Her Fate

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from ADJL; I only own those who I make up.

Rating: PG-13

AN: Worker72, close guess.

His Despair; Her Destination

Rose hadn't come to school for almost the whole week, Jake noticed. 'Wonder where she could be…' he thought to himself. "Hey have you guys noticed Rose hasn't been in school?" he asked his friends.

"Yeah, Jakey, I noticed and I don't care either. With any luck, home girl fell off a building." Trixie commented.

"Dudette, that was harsh." Spud told her.

"Well, it's true! That girl hasn't done nothin but make Jakey's life hell, not to mention she keeps tryin to kill him!"

"Just drop it." Jake sighed. He knew that Trixie didn't like Rose at all. He supposed he should feel the same but at the moment, he was worried.

"You guys are talking about Rose?" asked one of Rose's friends, Bridget, as she walked up to them.

"Yeah, I was just wonderin where she was." Jake answered. "Man, where have you been? No one knows where she is. The whole school's talking about how she's gone missing. Her uncle is freaking out! He's got cops everywhere looking for her; Brad says that she ran away because he wouldn't go back out with her. I don't believe it, though. Well, I believe she ran away but I know it's not because of Brad."

"Why would she run away then?"

"How should I know? I'm not sure if she did run, she might've been kidnapped for all anyone knows." The bell rang. "Better get to class."

Jake couldn't pay attention in Rotwood's class when he got there. This time he wasn't about to fall asleep though.

Rose was missing… No one knew where she was, not even her uncle knew. Rose was too strong and smart to let herself get kidnapped, so that theory was impossible.

He thought back to the Phoenix. He had no doubt that killing the Phoenix was Rose's mission. She must have run from there, leaving her mask and her staff. But why would she run?

He remembered that the Phoenix was helpless in that net and he wasn't there to stop her. So why didn't she complete her mission? Why'd she run? What was he missing?

He shook his head. Either way, she was only thirteen. She could get herself in real trouble. God, he hoped she was ok.

He blinked hard. He felt like crying again…

FLASH

Rose couldn't believe she was doing this. She had actually broken into an empty house and took a shower! She looked at herself in the mirror; her hair was back to her Rose style minus the headband. She gargled some mouthwash so that even though she couldn't brush her teeth, her breath would still be fresh.

She made sure that everything was exactly where she found it before she went into the kitchen and made herself a sandwich. She ate and got a can of Sierra Mist out of the refrigerator.

She sighed. She felt bad for sneaking in but it was necessary. She decided it was time to leave before the family showed up.

After she left she looked at her clothes and decided that she needed to change. She went to a store called the Salvation Army; thankfully she saw that all of the prices were in her price range.

She got a pair of faded blue jeans, a pair of sneakers and a baseball cap. All together it only cost seven dollars. After she paid, she left and went to a gas station and changed in the bathroom and threw away her old clothes.

She closed her eyes tightly, what was she going to do? Her eyes suddenly snapped open as she remembered. 'Auntie Sabrina!' Her auntie was the younger sister of her mother and her uncle.

She couldn't believe she forgot all about her! She was the first member of the Huntsclan to actually quit. Rose was only five when she left them. She remembered the night she left.

FLASHBACK

"Auntie, what are you doing?" asked the blonde child with hair in two low pigtails looking up at the tall woman with long blonde hair and sea green eyes. "Oh, Flowerbud," she crouched down to look her niece in the eyes, "I have to go. Here's my new phone number and where I'll be living. If you ever feel you need to escape call me, don't let your uncle know. This is our secret."

Rose nodded as her auntie left.

END FLASHBACK

Rose smiled, 'Flowerbud…' That was her nickname her auntie had for her since as long as she could remembered.

She memorized the number years ago, but she never called. Her uncle forbade her from even speaking of her aunt. At the time she didn't understand but when she got older she found out that her auntie had left the Huntsclan, she never learned why she did but she did learn that what her aunt did was the ultimate crime in the clan's eyes, especially in her uncle's eyes.

Her uncle would have killed her long ago if he knew where she ran to, only Rose knew where she was. After she found out that, she memorized the number and the address before destroying the paper that held her auntie's life.

She understood now what she meant when she told Rose if she ever felt the need to escape. Rose needed to escape.

She found a payphone and dialed the number. 'Please, please, please still be the same number.' She begged in her mind.

"Hello?" That was her voice! Rose would remember her sweet melodic voice anywhere. "Auntie?"

"Flowerbud, is it you?"

"Yes, Auntie, it's me. I couldn't stay, I ran away."

"Where are you?"

"I'm somewhere in Detroit."

"You're in Michigan? Where's your uncle?"

"New York."

"You're my niece all right. When you take off, you really take off."

"Auntie."

"Ok, ok. How much money do you have?"

"A little over ten dollars."

"Not good… You remember where I live right?"

"Yes, I do."

"Well, it's time you used your training. I want you to sneak aboard a nonstop flight here. Alright?"

"Got it, no problem."

"Good luck, Flowerbud."

"I'll be there soon."

Rose hung up the phone. How was she going to get on a plane? She went into the gas station. "Is there an airport near here?"

"Metro Airport is the closest." The cashier told her.

"How do I get there?"

He wrote down the instructions on a scrap piece of paper and gave it to her, she thanked him and left.

She found the airport and the plane she needed to get on. She silently apologized to the man she stole the ticket from.

The flight, since it was nonstop, only took six hours to get to her destination.

She got off the plane and smiled. Her uncle never found her auntie. So he would never find her.

She breathed in the air and decided it was nice. She went to a payphone and called her auntie. "Hello?"

"Auntie, I'm here. I'm at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport."

"Ok, stay in the lobby. I'm on my way."

She hung up the phone and went into the lobby. She smiled. No, her uncle would never find her here in Texas.

There it is. Sorry if I skimmed through some details but they weren't essential. This is the longest chapter I've written… Anyhow, please review.