Chapter 22

Eight Years Later

The sun shined brightly through the leafs of the forest.

Lily Wyatt walked through the grass, looking suspiciously around her.

'Francis! Matthias! I know you're out there! Come out wherever you are!' she called out. 'I know you are here!'

She was the baby who was born in that dimly-lit room, and my goodness, look how much she had grown. Lily was eight years old, yet she was small for her age. She indeed looked a lot like her mother, just like her father predicted. She had a slightly tanned skin and long dark brown hair, which were tied in two pigtails. Even though she looked a lot like her mother, she did have her father's eyes; pure blue, just like the sky in the summer. She was wearing a blue dress that nearly reached her calves. Even though she looked like a little innocent girl to outsiders, the residents of the compound knew better.

Lily was her father's successor.

And despite being eight years old, she was just as fanatic as him. She was Bray Wyatt's daughter alright.

Suddenly, Lily heard two boys snigger. She looked up, looking at the high branches of a tree. There they were! The twins Francis and Matthias had hidden up in the tree, in order to hide from the little girl. But it was not like they were afraid of her, no, it was far from that. The three were friends and were playing hide-and-seek.

'There you are!' Lily exclaimed. 'Come down here!'

'Whatever you say...' Matthias mumbled. He nodded towards his brother and they carefully climbed down the branches, watching their steps since they didn't want to slip and break their legs. Once they reached the lowest branch, they jumped out of the tree, landing on their feet. Just like Lily, they were eight years old, but in contrast to her they were slightly taller than her. They had dark blonde curly hair, nearly black, a mixture with the hair colors from their mother and father. Their father had raised his sons the right way; ever since they were five years old, they had to help him doing the chores around the compound. As a result, they had slightly muscled arms. They looked like those bullies who you would find on the playground.

'You're getting way too good at this, Lily.' Francis grumbled, letting out a sigh in frustration.

'You can't hide from me.' Lily replied with a sly smile. 'I know every area around here. Hiding from me is impossible.'

'Yeah, sure...' Francis said, rolling his eyes. 'Are you disrespecting me?' Lily narrowed her eyes. 'You do know who you're talking to, right?'

'Like I don't know. You're the daughter of our leader.'

'That's right. And if I were you, I'd better show some respect, mister. Because one day, I will continue my daddy's legacy.'

She was right. After all, Lily was Bray Wyatt's daughter and she was destined to become the next leader of the family. Bray demanded from his brothers and sisters to treat his child with respect, from the moment she was born. Lily was treated like a princess by everyone.

A twisted princess.

'If you want to become my helper in the future, you'd better watch your mouth.'

'Sure.' Deep inside, Francis knew he had to be careful. He knew what she was capable of... if she was angered really bad, she wouldn't be afraid to harm somebody.

'Lily...! Lily...!'

Lily and both Francis and Matthias looked up. The little girl knew that voice too well... it was the voice of her mother.

There she was, standing in the distance. AJ was wearing a long white dress, giving her a slightly ghost-like appearance. Over the past eight years, she didn't have many chances to cut her hair, so her hair had grown mid back-length. Even though she was in her thirties, she still had the beauty she had when she was in her twenties.

'There you are, I've been looking all over for you!' AJ said when she walked towards the children.

'We... we were just playing, mommy.' Lily replied, feeling like she had been caught doing something against the rules, even though she hadn't done anything wrong.

'I know that, sweetheart...' AJ had reached the children and kneeled down in front of Lily, making eye contact and reassuringly smiling at her. Lily understood the meaning of the smile and she felt relieved instantly. She loved her mother, she was the sweetest woman she knew in her life.

'Your daddy's gonna preach again. Come on, or else you'll be late.'

Daddy Bray was going to preach again?! Lily smiled from ear to ear. A warm cozy feeling spread across her stomach, a feeling a child would have if he would receive his presents for Christmas. But Lily didn't give a single damn about Christmas presents. The words from her father were the greatest gifts she could receive. Daddy Bray was everything for her, she would die for him. Sure, she loved mother April, but daddy Bray... he was like a god to her. For eight years, Lily had never left the compound, she didn't even accompany uncle Luke when he was going to Oak's Leaf to sell moonshine. But she was okay with that. Ever since she was born, daddy Bray told her the world outside would poison her, corrupt her. If she would stay with him, she would be safe. Nobody would harm her, daddy Bray would protect her. Lily believed him, she believed every word he said. She had been homeschooled her entire life, Bray's philosophy was her education. She couldn't get enough of his words, she could listen to them forever and ever.

Lily loved daddy Bray so much.

'You should come too, Matthias and Francis.' AJ said to the twin boys. But Matthias shrugged and rolled his eyes. 'We will come later, we just want to hang around a little more.'

'Matthias...' AJ raised her eyebrow. She knew exactly which twin was which; Matthias had a scar on his arm, as a result from an accident he once had when he was helping his father.

'You and your brother better come right now. I don't think Luke would really appreciate it if you'd be late.'

That convinced Matthias. His father was a strict guy. If you would break the rules, things could get really scary. Since he and his brother didn't want to get into trouble, they decided to join Lily and her mother. They walked back to the compound.

AJ looked at Lily and smiled. She loved her daughter so much, it was a dream coming true. The pain she had experienced eight years ago was all worth this. Her daughter was perfect. She had a good life here, she was protected by Bray and knew the truth. The outside world wouldn't corrupt her, that was for sure.

And AJ herself? She was still as happy as she was when she arrived eight years ago. Heck, she might be even happier! She was married to Bray and she had a wonderful daughter.

AJ had everything she wished for.

A loving husband and a sweetheart of a daughter. A family. A real family.

AJ was happy here.

'There's my little girl!'

Bray Wyatt went down on his knees and spread his arms, awaiting a hug from his daughter. It was like he had barely changed over the past years, even though he was already showing some grey hairs in his beard and hair.

'Daddy, daddy!'

Giggling like the little daddy's girl she was, Lily ran towards her father as fast as she could, nearly knocking him down as she ran into his arms. He chuckled when he closed his arms around her.

'Are you going to preach again, daddy?' Lily asked, her face beaming with happiness. Bray smiled when he looked at his daughter's face. Damn, she did indeed look like her mother. He never thought he would ever be the father of such a beautiful little girl.

'Yes, I will. You want to sit on my lap again?'

'Of course!'

'That's what I thought. You just go wait over there, at the rocking chair, okay?'

'Alright! See you later, daddy Bray!' Immediately Lily ran towards her father's rocking chair in the distance, located at the border of the forest as usual. So much enthusiasm for such a little girl.

'See, Bray?' AJ wrapped her arms around her husband's chest, hugging him from behind. She looked on as Lily ran towards the rocking chair, a dreamy smile spread across her face. 'I told you you're going to be a good parent.' Bray nodded and kissed his wife on her temple. 'Couldn't have done it without you, nymph.' he said with a smile. During those eight years, the love of the beauty and the Eater of Worlds had only grown stronger.

Sitting in the rocking chair rocking back and forth, Lily saw the residents of the compound arriving. Finally! 'Daddy! They're here!' she called out to her father as she got out of the rocking chair. Bray nodded towards his daughter and grabbed AJ's hand. Together, they walked towards the group. Bray sat down in his rocking chair and lifted Lily up, putting her down on his lap. Lily giggled; she just loved it when she was allowed to do that. The sight touched AJ's heart; the love between a father and daughter was one of the most touching things ever. When she was her age, she was already clashing with her own father... thank goodness this was different.

'Hey... you can also sit here if you want, sugar.' Bray said. Lily scooted up a little bit, moving to her father's left leg. AJ sat down, now both mother and daughter were sitting on Bray's lap. But Bray didn't mind that at all; he loved having his family close to him.

Once the residents had gathered around them, some of them sitting in the grass, some still standing on their feet, Bray started to speak. Lily closed her eyes and smiled. Even though she was relaxed and enjoyed listening to her father... her smile had something eerie.

Looking at Lily made AJ smile. She was like her father alright... she was ready to become his successor.

Well, you know what they say... a happy family stays together.

And that was 'The Beauty and the Eater of Worlds'! Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing it, I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoyed reading it. And as a little extra bonus, here are some scrapped ideas who were made during the process.

At first AJ was supposed to escape the clinic when a power-out took place.

AJ was supposed to be caught by the police and brought to the station, only to be bailed out by Luke who claimed to be family of hers.

And believe it or not, AJ would die around the end of the fanfic. At first she would die after giving birth to Lily; the house would catch fire. Bray would escape with Lily but he couldn't safe AJ in time. Another idea was the let AJ die due to massive blood loss during the birth. But after a while, I decided to scrap all of it and let AJ live, thus giving the story a happy ending after all.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! See you next time.