The Heart of Shadow and Gold

Chapter 31

Leylas POV:

I walked into my dorm room to take out my journal and write down plans and preparations. As I was sitting down I stood back up and saw Callie looking at her. "What do you want?" "oh Im sorry is it a crime to look at a fellow dormmate?"

"whatever, "I sat down. "how did the mission go?"

"She wasnt there, I already told Chen" "she wasn't there. Well whatever, did you at least get supplies?"

She slightly glared ta me, but I didn't have the energy to care, "yes, we got the supplies."

"good." I sigh. This isn't like Ashley, she wouldn't do this. maybe she just made the wrong choice, but she's never wrong she's Ashley. Am I wrong? I shook the thought sout of my head before remembering, its septemper 21st. it would be Ashleys "loyalty day" I internally laughed, it wouldn't matter its pretty obvious whether shes loyal or not. At least she can be safe from the beatings.

I glance out the windows, I wonder how shes doing, what shes doing. I wonder where she is. I close my notebook and walk out of the room, finding Xanthos Chen facing someone, said someone seemed to be whispering something I couldn't hear, pleading. With a yell from the figure Chen drove his sword into their chest as they fell, and only then did I see who it was.

"MOM!!" I screamed, I ran towards her with speed I didn't think was possible for me as I dropped onto my knees praying she was okay. She kept reassuring me, saying she was ok but she was bleeding to much, despite my efforts to keep the blood in she was fighting to stay awake.

"my beautiful baby girl," she stroked my chin as I cried. She fell limp in my arms, but not before she used her last breath to speak "temple, cabinet 17, run." She whispered directly into my ear. I hugged her body, I felt as it lost heat.

"why, why would you do this?" I spoke brokenly to her murderer.

"she committed a crime against us." He soothed, it didn't work.

"what crime?" she asked admitting defeat, her mom was punished.

"rebellion. Now, Miss. Miller, this may be hard for your young mind to accept, and I will give you some space, but please think about this with consideration, she was penalized torture, I saved her the pain she could've gone through."

she lied on her mothers dead corpse for gods know how long as memories played back in her mind

"Leyla! You get back here before I catch you!"

"shh lelyla don't be scared, these are your family."

"Leyla I need you to be brave for me."

"no matter what, always follow you rheart"

"do the right thing"

"cabinet 17"

"don't steal!"

"cabinet 17"

"Leyla!"

"cabinet 17"

"LEYLA!"

"Cabinet 17"

"leyla...run."

"temple."

"RUN."

My fingers trembled as I pulled myself together allowing the guards to take her body away to be buried I stared at her leave.

Rebellion. Like Ashley. I thought it over a dozen times in my head but my mother knew something, something Ashley knew as well, my question is what did they know?

"What are you hiding Chen?

A/N 543 words lil short