Duchess came back from visiting the king to see her two children and tell them the news of their new lives to have in the castle.

"You sold us!?" Laura shrieked to their mother once she told them what happened.

"It's not so bad, dears," Duchess tried to make this sound like a good thing, which it obviously wasn't. "You'll get to live in a castle and work for the one and only King Frank!"

David looked at their mother reproachful. He frowned at her, but deep down, was glad they were getting away from the woman.

"Mother, how could you?" Laura's green eyes filled with tears.

"I had to do what I had to do..." Duchess still sounded innocent. "It's very hard raising children on your own, especially when it's more than one."

"Laura would handle it..." David says, meaning she'd make a great mom. "She'd never be selfish and sell her children." he then adds.

"You could at least be grateful, I'm not going to die," Duchess glanced firmly to her children. "Go pack up with your sister, David."

David silently went to go pack stuff with Laura, and he found an unbidden, but not totally rejected thought popping up... That he would've preferred that to him and Laura being sold.

Laura decided to pack her best clothes and even took out her glittering and sparkling golden top hat. She also looked to her plain brown hair and decided to maybe change it. After all, she didn't belong in her own home anymore.

David packed and came in. "Laura, are you okay?" He asks her softly.

"Not a lot..." Laura sighed as she put her clothes together. "I can't believe Mom would do this to us..."

"Selfish woman..." he says about their mother. "But at least we'll be getting away from her." he then says.

"That's true..." Laura had to admit that was the better half of their little predicament. "I just hope King Frank's not as harsh as they say he is... His mother was a real monster though."

"No matter what... He sounds better than 'mother'." David the tells her.

"Got that right..." Laura sounded a little better now, their mother was unbearable sometimes, but as long as they had each other, they knew they were going to be all okay. She then walked over to her younger brother and gave him a hug. "Love ya, David-kins..." she giggled a little.

"Love you too, Lollie." he smiled, hugging her back.

Laura giggled, letting go once they finished. "Who knows?" she had a small coy smirk. "Maybe you'll hit it off... The king has a daughter your age~..." she started to be a teasing older sister then. "Maybe you guys will be boyfriend and girlfriend..." she teased, though everyone knew the princess was to be in an arranged marriage as soon as she would turn eighteen.

David chuckled a little. He appreciated the cheering up. Laura giggled, she then continued to pack up and was deicidng whether to bring her tap shoes or not.

"Bring them..." David says.

"Ya think so?" Laura looked puzzled. "I'm not that good..."

"You are... I've seen you." David smiled.

Laura blushed, she then agreed and put her tap shoes into her things. "Need help packing?" she asked him since he wasn't doing what thier mother told them to.

"Already packed what I needed to." David tells her.

"Okay..." Laura continued to pack up her clothes to start their new life very soon. "I'm glad we're going through this together." she looked to her favorite little brother.

"Yeah, we'll never split up." David assures her.

Laura smiled to him, she was glad to have a brother like him. David smiled back.

"I'm thinking of changing my name..." Laura said out of the blue, pressing her lips together.

"What to?" David asks.

"Hmm..." Laura hummed deeply into thought.

"Why not a city?" David suggests, half-teasing.

Laura glanced to him. "Atlanta?" she tested out some names. "Paris? Columbia?"

"I like Columbia." David tells her.

"Columbia?" Laura repeated, then thought it rolled off the tongue nicely and would suit her well. "Yeah... Columbia... I like the sound of that!"

"Then instead of Lollie, it would be Collie." David smiled.

"Yeah!" Laura cheered. "I like it!"

David smiled.

"From now on, I'll be Columbia." Larua then made it official.

David hugged her. Laura hugged back, slightly squeezing, but not too suffocatingly. David didn't care how tightly she hugged, he relished each one because they were warm and comforting.

"I guess we're set to go then..." Laura then didn't sound as bitter or depressed like she did earlier.

David nodded.

"It's late, we should probably get a late dinner and head to bed." Laura suggested as it was getting dark fast.

David nodded. "Collie... Can I stay with you just for tonight?" He then asks, slightly blushing. He may have been too big for it, but he just didn't want to be alone that night.

"Ya wanna stay with me?" Laura asked, he hadn't asked her that since he was a little boy, but she wasn't annoyed or angry he asked, just openly curious.

David didn't meet her gaze, but nodded.

"Well... Okay..." Laura would allow it. "Just don't hog the covers." she added, jokingly firm.

David smiled and went and changed into his pajamas before coming back. Laura moved her bags under her bed and did the same, even putting on her Mickey Mouse hat, she really was one of the kids. David came and joined his sister in bed, hugging her like he used to when he was a child. Laura smiled, she hugged him back and pulled back her covers on her bed. David held onto his sister, more upset than he seemed, but at least they were getting away from the horrible woman they called Mother.

Laura let out a yawn as soon as she hit the bed. "G'night..."

David yawned a little too. "Night, Collie." he whispers.

Laura smiled as she turned out the lights and fell asleep next to her favorite brother. David was awake a little longer, but soon fell asleep.