GOLDEN REBEL HEART

Chapter 15

This is actually really long, but here I introduce to you a new character! I'm so excited for you to see what's coming next, and I'm writing as much as possible since school is about to start soon for me, and I will be really busy with studying. Anyway, please tell me what you think and if you're still enjoying this story. There will be lots of Kaylor soon (Jealous Karlie will make more than one appearance). 

Enjoy this new chapter, the first one of part two!

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Utkarsh was similar to Banapur, and yet, everything was different. Utkarsh was bigger, it was not divided into sections, and people were more reserved and cold, almost as cold as the weather. Up north, the snow never left the ground, and it covered everything with a white and soft blanket. Taylor was surprised to find rebels of the Golden Path there, but the astonishment slightly disappeared when she found out that they were there in disguise. They were more or less ten, and they were so grateful when they came to know that the Bridge now belonged to the Golden Path and, therefore, that the South was completely free from Pagan Min's claws. When they arrived to Utkarsh, Karlie immediately sent Taylor to the infirmary, despite the American's complains, and the leader went to talk with the commander, Gaurish. The nurses were nice and kind, and cleaned all of Taylor's wounds and treated the blonde's slightly burned right arm. They sparked small talk in order to distract Taylor from the pain, and long hours later, as the sun finally rose from behind the mountains, the American was left alone to rest.

She lies in bed, ivory bandages around her right arm and a little band-aid covering the tiny but deep cut in her forehead. The white sheets are rough and slightly torn and wrinkled underneath her fingers, which are still trembling with adrenaline. The infirmary in Utkarsh is just a large room, larger than the one back at Banapur, and there are not many patients as of today. Taylor is the only one wide awake, and she desperately feels her body screaming, begging her to just close her eyes and fall asleep. However, there's an unsettling emotion sitting on the pit of her stomach, rendering her restless as she impatiently waits for Karlie to pay her a visit. Taylor feels fine now, the medications the nurses have given her finally kicking in, but she feels like the leader is kind of mad at her and at her carelessness. Karlie had been kind to her on their way to Utkarsh, yet her voice had been distant and too calm when addressing the American. Taylor slightly regrets her actions, for scaring Karlie so much. Although the aftermath of the explosion is still a little blurry inside of her memories, she recalls the frightened look on the rebel's face when she had dragged her away from the scene. Taylor hadn't meant to scare her, to give her a reason to possibly think that she was dead, but now, with clear thoughts and a very much awake brain, she visualizes the bigger picture and tries to put herself in Karlie's shoes. If Karlie had been the one to drive the tanker truck and risk her life like that, Taylor surely would have been just as much terrified of losing her as Karlie probably had been. But at least she is alive. Karlie is alive, the wall is destroyed, and the South is theirs. The mission ended successfully, and Taylor is probably going to receive a reprimand from Karlie. And Taylor could listen to thousands of reprimands, if that meant that, despite everything, Karlie would forgive her no matter what big mess Taylor creates.

Karlie visits her in the afternoon, the sound of chatter and folk music briefly getting inside the infirmary as the leader opens the door and closes it slowly. After hours of trying, Taylor had finally fallen asleep, but even the smallest of noises wakes her up from her light slumber. A dull pain makes her teeth sink in the plump skin of her bottom lip, and tired sapphire eyes watch the rebel make her way towards the plain bed Taylor is comfortably lying on. The American doesn't have the strength to sit up straight against the headboard, but she greets the other woman with a tiny smile, the one that kids use when they're ashamed of something they've done. She sees Karlie slightly shake her head, her elegant and long fingers wrapping around a nearby stool and dragging it closer to Taylor's bed. She sits with her legs slightly parted, lips forming a thin line as jade green eyes attentively stare at the American's injured face. Taylor waits for her to say something, anything, but the rebel keeps her mouth shut and looks at her. The blonde takes this silence as an opportunity to check if Karlie has major wounds, but she finds none. The seated woman has scars on her hands from previous battles, battles that they've won and lost, but there are no bloody cuts all over her body. There are whole stories behind each scar, some have been unveiled, but Taylor feels like some are too personal and painful to tell.