Darkness was everywhere. The malicious laughter echoed in Lily's skull. Lily cursed. She did so good during day time, but as soon as the moon settled, fear and angst returned. She clenched her fists, her skin was sticky with sweat. No more running away, she thought. Tonight she would face the nightmares once and for all.

Thoughts twirled around her head, fear looked from behind every corner. Though the dream landscape was still dark, Lily could slowly hear her heartbeat slow down. Her blood stream slowly followed her veins. The darkness remained, but the paranoia seemed far away. Lily took a deep breath and focused on her sight. She should be able to see something. Anything would calm her down if it wasn't staring into oblivion.

« You can't get rid of me. » a sudden voice whispered next to her ear. Her heart started pounding against her chest, the serenity she had just felt had disappeared at the sound of his voice. « No... » Lily whispered but the voice returned. « What we had... You can't leave it behind, Lily. Never. » Lily's breathing grew faster. « Just leave me alone! » She yelled into the emptiness of Peter's abandoned existence.

She heard nothing else. Cautious she let out a breath, her ears desperately needing a sign Peter had left. « You'll never be alone anymore, Lily. » Peter said, a glance of his face showing in the distance. Her heart stopped for a moment. His features were as lovable as she remembered them. His hair always run through, his brown eyes piercing and filled with joy. But then, as all these dreams before, they went pitch black, a grin broke his face apart. Followed by his darkness fueled laughter, Peter disappeared.

Lily opened her eyes. Her throat was dry and her forehead wet. She focused on her breathing pattern, just as Merlin had advised her. This would be a goodbye, she would never let Peter interrupt her life again. But she needed her life saver. She stumbled out of bed and met her own face in the mirror.

The dark circles underneath her eyes spilled out the secret of not having enough sleep. Her face was pale and wet. She looked for a towel to rub her skin dry and for the color to return to her cheeks. Lily searched for her robes and quickly covered her goosebumps with the soft silk. Her white nightgown was barely visible. She ran her hand through her curls before heading to the corridor.

Camelot was deserted at night except for the occasional housekeeper, who glanced at the young princess wondering through the castle. In front of Arthur's door, Lily looked down at her appearance once more. It was then she realized she didn't even know if Arthur would be there, since she had no idea where his chambers were or what time it was. Not knowing better, she knocked on the door.

Though she kind of expected it, her heart jumped up when she heard a soft hum coming through the massive wooden door. Silently she opened the door and peeked through. « Arthur? » Lily was surprised by the sound of her own voice. It seemed croaky as if she was still half asleep.

Surprised Arthur looked up from his paperwork. « Lily? » He immediately got up, but Lily had already crossed the room. « I need you. » She admitted, but her voice sounded far away, as if she had been screaming the entire night. Arthur frowned and rubbed his eye, trying to hide his own fatigue. It was such a simple gesture, Lily could only watch him in admiration. After they returned from Athena's wedding, they had spend more time together with stealing kisses. Rumors were bursting through the castle walls once again.

Arthur took Lily in his arms. She smelled him, how different he was from Peter. She wrapped her arms around his waist, enjoying the feeling of his protection. He gently stroked her hair. « Had a bad dream? » He asked, the sound of his voice change in the silence that hung in the room. « Something like that. » Lily admitted. She had told him about the nightmares, how Peter never seemed away at night. Nevertheless she had never told Arthur how many nights she had spent in Peter's embrace. She didn't think he could handle that kind of information. After all, Peter was left on Everland and there was no way he could get back to Everland. Peter was locked up in the past and Lily had to focus on her future. She wouldn't mind spending her eternity with Arthur.

She looked up at him and noticed him staring at her as well. He lifted her chin with his hand and kissed her. Slowly at first, the kiss grew passionate in a matter of moments. Moments in which Lily's hands got tangled in Arthur's hair, in which they made their way down his back, and Arthur's hands snuck around her waist, pulling her closer to him, their hips only separated by the thin layer of clothes.

Arthur's lips descended her neck and parted at her ear « Can I make you forget? » His hot breath send goosebumps over her skin again and she nodded. His lips returned to her neck as his hands took off the robe to reveal Lily's bare shoulders. He kissed every freckle on her skin, a soft moan escaping her parted lips. She pulled him closer to her, her nails digging into his shirt. She hadn't been touched like this for what felt like ages, as if she was fragile and a treasure.

She wanted him so much closer. Her fingers found the buttons of his shirt, while she could feel Arthur smiling against her skin. He looked down at her fingers, slightly trembling. He covered her hands with his and looked her deeply in the eyes. They didn't need words to tell how they both felt. Arthur's voice was deep and filled with passion « Maybe this isn't the right location... » a sexy smirk replaced his otherwise friendly smirk as he guided Lily to a door behind him, which she had never seen before.

Arthur showed her his bedroom, as he nervously watched her. She absorbed her surroundings but her focus always dwelt off to Arthur. She couldn't help but smile as she saw how nervous he was as well. She walked over to him, the strap of her dress gliding of her shoulder. Looking at his hands, she gently placed them on her hips, as she gazed up to watch Arthur miss a breath.

She smiled before his lips found hers again and he guided her towards the bed. She laid down, her back sinking deep into the duvets. Arthur's breathing against her skin send adrenaline rushes through her body. His hand slowly traced the bare skin of her leg, higher and higher, leaving her waiting. In the mean time she tried to get his shirt off. With a nervous laugh, Arthur helped her out. As he hovered above her, his bare chest barely illuminated by the moonlight, she admired him. He bent down again, and their foreheads rested against each other. Their breathing went simultaneously as both Arthur's and Lily's clothing fell down on the floor.

Afterwards, Lily rested her head on Arthur's steadily rising chest. Their naked bodies were still tangled, their sweat mixed against each other's skin. She kissed him on the cheek, drunk on love, and closed her eyes. The pounding of his heart slowly sung her to sleep, where nightmares would never again be waiting for her.

A/N

Big chapter once again :) Honestly I'm really pleased with how this one turned out. As I told before, I'm trying to develop more as a writer and so I challenged myself to write some more passionate scenes. I find it very difficult so excuse me if it's awkward, but I'm still kind of proud of it.

This chapter is like really long. I'm trying to combine writing Enchanted and writing Star-crossed (a Lunar Chronicles inspired Short Story) and that's why the updates go so slow. 

I was wondering how many of you have read Everland before starting off with Enchanted (since there are a lot less readers on the sequel), so if you have read Everland comment down below.

Next chapter, we will leave Lily behind and wander back to Neverland, so get excited to see what's going on with Peter at the moment. 

Quote

She's a mess of gorgeous chaos,

and you can see it in her eyes