GOLDEN REBEL HEART

Chapter 26

It's early in the morning when Taylor wakes up due to an uneasy feeling settled at the bottom of her stomach. She lazily lifts her head, which was comfortably nestled in the crook of Karlie's neck, and looks at her surroundings. The leader's shack is silent and smells like incense, and it lacks of any golden light as the clouds outside cry tears of frozen and cold snow. Taylor untangles her bare body from the rebel's, the other woman trying to hold her down but failing since she is still unconscious. An adorably upset frown forms on Karlie's lips, as she looks for something else to cuddle. When Taylor is standing on her feet, she looks down at her and smiles gently; she will never get tired of this heavenly sight.

She quickly slips on some underwear, and when she sits down to put on her pants, Karlie's groggy and filled with sleep voice reaches her ears, "Hey, where are you going?"

Taylor turns to face her and gifts her with a loving smile. "I want to go for a walk,"

"I could come with you," Karlie suddenly sounds more awake as she shuffles closer to the blonde's body. Her chest grazes with the American's clad back, and when the older woman meets her gaze, Karlie leans in to give her a morning kiss. It's slow and gentle, the rebel's tongue lazily swiping against Taylor's bottom lip. The American cups her chin as the leader's tentative hands trail up her back, reaching the nape of her neck before scraping her nails along her scalp. Taylor moans quietly at the action, but before things could get more heated, she pulls away with a smirk, already knowing what Karlie would look like.

As Taylor gets up and slips her arms inside her brown leather jacket, she hears Karlie's frustrated voice say, "You can't just kiss me like that and then leave,"

The American laughs out loud. "Just deal with it, babe," Taylor says matter of factly. She briefly kisses Karlie's lips before walking towards the door. "Tonight," she promises with an alluding smile. "Love you!" she exclaims.

Just as she exits the shack, the last thing she hears is Karlie's response, muttered against the pillow and followed by an exasperated sigh.

-

Karlie knows something is wrong as soon as Taylor doesn't come back from her walk.

The fact that the snow doesn't show any signs of stopping any time soon isn't helping either. The leader is out with two soldiers, walking down the deserted street, when suddenly her pager beeps with an incoming message. Karlie quickly takes the object out from her pocket, fingers trembling as she reads the message in capital letters.

KARLIE, COME BACK TO UTKARSH. IT'S AN EMERGENCY.

The leader fears the worst, as she immediately tells her soldiers that they need to go back to town. They run as fast as they can, although they have to be careful of frozen areas. Millions of thoughts swirl inside her brain; what if it's about Taylor? What if she had injured herself? She doesn't know the gravity of the emergency, and it drives her insane as the air in her lungs becomes less and less. She runs until her feet burn with exhaustion, and when they finally reach Utkarsh, the eerie silence of the narrow pathways strikes her. Karlie analyzes every inch of the streets, her armed soldiers alert behind her. Something just doesn't feel right; wasn't there an emergency? Why is no one outside?

Her gut tells her that it is a trap, and just when she takes two other steps forward, the sound of two shots fill the silence. When she turns around briskly, the bodies of her two soldiers lay on the ground, lifeless and blood stained. Before she can react in any way, a punch in her face renders her dizzy and makes her stumble a few steps back.

Strong arms wrap around her, and a hand covers her mouth. Unable to let out a sound, she widens her eyes, and in front of her she sees five soldiers of the Royal Army, standing behind the one and only, Pagan Min. His face is unreadable, but the frown of disapproval is evident on his lips. The King shakes his head, fake pity swimming inside his cold eyes. He leans closer, his face inches away from the leader's.