Everyone turned to look at Rodney, trying to ignore Glitch's deep gasps. Cain looked over at Rodney. "First you don't tell us about your being sisters. Now Julia mentions another child. What else are you not telling us?" Cain asked, his voice getting stern.
Rodney let go of Aiden, who curled up into a ball on the floor and tried to dream. "I don't know if it's my right to tell," she said. "Believe me, it is now…" Jeb spoke up. Rodney looked around and then sighed, crossing her legs. "You are right. Julia and I are sisters. We, just like some of you have a terrible past. Ours was probably the worst to date," Rodney stated, looking around the room.
"We are heirs to the Ligark throne…." Rodney finally said. DG and Azkadellia gasped. "The Forgotten City?" Azkadellia asked. Rodney closed her eyes and sighed. "Yes," she said. Azkadellia rolled her eyes at Rodney's annoyance. "We were there the day it was…Forgotten. Julia was seventeen, and I was sixteen. A herd of Baguns and Long Coats raided our castle. The Baguns took the lives of hundreds of children all we could hear were their cries. Julia and I wanted to fight, but our mother and father…the king and queen…refused our help. They sent us away to the cave where we stayed. We were set to be 'Guardians of the OZ', as mother put it," Rodney paused because she could already feel the tears welling up. Mother…Father…
She looked over at Glitch. "Before we were sent away… Julia managed to get herself in a fight with one of the longcoats. He was second in command. His name was…Zero. That's when… that's when Neal came in. He tried to help Julia. Zero got away, and Neal was weakened. There was nothing Julia could do to help him. He died in her arms," Rodney said, trying to read everyone's face.
"Who was Neal?" DG asked. "Julia's fiancé, and the father of her child…" Rodney said. "Julia had a fiancé before?" Cain asked. Rodney nodded. "She did. After Neal died, Julia ran around in panic trying to find her daughter Olivia. Julia ran in the room and saw a Bagun standing over Olivia's figure. Julia killed the Bagun, and ran with Olivia, trying to get her to safety. She was shot at in the leg, and she fell down. A group of Long Coats held her back as she watched a Bagun take the life of her child," Rodney turned to look at Glitch.
"That's why she snapped at you," she said. Glitch looked around, ashamed. Rodney continued. "I wasn't near Julia at the time. I was spending the last few moments with my… well…we were pretty serious about our relationship. That day, he asked me to marry him….I…I accepted his proposal. We ran through the halls, trying to find someone…anyone who was still alive. We did find people, but not ours. The Long Coats and Baguns surrounded us. Guns were pointed at me, and the next thing I knew was… I woke up in my mother's chamber. She was there and told me that Hugh had sacrificed himself for me. The Long Coats wanted him, so he pretended to kill me, so the Long Coats wouldn't. He hit the back of my head hard enough to make me unconscious, but not hard enough to kill me. He ….he wanted me to live…" Tears started coming down Rodney's face.
The group stared at her, trying not to cry themselves. "The Long Coats beat him to death, and then took his body away and threw it to the sea… to think about what happened to the body…." Rodney paused to wipe away a tear. "So Mother and Father sent Julia and I off. Telling us not to come back until we knew we had to be back and wanted to be back. So for eight years we've lived on our own. We found Aiden in one of the villages. All Julia and I can think about now, is saving people from suffering what we did. We send the people we rescue to the Abrah Kingdom. They were our biggest allies. We never tell the people whom we rescue our names, so the people of that kingdom don't know we exist," Rodney finished and turned to face Cain.
"That's the whole story," she said. She stood up and disappeared up the same hatch Julia disappeared up, shutting it after she went through. The group all looked at each other. The silence was broken by Aiden's faint snore. "What do we do now?" Jeb asked, his eyes scanning the room. "Wait until they come back?" Glitch stated, although it was more of a question.
"Yes," Cain answered. He sat down with his back against the one wall. He realized he had more in common with the two strange girls than he thought. They had all lost someone they cared about. And Julia…Julia lost her child. He looked over at Jeb who was laughing with DG and Azkadellia at some joke DG made. Cain smiled slightly. He was so glad to have Jeb with him.
A rumble was heard and the group looked up to see Julia sticking her head in the hole. "Come on, I don't know about the five of you but I'm not staying in here overnight. We'll head towards your castle, then we will part ways. Now hurry up," Julia said, her face disappearing. Cain noted that her eyes were red, she too had been crying. When the group of them climbed out of the hole, Glitch carrying a sleeping Aiden, they moved on.
Glitch walked next to Rodney. "I'm really sorry about what happened to you…and Julia…" he said. "Hey, its fine. I needed to tell someone about it anyway, we've held it in for too long anyway…" she said, looking over at him. Glitch smiled slightly. "I'll take him…" Rodney said, taking Aiden from Glitch's arms. Aiden stirred and then woke up.
"Mommy?" he asked. "I'm here…" Rodney said. "I want to walk now…" he said. "Okay Aiden," Rodney said, setting him down. Aiden began skipping slightly. "Aiden's really a sweet kid," Glitch said. "Yea, he really is…" Rodney said. "Hey…" Glitch said, putting a hand on Rodney's shoulder. Rodney turned to look at him. "Let me know if you want to talk…" he said.
Rodney smiled. Glitch was such a child at heart. "Okay, thank you Glitch…" Rodney smiled.