"We were scared, but our fear was not as strong as our courage." -Malala Yousafzai


Elizabeth looked at the inside of what would be her new home with slight interest. It was bigger than her old one, that much was obvious, but she wasn't sure what to really think of it yet. Boxes were piled up in various parts of the house. Tables were all in odd places throughout the kitchen and dining area.

"OK, time for you and Eddy to find your rooms." Will threw the brightest smile he could at Eddy and Elizabeth. The siblings looked at each other for a moment before silently walking up the stairs. The rooms that stood out the most to them were on either side of a bathroom. There was another bedroom just across the hall, but it looked too small for either of them to sleep in.

"Which one do you want?" Elizabeth looked up at Eddy. He shrugged. "I could take whichever one you don't pick." Again, Eddy shrugged. Sighing, Elizabeth walked into the bedroom on the right of the bathroom. It looked decent enough, and it could be big enough for Elizabeth's things. "I'll take this one, is that OK?" Turning to look back at Eddy, Elizabeth sighed when she noticed he wasn't there.

I guess this is my room, then.

*тεεηαgεяs*

Will helped Elizabeth bring up some of her belongings, and since it was getting pretty late, it was agreed upon that all the heavy carrying would be done in the morning. For the meantime, the family would use their sleeping bags until the beds could be brought up.

Being too tired—and a little uncomfortable—to use the shower, Elizabeth changed into her pajamas and got her sleeping bag out. Laying out underneath the window of her room, Elizabeth laid down and looked at it. The sky looked a little cloudy, but she could see stars in certain little openings. It was relaxing. But there was still a part of Elizabeth that couldn't really sleep—not yet, at least.

Maybe I can at least try and enjoy myself. Frowning, Elizabeth threw one of her arms over her eyes. Amity Park could be a nice start...it doesn't seem too bad so far.

Sighing, Elizabeth rolled onto her side, strands of her dark auburn hair falling over her face. The house was quiet—really quiet. Elizabeth didn't have her alarm clock put in so she couldn't tell what time it was, though she knew it was late. Was everyone else sleeping? Or were they having a hard time sleeping, too? Did they miss Empire City as much as she did?

Letting out another sigh, Elizabeth rolled onto her back, her arms stretched out beside her.

Why don't you try that whole transforming thing again? Elizabeth's bluish-green eyes widened at the thought. She wasn't sure where the thought came from—well, she sort of did. The thought lingered in the back of her mind for a while. How did she do that while sleeping? How did she do it at all? If you concentrate, then you should be able to transform. Whatever it was you turned into... Elizabeth shook her head. She didn't want to transform! She'd been doing fine in just putting her weirdness aside. Will and Jeanne obviously had no intentions of wanting to talk about it; Eddy didn't even want anyone hinting at it. But...when she did turn...what exactly did she turn into? Part of her was curious, another was furious for even thinking about it.

Whatever's wrong with you, it's not going away, she thought solemnly. It's been going on for as long as you can remember. Quit pretending it isn't real just because the others are.

Pretending it wasn't happening had been the untold promise of the family. No doctors, no mentioning of whatever condition Elizabeth had—it was going to be kept silent and it was going to be ignored.

No matter how severe it got, apparently, a bitter part of Elizabeth thought.

Frowning deeply, Elizabeth raised her hands and looked at them carefully. Her skin was already pale, but whatever she turned into that night, her skin was even paler. Ghostly pale, at that. Not to mention the outfit she wore—Elizabeth had never been in clothes like that in her whole life. Where had that come from?

It came from that ring. That's what caused all of that.

The ring. The one that appeared around her waist. If Elizabeth—given if she really wanted to do what she was thinking of doing—could make that ring appear, then maybe that would be it!

*тεεηαgεяs*

Elizabeth had spent what felt like hours trying to make the ring appear. She had seen a flicker of what might have been the ring, but it flickered out before she could really start concentrating. After (probably) the millionth attempt, Elizabeth felt a flicker of excitement and fear when it appeared around her waist, bright but not too bright. It hovered around her waist—almost like an illuminating hula-hoop—before it started separating. In no time at all, the ring split in two, one half going upward while the other went downward.

It had Elizabeth hypnotized.

From where the separation had occurred, Elizabeth could see the clothing she had found herself in the night she was jolted awake. After a moment, the two rings started flickering, before the area that had changed glowed brightly, blinding Elizabeth for a moment. The altered area had gone back to normal.

*тεεηαgεяs*

Clockwork had to give her credit, Elizabeth had some guts to try and change again. The first time had been more of an accident on her part, but he knew that the more she became accustomed to the transformation, the easier it'd get. It amazed Clockwork on how long she'd managed to fight off her abilities. Fourteen years—while for most of it she wasn't even aware of what she was doing—of fighting off what she was. Elizabeth's adoptive family was hoping she'd be more...human, so she was trying to make herself more human. She couldn't hold it off much longer.

As much as he wanted to intervene somehow, Clockwork knew he couldn't. There were some things that were supposed to run their natural course. Elizabeth's awakening of her abilities happened to be one of them.

And so, until that happened, Clockwork would keep himself occupied on how the Fenton boy was doing.


(A/N):

Hey, sorry for the delay. I got sidetracked by responsibilities, but I will try not to keep you guys waiting for so long! I know that these first couple chapters might be a little boring (given it's just about Elizabeth and what she's going through), but I assure you, it'll pick up eventually. Have patience.

Do I own anything in the DP universe? Sadly, no.

Do you have OCs you'd like to have added to the story? Do you have a potential subplot you'd like to see written in? Leave a review or PM me. I know it's a little early to be asking questions like that, but there are some people who get really creative right away, so I thought I'd ask! Having the reviewers get creative on what they want written in is really important. Or if you just have some constructive criticism, don't hesitate to review (or PM if you want to).

Anyway, I'll leave the rest up to you guys. Let me know if there's anything to improve on.

Thank you,

Scarlet Tchaikovsky