Chapter 27

"Leave!" he ordered and everyone started rushing out. He turns back to look at Aurora before moving closer to her.

"Au-Aurora.. You're alive..i tho–i thought.." he stammered, his words failed him.

"Hello, uncle."

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Aurora stared at the man as he continued to rub his gray beard in frustration.

"You promised me you wouldn't come back, that you wouldn't be here. Why are you back here Aurora?" He questioned

"You were conducting the sacred prayer for me?" Aurora asked him instead of replying to the initial question he had asked her.

"I did that so they wouldn't suspect a thing, I mean You told me you were going to leave…"

"Did I?" Aurora inquired, interrupting him.

He rolls his eyes before speaking again. "Maybe I suggested that out to you, but it was so you would get away from this lifestyle." Marshall moved closer to her and squatted as he uttered his next words. "It's not too late for you to leave now."

Aurora scoffed. She got up from the chair she sat in and was now standing. That propelled Marshall to also stand and now they were staring at each other.

"If I'm going to leave, I'm going to leave the right way and not run like a coward. Hence that's why I returned." she blurted.

Aurora watched him face palm himself with frustration.

"Don't you get it.."

"Uhm, not really, is it the fact you tried to get me away for reasons I don't know or you becoming chief with uncles absence??" she asked. Arms folded under her boobs.

" I wanted a better life for you aurora, I wanted you to experience a different kind of world that is different from the one you knew, I wanted you to flee from all these and be happy.. Why are you not seeing this the way I do?? The war with the werewolves will never end. They'll keep coming for us," his voice was calm and soothing this time around.

Aurora saw sense in what he was saying but she wasn't ready to run away, she wasn't ready to leave her people, with the brutality she had watched the werewolves killed those people in the woods, she knew the chief- her uncle won't be able to hold on before they'll eliminate them all. She didn't want that.

"Uncle," she started. Her voice was calm this time around.

"Aurora, you need to leave. I'll have my men take you somewhere far, name it.." he gushed out his words before aurora would say a thing.

'Why was he so insistent she leaves' Aurora thought. As if reading her thoughts he answered her.

"Do you want to be killed by the werewolves, do you want to be a slave for the rest of your life?? There will be no peace or happiness for you here, you'd only serve the people and protect them for the rest of your life. Is that the kind of life you want..? Is this how you want to pay back?? What about your broth-" he was scolding her, Aurora didn't like that. She felt her body heat up with up like a volcano erupting. She was pissed. Very pissed.

"Uncle!!." her eyes were blazing red. The more he talked the more she wanted to squeeze life out from him,

"Shouldn't you be more bothered about getting yourself out of here if you know what's coming?"

"I would look like a coward"he says sharply without processing his words

"And I wouldn't?" she asked him. That left him speechless. She turns to leave but he held her back.

"All I wanted was best for you? You knew what happened with me. Everything I cared and loved has been long taken away from me. You and I are the only surviving family, and I did what every good brother would do."

Aurora opened her mouth to say something but paused momentarily, "Why do you sound like something bad happened to Uncle Joel? And if you really wanted to help, you'd help why I'm still here."

She made to move out of the way again but get held back.

"Okay, fine. I'm going to do all that you ever wanted. Live freely and casually. Be independent, you name it. You don't have to pretend anymore just to avoid the same fate as that of your big brother, you'll be under my shadow as the new chief."

"Chief?"

"Yes," he nodded, smiling.

"You can't proclaim yourself as chief, uncle. That's not how it's done."

The smile on uncle Marshall's face turned into a frown. "Why not?"

"You're not following protocols. You're not allowing the people choose who they want. You know the necessities that has to be carried down before being bestowed the tittle, why are you claiming it already when you haven't gone through any of it?"

"I don't have to, everyone wants me as Chief," He insisted and Aurora scoffed.

"The tittle is not some kind of heritage. And they don't want you as chief."

"Hold it young lady!" her uncle pushed her on her shoulders but she doesn't stumble like he had expected her to.

Instead she stood firm and was now staring directing to his eyes. "You want to be in charge so bad you didn't let a day to go pass before doing all what you did tonight, you didn't bother conducting a search party to ensure Uncle joel's- Our CHIEF is alive" Aurora made sure she emphasized on the 'our chief' making Marshal grit his teeth at her.

Aurora shook her head before taking two steps backward and heading for the door. But now without saying what she intend to do.

"As long as I'm here, all protocols must be duly followed." with that she walked out of her room, leaving him behind. She heard him cursed loudly and then a crash was heard from within.

"I'll just have to make you leave then." she heard he huffed angrily. It made Aurora giggled darkly.

"We'll see the last man standing."

She muttered more to herself before making it down the stairs.

She got down but she found no one there. She was sure she had caught a glimpse of people hoarding her by her door to take a glimpse at her.

' Where had they all gone?' she wondered. She was hoping to meet them and also address them down here.

Aurora turned to the window when she heard some sound of jubilation. She tinted her eyes not getting a clear view. What was going on out there.

She quickly moves away from the window and came out through the door. To get a clear view.

She walk down as she went by through series of people, jumping and jubilating. She pushed on till she got to the middle.

When she successfully came out, she looked up to see what's causing the jubilation.

Her uncle (Joel, the chief), had his back facing her. Her eyes slowly wondered to his left hand with he had stretched up, as if revealing something to the people. He slowly turns to show the crowd behind him too and Aurora got a clear view of what he held.

Daniel's head.

Tears starts to well up in her eyes and she didn't understand why, but she knew she was heartbroken seeing Daniel, without the rest of his body.

"Aurora." Her uncle called out to her slowly dropping the head on mud ground. He had sighted her and he was beyond happy. Aurora managed a smile at him while she was fighting the urge to break down and weap.