Prologue

It was dark and silent. Fear permeated every inch of the large house. Its white walls, usually the sign

It was dark and silent. Fear permeated every inch of the large house. She knew that she shouldn't be afraid. She had been through almost the same scene over and over again and it shouldn't matter anymore.

Her Auntie Amelia had been really scared. It wasn't the first time she had been pushed into the closet though, so why did she still feel such fear?

The little girl shivered, peaking out if the cupboard and shifting out of the cocoon she had been entombed in. She surveyed the outside of the little space she was in and sighed. Everything was white and elegant with little swirls of green and silver here and there. The room was large and bare of everything but her bed and clothes. The thing that really annoyed her, though, was the sight of the open window. It was an unwritten house rule.

The window wasn't allowed to be open.

The five year old girl tip toed from the closet, approaching the window with cautious eyes. Her feet were silent on the ice cold floor, but she didn't care.

Auntie would get into trouble if she left the window open.

With pale, shaking fingers, the little girl shut the window. It cut off of the cold that had be encompassing the room and the heating switched itself on with a sharp clang.

The little girl froze.

It took her a few seconds to shake out of her paralysis, but she was soon creeping silently towards the wardrobes safety once more.

The house wouldn't be silent for long.

The little girl was right. She had only just curled herself into the pile of old clothes, when she heard the slamming of a glass doors and a roar of anger. Her Uncle was home from a night in the pub. He always smelt afterwards, but she didn't ask question that were unlikely to get answers to.

What really upset her, though was the reactions her could get from her auntie. He would say mean things that obviously hurt the older women and made her cry.

She didn't like it when her Aunt cried.

She heard more yelling and settled down for a long night. Another night of sleeping in the small, uncomfortable closet.

She hated it when her aunt and uncle fought.

Three hours swept the house into silence. The little girl listened intently, trying to hear something, anything to tell her, her aunt was okay. She heard the creaking of floorboards and stiffened.

It could be her uncle.

The door opened and the little girl flinched back, looking up at a towering figure. It was her aunt. Her aunt had straight brown hair and bright silver eyes. She was skinny and wearing silky, red pyjamas.

The little girl also had those exact silver eyes that seemed to glow in the moonlight. Her black hair fell down to her waist in untameable waves. Her malnourished figure curled further into itself, trying to make more room in the small space in which she lay.

The little girl loved her eyes, even if her uncle didn't.

Her auntie carefully wormed herself around the little girl, pulling her into a safe embrace. The 30 year old was only just able to fit next to her 5 year old niece.

"Why did Uncle Horace hit you?" the little girl asked, placing her soft hand onto a large mark in the side of her guardians face. "Doesn't he love you anymore?"

The question wasn't unexpected, but made the little girls aunt smile sadly, all the same. "Of course he loves us, my princess," the women whispered, closing her eyes reverently. "He just doesn't always know how to show it."

The little girl seemed to accept this, and closed her eyes. The child's breathing became slower, and the women smiled softly. It was almost as if the child was asleep, but she knew better.

"Auntie?"

The women looked back down at her niece, watching as her eyes opened once again. She sighed.

"Yes, Esky?"

"I love you."

The women smiled widely, but her niece just blinked.

"I love you too, my princess."