A/N: Alright, here is my latest and greatest story! This has to be my longest first chapter ever! :)

But yes, I wrote this for my lit class as a short story, but I loved the idea so much that I decided to evolve it and keep writing it, so here it is, Chapter 1. Enjoy!

Review if you want to (you know you do)

Bella got home late that night. She had just been at the local speak-easy with some of her friends. Sure it was Prohibition and all, but girls have to have fun! At least that's what Bella's best girlfriend Alice always says.

But now that it was almost 3 o'clock in the morning, Bella had to find some way of sneaking back into her parents' house without waking them up and alerting them to her absence.

Bella knew that if her parents caught her, she would be in big trouble. She had only just turned seventeen after all, and still had to abide by her parents rules; or at least act like she was. But Bella's parents were very strict, and the last time had caught her trying to sneak out, they "grounded" her for a month, and made it perfectly clear that if it happened again, the consequences would be far direr.

So there she was, standing in her mother's flower beds, trying to climb onto the white wooden trellis that rested against the brown brick house. The trellis was there to support her mother's roses, and most conveniently stopped under her second floor bedroom window. And even though she had done this, what seemed to be a million times before, it always proved to be quite difficult, especially after nights like tonight, when there was that coveted boot-legged Prohibition alcohol in her system.

After five minutes of struggling to get a footing, Bella was finally able to hoist herself up, and was easily able to climb, one foot after the other. As she climbed, she was very careful to not crush any of her mother's beloved red roses. If even one of the dainty red flowers fell to the ground, or became crushed onto the white wooden trellis, Bella would get caught, and be in trouble. Her mom would know that she was sneaking in and out of the house again, and then bad things would probably happen to Bella.

Bella neared the ledge of her window, which she had left opened in order to get back in. She was then able to grab a hold of the ledge and pulled herself up onto it. She then proceeded to push her window all the way open, and was able to push herself into her room. When she was able to right herself once she was inside, she stuck her head out the window to make sure that she hadn't messed anything up. When she was certain that everything was in order and in place, she moved out of the way and pushed it down until it was open just a crack.

Bella quickly shed her small purse and took the pins out of her short platinum blonde hair; the hair she bleached herself without asking her parents, and boy did she get an ear-full for that one. She slipped out of the short and slinky silver beaded dress that Jerrie had let her borrow. She then stuffed the dress and purse into an old canvas bag of hers, and threw the bundle into her closet, satisfied when it was invisible in the shadows of her clothes.

When Bella was certain that everything from her night of partying was hidden away out of sight, she pulled on her nightgown, and climbed into her four-poster bed and fell right to sleep the moment that her head hit her pillow.

The next few days passed without incident, and so Bella continued her partying trend. She was getting brave, and staying out later and later each night.

And so tonight, when Bella got into her bedroom, she had a little surprise waiting for her. Sitting on her bed, was her mother, clutching a small silver hip-flask – Bella's hip-flask. You know the one that she puts alcohol in before she leaves a party. Well guess who forgot it at home tonight?

"Where have you been Bella?" asked Renee Swan calmly.

"Umm- out?" stammered Bella with an impish grin.

"Do you know what time it is young lady? It's nearly four-thirty in the morning! Do you have any idea how worried sick I've been?" lectured the Swan matriarch through clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry?" she replied with downcast eyes, avoiding her mother's furious glares, which felt as though they were burning into her skin.

"THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!" Renee roared, "Do you remember what we agreed on last time we had this little chat? Hmm? No more sneaking out, right?"

"I know it's just that I need to have some fun, what with everything that's going on. You and dad just don't understand, I need to have some freedom!" Bella expressed. Renee's eyes turned black with anger, and she started towards her daughter.

"Well it's too bad now. You have pushed your father and me to the edge! And now it's time for your punishment!" Renee spat, her finger pointing at Bella accusingly.

"What-what is it?"

"Well, I talked to Dr. Martins after the first incident, and he recommended sending you to Bartonville Mental Asylum. There is obviously something wrong with that brain of yours, seeing as we did not raise you to act like, like- a little flapper or something! Going off a partying and drinking and who knows what else."

"Mental Asylum? Like, for crazy people? I'm not crazy!"

"This is not up for discussion. Dr. Martins, and your father and I have talked it over, and it's been decided. You are going there on Friday."

"But that's in three days! You guys can't do this to me! Please, don't make me go, I promise I'll never sneak out again, please!" Bella pleaded as tears fell down her face.

"You should have thought about that before you chose to disobey. Now you must deal with the consequences of your decisions," began Renee, "Maybe when you return from your five month tenure there, you will be the polite, docile, and obedient young woman that your father and I raised you to be."

Bella just stood there, too shocked for words. How could her parents send their only daughter away, to live in an asylum? Weren't those types of places only for lunatics and the dregs of society? What about all the horrifying treatments the supposedly went on in those institutions? A million questions rushed around in her head. So much so that she felt faint, and clutched at the wooden posts of her bed.

Renee stormed out of the room, leaving Bella in tears. She rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen, and pulled out her husband's hidden stash of "medicinal alcohol". She unscrewed the top of the glass bottle and took a quick swig of the clear liquid, reveling in the burn it left in her throat. Who would have known that before Prohibition started, Renee had been a closet alcoholic?

They would get past this, she decided. And then, when Bella gets back, we'll be a family again, Reneetold herself. Then, after carefully putting the bottle back in its hiding spot, she went back upstairs. On her way to her and her husband's bedroom, she paused at Bella's door. Renee could hear loud sobs coming from within, and the comforting voice of her husband, Charlie. 'That man always did baby Bella,' Renee thought to herself, 'That's probably why she is in the predicament that she's in.'

Convinced that she had done well with her decision, Renee continued on to her bedroom, and got into bed. She shut her eyes, and drifted off into an uneasy, broken sleep.

Three days came and went. Up until this point, Bella had totally ignored her Mother, and only would do things that were asked of her if they came from her father.

The Swan's got up early on the sunny Friday morning. To Bella, the weather seemed to be mocking her, because she was miserable, and thought that the sky should be as dark as she felt.

The small family piled into their modest Ford Model T. Bella was packed into the back seat along with her suitcase, and small bag that she keep her personal items in. Her dad put the key in the ignition, and they started on the long journey from Chicago to Peoria. Bella closed her eyes, and tried to clear her mind as they started driving. She was really tired seeing as she got almost no sleep from last night, as she way to keyed up to even think of relaxing enough to let sleep take her.

Sometime later, Bela felt a gentle nudging on her arm, and so she opened her eyes, to see the kind brown eyes of her father staring back at her.

"We're here pumpkin," Charlie said quietly.

"Did I fall asleep?"

"Yes, you were out like a light," he replied with a toothy grin.

Bella sat up in the back seat, and made her way out of the car, stretching when her feet hit the ground. Then she remembered where she was, and why she was there. Bella looked up at the foreboding building with its greystone façade, and towers. There were many windows on the institution, and they all appeared to have some type of restraints across them.

Her mother's voice snapped Bella from her appraising of her new "home".

"Dr. Martins! How lovely it is to see you again," Renee greeted the doctor with a friendly smile.

"Of course Mrs. Swan, the pleasure is mine," the salt-and-pepper haired doctor said, "Mr. Swan," he said with a nod to Charlie, "Ahh, this must be young Bella?"

Renee glared at her daughter to answer the doctor.

"Yes sir," Bella responded as she pursed her lips in indifference.

"Well we're going to take good care of her Mr. and Mrs. Swan, you two have absolutely nothing to worry about," he said as he snapped to a waiting nurse. "Please show Ms. Swan to her room- once she has said goodbye to her parents." And with that the doctor nodded farewell to the Swans and strode into the doors of the asylum.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now," Bella breathed quietly, staring at her feet.

"Yes, goodbye sweetheart," Renee said rather coldly.

Charlie saw the welling of tears in Bella's eyes and pulled his only child into a bone-crushing hug. "Please behave here Bella, alright?" he said in Bella's ear, "That way this never has to happen again, please promise me?"

"I promise Dad," was all Bella could say in response as her father kissed her forehead and gave her another quick squeeze before releasing her. She only gave a quick nod to her Mother.

Bella turned from her parents, picked up her suitcase, and walked over to the waiting nurse, who looked at her disapprovingly. The nurse led her to the front doors quickly, and practically dragged her through the doors. Once inside, Bella's suitcase was snatched from her hands, and she was ushered down a long corridor and into a small, brightly lit room.

There she was made to undress, and was given a ghastly white gown to wear. Then she was asked all sort of questions about the state of her overall physical health, and Bella did her best to give them what she thought were satisfactory answers. From there she was guided through another series of long hallways and into another small room, though slightly larger than the last; it held three twin beds.

"This is your bed,' the nurse said pointing at the bed farthest from the window, "You will remain here at all times, except for meals and recreation. Lunch will be ending in a few minutes, so you will have to wait for dinner to eat. Your roommates will be coming in shortly, and it is recommended to keep interactions to a minimum." All Bella could do was nod. "Tomorrow after breakfast you will see a doctor for a psychiatric evaluation. From there your treatment will be established."

"But why do I need treatment? It's not like I'm crazy, I mean my parents sent me here because I snuck out of the house and drank," Bella defended herself.

"Well now, that's for the doctor to decide. But I'll make sure he knows of this little outburst," the nurse smirked, "Yes, I'll put in your file, 'easily agitated'. Let's just hope for your sake this doesn't happen again. I would hate to call the orderlies to have you sedated."

And with that the nurse left, closing the door behind her quickly, and leaving Bella all alone in her new 'prison'.

"Man did I mess up," Bella said aloud, and put her face in her hands. She sat like that for about five minutes, but quickly regained her composure when the same nurse came back, leading in two other women. The two ladies followed the nurse, and each went to her respective bed as the nurse left and locked the door behind her.

Bella took this time to study the two new additions. The woman closest to her looked rather old, and had years of wrinkles on her face, especially around her mouth, which continued to twitch and open, and Bella could have swore the woman was talking to herself. The woman wore a frock like Bella's except that hers was covered in miscellaneous stains. They must not clean these things Bella thought to herself, and made a mental note to keep hers spotless at all costs.

The second woman appeared to be younger, possibly Bella's age, though it was hard to tell because she sat in a bed in the corner, and was turned away from everyone else. Her hair looked like it had once been very short and stylish as well as being a daring shade of jet black, but it was grown out of its original style, and had tangles in it. There was something familiar about the girl's hair, but it was hard to tell. Bella took in the rest of the details of the girl. She had a small frame and was very skinny, almost gaunt looking. She also worn a white gown, but her was much less dirty, and Bella concluded that she was either still relatively new to the institution, or had been keeping herself out of messes.

"Excuse me?" the girl asked as she turned towards Bella.

Oh crap, I must have said that last part out loud, Bella thought fiercely.

"Um, yes?" Bella said eyes downcast, afraid of the girl's reaction.

"Well, you said something about me, didn't you?" the girl inquired again.

"Um, well, about that-" Bella trailed off. That voice, it sounds so familiar. Where have I heard her voice before? Maybe I can take a little look at her.

Bella let her eyes shift a fraction of an inch to gauge the girl's face. And what she saw would really surprise her.

"Oh my goodness Bella, is that you?" the girl almost shrieked in joy.

Bella's eyes widened in surprise, and she felt instantly better about her current situation.

"Alice!"

A/N: And there you have it folks, chapter uno, shi, itchi, un, one (in 5 languages) If you read the summary before this you're probaly wondering why its a bit different. Its just that i decided to change a few minor details, like the name of my OC and the asylum (btw, both places are real). So yeah, I hope you can overlook these few things, and stick with this story, its going to get goooood! ;)

Thanks for reading!

Love,

-Valerie-

Review please, and tell me what you think! Constructive criticism is welcome!