Cold. That's all she could describe; how cold it was.

Pain. Agonizing pain. The pain of an old wound reopening to reveal the scarlet substance that everyone so despises.

Doubt. Doubt that those who leave might never return.

Lies. Lies that rip apart friendships and family, that keep them from seeing the truth; the painful, bloody truth.

Fear. Fear for those whom care, who cared.

In this everlasting darkness, this is all she could think. Red, red like roses. Oh, how red that substance appears; oh, how it taunts those around her.

The dreams never came, only nightmares and the realization that she was truly gone; gone forever.

Cold. Her heart was a cold, stone-dead entity that to her was lifeless.

Without her, who could she trust? Whom could she turn to? Who could love her as she once did? To those questions, she had no answers.

And yet she found herself underneath a façade, a mask that shielded her from the world. Fake innocence overshadowed a scared, helpless little girl. Those around her thought she had simply forgotten, that she had no memories of events past.

But they were all wrong. Oh, how wrong they were, how oblivious they were to the pain and suffering she had endured for years! How the pain of her death had consumed her, how it had turned an innocent, little girl into an overflowing bottle of pain, fear, hate, and the memory of blood red roses!

This girl had known pain, and those around her had never tried to correct it.

Now this girl was in her second year at Beacon Academy, her façade withered to the point of shattering. It was only a matter of time before they knew, but the girl was oblivious to this fact.

At night, her nightmares consumed her. Red, red like roses. The figure that once belonged to her shattered into blood-red rose petals. She'd wake up in a pit of sweat and make her way to the roof. She'd always sit in one of the corners and overlook the sleeping academy. Little did this girl know, a curious kitten laid within the shadows; watching, waiting, wanting to comfort this girl. But she never did, she never knew how to. This cat had no idea what was happening to this girl and could therefore not be of any help to her.

That was until tonight. She watched the girl look up into the sky with a longing expression; longing for what? She had no answer. She watched as tears formed in the girl's eyes and watched as a seemingly fake smile spread across her face. What has she crying about, and why did her smile seem fake? Still, no answers. She watched as the girl opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. The girl simply looked down to the stone floor with a painful expression.

She longed to speak, but what could she say? Could she tell the whole world how she felt? Of how she longed to be rid of these hateful and sadistic thoughts? She couldn't bring herself to do it. It seemed she still hadn't gotten over her loss. She knew it had consumed her long ago and had tried everything she could to be rid of it. But the thoughts wouldn't leave her alone. They kept coming, forcing themselves into her mind! They had ridden her of her innocence, of her sane soul! Oh, she longed to be free! To feel what it was like to be normal! But the days passed by, and the freedom never came. Was she destined to suffer for the rest of her life? Never to finally be rid of these horrifying thoughts and nightmares?

She sighed, allowing her shaky breath to be released. She pressed her hands into the cold stone roof and forced herself up. With one last gaze at the pre-dawn sky, she parted from the familiar getaway spot. She moved quietly towards the door to the roof, as if being absolutely sure not to wake any living soul, not even the grimm that lived in the Emerald Forest. Her hand reached for the doorknob and turned it carefully, oh, so carefully. She opened the door soundlessly and closed it quietly behind her. She walked down the stairs carefully, making sure her feet wouldn't make a sound against the metal staircase. She walked down the hallway to her room, standing in front of it and sighing. She carefully turned the knob and closed the door behind her. Shedding her shoes from her feet, she quietly returned to her bed. She pulled the covers over her body and gazed up at the ceiling. Slowly, sleep came to her.