I've been trained all my life for the past. I know how to dance, how to sing, what to do in different situations, how to react to different people. I can conceal my emotions and keep my face empty. I can recite the important events from the sixteenth to the twentieth century better than any history book. I know Gideon, and he knows me. We were trained and ready for our task.

So when Gwyneth, the cousin whom I've always thought of as "little", that girl who watched too many films and giggled with friends at night, turned out to be the Ruby, I didn't know what to do. Was I supposed to have a normal life now? Become who Gwyneth was, and start having sleepovers and giggling over boys? Everything that my classmates did seemed so… trivial. It meant nothing. But the actions of Gideon, and now Gwyneth, would shape the world. And because I was born at the wrong time – on the right day, but after Gwyneth – I was now the useless one, the unknown one.

I remembered one conversation I'd had with Gideon. He'd always wanted to travel, explore the world. Well, I could do that now. I could take a plane, go from pole to pole, be a famous explorer. But anyone could do that. Only two people alive could travel into the past.

Gideon… The Diamond. We'd been going toward a relationship, simply because it was convenient. We often trained together, and we didn't have any other friends. Who else could we gravitate towards? I liked him, he was a fine person, but I'd never felt in love, not the way it was always portrayed in books. When he and Gwyneth started dating (it was quite obvious. Gwyneth can't act to save her life), I did feel a little jealous. They had the perfect life, didn't they? Going on missions, having friends, being happy.

Mother and Lady Arista tried to reassure me that I could do anything. The undertone was there, though. You can do anything, but you can't time travel.

Important things were happening. Events that would change our lives, and possibly the world. Not that I would know – after all, I was the fake Ruby, the one the jewelers tossed away after shining because it wasn't the right one. Even Gideon, who I considered to be my only friend, didn't have time for me anymore. He went on adventure after adventure, with bruises and cuts and shaken expressions, but wouldn't tell me anything. He would instead give me a half-hearted excuse ("Everything's okay, Charlotte. Don't worry") and forget about me. Then again, I was stupid to think us friends. We were simply allies – a pair of kids who would someday have to work together, if events had gone correctly. I wouldn't risk my life to save him, and I didn't expect him to do the same.

After a lot of snooping around, asking questions, and carefully eavesdropping, I formed a blurry story – apparently, Saint-Germain had asked to meet with Gwyneth several times, and Gideon and Gwyneth had met Lucy and Paul somewhere too. I knew that Gideon had spent the last two years collecting blood from the time travelers, and now I was pretty sure that the chronograph now only needed Lucy and Paul's blood to complete the Circle, since Operation Sapphire and Black Tourmaline was mentioned often. And I knew that Gwyneth was keeping a secret – like I said, she couldn't keep an expressionless face. I'd found her talking about a chest, and she was definitely hiding an object when I bumped into her walking in the halls.

A bit of thinking and crazy idea-spewing (it's my way of figuring things out – say the most outrageous possibilities until one fits) later, I decided that it had to be a chronograph. It was about the right size, and it would explain her secrecy. It would also mean that the second chronograph was here, and the Circle could be closed now, if Gwyneth gave it to the Guardians. I decided that Gwyneth wanted to keep it to see what would happen – she'd probably get Gideon's blood in one of their trips to the past, they certainly had enough injuries to do so, and that meant that Gwyneth would be the first one to solve the mystery of the Circle.

I did everything I could. I offered to help Gwyneth, but of course I wasn't to be trusted, because I was the trained one and she wasn't. I stayed home sick and searched Gwyneth's room for secret compartments. I tried confronting her and threatening her, but she stubbornly denied it. I even brought the Guardians into it – it was the right thing to do. But Gwyneth had support – her siblings and Aunt Maddy and even the butler. The secret stubbornly remained out of my reach. And I still felt like I was missing something.

But I didn't figure out what it was. I was only Charlotte Auden. The "fake" Ruby. The spoiled brat, the teacher's pet, Lady Arista's favorite. I was nothing.

Everything's over. Gideon and Gwyneth figured it out, with the prophecies and the immortality powder. They're immortal now, and in love. They received their happily ever after.

I went back to school, but only for show. I spent afterschool studying other subjects, academic and not. I tried to make a few friends, but it didn't come naturally. I could sing, I could dance, I could perform martial arts in heartbeats, but I couldn't connect with the other girls in my class. They weren't the same as me.

Yes, it was a little lonely, but I was always alone. I was used to it.

After I finished school, I decided to go traveling.

Since I didn't need to elapse with a chronograph, I could do anything. I had money, talent, and ambition. I could go anywhere.

My training came in handy. Even if no one cared for my knowledge of eighteenth-century manners, martial arts and fencing definitely saved my life on more than one occasion.

I saw the Seven Wonders of the World. I flew over oceans, walked through forests, lived through deserts. I saw grand cities and skyscrapers. I studied cultures and traditions of the Chinese, the Russians, the Americans. I met people, and might even call them friends.

Maybe one day I'll settle down somewhere. Maybe I'll find the one.

But this is my happily ever after.

Ruby Red is a trilogy that most people haven't read. I liked it, though, and felt that there should be more fanfiction about it. Also, when I checked the family tree, Charlotte's father's last name is Auden, so that's the last name I used, instead of Montrose. Drop a review!