"I knew their pilfering would get them into trouble one of these days."
"They should've just died like the rest of the others who were abandoned at birth. Why did they have to struggle so hard to survive only to end up like this?"
"The white haired girl has always creeped me out. I'm glad she finally did something to warrant the warriors taking her."
"I heard she doesn't have a wolf yet and she's already 18."
"It's clear she's a witch. Only people like that have eyes and hair like hers. Goodness, I just got goosebumps because she looked at me!"
"I sell some very cleansing soaps. It'd cleanse out whatever spell that witch put on you with her gaze."
"How many coins is it? Sell to me."
"And me."
The crowd conversed amongst each other for a while then went back to doing business like two teenage girls weren't being forcefully dragged out, mouths stuffed with wrappers to muffle their screams.
It was still early in the morning and most people who walked past them on the street were either in a hurry to get to the market or too tired to pay any attention to them.
Three minutes later, the girls were shoved to the ground near the edge of a high cliff. The highest cliff in the territory.
Aurelia shivered from the cold as she quickly crawled to Lydia, snuggling close to her.
Almost immediately, her hindsight caught a familiar blue tunic walking towards them.
She gulped down nervously.
Just like she thought. It was the same councilman from last night.
Beside them, the councilman looked over the cliff and clicked his tongue.
"No one who has ever fallen from this cliff survived it. Why? The cliff is not just a long way down, but directly under it is a rock in the shape of a pyramid."
"And this pyramid has a pointed tip. A sharp tip that never fails to pierce through anything that falls on it."
He took a step closer to the edge and inhaled loudly, going silent for a few seconds before he glanced at the scared girls.
"The drop is so far down you can't even see the ground from up here. Don't you think it's disappointing how a body can shatter into hundreds of pieces, but we won't get to see the action just because we're way up here?"
"My lord, a low born like me wouldn't dare to tell anyone a word I heard yesterday." Aurelia cried out, tears streaming down her face.
The councilman glanced ahead of him distractedly.
"So you did hear something."
Still clinging tightly to Lydia, she continued begging amidst sobs, "I promise on my life that I won't tell a soul a word I heard last night. Just let my friend and I go."
Hearing her, the councilman laughed, shaking his head in pity as he turned to look at her properly.
"Oh, such a loyal friend. Too bad your friend isn't as loyal. All I did was offer her a hundred coins and she came up with the plan on how to catch you."
"What?" Aurelia froze, suddenly realizing she was the only one clinging to Lydia.
Lydia immediately pushed her away, got on her feet and looked down at her without an iota of remorse.
"What should I have done, Aurelia? Look at them. Do you think they would've let me off if I didn't give you up?"
Aurelia's heart broke, unable to believe her ears.
"Lydia, we've been friends ever since we learnt how to talk."
Lydia scoffed, "Then you'd understand why I did it."
Aurelia forced out a bitter smile, "But I don't understand,,, how could you?"
Lydia exhaled impatiently and walked to stand beside the councilman then she huffed righteously.
"We've lived our lives minding our business and wondering when we'll ever have enough to get anything we want."
"This Councilman offered me a hundred coins and a job at the Alpha's residence. Surely you know how big that is for someone of my background."
Aurelia smiled bitterly, her eyes forgetting to blink as she repeated croakily, "Still, you sold me out. How could you?"
Lydia's nose flared and she pointed a finger at Kelsie, rasping furiously, "That is not the point! I'm not the one who went around listening to other people's conversations! I didn't do this to you. You did this to yourself!"
Aurelia's continued smiling bitterly, her voice breaking, "But how could you? Out of the hundreds of abandoned children, we're the few who made it to this age."
"And we did all that by sticking together. I took you as my sister, so how could you betray me!"
Lydia's eyes reddened in righteous indignation as she yelled back, "We've known each other for so long, you should understand why I did this!"
"You got yourself into trouble and are going to die anyway. As someone you took to be your sister, don't you think it's only right I benefit from your death?"
"Shouldn't you be happy for me? Because you will die, I will not live the miserable life I always envisioned. You should be happy for me!"
Aurelia's heart shattered even more.
The Councilman watched with pure amusement as the two girls bickered.
When he was tired of listening to them, he nudged his head at the warriors who quickly dragged her up.
He strutted toward her and deliberately stood right in front of her.
Cupping her tear-stricken face in his palms, he grimaced.
"Aurelia, your one and only friend has left you. Even if I were to listen to you and forgive you, how will you survive out there?"
"You heard those at the market square. They're all scared of you and rightfully so. Though I can't explain it, there is something about you that's making me uneasy. Maybe it's the eyes which seems to be changing colors."
"You also have no wolf and the first person I've ever seen with a white hair. In conclusion, you're creepy and unwanted."
"That aside, since the one person who cared whether you're still breathing no longer does, don't you think it's better to just die?"
"Which is why I want you to consider what I'm about to do a gift from the moon goddess. She has looked down upon you with mercy and decided it's time to liberate you from this hell you call a life."
"I will do whatever you want me too. I won't say a word. I'll do better than a dog and…arghhh!" Aurelia's pleading was cut short by her frightened scream as the warriors suddenly hauled her off the cliff.
Lydia flinched and subconsciously stepped backward while the councilman walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down.
Seconds later, they stopped hearing her scream.
"What just happened here?"
Lydia's eyes shook slightly, "What? I mean, Aurelia just…"
A cold chuckle escaped his lungs, interrupting her.
"Aurelia? What is that? I've heard quite a lot of names in my lifetime, but Aurelia? That is new." He stopped talking and glanced at the warriors.
"Hey, has any of you ever heard of such a name?"
The trio first glanced at each other in outright confusion before they shook their heads.
"No, my lord."
"Not at all."
"Aurelia must be the new name for dogs."
The Councilman proceeded to step away from the edge, hands crossing his chest as his cold eyes finally turned to meet Lydia's.
"You were saying something about an Aurelia?"
Clenching her jaw tightl, Lydia shook her head in refusal, "That belonged to a dog I used to know."