It was early in the morning when a knock got Lily out of her sleep. She stirred and the rocking chair gently moved. She must've driften off after the nightmare, though she couldn't quite remember. Magdalena stepped inside, carrying a long package.

« What's that? » Lily said, rubbing her eyes. Magdalena smiled at the remark. « It's a gift from Arthur. « Confused, Lily stood up and slowly walked towards her petite maid. « It's a surprise, he told me. I don't know much about it either. » Together they watched the thin fabric of the package. The last time Lily received a gift, it was from Peter. She immediately pushed the memory far into the depths of her mind. « Let's see. » She said with a new enthusiasm. Her slender fingers gently took the ribbon only to open it with a flare. Magdalena watched her young princess with renewed courage. It was the most relaxed, she had seen Lily in a while. Little did she know, Lily only tried to forget so desperately.

The fabric fell down and revealed a long light blue cape. Golden stitches followed the borders and collided in big, round flowers at the bottom. Magdalena frowned but an honest smile appeared on Lily's lips. He remembered. She knew exactly what is was. Inspired by her old cape, Arthur had created a new one for her horse riding ensemble. Without hesitating, she touched the fabric. It was tougher than it looked and a whole lot thicker. But it was perfect for the actual weather. Without realizing what she did, Lily was suddenly tucked in the coat and looked up at Magdalena from underneath the hood. « I know what I want to do today. » She glanced up.

Magdalena couldn't quite understand the change in the princess' mood but was happy with it. After getting the entire horseback riding ensemble together, Lily and Magdalena made their way down. Everywhere she went, Lily was followed by curious stares. Normally, she never left her room this early. She stood still in front of Arthur's study and hesitated. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea? Even though she desperately wanted to forget, she did feel rather faint. But the decision was made for her, as the door suddenly opened and Merlin almost ran into her. A smile appeared on his old face. « I believe you are getting better, princess. » And he bowed and motioned her to enter Arthur's study.


It didn't look at all at the room Peter once habited in this castle. It was a spacious room, with big windows behind the desk. On one side of the wall, an enormous book case was stuffed with books seemingly to fall apart by their ages. On the other side, a large map of Camelot and their surroundings was painted onto the stone wall. The castle looked so very small on it. You could look at it for days and still discover new details. Arthur stood up from his chair and watched her enter his office.


A smile went up all the way to his eyes. « I see you like your present. » He made his way towards Lily and couldn't help but quickly glance at the entirety of her image. Her blonde hair was cut when she had returned to Camelot. The now shoulder length hair was braided and rested against her back. Her dark trousers were tucked into her knee high leather boots only to reveal her fragile posture when the cape showed a bit of her figure. She still looked pale and her eyes were tired but it was the most alive she had been since her return. « Let's go on a ride today. » She said and she turned away from the map on the wall.

Arthur was pleased with the suggestion but worried nonetheless. « Are you sure you feel good enough to go horseback riding? » He studied her face again. The dark circles under her eyes were covered up with a thin layer of make-up, her lips colored softly pink to hide how chapped they were. But her eyes were left untouched. And they seemed to remember how they used to sparkle.

« I think I can handle it. » Lily smiled again and by doing so convinced Arthur to leave his work behind for a day and spend his time with her. They avoided the villages where they knew they would be followed by villagers whenever they appeared together. So, they rode to the lake. A quiet chatter between them was only a few times disturbed when Lily had to rest a bit. She hadn't been this long outside the castle for weeks. The fresh air did wonders to her mental system. She even forgot why she wanted to go for a ride in the first place.

The lake was deserted for one tiny old woman who was fishing near the side. When they passed her, her vibrant green eyes looked up and she smiled and waved at the young royals but they didn't pay enough focus on her, to see the green eyes glow dangerously, and the purple hair curling with magic...

A/N

Next update on Enchanted. As with the first part I feel as if the story needs time to start, but I do wish you like what you read :) if so, don't hesitate to comment or tap the star!

Quote

I don't know what it was

that made me love you

or what is was that made you

hate me the way you do

I remember what you said

and compare it to what you did

and it never made sense

You were there

and then you weren't

You had my heart

and I had yours

You said it was love

and so I stayed

Maybe it was too much

maybe it wasn't enough

But I will never forget

The way you made me feel

Like I was everything

And I will never forget

The way you made me feel

Like I was nothing

- ANTONIA M. ARCE