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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the OUAT characters, if I did I would be rich like Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis :)

Chapter 1

Finally. I was out of that hellhole of an orphanage. My new foster parents had sent me back when they had found out that I was actually 17 and not 10 like the Matron had promised them.

That lady had tried anything and everything to get me out of her hands. I had been stuck with her since I was 8 years old. I was going to be officially released next year when I turned 18, but a whole year with an abusive old lady would feel like a millenia.

The clock struck midnight, and I opened the window and hopped out.

"I'm free, bitches.", I whispered to myself.

However, I did not expect that the rain would make the rocks so slippery. I slipped on one and hit my head. Ouch. That hurt. Then I heard loud, clunky footsteps.

The Matron! She must have heard the crash! Hey, I'm not that fat.. How loud could it have been?

The chubby lady popped out of the door like a Jack-n-the-Box and waddled over to me screeching.

"Young lady, get back into our house!"

I glared at her half heartedly and said, " Don't you mean your house?"

I noticed the bottle of cheap wine she was holding in her grubby hands. She had been drinking.

"Good luck out there, you little whore!" she screamed, chucking the bottle at me.

It hit the side of my leg and drew some blood. I grimaced in pain and ran away as fast as I could. When I got to the side of the street, I pulled up my sweatpants to see the damage. Thank god I had brought some bandages. I quickly wrapped it up and was on my way.

"Miss?"

I snapped out of my haze and looked up at ticketmaster.

"Um, miss, that'll be $50."

"Oh, yeah, sure, just give me a second.", I said rummaging through my backpack.

The people around me stared at me weirdly. Oh come on, this is a train station! Have they never seen a soaking wet orphan/drowning cat-thing running away?

I finally handed the man the money and went to sit on the benches. I rolled my sleeves up and ran my hand through my hair.

"Are you okay?", the little girl sitting next to me asked.

"What did I say about strangers?" her mother chastised.

Ignoring her mother, the little girl said, "Are you a pirate?"

I stared at her confused.

"What gives you the impression that I'm a pirate?", I replied with a small smile.

"Well, your wet from the ocean water and those scars on your arm are from battles, right?"

I gazed at my forearm. I had forgotten about those. That was quite a .. rough patch in my life.

The mother looked at the 'battle' scars her daughter mentioned and gasped.

"Honey, are you quite alright?", she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, don't worry." Lies "I just got hurt in a pirate battle.", I said winking at the little girl.

She giggled and laughed.

"Train 816 is arriving in five minutes", the computer announcer announced

"That's my ride." I tipped an imaginary hat. "Goodbye mate!" I said to the little girl and walked away.

I grabbed my backpack and went into the train and sat in my chair when it finally hit me. I never had to go back to the Matron. I didn't need to be hit, or yelled at, or returned like a faulty machine. The endless nights of silent crying were over.

I'm free

I smiled to myself and fell asleep to the rhythmic sounds of the train.

The sudden stop of the train woke up abruptly. I stepped off and started walking to the nearest, cheapest motel. I figured that I would use my saved money and stay there until I found a job.

When I walked inside, it reeked off carpet cleaner and cigarettes. I nearly gagged, but I ignored it and went to the front desk. There was a middle aged lady with heavily teased hair wearing a neon crop top and red skinny jeans 10 sizes too tight.

"Hey, can I get a room?" I asked nervously.

She laughed and smiled. "Of course you can darling."

"Thanks!" I said, not expecting her to be this kind.

She snorted and pointed to the couple making out on the tacky sofa.

"If you ask me, they're the ones that need a room.", she said as she handed me my key.

I bid her a goodnight and headed up to my room.

When I locked my door, I heard the window shaking.

Must be the wind, I thought.

A black shadow covered the room. It spun around before materializing into a human shape. Was I going crazy? What was going on? It threw some white dust into my face and I was out.