A.N. I am back from vacation. A short chapter and I am working on the next. Hopefully it will be posted very very soon, like later tonight. A happy Holidays to All! I have no ownership of the Newsies and not affiliated with Disney in anyway. Thanks for all the Reviews. Please Review so I can keep the story up to par. LyxnLion

The Feeding

I came back to my room later in the day to find both the seventeen year old Lizzy and fifteen year old Prissie waiting for me. They are girls so much alike that, if not for the age difference, I would have sworn they were the exact same girl. Flighty little manners and obsession with men dominated their general outlook on life. They have always considered themselves sisters. Although, we were to look at all the girls there as our "sisters" very few of us did. It was discouraged for us to know who were blood sisters and who came from which family line, so of course this was general knowledge. Lizzy and Prissie were cut from the same cloth, but astoundedly were not "blood," real, sisters. I knew why they were there. They had adopted me as their misguided older sister and had come for the details of the call. The ritual feeding.

"I say, it really wasn't fair of him coming a whole hour and a half earlier than he said he would," Lizzy lamented, "It put a terrible strain on you didn't it dear?"

"Well I heard the reason was he couldn't bear a moment longer to be away from you," Prissie sighed, "How romantic!!"

"It's obvious that he's over the moon for you, Rose. What a sensational catch! I heard from Therese who heard from Laura who overheard Madame say to Mortimer Blanc, you know the son of iron king, Mr. Derrik Blanc, that Young Hearst had 'words' with some of your other gentleman callers." Lizzy thrilled over her speech, a certain note of triumph crept in when speaking of Mortimer. Apparently, he had taken to visiting Lizzy.

"Well boo to Mortimer Blanc, that boy has the worst case of wobbly knees I've ever seen!" Prissie grumbled, who felt it terribly unfair that in her precious fifteen years she hadn't had a serious caller yet.

"What a jealous age fifteen is! You must have wanted to strangle me when I was that old! Hearst had already started visiting you by then didn't he?" Lizzy asked me directly.

"Yes, I believe that is true. It's been a long time," I said slowly… relieved almost that at least I could remember details in some of my past.

"I remember," Prissie said authoritatively, "He started coming when she was only 13!"

"How could you possibly remember?? You would have been only…" Prissie paused for a moment to do the mental calculation, "10! Still in the lower school uniform and playing yard games!"

"That doesn't mean I don't notice things," Lizzy whined, "I remember the day in particular. Anthony Hearst had come to see Victoria. I know 'cause I was playing with her tea set at break, and she was telling me about courting when Anthony came over. Rose came racing by and literally ran into him. When Vicky asked Rose to apologize for her recklessness, Rose merely laughed and said that she would apologize when Vicky started to receive 'real' callers. You know Rose, that was horribly cheeky of you." Lizzy gave me a sidlong look, "Is that how you get the handsome men? You have to insult them?"

"I don't know what you mean," I said simply.

"Oh come on, from that day on, Hearst couldn't stand for anyone but himself to court you and had not a glance for anyone else. You really know how to hook them," Lizzy sighed.

"Oh grow up Lizzy, if Hearst is what you call handsome then you really are young," I quipped suddenly.

"How can you not call him handsome?" Prissy asked shocked.

"Sometimes it's not about looks and sometimes it is. I don't trust Hearst, I just… can't seem to trust him." I admitted.

"But… you are practically engaged to him! He should be the only one you do trust!" Prissy spouted scandalized while Lizzy shook her head.

"I can't help but to feel like I'm in love with someone else. Isn't that odd?" I said slowly.

"You can't have Mortimer, Rose. He's MY caller," Prissie said suddenly supiecous.

"Calm down! Of course I don't want Mortimer, honestly! It's someone I can't quite remember, just a pair of intelligent eyes. I've been trying to remember what happened to me all day, and my mind is at a blank." I vaguely gazed in space trying to recapture my memories.

"Rose, that was just a dream. Only dreams linger like that, all blur and mist," Lizzy mused.

"Are you really going to upset your happiness with Anthony Hearst with a possible happiness with a guy who might really turn out to be a dream?" The ever practical Prissie demanded.

"I… I guess not," I said, my heart heavy and sad for a reason I could not remember. "If only," I started and then gave up, not knowing what I needed to say.

"Rose," Madame Tally stuck her head into my room and barked, "I need your opinion. Come with me!" And so I went, without another break until I fell asleep at night, my last night at the orphanage. Cause you see, my party was the next day.