Beneath the Glass Dome

Chapter 41

Aimee looked at the woman curiously as she spoke. "I don't know what you're talking about." She certainly didn't feel comfortable knowing this woman knew who she was. The likeliest was she had been at the presentation at the Castle earlier, yet if she looked this way she seemed to have been down here for a while.

The woman moved in closer towards her. "I know who you are, Aimee, daughter of Retrik, lineage of the Gilded Rose."

"Gilded Rose?" This was the first instance she heard of anyone mentioning that. Perhaps it would give her some further clarity into what her heritage truly was.

"The ones who created the Glass Star. It is part of your life you must know about. I have sworn myself to always search for the one who belongs to that lineage and have received information that you are indeed one of those." She bowed her head slightly. "Forgive me for having upgraded myself. I was stricken by the disease and I believed this was the only way."

Aimee shook her head. "No need to do all that. As for the upgrade stuff." She pointed at it not knowing exactly what to say. "I apologize for it hurting. It seems like you had no other option."

The woman smiled. "I knew I could depend on your words. Now, let's kill this minion of Stanton and I'll bring you to your people." She reached on the ground, picking up the pistol she had thrown earlier at Aimee's feet.

"You can't do that." Aimee positioned herself between the woman and the still sleeping Gaspard.

"He's wearing the colors of the guard along with his visage being linked to multiple crimes against the people seeking to restore balance. He must pay for it." She clicked back the hammer of the weapon.

Aimee shook her head. "You can't. I won't allow it. As your leader. I say it." The words sounded quite odd coming from her mouth. Still, if this was the only way to make this woman cease in her attacks, it was what had to be done.

The woman looked at Aimee and then back at Gaspard. The hatred seemed to radiate from her eyes as she stared at him. "I swear by the Seven I will kill him once I have the chance for everything he has done."

A part of Aimee wanted to pry and discover what she referred to, but for now it was better to leave it for now. "Once I wake him, you can take us to where we need to be. I don't think wandering through these tunnels is the best thing to do."

"Especially not when he only leads you in circles."

"What?"

The other woman touched Aimee on the shoulder. "I've been watching you for a while and noticed he always seemed to take the wrong turn when it was possible. After the first five times, I began to believe it was intentional."

This was quite heavy information for her to hear at the moment. Aimee took a step back and felt her heart racing. He had been lying to her this entire time. He might've even been trying to bring her back to Stanton. She looked over at him and felt the fury rising within her as well.

"Don't rush to judgment," she heard her father's voice say in the back of her mind. She felt herself being transported back to when the townspeople were angry about this man stealing from them. They surrounded him one afternoon when she was nearly fourteen and several people angrily stood by to punish him. Her father had rushed towards the man and positioned himself between the accused and his accusers.

The townspeople raised their voices, stamped their feet, yelled, "He stole from me", and seemed intent on following through with their threats.

Aimee had felt the same way as the others, but was willing to hear out what her father had to say. From the distance, she was unable to see what exactly was being interchanged, but after only a few minutes the people moved away from their angry mob to return to their duties. The young man in the center shook her father's hand before leaving as well.

"What happened? Why isn't he being hauled off to the stocks?" She felt confused how everyone could let him get away with stealing. It didn't seem as though justice was being appropriately doled out.

Her father gave a half smile. "He wasn't stealing for himself. He needed food for his family and wasn't sure how to go about getting it."

"You're just going to let him steal from everyone?"

"No, he'll work now. I brokered a deal with the tanner and he'll learn a new trade so the older one can retire. Sometimes, we do things out of anger and can't see a solution aside from the easiest one at hand. When we pause, when we ask questions, we discover different routes to take."

That was exactly what she needed to do in this situation.

She moved from the wall and reached down for Gaspard. "Wake up. We need to talk."

He stirred, looking up at her, and as his gaze shifted to the side he noticed the rather tall woman standing near them. He reached at his side and produced his pistol. "Stand back. I'll get her."

The woman held her pistol aimed at him. "The only one here who needs to be shot is the traitor on the ground."

He glared at her.

Aimee raised her arms, palms pointed out in both directions. "The two of you need to be silent. Now, no one is shooting anyone. There are some questions I need answered though."

"Like who she is?" Gaspard questioned.

"Lady Tali Montegnier. My family has sworn to save the heirs from the beginning of the Glass Star and I refuse to let the duty die out with me. Your time is over, heel licker." She spoke with scorn in her voice and glare in her eyes.

There was going to be a lot of trust issues to deal with before the two of them could be left alone for a moment. "Look," Aimee said as she kept her hands raised. "We all need to be honest with one another."

"I agree," both of them muttered, yet their weapons remaining raised.

Aimee nodded. "Good. I'll take that. Now, Gaspard, why were you taking us in circles?" She looked at him and scanned his face in an effort to see any trace of guilt which may be plaguing him. She wasn't asking for much, just some reassurance he wasn't planning on killing her like his original intentions for Stanton.

He looked at her curiously. "I wasn't. We're headed in the right direction."

At his words, she turned to Lady Tali. The older woman rolled her eyes. "He was bringing you further into the system to where you'd get caught up the darkness, unable to find a way to return." The two women returned their undivided attention to Gaspard.

"I would never endanger her." He looked at Aimee, his gray eyes looking at hers. "Trust me. If I had wanted to kill you, there were several other instances I could've done it in."

"I believe him," Aimee said, hoping her words carried some sort of weight with it.

Lady Tali shook her head, more out of annoyance than unwillingness to accept his answer. "Great, so he preferred getting lost as opposed to anything else. This is lovely."