Okay, for starters, let me begin with the fact that this is my first foray into the indomitable GWTW universe – a daunting task in and of itself… On top of that, I am returning after a very long absence…. An absence filled with many things that include, above all, a yearning to be apart of a community of writers to which I once belonged. I am immensely too old to be here, but there is something therapeutic about the power of keystrokes that eventually become words, so I am completely ignoring the age factor here.

On another note, I have rated this story M for a reason…. As I mentioned, I am a mature writer who has decided to include mature themes in this story. Please don't read any further if you are not prepared for something rated a little more than your average PG-13 movie.

A few more author's notes in the next chapter. Until then, please, read on:

Prologue

Scarlett curled upon herself, pulling her knees closely against her chest. Tears streamed freely down her cheeks and she shivered in the cool air of the dark bedroom. Holding her breath against the sharp pain it caused, she reached up and pulled her nightdress from beneath her pillow. Releasing her breath only to draw it in again, she moved to pull the warm clothes over her head. Despite her determination, a cry escaped as she moved her left arm into the sleeve, sharp pains shooting viciously from her shoulder and across her left side. She closed her eyes, trying to squeeze away the pain and the memories recalled in response to that pain. The simple childhood trick failed and her mind assaulted her again as it relived her body's attack. Images flashed, one followed rapidly by the next, in and out of sequence, culminating in the final violent taking of her body. She could feel the stickiness between her legs, and knew that some of her blood mixed with his sticky fluid.

She tensed as the she heard the door open again behind her, desperately holding herself still against the rapid beating of her heart. A sliver of light illuminated his tall frame briefly and then the door closed behind him. Her heart raced and her stomach clenched with fear and she bit her lip until she tasted blood. Eyes squeezed shut tightly, she listened, body tensed for whatever pains were about to be visited upon her once again. Sounds of feet shuffling as he moved about the room were her only clues to his actions, but she still held her eyes closed. Then suddenly, the bed shifted behind her and she barely contained a gasp at the movement. Bracing for his next move, she didn't realize how much time had passed until she found her chest squeezing painfully for lack of air. Silently, she released the breath she had unconsciously been holding as the sound of his snores filled the room. She knew that this sound and even more so, the pain that penetrated her broken frame, would rob her of sleep once again.

How much more of this could she possibly withstand? The answer to that question she did not know but she did know that she did not want to find out.