New chapter amidst finals and me dying of sickness. I'm glad so many people enjoyed the prologue, and I hope you lovelies enjoy this chapter, too! ~Shaymie

"...She's waking up!" a distant voice said. Ruby's eyes fluttered, and she squinted as she found herself staring into a bright light. She looked around the room and sat up straight when she saw that there were people watching her. They were all pale and had the same strange golden eyes as the woman in the forest, so they had to be with her. But she couldn't trust them. They were strangers.

"Rosie…" the child rasped, her voice sore from months of disuse and dehydration. One of the beautiful strangers left the room and came back with a glass of cold water with a straw. Ruby flinched from the strange man as he held the straw to her mouth. She didn't want him. She wanted Rosie.

"Rosalie is on her way home right now," the man promised. "But you need to drink the water. It'll make you feel better."

"No!" Ruby screamed, slapping the glass from the man's hand when he tried to offer it again. It shattered on the ground, slightly startling the child. "Bad man! I want Rosie!"

She jumped from the bed and hid in the bathroom, crawling into the bathtub. She shuddered and covered her ears, trying her best to block out the strangers. All she had to do was hide here until Rosie came back, and she would be safe.

"Sweetie, we aren't going to hurt you. We just want to help." Ruby frowned and did her best to stay still, hoping that they wouldn't be able to find her. Grown-ups were evil. All they had ever done was hurt her. Rosie was the only exception, but she wasn't here right now. She wasn't sure how long she stayed curled up in the bathtub, but she eventually dozed off.

"Ruby? Are you okay?" She rubbed her eyes sleepily and looked at Rosalie, who was knelt in front of her in concern.

"Carlisle told me that you wouldn't drink any water. Sweetie, you have to drink water if you want to get better," Rosalie said calmly, wiping away the tears that had started falling from Ruby's face.

"Strange men bad. Strange men hurt me," Ruby whimpered, latching onto Rosalie's leg. "Rosie left… I was scared…"

"I'm sorry, honey. I won't leave you anymore." Rosalie lifted Ruby into her arms and sat down in a rocking chair in the corner of the room.

"Promise?" Ruby whispered, burying her face in Rosalie's chest. She was very cold, but Ruby didn't mind. She liked the cold.

"I promise. But you have to try and get better. Aren't you hungry or thirsty?" Ruby furrowed her eyebrows and frowned as she shook her head. She had gotten used to the empty feeling in her stomach. It was all she had known for the four years she had been alive.

"Hungry?" she asked, having never heard the word before. She knew the meaning of the word, but not the word itself, and tilted her head in confusion.

"You… You don't know what hungry means? When was the last time you had some food?"

"I had… bread… I took it from the bad men when I ran away." Ruby shuddered as she thought of the night she had escaped and felt tears well up in her eyes.

"It's okay, honey. You're far away from the bad men now." Rosalie ran a smooth hand through Ruby's tangled curls and looked down at her, a gentle smile on her pretty face.

"Are you ready to go downstairs now? I promise nobody will hurt you here." Ruby hesitantly nodded, knowing that she could trust her Rosie.

She held on tightly as Rosalie carried her downstairs and set her down at a fancy-looking table. She couldn't see over it and pouted until Rosalie put a few pillows on the chair.

She looked around curiously, surprised at the cleanliness of the house. Every house she had ever been at had been filthy.

"Would you like a sandwich?" Rosalie asked as she rinsed off a cup and filled it with water. Ruby nodded, afraid to say no. She wondered if she was going to get punished for saying no earlier.

She watched as Rosalie quickly made a peanut butter sandwich and cut it in half, placing it in front of her along with the class of water.

"Thank you," Ruby said softly before starting to eat. She felt slightly uncomfortable with Rosalie watching her and was thankful when she left the room.

She reached for the glass of water to take a sip and squeaked in horror as she instead knocked it off the table. She flinched as it shattered. This was it. She was surely going to get in trouble now. This was the second glass she had broken. If she was still with the men, they would have beaten her and locked her in the closet.

Ruby quickly climbed down from the chair and started picking up the shards. Maybe they would be less angry if she cleaned it up. Maybe she would only get the closet punishment this time. Maybe-

Ruby blinked down at her hand as she felt a sharp prick and saw blood running down her finger. She could worry about that later. She had to keep cleaning before Rosalie came back. She had gathered up most of the pieces when she noticed Rosalie behind her.

"I'm sorry!" she squeaked out, her eyes filling with tears. Her chest grew tense with panic, and she tried her best to pick up the rest of the glass, sobbing when Rosalie knelt next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She messed everything up again. Now she was going to be punished, and there was nothing she could do. Maybe if she ran, she could get away safely…

"It's okay," Rosalie said calmly, taking the glass from Ruby and throwing it in the trash. Once she finished cleaning, she picked up the girl and set her on the table, wiping her tears away. Ruby flinched at the touch. This was it. Rosalie was going to punch or scratch or something-

"It's okay, Ruby. I'm not angry with you. It was just an accident, right?"

Ruby stared up at her, sniffling. Her eyes were wide with fear, and she felt frozen, but she managed to nod. She was still tense. She had learned the hard way that even if she trusted someone, they would always hurt her in the end. Rosalie had to be the same way, right?

"Then there's nothing to worry about. You're not in trouble, sweetie. Let me get you a Band-Aid for that cut." Ruby watched as Rosalie grabbed a white box from one of the tall kitchen cabinets and fixed up her finger. She… wasn't angry? She wasn't going to punish her? No, it had to be a trick. Grown-ups were never nice unless they wanted something.