OOOh another character doth appear.

Just to all those impatient Bladebreaker fans. They are on their way chapter seven. After all it wounldn't be a good fan fic without them

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade, if i did there wouldn't be much point in writin a fan fic bout is because i could just make it a reality.

Chapter 5 - Rienna Sassi

Rienna was proud of her name, it was slightly mysterious and snazzy, and it rolled off the tongue with fervour – to put all words into one, it suited her 'perfectly'. So, you might say that that was a little over the top, or something only someone full of themselves might say, but then you have figured out Rienna Sassi. But, she was often quick to say, you had to say it properly; this would normally result in poor souls, becoming stuck with a name-pronouncing lesson.

Rienna would only answer her name called in one way, and one way only – it was pronounced 'sarsay', not 'sassy' or 'saysie', as was the favourite of some of the girls in her dormitory.

The dormitory was long and thin, just like the paint peeling off the walls, and the tattered curtains fluttering on the inside of the broken windows. There was no light made artificially, but candles were an option – if you could acquire a candle. Rienna always stole one from the local church, when they went for the one visit, the advent service, every year. It would not be true to say that all the girls were Christian, but it did something to help the image of Ms Bumblebottle – or Bumblebottom, as Rienna would say, behind her back of course.

There was a certain rumour going around Ms Bumblebottle's Girls' Home, which included the fact that Ms Bumble had never actually been married, but was only pretending to ever have been so for her own reasons. She wanted to portray herself as an old widow, who had lost everything, and now offered the last years of her life, to watching over the girls she now cared for. Ms Bumble was quick to snap up the gossip, and had no doubt where it had all started. There was only one girl with an attitude to brave that type of talk:

Rienna Sassi.

Rienna was a sneaky and sarcastic individual, who was too loud for her own good. Such traits, as having a mouth the size of the Grand Canyon, were not wise on a girl of Rienna's line of work – or future line of work in any case. Although many of the girls even wondered how she could even manage to create a sense of irony, for she was, at times, rather dense.

You may have begun to guess, by now, that Ms Bumblebottle's Girls' Home was actually, in truth, an orphanage – and it was a world within itself. It was a dog eat dog, hunt or be hunted world, and the most popular phrase of all time was 'look after number one'. Rienna had lived in this place, and in this way, for as long as she could remember, and made quite sure that all her time and effort was put towards her well being – she believed to be neither her business, nor her duty to take care of anyone, but herself.

In other words, she was as selfish as they came, but within reason.

And so it is, at this time, when I will first introduce you to her; where she was busy telling hushed ghost stories in the gloom of the dormitory twilight, to a naïve group of young girls, which shared the beds that lay at the sides. You may have thought this to be an act, of which intended to help develop friendships by the last of the flickering advent candlelight, but Rienna had a more sinister purpose.

'…And then the jaws of the hideous beast dragged his limp and mutilated body, down the deserted streets and, into the hostile darkness of the night – the full moon a silent witness to the monstrosity, which had passed under its sickly yellow lantern…' Rienna paused abruptly, taking her head back, to watch the faces of her terrified audience, their eyes wide in horror, mouths hanging open in fearful wonderment, as they unconsciously clung to each other.

Rienna had to stop herself from breaking into hysterical laughter; the looks on their faces was gold dust – she thought about her story for a moment, before deciding to add the one affect she had be considering since she had first heard it: 'And they say that every night, when the moon is full, the werewolf hunts its next victim, and you know what? Come closer…' she waved her hand commandingly towards herself, and the girls obeyed as one, entranced by her words. 'It is also said that in the last full moon, this very building was heard to have a strange howling emitting from the deep chambers in the basement. But those who know the truth and have heard the real story, know that it is really the 'Big Black Wolf'!'

The ending gave the desired affect; a few girls flew off the bed, screamed and then hid jumped under the duvet, finding sanctuary there. While others, too terrified to speak, tumbled onto the floor, and crawled beneath the bed frames. All around a cacophony of whimpering and wailing began to grow, accompanied by the groans of the older girls, who were busy trying to sleep:

'Shut up!' 'Keep it down!' 'Shh…Ms Bummblebottle will hear!' 'Rienna is that you again!?'

Rienna smiled at her handiwork, as a large thumping sound, started from beneath the floor. 'Oh my God! It's the Big Black Wolf!' screamed a girl, who shivered, in her huddled position on the floor.

'Yeah and it's called an angry Ms Bumblebottle, armed with a broomstick. Now shut up, and go to sleep!' Grumbled one of the other girls, slightly miffed at having being woken up. Rienna shot her a look, the older girl was unintentionally comforting the young ones; she wanted the young girls as scared as possible, it made them cluster tighter together, like a herd of spooked sheep.

Ms Bumblebottom ceased her attack from the bottom floor, and threw the cracking broomstick, she had been hitting the ceiling with, into a mouldy corner. Those girls could be so rowdy, was it a crime to get a decent night's sleep around here anymore?

Right now, Rienna was planning for her beauty sleep. Her plan has worked better than she had expected, this time, and she congratulated herself with her story telling. She thought she rather deserved to rest in a double bed tonight, and hummed triumphantly out loud, as she pulled one single bed over to meet with another, halfway across the room. She grinned sadistically as she watched the curled up, wary figures of the girls settle down for the night – they would not be moving anytime soon.

She sighed in contentment, flopping onto her back, and into the rock hard mattress. She did not notice the stiffness of her joints, or even if she had she would not have cared, she was use to it. She then spent time familiarising herself with the patterns on the ceiling, where paint had been plastered on, and had not dried properly. It reminded her of a sailor, examining the map of stars that covered the black blanket of the midnight sky. She let her mind wander, and imagined herself in a comfy room. The mind room was spacious and warm; a soft fluffy carpet basked lazily on the floor, and a fire burned gently amidst the dying embers. The bed was squishy, and sunk low to accommodate her weight, the velveteen and silk material pressing reassuringly into her back…

'Rienna…Rienna…Rienna?' a voice called her back from her inner world, and pulled her back into the real one, like a sudden plunge from a steamy sauna and into an ice cold bath. She realised that one of the smaller girls was calling her attention.

'Huh? What? Yep?' Rienna replied, startled from her reverie.

'Rienna…is it true?' Asked the small girl asked hesitantly.

'What true?' She was lost, two minutes after her story, and she had already lost the plot – it was just the type of thing for Rienna to forget so quickly.

'You know…' The small girl whispered, her eyes large and round.

'Know what?' Rienna frowned, annoyed. Patience was not her virtue. That much was true.

'You know…about it…the…the…thing.' the girl tried desperately to explain her meaning to the other, older one. She feared to even mention what it was.

'It?' Rienna growled in an aggravated voice, she was not in the mood for guessing games.

'You know…the…the…'

'For God's sake, stop whining and spit it out girl!' Rienna had lost it now; no one, but no one, disturbed Rienna Sassi, when Rienna Sassi was in non-disturb (better known as sleep) mode.

The younger girl whimpered and gulped, before mentioning, 'the 'Big Black Wolf!'' she exclaimed in an almost inaudible voice, which was evidently heard by the surrounding occupants, as mounds in duvets shook.

Taken by surprise, Rienna's eyes popped open, and she sat up abruptly. Noticing her own flustering, she then settled back down, and nonchalantly replied, 'Oh yeah, yeah…I've seen 'im with me own eyes. 'Es a big one aright, got these 'uge blood red eyes, massive paws the size of er…Ms Bumblebottom's er…what 'em posh peoples called 'em? Posteriaars or somesuch. And 'is mouth is always drippin' with drool. Yeah…that's 'im.' Rienna nodded when she was satisfied with her description of the male werewolf.

Frightened enough as she was, the girl grew more curious, as the description of the beast grew; perhaps this was past her better judgement, however. She dared to ask the great Rienna Sassi a question, as a thought flitted across her mind, 'How'd ya know it was a him?'

Rienna sat up slowly, before looking at the girl with a sideways glance. She rolled her eyes and scrunched up her nose as she answered; 'Work the grey squishy thing betwee' yer ears, and use yer imagination, kid. How'd yer think?'

The younger girl tilted her head to the side, confused; it was obvious that she had no idea what Rienna was going on about. She turned back, and lay down, and cuddled her frightened bed-buddy. Rienna was too confusing to fathom, and demanded too much effort and time to do so. Sometimes Rienna made perfect sense, and at other times she was as impossible as a riddle to solve – we already know is quite difficult. It would not be long before the new, young girls would learn that Rienna Sassi liked it that way.

Rienna plonked herself back down, and then sprawled her limbs luxuriously out on her custom made bed; it was good to have space for a night. She half smiled into the gloom of the dormitory light, before the last of the advent candle spluttered out of existence; maybe one day she would be lying in a proper four-poster…just like Annie from…er…'Annie'. For tonight she allowed a trickle of hope to drip into her soul, perhaps one day she would be free from the dormitory, and perhaps that day was closer than she thought. But until then, she had her bed fit for a dormitory queen, and her dreams of a better life, such as the dreams she was slowly drifting into now…

And the silent shapes, which shuddered under the surrounding blankets, were glad there was no full moon tonight.

Rienna's Dream

Rienna felt the space of time crack in half, and felt the presence of a charge in the air, which caused the hairs on her neck to stand on end. A shattering silence erupted the world into muteness, and she distantly thought she had suddenly become deaf; although the ability to think was near impossible, as she found it impossible to string one thought to the next. She was standing, upside down and side to side, and then she was not entirely sure if she was alive or dead.

As quickly as the feeling had started, it ended, and once again, Rienna knew her state of being, although not whom she was. She gazed below her and saw, instead of solid ground, an endless blue – the sky. It was rich with cream coloured clouds, which floated and weaved their way through the azure horizon. A million miles below her stood the sun, a burning beacon of power and strength, and the girl was surprised to find herself able to gaze upon such rays, without blinding herself.

She frowned thoughtfully; maybe she had died and gone to heaven, although she did not remember dieing, but then she did not remember anything at all. Her age. Favourite food. Favourite day of the week. Favourite sport. Her name – or if she even ever owned one. No, all of it was gone. She was a part of limbo, where thought did not matter, but the idea of contemplation did; with this in mind, Rienna sat down on a passing cloud, and began to think in a logical manner.

She placed her head in the palm of her hand, whose connected arm rested on her knee, her legs in a crossed position. After trying for a few minutes, the lost girl frowned, as she discovered analytical thinking was not to her liking, and gave up. Perhaps she was a spontaneous type of person. Yes, that might be right.

She held up one finger to her chin, and resumed a posture of a person who was trying desperately to think of something to do out of the blue. That was, until she realised, to do something in a madcap way, you could not think about it, you just…did it. Rienna considered this then decided to do something without thinking; it seemed the right way to do this method of reaction:

She looked up into the sky.

And gasped.

Above her was the ocean; not a droplet dropped from the aquamarine ceiling, but it wobbled and splashed as dolphins played on its upside down surface. She could see further than any telescope could, and her eyes widened and she took in all the colours that filled the depths of the salty water. Guppies played within the coral reefs, and sea anemones waved and attacked everything small enough, on sight. Not that an anemone could see of course, but she did not know that – she had never seen the sea before, only heard about it. She had been told of vast masses of water, which stretched as far as the eye could see, from all the new girls that had had the fortune of coming into contact with such a thing. She became entranced by the lights that played inside its waters, and lost herself within its depths.

She liked…no loved the sea, she decided.

The lost girl reached her hands happily towards the ceiling of sea, and giggled like a small child as she dipped them into the lukewarm water. A mournful cry broke her trance, and she looked up sharply to spy a creature winging its way upwards towards her; as it approached her, she could see just how big the creature really was, and that it was not just any creature, and her mouth dropped open as she realised just quite what she was looking at.

Wings spread impressively into the sky that was the floor, long neck stretched out in the middle of flight and crying its mournful song. It was sky blue and small (in comparison) spikes adorned its back in a line. This could be none other than a dragon; she absently wandered if it was one that could breathe fire, surely not all dragons could. All she knew was that, wherever she was, she never wanted to leave. This fantasy was too good to ever leave. Maybe this was heaven, and if so, she was satisfied with it.

It swooped upwards in a striking climb, and stretched out its long, sharp talons, towards her figure. She screeched in a slight moment of fear, but her cry was lost amidst the rushing wind, as it gushed past her face in extreme speed. The dragon did not seem hostile, but being as she was trapped within its talons, she was going to put her faith in a guess towards its intentions.

She fidgeted uncomfortably in its captive hold, and nearly jumped out of her skin, as the drake spoke within her mind: Don't struggle. I mean you no harm. She calmed at his comforting and reassuring voice; it was silky and reptilian. Instead, she settled down and concentrated on the feeling of flying.

It was an incredible feeling; she could see nothing but the sky before them, but she did not mind, she could stay up here and soar forever. Emotions of great pride and triumph entered her system, as she let out a great 'whoop', as they continued along their journey. The clouds were cold as they touched her skin, but they were ripped like the cotton wool they were as they soared on. Oblivion was the inevitable, but that meant immortality, and immortality meant an eternity of a lifetime.

And with eternity, comes responsibility, little one. Explained the dragon, once again in her mind. She looked up, and tried to see the blue drake's face, confused at his comment. Recognising the burning feeling of her eyes upon him, the dragon looked down, bending his neck to look at the small girl in his clutches. You will understand in time, don't worry about it too much just yet, little one. Ah, here we are.

They began a descent this time, towards a lone cloud, much lower than the others. It was shaped into a rough nest, the fluffy whiteness cuddling around whatever was nested inside of it.

As they touched down on the pillow of pearl, it became clear what exactly the nest contained; a selective clutch of eggs, no bigger than her fist, was snuggled within its fluffy holes, and she oohed and aahed at the marble textured colours that swished upon their surfaces. She could not resist putting out her hands, and placing one into her cloth lap, she cuddled and cradled the fragile egg.

The dragon watched her with proud delight and pleasure, and he moved his head down, to lip her fringe. She giggled happily at his attention, and moved her hand to stroke the scaly skin, which was smooth and cool beneath her touch. Are these yours? She managed in mind-speak.

He shook his head, before sighing and looking out into the other direction. My family is but one human boy now, and the force, which calls us into being, makes us exist, starting from the egg. I am hoping that one of these would consent to helping me with my own family.

You mean your mate isn't hatched yet? She frowned at the thought, how old was he anyway?

The dragon bared his teeth, in what could only be a smile, as he gazed upon the clutch of eggs, and the cast his almond-eyed look upon her; she has, she's here. He lifted his wing, and the girl was taken by surprise, as a large komodo dragon was revealed before her eyes; where had that come from? The komodo was covered in bright green scales, with patches of aqua blue showing through here and there, causing it to take on an affect of turquoise against the celestial blue sky. Its eyes seemed to be made of a pure silvery grey, and stared out at her with an honest, almost timid gaze.

Well say hello then. The blue dragon encouraged. For a moment the girl did not know if he meant her or the komodo, but her question was soon answered as the dragon walked towards her. It pressed its square snout into her hand, and looked up with those wide eyes, like saucers. Within those eyes, she saw worlds beyond that of the highest mountains and the greatest of the stars above. Her mind began to swim, as images of a fierce crackling fire, the powerful scent of wild rose, and the sound of clapping invaded her senses. In the distance she heard the great, blue dragon give a cry of concern, and the silky smooth head removed itself from her contact. The visions ceased.

I am sorry, little one, I did tell her not to do such things, but she is young and does not as yet understand that time is different here. The dragon eyed her watchfully, and the komodo stepped back to look at him with piercing, trusting eyes. Then she noticed something.

Poor thing, she has no wings. The dragon looked down at his small lizard companion, and made that smile again. He dipped his head, to nuzzle the back of his charge, and the komodo gave a ticklish squeak.

No not yet, but she is not ready.

Ready?

Yes, just as you are not Rienna, only when you know yourself, your true self, will you know the truth of your chosen familiar. The dragon the stepped back alarmed as he realised a mistake, and he growled slightly menacingly in caution as he watched the girl's reaction.

Rienna? She knew that name from somewhere. Yes, she had definitely heard of it before, and if she remembered correctly it was shortly followed by the surname…Sassi…Rienna Sassi. Her eyes grew wide as she understood the meaning. Her name! Her very own name, and after all this time, it had never been mentioned throughout her time here.

A barge full of memories suddenly hit her. Of hard beds and cold nights, of mossy closets and watery food. And with the memories came an emotion; hate. She hated life, she hated those who surrounded her, and most of all she hated Ms Bumblebottom! Rienna's anger boiled over as the memories, lost for a few heavenly minutes came back to her. She did not want them, but she did not want to forget them either, and around her, the celestial skies began to melt, and the sea began to fall. The clouds dispersed like frightened and fleeting fish before her eyes.

All at once, and a little too soon, she found herself floating into nothingness, a type of endless limbo, which both scared and relieved her raging heart, and amidst the empty chaos called a slithering smooth voice; 'Sassi, my name is Sassi. Call me by my name.'

The Dormitory, Daybreak.

Rienna.

Rienna.

'Rienna, are yer listening to me? Wake up, please.' An urgent voice called her awake, and she opened her eyes to look into the kindly face of Miss Heartly. Miss Heartly had a heart shaped face, framed by the golden locks, which feel neatly around her face, the rest of her hair was tied into a tight bun, at the back of her head. Her eyes were forest green, and reflected the emotion of constant sympathy and, at the moment, desperation. She was a rather tall, but plump young woman, who looked after the girls, which surrounded her, with complete devotion.

Rienna loved Miss Heartly, as if she were an older sister. There was nothing that she would rather do with her time, than talk, and swap stories they had heard, to each other. This conversation time they spent, caused a sisterly bond to grow between the two, and Rienna could not think of this damp, miserable place without her to light the halls. Miss Heartly in return, mentioned the fact that Ms Bumblebottom's…er she meant Ms Bumblebottle's Girls' Home would suffer, without its greatest storyteller to and longest member to swell out its ranks.

According to Miss Heartly, if Rienna did not talk so much, the walls would cave in.

'What's da problem?' asked Rienna, knitting her brows into a frown, and looking up into Miss Heartly's face blearily.

'Ms Bumblebottle is calling for yer, love'

Ms Bumblebottle, why would she want to speak to her? She sighed and got up, for the entire cow Bumblebottom was, she was to obeyed, unless it was behind her back, then it was ok. Rienna walked over to the mirror, and grabbed a toothy comb from on top of the smudged, shiny metal. She dragged the cracked plastic through her knotty hair, and fixed her eyes on her reflection. Inside of the mirror she saw a stocky, broad shouldered girl, who reached to a height of five foot five. Her dark brown hair was wavy, but slightly matted, and fell choppily about her shoulders. Her eyes were those of a doe's, chocolate brown, and almost innocent, that is, until you saw the mischievous twinkle that his within their depths.

Rienna grinned and the winked at herself, before flicking her hair back and striding out of the room, Miss Heartly at her heels.

Rienna Sassi decided that she quite like herself.

Ms Bumblebottom's…er I mean Bumblebottle's office

It was true that Ms Bumblebottle had first set up the orphanage, as an attempt to give her greater access to money. Money was her life, and there was nothing she loved more; not even the husband she had never had, and had never had for a good reason in Rienna's mind; she was a stick insect of a woman, whose gnashing mandibles had been fixed into a sneer, ever since the age of ten. In honesty, she hated children, but right now, the war against one, Rienna Sassi, was proving to becoming a great source of entertainment for her sadistic mind.

Her white hair was like a thin fluffy cloud, which had made its home there in obvious misconception, its whole body gradually become more frail and weary as time went on, just like its owner. Her eyes missed nothing, and were sharp and cold, just as the spiky angles of her body, and the icy personality she exuded to the people around her.

Right now, she sat in her office, waiting for her arch-nemesis to arrive, at last, she would rid her little 'Home' of her once and for all.

Rienna Sassi entered the dingy office, with a slight feeling of uncertainty and foreboding. The air in here was hot and stuffy, and she felt claustrophobic to be held in such a tight space. Even so, she strode up to the desk in a confident manner, and waved her hand around the room in a royal gesture, scrunching up her nose in a sight of utter disgust.

'Such rooms should be better kept by someone with so much money.' Rienna stretched out the 'so' part, and kept her face serious as she waited for a reaction, which never came. Rienna frowned confused, her imitations of the posh formality of her criticism, were good in her opinion.

'Yes, well as that might be, I have had a…customer you might say. Asking for you.' The woman's voice was cold and slightly too much on the evil side, and Rienna felt the beginnings of weary butterflies in her stomach. 'Just a minute, my dear' the woman almost cackled as she floated, like a haunting, flitting ghost, out of the room.

Rienna shivered at her words; what did she mean by 'customer'? Was she going to be sold into slavery now? Was slavery allowed in Canada? Well if that were true, she was going to be out there like a shot. She knew the idea of spontaneous actions now, and glanced around the shuttered room for a way out. She spotted a dusty window, never used, a slight distance behind the office desk. Rienna doubted Ms Bumblebottle ever used the desk, but she had an idea that it might be there for image.

She lightly sprinted over to the window, at placed her hands on the cool, brass window openers, and pushed up. Nothing happened, and it was soon apparent that perhaps this window was never opened for a reason. She took a look at the seam of the window, where it connected itself to the window ledge and groaned, she may have been dense, but she knew such a glued connection could never be breached like a normal lock.

She growled and spun round, to notice the desk littered with all types of papers. It was not the papers that interested her, however, but rather the filing cabinet that was attached near the bottom of the wooden structure. She grinned inwardly, before looking around for something, which could help her in a miniature mission, and found it – a large paper clip – excellent!

She glanced up at her surroundings warily, before crouching low, and eyeing the lock, that stopped her from gaining access. It was a simple type, all she would have to do was, insert her makeshift pick, and turn it the right way. Honestly, Ms Bumblebottle should be more intense on security, and less on punishment. Inserting the custom made pick, she twisted it sharply, up and left, and was satisfied when she heard a soft clicking sound from inside the draw.

'All in the wrist.' She whispered, proudly, to herself.

Opening the drawer, Rienna's eyes came into contact with a number of files – the cow was organised. She glanced over them, searching for something she might recognise, enjoying the excitement caused by her small adventure. Her eyes zoned in to six lettered symbols; RIENNA.

Smiling curiously to herself, she grabbed the file in her hand, and lifted it up and out of the drawer. She unceremoniously tipped the folder onto the floor, and she crouched down to see what had landed at her feet.

She was rewarded with a chain necklace as her loot, and she lifted it up to the light, just as a paper, which had been floating its way down to earth, hit her lightly on the head. She pocketed the small chain, ignoring the words etched into the back of the medallion, and took interest in the piece of paper, and paused.

Rienna could not read.

Instead she let her eyes wander the page, soaking and taking in every last detail. The symbols engraved themselves into the back of her mind, and she took time to study even the picture of the moon and stars. She would copy it out later, and ask Miss Heartly to read it to her.

Rienna never got the chance.

The door was thrown open, and in entered the Home mistress, Ms Bumblebottle. She glanced at Rienna suspiciously, taking in the sight of the young girl peering over her desk, but then rolled her eyes. Rienna knew instantly something was up; Ms Bumblebottle kept jingling on the spot, in half concealed delight, and she even had a strange distorted type of smile on her greasy face. She stepped sideways into the room, to reveal her guest.

A teenage girl, around the age of sixteen walked in, her face was blank of all emotion. Inside her mind, Rienna realised that this 'customer' was not at all what she had expected. The teenage girl had long black hair, swept back into a tight ponytail; her eyes shone like two polished emeralds, but held the sharp glance of a hawk. Her skin was that to rival the moon itself, an ivory white of purist quality.

'So,' started Ms Bumblebottle, destroying the moment of Rienna's amazement, 'Let's get down to business, hmm?'

The young woman raised her brows, and asked 'You are Rienna Sassi.'

Rienna rolled her eyes; at least she had the decency to say her name right. 'And a good day ta ya too missus. Yeah I am Rienna Sassi, dat's my name, don't wear it out.' She answered, trying to be clever.

The stranger smirked slightly as she replied, 'I'm sure you will wear it out long before its expiry date in that case Rienna. Your are thirteen years of age, am I correct?'

Rienna's face nearly dropped into open awe; who did this girl think she was, barging in here and acting as though she were head of this place. No one, but no one, treated Rienna Sassi in this way, but yet, there was some ethereal commandment in this girl's aura, a great sense of charismatic energy. 'Yeah, I am…' Rienna hesitated for a moment, she wanted to imitate this girl's voice; it was so melodic 'Thirteen years of age.' She finished in a perfect imitation of the strange girl's voice.

The girl was not as surprised as Ms Bumblebottle was, at hearing the girl's voice come from Rienna's own mouth. Instead a smile twitched at the side of her mouth, and she gracefully extended her hand for Rienna to shake. 'Greetings Rienna, my name is Spartica Haughton. I am here to…take you away from this…place.' She gestured with the other hand, as Rienna shook the other in wonderment.

Ms Bumblebottle, slightly agitated from being left outside the conversation, started one again; she did not care what happened to Rienna, only that she got the money for giving her up to this Spartica figure. 'Look, I don't just let my girls walk out of here, the others…they need to live on something, and the government is tight on budget. Perhaps a donation?' the smile on her face was supposed to be that of a kindly old grandmother, but Rienna and neither the girl by the looks of it, were fooled.

However, the girl asked, 'How much is suitable?'

'Five hundred should do it.' The woman waved her hand around in a circling motion, and Rienna was surprised as the girl took out an envelope from one of the pockets in her jacket. She handed it to the old woman, and it was quickly snatched from her hands, and then preceded to open it and count the dollar bills. The envelope floated toward the ground, wavering to and fro in its descent. Out of the corner of her eye, Rienna spotted three symbols, in the order of something she recognised, but could not place 'BBA'.

Spartica turned to walk out the door, and then glanced over her shoulder at the girl who was still watching the envelope in thought. 'Come along, Sassi.'

Rienna followed the other girl through a small labyrinth of corridors, before they reached the exit. She must have had some memory to remember how to reach the front door, was the thing that passed through Rienna's mind first. And then something else:

'Where was dat money from?'

Spartica answered, without looking back at her newest charge, 'Prize money, awarded by the BBA.'

Rienna shrugged, BBA, not something she had heard of before. She had recognised the symbols on the envelope though, perhaps they had something to do with the BBA.

A few steps out the door, and Rienna came face to face with a long, black limo. 'Whoa,' she exclaimed in utter astonishment, 'Posh rides, for posh peoples, dat's you righ'?' Spartica did not reply, but allowed Naugetii to open the back doors for the girl, who was still dresses in her only clothes.

The orphan gasped at the plush covering, on the inside of the vehicle. She adjusted her eyes to the darkness of the elegant car, and in the corner she spotted a sleeping, small, huddled figure over in one corner of the seats. She was about to open her mouth, when her evolving question was cut short, as she was suddenly met by a couple of piercing, amber eyes.