A.N. Okay, last chapter for tonight. I've had burst of creativity. The only sad part is that very, very soon the story will be over and I will have to say goodbye to my characters. And, as always 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

What's the Matter with Me?

There was something sickenly attractive about Anthony Hearst. Though I knew in my heart that he was manipulative, I could never quite shake him out of my head. He had some hold on me that I could not understand. Was this hold love? Could it be that I loved him? But what was this half vision of intelligent eyes and soothing voice that haunted me? I could never respect Anthony Hearst. A lot of what he said and did set my heart to groaning under the seething sickness in his soul. It was infecting, like a poison. His looks are impeccable, about half the city was under the voo doo spell of his charm. Oh, he could be such a charming man, but his mind was clouded. I got a creepy feeling whenever he walked into a room. And I was on the verge to being engaged to him. It's not like I had much of a choice. I probably should have. It's not like there were not others who would offer me marriage. But, there was no one who could stand against Mr. Anthony Hearst and offer me marriage. Ever since I insulted him in my reckless, stupid youth, I couldn't put him very far from me. I had gone from being one of the eligible to the soul goal of this powerful and attractive young man. I suppose that means he fell in love with me, or maybe just the idea of me. For years he has been weaving a spell around me, catching me in mental snares I have not the eyes to see and free myself. At one time, I thought I had. I thought I had the mental clarity to escape from this dangerously handsome man. But then… I didn't remember. I still didn't remember what had happened for myself. Only this feeling that I am more trapped then ever before, and no reason I could find to not finally give into Hearst. Some backward thought keeps screaming at me, telling me why I couldn't go through with it. But my reason couldn't understand, I didn't understand. If only I could get a name or a full face, maybe then I could remember why my heart protests.

"It's time, Rose," Madame said interrupting my thoughts. She held out her hand to me and escorted me to my party. The party that will decide my already forecasted fate. My mind was preparing myself for the title of Mrs. Rose Hearst while my heart was desperately hoping for something else.

A Girlish Monster

David reaches the top of the second flight of stairs and slowly opens the door. Before them is a seemingly endless hallway of doors. Some with gold trim, some with mahogany inlays, some with painted designs, each different and expensive. Turning around, David is surprised to see the door he had emgered from and Spot just now starting to let close was no proper door at all. From this side, the door fitted into a giant mirror and when closed was impossible to open from this side. The doorway was clearly built to keep people IN, not out. Meaning… well they couldn't let that door close or they would never find their way out.

"Spot!" David hissed, "Catch that door, we can't let it close!"

Spot quickly shot out his cane which he had refused to leave behind and just caught the closing door. He pulled out a marble from his pocket and tucked it into the corner of the doorframe. Then, he softly let the door fall on its new doorstop. The door stayed just barely open. If anyone had looked longer than a glance in that direction, well it would be obvious the door was propped open, but they had to risk it.

"And you wanted me to leave the cane behind," Spot scoffed.

"So," Bumlets groaned, "Which door do we want?"

"There's got to be like a hundred doors, what cha say Dave? What door will we find Thorns?" Spot wistled.

"Let's start here," David said quietly, randomly picking a door a little ways down on the left. It was a painted door decorated with two large, pink roses intertwined together. He paused a second wondering if he should knock, and then tried the handle. The door silently swung open on a comfortable looking sitting room. On the couches two young women had just moments before been clearly engaged in a gossip session. They turn their eyes on the three boys, eyebrows raised in surprise. What they expected, the guys didn't know, but an innocent tea party of pretty young ladies was not at the top of the list.

"Excuse us misses, do you all know a goil named Angel?" Spot asked politely tipping his hat.

"Or Thorns?" Bumlets added.

"I haven't the faintest idea who…" the girl on the right began. She was younger and was wearing a pale blue dress.

"They mean Rose. Do you know a Rose Llewellyn?" David broke in.

"Oh! Rose!" the girl on the left exclaimed with understanding, "She was so silly." The elder girl giggled softly smoothing her rich green gown and exchanging a grinning look with her companion. "Of course we know Rose!"

"Yes of course," the younger added, "She's back now, but she left home just weeks before her 18th birthday! Her EIGHTEENTH birthday!" She said slowly with special emphasis to show she understood what a folly Rose had committed, "She was gone for an awful long time, but she's home now. Thanks to that handsome Hearst, that man is a dream. It's not fair that he is only interested in Rosie."

The boys were stunned into silence a fact the girls completely overlooked and took advantage of. They also didn't seem to notice the most nasty expression on their faces when Hearst was mentioned.

"Stop babbling Lizzy. It's not like you had any chance with him. He has more class than to be interested in a gushy child." The elder girl scolded, "What really isn't fair is that she completely missed her real 18th birthday, but she still gets to have her party even if it is MONTHS delayed. If it had been any other girl here, Madame would have just arranged an engagement quietly without any of the fun of a party."

"No she wouldn't, Prissie," Lizzy argued, "That's just too cold hearted!"

"Yes she would, and she did too," Prissie informed Lizzy, "Joselyn got that terrible cold and could have her party so that just what Madame did. I hear from Mortimer that its just because Hearst has insisted Rose be treated like her kidnapping had never happened, like she had never been away."

"Kid..Kidnapped?" Spot managed to sputter out.

"Oh, yes," Lizzy began really warming up to the subject, "You see Mr. Hearst, I'm sure you recognize the name as that of his father's the great newspaper man of the New York Journal, well supposedly there was a group of Newsboys that were not satisfied with the compromise at the end of the strike. They were greedy and want to reduce the cost to three newspapers to the penny. They knew Anthony was head over heels crazy about Rose. So they crept in here and stole her while she was sleeping. Mr. Hearst was wild about it, and somehow managed to find her. I heard she was beaten so hard she couldn't walk for weeks. She even told wild stories about Anthony beating her!" The girls shook their heads sadly at Rose's supposed delusions, then through back their heads and giggled.

"Why are you all here instead of Rose's party?" Prissie suddenly asked, her eyes narrowing with a glimpse of intelligence and ample suspicion.

"We uh, were confused," Bumlets said quickly, "Where is it again?"

"Well, really, you are all so strange! It's in the Room of course," Prissie exclaimed, satisfied in her curiosity and no longer suspicious. The girls giggled again, and then when it was apparent the boys had no idea where or what "the Room" was, she added, "At the end of the hall."

The look of confusion was still clear on their faces so Lizzy added, "The big, pink door at the end of the hall. But why go the party? Hearst practically owns her. Stay with us, we could all have fun. Rose doesn't need all of those men and you darlings too!"

"We, uhhh, really need to get to the party," Bumlets stammered.

"Uhm, yes we don't want to hold you up," David added as the boys edged out of the doorway.

"Goodbye!" Spot shouted as the left the room in a frenzy.

"What kind of freaking place is this?" Spot demanded when they cleared the room.

"No wonder Angel didn't stick around here, the air is just poisonous to make a person go insane." David seemed to shiver.

"Those girls! They are wrapped up so tight in those lies that they don't see 'em. Honestly, they might seem dumb, but they know what's what and have no problems with it." Bumlets added disgusted.

"It's a miracle Thorns has any sense at all if this is any sample of what she grew up with," Spot concluded.

They continued down the hallway, looking for the doorway to "the Room." While I was sitting in the waiting room my mind screaming while waiting for Madame to come back and escort me through the large white backdoors of the Room.