Four Hearts

Chapter 41

Cedric

"Cedric, where are you taking me?" Milena asks as he leads his blindfolded girlfriend through the hallways.

"Don't worry about it," Cedric replies with a chuckle.

"I still have to pack.

"You'll have time for that. This will only take an hour at most."

Students are cheering at the thought of going home. Some were leaving for their graduation ceremony being held in a nearby town. Others were just gathering their things to leave for the summer. The joyous chatter dies out as Cedric gets closer to the courtyard. He brings Milena in front of their decorated table and then takes off her blindfold. The table is covered in flower petals and in the center is a vase full of lilacs. There are two plates, each with a warm, sweet roll that's been drizzled with chocolate and fresh fruits. There's a mug of hot water in front of the plate for Milena with various tea bags for her to choose from.

"Did you do all this?" Milena asks.

"I had a little help."

He watches her run her fingers under the petals of the lilacs.

"They're your favorite, right?" Cedric asks.

"You remembered."

"Do you like it?"

"What's all this for?"

"I wanted us to get some time together before we left. I know we can still message each other since we'll have our notepads and stuff but it isn't the same as having you there."

Milena throws her arms around him, burying her face into his chest, "I going to visit whenever I can. I promise."

Cedric returns her embrace, doing his best not to lift her off her feet, "I'll hold you to that, Princess."

"I'm not a princess, and I'm not going to be anymore."

"You'll always be my princess."

Milena

She drags her luggage down the stairs from her dorm, along with the other no longer first years who were anxious to leave. The bottom of the steps was just as crowded as the front of the school. The cacophony of blurred conversations fills Milena's ears. She sees a pocket on her bag is open and pulls herself into the corner to fix it. When she looks up, she can see Parker and Harper standing away from the crowd. Harper was shouting while Parker shook his head. Harper shoves his shoulder. Parker responds by pushing his sister into the wall. He points and yells at her before picking up a bag next to his feet and storming off.

Harper is frozen in place. Parker catches Milena's eye as he leaves the building and waves at her. She horridly follows after him. She grabs his arm to get his attention.

"How much did you hear?" Parker asks.

"I couldn't hear anything, but I saw plenty," Milena answers.

"Don't let her drag you into our problems."

"She isn't dragging me into anything. I'm just concerned about you."

"Why?"

"Because...I don't know, I just do."

"Don't be. You have other people you should be concerned about. Have a good summer."

Parker continues walking down the steps to a group of kids that were excited to see him join in on the fun of waiting for their parents. Milena bites her lip but decides to walk over to where she agreed to meet her friends instead of trying to learn more. There wasn't much point in trying to get someone to tell you information when they don't want to speak in her opinion.

Allegra

The front of the school is as crowded as it was on the first day. Carriages are lined up by the steps. Groups of friends say their goodbyes. Staff members assist students with their luggage. Zain, Milena, Cedric, and Allegra are sitting off to the side as they wait for their rides. Allegra sees her father through a carriage window and sighs.

"Time for me to head off I guess," she says.

"Have a good summer!" Zain exclaims.

"Feel free to visit anytime," Milena adds.

Allegra waves as she walks down the steps to the carriage. An attendant takes her bags to put into storage. She stands by the open door and takes one final look at the glistening building her friends wave in front of. She smiles as she gets in. Her father doesn't look up from his book or say a word. Allegra continues to wave to her friends on the steps as the carriage is driven away from the school that had given her a new place to call home.

Zain

The school has been emptied of students, but Zain was still waiting to leave. Uncle Alex had come back from the graduation ceremony hours ago only to go right back to work in his office. The sun is setting as Zain reads in the courtyard. The staff members had left the area alone as they cleaned up the school for the summer. His bag is sitting on the bench next to him with Camnor laying on the table, all ready to go back to his room in the middle of nowhere. There's a second bag on the ground full of books the librarian gave him to keep him entertained during his break.

The courtyard door opens, and Zain looks up with a big smile hoping to see his uncle. Instead, it's a staff member with a letter in hand.

"This came for you earlier this week, and we missed it," the man says, putting the letter on his table. "Sorry 'bout that."

Zain waits for the man to leave before touching the letter. He's never gotten one. No one ever needed to send one to him. He slowly opens it up and pulls out the small, wrinkled paper.

Zain,

It's us. Your cousins. We said we would keep in touch. Sorry it's been a while but we have something for you. We've been doing some digging and found this. We thought you'd want to see it. We'll send more information soon.

Lilith and Kage

Zain tilts his head and looks in the envelope. He pulls out a newspaper clipping. There's a picture of his mother in handcuffs walking through a crowd. Above it, in bold, black letters, is the headline; 'Selene Holland, executed for treason.'