Wow! Ten chapters! This story's longer than I originally thought it would be.

Also, surprise surprise, I have a new update schedule! Shocker, huh? Anyways, now I'll just start updating whenever I finish a chapter, since this schedule is kind of stressing me out a bit. You see, I have a new idea for fanfiction a lot and when I start writing the story I don't want to stop, but I end up having to put my current stories before that and right now I just feel like doing what I feel like.

Green Meadow1875: I'm glad you liked that ending! I'm starting to get better at cliffhangers, and am really enjoying writing them. And Rose and Anne's friendship will become very important in later chapters.

JustAnotherFanGirl2004: It's fine that you haven't been reading my stories so much, and you don't have to apologize. I get that life just sometimes gets in the way, and you may not have much time. As for Timothy, I don't have many ideas for what I'll do with him. If you have any, let me know!

Warning: This will probably be the darkest chapter of the story so far.

Chapter Ten

Rose couldn't move. She was paralized in fear. The echoes of taunts, screams, and pain echoed in her memory.

"You are useless, and always will be!"

"Please, no! Don't hurt me!"

"You are just a filthy girl! Your parents abandoned you! Do you hear me?! YOUR PARENT ABANDONED YOU BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T STAND THE SIGHT OF YOUR FACE!"

"Stop hurting me!"

"No! I won't stop! You are useless and deserve this! You have no right speaking to me like that! You need to be taught a lesson!"

"No!"

She couldn't move, and like always she felt a panic attack coming on. She started shaking, and felt dizzy. She was breathing rapidly, but felt like she couldn't get air. Her heart was beating faster than it had in four years. She needed to lean on something. She needed support. But she had no support, she had no control...

"Rose? Who is this?"

She didn't recognize the voice. No one talked to her like that. She was alone, she would always be alone. She was useless, she was pathetic, she was a freak.

"Rose?"

Rose. That wasn't her name, she had no name.

"Rose, please focus on me. Focus on my voice."

Something made Rose look up into kind and worried brown eyes. Worried about her.

"Good, now breathe deeply. And breath out. You're okay. You're with me."

Rose felt herself calm down and threw her arms around Anne, hugging her tightly. It was over, she was safe.

But the voice proved her wrong. It returned, and she felt her fera rising again. But the voice couldn't hurt her. She was safe, she was with Anne. She would be protected.

But could anyone really protect her? The voice was powerful. Would it be more powerful than Anne? Would it hurt Anne? Anne couldn't be hurt like her. Rose deverved the hurt, but she didn't.

"Who are you?" Anne said, and Rose wanted to yell at her to stop. The voice would hurt her.

"That girl's master. Now, hand her over to me."

"I don't think so."

Rose was calmed a bit. The voice wasn't hurting Anne. Of course it wasn't. Anne wasn't born a freak, Anne wasn't abandoned. Anne was safe, and maybe Rose was too. For now, at least.

"There's no use escaping. You deserve this. You deserve this for being born. You will NEVER be safe! Do you hear me?! NEVER!"

She started shaking again, but felt Anne run a hand through her hair. Somehow, she felt safer here than she had anywhere else. In Anne's arms.

"Slavery ended years ago. Rose can't be yours, unless you were breaking the law. Now, I suggest you go away before I call someone."

"Fine," the voice spat, and Rose couldn't help her disbelief. The voice was gone? It was giving up? No, she must be wrong. It never gave up. It always came back, always hurt her again.

"But, you little brat, this isn't over. After all, you are a freak and it's only a matter of time before you lose these people too. No one wants you, and they'll never want you. Then, you'll come crawling back to me."

"Go," Anne snarled, with an anger in her voice Rose had never heard before.

A moment later, the two of them were inside again.

To the young girl's relief, Anna slowly brought her down to the floor. She didn't talk to her, or make her face the others. She just held her. And Rose was grateful for that. Facing the others...she couldn't do that right now.

After what could have only been a minute, or a million hours, Anne finally talked, "Rose? Who was that?"

Rose took a deep breath. She swore to herself that she would never tell anyone, but this was Anne. The person she could trust with anything and everything.

"My master," she said quietly.

"Do you know her name?"

Rose shook her head.

"Anne, I'm scared. She's going to come get me. She never gives up. She always comes back," Rose whimpered. Anne frowned. Rose had never whimpered, not when she was hurt, not when she was kicked and insulted. Who was that?"

Two hours later, Rose was back to normal. Anne had cleaned her up, and the others had checked in on them one time, but seeing what was happening had quickly gone back to practice.

"Rose, I need you to tell me who that was and what she did to you," Anne finally said, hoping Rose had calmed down enough to tell her.

"I can't. She'll find me. She'll hurt me."

"Rose, you're safe here. You're safe with me, my flower."

Rose blinked at the nickname, but smiled. She liked it, and the only things she had ever been called besides Rose were horrible, but she liked this one. It sounded...special. Like she was Anne's somehow.

She took a deep breath. She could do this.

"She...she hurt me. The orphanage...she ran it. I was the slave. The other kids were mean, they picked on me, but she hurt me. But it was fine, because I served it. I deserved it for being born."

Anne froze. As a child, she had to deal with the pain of being abandoned but this...this was a different level.

"Rose, listen to me," she said gently, tilting Rose's chin up so the girl had to look her in the eyes and see she was being completely honest. "You do not deserve this. You never will, and you never have. You aren't a freak...you're special. You're different. And that's a good thing, because it makes you you. Without it...you wouldn't be even a fraction of the incredible person you are today."

Rose looked at her in shock, but then a small smile appeared on her face.

"Really?"

"Really."

After her talk with Anne, Rose realized something. It was time to stop hiding and start telling her family exactly who she was. If Anne could help her, she knew they could too.

She stared at their worried faces, and took a deep breath.

"After I was abandoned at the orphanage, she took me in. But I was a slave. I wasn't even a human to her. She would constantly beat me, and tell me I deserved it. I was afraid. I still am. And I always will be. She showed up today...and it all came back. That's why I was so..."

She trailed off, but they understood. And they were horrified.

Finally, Rose took a piece of paper out of her pocket and held it out.

"This was in my basket, the one my parents left me in. I never understood it."

Curious, Anne took the paper, and when she read it her face paled.

"Anne?" Phillip said gently. "What is it?"

"I know this handwriting," she whispered. Suddenly, she understood. SHe understood it all. She knew who Rose was.

"What?" Rose asked in shock. "How?"

"When I was ten...we had neighbors. They had no children, but one day had a little girl. I thought she was beautiful, with the most gorgeous violet eyes. One day, she just disappeared. I never paid it much thought, and when I asked my parents about it they told me that the parents couldn't afford to take care of her, so they left her with some better people."

Rose paled too, and W.D. looked just as shocked.

"You knew who I was this whole time? You knew I was abandoned?"

All her trust in Anne was disappearing. She had started to think of the woman as a mother, and now she had betrayed her.

"No, Rose, I didn't know it was you. I hardly remember anything from those years and-"

"You betrayed me," Rose whispered. "I should have known. Family always lets you down."

Anne's eyes widened when she saw the young girl stand up and run out.

"Rose! I need to go after her!"

She took off, and the performers exchanged shocked and grim looks. Things had just started to become better...but now they doubted they would ever see Rose again.

Just when you thought everything was fine...I did this. I've had this idea brewing since the story started, but it was first with Anne as Rose's sister. However, I decided against that because Anne would have been ten and I can't picture her letting her parents give up Rose, and then just forget it.

Please review and tell me what you thought of this and what you think the letter said. And tell me what you thought of the woman, and tell me what you think her name could be.

Also, I'm running out of ideas for chapters, so if anyone has any ideas please tell me!

-Creator of Magic