A.N. Hi peoples! Well, I've gpne to seven different computers to find a way to dowloud this chapter, and it finally worked. does a happy dance So, I am rather proud of this chapter, and I hope you liked it. A lot of people read the prologue, but no one reviewed, and I am big on reviews, so please, take two minutes out of ur busy day and tell me what you think, or if u have five minutes to spare, what you would like to happen next.

Thanx, and I really hope u like it

Cerridwen was found in the garden of a well-known orphanage in the metropolis of New York, playing with the petals of the rosebush the garden supported. Named by one of the rather eccentric caretakers of the home the gods had given her, she lived out her life like any other orphan found under a rose bush (which wasn't very common at the time).

Normally, as she was a very beautiful child, the colors of the rose printed all over her, a loving family would have picked her out almost immediately. But, even with her flaming deep red hair and light green eyes, no one came to take her to a new home. You see…. As she had the coloring of the rose, she also had the spirit. Before she could even understand why, she grew her thorns, building a large brick wall around her heart and guarding it from all that came near her. She was quiet and snub to the family's that came looking for a child to adopt, she never allowed herself to have friends, all she ever really did was sit in the corner of the garden whenever she was free from school and take care of her rosebush. Of course she had a very green thumb, and loved to garden whenever she possibly could, but that's not really something most parents particularly look for in a child.

So things passed, spring turned to summer and fall, and soon fifteen years had passed, and still Cerridwen was not chosen to go to a new home. And she didn't mind. But, one day, everything changed.

"Come, let us go into the garden, I'm sure you'll see a lovely child playing here." Said Ms. Carmen, the owner of the orphanage.

"Who's that there, sitting by that rosebush?" The young man, about thirty, asked, pointing over to the red headed child that stood out so much compared to the others.

"My she is beautiful" whispered his wife as she looked onto the young teenager.

"Oh, well, that's Cerri, Cerridwen. She's a rather quiet child, fifteen. Surely not what you're looking for." Ms. Carmen whispered.

"No, no, lets go see her" Sara, the young wife, pulled her husband along towards the child. There was something strange about the girl; she had a glow unlike the other younger children. Sara had felt a strange pull in her heart when she'd seen her there, sitting under the rosebush with a large book. Could… could this be the one?
Sara and Charles were both children of rather rich family's, and had met on a summer picnic only a year ago. It had been love at first sight. But now, after a month or marriage, they had been devastated to find out that Sara was unable to have children. Yet, the couple had lots of love to give, and were perfectly happy to adopt a child in need of a family. They had been to two orphanages already, but, nothing had pulled at their headstrong young hearts, and they'd chosen to search more, until they found the one they would know could come into their family. Now, walking up to Cerridwen, they felt, somehow, that she was the one.

Cerridwen looked up from her book, Briar Rose and watched the couple holding hands walkup to her with smiles on their faces, followed by a rather reluctant Ms. Carmen. They would probably be like all of the others, she thought with a sigh, just asking her a few questions and walking away after they realized she wasn't exactly happy to answer. Whatever, she'd dealt with it before, she'd deal with it again, even if it hurt, she wasn't exactly about to let complete strangers talk to her like she was their daughter.

"Hello" said the young man, he was tall, with short messy blond hair and green eyes, Cerridwen tilted her head to the side and took in the crinkles under his eyes from a large amount of laughter, then sliding her eyes towards the woman holding his hand. She had black hair, long, with deep blue eyes. They looked like exact opposites, light and dark, and yet you could see that they were made for each other; Cerridwen liked that, though she didn't know why.

"Hi" she whispered, he voice soft from so many years of staying silent.

"Cerri, this is Sara and Charles," Ms. Carmen finally stepped in, "They are here from London."

"London?" Cerri raised one eyebrow. What on earth were two English people doing in New York, looking for a kid to adopt?

"Yes, we wanted to come to New York to see if we could find someone a bit less English" Charles grinned, and Cerri could hear the soft accent now. "We're a bit tired of speaking to snobbish children with white gloves and little black dresses"

Cerri laughed, and then, astonished that she had, covered her mouth with her hand, shocked.

Sara smiled softly, this girl, she reminded her of herself, yet she barely knew her. But she could see that Cerri was guarded, and she liked that. She would be able to work on finding out what was inside those light green eyes.

"Would you like to come back with us to London, Cerri?" she asked, tilting her head like the teenager.

"What…." Charles was a bit shocked that Sara had gone out and said that, without knowing the child at all, but then he looked into her eyes and saw a look he'd never seen before, and he stopped his protest. Sara would never look at someone like that unless she knew it was right to do so. He nodded in assent.

Ms. Carmen was also surprised, very. But she could say nothing to a potential family, especially since she knew Cerri couldn't ask for better, so, she waited to find out what she would say.

Cerri was, of course, the most shocked out of all the three people in front of her, but she didn't let it show.

"What, no questions about what my favorite color is or what book I was reading?" Ms. Carmen shook her head; of course Cerri would suddenly act snub and rude, of course.

"What is your favorite color Cerri?" asked Charles, his eyes deeper than ever.

"Uh…red, accutally"

"And what are you reading?" asked Sara with a smile.

"Briar Rose" Cerri was so surprised, she hadn't expected them to smile, act as if she hadn't been rude at all.

"Would you like to come to London with us, Cerridwen?" Charles looked down at her.

"I…. I…." and then Cerridwen gave into the feelings she had at the pit of her stomach, the butterflies fluttering around in a kind of unknown excitement. "Yes, I, I think I would."

The couple smiled, looked at each other, and then looked back at Cerri. Maybe, they thought, this really was just perfect.

As for Ms. Carmen, she just stood there with her mouth slightly open. She'd never seen a family send such sparks to each other. And she'd never seen that look in Cerridwen's eyes as well; the small almost blue specks that came into view around her iris like dry raindrops hidden in her soul. She cleared her voice and smiled, getting Sara and Charles attention.

"If you'd come with me please, we can sign the papers."

"Yes, of course" Charles nodded, smiling one last time at Cerri and walking away with Ms. Carmen, leaving his wife to speak with Cerri alone.

"I hope you'll like it with us, Cerri. I didn't expect this to go so fast, but I'm happy it did."

"Yea… yea, I think I will." Cerri was suddenly happy, happier than she had ever been in her life.

"We'll be back to pick you up tomorrow, and then we'll spend a day getting to know each other before we all go back to London. The West Side, actually. We have a nice little house there. And its right next to the park square"

"Okay" Cerri had no idea what to say.

"Goodbye Cerridwen, till tomorrow"

"Goodbye Sara"

"Call me mum" Sara grinned, winked, turned around, and walked away in the direction of her husband.

"Mum…." Cerri whispered, speaking in a British accent as she lean back onto the wall next to her rosebush and closing her eyes, finding herself suddenly holding back tears, though she didn't know why.

And so, my ladies and gentlemen, the first chapter of Cerridwen's great adventure ends, but don't worry, there's still much to come.

A.N Hi again. I hope you liked it, and please, please review, its nto all that hard