I sank into an unconsciousness that blurred and then came into focus. I was lying on my bed in my room back at the Court, and Adrian's arms were wrapped tightly around me holding me to his chest. He combed his fingers through my hair ending shivers down my spine. I sighed in contentment.

"Adrian?"

"Yes my little dampire?"

"I've never been so happy for you to barge into my dreams." I tightened my arms around his neck.

"Me either." He chuckled. Even through my dream I could smell cloves on him. I wasn't about to chastise him. He'd been through as much as I recently.

"How are you doing?" he asked me

"You mean besides being on trial of high treason and being locked up in jail cell for a crime I didn't do? I'm just dandy Adrian."

"Rose Hathaway still finds a way to be sarcastic through the glum and gloom. You know that's not what I meant. I am clearly aware of the situation going on."

A few minutes passed between us. I didn't feel like complaining that my bed was lumpy I had no freaking blanket the color on the walls was driving me to madness and I had nothing to do with my life. After all… I was in prison

"You did great today in court though Rose. I'd have to say the speech you gave at the end though… really put the cherry on top of it all." I couldn't tell if he was being serious with me or not

"Adrian I don't know what more I can do or say to make them believe I didn't do it. It's like there all waiting around and barbering me with questions seeing if ill slip up and say I did kill her."

"You don't need to worry about it little dampire you've got a lot of people behind you that know you're not guilty. We're going to get out of this mess together and the real Culprit will be caught." I liked the sound of comforting voice but it wasn't enough.

"That might not be enough. Whoever framed me wants me dead and if he's got the sources that helped with such a dirty deed such as the murder of the queen then he's probably got the sources where if he wants me out of the picture and dead, I'll be dead."

Adrian sat both of us up and made me look into his eyes.

"I don't know what that cell's already done to you. I'm supposed to be the one with the negative attitude not you. Stop thinking about dying Rose. You're going to make it out of this mess alive. There could be a small chance that you end up getting sentenced but that won't stop us for fighting for justice."

"Adrian," I said in a very small voice. "Do you know what happens to those convicted of being a Royal Traitor?" I picked up my hand and brushed my fingertips across his face and looked into his eyes when he didn't answer.

"They are executed." I said it flatly. And just as it had taking me by surprise when Abe told me it took Adrian by surprise and he was dumbfounded with such an expression on his face it had no words to describe. And through the emotion of it all it was too much for Adrian to hold on to and I snapped out of make-believe-everything- is-fine- with-my- life world and fell back into to nightmare of my own life.

I woke up the next morning feeling very groggy. I stretched out my muscles. I was so stiff from sleeping in fetal position all night. I tried to look around for the time but… alas no damn clock. They probably thought I'd try to dig my way out with the clock hand. I cursed under my breath.

"Say something?" A voice startled me I turned around. A young man was sitting in a chair against with his feet propped up on another outside my cell. He had his arms folded and his eyes were closed. From what I could see he was handsome.

Since I'd had no real human contact in over 12 hours, I slept on a bag full of rocks, plus I was really cranky, the Rose attitude got a hold of me.

"Yeah where's my damn breakfast? Or are you trying to starve me since I didn't get dinner either." I asked

The guy opened his eyes with a big smirk on his face and nodded his chin over to the far right of my cell where a plate of food sat with a bottle of water adjacent.

I then realized I had cotton mouth and went over to the bottle of water, opened it, and chugged it. I was really thirsty and wanted another bottle.

Mr. Mysterious must have been watching me because I heard him chuckling from where he was sitting. I was two hungry to be annoyed and I started digging in to my food. It was cold from sitting but I didn't care. When I was done I was thirstier.

I walked to the middle of my cell and put my hands on the bars. I wasn't usually nice in the morning but since I wanted something I might was well try my best.

"Hey," I cleared my throat and Mystery Guard Man looked up at me. "Can I have some more water?" I asked.

He got up to and came back with another bottle stretching his arm into my cell and handing it to me.

"Thanks."

"You're Welcome." '

I chugged that bottle faster than I did the first.

"You really were thirsty."

"Yeah thanks for the other bottle… an actually surprised they even gave it to me in a bottle."

He cocked his head to the side and folded his arms and leaned up against my cell door. "Why?" he asked.

"I might have bottled up the pressure unscrewed the top which I'd aim at you hitting you like a bullet, leaving you defenseless and wounded while I have enough time to grab your keys and escape." My smart mouth was already up and running this early in the morning.

He laughed. "It's a good thing I don't have the keys then."

"Mhm…" I replied. I couldn't think of anything smarter.

"I thought everyone was exaggerating about you Rose Hathaway. You're quite a Handful."

"Who are you I haven't seen you around?"

He stretched his hand into my cell "I'm Parker." He said and I shook his hand.

"Wow. I'm surprised you shook my hand. I could have had a hidden lazar my sleeve that could have severed your arm-"

Parker interrupted me. "So when do the smart jokes leave the building?"

"You obviously do not know me." I said slyly.

"Touché."

"You're strangely nice to be a guard of someone like me."

"Someone like who?"

"Well… considering I'm behind bars."

"Do you want me to be mean?" he asked

"No, no… you just the first nice one I've come across in this whole mess. It's kind of nice not being treated like a criminal." I said sitting down on the edge of my bed.

"Because you're not one." He stated and his remark threw me for a second. Whoa. Again I didn't know what to say so I said the first thing that came to me.

"I didn't do it." I said in a quiet voice.

"I know." He said back.

Man… Parker was full of surprises. Not only do I land a pretty hot cell guard. I managed to get a nice one. Who on top of that believed I was not guilty. Maybe Adrian was right, maybe I had more people on my side than I thought.

I lied down on my make shift bed and probed myself up on my arm looking at Parker.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm actually happy to have you as my guard." I told him.

"Don't say that yet." Parker smiled at me. "I'm the watch while you're sleeping. Guardian Lenard is in charge of you when you're awake. I leave in 15 minutes."

"As he as cool as you are too?"

"You be the judge." He said flatly but he had a smirk on his face. Great.

I laid my head down on my lumpy pillow and tried to snooze. Dream of a better place… maybe if I tried hard enough I'd end up in Oz like Dorothy. Oz could be cool. I could live amongst midgets. I might even fit in. I was short enough.

I went on thinking like that for a while and when I woke up somebody different was sitting in Parkers chair. He was HUGE and very means looking. Just the kind of person I make fun of.

I sat up. "You must be Lenny."

"Guardian Lenard to you." He had a loud deep voice.

"Wow Lenny, what a booming voice you have. You know if they ever make a play where they need thunder… you should try out."

I heard Lenny sigh. It was clearly a sign of annoyance. "Ms. Hathaway you have the right to remain silent. Why don't you start practicing?"

"I miss Parker." I mumbled under my breath

I lay back down but I felt a lot of pressure in my lower abdomen. Dang I had to pee.

"Hey Guardian where's the bathroom in this joint?" I asked

Lenard jabbed his fat sausage finer in the direction of a little silver pot sticking out of the wall on the far left of my cell. There was a mangy curtain hanging by one side. Was that supposed to be a privacy wall? I hate my life.

"You have got to be kidding me." I said exasperated by it all.

"Then hold it." Lenny's voice boomed off the walls.

I groaned. God? It's me Rose… I know we haven't talked in a while but… when does this whole in my life bottom out?

I ended up using the sad excuse of a toilet. What was I supposed to do?

I started pacing around my cell I didn't want to lie back down. I had started seeing pictures on the ceiling. Not a good sign. I started getting dizzy from walking in circles so I turned around and started walking in circles in the opposite direction.

Lenny's voice boomed against my ear drums again.

"Hathaway you have a visitor."

I looked up seeing Abe and I actually smiled.

"Old Man, you don't know how happy I am to see you."

"Little Girl how are you this morning?" he asked me. As he came more into view I really noticed what he was wearing. Black slacks, a royal blue collared shirt and his normal multi colored scarf. In his head he wore a hat that looked like it was stolen from a 50's mafia king. On Abe it was…. Suiting.

"I'm okay, that's all I can say."

He leaned towards me and leaned against the bars whispering. "Are they treating you right?"

"We'll enough Mr. Lawyer." I probably looked like a mess. My hair was probably a tangle, my clothes were wrinkled from sleeping in a ball all night, and I probably had bags under my eyes.

"I've been working all night. I tried to sleep but Adrian woke me up all upset."

I would have known that as soon as he stopped dream walking with me he would go directly to Abe.

"We've been trying to uncover anything we can, find out anything that could help us in court. Adrian believes the man on watch of the hall your room is in could have been lying about what time he saw Adrian. I'd not hard to pay somebody off and mess with the camera equipment. We've been trying to find out an exact time frame."

I sighed. The odds weighed depressingly not in my favor. It was like when I wanted to hear some good news and for something to be right… everything would go left. It was all plummeting downhill. I felt as if I was sinking in mud; I was so deep in I couldn't breathe.

I sank down to my knees onto the floor still gripping the bars of my cell. Yesterday I was not guilty, I was sure that there was a way out and they would let me go. It had to be a misunderstanding or a horrible framing that would be uncovered. Now this morning as I sat on the cold floor I was still Not Guilty, I knew it my friends and family knew it. But it wouldn't be enough to save me in the end. Whoever was out to get me was more or a criminal mastermind than I thought possible.

"I want this to be over." I said

"Rose, your trial is the day after tomorrow, its coming up quick. It usually takes a few weeks to get to court and find a jury and get and have everything legally situated. They're not taking kindly to this situation. They're rushing through the process. They want to have who ever had done this to be tried and sentenced and for it to be done with. They want it to be over as fast as you and have this horrible mess behind them. They won't rest until they've pointed a finger at someone. It just happened that the finger is pointed at you."

My insides dropped and my whole body felt like jello. Before I had time to realize it or control it, tears were rolling down my face. It was like overnight I was a changed person. Rose Hathaway didn't cry. Now I was sobbing. When I was little I'd never had a dad there to pick me up when I fell and scraped my knee and was crying. I'd never had a dad there to put a band aid on and kiss my booboo's and wipe the tears from my cheeks. I'd never been held and been told everything okay.

Now my dad was here and I was crying trying to keep from hysteria. He reached an arm into my cell and patted my shoulder a few times. He took my chin and made me look up at him.

"Dad, get me out of this. Make it all stop." I said between chokes of breath. I'm pretty sure I had never called him dad before but that wasn't really the point of the moment. To my childhood fantasy he did wipe my tears off my cheeks.

"I will, I promise." But even I could hear the uncertainty quivering through his voice. "I have work to do." he told me and then he left me.

I climbed up onto my cot again and the lumpy pillow felt welcoming. And then I passed out from exhaustion.

So theres my first chapter. i really loved writing it Rose is such a smart mouth its so much fun to write :) dont you like parker? reviews please? they make me smile and it makes it worth while to spend my whole life on my laptop typing.

xo's Andi!