The Heart of Shadow and Gold

chapter 19

WARNING: THERE IS COLORFUL LANGUAGE, AND ANGST IN THIS CHAPTER

Leyla's POV

Its been only a day but I have been worrying non-stop, I know I'm being a little bit much but she's my best friend for goodness sakes! Chen sent out the guards to search for her, and just this morning a guard was sent to replace Ashley's duty when they came up saying he escaped.

That bitch ass motherfucker kidnapped her. I pick up the rock I was holding and sent it hurtling towards the window, it shattered everywhere making Blaine scream.

"Leyla!" Cecil yelled at her.

She had tears in her eyes but she suppressed them. She stormed out of the room on her way to find someone.

She came up to Chen and asked, "Where's Ashley?"

He looked at me with sympathy, "we havent found her yet, but we have found a lead."

"a lead?" she perked up with interest.

"yes, a training facility in the east said to witness two figures, a young lady and a another with a hood so they were unable to judge him." He said with hope.

"but they didnt catch him?" I asked, well, more like demanded but I didnt mean it to come out like that.

"they were running together, Ashley, assuming that is the figure we saw, was willingly running away from them. Its obvious he has tricked her into helping him with his evil deeds." He said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"put me on." She demanded.

"what?" he asked.

"put me on the field, I can get her back." She said with fierce determination.

Ashleys POV

We reached the wall, the far east wall, a couple hundred miles from where I took Ajax prisoner.

As I looked up at the wall it was huge, it towered over us like a rocky giant.

"well?" ajax looked at me.

"well what?" I asked.

"you're the expert, how do we get over this?"

I thought back to our history lessons we took in school. Something about how guards used secret entrances/exits to pass through easily.

"there should be some type of hatch that we can use to slip under it, or through it, depending on where its located."

"okay, so we find a hatch in the ground?"

"not necessarily."

"your confusing me." He says

"the hatches were specifically designed so it wouldnt be easily seen, for enemies. Theyre more likely to be hidden in a bush, a tree, behind a building, looks like a sewage lid, or a vent." I say looking in a bush, well, plastic bush, it was easier to maintain, less leaves and sticks to rake up, and the trees dont shed.

Ajax and I started looking all over the perimeter of the wall, he lifted up sewage lids, he regretted it immediately, and I pried open vents.

We pushed against loose bricks in the wall.

"this would have been easier if I just scaled the building with my daggers, or used my powers."

"well, I cant scale a wall, and unless youre hiding something from me, you're out of juice." I say.

"I thought you trained?"

"we were trained to fight, to shoot, to run. Not to scale a wall."

"well I guess that something I'm better at then you." he Boasts.

"does it make you proud that your better then me at something?" I smirk.

"hey, your like a fricking warrior sorceress, im allowed to be proud."

"one, not a sorceress, two, you forgot that im also a trained guard."

"oh yes, how could I ever have forgotten that, apologies your perfectness." He sassily retorts.

I roll my eyes at his action.

We continue our search for the hatch or door when all of the people in the back went silent and rushed to the end of the street. Me and ajax turned to the commotion when we saw troops of ethereal soldiers searching the market from way behind us.

"ajax, hurry we need to find the hatch now." I hurriedly say as I frantically

I then heard a voice that I really wish didnt find me, its not like I dont want to see her, but Im not ready to face her, this is all for the mission, I cant let her mess this up.

I need to see this story on the other side, I need to figure out why. And Im never going to get my answers out here. As much as I dread thinking this, I somewhat believe him, or I want to believe him. And ill give him a chance, and if hes right, Ill come back for Leyla, and Cecil, and Linda and Callie, Ill bring Blaine and Emily and Clara with me.

I could change this war, if Chen and ajax are right, then I can shut this whole thing down, but not by myself, never by myself.

"I found it!" ajax says from my right side, it was wedged between a building and the wall, covered by vines, it was a rusty meatl that was painted to be the same color as the wall but the paint is peeling. Its weird seeing metal in the Etherial kingdom but no time to ponder that now I ran up to him as a a megaphone screamed at us "halt! By orders of the emperor you are to come out with your hands up!" a man yelled.

"ajax, please, hurry, get the thing open!"

"I'm trying! It wont budge."

"Ashley Parker! Return to us and leave that elfs side." The man shouted once again, and Leyla, who I heard earlier walked a little closer with the megaphone, "Ashley, hes lying to you, hes brainwashing you! Dont listen to a word that bitch says to you." She tries to persuade me.

"LeyLey, listen to me-"

"I got it!" ajax pulls out a stone and holds it up

When I take a closer look, it wasnt a stone.

"Ajax! What the heck do you are doing?" I whisper-yell at him with wide eyes.

"make one more move and your whole crew gets blasted." He warns. I look at him with fear, "this is not the plan ajax, stop it."

He winks at me and mouths 'trust me.'

The troops look at eachother and Leyla looks at him with fury "you dont need her, give her up, let her go home."

"she can go home, in fact, she is going home, besides if she wanted to, she had all of the time to leave." He says.

Leyla looks at me "Ashley, please." She begs "he is lying."

This is going to hurt. I send a mental note to apologise to Leyla later.

"Ill be the judge of that-" I take a step back, away from her. "-im sorry." I wouldnt let out my tears that so desperately wanted to be let go, inside I was screaming, I didnt want to do this I didnt want to hear the pain in her voice, see the hurt in her eyes, watch as her own silent tears fell.

She stepped forward with her arm extended, reaching for me when ajax threw the grenade down between us, the blast separated us and ajax pulled me to my feet as he began to disappear into the tunnel, I looked back one more time, the last time I saw my home before I left.

Leyla was sitting on the gound, her shirt had ash on it from the blast, the fake bushes were on fire and the building close enough to us were crumbling.

fire raged from around the scene as Leyla looked at me with pain and hurt as tears were flowing from her eyes, her bangs were messy and clumped together and her arm was starting to bleed from when she landed on a sharp rock on the road.

And with that, I turned around and disappeared into the dark.

A/N 1316 words