An hour ago, in Julia's room....

..........

"N-No...no...I-I didn't m-mean to...it's n-not my f-fault...it's not...it's NOT...I...it...it's not...it...could be...." A low mumbling echoed the room.

Julia was terrified, her mind blanking out at times and confused at other times. Her eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep and parts of her hair pulled out as she stressed over what had occurred that fateful day. She had killed all those Fox Dragons...she had killed...Skaal.... No, it wasn't her fault. It was just an accident. She killed the Fox Dragons...they deserved it, just like those bandits who killed her brother and her parents. Like the bandits, those Fox Dragons killed her friends...they hurt Soul...they hurt her...they deserved it...they.... But...why did she kill Skaal? No, she was confused...scared...she didn't realize it. It was an accident...it...but why did she have to kill Skaal? Not only did Julia obsessed with this matter throughout the week, she also began to think of other things...or rather...the voices...those damned voices...they just won't stop!

"I didn't kill him...that wasn't me...no...that...that was you...that was YOU...YOU!! Kuaaawwaaaahhhhh!!" Julia gasped as pain bore through her head.

These types of episodes would occur and repeat over and over again each day...the pain at the end would increase exponentially. Today's pain was extra intense. She felt like she was dying...that her head would explode at any moment.

*KNOCK!* *KNOCK!*

"Lunch time." A Toxic Razortail guard replied outside of Julia's room.

"It wasn't my fault...it wasn't my fault...it wasn't my fault...it wasn't my fault...it wasn't my fault...it wasn't my fault...it wasn't my fault...it wasn't my fault...it wasn't my fault...it wasn't my fault...it wasn't my fault...it wasn't my fault...it wasn't my fault...so...who's fault was it?" Julia mumbled as she ignored the Toxic Razortail and rocked back and forth on the bed.

"Hey, you alright in there? Come get your food! I don't have time to waste on you." The guard called out as he opened the door and peered inside.

"Who's fault was it...who's fault was it...who's fault was it...was it yours? Was it mine? Was it yours? Was it mine? Was it yours? Yes...it was you...you...you...you...YOU! JULIA! YOU JULIA!! YOU WERE THE ONE THAT KILLED HIM NOT ME! It's all Julia's fault...all Julia's fault...all her fault...all her fault...not mine...not mine...it was all Julia's fault...then...who...am...I? " Julia mumbled intensely.

Suddenly, she stopped mumbling. She fell to the ground and curled up, her ears covered as if she was trying to block out something. The guard, worried about her situation, hurried in to check up on her. Just as the guard knelt down beside Julia, Julia screamed and flailed her arms at the guard. With some unknown power, Julia smashed the guard into a wall. The sound of the scream coupled with the loud crash drew the attention of the rest of the guards. They rushed in and saw the Julia standing in a corner, her back facing the guards. The guard that came to bring Julia food laid crumbled by the wall next to the door.

One of the guards rushed over and checked the unconscious guard. She sighed with relief when she made sure he was not die. The other guards cautiously strode towards the girl, making sure to encircle her in case she tried to escape. When one of the guards called her name, Julia turned around slowly, There was blood trickling down her eyes, her hair a mess and scratches on her face and neck.

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She looked creepily at the guards for a long minute before she suddenly screamed, "I'M NOT JULIA!!"

The girl pounced at the guard who called her Julia and started to punch and scratch and bite and kick. The other guards grabbed her off the half-beaten guard and attempted to restrain her.

One of the guards looked to another and roared, "Hurry! Tell Matriarch Sheila! The girl has gone insane!"

..........

"What do you mean she's attacking the guards!?" Matriarch Sheila hissed at the messenger. Some nearby Toxic Razortails turned at the outburst, curious as to what could have made their Matriarch so angry and surprised.

"When the guard went give her food, he discovered the girl curled up and covering her ears." The messenger began, "As the guard called out to her, all he could hear was gibberish mumbling. When the guard opened the cell door to check up on her, she screamed unintelligibly and thrashed him to a wall. The other guards are currently trying to restrain her."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The Matriarch and the messenger along with a few of her personal guards hurried over to the room where Julia was confined in. When they arrived, they saw Julia raving mad as she knocked most of the guards that tried to restrain her down. Matriarch Sheila was just about to call her personal guards to contain the young girl when a blurry figure ran past her. The figure stopped between her and the girl. The figure was...Aldred.

"Julia! What are you doing? You need to stop this and calm down!" Aldred called out with his right hand held out.

However, when Julia heard the name "Julia" being directed towards her, she exploded with anger. She dropped the half-conscious Toxic Razortail in her hands and pounced towards Aldred screaming, "I'M NOT JULIA!!"

Aldred flinched at the inhumanly fast charge and reflexively brought up his hand to counterattack. His fist collided with the charging girl and a large boom followed. As Aldred stepped back, he anxiously called out to Julia hoping that she was alright. This, however, only caused the girl to incense even harder. Julia ignored her bruises and charged towards Aldred once again.

Aldred backed away and exclaimed, "Okay! You're not Julia...but at least you should know who I am, right? It's me...Aldred!"

As if on cue, Julia stopped all her movements. She stared blankly at Aldred as her mind tried to register what she had just heard, "A-Aldred?"

"Yes...it's me Aldred. So, please stop."

"...no...no...no...NO...NO...NOOOOOO! IT WASN'T ME! IT WAS HER! IT WAS JULIA WHO KILLED SKAAL NOT ME! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" Julia screamed out as terror appeared in her eyes. She covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut as she shook her head fiercely.

Aldred and the Toxic Razortails behind him stared at the mentally ill girl in front of them. She looked and acted like she was possessed. Aldred tried to calm her down once more but Julia erupted and blasted a hole into the wall opposite to the entrance. While still screaming unintelligibly, she ran out of the room and into the forest. Aldred rushed after her but just as he was about to catch her, Julia let out a large shock that blasted Aldred away. Numb and paralyzed from the sudden lightning attack, Aldred could do nothing but watch Julia disappear into the forests...her screams of terror and confusion growing fainter and fainter...until nothing.

When Aldred's numbness and paralysis died down, he rushed towards the direction that Julia ran off to. But no matter how much and how long he searched, Aldred was still unable to find the girl. It was like she just disappeared from existence. Aldred sighed a deep regret. If only he had not bring her here and instead forced her to stay at the inn, maybe...just maybe, Julia would be able to live a peaceful if not normal life. But now...now it was too late.

Aldred sighed once more before heading back to the dwelling. Matriarch Sheila took one look at the dejected young boy and knew that he had failed to find Julia. She walked over to Aldred and comforted him. There was nothing he could do. Matriarch Sheila told him to forget about her and that he should focus on his training and bringing Skaal back. Aldred looked at his aunt and nodded in agreement.