Mnemosyne

Lunar Lilly Muse

Chapter 2: A Safe Life

"ALLIYAH, WAKE UP!" Alliyah Young's eyes snapped open.

"What?" She mumbled sleepily. Chase's dark silhouette swam in her vision. He grabbed her by the shoulders and yanked her into an upright position.

"Alliayh, come on! We have to hurry! The barbarians are attacking the village!" He scooped her up in his arms and carried her out of the house.

"Chase! What's going on! And what about Mommy?" Chase didn't answer her. He just kept running until they reached the edge of the village. The two could only watch in horror as their village, their only home, was being destroyed by madmen. A small, last minute group of men were trying to fend off the barbarians with little luck. Alliyah's green eyes grew wide with terror as she watched people being slaughtered, crops being raided and homes being burned to the ground.

"NO! NO!" She cried. "MOMMY? MOMMY!" She tried to wriggle out of Chase's grasp, so she could find her Mommy, but it was no use. Chase held onto her with everything he had. He knew that they had already lost their mother, he wasn't about to lose Alliyah.

"Alliyah, stop it!" He ordered. Alliyah screamed and tried to push his tight arms off of her.

"Let me go! Let me go!" It was no use. No matter how she kicked and screamed, she couldn't break free. She resigned herself to sobbing like the orphan child she now was. "Mommy...Mommy...I told you not to go." She wept. Chase held her to his chest and buried his face in her hair.

"I know this hurts, but there's nothing we can do now. At least Mot-...Mommy's in a better place." He murmured. "Hush now little Jia. We have to leave." And then he hurried away, until the devastated village could not be seen, and the screams could no longer be heard.

"Chase, no!" Alliyah screamed. "Please don't leave me here!" She wrapped her arms around his legs and started to cry. Chase carefully unwound her arms from his legs and picked his little sibling up.

"Alliyah, try to understand. I can't look after you right now and this temple may be your only chance of a safe life."

"But..but...I want to go home!" Alliyah buried her face in Chase's shoulder. Chase pulled her face away and cupped her chin in his hand.

"Hush, I promise to come for you as soon as I find a new home for us. And that will be soon, I promise. Here-" Chase pulled something out of his pocket. "I saved this from the house. It used to belong to your Grandma. Remember Grandma?" Alliyah shook her head. "No matter. I'm sure you'll love it anyway." He held up a necklace. It was of an amber charm that looked like an animal's paw. It hung on a black rubber cord. Carefully, he twined it around Alliyah's neck. "When I come back for you, we can put this on Mommy's grave, where it belongs."

"Promise?" Chase smiled weakly.

"Promise. Now go." He set her down on the ground and gently pushed her towards an old man wearing monk's robes. "Remember, I'm only gone for the moment." He whispered.

"Chase?" Alliyah whimpered. She turned around, but he was gone. She felt a large hand on her shoulder.

"Come now, little...Alliyah. We have much to talk about. Starting with that necklace of yours..."

Another chapter down! Hope you enjoyed it!

Much Luv,

Zoey

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Xiaolin Showdown.