War of Hearts 》Bellamy Blake

T W O

Sometime after she had spoken to Abby, Brinley had lost her fight against the sedative that had been injected into her system. When she woke up, she found herself strapped tightly to a chair, surrounded by few familiar faces.

She tried to shake the sleepiness off as she looked around. As she turned her head to the left, the familiar sight of a smirking face greeted her.

'Well well well, look what the council dragged in.'

Brinley forced her eyes to stay open as she took in the person beside her. Her eyes widened considerably as realisation hit her.

'Murphy?' She asked in disbelief.

His face split into an arrogant smirk, though his eyes were shining with mischief.

'Hey doll face.'

Brinley groaned at the annoying nickname, though it was obvious to her friend that she was happy to see him. 'What the hell is going on?'

Murphy raised an eyebrow. 'They didn't tell you? They're sending us to the ground.' He drawled, rolling his eyes at his own words.

Instead of the surprised look Murphy was expecting to see from the girl, Brinley snorted. 'Great. They save me from one death just to send me to another.'

Murphy frowned. 'What the hell are you talking about?'

She sighed. 'I was supposed to be dead by now. They were about to float me when they stuck a needle in my neck and brought me here instead.' Brinley edited her story, leaving any unnecessary information out.

Murphy frowned at the seriousness of the situation, all playfulness dropping from his face. 'Jesus, Brin.'

'How are you so awake?' Brinley groaned over dramatically, successfully changing the subject. She didn't want to talk about her.

Before Murphy could answer, a small laugh sounded from the other side of her and she turned her head to eye the small brunette near her.

'What?' Brinley snapped at the girl who stopped laughing immediately, a sheepish look forming on her face.

'Nothing. I mean, I uh watched them bring you in. You started waking up when they were strapping you down and one of the guards panicked and jabbed you with another dose of sedative without thinking, that's why you're still disoriented. You had twice the dose.'

Brinley pursed her lips while Murphy snickered beside her.

'Oh. That would explain it. What's your name?' Her tone was friendlier this time and the other girl noticed.

'I'm Octavia.' She sent a tentative smile to the older girl who shot her one back.

'I'm Brinley.'

Octavia smiled slightly. 'Nice to meet you.'

'What were you in for?' Brinley questioned, curious about the new face.

A frown graced Octavia's pretty face. 'You don't know?'

Brinley was confused. 'Should I?'

'Surely even you've heard of Octavia Blake?' Murphy drawled from beside her, an eyebrow raised in surprise.

'I've been in solitary for nearly three years. You don't really hear much gossip in there.' Brinley rolled her eyes, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

'They locked me up for being born.' Octavia shrugged as though she didn't care, but from the tense set of her shoulders it was clear she did.

'You were an illegal child – a second child?' Brinley's voice softened. Illegal children were practically unheard of. She could imagine discovery of Octavia's birth had been quite the scandal. Octavia nodded at her.