Hi guys. Next chapter is in the wings, may even be up later tonight; if not will definitely be tomorrow :) Hope you enjoy this one x

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Sara's POV

It's true, we haven't been officially introduced. That aside, the memory of last night is still fresh in my mind and I'm not exactly in the mood for idle chit-chat with the woman who …

Shaking my head before the thought took hold, I toss my hairbrush onto the bed and stand up. Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpse the look that crosses her face, but I choose to ignore it as I stride past her into the corridor.
I don't know where I am going, but I had committed myself now. To turn back would be a direct display of weakness and that was the last thing I was going to give Catherine Flynn. Lord knows, she's already taken enough from me.

A few people are heading towards a set of stairs at the end of the hall, so I elect to follow them. At the bottom, I find myself in a huge dining hall.

I'm not especially hungry, despite having not eaten for hours, but I pick up a tray anyway and allow the kitchen worker to dump a spoonful of something that might have been porridge on my plate.

As I turn to the endless rows of long tables, I find myself reminiscent of high school for the second time today.

And, like I had in every school I attended, I move to the table furthest away from the crowd and sit down alone to stare at my gruel.

Taking a deep breath, I pick up my spoon and take a small mouthful. Falling back into an old childhood habit, I start to make silent deals with myself. If I can eat all of this meal, I can stick this out. If I can make it back to my cell without getting lost, I will be okay.

If I can get through a whole night without crying, I might just survive in here.

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Cath's POV

Despite my initial concern for her welfare, it doesn't take long to find her.

After all, she's still new and has to rely on following other people to get anywhere. So, naturally at this time of morning, I find her in the lunch hall.

Much like school, the hall is filled with long bench-style tables. And also like school, the new kid sits alone.

"Hey." I greet casually, sliding into the seat beside her. "I'm impressed; I half expected to find you wandering aimlessly up and down the aisles."

No response. In truth I hadn't really expected one.

In order to get her attention, I prise the spoon from her hand and slide the tray away from her. She sends me a brief, angry glare before making a point of staring straight ahead in order to avoid looking at me.

"Look, I know you're pissed with me." I start, keeping my voice low even though there is no one sat close enough to overhear. "I don't blame you. But you don't understand how this place works..."

"I don't want to understand it." She snaps, finally turning her eyes towards me. Although I keep the realisation to myself, it strikes me that this is the first full sentence she has said to me since arriving. "I just want to get out of here."

Despite the badly disguised pain in her voice, I can't help but laugh.

"Don't we all, honey." I hum, gesturing to the room. "No one would pick this life if they had a choice."

"No." She agrees softly, scanning the mass of people piling down the stairs. "I guess not."

I offer what I hope is an understanding smile, but any small amount of understanding I had been about to build with her disintegrates as a large shadow cloaks the table.

"Well, if it isn't Goldilocks and her new pet." Harper smirks. "How's that pretty little ass of yours feeling today, Sunshine?"

I shift my gaze from Harper's smug grin to the girl beside me. She is staring at Harper, a multitude of emotions crossing her face before she pushes herself away from the table and bolts towards the stairs. For a moment it feels like everyone in the room stops what they are doing just to stare, to a chorus of laughter and jeering from the harpies.

One of them breaks away from the group and makes to go after her, but before I know what I am doing I have stood up and slammed my hands on the table.

"No!" The word left my mouth seemingly void of any instruction, but it was too late to take it back. Harper locks eyes with me, one eyebrow quirking slowly at my insolence.

"No?" She repeats.

"You said it yourself Harper. She's mine." I point out. "And only mine."

A sharp, hard laugh chokes out of her; followed by a loud guffaw.

"Yeah, that she is." She concedes, leaning across the table until I can see every fleck of colour in her eyes. "You just be sure you make the most of it." She warns in a low voice. "After all, we wouldn't want a pretty little thing like that to go to waste now, would we?"

The backhanded threat makes my stomach clench but I bite my tongue against replying. Instead, I step out from the bench and stride past her. I barely made it three steps before I feel her fierce grip on my arm and that despicable voice hissing in my ear.

"You see Goldilocks, you're no better than I am now."

I wrench my arm free, not even bothering to feign composure as I hurry back to my cell, where I promptly fall to my knees in front of the toilet and lose the contents of my stomach.

The most sickening thing about it is that she is right. I am no better than her.

In fact, I'm worse. I actually tried to justify what I did to her.

Wiping my mouth, I lean back against the wall and scan the small space. For the first time I realise that she isn't here.

I pick myself up on shaky legs and walk slowly to the bars, when she appears in front of me. Our gaze meets and for a moment we just regard each other cautiously. Finally, she brushes past me and sits down on the lower bunk, folding her legs beneath her.

Had she been watching me? Does she know that I had tried to defend her from Harper's gang?

I don't have the strength right now to even attempt to strike up a conversation, so I climb carefully onto my bed and lay down, wrapping my arms around my stomach.

"Sara." I lift my head, beginning to think I'd imagined it when the soft voice speaks up again. "My name's Sara Sidle."