good." Thomas so enjoyed having Lily there next to him, it occurred to him to circle the picnic site a few times before stopping there. Though he tried to push it from his mind for today, Tom couldn’t stop thinking about it. He’d noticed lately that Lily wore such a sad look in her eyes it seemed. It broke his heart in thinking it was because he assumed she still thought he had rejected her that day at the mill. But since the other day at the lake, when she told him that she’d heard what he’d said to her at the jail, he then realized that she knew how he truly felt about her. Why did she not say anything there in the jail? And why does she still seem so sad? It must be her thoughts about Dinger and Kahlua…plus Phillipe is still on the loose. Thomas was sure to bring his pistol with him. He promised himself that he wouldn’t spoil their date today by bringing up any of these related issues. He wanted this day to be perfect.

As he’d been practicing all morning, Stevie heard the familiar sound of another ocarina coming from the barn. "Oi, Neville!" Neville peered down from the loft, "Hey, Stevie!" "Ya wanna practice together, Nev?" "Sure, come on up." Stevie climbed the ladder and happily plopped down next to Neville, "Lily made ya a songbook too, eh?" as Stevie picked up Neville’s book. "Yeah…just like yours, I’d imagine. Have you seen Lily? Maybe she could give us some pointers?" Neville asked with a glint of hope in his voice. "Nah. She went out with Thomas. They took the new wagon." Neville looked at Stevie and frowned, "With Thomas? What new wagon?" Stevie blew a few notes on his ocarina, then took a second look at his booklet, "Tom fixed up the sleigh and made it inta a wagon. Took it out for a test I s’pose." Stevie began blowing into his flute, fidgeting with his fingers on the holes. Neville took a look at the booklet, but wasn’t really seeing the pages. His thoughts were too distracted now. Why would Lily be out with Thomas? As he too began to play the little round flute, Neville hid his disappointment in wishing he could take Lily out in the ‘new’ wagon himself.

The babbling of the brook was calming to Edward’s shaken nerves, as he stared down at the fishing line dancing in the water. "Over here…uh oh! Get it! Come on…over here now!" He’d barely noticed as Snow played with the two pups, dragging sticks along the ground for them to chase. Finally, he turned to watch their frolicking, "So, you think it’s preparing you for motherhood?" he motioned to the two cubs. Snow giggled, "Hardly, but perhaps it could help a little. I just hope my little one isn’t quite this furry!" Edward chuckled. It was almost like a déjà vu for him, sitting here fishing with Snow. Just months ago, the two of them occupied this spot quite often…almost daily in fact, there for a while. She’s such a sweet girl, thought Eddy. She’s kind and thoughtful, as well as innocent. Mike’s quite a lucky guy. Ed could remember back to the time when he himself was engaged to Snow. It was a fuzzy time in his mind, but still, he remembered most of it. He’d felt much confusion over the feelings he had for Snow. He had genuine feelings for her, and at the time, it was almost frightening for him. Snow was the only one who’d ever caused him to question his own preferences in that way. Not even Isabel had affected him like that. Ed in fact was glad that Snow was now married, so he need not ponder those feelings any longer. Shaking the thought from his mind, Eddy smiled as he watched the kind Princess lovingly nurture the small pups. ‘What a wonderful mother she’ll make someday,’ thought the king. Quickly, he set his concentrations back on his fishing, to ward off the memories of his own son he’d left behind. "Edward, why don’t you get yourself a pup?" Ed looked back at Snow and then at the two wolf cubs. "There are a few left, I believe. They’re adorable! I couldn’t believe it when I saw they were still unclaimed. Of course Mike wouldn’t allow me to have two…especially with our own little one on the way." Eddy smiled as Gypsy tugged on the branch Snow held and Maxwell in turn chewed on her little ear, "You know…maybe you’re right. Perhaps I should adopt one of the little rascals." In the back of his mind, Edward couldn’t help but wonder if the pup would be able to see his haunting visitor as well.

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"Here we are." Thomas pulled at the reins stopping the wagon at a lovely spot on the far side of the Willows lake. Lily’s disappointment that their ride was over only lasted a second until she saw the wonderful spread Thomas had prepared. He had laid out a large tablecloth across the plush green grass on the bank overlooking the lake. The view was simply breathtaking out over the water with the mountains standing tall in the background, where even the tallest trees stood dwarfed below them. On the cloth, were two place settings amidst covered baskets of bread and fresh fruit, an unopened bottle of wine, and off to the side, the CD boombox. Thomas picked up the bottle of wine, "I had to hide this last night…it was either that or fight over it with Duncan. It seems as though he had plans for it as well." He chuckled, "I’ll probably hear it from him tonight when he finds it missing." Lily took the bottle in her hands. On it, was a hand-written label. The handwriting looked like Mike’s. Lily concluded that this must have been a bottle of ‘Mike’s famous fine wine’ that she hears so much about. She hadn’t a clue about what wine was good and what wasn’t, "Well, I hope you don’t get into trouble just for me." Thomas caught her trying to hide her proud smirk from him as he put the bottle back, "Nah…only the best for you Lily. Besides, if Duncan wants to fight Mike for one of the bottles I know he has tucked away for he and Snow, then he can just go right ahead. I for one, prefer to stay in Mike’s good graces, being that he’s your brother-in-law." As Lily turned to see Tom’s sly grin, she blushed at his boldness. She turned back to spot the unlit campfire Thomas prepared earlier. "Yes, it’s all ready for cooking." Tom came over and knelt down beside the small pile of wood and kindling and began to get a fire going. Lily picked up a canning jar filled with some strange substance. Thomas smiled at her wrinkled nose expression as she tried to figure out the large ‘mass’ in the jar, "That’s canned meat…raw deer meat to be exact. I asked Mike if he could can me up some to stay preserved to cook over the fire for lunch today. He was also kind enough to can me up some fresh blackberry cobbler…made from the first blackberries of the season. He and Snow had just picked them the other day." It was obvious to Lily, that her sister and brother-in-law were trying to set her up with Thomas. She’d noted this a while back. But what Lily noted as even more important, was just how much trouble Thomas was going to for her. With sparkles of admiration in her eyes, she watched as he struggled with the small campfire, "You went to so much trouble Thomas." She knelt down beside him and gently rested her hand on his shoulder. Lost in her eyes, Tom found that he was repeating himself yet again as he whispered, "Only the best for you, Lily." She found herself melting in his gaze, and she really didn’t want to. When she tried to get back up, her ankle buckled and she started to plummet backwards. With a quick outward thrust of his arm, Tom caught her before she hit the ground. He then set her gently upon the soft grass. Frustrated, Lily tutted as she rubbed her ankle, "See, I’m just too much trouble." "But you’re worth it," Tom interjected softly as he brushed a strand of golden hair from her face. Feeling the warmth of the flames behind him, Thomas turned and again tended to the fire, "We don’t want to catch the woods on fire." Lily gave a heavy but quiet sigh as she thought to herself that she should tend to her own ‘out-of-control flames’ of desire. Casually, she slid over to one of the set places and began to dip out for each of them a portion of salad. Tom looked back over his shoulder, "Lily, I wanted to serve you today. You shouldn’t have to do anything." "Oh, Thomas, it’s just salad. Besides, you’ve got your hands full. Remember, you don’t want to burn the woods down," she winked.

"Well, there’s only one left…this li’tle fella." Stevie took the last puppy in his arms, "That pre’ty lady there was jus’ adopted by Neville." Neville squatted down and picked up the little white female pup, "Yes, this is Snowdrop. I kept the name Stevie gave her." Snow looked at Stevie, "You named her Snowdrop?" Stevie blushed and looked down at the wolf cub in his arms, as he began to gnaw on the ocarina flute around Stevie’s neck." Neville replied matter-of-factly, "Yep. He named her after you, Snow…she’s all white, see?" Stevie looked up long enough to catch the warm smile Snow threw his direction. Eddy rubbed the puppy’s head in Stevie’s arms, "Well, this little guy will be just fine…you’re rather a handsome fellow." Edward carefully took the pup from Stevie’s hands, "I think I’ll call you ‘Shakespeare’…quite a proper name for a ‘royal hound’, wouldn’t you say?" Snow giggled while Neville groaned and rolled his eyes before adding, "Yes, and he’ll probably turn out ta be a ‘royal’ pain in the arse jus’ like his owner!"

"That was delicious, Thomas! I had no idea that you could cook so well. You could give Mike some competition there." Tom pressed a finger to his lips, "Shhhh. Don’t tell anyone. Why do you think I keep it a secret? I don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen all the time like ol’ Mike…poor chap!" They laughed as Thomas again offered, "No, but it’s not really cooking per se, it’s more just the roasting of meats that I’d gotten pretty good at back home. I’m useless when it comes to desserts or baking bread. I just left that to my wife." Lily grabbed a leaf of lettuce from the bowl and threw it at Tom, "But you toss a mean salad, eh?" Tom in turn, threw a leaf back at her, "And that’s so difficult, too!" The leaf landed on Lily’s bracelet. As she picked it off, Tom gently took her arm to look at the words on her bracelet, "Snow made this for you?" "Yes. Lily Beth White." She then asked shyly, "Your wife’s name was Beth, wasn’t it?" Thomas paused a moment in thought. Lily silently scolded herself for asking such a question that would bring sad memories, "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t bring up such a…" "No that’s alright," Thomas added with a gentleness. "I don’t mind. I like talking about my family, really. They say it can be healthy to talk about lost loved ones sometimes. My young son was Thomas, and my wife was Beth, or Elizabeth. Your mother’s name was Elizabeth, wasn’t it?" "Yes, and so my middle name was called after her…Beth. Kind of a funny coincidence, eh? With the name ‘Beth’, and also since I’ve been a midwife?" Thomas smiled and peered down at her bracelet. He wasn’t exactly positive that he looked at it as purely coincidence. Lily looked back to the boombox, "I really like that song. I wonder what it is? It sounds a lot like the music I used to hear back home, but with more of a modern flair like I’m used to hearing from that contraption." Thomas picked up the CD case, "Karen recommended this one. She said the music was very soothing." Reading he added, "The singer’s name is Loreena McKennitt. This song is called the ‘Mummer’s Dance’. Kind of a flowing little melody, eh?" "The Mummer’s Dance?" Lily sighed, "Yes it’s lovely, and it would be a wonderful tune to dance to…I only wish I could." She sadly looked to her still slightly swollen ankle. Thomas looked at her pensively, then quickly got up, "Right. Well, why not, then?" "What?" Lily looked at him, confused. He offered his hand to help her up, "I’ll help you to dance, Lily. Come." In all trust, she took Thomas’ hand and rose to her feet, putting most of her weight on her good leg, "Thomas, you know I think Karen would kill me if she knew I tried to dance on this sore ankle." He grinned with the hint of a plan in he eyes, "Ah, but you won’t be dancing on your ankle at all, see?" "What do you mean?" Before she could protest, Thomas quickly but gently swooped Lily up into his arms, as Lily let out a small ‘yelp’ and giggle. He then hoisted her the rest of the way up onto his shoulder. Lily suddenly felt a small surge of adrenaline as she could just see herself plummet to the ground on her head, so she clasped onto Tom’s forearm and shoulder for support, "Goodness Thomas! What are you doing?" He steadied her upon his shoulder with one arm across her legs and then with his other hand clasped hers in the air above his head, "You can dance now, Lily…without having to worry about your ankle or in taking a wrong step, even." Tightly, she clasped his fingers, and then with her other hand, slowly let go of his arm. Then after reassuring her balance, Lily brought her free arm up into the air, waving it back and forth to the music. Thomas slowly began to turn in a circle, as Lily flowed her hand through the air. Tom beamed, "You’re dancing on air, Lily!" The music was indeed soothing and the breeze blew lightly against her face. But what had Lily captivated the most, was simply the thought of being carried in Thomas’ arms this way…the two of them dancing together. Faster and faster he spun her around, as Lily began to laugh and squeal at the joy ride. "Thomas, aren’t you getting dizzy?" He chuckled, "Well, actually…yes." Thomas quickly stopped, and gently pulled at Lily’s legs bringing her off of his shoulders. As she slid down he caught her, setting her feet to the ground softly. She beamed a grateful smile, as she then turned to face him. "See, Lily. You’re a beautiful dancer regardless." Blinking from dizziness, he gazed into her eyes as he caught his breath, "Actually, you’re just beautiful." Being now face to face with Thomas, Lily felt stunned. Even her fingertips tingled as they rested upon Tom’s chest. She tried to find it within herself to put her guard up and casually pull back, as she was so accustomed to doing. Why couldn’t she do it now? It was like she was frozen, but not in fear. She was frozen in ‘awe’. She was in awe of Thomas…she was in awe of her feelings for this kind and gentle man. So what now? Hypnotized in his gaze, her breathing became more and more shallow with each passing second. Thomas’s hands that rested upon each side of her waist slowly slid behind her to support her back. Lily observed him look from her eyes down to her lips, and her heart fluttered…she knew he was about to kiss her. Gently bending his face towards hers, their lips met softly. Tenderly, he pulled her closer to him with his arms, as Lily reached up and began to lightly massage the back of his neck with her fingertips. Tom pulled back gently, adding sweet small kisses to the corners of her mouth. She opened her eyes to find his waiting…waiting for any sign from her. She smiled sweetly at him and rested her head upon his shoulder, pressing her face to his neck and gently caressing his skin with little kisses. Thomas gently picked her up into his arms and knelt down, slowly setting her onto the ground, "I just didn’t want you to put any extra weight on your ankle, love." ‘Love.’ There it was again, Lily thought. It thrilled her to hear Thomas call her ‘love’. She touched her hand to his face, then brushed it back through his hair and bit her lip as she smiled. He touched his hand up to hers and brought it to his lips to kiss her palm, "I love you, Lily." Lily felt her eyes began to mist, "I love you, too." And she did…Thomas was the one she loved truly. What she would tell Neville, she didn’t know. But Lily was done with kidding herself. Plain and simple, she loved Thomas…she knew that. What she then felt was like a wave of cool water flow over her as Thomas leaned in to kiss her. Thomas felt Lily melt under his kiss and, delighting in her surrender, he pulled her in closer. Putting her arms around his neck, Lily gave Thomas the peace of mind to deepen their kiss. Lily brushed her fingers through Thomas’ hair, as he tenderly brought his kisses across her face and down to her neck. Tilting her head to expose more of her neck to him, Lily breathed out a dreamy sigh. What startled her was hearing Thomas choke on a word. "Beth."

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Startled, Lily pulled back to find Thomas suddenly white as a sheet and looking past Lily to the woods. "Tom, you just called me ‘Beth’." Seeing Thomas still intent on peering out towards the woods, Lily turned to look but saw nothing but trees. As she turned back, Thomas shook his head…his demeanor was altogether different. He looked as if he’d seen a ghost, "No. No, I didn’t. It was actually HER! She was there!" Lily again turned but saw nothing. "What are you talking about?" Thomas was clearly shaken, "It was Beth. She was there…standing there. She was looking at me…looking at US! I swear, Lily. She was right there!" "Tom there’s no one there. How could…" She stopped quickly. Looking at Thomas, Lily began to understand what was going on. Slowly, she slid back away from him. Her eyes started to water and her heart began to ache. It wasn’t her Thomas wanted…it was Beth. That’s what this whole thing has been about, thought Lily. Her middle name ‘Beth’, a midwife…of course. It all started to come together now…make sense in Lily’s mind. The painful reality was that Thomas was still grieving the loss of his wife and son, and Lily was merely a ‘place filler’…a reminder of what once was. ‘Oh God! How could I have been so blind? How could I have let myself fall for him like this, when I’m not the one he wants at all? ’ Clumsily she stood to her feet, wavering from her sore leg. However, the pain in her heart greatly overshadowed that in her ankle. Thomas also stood, "Lily, I swear! She was right over…" Lily gasped in a sob, "OK, I get it now. The name ‘Beth’, the midwife thing…I can’t believe I fell for this!" Thomas’ thoughts fell upon the realization of what Lily was thinking, "Lily, you don’t think that I was picturing Beth instead of you?" She threw her hand over her mouth as a pointless cover to her crying, "What a fool I am! I truly believed it was me you loved, when all this time it was a lie…a mere reminder of someone else. A SUBSTITUTE! God, I’ve been nothing but a substitute to you, haven’t I?" Thomas was horrified that Lily would think such things. Hearing himself ramble, He could hardly even speak, "No, Lily…that’s not it. It’s you that I love! It’s just that I saw her over there, I swear!" Whether or not Thomas really did believe that he saw his wife Beth, or was merely so caught up in his memory of her that he called out her name, it didn’t matter. Lily just knew that either way, it was Beth that Thomas was thinking of, and not her. All of her feelings for Thomas were for naught, she thought. Lily felt herself weakening, as the terrifying fact engulfed her. She had to get away, lest she fall completely apart. Quickly, she turned on her good heel and made a beeline for the wagon. She urgently climbed in wincing only for a second at the pain that shot through her ankle. Thomas quickly stepped up the wagon and tried to grab the reigns, "Wait, Lily! Please just listen…" "No!" She pulled the reigns back away from him, as the horse winnied from the ruckus, "I trusted you! I loved you! I can’t take this…I won’t be a substitute! I won’t!" She shoved Thomas away from the wagon and then quickly snapped the reigns. Nugget took off quickly, jolting Lily back into the seat of the wagon. As Thomas again ran up to try and stop her, the cart took off, riding too fast for him to catch it. Lily rubbed her tears away violently. She’d send someone back in the wagon to get him when she reached the village. Right now, she just needed to get away. She was grateful that Nugget knew the way back home, as her tears continually blinded her view of the path in front of them. Arriving into the village at a rather quick pace, Lily stopped Nugget just in front of the barn. Bartolome came outside to greet her. He frowned when he saw her crying, "M’lady? Are you alright?" "Bart, would you please go and pick up Thomas in the wagon? He’s at the southeast corner of Willows lake, I believe. The bank along the main path." "Well, alright. What happened, Lily?" Offering no explanation, Lily started into the barn. Bart gently grabbed her arm, "Is he hurt?" Lily stopped and scowled at him, "No. No, not at all." Pulling away, she proceeded into the barn. As she closed the large barn door and heard Bart and the wagon pull away, she slid down next to 24Carrots’ pen, sobbing. "Lily?" She hadn’t seen Neville peering down from the loft as he heard the commotion outside. He’d been up practicing on the ocarina. "Are you alright?" Lily heard him but didn’t raise her head. Quickly, Neville climbed down from the loft and approached her. As he knelt down, he lightly touched her arms that buried her face, "Sweetheart?" Slowly, Lily raised her head. Her eyes were red from crying and she sniffled up her running nose. Neville’s heart went out to her, "Oh, Lily. What’s wrong?" She gasped in a sob, as her crying started again. She reached for Neville with urgency, as she buried her face into his chest. He tenderly wrapped his arms around her, as he wondered what could possibly make her so upset. Had she seen Phillipe? Was Gypsy hurt? Kahlua…was she alright? Neville continued to rub Lily’s back gently, "Lily, are you hurt? Is there something wrong?" Oh she was hurt alright, thought Lily. It was a hurt that went beyond any physical pain, she thought. ‘Suck it up’, Lily thought. Neville doesn’t know about Thomas and he doesn’t need to know. She pulled away from his chest and instead wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him, "No, I’m OK. I just…um…tripped outside and it made my ankle hurt something awful…that’s all." Neville pulled back, "Oh Lily…" He reached out to softly rub her ankle, "Be careful, sweetheart." Lily smiled at him through her tears. Then the thought suddenly struck her that as soon as Bart returned with Thomas, he would surely seek her out. She didn’t want to face him, now. Quickly, she started to get up. Neville gently grabbed her arms to stop her, "Hey! What are you doing? You just re-injured yourself. You need to stay put." Urgently she sputtered, "No. Let’s just go somewhere…anywhere. We could take one of the horses. Let’s just take a ride into the woods." Neville smiled and squeezed her hand. She’d get no objections from him on that. He prepared a mare and assisted Lily onto her, then hoisted himself up and led them out of the barn. "Where would you like to go?" "Anywhere but here," she whispered.

Slowly, Tom began to gather the remnants of their date, shattered by some sort of hallucination. The wine, the blackberry cobbler, the music…all of it was for nothing. Why? What happened? What did he see over there in the brush? He would swear it was really Beth. "Arh!" He shook away the thought, as he angrily slammed the dishes into the basket. ‘It doesn’t matter’, he thought. ‘All that matters now is getting back to the village so I can talk to Lily.’ "Whoa," called Bart to the mare pulling the familiar wagon. "Hey, Tom!" "Hello Bart," he seethed over his shoulder as he jammed the last of the dishes into the basket. He was pretty sure he heard at least one of them break as he shut the lid down on top of the heap. Not being in the best of moods, Thomas was not looking forward to the barrage of questions he knew he was about to receive from Bart. "So what happened, man? Lily arrived at the village all in a huff and upset." He added with a wink, "What did you do?" "Nothing!" Tom spun around and answered loudly. "I didn’t do anything." In seeing Bart’s joking demeanor change to that of concerned surprise, he lowered his tone, "It was a simple misunderstanding, that’s all. I need to get back so I can talk to her." Bart could sense that Tom wasn’t in a talkative mood, and just left it at that. He helped Thomas put the supplies into the back of the cart and they headed back to the village.

Neville and Lily rode out to a part of a nearby stream not too far from the Willows. When Neville came to the side of the horse, Lily thought he was going to help her down. To her surprise, he lifted her off the horse and carried her over to the stream’s bank, "I told ya, ya can’t be goin’ re-injurin’ this ankle, Lily." She giggled as he set her down. He then plopped down on the grass next to her, "Believe me I know. Got me leg broke once." "I remember you telling me that. That must have really hurt." He grabbed a stone and skimmed it across the stream, "Yeah, it wasn’t no day at the beach. Speakin’ a beaches, we gotta go sailin’ on the lake sometime, you an’ me." Lily smiled brightly, "That sounds great, but do you all have boats?" He laughed, "Oh yeah…we got boats. We have canoes for the river and a few sailboats for the lake. I’m wonderin’ if we can ever get that solar power stuff that Travis works on ta get some power in the boats, ya know? Then they can go much faster. Why don’t we plan a day out at the lake? I think the weather is supposed to be pretty nice this week. It may be a bit nippy for swimming, but perfect for boating. What do ya say?" Lily gave a shy grin as she looked down at the plush grass beneath her, then nodded, "OK." "Great!" Lily could visibly see the child-like joy in Neville’s eyes at her acceptance. The sun was getting lower and the breeze was picking up a bit, causing Lily to shudder. Neville rubbed his hands up and down her arms, "You gettin’ chilly? Maybe we should get you back so you can get a wrap." "No, I’m alright. Actually, I have a better idea." She gave him a sly grin and moved closer to him. She then leaned onto his shoulder, putting her arms around his waist. He in turn wrapped his around her shoulders and held her close, "You’re right, Lily. This was a much better idea." There was so much going through Lily’s mind, that she could not even enjoy the moment. Her thoughts wandered back and forth from today’s disaster with Thomas at the lake to that day with him at the mill to that afternoon with Neville in the barn loft. Lily’s final conclusion was a painful one. She was glad she’d not made love to Thomas in the mill that day, as to Thomas, it would surely have only been the memory of Beth, rather than her. Instead, she was happy to be here with Neville, as she knew that Neville loved her for her alone.

When Lily arrived home that evening, she requested to Yvonne that she have no visitors for the evening, as she was very tired. Yvonne promised to ward off anyone that may come to see her that night. In keeping her promise, she shooed Thomas away, giving him no choice but to wait until morning to speak with Lily. Frustrated and tired, he retired to his cabin. His roommate wasn’t in yet. Tom thought perhaps Raif was down enjoying some last minute jokes at the hut over mugs of ale with the men until a curious sight caught his eye. His spare key to the new jail lock wasn’t on its hook. With a chuckle and a shake of his head, Thomas figured he’d be sleeping alone in the cabin tonight. His sleep was soon disturbed by a noise in the cabin. "Back already? I thought you’d be out till morning given the circumstances, " Tom teased without opening his eyes. His sly grin toward his roommate dissipated as he instead heard a familiar female’s voice, "Why would I wish to stay to away from my own husband? Especially when the nights get so cold and lonely."

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Thomas didn’t sleep a wink all night. It wasn’t the hard floor of the mill keeping him awake, it was that he couldn’t stop thinking of what had just happened to him. To his horror, what he thought was Raif coming back into the cabin that night, when he opened his eyes, was really a ghost. Well it had to be, right? Beth was dead, wasn’t she? Yet there she was, as real as he was, standing there smiling at him. Thomas was disturbed by the fact that he never really saw what happened to his wife and son. Perhaps they lived. Maybe they got out of the house, away from that monster. Maybe they were still alive somewhere. But here? Could Beth really be here in the Willows? Tom could see the faint hint of dawn creeping through the mill house window. Where yesterday things seemed so clear…he would find Lily in the morning and straighten things out about what happened at the lake on their date. He’d wanted it to be so perfect. And then, he saw HER over in the trees. He had brushed it away as some sort of fluke hallucination, and was prepared to patch things up with Lily…make her understand that she was the only one. It was so clear to him…until he saw her again last night. Beth. Was it really her? She talked to him. She touched him. She was so real. He played the night over and over again in his mind, trying to make sense out of the whole thing…trying to find the truth somewhere, anywhere. She had sat down on the bed next to him. She touched his face. She kissed him. He was stunned. What could he do? What should he do? He kissed her back…he couldn’t help it. He really had missed her. But was it her? As they kissed, he felt her pull back the covers and slip into the small twin bed with him. The kiss was familiar, but then her hands began to wander. There was something different…wait, what’s happening here? Tom pulled back and slid across the bed to stand on the other side, and in a panic, he quickly backed up against the window, shaking the glass dangerously in it’s pane. "What’s wrong?" she’d asked. He didn’t answer. He merely shook his head. Then before another word was spoken, on instinct he flew out of the cabin, not grabbing a robe or slippers or anything. Here is where he’d ended up…the mill. It was the craziest night he’d ever experienced. It was only for a second that he pondered the strange looks he’d get when he wandered back into the village that morning in only his nightclothes. The rest of his thoughts were filled with doubt and confusion…over Beth, over Lily. Was Lily right after all? Was he perhaps still grieving…pining over his wife? Did he really see Beth, or was it simply his mind seeing what it wanted to see? And if that’s the case, why wasn’t he seeing Lily? Maybe he indeed was subconsciously using Lily as a ‘substitute’ for Beth. The thought saddened him greatly, and he knew that would be terribly unfair to Lily. Instead of talking to Lily as he’d originally planned, Tom instead decided that perhaps he needed first to take some time to sort the whole thing out…sort out his true feelings. Was he in love with Lily, or was it merely a desperate attempt to gain back what he’d lost with Beth? The memories of his wife came flooding back to him…her kiss, her touch, her whispers to him that little Thomas couldn’t hear as he played across the room…those little whispers that would never fail to drive Tom wild and make him wish they could send their son to bed early. He wanted it. He wanted to make love to Beth last night…that’s why he had to get out of there. He didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t. Was she real or not? These few months, where he thought he wanted Lily…did he really? Or does he really just want Beth back in his life? He was confused. He really thought he wanted Lily, but after last night…he just wasn’t sure about anything. He wasn’t sure of his feelings for Lily, he wasn’t sure that Beth wasn’t alive somewhere…maybe here in the Willows. Strange things do happen here. What was going on…he didn’t know. But he surely didn’t want to subject Lily to any more pain.

"Don’t be a stranger, " Natalie smirked, as Raif re-locked the jail cell. He winked back at her as he strolled outside in quite a dandy mood. As he headed back to his cabin, his grin turned to a chuckle as he spotted his roommate also heading toward their cabin in only his nightclothes, "What on earth…" Tom quickly raised a hand to stop him, "Don’t! Don’t even ask! I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to get dressed and have some coffee." Tom then thought, what he’d rather have was a stiff drink. But it was quite early in the morning for that. Still pondering as to what or who may still be in the cabin, he stopped at the door and motioned to Raif, "After you." He was relieved to find their cabin free of any occupants but themselves. Quickly he got dressed, avoiding the constantly questioning stare of his cabin mate, and went on to the hut for breakfast.

Lily had gotten to the hut early. She’d had problems sleeping that night as well. With her head in a fog, she quietly set the table for breakfast, being careful to avoid anyone’s gaze lest they may ask that most annoying question, ‘Is anything wrong?’ Yes, something was wrong…but she surely didn’t feel like talking about it to anyone. She’d preferred to be alone, but was actually looking forward to her date with Neville on the lake the next day. It would be nice to have a casual conversation with someone who knew nothing about her recent troubles, Lily thought. It was then that her thoughts were immediately halted by Thomas’ entrance into the hut. As Karen observed the look between them, she noted to herself that the air seemed to suddenly be thick enough to cut with a knife. Thomas quickly averted his gaze to the floor as he proceeded to the kitchen for some coffee. Still angry in thinking of herself as being the latest ‘substitute’ for Thomas’ real object of desire, Lily felt a hint of disappointment that Thomas didn’t seem at all eager to speak with her. Where here, she thought he would seek her out and badger her relentlessly about what happened at the lake, he didn’t appear to be at all concerned with speaking to her that morning. Breakfast didn’t look any better. As Lily tried to focus her eyes and her mind away from Thomas, she set her thoughts on other important things, "How’s Kahlua?" Karen nodded, as she finished a bite of biscuit, "Much better…I think. Only time will tell, really." Lily nodded and happened to catch Neville’s friendly smile. She’d hoped he hadn’t noticed her melancholy mood. Where Thomas was usually famished in the mornings, he hardly ate a bite there at the table that particular day. He just wasn’t hungry. Pushing out his chair, he excused himself, wrapped up a few biscuits and some deer sausage into his napkin and headed to the workshop. Work. If he could just keep his mind occupied with something…anything, he thought.

Lily decided she should do something to get her mind off of everything, so she asked Snow to give her some pointers on archery. Snow was a wonderful archer, giving even Eddy a run for his money. "Yes, Father gave me my choice at what lessons I wished to have. I chose archery, along with singing of course. I had the best teacher in the land. He was the best shot with this thing…you should have seem him!" Snow aimed her arrow at the make-shift target they’d prepared on a bail of hay, "His name was ‘Bo’…which was of course funny in itself. I asked him if he’d changed his name to fit his sport. He just laughed and said he never thought if it that way. I couldn’t imagine him NOT thinking of it that way, frankly!" She let her arrow fly before giggling, then giggled all the harder when her arrow missed the hay bail completely, "Oh, dear. That was terrible! I’m sure you’re wondering now if I should even teach you at all!" Lily gave a half-smile along with her half-attention to the sport, "It’s OK. You’re better than me any day." "Well, that’s why we’re here, right…to fix that?" Snow looked upon her sister’s half-saddened eyes, "Lily, what is it? You weren’t yourself at breakfast. I know there’s something wrong. Please talk to me." Lily leaned against the tree and fumbled with the feather pieces atop the arrow in her hand, "It’s Thomas. He…well, he thinks he saw Beth in the woods…or at least that’s his story at the moment." "Beth? His wife? I thought she was dead…meaning no disrespect, of course." Smiling casually at her sister’s never-ending courteous nature, Lily continued, "Yes, she is…well, that’s what he’s said before, anyway. See, we were…well, Thomas kissed me at the lake." Lily shied her eyes down to the grass as Snow smiled. As she dared to look back up, she found Snow’s gaze eagerly awaiting the rest of the story, "And…then he said her name. Beth. Why…I don’t know. He swears it’s because he saw her in the woods. But when I looked, I didn’t see anything. There was nothing there." Snow nodded slowly in thought then added, "So you think he just said that…but that he really didn’t see her?" "Yes." Snow sighed, "But Lily, that doesn’t make any sense. Why would he say ‘Beth’ if he was kissing you?" Lily paused in painful reality as the stinging returned to her eyes, "Because it’s really Beth he wants and not me. I’ve just been the convenient ‘substitute’, see." Snow gasped and set her bow against the tree to console her sister with a caring arm to her shoulders, "Lily, no. Thomas really does love you…that’s so obvious. You must have misunderstood…" "No, Snow I didn’t!" Lily pulled away and walked to the target of hay, "The name ‘Beth’, the midwife thing…it was all just a lie! And I was foolish enough to fall for it…to fall for him! And now look what it got me…a broken heart!" Snow approached her gently, "Lily, are you sure? Maybe he just called you by your middle name, ‘Beth’, like a pet name." Lily turned to look at Snow as she wiped a tear with her blouse sleeve, "Then why didn’t he just say that? Instead, he makes up this story about seeing his dead wife. And what if it’s worse? What if he really does think he saw her? It would be obvious to me then, that he’s obsessed with her…not in love with me!" Snow gently rubbed Lily’s arm, "Have you even tried to talk about it with him since it happened?" Lily halfway laughed as she pulled a piece of straw from the hay bail, "You know it’s funny, I thought he’d be practically chasing me down to try and talk to me about the whole thing, but you know…at breakfast, he wouldn’t even look at me. And then, well you saw him…he rushed out of the hut toward the workshop. He hasn’t tried to talk to me at all. So what does that sound like to you?" Snow shook her head and added softly, "I don’t know." Lily also shook her head and then turned her face toward the hay to hide her tears. "Lily, I hate to see you like this. Is there anything I can do to help? Do you want me to talk to Thomas?" Lily whirled back around with a hint of panic in her eyes, "No, please! Please don’t say anything to him. OK?" Snow nodded. Lily looked to the bow on the ground, "If you don’t mind, I’m not really up to the archery today. I’m gonna go back to the cabin and visit with Gypsy." Snow smiled and nodded. She watched with earnest concern as her sister limped dejectedly back to her cabin.

"You saw Beth? That’s impossible…she’s dead, isn’t she?" Thomas confided in Mike with his vision as he sat on a stool in the kitchen…his face buried in his hands, "I thought she was. But you know, I never saw what happened. Maybe she lived…maybe they both did. I don’t know!" Mike shook his head, "But here in the Willows? You think she’s actually here?" "I don’t know," Tom surrendered, with exhaustion in his voice. "It seemed so real, Mike. Even my desire for her was real…so real, in fact that I had to get away. I spent the rest of the night at the mill. And then there’s Lily…" Mike refilled his cup, "What does she think about it?" "God, Mike, it was horrible. She thinks that I’ve been only using her as a substitute for Beth. She doesn’t think I really loved her." With concerned urgency, Mike pulled up a stool beside him, "Tom, I know how you feel about Lily. Why are you even sitting here talking to me, then? Why aren’t you talking to Lily about this as we speak? Clearing things up?" Again, Thomas rested his face in his hands, "But what if it’s true…what if she’s right? What if I am really just using her as some kind of place-filler for Beth? If it wasn’t really Beth I saw those two times, then maybe my mind is just envisioning what it wants to see. Maybe I just thought I loved Lily, when it’s really Beth I’m still grieving for." Mike asked softly, "Is that what you really think?" With his face still buried, Tom shook his head, "I don’t know what I think anymore. I guess I’ll just have to figure this one out on my own, you know?" "Let me know if you need anything, Thomas." Mike gave him a friendly pat on the back and went outside to finish the storehouse inventory. As Tom looked up from his thoughts, his eyes and mind couldn’t help but fall upon the jug of ale sitting there on the table. ‘That is just a right tempting thing, that is, ‘ thought Thomas.

"You saw Gaveston? That’s impossible…he’s dead, isn’t he?" Edward confided in Snow with his vision as he fidgeted with the bow in his hand, "Yes…at least I thought he was. They told me he was. They never let me see the body, though." Snow shook her head, "But here in the Willows? You think he’s actually here?" "I don’t know," Ed surrendered, with exhaustion in his voice. "Well, strange things do happen here," offered Snow, as she shot an arrow into the dead center of the hay’s make-shift target. "Finally," she smirked, then directed her attention back to Edward, "Perhaps you dreamed it?" Eddy shook his head as he tapped an arrow against his knee, "No, I don’t think so. I saw him twice…once when I was fishing, and then again in my cabin." He looked at her with intent, "I went and slept in the loft that night, just to let you know." Snow peered at his tapping arrow in thought, "This was recently, aye?" "Aye." "Hmmm…" Snow thought it strange as she suddenly remembered Lily’s tale of Thomas seeing Beth…another long lost love. Was it something in the air…the water…the food? Something that would cause them to see people from their past, maybe? Snow thought it best to keep her thoughts to herself. However, the issue did peak her curiosity enough to pursue it further on her own. "Where did you see Gaveston first?" "By the stream." Snow remembered Lily saying Thomas saw Beth by the lake. Perhaps she should take a little ‘trek’ out there to investigate these locations further. "You don’t believe me, do you?" Snow looked up at her friend’s worried expression and simply smiled, "No, Edward. I do. I do believe you."

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