Chapter One

Where They Stand

The year was 1991 and Magenta Devoir had almost completed her eighth year of studies. She was fourteen years old, with long wavy red hair and brilliantly colored green eyes. Admired by the other girls for her beauty and poise, longed for by the boys because of her good looks and charm; but while she had life relatively easy, her older brother Riff Raff had a hard time doing anything.

He was an awkward bumbling sixteen year old boy with short blonde hair and a slight limp. If it weren't for his younger sister he would've been beaten every day, not only by fellow students but their older brother as well. William was nineteen years old, and insanely jealous of his adopted siblings. He felt his parents spoiled and loved them more then they had ever cared for him, and because of that he used every opportunity to take his rage out on his brother, only when Magenta could stand up for him would he stand down. As horribly cruel as he was, he wouldn't hurt her.

As the red head exited school and met up with her brother by their car she noticed the small circular bruise above his right eye and turned him to face her, "What happened to you?" She asked her british accent mixing with another, almost other-worldly voice.

Riff Raff twitched away from her touch and jammed the keys into the ignition, "Someone shoved me into the corner of my locker."

Magenta gasped and dropped her books on the seat between them, "They could've put your eye out, who did it?"

Looking over at her he couldn't help but smile the concern and compassion for her brother was clearly etched on her face, right down to a tiny crease in her brow, "It's not funny," She barked, "I don't know why you don't take these things more seriously."

"Because if I took them as seriously as most boys do," Here he gestured to an upperclassmen being escorted across the grounds by security, "I might end up like him and then who would look out for my little sister," They pulled out of the parking lot as Magenta studied his face.

"I don't tell you everything you know I might have a boyfriend," The car did a curb check and stayed there as the girl caught her breath and stared over at her brother, "I was joking Riffy goodness what's gotten into you!"

"I really don't know," Riff Raff shook his head and steered himself back onto the road, ignoring the honking horns behind him as he focused once again on getting his sister home.

Elizabeth Devoir didn't work, she stayed home, cooked and cleaned, the way she had been raised to do. Her daily routine was initially the same and it always was rounded off by waiting on the front porch for her children to arrive home from school. But that day she didn't come outside, in fact she could barely get herself out of bed, she had a high fever and to her it was cause to stay in bed all day wallowing in her self pity.

Magenta unlocked the door and stepped inside, immediately catching a whiff of disease she set her books on the coffee table and headed for her parents' room, "Mom?" She knocked softly on the door and stepped inside, her mothers head was the only thing visible above of the floral bed spread, "Mom are you alright?"

Her mother moaned in her deep throaty voice and frowned when Riff Raff's figure appeared behind her daughter in the doorway, he appeared concerned though he knew his mother didn't like him very much. For the life of them neither of the teenagers could figure out why. She loved William and seemed to love Magenta, but she couldn't tolerate her blonde son more then she had to.

"Leave me alone," The woman muttered after a few moments of debate, "Go do your homework and make sure William doesn't trash the house."

The pair nodded and moved back down the hall, stopping to pick up their things and head to Riff Raff's bedroom. They had studied together for as long as either of them had remembered. While Magenta got beauty, Riff Raff was blessed with the ability to process information quickly, something his sister had never been able to do. He helped her in all subjects besides English and Chorus, the two things she loved and was good at. If not for the slight hint of non-british accent to her voice, she would sound like an angel.

Their father thought little of their studying together, frowning when he would find Magenta propping herself up on her elbows atop her brothers bed as he read aloud from her history books and making slight comments about the amount of time they spent in one another's company. Neither of them minded, they were used to his odd behavior, it had always been that way and they suspected it always would be.

In fact it wasn't until that night that it dawned on Riff Raff why his parents were so worried about he and his sisters relationship. It was dark, long after Magenta should've been asleep, but she couldn't find peace in the dark chill of her room. The only thing that could settle her fear, she finally decided, was her brother.

TBC