Disclaimer: I own this story and the original characters, but only them. The rest belongs to Miss Meyer. This is the disclaimer for the rest of the story as well.
Mr and Mrs Ashford prided themselves on their beautiful daughter, Lavender. Her long, golden hair and her startlingly blue eyes drew in attention from far and wide. Her slim figure and smooth, pale skin made her irresistible. Yes, they cherished their daughter with all of their hearts, and the mere thought of someone laying a hand on her ignited a dark hatred within them. Mr Ashford was known to mention how much Lavender looked like her mother- "Where else could she get those eyes, tell me?"- Unlike Mrs Ashford, who commonly praised her daughter's resemblance to her father- "Thank goodness she ended up with her father's hair and not my mousy locks!"
Mr and Mrs Ashford were so proud of their daughter; together they made up the perfect little family. Mr Ashford with his job in accountancy, Mrs Ashford with her former job as a model and current job as a house wife, and Lavender, with her looks and her ability to make practically everyone fall in love with her. Everything was perfect, that is unless you include the last, not-so-welcome member of their small family.
On the day Lavender was born, another daughter was born too. Rose Merope Ashford was born seven minutes before her younger sister Lavender, and if Mr and Mrs Ashford were perfectly honest, they would admit that they wished she had never been born at all. You see, Rose was different from her family in many ways. For one, instead of light hair, be it mousy or blonde, she had striking black hair. Instead of startling blue eyes, she had soft green eyes. And instead of being loved by anyone, she was loathed by everyone.
Rose didn't care, though. Throughout her childhood, she would be teased and tormented by her sister and her gang, from being called 'stupid freak' to 'ugly witch'. However, she would merely turn away and walk in the other direction. Sure, at first it had bothered her, with her running home to her mother, only to be called the same names by her, but eventually she had grown so used to it, it had become part of everyday life.
As the girls grew, Lavender became more beautiful and Rose became more unusual. Even her parents, who tried their best to ignore her very presence, began to notice something… frightening within her. Even though Rose didn't react to her sister's petty taunts, she still grew angry, and incidents and accidents always seemed to occur when she was angry. For example, when the twins were seven, Lavender had cut all of the hair off of Rose's Sweet Sally doll. The next morning, Lavender had woken up with green hair.
By the time the girls were sixteen, Rose had become the most feared girl in the whole of Weatherton, a small village in the English countryside. In complete contrast, Lavender was now the most loved girl in all of Weatherton. In fact, people were so blinded by their love for Lavender; they completely forgot that she was related to the strange, black-haired freak they all feared so much. Similarly, the girls seemed to have done everything in their power to be as opposite as they possibly could be. Lavender's straight golden hair was cropped to her shoulders, whereas Rose's wavy black hair reached her waist. Lavender was 5ft 4in, whereas Rose was 5ft 7in. In conclusion, they were as different as night and day.
Our story begins on a warm, sunny afternoon in the small town of Weatherton. Lavender Ashford was strolling casually back from the local school, her bag slung carelessly over her shoulder and her golden hair sticking to her forehead due to the sweltering heat. After a stress-free ten minutes of walking, Lavender reached the small turning off to her house, pushing through the large wooden gates and climbing up the drive. The very second Lavender crossed the door to her house, she knew something wasn't right.
Dropping her bag unceremoniously to the floor, Lavender proceeded to wander aimlessly around her vast house. "Hello?" she called out.
Receiving no answer, Lavender continued to wander. After searching the ground floor, which compiled of the kitchen, dining room, living room and her father's study, she began to search the first floor. Beginning in her own room, the blonde could see nothing out of place, so instead searched her parents' room, all the while calling to see if anyone was home. It was when she reached her slightly-older sister's room she realised something was very, very wrong.
If a complete stranger had ventured into the pale green room, they would not have noted anything out of the ordinary. There were posters of Rose's favourite things, ranging from her favourite movies, Harry Potter, to her favourite thing, chocolate. Yet, to Lavender, who wasn't even particularly fond of Rose, everything was all wrong. The large wooden wardrobe was thrown open and her sister's favourite clothes were all gone. The shelves next to the door that had once been piled with books was now only half full. And most noticeably, Rose's now-bald Sweet Sally doll was gone.
Backing out of the foreboding room, Lavender ran to the landing window, looking for any sign of her sister returning home from school. In the back of her mind, Lavender realised that she hadn't seen hide or tail of her sister all day, even in school, where they shared a large number of lessons with each other. Running back down the grand staircase, Lavender dived for her phone from her school bag. Quickly scanning her contacts for the right one, Lavender waited restlessly for the person to pick up.
"Hello?" a shrill voice called from the other end of the phone.
"Amber! Have you seen Rose today?" Lavender asked quickly, running a manicured hand anxiously through her short hair.
"Rose…?" Amber trailed off, followed closely by the distinct sound of someone chewing gum.
"Yes, Rose! You know, my sister?" the blonde cried.
"Sister? Oh yeah, the freak! Huh, is that her name?"
Lavender sighed in frustration to herself, before replying. "Glad you've learnt something today. Anyway, have you seen her at all?"
"Sorry, L, ain't seen her. She wasn't in Science; that much I know."
Lavender pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head slowly. "Okay. Thanks."
With that, she hung up and placed her phone on the counter next to her. It was right about now that she was wishing she had taken her big sister's number when it was offered to her. Trying once more, Lavender called one more person. This time, they answered on the first ring.
"Hey sweetie!" a cheery voice sounded.
Smiling to herself, Lavender said, "Heya Dad! Listen…"
"You'll never guess who your old man met today, honey," Mr Ashford interrupted eagerly, "I'll give you a clue. Their name begins with a…"
"Dad!" Lavender interrupted this time. "Have you seen Rose today?"
"Rose?" her father replied, this time with a distinctly less cheerful tone. "Nope. Why you asking 'bout her?"
"Well, she wasn't in school and now her stuff is gone."
There was a momentary pause on the other end of the line. "So?"
This time it was Lavender's turn to pause. "'So?' She's not here dad!"
She could almost imagine her dad waving his hand about carelessly when he replied. "Ah, don't worry. She'll turn up."
Still unconvinced, Lavender hesitantly nodded to herself and said a quick goodbye to her father, hanging up before he could respond.
Hours passed and Rose was still not home. Mr and Mrs Ashford both returned home within that time, Mr Ashford from work and Mrs Ashford from her book-club meeting. Eventually, it reached nine o'clock and there was still no sign of Rose. Walking into the large kitchen, Lavender neared towards her parents, interrupting Mrs Ashford's 'juicy gossip'.
"…with the postman, no less. Can you believe it? Honestly, it's as if she has no self-respect."
"Mum," Lavender called, effectively stopping their conversation.
Mrs Ashford turned her blue eyes towards her daughter, a bright smile lighting up her face.
"Hey honey," she beamed, rushing forward to hug her daughter. Lavender awkwardly hugged her back, her arms crushed between their bodies.
"Hi," she managed to breathe out.
Releasing her, her mother patted her head soothingly, still smiling as bright as the sun.
"How was school, dear?"
"Uh…" Lavender trailed off, unsure of how to reply. Something was up. Her parents never asked about school; academia was not really their primary concern.
After a few silent seconds, Lavender's brain finally went back into action. "Fine, fine. Mum, seriously, have you seen Rose?"
Her mother laughed loudly. "Of course I've seen Rose, dear. She does live here, after all."
"Not too sure about that, actually," Lavender mumbled angrily under her breath. Her mother seemed to have heard, however, as in the next second, her blinding smile dropped from her face, almost like someone had slapped her.
"What on earth are you mumbling about? Speak up dear! You know how much I detest mumbling."
"Well," Lavender began, glancing at her father for help. Mr Ashford, however, just turned away from her look and stared fixatedly out the kitchen window. Looking back up at the tall figure of her mother, Lavender gulped quietly. "I don't know, really. It's just- I just… She never turned up to school, and some of her stuff is gone…"
Lavender trailed off quietly upon seeing the pained look in her mother's eyes. The woman in front of her seemed to collapse from within. Her eyes lost their sparkle and her shoulders hunched over.
"Are you sure?" her mother asked quietly, almost tentatively.
"Um…" Lavender looked at her father once again, only to see that he was still avoiding her persistent gaze. "Yeah, pretty sure."
Mr Ashford turned suddenly from the kitchen window and grabbed Mrs Ashford's shoulders, spinning her around to face him. "Get rid of everything. Now."
With a quick nod, Mrs Ashford raced out of the kitchen, with Lavender following right behind her. "Mum?" Lavender called up the stairs after her, "Where are you going?"
Mrs Ashford brushed her off, still moving at a fast pace up the stairs. As she reached the top of the grand, wooden staircase, it became evident that she was heading for Rose's room.
As her mother quickly strode into the pale green room, Lavender called out to her once more, "Mum!"
Receiving no response, Lavender huffed angrily and ran in after her mother. What she saw only shocked her more.
Her mother had raced towards Rose's wardrobe and was proceeding to throw out the entire contents onto the small single bed.
"Mum! Mum, stop!" Lavender cried, throwing herself at her mother, trying to stop her.
Mrs Ashford whirled around with a mad glint in her eyes, and stated very quietly, very calmly, "Back away from me. Now."
Stepping back in shock, Lavender just watched as her mother ripped the posters and took the framed pictures off the walls. Quickly, Mrs Ashford left the room, leaving Lavender alone in the damaged room. Before she could do anything, however, Mrs Ashford was back with a roll of black bags. Ripping one off and opening it with frightening vigour, she began to chuck the contents of the room into it.
Lavender was completely frozen in shock. Sure, she knew that her parents were not really fond of her sister; she wasn't either. But at least she cared that her sister had apparently run away. After all, she was still her sister.
When she was seemingly done, her mother slumped onto the now bare bed. Her body collapsed in on itself, with her hands covering her face and her entire body shaking. Lavender hesitantly made her way towards her mother, before sitting down next to her and slinging her arm around the shaking woman next to her.
"Hey, hey," she soothed her, brushing her hair gently, "it's okay. What's the matter?"
Her mother sniffed loudly and brushed her nose with her hand. "What have we done, Lav?"
Confused, Lavender ceased brushing her mother's hair and stared at her. "What do you mean, 'what have we done?'"
Looking down in apparent shame, her mother began crying again. "She's gone."
"Rose?"
Her mother nodded shakily, tears still streaming down her face. "We drove her away."
And after a few more moments of silent crying from her mother and even more of her just staring blankly at the destroyed room, Lavender was inclined to agree.
The journey to Italy hadn't been easy, and quite frankly, Rose was exhausted. Wandering around the ancient streets of Volterra- the only place in Europe that had a flight at that precise moment in time- Rose searched determinedly for a place to stay for the night.
Her long black hair was tied up in a messy ponytail, her green eyes dull from exhaustion. She was wearing a plain white vest top, with dark blue jeans and a pair of black boots. The map she had been given of Volterra upon arrival had looked like the map of a city from the Middle Ages, so she had thrown it in the bin, deciding it was completely useless. Now, seeing the ancient streets for herself, she realised that it was probably accurate and sorely wished she hadn't thrown it away.
This was why she was now wandering around without a clue. The sun had already begun to set, which only made the city look even more beautiful. The glow almost made the city look on fire. After hours of just wandering aimlessly, Rose reached what looked like a courtyard, surrounded by a clock tower on one side and what could most definitely pass as a palace on the other. In the centre of the courtyard was a large fountain, with water flowing like a river, and the droplets like rain.
Rose sighed in relent and strolled slowly towards the grand fountain, sitting down on the edge of it and wading a hand through the chilled water. The view of the city was pretty spectacular. In fact, Rose would bet she could sit there all day if she wanted to. Turning around from the city to look up at the large palace-like building, Rose was filled with awe and wonderment.
The building was just like her, she thought to herself. Before she could laugh at her own stupidity, she realised just how true that one thought was. Both looked like they fit in, but on the inside, they were completely different to everyone and everything else. Even though she had never been inside, she could bet it was just as grand and fantastic as she imagined.
Rose sighed to herself again, and ran her dry hand through her hair. Her purple suitcase was sat next to her, and the object reminded her of exactly she had done. This day, she decided, had been completely insane.
When Rose had woken up, she had thought it would be an ordinary day, just like every day was. She had proven wrong the moment she had looked at her scenic calendar. It was June 12th, the first anniversary after her grandmother's death. Out of everyone in her family, her grandmother was the person Rose had been closest to. Really, her grandmother had been the only person to treat her as such; a person. The day she died had been the hardest day of her life, and was only slightly made better by her grandmother's last words to her- "Whatever you think is best, whatever is best for you, do it."
It was this morning that Rose had decided to act upon those words. With a low chuckle to herself, Rose realised she had actually done it; she had actually left. For years she had been dreaming over the day she had gotten away from those people who called themselves her family, albeit with quite a lot of resentment. And quite honestly, the thought frightened her.
"Are you okay?" a man with a thick Italian accent asked from behind her. With a jolt, Rose realised she had been staring at the palace-like building for at least ten minutes. Turning around, she came face to face with a small, thickset man with balding grey hair.
Rose nodded quickly, forcing a smile to her face. "Yes, thank you. I'm fine."
The man seemed wary, but nodded slowly and made to turn to walk away from her.
Quickly, Rose realised he might be able to help her, she called after him. "Um, excuse me! Excuse me!"
The man turned around once more to face her and he waddled back over to her, his walking stick shaking slightly in his old hands. "Yes?" he asked.
With an embarrassed laugh, Rose ran her hand through her hair once more. "I don't really have anywhere to stay," she explained slowly, "and I was just wondering if, uh, you knew of anywhere I could stay?"
The small man seemed quite confused at first, but after a few more moments, the information seemingly sunk in and realisation sparked a light into his eyes. He began nodding eagerly and a wide smile stretched across his face. He hobbled to stand next to her and put a shaky arm around her shoulders, while using the other arm to point.
"Hotel, uh, you stay," he said unsurely. He pointed towards a small building to the left of the courtyard, with a green shelter on the outside and a thick layer of plants surrounding it.
A relieved smile stretched across Rose's face and she released a happy breath. "Thank you," she exclaimed happily, bending down to retrieve her suitcase. With one last wave towards the still smiling man, she walked towards the hotel with a slight spring in her step.
Upon reaching the small building, Rose pushed open the glass door, bells jingling as she did to alert the staff. The inside was just as cute as the outside. It was a small and cosy lobby, which could easily pass for a living room. A thin woman with greying hair stood behind the large check-in desk. Upon seeing a potential customer, her face lit up. Rose couldn't remember a time she had been so popular.
"Hello, hello!" the woman exclaimed happily, ushering Rose further towards the desk with a wave of her hand, "How may I help you?"
Before Rose could respond, the same man from earlier walked in behind her and proceeded to manoeuvre around the desk and stand next to the aging woman. Bending down with what looked like great difficulty, he placed a gentle kiss against her cheek.
"Should have known I was business," Rose joked lightly, not entirely sure, though, whether they could actually understand her.
Apparently the woman could because she released a light chuckle, rubbing her hand on her husband's arm, which was evident from the matching wedding rings. After a few more moments of chuckling from both parties, Rose bent down and reached into her small beaded bag.
"Can I have a room for the night, please?" she asked while fishing for her purse.
The woman before her released her husband's arm and sprang into action, diving under the old desk and fetching out an even older check-in book. The old woman began looking from side to side frantically, most likely searching for a pen. Laughing to himself, the balding man next to her handed her a pen, sending her a loving look at the same time. She thanked him with a quick kiss and began putting in details into her book.
Rose herself was mesmerised by what she had just seen. Sure, her family loved each other, obviously excluding her for some reason, but she couldn't shake off the feeling the love wasn't as selfless as the one she could see before her.
"Here, here," the woman said, drawing Rose's attention towards the battered book. Pointing at the latest entry, Rose read that she would be staying in number two. Thanking the couple one last time, she headed up the old staircase and into the second room. It was a basic room, with white walls and a white blanket, but that was all she needed.
Setting her bag down on the small bed, Rose walked towards the window and looked out at the palace-like building once more. She was going to go in there, she decided. Yawning in exhaustion, though, she decided that would have to be after she had gotten some rest.