Lily sat in her room staring at the large white box at the end of her bed. Her fingers twitched and curled at her side, her right arm numb in its sling, wondering if she'd have the guts to open up the box. A glittering silver ribbon was wrapped around its length. There was a small note on the front but Lily already knew what it said.

Hey Lily,

This is a little gift! I thought you'd might like it and come along; Jack, Karen and I would love to see you there. This was one of the seven dresses I ordered but this one was a bit big around my hips. It'll fit you perfectly! And blue is a much better colour on you than me. There's some shoes in there too if you don't have any, just nude heels, feel free to keep them. I hope to see you there, Dad says it's fine! Don't forget to wear the corsage!

Claire Lauren

Xoxo

Lily swallowed. She'd read it over and over again after Claire had left it when she'd last visited. She didn't know what to think, her stomach was in knots at the idea of dressing up and being surrounded by people who she wasn't close with. Lily didn't like crowds. She didn't like attention.

And she knew they'd only be talking about her - about what she did to those rogues.

Lily had heard whispers while she was recovering the past five days. Jack, Karen and Claire got her back to Freida's house and her aunt had almost screamed at the sight of Lily's drenched and bloody body. While Ollie cleaned and dressed her healed wound, slung up her paralysed arm, and helped her into her own Bambi flannelette pyjamas - Lily didn't have the energy to complain about wearing the disastrously bright yellow - she overheard her friends clearing up the mess of glass shards and tumbled flowers from broken pots as a result of the vicious storm now dispersed.

Freida watched Ollie carefully tuck Lily into Jack's bed, plumping up her many pillows like a nest. Lily's eyes were beginning to close when Freida stopped Ollie from leaving the room with a firm hand on the door frame.

The old supernova stared deep into Ollie's eyes and the nurse's shoulders curled in, a shattered look in her eyes. "She'll be okay. Her shoulder is healing, but her arm? I've never seen a scar like that, and I d-don't know if she'll be able to use it again." Ollie hurried to wipe the tears lining her dark eyes, drawing a deep breath in an effort to calm her wobbling lips.

"A lightning scar." Freida mused, looking at the bandage now over Lily's right arm. "She's asleep. Let's chat in the living room with the girls. The glass should be off the sofas by now."

Ollie looked back at Lily one last time before making her way to the hallway, pausing when she shut the door. "Freida," she called, the witch turning around and cocking her head. "She caused the storm, didn't she?"

Freida narrowed her eyes. "Remove that fear from your voice, Olivia. That storm wasn't her fault, that was the consequence of that pathetic rogue trying to kill her. If she were anyone else she'd be a charred corpse in the middle of the forest. She's lucky - not everyone who's executed in that graveyard lives."

Ollie frowned, a hand still on Lily's door. "I've never seen someone like this before Freida. I don't know what to do."

"Oh, Olivia." Freida sighed. "You have. You do know. You just don't remember."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ollie asked, but a glaze had formed over Freida's eyes and that madness had returned to the witch.

"I smell a barbeque." Freida hummed, walking to the kitchen fearlessly over her broken belongings with bare feet. "Come, Woman of Jacob, let us feast."

"It's two in the morning." Ollie muttered, but Freida paid her no mind. She ate when she pleased, as always, and if there was food around she would have it.

Lily slept for eighteen hours. She woke up to her aunt at her bed, laying out fresh bandages, alcohol wipes, and a hairbrush. When Ollie noticed her niece was wide-eyed and blinking at her, she broke into tears and hugged her tightly. Lily stomached some food before Ollie removed her bandages, wondering how the wound was completely healed. She decided to wait before telling Lily about the scars.

She fell asleep again after having some of Freida's kale and rhubarb tea with ginger and mint biscuits, settling her starving stomach. She woke up several hours later to the sun high in the sky that Monday lunchtime, with her body begging for food. Lily also heard her aunt, and Frieda and Jack almost arguing.

"Mama," Jack groaned. "Please never make kale and rhubarb tea again."

"It is delicious, Jacinta!" Frieda scoffed. "It settles one's stomach after expelling a lot of their gift."

"It's expelled everything in my stomach!"

Lily tuned out Jack's rant when she heard someone walking up the driveway. She immediately recognised Claire's voice when she heard her squeaking at the bees dancing around her ankles, and Karen's soothing voice to calm her down.

They'd brought more food, much to Jack's relief than Lily's, and had checked in on their friend. Lily was grateful for them, knowing Jack's house was a long drive from where the two of them lived on the upper side. They'd chatted about everything they could but Lily sensed the tension. Claire was bouncing a little at the idea of new information, Karen was a little concerned, which wasn't out of the ordinary. Jack, however, seemed to be forcing her words.

They were all shaken by the events of the weekend.

The four of them pushed on though, talking about anything else. It seemed Claire was desperate for gossip. The fairy wanted to know what had happened to Lily, how she made a hundred rogues kneel over in pain, why the metal pole was warped and melted, why she healed so quickly when a wet scarf was sealed to her shoulder.

But one glare from Jack and Lily was saved from the interrogation.

Lily sighed as she stroked the white box at the end of her bed, slowly untying the ribbon while she remembered the past few days. She mostly slept and ate, built her strength back up. Ollie had shown her what her shoulder looked like after Lily confirmed she could move it completely and there was no pain.

It was a horrible set of four deep grooves with a smaller fifth towards the middle of her back. Her entire left shoulder blade looked like a carpenter's workbench. Deep, risen scars now marked her as a victim to a psychopath's touch. A brand from almost being killed. A reminder of the dreaded weekend she'd only just escaped with her life.

She had to keep telling herself that she survived. If she had to bare five nasty scars for everyone to be safe and unharmed, she'd bare them. Lily knew, though, it would take a long time for her to be able to look at what Yuric had done and not flinch.

When Lily could move, Ollie took them both back to their house. How bliss it was to sleep in their own beds without waking up to Freida staring at them between doorways and peculiar teas being made for them. Jack was disheartened to watch her friend go, but she visited with Claire and Karen only this morning, when Claire had brought Lily the white box with the silver ribbon.

Lily threw the ribbon to the side, brushing a drawing Alice had done for her. Andrew and Alice had visited yesterday, much to her surprise. Alice gave her the drawing she'd done when she and Jack came to the packhouse last week. Lily smiled as she saw the picture, newly framed, resting on her table next to the picture of her family.

Alice had drawn a picture of Lily, Jack and herself sitting on a pink rug, all of them holding a whisk. She'd signed it in the bottom corner with a pink crayon, 'Alice 6', like she'd been taught in school. Lily wondered if Alice noticed she'd drawn an extra hand on Jack's body, or that Lily had been drawn with her thumbs in the wrong place, but she loved it all the same.

Alice had also drawn them with their creature's eyes. Lily's grey, Jack's bright green, and Alice's alpha black. Lily didn't address that detail yet, didn't want the reminder of her attack, but thanked them both for coming to visit all the same.

She did notice Andrew was coming off stiffly, stand-offish, as they spoke. He thanked her for stopping a brutal fight before it began between his pack and Yuric's rogues. He mentioned that Ryan was talking to Isaac, asking him everything he knows about Kristofer and if he knew where he and the rest of the rogues would hide.

While Andrew was bragging about the black eye Ryan had given Isaac, Lily's heart sunk at the thought of Kristofer and the rest of the rogues out there still. Andrew had only caught Yuric. The other ninety-nine people who wanted her dead were still out there.

Lily threw the memory aside with the white box's lid, revealing a beautiful blue dress with a pair of heels, and a flowered bracelet. Lily lifted the shoes off, placing them on the floor, and delicately lifted the corsage next to the box. It had a lovely arrangement of white daisies and two blue hibiscus flowers. The dress, however, took Lily's breath away.

It was stunning. Resting just above her knee, with a wide neckline that didn't dip down to her chest, running over her collarbones like rivers over rocks. The sleeves came to her elbows, which was helpful for Lily's still bandaged arm and its sling.

She stood there, looking at herself in the mirror and wondered what was so different. It was only a dress, but Lily felt like a whole other person. Lily fidgeted with the collar, hoping it was high enough on her shoulder to hide the scars now there. She added the sling to her arm, slipped on a pair of simple silver earrings and Rio's sapphire ring, which was difficult to do with only one hand.

Lily knew immediately Claire's shoes wouldn't fit - they were too narrow. Instead, she went for some flats, and undid the plait holding her red hair back. It fell in soft waves over her shoulders, brushing her elbows, and Lily smiled when the thick strands covered her scars.

Just as she found a necklace to wear, one of her mother's pearl droplets on a silver chain, her aunt walked into her room.

"Hey Lily, I'm about to head to Freida's - oh my goodness you're in a dress!" Ollie squealed, clapping her hands as Lily's neck reddened in embarrassment.

"Yeah." Lily held out the necklace, motioning to her sling. "Can you put this on for me? It's hard with one hand."

"Of course! Of course!" Ollie bounced over and gently clipped the necklace in place. "Oh I'm so happy you're going to the formal, you're going to have so much fun! You'll eat all the food, drink all the drinks, dance with all the boys! Especially that DiCaprio look-alike, Ryan, right?"

Lily nodded, swallowing at the mention of Ryan's name. Of all the visitors she'd had, Ryan hadn't been one. She hadn't heard from him, not even a text - it was like he was avoiding her.

Ollie stepped back, admiring her adopted niece. "I'm grabbing my camera!" She ran off, despite Lily's disapproving cry.

"No! No, not the camera!" Lily put her phone in the dress's pocket and hurried after her aunt, avoiding hitting her dead arm against the walls she sprinted past.

"Yes!" Ollie cheered when she found her phone next to the TV remote, which had been paused on Ollie's favourite film, Disney's Hercules. "I'm putting this on Facebook for all the world to see!"

"No!"

"I'm going to hang it up everywhere!"

"Please don't!"

"I'll send one to Ryan so he can have it at his bedside table!"

Lily slapped her hand on her head. "I can't stop you, can I?" She moaned, leaning against the wall by the door.

"Nope!" Ollie beamed, popping the 'p' at the end. "Now smile!"

Lily dropped her hand, fidgeting with the sling, and put on a smile she hoped didn't pass for a grimace. She heard the phone click as the picture was taken, and Ollie's smile didn't drop, it only got bigger.

"Perfect! Now one on the side! Pose, Lily!"

"No, I'm going out." Lily reached for the door.

"Wait, don't you want me to drop you off? The school's on the way to Freida's-?"

"No, I'm going to walk." Lily opened the door. "I need some air. I have my phone on me."

"Okay," Ollie hesitated. "Don't overexert yourself, okay? And I want a lot of pictures."

"Okay, Ollie."

"And bring back some cake!"

"Fine!"

"And snog Ryan!"

"Bye!"

Ollie watched as Lily shut the door behind her and walked away before looking back at the picture she'd taken. She hesitantly touched her phone as her forced grin finally dropped, replaced by one of worry.

The bags under Lily's eyes larger than the life within them. Her sling was a sore sight against the beautiful blue dress and plain flats, and Lily's small smile worried Ollie. This was her formal, the last night with all her school, and Lily didn't look happy. She looked haunted, she was too young to have so many scars and burdens. Lily needed some happiness, Ollie thought as she saved the picture; someone to make her smile and laugh. Someone to bring back the spark Yuric took away.

Lily hadn't told anyone what Yuric had tried to do. She didn't know if any of the others had figured it out, but Lily could barely get the words off her chest. Her voice died, panic clawed at her, and her wrists and ankles seemed to burn at the reminder of the painful ties.

When Lily arrived at the cemetery, she was glad of the cold silence wrapped around her. She stood before her family's grave and had a genuine smile on her face as she twirled for them, her dress flaring out around her thighs. "Look, I'm all dressed up for you," she chuckled before kneeling at their tombstone.

She didn't say anything for a while, instead running her hand over their names, knowing how excited they'd be to see her dressed up. Her mum would smile warmly at her but her dad would frown, wondering who she was dressing up for and begin sharpening the kitchen knives. Delta would be jumping for joy and Rio would be slamming her head on the table.

Lily took after Rio with her clothing. Rio always wore shorts and trainers with a t-shirt and leather jacket. Her blonde hair was always cut short and flung different ways, and Lily would have cut it short to match if Delta hadn't hidden the scissors when she was younger. Delta was the most fashionable of the three sisters, always seeking lace or floral dresses with beautiful flowers and clips woven through her long, dark hair. Lily grew out her hair when Delta died, took inspiration from Rio's attire, and held their memories tightly.

"I know you're always with me," Lily whispered, "but I hope you didn't see what happened last week."

Lily was about to talk to them, tell them what happened, when instinct coiled around her spine and the hairs on her nape stood up. She looked to the left, where she could see the grass was flattened and begin to hear the heartbeat of an invisible man.

"Hello Jacob." Her voice was flat. Jacob emerged from the shadows in a blink, and smiled softly at her.

"You look lovely, Lily." Jacob greeted, but grew unnerved when Lily didn't respond. She was giving him an icy glare of disbelief.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you," he tried again. "I was watching but I couldn't interfere. I couldn't take on a hundred rogues, and I couldn't get through the electrified field you'd created."

Lily was still glaring. Jacob's nerves spiked, she could hear his heart beating quicker, as he tried to explain himself again. "I didn't know Yuric was going to kill you."

"I don't believe you." Lily's glare didn't ease. Her jaw clenched as Jacob shrugged.

"I didn't know for certain, but I knew that he himself couldn't kill you. You heal too quickly."

"You told me he couldn't kill me." Lily sat back on her heels, staring him down. "I didn't know lightning couldn't either."

Jacob's dark eyes flickered over her arm in the sling. "It should have. You were struck with a superbolt. You had the most powerful source of energy spear through your arm and you're still walking."

"My arm is paralysed."

"You should have been roasted."

"The superbolt fried all my nerves." Lily hissed. "I didn't come out in one piece, Jacob. I almost died because of Yuric, because of what he did." Her voice broke over his name, her dead arm tingling at the memory of pain.

"But you saved Poppy from a fate worse than yours." Jacob assured. Lily didn't respond to that, knowing he was right, and stared at her family's headstone. "Dearest Olivia saved your shoulder, as did that breeze sealing the wet scarf to your wound, and not to mention the nym-"

"My aunt." Lily interrupted, turning to him slowly. "You know her, don't you?"

Jacob hesitated. "You're lucky that breeze pressed the scarf to your shoulder. You have an affinity for water, it can heal you quicker than any fairy can, and-"

"You're the man Freida was talking about." Lily pieced together.

"Why do you think that your family trusted Olivia with their secret? It's because she already knew about supernaturals, she was dating one. She was dating me."

Jacob signed, knowing he wasn't going to escape Lily's questioning. "Yes." He admitted. "I was with Olivia since the year I found this town. When Freida passed the mantle onto me, I stayed for a while and met your aunt. I loved her, I really did, and when your family died and you were put into her care, I knew I would only bring harm to you both by being around.

"With Olivia, she was safe because she was human, people assumed she would have no knowledge of the supernatural. But when she became your guardian, I knew that if she was raising a supernatural with a Supernova at her side, it would only bring danger to Olivia, and to you. So I left her and hid, but never strayed far, always keeping an eye on her. On you, as well."

Lily stood up slowly, not bothering to wipe the dirt off her bare knees. "What else can you do Jacob?" She asked slowly, knowing that if Olivia was with someone she'd remember, she'd have spoken about it. There'd be photos on the mantelpiece, next to the one she'd probably put of her in the blue dress.

"I can hide memories." Jacob waved a hand when Lily stiffened. "Not yours, it doesn't work on you, but on dear Olivia, a human, it's as easy as breathing."

"You're the reason she doesn't remember much, aren't you? You wiped her memory of you, the man she loved, and of my family too."

"You have to find out some things on your own. People will lie to you. People will fear you, try to manipulate you into believing different things. Only you can seek the truth about who you are, and it's not for anyone to tell you otherwise. You decide who you are and who you want to be, who you will be." Jacob explained. "I learned the hard way, with my village, and I won't have the same for you. I'm protecting you."

"You wiped my aunt's memory." Lily's eyes burned slowly and as bright as a star. Jacob was illuminated from the glow of her eyes, visible for all to see and not hidden in the shadows.