A chill settled on Rose as all but one of her blankets were pulled away, and arms wrapped around her, preventing her from reaching for those blankets. Her whining was shushed as her small body was pulled closer to the familiar shape of her mother. Instead of a rare cuddle, Rose's mother jostled her on the way out of her room.
This wasn't how most nights went, and Rose became more aware as she was carried through the hall. It was dark, as was expected at night. Through the passing windows, it was even darker outside, though the city offered a small glow in the distance. At this hour, everything was silent.
It couldn't have been too late in the night; Rose's mother's brunette hair was frazzled, but she was still wearing her day clothes. She held onto the small girl tight, walking quickly to their destination. She wasn't tired. She seemed to be a mix of anger and cautious.
"Where's Dad?" Rose picked her head up from her mother's shoulder to better see everything. Some lights were off, causing dark gaps in the hall. No one else was around, either.
Her mother adjusted her hold on her. "Hush now."
That never worked on Rose—it only caused her to ask more questions. But her mother had that look, the one of focus, and the girl was too curious about the surroundings. The castle looked so different at night. Her mother was acting strange.
She was dressed strange, too. Rose never recalled the hooded cloak her mother was wearing. It smelt old, but felt very comfortable. Maybe she had one somewhere for Rose.
No one stopped her mother; there were few people in the halls at this hour. They didn't seem to think much of the queen taking the princess for a midnight stroll through the castle, or even how she was dressed. Rose didn't recall a time that anyone had questioned her mother, anyway.
Soon they had reached the ground floor of the castle, but her mother didn't use the main door. Instead, she went out to the back gardens. For a moment, Rose thought she and her mother were going to look at the stars. That was something she did more with her father than her mother. Her mother didn't stop to look at the sky.
She took Rose into the stable. It was small and tucked underneath the castle in a discreet corner. Only members of the guard and the queen were concerned with it. Most others didn't know it was there.
Rose was set down to stand on the floor on her own. She pulled her blanket tighter around herself as her mother gathered the necessary gear, then entered one of the stalls. Rose kicked at the stray pile of straw on the floor. Her mother must have put her shoes on while she had still been asleep.
It seemed to take forever before her mother exited the stall, leading a saddled brown horse. The horse stayed still when the reins were let go and the little girl was placed into the wide saddle. Her mother mounted behind her.
The first couple of steps were jarring. Rose held on tight to the saddle as the horse constantly shifted underneath it. She tried her best to be stiff.
"Move with the horse. Relax. You won't fall." Rose's mother had her arms around her to use the reins.
Though it was difficult to listen to her mother, Rose soon relaxed. Sitting so stiffly was hard. She leaned against her mother. As they swayed in the saddle together, Rose was lulled back into sleep.
She was jerked back awake when the horse suddenly stopped. Her mother's cloak was wrapped around her like another blanket, but it made it difficult to see anything. Rose could only hear the man beside the horse.
"No one leaves. King's orders."
"Since when?" Her mother demanded. Rose could glimpse a gate ahead of them.
"Recently." The man had hesitated. "Besides, the road is especially dangerous at night. Shouldn't you wait until morning, miss? I can't imagine the order will last long."
"I'll be fine." Rose's mother moved to reveal something to him. The girl remained hidden and comfortable in her cocoon. "Now open the gate."
Rose had heard her mother use that tone of voice a few times towards guards. It always intimidated the younger ones, and made the older ones straighten their stance. She didn't know how a tone of voice could have such an effect on someone. Her mother was always nice to her.
After a quiet moment, the man stepped away and the gate opened with a small whine. The horse began moving again.
The horse walked until the gate closed behind them. Rose felt her mother tighten her legs for a moment, and the horse suddenly began to run. Rose held onto the saddle again. If it wasn't for her mother, she probably would have flown off of the horse.
Outside of the city wall, there was only one long road to the coast. Rose had always wanted to go outside of the city, and realized that that was what they had just done. She had imagined it happening differently. Still, she was excited to see the coast line and its mountain range gradually approaching at a faster pace.
It became even darker once they reached land. The city lights were far behind them. The trail seemed completely void of light, and silent but for the horse's hooves thumping away. It wasn't what Rose had expected; it didn't seem fun like she had hoped. She couldn't sleep at this pace, but she tried to burrow herself further in her mother's cloak.
For awhile, they kept at a run. Rose's mother gave a slight tug at the reins, and the horse slowed to a walk. He panted noisily, his ears twitching this way and that. Rose found that interesting to watch, but wouldn't emerge any further from her cocoon. Over time, the horse quieted again, and she dozed off, despite the scary surroundings of the mountain pass.
When she woke again, the sun had breached the horizon. Rose's mother dismounted the horse, and pulled her off as well. The road was only a beaten path in front of a shabby-looking house. Her mother tied the horse's reins to a post in front of the porch. He immediately put his head down in the water trough before him. She took time to remove the saddle, placing it on the post as well before leading the way into the house. Rose followed along, although she found it difficult to walk after being in a saddle for so long. Her mother seemed unaffected.
She didn't stop to knock; she entered as if it was her own home. So Rose followed her mother's example. They approached a counter. She thought it was weird to place it in front of the house. This was a weird home.
A man stopped sweeping and came to the counter as well. Rose was too busy looking around at the room riddled with tables and chairs. Maybe this was a weird-looking restaurant. She hoped so; she was hungry. She had never been taken to a restaurant before.
The adults had a short conversation, and Rose's mother ended it by giving the man some money. She then took Rose's hand and led her to one of the tables. The girl took a seat, being sure not to beam too much. Being at a restaurant made her feel like a big person.
It was the first that Rose got to see her mother's face since she had been put to bed the night before (that seemed like a very long time ago). She looked older—even older than she really was—and tired. If Rose could even notice these things about her mother, then she was probably more worn than the girl realized. The woman's brown hair was slightly frizzy now, either from wearing a hood or the horseback ride. Rose had never seen the crestfallen expression of her mother's heart-shaped face before.
That look immediately disappeared when Rose asked, "Where are we going?"
"Home." Her mother's face failed to fully brighten, but a shadow had left her face.
"But we just left home."
"We're going to my home. Where I grew up."
It was difficult for Rose to consider that her parents had had their own childhoods and lives before she was born. She thought her parents had always been who she knew them to be. So it came as a surprise to think that her mother's home was different from her own.
Rose's eyes widened. "You grew up outside of the wall?"
Her mother took some amusement from her surprise. "Yes. Quite far from the city's wall, actually."
"What about Dad?" Rose asked. Her mother's face fell again.
"He couldn't make it."
"Why not?" Rose's shoulders slumped. It wasn't completely unusual for her father to be busy, yet since a serious discussion with his apprentices, he had vowed to spend more time with Rose and her mother (if the two would allow, he had joked). Why wouldn't he want to know about his wife's new childhood home?
"He has work to do." Her mother stated.
"He said he wasn't busy anymore." Rose mumbled. Her mother smiled apologetically as two plates of food arrived.
Even if she was sad, Rose was still hungry. Once a plate was set in front of her, she dug in. Her mother was slower about it, and didn't seem to mind Rose's lack of table manners at the moment.
It was quiet while they ate, and once they were finished, Rose's mother spoke to the man again. She received a small pack and led the way outside. The girl had hoped they were going to stay at this place for awhile. She was curious about what it was.
Her mother took the reins of the horse in her hand, but left the saddle on the post. By now, it was warm enough that Rose didn't need to wrap a blanket around herself. Of course, it looked strange that she was wearing shoes and pajamas, and even moreso that she was outside. Her mother placed her blanket on the blanket that was already on the horse's back. She took Rose's hand in her own free hand, leading both horse and child down the road.
There wasn't much to say, but plenty to look at. The road cut through a forest. It turned out to not be quieter than the city, but full of birds above in the trees. Rose's mother encouraged her to look closely to see one. Rose only caught a few glances of small creatures in the trees. Her mother knew what kind they were based on Rose's childish descriptions.
Occasionally there were a bunch of wildflowers growing, the kind Rose hadn't seen growing in the city. She was allowed to pick some along the way, and prompted her mother to tell her about them as well.
After awhile of walking—and Rose began to complain that her legs were tired—her mother placed her on the horse's back. It was even stranger to ride without a saddle, and without her mother's body to support her from behind. Her mother continued to lead the horse, occasionally stopping to let the horse drink in a creek and munch on some grass. There was also some bottled water and bread in the pack for Rose and her mother to drink and eat.
As the sun began to approach the horizon again, they officially stopped for the night. The horse tethered to a tree, Rose's mother pulled her down again and instructed her to find sticks, while staying in sight of the horse. Her mother likewise followed the same rule, but picked up larger branches.
It had gotten darker by the time they finished. The woman created a pile, and by some miracle ignited them. She gave Rose her blanket again as the air was becoming chilly.
Dinner was no different than lunch in that it was bread, but there was also cheese. Rose suddenly realized that they were going to stay outdoors all night, in the middle of no where. Her mother didn't seem bothered by it. Once they had eaten and it was dark, she pulled the girl into her cloak. It was comforting.
"Are there monsters out here?" Rose's fingers played with her mother's brooch.
"Just a few, maybe. It's been a long time since I've been out here." Her mother sounded sleepy. "Perhaps they've already all been hunted."
Rose didn't find much comfort in that, but she was intrigued by the idea of hunting monsters. Maybe that's what she would do when she grew up. Maybe her mother had hunted monsters before. Rose was learning a lot about her now. "You can ride horses, Mom?"
Her mother chuckled. "Yes. I started learning when I was your age."
This excited the girl hiding in her cloak. "I'm learning! I've been riding our horse!"
"He's a good horse, but he's no Ilma."
"What's Ilma?" Rose settled down again.
"She was my horse, before I came to the city."
"What was she like?" Rose was full of questions.
"She was bigger, and white. She was also very fast."
That pleased Rose. "I wanna name our horse."
"Alright. I don't remember what it's supposed to be. But now we both need to sleep. We have a long journey." Her mother yawned. Rose sighed and gave in.
Every whicker of the horse, every snap of a twig in the dying fire, and every rustling in the trees was a monster preparing to pounce on Rose and her mother. Her mother did not stir all through the night. If there was something dangerous lurking, Rose would think she would wake and take care of it. Rose shut her eyes as a way to shut it all out. Eventually, morning broke over the horizon. Her mother woke soon after, and prompted the girl awake as well.
There wasn't much bread left. Rose ate the last of it as her mother kicked dirt over the dead fire. Then they continued on the road again. A fog had settled around them overnight. Her mother explained it would rain soon. She was proven right. Rose fashioned her blanket as a cloak, just like her mother's. It didn't keep the dampness out.
They did their best to remain underneath trees. The raindrops were larger, but less frequent than those from the open sky. Many puddles formed on the dirt road, but Rose didn't play in them like usual. Her pajamas were the only outfit she had out here. Her mother would probably get upset.
To the right of the trail, the treeline stopped as the road bordered a lake. Clusters of cattails and other watery vegetation blocked Rose's view in some spots, but there were large gaps in between them where she could look out over the water. None of the man-made fountains and pools were so large. The lake also held the darkest water she had seen.
Rain seemed to muffle all other sounds out. The birds did not chirp vivaciously as they had the day before when the sun was shining. The rain itself sounded differently to Rose than it had at home in the city; in the absence of other noises, rain seemed louder.
It was a long time before they left the lake behind them. Rose had hoped to see a fisherman, like the ones she had been told about, but her mother said it wasn't ideal weather for that. At least the rain kept the flies down.
As interesting as it was to be going on an adventure into the great unknown, it really wasn't that entertaining to a five-year-old. After naming the horse "Carter", Rose was bored. Her mother would not explain why they were going to her home, or even what it was like. Her mother also did not tell her what her father was doing now, or what could be going on in the castle. The only question that her mother humored was whether or not her home had ice cream. When she replied no, Rose was devastated.
Not far from the lake, they left the forest entirely and walked into a village, or what Rose assumed was a village, based on the stories she had been told. It seemed to come out of nowhere; suddenly there were buildings and people in this great big wilderness.
A few were watching them, but Rose's mother didn't pay attention to them, so Rose didn't either. The woman asked to board the horse in the stable for awhile, and led the horse and her child into a dark and musty building.
Her mother spent some time grooming the horse in a stall, then left him alone to eat and drink, which seemed to make him happiest. Rose and her mother returned to the rest of the village.
It was almost like home in that there were shops. Rose's mother only entered the tailor's, and asked for any spare clothes. The little girl thought it was weird; her mother never asked much from others, and they didn't wear spare clothes. The tailor himself was reluctant to give them anything, but upon seeing Rose's pitiful appearance, he gave in. Her mother requested boys' clothing for her, because she would ruin a dress in no time with her horseplay.
Once they had new clothes, they perused the stock of the traveling merchants. Her mother only bought a brush, and warned a merchant that they would not be able to get into the city, so it would be best to turn back. Rose didn't understand why, but her mother wouldn't answer her question when they were leaving.
They finally entered a giant house, much like the one from the day before. This one also had tables and chairs scattered about the floor, with a long counter off to the side, and a desk in front of the door. Unlike before, Rose's mother led her upstairs after she finished speaking with a lady at the desk.
Her mother found a bathroom and ushered Rose inside. Setting aside their new purchases, she began running the bath. Like at home, Rose stripped herself down. Her clothes had become a clammy sort of wet, but the bathwater was pleasantly warm.
Rose could wash herself by now, and found it odd when her mother joined her in the bath. It wasn't what they did at home. Her mother explained that this was normal where she came from. Two people in the tub took up a lot of room; Rose couldn't play in the water, and her mother couldn't relax as much as she wanted to.
After that, they entered a bedroom. Rose thought it was too early for bedtime, especially since she hadn't had dinner, and she was hungry. Her new clothes were baggy on her, but her mother had managed to tighten them. She fixed their hair and hung Rose's blanket to dry on the window's curtain rod. They stayed there until a bell rang downstairs.
Downstairs was more crowded than before. Rose held her mother's hand as they went to the long counter, now covered with food. She and her parents always had planned meals served at dinner (though it was not uncommon for her father to be absent for that), but Rose had seen much of the castle's staff eat meals like this. She followed her mother's lead, although much of the food was new to her. Her mother seemed to know all of the different plates.
Unfortunately to Rose, they did not get their own table. They found two seats at a table already occupied by older people. They seemed amused to see Rose scanning her plate skeptically. Their amusement was over when she tried a bite and actually liked it. Her mother was glad to see her eating without a fuss.
There was no dessert after dinner, and especially no ice cream. There was entertainment provided by a musician, but Rose's mother decided they needed to turn in early. They returned to the bedroom upstairs.
A bed was better to sleep in than the ground, and there would be no dangerous monsters lurking around. Rose was glad to have extra blankets. Her own was still wet, but her mother assured it would be dry in the morning. She wanted to sleep, but Rose had too many questions for that.
"How long until we get there?" She was still sitting up, not at all tired enough to lay down. The day had been agonizingly long for Rose.
"A few days." Her mother pulled her down in her arms, yawning. They had always been affectionate, but Rose began to notice her mother was being more affectionate than usual. She didn't mind the extra kisses.
"A few days?" Rose whined. She didn't know traveling could take so long! "Will Dad come after us?"
"Oh, maybe." Her mother sighed shakily. "Just go to sleep. We have to leave early."
"I'm not tired." The girl grumbled. She gave it a try, anyway.
There weren't any scary monster sounds, but there was plenty of noise downstairs. Rose could faintly hear the musician late into the night, as well as various conversation. Then it went silent as she fell asleep. Her mother woke her while the sky was still grey.
After speaking to someone downstairs, sharing some bread as breakfast, and fetching Carter, they were off again. Rose was again in the cocoon of her mother's cloak. Once they passed through the village, Carter began to run. Ahead of them, the sun was rising.
Carter could run for quite awhile. He was panting and sweating when he slowed again. They had gone through another part of the forest, but were now traveling through giant fields. The next treeline was not far ahead, and Carter walked steadily towards it.
Just before they entered another forest, Rose's mother dismounted and pulled Rose off of the horse as well. He grazed as they ate some trail mix. Then they entered the trees.
This adventure wasn't all that adventuring was told to be. Rose exhausted every conversation topic under the sun, and her mother did not contribute much to her efforts. Nothing exciting happened, and Rose was bored. Sometimes she rode Carter, and sometimes she walked.
They slept in the forest again, and left just as the sun was rising. Shortly after, a whole group of people and carts passed them on the trail. Rose's mother kept conversation with them brief: they could not enter the city. Rose wasn't allowed to talk to them. They went their separate ways within a couple of minutes.
Her mother wouldn't tell her why those people couldn't enter the city. She then changed the subject to her own home. It would only take a couple more days to arrive, and it was very far and secluded from the city. Rose was troubled by that; her father would never know the way.
They crossed fields, plains, and even a stream. They came across another village and spent the night there. Again, Rose wasn't allowed to interact with the other people there. All of the traveling made her tired and hungry, so she hardly minded.
Once Rose became used to the chatter of birds, the chirping of frogs en masse, and the occasional sight of deer, the adventure still wasn't that exciting. Her mother admitted bears, boars, and wolves existed in these parts, but assured that they stayed away from humans. Rose was so bored that she found that to be disappointing.
Her mother said daily that they only had a couple more days of travel before they would arrive at her home. It was a way to get Rose to stop asking that annoying question. However, they were both distracted when a raven seemed to be following them, cawing loudly.
"Mom, do you know how to make the bird go away?" After these few days traveling, Rose was beginning to believe her mother knew a lot more than how to be a queen. She knew the difference between a raven and a crow, and had tried to explain it to Rose, but the girl assumed they were still the same bird.
Her mother, leading Carter, stopped to pick up a stick with her free hand. She threw it at the raven, who had since sat on a branch. The stick struck its roost, causing it to fly to another tree.
"We'll just have to put up with him." She sighed, leading the horse again. "He'll get bored eventually."
Rose also gave a sigh, and hoped her mother was right.
Suddenly, there came a loud roar from the direction they had came, and the sky suddenly darkened. Rose clung to her mother. Carter startled, yanking on his own reins. Between the child and the horse, Rose's mother lost hold of the reins. Carter bolted off of the trail, further into the trees.
Picking the girl up, her mother broke into a run on the trail. The thunder continued, much louder in the wilderness than it had been in the city. Rose hid her face in her mother's cloak. She would cover her ears if she didn't have to cling so much.
There were screeches, which caused her mother to halt. To the girl's dismay, she put Rose down. They were surrounded by dark creatures—the monsters Rose had been scared of. Her mother pulled a sword out from her cloak. Rose had seen it plenty of times, but she had never seen her mother use it. She had assumed it wasn't a good sword.
As her mother swung at the monsters, Rose took a deep breath. She had to be brave, just like her mother. She picked up a rock and threw it at one of the monsters. It turned its attention to her, breaking away from the swarm around the woman. Rose squealed.
Just as her mother broke free of the swarm and made the approaching monster disappear, a much larger monster approached and grabbed the two humans. The sword fell to the ground. Rose tried to bite the humongous hand holding her, but it had no effect. A big dark circle appeared, and the monster tossed them through.
Rose was surprised to be alive, and even more so to be back home. Home looked different, though. She recognized the cobblestone and the nearby tower that was part of the industrial section, yet she immediately noticed that the large doors stood burst open, hardly attached to the doorway, as if something big had broken out of the castle.
Behind her, the city glowed orange. Some of the flames reached high enough to be seen from the castle's entrance. Many buildings were falling apart in the fire. Monster were rampant in the streets. There was no sign of people. The sky was dark from the smoke and the storm. Night had come early.
Her mother was there, too, and she pulled Rose up to stand. Yet no sooner were they steady on their feet, that green flames erupted before them. A strange woman appeared among the flames. Radiant Garden had some weird inhabitants and visitors, but Rose had never seen someone with horns, or dressed so darkly.
The strange woman pointed her dark staff at them, and both mother and child fell to their knees. They both quickly realized that they could not move from that position, either. The witch approached.
Standing tall, she looked down at Rose and her mother. Rose followed her mother's example by keeping her eyes down. The tall woman reached down with a clawed hand and pulled her mother's head up by the jaw. She seemed to be regaining her strength to fight back again. This caused the odd woman to frown.
"I have no use for this one." She stood straight again. Raising her staff slightly off of the floor, the strange woman brought it down hard, casting a dark spell on Rose's mother that caused her to fall and lay still.
Rose waited for her mother to move again, but she didn't. She then felt the clawed fingers grasp her jaw, forcing her to look the woman in her green face. "But this one will do."
Rose did not put up a fight that night, not even when a bulbous man appeared and picked her up on command and carried her into the castle. The girl continued to watch her mother lay on the floor. The man didn't take her far before dropping her in a closet. The witch had gone off after mentioning something about redecorating. Accompanied by a musty mop, Rose cried at last. She didn't even care when the man banged his fist on the door to quiet her. She cried louder.
There was no way to tell time in the dark closet, and luckily there were no monsters in it. Rose had eventually exhausted herself and gone to sleep. Hunger and thirst woke her some time afterward, and she whined, but the roaring noise on the other side of the door drowned it out. Still too tired to start crying again, Rose fumbled for the doorknob, eventually finding and pulling it.
The man snored loudly, slouched off to the side in his sleep. The door only opened partly due to the weight he had partially pushed against it, but luckily, Rose was small. She squeezed through and decided to explore.
She hoped that one of the guards had managed to fix everything. Aelus would most likely be the one. And where was her father in all of this? He had to be somewhere, in the process of ousting the witch and restoring order in his castle. His apprentices had to be with him. They would have things back to normal in no time.
It wasn't long before a monster appeared from the floor and snarled at Rose. Shrieking, she ran the other way. Perhaps that man would have enough mercy to protect her.
He was still sleeping, despite the screams of monster and child. If he woke from it, the pursuit had already past him. Rose stumbled a bit over all of the debris, but kept going. It may have been her home, but she felt lost in strange halls.
Rounding a corner, Rose smacked her face into something just as dark. She feared it was another monster, but the dark turned out to be fabric. Rose fell on her behind as the woman in the black robe stepped back.
"Begone!" She snapped at the monster, then to Rose. "What are you doing out?"
Huffing, Rose fumbled over words. She couldn't form any, and so balled her fists and threw herself into the woman's legs again. The woman easily kicked her back down.
"Is that any way to treat someone who has showed you considerable mercy?" She chided. Rose sat back up.
"I want my mom!"
"And you will see her—if you do as told."
Rose scrunched her face up. "Nu-uh! She's dead! You killed her!"
The woman smirked down at her. "Don't assume you understand my powers."
Taking a moment to think it over, Rose continued to pout up at the woman. Perhaps she was telling the truth, and her mother hadn't been killed. Merlin had always told Rose that magic could do countless things. But her mother had looked dead to her! Yet if she wasn't, then Rose had to behave in order to see her again, and they could fix all of this together. Though she wanted to wail and throw her little fists at the woman once more, she used all of her self-control to not do that.
"Okay." Rose agreed sullenly, with as much bitterness as a five-year-old could muster.
"That's a good girl. Now, you shouldn't be wandering these halls. The Heartless are always hungry, and I won't always be around to chase them off." The woman pointed out, holding out a long-fingered hand for the girl to take. Rose once again made a face, but took it, assuming it was another guideline to behave. Besides, it was better to walk around with someone that could scare monsters away. Perhaps she might even be fed herself.
"If they're so hungry all the time, why don't you feed them?"
Her snarky question, which Braig would have been proud of, earned a cackle from the woman. "If only it were so easy, but then they would stop being useful, my dear."
Rose perked up. "The guards could easily beat them! Aelus is a giant, so he could crush ten at once!"
She was cut off from praising Dilan and Braig for their specific talents, as the woman began laughing again. Granted, many who had heard Rose's claim about Aelus usually laughed, but it was particularly insulting when this woman did it. She didn't spend too long doing it, thankfully.
"Silly girl, they are gone. The Heartless took the hearts of everyone here, and I'm sure they will finish off the survivors in whatever world they may end up in." She waved it off, and Rose wished she and her mother had made it to her home. She wouldn't have to behave so much then.
"Even my dad?" It felt like she hadn't seen him in such a long time. Rose had last seen him when he read her a bedtime story, nights ago. He was able to do more things like that since he had stopped his experimenting.
The green woman shrugged. "Xehanort wanted to deal with him personally. I don't know what he has done."
"Xehanort?!" Rose snapped out of her gloom. She usually forgot about the newcomer apprentice; he had only been around for a year, and wasn't the most sociable of Ansem's apprentices. Even Even was more pleasant than him!
"Yes. He was the one who told me about this world, and a certain little princess that lives here." The woman was proud of her work. Rose scrunched her face up again. Before any more could be said, they came to the closet, and the man still sleeping. "Idiot!"
The man stirred, then sat up to wake the rest of the way.
"I'm not staying in a stinkin' closet." Rose pulled her hand away to cross her arms.
The woman was surprised by the sudden defiance. "Oh? Is that so?"
Rose stomped her foot. "Yeah!"
"Careful, girl. You wouldn't want to misbehave and never see your mother again-"
"I am behaving! I'm just not gonna stay in a closet!"
Her temper tantrum made the woman scowl. "Fine. Get up, you oaf!"
Rose was pulled along as the woman decided to plow forward. The man scurried to get up and follow after, muttering apologies and promises of better vigilance next time. He was ignored, and so were the various monsters they crossed paths with.
They came to a parlor, still a mess and filled with trunks of various sizes where the furniture was not placed. Rose was placed in a chair and told to stay put, to which she made another face. The woman took the man to another chest and began to explain simple instructions for his next task, and provided threats if he could not fulfill it. Rose was quickly bored with sitting, and instead found it easy to hide among the many trunks. She had to wonder what was inside them.
Some trunks had small noises in them. Those would obviously attract the woman's attention. Rose snuck around them before setting her sights on one box, closest to the door. It was the only one without a lock, too. She decided to be quick about it, but the lid was heavy. It took much effort to push it open, which took too much time as well. Luckily, the man was a complete fool, and the woman told him so a few times before making the instructions even simpler.
Inside were many old books, their spines showing both signs of wear and care. They were big titles that went over Rose's head. Instead, she focused on the shiniest thing in the trunk: a yellow star, with a small blue tail. It was slightly smaller than her head. Rose was compelled to pick it up.
"What are you doing?" The woman barked from across the room. The girl whipped around, star still in hand. "Put that back!"
Rose only held onto the star tighter. It gave her comfort. "What's it do?"
"Put it back or you'll never see your parents again!"
She held it closer to herself. "Yes I will! You're just an evil witchy alien lady!"
The woman began to approach. "My name is Maleficent and-"
Whatever she was about to say was lost as the star began to shine brighter and dash through a window in a flash, pulling Rose along with it.