The night Roselia and Nicholas's parents died, they were split up. Roselia was taken to a girls' boarding school in Brooklyn. The same boarding school Mr. Pulitzer's daughter, Katherine, went to. Although she was heartbroken, Roselia made the best of her situation at the school. She and Katherine were nearly inseparable due to the fact that they shared a similar fate. One day each of them would be married off to rich suitors to further benefit the Pulitzer name.

Roselia focused on what she loved to do: singing and dancing. She excelled over almost all the girls at the school in these categories and she learned a lot. Her time at the school, however, only lasted 5 years.

It was a warm Sunday afternoon in the middle of October, just before Roselia's 13th birthday. Sunday was her only rest day, but Rosie couldn't stop dancing. She loved it too much. The big front room window was open and occasionally a nice breeze blew in. She was tracing her choreography in front of the mirror over the mantle.

"You dance beautifully, Rosie." said a man's voice.

She didn't need to look in the mirror to see who it was. It was Mr. Snyder, the headmistress' "gentleman friend".

Roselia politely ignored him.

He wasn't particularly attractive, he was tall-ish with thinning hair that looked more white than blonde; and dull, shallow, blue eyes. He was always at the school calling on the headmistress, Ms. Trenton. He would bring her gifts, eat dinner with her and the girls at the school, and sometimes he would take Ms. Trenton away for days at a time.

Roselia just kept dancing. She closed her eyes but she could still feel his presence in the room. She tripped.

"You know," he said stepping closer. "it might be easier if you took that dress off."

Roselia turned, Mr. Snyder stared at her with a hungry-looking expression on his face. There wasn't anyone else around. Most of the girls spent time with their families on Sundays after church, including Katherine.

Roselia looked to the window open window. Someone would hear her if she screamed. She opened her mouth but Mr. Snyder was too fast. He rushed toward her.

"Silence!" he commanded, covering her mouth with his hand.

He slammed her head against the mantle. Her vision went blurry for a second and she felt dizzy from the pain. It was all she could do to prevent herself from collapsing. She blinked for her vision to clear. His eyes stared into hers as he tried a sweet, innocent expression. Still pinning her to the mantle, he reached around her back and started undoing the buttons on the back off her dress. Roselia's eyes widened. His innocent smile turned to one of evil pleasure. She whimpered in protest.

"Shhhhhhhh." he said.

Roselia didn't know where her courage came from, it all happened so fast. She punched Mr. Snyder right in the eye with her left fist and twisted out of his grip. She jumped out the open window, it was only a four foot drop into the rose bushes.

"HELP!" Mr. Snyder cried with false urgency.

Rosie's dress caught in the thorns. She took a second to pull it free. "Stop her! Temptress!"

Roselia ran as fast as she could. She didn't stop for fear that the police would hear Snyder's calls. She ran and ran until her energy was gone. Some people stared as she passed them.

Reaching the park, she sat down on a bench and sobbed, her face in her hands. She realized she hadn't cried this much since the night her parents died and she was separated from Nicholas. She was crying so much that she shivered, although it was a warm day for the middle of autumn.

Roselia heard an uncomfortable sounding cough. When she looked up she jumped. She was looking into blue eyes. But they weren't at all dull and cold like Snyder's. They were bright, icy blue, brighter than the sky. They belonged to a boy who looked close to Roselia's age. He was wearing a gray hat and pink suspenders, with a gold-handled cane hanging from his belt loop. He carried a stack of newspapers.

"Are you alright, Miss?" he asked.

Roselia couldn't break eye contact with him. "Miss?" he said again. Rosie shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. The boy pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her. It was a little discolored, but it smelled like fresh linen.

"Now," he said, dropping his papers on the ground. "are you lost? I know where your school is." Roselia realized her dress, her school uniform was a dead giveaway if someone was looking for her.

"No, I can never go back there!" She tried to keep herself from crying. The boy sat down next to her and took her hand. She flinched a little, but she could tell that this boy was sincere. She'd never held a boy's hand before, besides her brother's.

"Shhhh," he said trying to comfort her. "What's a pretty girl like you on the run for?"

"A man tried to take advantage of me." She said.

Roselia took a deep breath and recounted her story, still fighting back tears. The boy listened to every word she said. He smiled a bit when she told him how she punched Snyder.

"Bet you gave him a nice shiner." he said.

"Yeah," Rosie laughed a little. "I probably did." When Roselia finished the sun was beginning to set. The boy looked angry, he had his hand on his cane.

"That man doesn't deserve to walk the earth. Don't you worry," he said, "Me an' my boys is gonna get him. Do you know his name?"

She looked at him gratefully.

"His name is Mr. Snyder. I don't know his first name, but I know he runs The Refuge in Manhattan. I think it's an orphanage...?"

The boy's eyes widened.

"The Refuge ain't an orphanage. It's a jail for kids."

Roselia stared at him, the truth sinking in.

"They're going to put me in jail." she said, feeling panic settling in as well.

"No-"

"I'm fatherless and homeless and friendless and-"

"Not anymore," the boy said, extending his hand to her. "The name's Spot Conlon. And I think I know a place you can stay."

She blinked for a second but then she shook his hand.

"Roselia Meyers." she said. The boy started to help her up from the bench when she felt a breeze on her back. "Spot," she said, lowering her voice. "Could- could you do up the back of my dress?" The maids at Ms. Trenton's school always helped dress the girls. Rosie couldn't reach the buttons on her own. She trusted Spot. She knew he wouldn't do anything to her, but she still didn't know what to expect of his reaction. He blushed a little, barely noticeable, and nodded his head, going around the bench to help her.

"You're bleeding." he said.

Roselia touched the back of her head and her hand came back sticky with blood. "Is that from Snyder?" asked Spot.

Roselia nodded. Spot reached for his cane again, rage flashed in his eyes. "We gotta get you help quick."