Rory hadn't said a word to Bellamy in days. She wasn't all out ignoring him, she'd listen when he addressed her. But her responses were rarely more than a few words at best, if not just a grunt of acknowledgement. She could tell he was getting frustrated with her and while she didn't enjoy making her brother upset, she couldn't erase the image of him torturing Lincoln. Such violence, such unapologetic rage...this was his punishment.

Thankfully Bellamy took off with Clarke in search of anything that could defend against the grounders. And naturally, this gave Octavia ample time to help Lincoln escape. Rory learned his name a few days ago when she brought him something to eat for the seventh time. In between guard switches, she'd take some rations from the supply pile and sneak up the to third floor of the dropship. History is always repeating itself, or at least that's what Rory thought as she did it.

Lincoln was quiet, but he was kind. He was a good listener and while Rory knew better than to tell "the enemy" information about their camp, she still entertained her new friend with stories from the Ark. She learned that the grounders had been living on Earth for as long as the Ark had been in the sky, and Lincoln had very little knowledge about machines or technology since there was none on the ground. They exchanged what they knew. Rory explained how the Ark worked to the best of her abilities. Lincoln taught her which plants were edible and medicinal, and which ones would make her drop dead. She was a little disappointed when she crawled up the trapdoor a few days later to find him gone. Octavia's escape plan was successful. But she was happy to know he was safe.

To no one's surprise, Bellamy was absolutely furious. When he and Clarke returned with an arsenal of guns and no one to practice on, he stormed over to where Octavia and Rory were sitting. He berated them for what seemed like forever. The girls exchanged a look of annoyance, which only aggravated their brother more.

"I don't think you two are understanding the gravity of the situation." Bellamy stood above them with his arms crossed. "He knows our camp, he knows how many people we have, he knows where our supplies are!"

"How many times do I have to tell you that he saved me!" Octavia shouted. She stood up so she could get all up in her older brother's face. Rory ran a hand over her face. She was so sick of all the fighting. Octavia and Bellamy continued to shout at one another, and a slurry of onlookers started to tune into what they were doing. The crowd became increasingly more interested when Bellamy put his hands on Octavia's shoulders, shoving her away from his personal space.

"Hey!" Rory yelled at Bellamy. "Lay off."

"No, shut up! I don't want to hear another word out of either of you." Bellamy pointed a finger between the girls. "He didn't save your life, I did. And now you've put everyone else's life at risk. If the grounders come for us, that'll be on you!"

"Stop blaming me for your mistakes!" Octavia shouted. "What happened to Finn was not my fault, if Lincoln tells his people what you did they will come for you! Ro and I were the only halfway decent people in this goddamn camp. Everything that has gone wrong is because of you. You wanted me to go to that stupid dance, you got me locked up on the Ark." Octavia pointed back at Rory, who ducked her head down. "You let her steal for you. You got mom killed!"

"Me?" Bellamy sneered. "Mom was floated for having you. She is dead because you're alive." His eyes shot down to Rory. "And you're just lucky your dad is vice-chancellor. They made their choices to have you, I never got that! My life ended the day you were born."

The words hit Rory like a punch to the gut. Part of her always knew that she was a burden to Bellamy. She just never thought he'd ever actually say it out loud. She narrowed her gaze to the dirt in front of her, very aware of the onslaught of eyes watching the fighting go down. Cat's out of the bag now, she thought. No one was going to believe that Bellamy was just a babysitter after this.

Every brutal emotion Rory felt was painted across her face. She was beginning to choke on her own breathing. Octavia stomped away in classic fashion, leaving Bellamy standing alone with Rory. He pinched the space between his eyebrows. The regret was starting to set in. He crouched down to get on Rory's level, but he had no idea what to say. He opened his mouth to start but cut himself off when he saw the look in his sister's eyes. It startled him because he had never seen this little girl look at him like that. He'd seen happiness, and admiration before. He'd seen sadness and fear. This was the first time he had ever seen anger behind those soft brown eyes.

Bellamy rose to his feet without another word and took to shouting at the camp to get back to work. Rory remained still and silent where she sat, afraid to disturb the already uneasy feeling inside her. The crowd dispersed when Bellamy commanded them back to their duties, but the feeling of being watched stuck around. From across camp, Rory locked eyes with Anna Murphy, who stood eerily still. Even from far away, Rory could tell that Anna's gaze was sorrowful. Rory didn't need anyone's pity. She pushed herself up off the ground and slipped through a gap in the camp wall, giving one last look behind her as she did. Anna was still watching.

...

Rory had spent her entire life listening to Bellamy. It was truly first nature at this point to do what he said. On the Ark it kept her out of trouble, and when she was really quite young, it kept her alive. When they landed on the ground, Rory figured the same rules must apply down on Earth. Do what Bellamy says because he'd never let anything hurt you. Do what Bellamy says, stay alive. Well as it turned out, Earth had different rules. So, instead of staying put behind the safety of camp walls, Rory slipped past the kids on guard duty. Bellamy had been too wrapped up in planning for an imaginary war that he hadn't noticed.

Despite all the ground she could have covered, all the new plants she could have examined, and little creatures she could have befriended, Rory found herself finding solace upwards. In the trees. Perhaps she wanted to be a little bit closer to the only home she'd ever known. There was one particular tree a stone's throw away from camp that made for a perfect climb. Its branches were thick and sturdy and Rory could climb at least fifteen feet before they thinned. From up there she could almost feel her worries fall away. Just almost.

Rory was not the only person in need of a silent place of her own. Anna Murphy had been sneaking out to this tree since the moment the dropship touched the ground. And after her twin brother was banished, peace was a rarity. Rory had always noticed Anna sleuthing in and out of camp. It was through following Anna that Rory discovered the tree. Rory was certain that she annoyed Anna at first, but Anna never complained. She never said anything, actually. The tree became theirs, a place where they would sit for hours, often on opposite sides of the trunk and never uttering a single word.

Rory climbed as high as the tree would let her before settling into its branches. Her feet dangled below her and she kicked them absentmindedly. A low hum was thumping rhythmically from below ground and Rory matched her feet to its beat. Earth was strange. She was so lost in the musicality of it all that she hadn't noticed another body settling onto the branch above her.

"So it's true then?" Anna asked. Rory's head snapped up. Anna chuckled softly, not meaning to have startled her young stalker. "There were rumours flying around camp that Vice Chancellor Kane had two kids, I'm just mad I didn't realize it was you and Blake. I mean, it's pretty obvious."

Rory just shrugged.

"You don't talk much, do you?"

Rory stared Anna down out of the corner of her eye before shaking her head slowly.

"That's alright. I don't like talking either."

Rory chewed on the inside of her bottom lip, unsure of what to say. If Anna had been anyone else, Rory would have gotten down from the tree and moved on by now. But there was something...familial about her. Something Rory couldn't place just yet.

"Have you always known?" Anna asked, interrupting Rory from her thoughts.

"What?" Rory shot Anna a look.

"About your brother." Anna lowered herself to sit beside Rory. For a moment, Rory worried about the branch giving out. "Did you always know that you guys were related? Or did you find out later?"

Rory pondered for a moment. When did she find out about her lineage? Surely her father must have sat her down at some point to tell her the truth. Otherwise, how would she have known to keep the secret all these years?

"I'm not sure," Rory said earnestly. "I guess I've always sort of known. The earliest memory I have is my first day of kindergarten. Bellamy was the one who walked me to the schoolroom, not our dad. So I must have known then. It's kinda just always been like this. What about you? Did you always know about your brother?"

"We're twins," Anna said stone-faced.

Rory's face went red and she ducked her head down. A smile crept onto Anna's face and she clapped Rory on the back. Rory almost fell out of the tree. She gripped onto the trunk for dear life as Anna held onto her smaller frame. They looked at each other with wide eyes before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

The girls continued to laugh until their ribs hurt. Rory was close to wheezing and Anna had tears pricked up in the corners of her eyes. A loud but muffled thump against the tree trunk pulled them away from humour. Both of their faces fell as they peered down below. Something was slumped against the tree. It looked hurt, perhaps an injured animal that the hunting party was after. Except there was no hunting party. And there was no animal.

"That's a person!" Anna exclaimed. She immediately scurried down the branches. If Rory didn't know any better, she would have said Anna practically jumped out of the tree. Rory climbed down as fast as her little arms and legs would let her. She tumbled onto her feet as she jumped from the last branch. She landed awkwardly and had to catch herself on her hands. From the ground, she looked up at Anna, who was crouched beside the mysterious figure who had fallen into their tree.

Anna was right, it was a person. It was a man. He was clearly injured and was clutching his side with one hand and holding onto Anna's shoulder with the other. Anna's fingers were flying over the man's body, his arms, his torso, and his face, checking for wounds. He was incredibly dirty. It was hard to make out who was underneath all the mud and blood.

Rory pulled herself closer to Anna and the man, tilting her head to try and get a better angle of him. Anna was getting increasingly more distressed the longer she spent examining the man's wounds. His face was terribly cut up and there were welds on his neck and arms. And that was underneath what looked like at least a pound of caked-on mud, and possible other things. Rory shuddered. The man tore his gaze off of Anna and looked at Rory. He had the same blue eyes as Anna. Rory let out a gasp as the dots connected. It was John Murphy.