Born in Sin [BOOK 1]

Chapter 29

Leondra sat alone within her empty bedroom, her mind lost within the beauty of a poem she had been sculpting into perfection. She placed the tip of her brush into the black ink she had spent the last five minutes making into perfection. A single black streak crossed the paper, it's contrast striking as it formed the first words of her poem.

"What do you need, little sister?" Leondra asked, her eyes never leaving her work as she acknowledged Anise; who had been sitting quietly in the back of the room.

"Is it wrong to want only the best for your family?" She asked in her small childish voice.

Leondra smiled, shaking her head softly which caused her curled bangs to tickle her forehead. "Not if it's for the right reasons. You know that."

"How do I know if it's for the right reason?" She asked again.

Leondra sighed, ready to repeat herself for what felt like the millionth time. Anise was always coming to her with these questions. "If you're heart tells you, 'you must do this.' Then you must. Always listen to your heart, it will guide you and never lead you astray."

"I've been listening to my heart for a long time, sissy," Anise said, standing up from the edge of the bed and walking closer to Leondra who dipped her brush in her ink again.

"And what does your heart tell you?" Leondra asked, her face blooming with a bright smile as she stared at her finished masterpiece. When she didn't hear an answer from her child sister, she sat up and turned around to ask her directly.

"It says I have to protect Neo," she answered, her silvery hair bouncing in it's small ponytail as she nodded firmly.

Leondra smiled. "Is that all? Neo will be fine-"

"It says that you're bad like the others."

Leondra wasn't allowed a chance to scream, the blade which Anise had stole ran right through her vocal chords and silenced her. Permanently.

Anise watched as Leondra's face panicked. She listened to her mind, listening her cry out all sorts of accusations.

"Neo needs to be kept safe. He's the only one left. Without him, who else will lead Valaria? You can't. Sissy couldn't. Daddy couldn't. Yuria couldn't... Jacquelyn won't be able to do it either. So I'll be the one who helps him. Only me."

Anise released the hilt of the blade and allowed her sister's body to fall with a heavy thud to the carpeted floor. The ink from Leondra's brush flew from her hand, splattering black ink across Anise's face as it fell by her feet.

"I'm sorry it had to be like this Sissy... You and Melissa were the only ones who helped me. I won't let your deaths be a waste." Anise knelt down beside her sister's corpse and pushed her bangs behind her ear, petting her as she sighed.

Her small virtual link chimed, making a giant smile sweep across her face. "Oh yay!" She cheered.

She hopped to her feet, brushing her pink dress off. "It's time to go play!" She sang as she skipped out of the room, letting the door shut quietly behind her.

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The palace fell into a silence so deep, even the wind dared not breathe onto it's grounds. Heads were hung low, only whispers were dared uttered by the servants.

The news of both of her daughters being murdered within such a short amount of time left Neo's mother in a great depression she was sedated and tucked into bed. Her life only hanging by a thread as it was began to wither away, threatening to snap any second.