A/N: I don't own it!! Now on with the fic!
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Ebony hair waved in the wind as the girl leaned out the window of her boarding school. "Cassandra? You should get to sleep," her roommate yawned as she got up and joined her at the window.
"I can't sleep. I'm nervous…" she whispered, her brown gaze not wavering from the moon.
"You've got those nerves again? Cassandra, you sure that you don't have some chemical imbalance or something?"
"Yes, Ashley. I am perfectly stable." Pale red lips curved slightly as she cast a small smile to her friend before returning to the moon.
"Then head to the nurse, girl. This isn't healthy!" Ashley said matter-of-factly as she hugged the pale girl and headed back to bed. "I'm going back to bed. You should go to bed in the first place…"
"I will Ashley…" Cassandra whispered looking down at the gates. The clock in the hall chimed midnight as the gates opened and a sleek black car pulled through them. This caught her attention. "Papa?" she breathed, trying to focus on the man that got out. It was too dark to tell anything else than it was a man. She sighed and went to lie down.
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"Mr. Luthor! What can I do for you?" asked the head mistress.
"I'm here for my ward, Mrs. Hartford," Lex replied.
"At midnight sir? Beg your pardon but this is a bit sudden and –"
"Just call Cassandra down here with some of her things. I will send for the rest later," he interrupted.
"Yes, sir," Mrs. Hartford responded turning to her assistant and nodding. The woman left towards the dormitories. Ten minutes later Cassandra was walking quickly to Lex's side. "Goodbye Cassandra."
"Goodbye Madame," Cassandra said with a small curtsey as Lex took her bags and they left the school. "What are you doing here Papa?" she asked when they were safe in Lex's car.
"You didn't need to be there," he told her as they sped down the road.
"But Lex, my Momma said that it would be better for me to be in the school," she said looking at him.
"Cassandra, it would have been when your mother was alive. Or your father was alive for that matter, but neither are and you should stay with me," he said pulling onto another part of the highway.
"Why did you change your mind, Papa Lex?" she asked looking back out the window. When he was first made her guardian he visited her every holiday and her birthday and some weekends but said that he was too much a party boy to properly care for her at his house.
"Dad sent me to Smallville and I reformed some of my bad boy ways. Besides, you weren't happy there. Your letters and calls said so," he explained.
"Where is this Smallville Papa?" the girl squinted trying to read road signs as they sped by in the dark.
"Near Metropolis, Cassie. It's a very small town. Nostalgia's big and so are families. You'll like it there… I hope. I live in the castle."
"I remember the pictures you showed me," Cassie said with a yawn. "I thought Momma had family in Smallville…"
"I don't remember anything about it," Lex said making a quick gear change as they neared the off ramp to Metropolis and Smallville.
"A brother of hers that she didn't talk to once she went to work for you and your father… his name was John or something…" she said yawning again.
"Try to stay awake till we make it home, Cassie," Lex smiled as she nodded tiredly and fell asleep anyway. He chuckled and shook his head lightly as they entered the town and headed towards the castle.
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"Clark! What are you doing here so early?" Lex asked as the tall boy walked into his study with a grin in place.
"I drove Mom over here so she could catch the helicopter with your dad instead of driving to Metropolis," Clark answered. "I thought I'd come in and say hi."
"Hello," Lex said with a smile as he shuffled through papers. "Have a seat, Clark. I'm not so busy that I have no time for my best friend." Clark sat in a chair across from the desk.
"What had you out late last night Lex?"
"What are you talking about?" Lex asked looking up.
"I saw your car from my bedroom window last night. It was about two or something when you dove by. You'd been out since that after noon. I was curious since you hadn't mentioned it," Clark explained not meeting Lex's gaze.
"I had to take care of some personal business out of town. Did I miss some big event that I had no prior knowledge of?" the older man asked glancing up and seeing Cassandra watching from the upper part of the library.
"No, nothing happened. I just noticed your car is all," Clark said. "So why are you working on a Saturday Lex?" he asked changing the subject.
"Just getting some extra work done is all," Lex answered.
"I thought you were already ahead, Lex."
"Never hurt anyone to keep ahead," Lex said absently putting the papers away. "Something else on your mind Clark?"
"Oh, uh, no."
"You seem uneasy this morning."
"You seem so as well," Clark countered leaning back.
"Touché."
"I better be heading back. Dad wants me to do the produce delivery today. I'll see you later, Lex."
"Bye Clark. See you this afternoon." Clark waved and smiled, slightly, as he took his leave. Cassandra came down to Lex's desk and stood before it.
"Good morning Papa. Who was that?" she asked.
"That was my friend Clark Cassie. How are you this morning?"
"Fine sir. When is breakfast?"
"Are you hungry Cassie? And you know the sir isn't necessary."
"I am hungry Papa. And you know that I get that from habit. The school was strict on manners and such."
"Come on, Cassie. Let's get you some breakfast," he said getting up and leading her to the dining room.
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"Good Morning Clark!" Chloe said coming up the stairs to the loft.
"Morning Chloe," Clark said coming over to greet her. "What's up?"
"You wouldn't believe it if you didn't hear it from me," she said with a grin. "Last night, a bomb went off that that really fancy girls' boarding school just up state. They say it was a bomb, but they haven't found any evidence of the bomb itself. I mean, the dormitories are totally piles of rubble and they're pulling survivors out still."
"And you think someone used some meteor freak power to blow up the building?"
"Well yes but, guess who had a ward there that isn't there now because she was removed at midnight."
"Who Chloe?"
"Lex Luthor. He had a ward in the school, but she was picked up from there at midnight. I couldn't find by who but-"
"By Lex. His car was on the road last night at two am driving by the farm and the only people who have driven that car besides him are the ones who park it for him."
"Okay, then that's one mystery solved. The next is the whole bomb thing. And why did Lex pick her up so late yesterday? Did he know about the bomb or something?"
"I don't know but he seemed kinda weird this morning when I was over there…" Clark mused.
"How so?" she asked sitting down on the couch.
"He seemed like he was trying to keep himself occupied with something. Sorta like he was trying to make it seem like any other day," Clark said. "It's hard to put my finger on it really."
"Maybe the girl was in the house when you were there. Did you see anything out of the ordinary?"
"Nope. Everything was normal really. Well, normal for the castle."
"I understand. Well, if you find out anything about the girl, let me know. I'll see what kind of digging I can do on the school."
"Okay Chloe." She waved as she left all smiles.
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"PAPA! Did you see the news?!" Cassandra asked running into the study in a panic.
"No, what is it Cassie?" Lex asked standing.
"ASHLEY! The school, the dormitories blew up, Papa! Ashley was still there! I have no clue if she's okay or not! Papa I'm so worried about her! Lex what am I to do?" she asked sobbing into her hands and sinking to her knees.
"Was Ashley your roommate?" Lex asked kneeling beside her. He received a nod.
"She was my best friend, the one that really understood me, Lex… What am I to do if she's gone?" Cassandra asked sobbing into his dark gray sweater.
"I don't know, Cassie…" he told her honestly as she sobbed. He stroked her hair trying to calm her a bit. He tried to do all he could for her so she wouldn't end up a Luthor, and in turn, she had always taught him how to be fully human. "Come on, you should get some rest. I'll call up to the school and see what I can find out about Ashley…" Cassie nodded and went to her room, still crying.
Lex dialed the number for the school quickly and spoke with the sheriff, who was trying to monitor the calls coming and going from the school. Ashley was still missing apparently. Lex thanked him and hung up. He sighed and leaned back in the chair before getting up and pouring himself a glass of brandy. This wasn't how things were supposed to be for little Cassie…
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"'Dear Diary, Ashley maybe gone… How am I supposed to face that?! How am I supposed the face the fact that my best friend, maybe gone? Papa Lex is calling to find out what he can. I feel so sorry for Papa… He only wants the best for me, but everytime he tries something bad happens. Maybe, maybe I should try and find my uncle so that I won't cause anymore trouble for him… No, I'd miss him too much to leave him like that…'" Cassandra paused her writing and sighed. She got up from her chair and walked onto her balcony. A truck pulled up to the service entrance; she leaned over and looked, ever curious. "Uncle John?" she asked as the man climbed out as did Clark and they brought a load of fresh produce into the kitchen area. She ran to her desk and shuffled through a box of old photos.
"Ashley, Becky, Nikki, Angelica, Hope, Angel, Heaven and her boyfriend Mitch," she said going through them. "Momma and Uncle John with his wife Martha!" she said triumphantly. She studied the picture carefully there were two kids in the background; a little boy with black hair chasing a girl with black hair. The girl was herself; the dress was one she knew she owned. It was on an old doll of hers in one of the trunks in the garage. She carefully tucked the photo into the pocket of her apron and walked towards the library to ask Lex if he recognized the people in the picture from around here.
"I'll be out in five minutes Dad," Clark was saying with his back to her. She looked around and hid behind a suit of armor before he saw her. She always had been small. "I'm just gonna say hi to Lex."
"Hurry son we've still got a lot to deliver," Jonathan said turning to get more cartons from the truck. Cassandra carefully followed Clark, who stopped a couple of times as if he heard her but she ducked into rooms each time. He stopped and went to turn around again and Cassie made herself scarce in the closet and held her breath. Just a moment later Clark opened the door and looked at her funny.
"Why are you following me?" he asked with a weird look on his face. Cassandra ducked under his arm and ran into the study and behind Lex who was a bit startled.
"Cassandra? Clark! What's going on?" he asked looking between the two.
"I was coming in to say hello and found her following me," Clark explained eyeing Cassandra who hid behind Lex's chair.
"Cassandra." She emerged just enough to stand beside Lex's chair.
"Yes?" she asked quietly.
"This is my best friend Clark," Lex explained. "Clark, this is my ward Cassandra Sambora."
"How do you do," she said curtseying slightly.
"Fine, Cassandra. And you?"
"I'm fine," Cassandra whispered. Lex looked to her but she kept her eyes on the floor before her.
"The produce is in the kitchen and I'll stop by sometime later, if that's okay," Clark said to Lex.
"Sure, Clark. It would be nice to be able to sit and chat for a while," Lex said as his friend took his leave. "Why were you following Clark?"
"I didn't mean to follow him Lex," she said as Clark closed the door. "I just didn't want to look like I was following him, so I hid everytime he turned around. I knew it was Clark, but I was nervous I guess… I'm sorry Lex…" she explained bowing her head.
"It's alright, Cassie. Clark is just a very good friend of mine; he's saved me from death a few good times. There's no reason to be worried about him." Cassie nodded and pulled out the picture, handing it to Lex.
"Do you know them, Lex? It's my uncle and his wife."
"It's the Kents…" Lex said looking up at her.
"They still live near here then?" she asked. "I thought that maybe I could see them and you know, know my family I have left…" she said her voice fading when she looked at his face.
"Cassandra, Clark is their son." Her eyes widened.
"You mean, that little boy is Clark," she asked.
"What little boy?" She pointed to the two kids behind the adults playing. "Yes I think that it is Clark."
"Is it a good idea to talk to them?" she asked.
"If you want to Cassandra, we can tell Clark when he comes over again later," Lex said.
"Yes, sir. I would like that. Lex, could we bring in some of my old trunks? I mean, my dolls and books and such are still there, correct?" she asked. Lex chuckled; having a young girl around would make the days much more interesting.
"Of course. I'll have them brought into your room. When you're hungry be sure to go to the kitchen and have something made for you." She nodded and followed Lex as he went to have the trunks brought in.
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"Clark!" Chloe called as he entered the Talon. "Hey, did you find anything when you saw Lex earlier?" she asked him quietly.
"I met his ward. She's such a small, frail thing. She looks about ten, but if I'm thinking of the correct school, she'd have to be at least twelve. And her name is Cassandra Sambora," Clark said. "Be right back," he told her as he went to get a more of the produce from the truck and taking it into the back room. "So what do you have? Dad's got some errands in town so I have some time to kill here."
"Well, there's only one girl that is unaccounted for. Her name is Ashley Harroldson. Guess, who she roomed with," Chloe said sitting down and motioning or Clark to do the same.
"Cassandra."
"Bingo. So maybe Ashley knew something or they were after Cassandra in the first place. But, still no proof of how the building exploded or anything like that but she's the only one still missing. Any ideas?" she asked.
"Not one really. It's just Cassandra looked like some little doll in a way. She had on a green dress with a little apron and little dress shoes. She was so well mannered and she seemed like she was afraid of me," Clark said.
"If she's as small as you're implying, you might be a little intimidating. You are kinda tall Clark."
"Yeah well. I don't know… She was really pale too. Pale with real dark hair and big dark brown eyes. It was like she was some sort of porcelain doll."
"Maybe she's sick or something," Chloe suggested.
"I don't know. She just seemed real fragile. If Lex thinks something might happen to Cassandra, that would explain why he's so up tight."
"Well, keep me posted on what you find out, and I'll keep you updated with mine. Right now I'm going to see if my friend up north sent me anymore news," she said standing with a smile. "Later Clark!"
"Later Chloe." Clark sat and thought a moment before leaving the Talon and meeting his dad at the truck.
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Cassandra hummed to herself as she pulled out dolls and arranged them on shelves. Lex had stopped in to check on her and found her happily at play with her porcelain friends. She kneeled next to another trunk and opened it, blowing a layer of dust off the top of the books. She smiled. Here were some of the music books her mother had given her when she died. Cassandra took extra care as she pulled the books out and placed them neatly on the bookshelf. She reached in and found it was the bottom. "That can't be right," she murmured eyeing the chest carefully. "The bottom is much too high…" she felt for a loose side and found it. "Oh, come on!" she said as she pulled with all her strength. "Oof!" she exhaled sharply as she landed with a thud against another trunk. She sat up and rubbed her back as she made her way back to the chest. "Wow…" Inside was a beautiful mirror and comb set. She pulled them out and found a whole outfit that was just her size; shoes, dress, stockings, jewelry. Everything was perfect for her. She ran her hand carefully over the jewelry box, the velvet wonderfully soft under her touch. She pulled it out and opened it and found a letter on the top. She read the front, "Jonathan." She blinked a moment. Her father's name was Miguel, being he was a Spaniard. Who was Jonathan? "Uncle John!" She opened it, since it was unsealed. As she read her pale face grew paler her eyes wider. "Oh God…" she said getting up and running out of the room calling for Lex loudly.
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"He's outside Miss Cassandra," the cook said when Cassandra reached there ten minutes late.
"PAPA LEX!" she called running out the door. Lex turned from where he was walking in the garden to see the girl running up to him, cheeks red from the exertion. "Papa, you have to read this!" she panted handing it to him. "I found it in a jewelry box. It's from Momma to Uncle John.."
"I think we'll have to go and see the Kents later. Are you okay with this?" he asked. She went to nod, but then shook her head raven hair tossed to the wind of the nearing storm. She latched onto his waist.
"I don't want to go! Don't send me away Papa!" she said tears forming in her eyes. Lex peeled her from his waist and knelt down to be eye-level with her.
"What do you want Cassandra?" he asked her.
"I want to stay with you, Papa Lex. I know that they are my family, but I'd miss you too much…For eight years, I haven't seen them or heard from them. I knew you and well… I know you. I don't want to start over Papa…" she said quietly.
"Then you can stay here. But, we will have to talk with Jonathan Kent. I want you to know your family, Cassandra. They would love to know you," Lex said standing. "Come on inside before it rains." Cassandra nodded and followed him inside.
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Cassandra sat on her bed and looked out the window at the storm. 'Why is there rain now?' she thought bitterly. 'It will set them back at the school if it's raining up there… And it's so utterly depressing…' She walked over to the balcony and took a deep breath before opening the doors and exhaling it, creating a great wind that blew the storm over. "It was raining too much. It would have flooded the roads and Clark couldn't come over," she muttered shutting the doors after making the water get off her carpet and onto the stone of the balcony.
"Cassandra!" She turned and went to the hall door and opened it.
"Yes, Lex?" she called.
"It's time for dinner," he said appearing at the top of the stairs with a smile.
"What are we having?" she asked skipping to his side and taking his hand. Her smile didn't waver as she asked; "Did you see? The rain stopped and the sky is so pretty now!" Lex agreed and told her what they were having leading the young girl down the stairs.
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"That was really weird huh Dad?" Clark asked his father as they walked onto the porch and looked at the sky.
"Very weird," Jonathan agreed. "There's not a single storm cloud in the sky…"
"Is it okay if I go over to Lex's later Dad?" Clark asked as they headed towards the barn.
"Why are you going over for a third time Clark?" his father asked, glancing at him from the tractor.
"Well, Lex seems to need someone to talk to and he is my friend. And each time I didn't have long to stay," he explained lifting the tractor so his dad could change the tire. "And I want to get to know his little ward."
"Ward?" Jonathan asked, nodding to him to put the tractor down.
"Yeah, her name's Cassandra. She's a really small, pale, frail thing. Like a porcelain doll or something," he explained.
"What do you know about her son?"
"Nothing but her name, Dad… Why?"
"Nothing, Clark. It's nothing. Sure. Go ahead on over after dinner," he said putting a hand on his shoulder and smiling.
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"Cinderella dressed in yellow, went downstairs to kiss a fellow, how many kisses did she take? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight," Cassandra continued to count as she jumped her rope out in the front gardens. She could see the drive, thus, could see when Clark came. She wanted to make up for her earlier actions. "Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen." The gates opened and she looked up, and caught her foot in the rope tripping her to her knees.
"Ouch!" she picked herself up and dusted off. The truck pulled up to the front of the castle and Clark climbed out. "Clark!" she called running over to him with a grin. "Hello," she said with a curtsey.
"Hello, Miss Sambora," he returned bowing to her. "What are you doing out here? It's still wet."
"I was bored and didn't want to skip rope in the house," she explained presenting the rope to him.
"How about I escort you in, and you show me to where Lex is?" Clark asked holding out a hand and smiling at her.
"I would be honored, Mr. Kent," she said taking his hand and walking with her head high towards the door. "Lex is in the library. He was playing pool when I went outside," she told him as they neared the room.
"Why, thank you for your company," Clark said bending down to kiss her hand causing her to giggle.
"Thank you for yours kind sir," she said curtseying again and opening the door for him. "Lex, Clark is here."
"Clark, I'm glad you and Cassandra are getting along," the man smiled to his friend.
"It's not hard," Clark said smiling to the girl.
"Cassandra," Lex said looking at her. "What happened to your dress?"
"Oh," she said looking down and blushing slightly. "I kinda tripped while skipping…" she said quietly.
"It'll come out, don't worry." Cassandra looked up with a small smile. "So Clark, how are things going?" Lex asked his friend as Cassandra left the room, presumably to change her dress.
"Fine I guess… Dad's getting used to mom not being around as much and stuff," Clark said sitting on the couch.
"How's his leg doing?" Lex asked. "Does he still have the limp?"
"No. He's perfectly fine now… physically. But I know it's really hard on him that Mom isn't always there to help with the chores and stuff like she had been before… Not that he'll say anything to her about it."
Lex nodded. He'd never admit it, but he felt a little guilty, his father was blind because of him and then Martha Kent became his secretary to help him. He'd feel more guilty if Clark was the one that missed her most though… They both sat there, almost at a loss of what to discuss before a scream came from upstairs. Lex was out the door quicker than Clark had ever seen.
"CASSANDRA?!"
"AIIEE! LEX HELP!" The two men raced up the stairs and pulled her door open, ducking when something whizzed by their heads. "MAKE IT STOP!" Cassie's voice told them. Clark looked around and saw her huddled under the desk looking terrified as dolls, books, shoes, and various toys flew around the room. She held tightly onto a doll as if it were her only lifeline.
"Lex, she's under the desk!" Clark said, pulling his friend closer to him so that he wouldn't get hit with a book. The bald man looked and saw her. He moved to take a step closer to her before things changed their paths and came flying at him Clark pulled him out of the way roughly before he was smashed.
"DON'T TOUCH CASSANDRA!" a voice bellowed at him.
"What the?" Lex asked. Suddenly a figure began to form in the middle of the room as things went flying around.
"STOP! PLEASE STOP!" Cassandra yelled to the figure.
"I'm not going to let him hurt you, Cassie! You are not going to become some evil, demented monster like him!" the voice cried as a girl was now seen. She was about thirteen with dark skin. Her eyes were glowing a deep, rich green. "I can't believe you let him take you! It's his fault anyway!" she yelled at the small girl as she sobbed into her doll. The girl turned her eyes onto Lex. "You can NOT take away Cassie. I'm her only hope to stay human. Unlike you!" she spat.
"STOP IT ASHLEY!" Cassie cried moving from her hiding spot. "Lex has been nothing but good to me!"
"So he can pull you in and turn you into a mindless drone of evil!"
"Lex cares more about Cassandra than anyone else as far as I know and he's my best friend," Clark put in. Cassie moved very slowly towards the two men before Ashley noticed.
"NO CASSIE!" she yelled holding up a hand and enveloping Cassie in a green bubble.
"Ashley! Ashley let me out!" cried the small girl terrified banging on the sides of it. "Ashley, please!!"
"I didn't want to punish you Cassie, dear but you wouldn't listen to me… So I had to. Too bad you told me everything huh? I know you are ungodly claustrophobic, and I hate to use it against you…but you left me with no choice…. You don't need this reminder of the monster anymore," she said as the doll flew from a sobbing Cassie and fell to the floor.
"Put Cassandra down this minute!" Lex barked at Ashley moving towards her.
"No. Say goodbye, dear!" Ashley said before the two of them disappeared.
"CASSANDRA!" Lex rushed to the spot where Cassie's bubble had been. Clark ran to the balcony and tried to see if there was any sign of them. Lex kneeled down and picked up the doll. It was an exact replica of Cassie. He'd ordered it made especially for her on her fifth birthday and the small girl had cherished it dearly since.
"There's no sign of them outside, Lex…" Clark told him gently.
"Then we'd better report a kidnapping to the police then shouldn't we?" Lex asked looking up at him. His eyes showed great fear for the small girl. Clark nodded and followed him downstairs and into his car. "You don't have to come along right now you know.."
"Yeah I do, Lex… Yeah I do…"
"Very well…" Lex said after a brief pause as they pulled away from the mansion and headed into town.
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A/N: mel: well there is the first chapter of my first Smallville fic!
Dai: I think it's weird….
Yama: Ditto…
Takepon: Get over it… I like it.
Pietro: ….. please review, thank you in advance.