I own nothing and (unfortunately) never will.

Enjoy

"Wait!" Holly yelled over the blasting music of the party. "I have something to say!"

"Holly." Flynn scolded walking over to his granddaughter. "You should have said whatever you wanted to in the middle of the party, not at the end when everyone is tired."

"It's important." Holly reassured him. Flynn sighed.

"Okay." Once everyone had given their attention to her and had turned the music off, Holly began.

"You think you know me," Holly said. "And my brothers, Leon and Jay. You think you know us, but everything you have been told about us is a lie! We are not the children of Brandon and Sorina."

"What?" Brandon shot to his feet from where he sat with his wife at one of the largest tables. His amber eyes flamed. "Sorina, why is she talking such nonsense?"

Sorina stood up. The flare of panic in her eyes faded and was replaced with—what? Regret? Guilt? Or the sorrow of a mother who was about to lose her children forever...?

"I'm sorry, Brandon, but it's true. I'm not their mother, and you are not their father."

The dark-haired man stared at her. "Then who is?"

Sorina turned her sad green gaze on the cat she had always claimed as her daughter. "Tell them, Holly. I kept the secret for seasons; I'm not going to reveal it now."

"Coward!" Holly flashed at her. Her gaze swept around the clearing, seeing the eyes of every single person trained on her. "I'm not afraid of the truth! Leah is our mother, and Crowe—yes, Crowe—is our father."

Yells of shock greeted her words, but Holly shouted over them. "Our parents were so ashamed of us that they gave us away and lied to every single one of you to hide the fact that they had broken your trust. It's all her fault." She pointed her finger at Leah. "How can we survive when there are cowards and liars in the midst of us?"

The screeches and gasps of horror grew so loud that Holly couldn't make herself heard anymore. But there was no need. She had said what she had needed to say. Her legs trembled as if she had run all the way across the school campus, and she had to sit down. Inside she felt a curious peace, as if she had lanced a festering sore and was watching the poison drain away.

Crowe's voice rose above the rest in a furious shout.

"It's not true!" He had sprung to his feet, his dark gray hair bristling. Beside him, Nadie and Breeze looked bewildered and angry. "She's the one who's lying!"

Then Leah stood up. The crowd of people fell silent, their eyes turned toward her.

"It's true, Crowe," she meowed. "I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you, but there was never a right time."

Her amber eyes were seared with grief. Pity stirred in Holly, but she choked it down. I hate her! She lied and betrayed us all!

"You mean nothing to me, Leah."

Crowe's voice was cold. "That day has passed. My loyalty is only to Nadie, and I have no children other than Breeze." He glanced to where Nadie and Breeze stood beside him; the black-haired woman had a nasty glint in her eye, while Breeze wore a cruel smirk on his face.

Leah nodded her head as if she wasn't going to argue; then she looked up at Flynn, who was sitting with Sandy, as still as a stone. "I know that I cannot be a member of this any longer," she said. "I'm so very sorry to you, Flynn, and to all my friends. Please know that I tried my best, and regretted what I had done with every single breath." Her voice cracked on the last word, and she paused, swallowing, before she continued. "But I couldn't regret having my children. They are fine people, and I will always be proud of them."

She gave Crowe one last glance, then walked across the yard with her head bowed. People scrambled out of her way as she made for the bushes and pushed her way through, out of sight. Everyone stared after her, still shocked into silence.

Brandon was the first to move, stalking forward until he stood face to face with Sorina. "Why?" he asked.

Sorina's voice was desperate. "I had to! She's my sister!"

"And you couldn't trust me?" Brandon's voice was shaking, and Holly saw a deep shudder pass through his body. For a heartbeat, she was sorry for what she had done. This was a noble man, and he had not been responsible for any of the lies. I was so proud when I thought he was my father.Sorina did not reply, just held his gaze without flinching.

"You couldn't trust me," he repeated. "Don't you think I would have helped you, if you'd told me the truth? But it's too late now." He turned away, shouldering a path through the crowd.

"Brando—" Sorina took a pace after him, then halted, her head hanging and her eyes filling with tears.

Holly turned her back. Let her suffer. She deserves it!

A person nudged her from behind. It was Cinder. "What have you done?" she cried. Holly blinked in surprise. "I did the right thing."

The gray-haired girl shook her head. "There is no right thing. Everything to do with this leads to more pain." The wisdom in her voice seemed to come from a much older and more experienced person.

Holly waited for her to say something else, something to show how sorry she felt for Holly and her brothers. But Cinder just turned and padded away.

Holly stared after her. Why didn't she understand? Surely any person could see that they couldn't have carried on living a lie? None of the people here seemed pleased. Not even her own family. Sandy was staring at her, bewilderment and sorrow in her green gaze. Graham's amber eyes were blank with disbelief. Poppy and Benny had their heads close together, talking urgently and shooting hostile glances at her.

Suddenly Holly couldn't bear to be stared at for another second. Blundering through the crowd, she thrust through the bushes, ignoring the thorns that tore her skin, and fled across the strip of pebbles and over the fence surrounding the house. Racing past the local swimming pool, she began to climb the hill, skirting the neighbourhood until she reached the very top and could look out over the lake. A silver path of moonlight stretched across the surface of the water.

"Was it all worth it?" Holly wailed to the sky. The flickering stars gave her no answer.

Holly walked along the lake until she reached her own house and could go back in through the door. When she reached the kitchen, everything was quiet. She stalked across the kitchen in the bright wash of moonlight (that came in through the window) and entered the laundry room. Her heartbeat quickened when she saw there was no sign of Leah.

I know what I'm going to do. All this is Leafpool's fault.

Walking right to the back of the room, she found the laundry detergent and poured some into a cup. She placed it on the table in the center of the room.

Holly sat at the table, and waited. Soon she heard slow footsteps outside, and Leah entered and stood in front of her.

"Holly." She didn't sound surprised to find her daughter there. Her eyes were full of weariness and sorrow. "It's all right," she said. "I forgive you."

"What!" Holly sprang to her feet. "You forgive me? You're the one who needs forgiveness! You abandoned your children! You let us grow up in a web of lies, and now our family might be broken forever because of your stupid, selfish actions."

"Do you think you need to tell me that?" Leah asked, still with the same exhausted calm. "I can only tell you how much I love you. I'm so sorry for what I did."

"And you expect me to forgive you?" Holly snarled. "Well, I don't. I never will." Eyes hostile, she walked around Leah until she blocked door. "See that cup of laundry detergent? You're going to drink it—or I'll make you!"

"What?" Leah sounded bewildered.

"Drink it! You deserve to die." Holly yelled. "I've killed once," she snarled. "And I can do it again."

A gleam of some emotion that Holly couldn't read woke in her mother's eyes. "Holly," Leah said slowly. "I have lost my children, the one man I loved, and my calling as a member of this family. Which do you think would be easier for me, to die or to go on living?"

There was only one answer to that question. Silently Holly stood aside, and Leah walked past her and out of the room.

Jay slid through the door and stood panting in the middle of the kitchen. He had raced back from Flynn's house as soon as the party broke up, struggling through the mass of bewildered people to get over the fence.

He scented Leah leaving the laundry room; right now, she was the last person he wanted to talk to. Beyond her, fainter, he picked up Holly's scent. What's she doing in the laundry room? What did she say to Leah?

Darting across the kitchen, he crashed through the door and confronted his sister. "Holly! What are you doing here?" Sniffing, he detected another scent. "Why is the laundry detergent out here?"

"Leave me alone!" Holly whispered. Before Jay could move she fled the room.

"Holly, wait!" Jayfeather yelled and launched himself after her.

When he emerged into the kitchen, Holly was already racing out the front door. Jay raced after her. The scents of more people greeted him as the rest of the family returned to the house.

"Jay, what's wrong?" Leon called out. He turned and ran along beside him. "What's happening?" he gasped.

"It's Holly," Jay panted. "We've got to catch her."

Holly was heading deep into the neighborhood, crashing through bushes and gardens as if she had suddenly lost her sight.

"Holly, come back!" Leon yowled. "We need to talk!"

But Holly didn't slacken her pace. Briefly she burst out onto the old path that led past the abandoned house, then veered into the undergrowth.

"I know where she's going!" Jay panted, feeling a chill run through him. "The sewers..."

"But she can't!" Leon sounded terrified. "Holly, stop!"

Racing around a bramble thicket, Jay and Leon came face-to-face with their sister; she had halted just outside the entrance to the sewer. It wasn't one Jay had seen before.

Jay tried to speak calmly. "Holly, you've got to listen to us."

Holly didn't seem to hear. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I was only trying to do what was best. I couldn't let Asher live! For all our sakes! You understand that, don't you?"

Jay caught his breath. Beside him, he heard Leon gasp, "You killed Asher?"

If Holly replied, Jay didn't hear it. She seemed to be lost in thought. What is she thinking about? How she murdered Asher in cold blood? His blood on her hands?

"He should have been swept into the lake and never seen again." Holly's voice wrenched Jay out of his trance. "But they found him, and now everything is ruined. I can't stay here."

Despair vibrated in her voice. "I know I did the right thing, but no one will ever understand."

There was the sound of footsteps as she turned and fled down into the sewer. Running forward, Jay could hear the roaring of the water underground, pounding hungrily against the stone.

"Holly, no!" he yelled. "We can figure this out together—" A deafening rumble interrupted him; it went on and on. He pictured stone and rock raining down as the sewer collapsed, crashing onto his sister, knocking her to the floor, crushing her, burying her...

He darted forward. "Holly!"

Leon charged into him, knocking him off his feet and pulling him back; Jay writhed furiously against him. "Let me up!" he screeched. "We have to get her out!"

"We can't help her," Leon growled. "The sewer has collapsed. There's no way we can follow her in."

Jay stilled, panting, as the tumult of falling rock and stone died away. In the silence, Leon stepped back and let Jay get himself together. Holly had seen the sewers as a way to escape her family and everything that had gone wrong. Except she hadn't escaped—not in the way she wanted.

"It's over," Leon said, his voice shaking.

"I don't understand." Jay was trembling with shock and grief. "She killed Asher to keep the secret safe. But then she revealed it to everyone at the party."

"It wasn't the same." Leon pressed up against him until Jay felt his brother's dismay mingling with his own. "Holly couldn't bear the thought of being the offspring of an affair. She couldn't bear the idea that she was being lied to. Our family meant everything to her, and our birth smashed it to pieces."

"We should have done something," Jay insisted. "What are we going to tell the family?"

Leon let out an exhausted sigh. "We can't tell them she killed Asher. How can we let that be the only thing she's remembered for?"

Jay nodded. After all this, there was one more secret to keep, for Holly's sake. "Let's say that she went for a drive but swerved to avoid hitting a cat, but crashed into the sewer, and it collapsed on her. They don't need to know the truth—that she was trying to escape from them."

I hope it wasn't too confusing especially the names. If you couldn't tell it was Hollyleaf revealing her family's big secret.

Bye,

Fadingspirit