Rebels Among Cyborgs

Chapter 17

After a sleepless night of thinking about my eventful day, I got out of bed and told my mom that I was "sick" and would have to close up the shop. Surprisingly, she was okay with it.

When she asked what the letter was about I told her it was a simple thank you message for attending the Presiprimo's birthday celebration. She seemed disappointed, but luckily she didn't catch my "fibbing tone". (I always act a certain way when I lie to her.)

Exhausted, I went back to my room and got dressed, hoping I could convince Damien that I wasn't up for a Tae Kwon Do lesson that day. Fortunately, he had something else for us to do: look through an ancient-looking, real book. (Just in case you don't know by now, books are rarer than an eclipse and more expensive than a diamond the size of your head at that time.)

"First of all, how, where, and when did you get that?" I said, studying the ornate cover. Odd markings in gold print were set into the leather around the picture of a fiery red and orange dragon in front of a golden orb. The markings rearranged themselves to form the title History of the Matria Luxa Galaxy.

"I stole it from a top-secret military and government archive. They have rare and sometimes the only copies of books about other galaxies. This one is about the Matria Luxa galaxy," Damien looked too proud of himself. I smiled and shook my head.

"I can see that it's about the Matria Luxa galaxy. Looks like we're going to have a little history lesson," I said, sitting down at the table and gently opened the book.

"Only one problem," Damien said, "we can't read it. It's written in the Matria Luxa language."

I looked at him and tilted my head questioningly. "I can read it. See, the markings rearrange themselves to form words." I pointed to the title page as the markings did rearrange themselves.

"And there's one more piece of evidence that you're the missing princess, because all I see is gibberish," Damien said. "Go ahead and read it aloud, all of it."

"Okay. The title is History of the Matria Luxa Galaxy. Ooh! It's actually very recent! Published ten years ago. Chapter one, Origin of the Matria Luxa" I began.

"Actually, let's just skip to the most recent section. Otherwise we'll be here all week," Damien said and sat down in a chair next to me.

"Fine, but I'm reading the rest by myself. Chapter forty, Queen Lucida's Reign. A Brief Summary. After the death of her mother, Queen Irana, Lucida took the throne and saved the galaxy from any more of her mother's tyranny. Although, the galaxy's joy did not last long. The queen married and had a child whom was named Bellatora. Soon afterwards, rebel groups started attacking the palace, unleashing rage towards the former queen Irana that had not been soothed. One night, they broke into the baby princess's bedchambers and fled the galaxy. The queen claims that Bellatora was killed, but guards around the palace saw the rebels escaping, carrying a baby-shaped bundle," I had to pause to wipe tears from my eyes. "The rebels were followed to the Milky Way galaxy and finally, the planet earth. The queen was forced to give up her search because looking for her daughter on earth would be exactly like trying to find a strand of hair in a crowd. Bellatora is said to have the same powers as any Matria Luxa royalty; the powers to bend, conjure, become, and create illusions out of light. As of now, Lucida has no other heirs to her throne and the galaxy has no certain future."

I closed the book and looked over at Damien. "Well, can you control light?" he asked.

"I don't think so. I've never tried," I said while tracing the dragon on the cover with my finger.

"Better late than never. Come on," Damien stood up and walked over to my supplies lockers. After a few minutes of searching, he pulled out a tiny flashlight. It was no bigger than his thumb, but there are smaller ones available. He shined the light at the floor in front of me.

"Try to bend it," he ordered. I rolled my eyes but went along with it. I closed my eyes and imagined the light bending up towards the ceiling.

"Ooh... kay," Damien said. I opened my eyes and the light was pointing directly where I imagined it.

"So," I said, releasing the light and looking at Damien, "when's that lunch with Master Jaxom again?"

"Um, this Saturday. Hold on! We might as well cancel that! There's more to worry about than the Presisecundo right now. You're a princess! The only heir to the throne of the Matria Luxa galaxy! You're a legend, the most powerful being on earth as of now! And your-"

"I get it! But let's just stick to one thing at a time. Besides, I don't think bending the beam from a tiny little flashlight is going to convince the queen of the Matria Luxa that I'm her long-lost daughter," I said while Damien paced around the room.

"But Cali, your parents," Damien said, gesturing to my house above us.

"What about them?"

"They're rebels! If they find out that you know you're the missing princess, they'll probably kill you. I don't see any reason why they've kept you alive this long."

"They must be planning to use me as bait or something."

"Or something," Damien said as a dark look passed over his face. "Cali, right now, you have the upper hand. You know something your parents think you have no clue about. And, I bet with a little bit of practice, you could easily overpower them with your light abilities."

"Alright, that's enough thinking ahead for one day! I've got a lot to take in right now including the fact that my whole life has been a lie, I'm some powerful princess from another galaxy, and my parents could kill me in my sleep! My whole life has been flipped upside down and turned inside out so I'm in no mood to think about anything!" I collapsed into a chair and covered my face with my hands. One hand covered the normal part that was blushing red and was wet with tears; the other covered the cold, hard metal that forever marked me as different.

"I'm sorry, Cali. This is a lot for me, but I can't imagine what it must be like for you," Damien lifted my chin and looked me in the eye. "Whatever happens next, no matter how big and empty the universe seems, just remember that you're not alone in it. There are only four people who know about this secret; you, me, and those rebels upstairs. And you practically are the secret! So what do you want to do next?"

I sniffled and quickly ran through our options. One: run away to the Matria Luxa galaxy and hope for the best. Two: confront the rebels and try to force information out of them. Three: continue our original plan and take over the USaCoA and the rest of the world. Or four: execute original plan, only slightly differently...

"We're still going to take over the USaCoA, only with a few new additions," I said with a sly smile growing on my face. "But first, we need to finish building the Secret Project, AKA: Ignis. And we need it done by next Saturday."

AN:

First of all, I am SOOOOO sorry for the SUPER long wait for this chapter! I have been crazy busy with too much stuff recently including but not limited to play practice for my school's upcoming musical: Peter Pan in which I play Wendy (yay! But ugh: it's hard), karate classes, homework, and tons of other stuff. Thanks for stickin' with me! The next chapter will be out sooner (hopefully... JK). As always, feel free to comment, vote, and follow for another chapter (sooner)! Until the next chapter,

DAYdreamer61401