Many thanks to: mml94, Independent-Chick-92, may, and Coolbluesmile. Ya'll rock!

Disclaimer: MINE!! ...Okay, okay, not quite mine. But it could be. Someday... Yea, nevermind. Anthony Horowitz wins.


Chapter 1
(EDITED)
-A Family-

Sara sat on her bed, a letter in front of her. She peered down at it over her knees, which were pulled up to her chest. The tears in her eyes obstructed her vision, but she'd already memorized the words. They didn't hold any meaning - they were a disguise for the real message.What was important was the delicate rose clasped gently in her hand. It was made of glass, a special design made only by a reclusive family in Italy. She knew the words it implied, knew how they would sound in His voice. The letter said he wanted to see her, the rose said he couldn't. The rose said goodbye.

A knock on the door stopped her thoughts, and Sara faked a brilliant smile as she crossed to open it, cleanly slipping the rose into a drawer before she reached for the knob. Ian Rider faced her on the other side, his smile faltering at her tears. "What's wrong?" He asked quickly, leading her back to the bed to sit. Sara launched into a tale of lockers and proms and secret admirers, and Ian sat patiently through it all. He smiled, and said he was glad for her. She shook her head and said she wasn't sure what she would do. He offered a day of paintball and rockclimbing and a shooting range to clear her head. She accepted. As he left, Ian turned back to stare his niece in the eye, and nonchalantly asked her to pass along to her 'secret admirer' that glass roses were overly dramatic, and a nice picture of the canals would be more appreciated.

Sara sat in shock for a long while before finally understanding the simple concept her uncle had put forth; there are many levels to every situation, and not everything can be clearly defined as friend or foe. Sara continued to lie to her uncle, as he did to her. But an underlying feeling of trust, affirmed in small meaningless truths stayed between them from then on, creating an unbreakable bond.

--

Sara and Alex Rider sat in Mr. Jeffries' psychology class, listening to his lecture on family. Sara was writing on her laptop, while Alex doodled in the back of his spiral. "Miss Rider, do you have anything prepared for us?" Jeffries asked, smirking.

Sara sighed, knowing this was his way of showing that though she was older than the rest of the class, and was taking it a second time only as training for her upcoming job as a journalist, he was going to treat her like everyone else, if not worse. "Well, if it's alright, we kind of prepared something together, Mr. Jeffries." Alex piped up, and Jeffries reluctantly agreed. As the two siblings approached the podium, Sara whispered her thanks. Alex rolled his eyes, then nudged her, and she smiled at his silent dismissal.

"Well, there's not much we can say about our family. Didn't know our parents, they died when I was small." Alex started. "Mum was a workaholic and Dad was never home, so even at twelve, I didn't know them well." Sara continued. "We live with our uncle. He's never really around though either, so we can't tell you much about him. We have a sort of housekeeper though, to take care of, well, me mostly." Alex admitted grudgingly, despising the smug look Sara wore suddenly. "She's an American, Jack. She's always there, which is great cuz, well, this one needs looked after." She teased, chuckling as he elbowed her. "Our uncle, he's never going to set the world on fire, cuz he's got a real boring job." Alex changed the subject. Sara scoffed. "The most boring job there is, he's a banker." The class laughed at her jokes, as always. Alex never could relate to people like she could. Well, that was what he thought. "His work's important to him," Alex defended, mock-glaring at his older sister. The class sat straighter, hoping the siblings would start yet another fake argument and leave Jeffries groaning. Sara grinned, deciding to keep the act going. "He never talks about it, though. It's always, 'some last-minute conference', or 'irreplaceable week-long training'." Alex frowned. "He does too say something. Right now he's somewhere in Cornwall, at a… last-minute conference." He trailed off. Sara laughed, as did the class. Alex's smile made them laugh harder, and Jeffries couldn't suppress the groan.

"Alright, alright. That's enough, you two. I'll always wonder why you didn't just take the drama classes instead. Would've made my life a lot easier." He mumbled, motioning for them to take their seats. The siblings did so, smiling the whole way. As they passed Sabina, who smiled at Alex, he blushed. Sara coughed into her hand to hide the smile, earning a shove from Alex. The rest of the class, Sara spent on her laptop, and Alex absorbed in some picture he was drawing.

After the bell, Alex walked with Sara to the gate. "C'mon Alex. Ask her to do something this weekend. She'll say yes, I'll bet." Sara suggested, grinning mischievously at him. "Ugh, just go back to your job-searching, Sara." Alex moaned, giving her a small push. "Aw, but that'd be no fun. You all alone without me to bother you? What a nightmare!" She gasped dramatically, clutching a hand to her chest. Her face, however, was everything but tragic. Her huge smile and gleaming eyes made her brother laugh. Sara revved the engine of her bike, waving to her brother. Neither knew that this normalcy they had come to love was about to be smashed to pieces.

--

Alex walked into Ian Rider's house, disturbed by the silence. Both Jack and his sister should be home, and they weren't the quiet types. He wasn't surprised they got along so well, they could've passed for sisters, if it weren't for Sara's darker brown hair and skin tanned from hours outside nearly everyday. Alex had the same tan with lighter hair.

The tan was from all the dangerous, sporty, outdoors trips with their uncle. If Alex loved the trips Ian took them on, Sara lived for them. Recently, Ian had been taking her on longer trips, just the two of them. Usually they were survival type things, but sometimes there were trips for sky diving, and once they had taken a heavy weapons class, where they used grenades, rocket launchers, and other 'big boom' things. She was now certified as a rock climber, cliff-jumper, martial arts instructor, paramedic, scuba diver, and a small arms bearer. Of course, Alexa was also a scuba diver, had a 1st Dan black belt of karate, and could rock climb on his own. All thanks to their uncle.

Alex shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "Jack? Sara? Jack?" He called. Finally he came to the kitchen, and found the two using wicked-looking knives to chop vegetables and meats. "Did you have a good day at school?" Jack asked in Japanese. "Hai. Why are we speaking in Japanese?" He responded. "We're having a special dinner…" Sara answered, practicing a few moves with the knife. Alex recognized a move Ian had been showing her. "Sushimo!" Jack squealed, making Alex smile. It was Ian's favorite meal. Sara smiled knowingly off to the side, and Alex rolled his eyes. Sara had always suspected something between their uncle and the 'housekeeper'. Alex moved to the fridge and began to help preparing Ian's welcome dinner.

--

Later when the three sat together around the lowered table, Alex played with his food, while Sara ate silently and Jack tried in vain to cheer them up. Finally Sara spoke, "Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm desperate for some sake. Jack?" Jack shook her head, stabbing another piece of sushi. "Alex? Oh, come on, Jack. He's sixteen. Let him have some. I won't get him drunk, I promise." Jack sighed in defeat, waving Sara away. Alex smiled broadly, anxious to try the alcoholic drink his sister was fetching.

"Eat something, will you? Come on, he's just stuck in traffic, or something…" Jack urged him. "No, he's probably going to the office to file a report, and next thing we know he's off to Hong Kong." Alex snapped cynically. Jack sighed, lifting her chopsticks to stab yet another piece of sushi. As her chopstick hit the plate, the doorbell rang. "See? What'd I tell you huh? I'm a genius!" Jack exclaimed.

Alex was jogging toward the door when Sara collided with him. Sara stared at her brother for a second, then at the door. Alex shrugged and dashed to the door. As he grabbed for the doorknob, they saw the flashing red and blue lights. The door slowly opened to reveal two police officers, both with grim faces. These were the harbingers of the end of the life the Riders knew.



Here's a re-done version of chapter one, with prologue included. Hope you enjoyed this better!
-Red