A few weeks later and with only a few trunks Tommy moved Ashley and himself into the house of Lady Katherine who lived on the edge of the wealthiest part of the Kerovian colony. Upon first stepping foot into the house Ashley was introduced to six year old Kendrix and five year old Maya.
Upon Kendrix seeing the three small trunks that Ashley had she stuck her nose up, "Is that all you have? Mommy said you were rich."
"I am rich with my Papa's love; we didn't bring much because we were moving into your house. And Earth styles are a lot different from Kerovian ones, so Daddy, sold most of my other stuff in order to buy me lots of new stuff here." Ashley stuck her nose up as well.
"Tommy! What a pleasure to have you here!" Katherine smiled as she kissed Tommy on the lips.
Ashley cringed and held close to Tommy but she trusted her Papa and knew that everything would be alright.
After being shown to her new room which was large and filled with lovely things that Katherine had bought to make this seem like home. Ashley looked for a hiding place for the necklace; she didn't want her new sister's to take it to play with. Climbing up the stairs she found an old maids room in the back corner of the attic. The air was dusty but the attic room looked more like home to her then this fancy place. With a smile she found a loose floor board behind a cracked wash basin and upon lifting it up she found that it made a very good hiding spot.
The next few days were wondrous as the whole city celebrated the marriage of Lady Katherine and Tommy. There were great parties and in the distance she caught her eye on the son of the Lord Jason's Son. Kendrix and Maya giggled when they saw her looking, "Keep dreaming the only thing higher then him is the Prince himself, He even goes to a different school then we do and we go to one of the richest school's in the whole Colony."
"Like I would ever believe a story like that! Ashley sighed, "Your Mother is just the head of the housekeeping section of the government. She hardly has any real rank at all and I bet she paid all these people to come to her wedding."
Kendrix lunged at Ashley, "You lie just like your father lies, he told us you were very rich! If Momma wasn't such an honorable woman she would never have continued on with this marriage.
Tommy came between the two of them, "Girls, I know this is a rush for the two of you but can you learn to get along? My Ashley is a very nice girl and she just wants to be accepted as your new sister. Ashley hugged Tommy and sent him back to Katherine.
A month later Ashley was trying to settle in and get along with her new sister's however they were making it quite hard and Tommy was away every few nights. While he was away they were mean to her but when he was home they were sweet as pie to her. Katherine also showed some indifference to Ashley when Tommy wasn't around. Many times she just wanted to put on her fanciest dress on and drag out her necklace but she remembered Trini's words and knew that she shouldn't show just anyone her Mom's treasure.
One day a messenger came with news that there had been an accident and her father had died in it. She fell to the ground and sobbed.
A law enforcement person came to the house afterwards and handed over a message. "Thomas Oliver was pulled out of the wreck alive however he died shortly after but before doing so he made me write down a last message.
"To My dearest Katherine, I am sorry I could not provide you with what you most desired but I ask you to please take care of my little angel. If you are indeed kind to her she just may reward you when her trust fund kicks in upon her twentieth birthday."
The officer then turned to Ashley, "Your father also had a special message for you."
"Ashley My darling angel, the world grows dark to me but I love you and all I see is your face though your Mother is coming to greet me and she wants you to know that you are very well Loved and we will always be watching you from up in heaven. If you ever are in any trouble know that we are watching out for your safety."
After the Officer left Katherine stood up and crossed her arms, "I guess I can't send you little wretch off or else I will never see the money Thomas promised me. Kendrix help Ashley move to the attic. She may have to live under our roof but she doesn't have to live in class like we do. The Maid's quarters ought to be perfectly suited to such a young wretch like her."
Ashley stood for a minute in disbelief and as she turned away she heard Katherine mutter something,
"It is such a shame too. She is so young and already an orphan. If bad luck didn't befall her so much I could possibly marry her into a family with good money to get some recognition for myself, but no one wants a girl who has good looks that is an orphan and is poor as a rock, not to mention an orphan that killed her own mother."
Ashley pounded the wall as she stormed up the stairs.
"Mind your temper child; I don't need to let you stay in this house. You are to be seen and not heard understand that?"