The sound of the birds singing brought me out of a deep slumber. The smell of toast, eggs and bacon filled the air and my eyes flung open. I couldn't remember the last time I had a good full breakfast. I heaved my legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Very slowly, I tiptoed over to the door and gradually opened it. I peered through the crack. The hallway went straight forward and then turned ninety degrees right and out of my view. I opened the door another crack and popped my head out. In front of me was a long bright corridor covered with beautiful paintings. I stepped outside the room trying to get a better view of them. I had never seen such paintings. I glanced at the author's signature: Abhigyan. I continued to go down the hallway until I reached another door. I could hear murmurs behind it but I couldn't make out clearly what they were saying so I decided to just go in. I grabbed the handle and pulled it towards me. Standing in front of me was Oksana, looking perfectly immaculate. Thank God there weren't mirrors around. I'm sure my hair looked like a bird's nest. Feeling self-conscious, I passed my hands through it.

I looked around the small full equipped kitchen. With its yellow walls and white furniture, it looked perfectly cozy. Oksana saw my appraising gaze and smiled.

"Good morning Rose. Would you like some breakfast?" she asked lightly.

I hesitated. Could I trust this people to give me non-poisoned food? Clearly, if they'd wanted to kill me, they would've done it already while I was asleep and more vulnerable. Before I muster any type of answer, my stomach growled. Loudly. Oksana laughed.

"I'll take that as a yes."

I was actually really hungry. I hadn't eaten for at least a month and I was dying for a hamburger.

"Rose… If you don't mind me asking..." she sighed, and then stared deeply into my eyes before asking "Why were you last night in the forest?"

I wasn't going to tell her the truth. I couldn't even believe it myself, so I lied. "I just got lost." I knew from her face she didn't believe me one bit. I quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, what time is it?" Oksana sighed but left the subject.

"Eleven o'clock." realization crept into her face. "Oh God, I have to go to work. If you need anything, Mark is in the living room. We'll talk later. Bye!"

She patted me on the shoulder and sprinted out of the room before I even got a chance to open my mouth. I shrugged to myself and started devouring my breakfast. Actually, 'devouring' wasn't even close. I was practically inhaling my food. I was so focused in the task at hand I didn't notice Mark entering the room. He stared at me, amazed.

"Gosh, Rose," he said jokingly "did nobody ever feed you?"

It was actually a really bad joke. When he saw my pained expression, he seemed to notice this too.

"I'm sorry Rose. I don't know how I could have been so careless. I just don't know…" he seemed to look for words. "what you've been through."

I just nodded, accepting his apology, even if there was actually nothing he should worry about.

"Anyway," he continued, "I thought you should know that today we're going to a close friend's house for dinner. They've invited you too."

I didn't know what to respond to that. Oksana and Mark had already done so many things for me, kept me in their home, fed me… I couldn't use their friend's generosity too. It was just too much to ask for. Mark saw this.

"It's alright, you know, you don't have to answer straight away. You've got a couple of hours to decide. In the meantime, get yourself cleaned up." his eyes sparkled with amusement. "In all honesty, you look like shit."

I already knew this. Even without a mirror, I knew I had enormous bags under my red puffy eyes and my cheeks were tear-stained. And, I had to be as pale as a ghost. That's what staying up all night crying does to you. I stood up with my bowl about to start cleaning the table when Mark's hand stopped me. He gently took the bowl out of my hand and shook his head.

"Don't worry Rose. I'll clean everything up. Go get ready."

I gave him a grateful nod and left the kitchen. Back in the bedroom, I collected some plain clothes Oksana had lent me and went to the bathroom for a shower. I stripped off my clothes, and when I looked up, a small gasp escaped my lips. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. This was Rose Hathaway? My predictions about my appearance had been correct, but that wasn't all. From head to toe, I was filled with scars. Not simple barely noticeable scars, but all the opposite. Quite frankly, my body looked mutilated. There was no trace of the beautiful smooth olive skin I used to have. Used to, Rose. That was before all this happened. My internal voice was right. This was my life now, and I had to learn to live with it.

After all my mental and physical realizations, I took a long warm shower. Then, I changed into the clothes I had chosen, which covered my body from prying eyes. I combed my wild hair until it looked decent but didn't bother with make-up. I'd gotten out of practice with it. Not that I wanted to sound cocky or anything, but I didn't really normally need it. Still, that wasn't the main reason I had abandoned my beauty treatments. Anyway, I had other more important things to worry about. Like, would I really go to that dinner tonight? If not, could I stay alone in an unknown house till Mark and Oksana came back? That last question was a bit childish, but I couldn't help it. I wouldn't admit it to myself, but I was scared. What if he found me here and I was alone? What if- I stopped myself. I couldn't start thinking about what if's. They didn't lead me anywhere other than mental and very graphic gruesome pictures. I needed to clear my head. What did I want to do? Understanding slapped me in the face. Because, I, after two years of being unable to, wanted to dance.

A/N

So... Rose wants to dance. Interesting. Leave me a review on your thoughts! Thanx :-)