A Third Rose

Chapter 3

First Day With the family

A/N: Well everyone prepare for the start of some truly wholesome family moments. Please Read and Review

-Patch, Rose/Xiao-Long Household-

The minute that Cinder entered the home, she couldn't help but make comparisons to the Glass Unicorn. Where the hotel was the most opulent and crowded place that she had ever seen, this home was far more humble and obviously less opulent. It also had a more, for lack of better word, welcoming quality to it. Still though she was waiting for the kindness to stop and for the torment to begin again.

She was positive that it would start soon enough, it was only a question of when. As such she didn't let down her guard, even as her new owners started showing her around the home. It started with the kitchen/dining room and the family room, and then soon led to the other rooms of the house. She was shown everything from the bathrooms to the bedrooms.

After a short while though they did come upon one that was a bit more Spartan than the others were. While Ruby and Yang's rooms were full of toys, posters and other such things, this particular room had a bed, a dresser and a desk. At least the bed looked far more comfortable than the one at the Glass Unicorn ever did. "It's a guest room and I know it isn't much, but we'll get you some more things for it soon."

Cinder was sure that it probably included something like removing the bed and replacing it with something much less comfortable. Still she'd be sure to enjoy the bed for a night or two as it looked much more comfortable than what she had slept on back in the Glass Unicorn.

"Ok," was all Cinder said on the matter, her face relatively blank. Summer looked at her with an expression of concern, but before she could say anything a loud growling noise filled the small hallway. Cinder's eyes widened and her face started to turn red in embarrassment as she realized that her stomach was the source of the noise.

For a moment Cinder thought that Summer and Taiyang would be angry at her. The Madame always punished her whenever she made 'inappropriate noises', even if it wasn't something she could control. Instead of being angry though, Summer just giggled and looked embarrassed while Taiyang raised an eyebrow at his wife and had an amused smile on his face "Well it looks like someone could use some dinner."

There was another strange growling noise only this time it was coming from Summer Rose, who looked somewhat embarrassed at the noise that her stomach made. At that Taiyang chuckled "Well, it looks like we could all use some dinner."

A short while later, Summer, Taiyang, their children and Cinder were all gathered around a dinner table. Ruby and Yang were both eagerly awaiting the food. Apparently it was chicken that had been bought from the store along with some vegetables, and there were a number of cookies that had been made for dessert. The parents were still finishing up making the food but even Cinder thought it smelled good already.

Cinder noticed that when Ruby saw the cookies she couldn't take her eyes off of them and was practically squirming in her seat. In fact Cinder thought she saw what may have been drool at the corners of the little girl's mouth. Yang wasn't much better but at least she was a little bit more controlled. As if to distract herself Yang looked over at Cinder and declared "You're going to love momma and daddy's cooking!"

Ruby was nodding along emphatically, to which Cinder started to wonder if the girl was always like this or if she had some kind of weird condition. "Yeah her cookies are the bestest ever!" she almost yelled. At that Summer looked over at her daughter with a smile and said "Ruby, indoor voice please."

The youngest of the children's face went as red as her namesake and embarrassedly mumbled "Sorry mama." For a moment Cinder wondered if Ruby was about to get more punishment but instead Summer just continued to smile "It's alright dear."

Cinder's eyes blinked, back at the orphanage if someone was loud or rowdy, then punishment was always sure to follow. Why wasn't that happening here? She wanted to ask why but found herself keeping her mouth shut, if only to make sure that she wouldn't end up being punished for asking questions.

Soon enough the food was passed out and she inquisitively poked at her food with a fork for a few moments before she ate a bit of the chicken that had been made for her. The instant that the food hit her mouth there was an explosion of flavor, especially in comparison to the food that she had managed to pilfer back at the Glass Unicorn. As she started to chew, she started to feel tears at the edges of her eyes, this was the best food she had ever tasted.

She was so stuck on the delicious taste that she failed to notice that everyone else was looking at her with concerned expressions. It was only after she swallowed it that she noticed that Yang and Ruby had both gotten out of their seats and were at her side almost instantly "Why are you crying?" Yang asked, her eyes filled with concern. "Do you have boo-boos?" Ruby already had tears in her eyes when she came up to Cinder and started tugging on her shirt.

Cinder looked at the girl with complete and utter confusion, why were they concerned? Still she felt almost compelled to say something "N-no, I'm fine. I-just, haven't tasted such great food before."

Clearly that was the right thing to say as both of the kids scampered back to their parents. Once they were close enough looked up at both of them and started gushing about how their parents' food was the best in the world; and that they needed to make more for CInder. Their parents however, both looked more than just a little bit concerned yet at the same time, unsurprised at Cinder's words.

Taiyang and Summer looked as though they wanted to say something but apparently decided not to do so. Cinder wasn't sure why though. Instead Summer just encouraged everyone to dig in. While Cinder was reluctant at first, she soon stared scarfing down the food like there was no tomorrow, and who knew when she'd have the opportunity to have food this great again.

For a while she kept eating the delicious food until her plate had become completely bare, each bite was even better than the last. However she wasn't sure if she should take the plate and start cleaning it or if she should wait for everyone else to finish their meal. Not only that but while she was still hungry for some more food, she dared not ask for more for fear of some kind of punish-

"Cinder, are you still hungry? If you want, you can have some more."

Cinder was almost shocked to hear that. She had never been allowed a second helping, if she had been caught trying to have any food the Glass Unicorn or the orphanage she had lived in previously then she would have been severely punished. There would have to be some kind of price for this tomorrow or even later in the evening, but at least she could enjoy some more food.

"T-thank you," she said before she was given a second course.

The dinner proceeded rather well, all things considered. When she was given those cookies for desert however, she realized that this was the first time anyone had ever allowed her to even touch something that was made as a treat. Any time she had made the attempt…well, the Madame made sure she understood the consequences of doing that. She was only broken out of her thoughts when she noticed that Ruby was looking directly at her with an oddly chipper look on her face.

"Do you like mommy's cookies?" she asked. At first Cinder didn't really know what she should say to the little girl but soon settled on just being honest "It's one of the best things I've ever tasted in my life."

At that Ruby and Yang all but cheered but their parents seemed to grow even more concerned with every passing moment. Desert continued for a while until Ruby and Yang asked if Cinder wanted to play with them, making Cinder more than just a little bit nervous regarding it.

She remembered exactly how the Madame's daughter's liked to 'play' with her, and really didn't want to experience that again. Summer seemingly noticed how uncomfortable with this was making the girl and asked "Ruby, Yang, I think that Cinder could use some rest, it's been a long flight from Atlas and I'm sure she's tired. Besides, it will be your bedtimes in a couple of hours. The three of you can play tomorrow."

At that both girls groaned and simultaneously let out a "But moooooommmyyy."

Taiyang meanwhile just smiled and cocked an eyebrow "'but' nothing young ladies, it may be the weekend tomorrow but you still need your sleep."

The two girls groaned pitifully at the thought of having to go to bed on time and not staying up later than they wanted. The over-the-top looks that they were giving their parents in a desperate attempt to convince them to stay up longer only caused them to smile and repeat that they needed their rest. Cinder was surprised at the display the two kids gave their parents, if she had ever done anything like that back at the orphanage or gods forbid the Glass Unicorn…well, punishment would often follow.

Though it seemed as that was different here, but at the same time it was rare for the Madame to ever punish her daughters, no matter what they did to Cinder in the Glass Unicorn. In fact the Madame would sometimes even subtly encourage them to punish Cinder if they ever saw her slacking off or even if she didn't look like she was working as quickly and efficiently as she should have been. Of course they weren't to do such things in public as it would only hurt the hotel's reputation, and even the Madame wouldn't show them any mercy if that happened.

Cinder was broken out of her thoughts when she saw Summer look over at her as well, and she felt herself become nervous. "Cinder, it's also starting to get a little bit late, and you've had a long journey from Atlas. Do you want to get some rest too?"

At first the girl didn't know what to say to her. She had thought that Summer would put her to work on cleaning up the dishes before cleaning the rest of the dining room. Instead though both parents had already scooped up the dishes and had begun to clean them. Cinder was unsure as to whether or not she should help as since they stated that she didn't have to but at the same time, she thought it might just be a test to see what she'd do but they had asked if she wanted rest so…maybe it would be a good idea to get some sleep. And if she was punished for going to bed early well…at least she got some extra sleep out of it before they put her to work.

Eventually Cinder responded to Summer's question with a shrug and a nod, all while hoping that this wouldn't get her into trouble somehow.

Summer noted that she would have to take the girl out tomorrow to get her some new clothes. Sure she had been given some during her time in Atlas but they were more dull and plain than anything else. Summer led the girl upstairs to her new room and before Cinder could enter Summer said "If you need anything, anything at all. Please let us know."

At that Cinder gave a small noncommittal nod. It was one that Summer and Taiyang had seen on their own children every now and again where they weren't entirely convinced of something but knew that they shouldn't disagree. As Cinder climbed the stairs up to her room Summer noted that she would have to carefully vet whatever family she tried to find for the girl. Of course tomorrow they would have to get her some new clothes, the clothes given to her by Atlas were too similar to that uniform that she wore back at the hotel.

She didn't need to be reminded of that every time she put on clothes.

Surprisingly enough, Cinder found herself sleeping relatively well through the night, and by 'well' she meant she fell asleep relatively easily. Though that wasn't difficult given that the bed was far more comfortable in comparison to the wooden pallet she was forced to sleep on before. However staying asleep was another matter entirely; she still had nightmares of her time in the Glass Unicorn and her time in the orphanage that she lived in before, which woke her up several times throughout the night. Eventually though the young girl woke and found herself unable to get back to sleep.

It wasn't until the small clock on the nightstand next to her bed hit six o'clock that she decided to get out of bed. Back in the Glass unicorn if she wasn't up and moving to start cleaning the floors then she wouldn't have any food for the entire day. She had no reason to think that it wouldn't be the same here as it was back there. While Summer had stated several times that she wouldn't do something like that to her, it was more than likely a ploy of some kind. People had only ever nice to her to get her to lower her guard.

She got into the same clothes she had on yesterday and started to make her way downstairs. Cinder would have to start working on cleaning the floors before everyone got up. She didn't want anyone to hurt her because they thought she was too lazy to clean.

As Cinder made her way downstairs, she started to realize just how quiet Patch was in comparison to the bustling metropolis of Atlas. In Atlas, something was always going on, even late at night or even in the early hours of the morning. In Patch however there was very little noise besides the rustling of trees and what sounded like snoring coming from one of the rooms.

It gave her a sense of déjà vu, it was like she was back at the orphanage in Mistral rather than in Vale. Cinder quickly shook those thoughts away. She had chores to do and she didn't want to be punished for not doing what she was supposed to do. Sure she hadn't exactly been told to do any chores but it was obvious that they didn't have to. They probably just expected her to do the same kind of chores that the Madame did.

A few minutes later Cinder had made it downstairs and had already started to look for the cleaning supplies. The first place that she checked was one of the closets near the entrance but they only had jackets, coats and shoes, no vacuum cleaners or other supplies. Weird, that was usually where they were placed back in the Orphanage and the Glass Unicorn had several huge ones for the all the cleaning supplies.

After that she checked the cabinet underneath the sink and found most of what she was looking for. A bucket, a couple of sponges and some cleaning fluid. She'd have to get some paper towels as well before she got started but-

"Cinder? What are you doing up so early?" a concerned voice asked, taking Cinder by surprise. She flinched and tried to get up by reflex, banging her head against the bottom of the sink. She felt the bruise forming on the back of her head even as she crawled out of the cabinet.

The pain from the bruise wasn't nearly as bad as some of the ones Cinder had gotten from the Madame's daughters when they were feeling particularly cruel towards her but it still hurt. She felt her eyes water as she covered the bruise with both of her hands without directly putting any real pressure on it as she stood up and turned to face the person that had surprised her.

When she turned she saw that it was Summer's husband. It took her a moment to remember her name but then it came back to her, Taiyang Xiao-Long. Why Summer hadn't taken on her husband's name or vice-versa Cinder didn't know but at the moment it didn't really matter. "I-I'm sorry, I thought that I was supposed to get up and start cleaning."

Taiyang looked saddened by the explanation before he headed for the fridge/freezer and took out an ice pack and took out a pair of seats from the table and gestured for Cinder to have a seat. With a small amount of hesitation Cinder had a seat on the chair and watched, confused as Taiyang gently placed the ice pack on the back of Cinder's head, allowing the cold to numb the young girl's bruise.

Summer's Husband gave the girl a kind yet worried smile and said "Cinder, you don't have to worry about being forced to work or being punished if you don't while you're here."

"That's what Mrs. Summer said, but…" she trailed off not really sure what else to say.

Taiyang nodded "You didn't know if you could trust her," it wasn't a question. Cinder looked at the floor and didn't say anything, too nervous to look Taiyang in the eye. "Summer told me everything about what had happened back in…that place. She wanted to save you because she saw that you were being abused and she couldn't just sit back and let something like that happen to someone, let alone someone as young as you."

"I-I, just don't know. E-everyone who ever acted like…" She stuttered, trailing off. Cinder wanted to believe it, she really did, but experience still told her otherwise. Taiyang pat the girl's shoulder and said "It's all right, kiddo, now how about I get you something to eat. Everyone should be getting up here soon anyways."

Cinder felt more than a little bit nervous, she never had to cook before and it must have shown on her face as Taiyang smiled and patted her shoulder again "Hey, you don't have to worry. You don't have to cook anything, just enjoy the meal I'll make for everyone. Alright?"

The girl that Summer had rescued, looked a little bit more relaxed at that but she was obviously still nervous and quite possibly a little overwhelmed but with some luck that would change.

After a few minutes the pain in the bruise subsided and Cinder took off the ice pack and handed it back to Taiyang, who seemed reluctant to just take it back "Are you sure you don't need it?" he asked. Cinder shook her head "No, it doesn't even hurt much now."

Now for some reason Taiyang seemed even more reluctant to take it from her "Just keep it on for a few more minutes, I'll get to work on making breakfast for everyone." Cinder shrugged and kept the ice pack on the back of her head for a little while longer before taking off and handing it back over.

After that she just simply sat there and waited patiently as Taiyang continued to make breakfast, and she could tell that it was a much simpler meal than was always being made at the Glass Unicorn. It was simple bacon and eggs rather than the extravagant food that was always being made by the chefs at the hotel. It still looked completely delicious though and smelled even better.

Eventually as one of her new caregivers continued to make breakfast he addressed Cinder directly, "Cinder, today we're all going to go out to Vale on a shopping trip."

Cinder blinked, and immediately knew what was coming next "And you'll need me to carry everything. Right," she nodded.

There was a second or two of silence as Taiyang stopped before turning to face Cinder directly, a surprised expression on his face "No, not at all, you don't have to perform any manual labor or act as some kind of…servant for us while you're here."

While both Taiyang and Summer had made this point several times it was obvious that Cinder wasn't really getting the message. Though it was probably understandable, she had been a slave in that hellhole for over a year and gods knew how bad it was in the orphanage she had been in before.

A few minutes later the family had fully gathered around the table and were eating the food that had been laid out, with Yang and Ruby cheerfully devouring the food along with Cinder. It was almost a recreation of what had happened on the previous night but only this time, Cinder wasn't crying tears of joy.

When they were all but done with breakfast Ruby kept looking at Cinder and then looking down while fidgeting, so much in fact that Cinder was starting to wonder if the girl was even capable of sitting still. "Uh, do you need something Ruby?"

Ruby looked as though she was barely able to contain herself when she asked or rather nearly yelled: "CanyouplaywithmeandYangtodaypleasepleaseplease?!"

Cinder just stared incomprehensibly at the girl, not understanding a word that came out of her mouth. Gods how could someone so small speak so fast? "…What?" she asked finally, not really knowing what else to say in such a situation all while wondering if she was having a repeat of the previous day.

Ruby's face flushed in embarrassment and she started to poke her index fingers together, "Ummm…do you think you could play with me and Yang today?" she asked nervously while Yang looked excited "Yeah we need more people to play Hunters and Grimm with us, it's no fun when there's only two of us."

The ten-year-old looked over at the girls' parents and saw that Summer had that exact same look she had when Cinder first met the two girls –minus the weird cooing and taking pictures-, while Taiyang just had an indulgent smile on his face. Well clearly, they weren't going to be any help at all.

Cinder looked back over at the two kids and how they were still looking at her expectantly, "Umm…" she trailed off for a second before finding her voice "How do we play that game?" she asked. She hadn't really played any games with anyone before so was unsure of what to really do.

The second those words were out of her mouth, Cinder started to wonder if that was the smart thing to ask as both of the girl's eyes began to sparkle in a way that seemed more than a little ominously. The two went into a long explanation that they would fight the Grimm and save the world, and for a brief moment Cinder was wondering if their parents actually let them fight Grimm but then realized that they were probably going to fight against imaginary foes. Some of the kids back at the orphanage did that from time to time.

Of course, they never invited her to join in, she always was the freak of the place anyways. This was probably the first time anyone had ever actually asked her if she wanted to play with them. There was a strange feeling in her that was starting to grow, and she wondered if this was happiness. "Okay, I'll try it a little later."

Both Ruby and Yang all but cheered in victory at that and were obviously more than eager to try and have fun with their new houseguest (and potential new friend). At that Summer looked over at Cinder and asked "Cinder, before you play with Yang and Ruby, we were going to go and get some new clothes for you."

A look of fear and anxiety came over Cinder's face "W-what kind of clothes?" she asked. She really didn't want to be put into a servant's outfit again. Immediately seeing the look on the girl's face, the two adults in the room moved to try and reassure her "Any kind of clothes you want."

Cinder didn't looked scared or anxious anymore and instead looked more perplexed. Did she think it strange that someone would want to be nice; to give her something out of kindness without any strings attached? For Summer it was almost heart wrenching. Still though, she'd make damn sure that this girl had a future where she was surrounded by those that cared for her, and she always kept her promises.

It was almost the afternoon when the family took Cinder on a trip to Vale and they went to several clothing stores to see if they could find something that she would like. In one of the clothing stores Cinder had just finished trying out a new outfit that the Rose/Xiao-Long family had helped her select. This one was a red long-sleeved shirt with a cutesy looking logo of a shark on it. Why someone thought that making a shark look cute was a good idea was as strange as the fact that they had somehow managed to succeed at doing it.

She also put on a relatively simple auburn colored skirt with some dark leggings. All in all it felt and looked a lot nicer than the rags she wore at the orphanage or the itchy, uncomfortable uniform she was forced to wear during her time as a slave in the Glass Unicorn.

If she were to be completely honest, they were easily the best clothes she had ever had. "Well what do you think?" Taiyang asked. Cinder once again had to hold back some of the stronger emotions that she was feeling for the time being. It was something that had been happening many times over the last twenty-four hours.

Cinder smiled and said "I really, really like it!" She declared.

Ruby looked over at her sister and had a look of utter triumph while the latter's expression was more disappointed "Told ya, she like red better!" Ruby declared. Yang then turned to glare daggers at her little sister and said "That doesn't mean that red is better than yellow!"

From there it devolved into a really, really bizarre and childish argument between which color was better. One in which eventually the only words that were being spoken were either "yuh-huh" or "nuh-uh" it was so bizarre that Cinder instinctively looked to the only chance for a bastion of sanity she had left. Only to find out that both Summer and Taiyang were just smiling indulgently at the scene.

Cinder was now wondering whether or not this was normal in most families or if this one was just completely insane.

Either way, it was kind of fun to watch.

After they finished shopping for clothes, Cinder found herself on an impromptu tour through a part of Vale as they headed to and from various stores to look for things for Cinder. Through it all, Cinder found herself starting to compare the city to that of Atlas and she found that she was liked Vale more than the floating city. However when one considered everything that had happened during her time in Atlas, it was more than understandable as to why that was.

The trip continued for a while before eventually the group passed a playground that Ruby and Yang immediately requested to go and play on. "Please mommy, please daddy!" Ruby gave a wide-eyed, pleading expression and Yang wasn't all that far behind.

Taiyang and Summer just smiled and nodded. The two girls rushed off and began running around playing on the park's playground equipment. As Cinder watched she noticed that the two had picked up a couple of sticks and were swinging them at thin air all while making sound effects. It was a surreal scene, but then again back at the orphanage the never really had all that much in the way of fun. So maybe this was how normal families played?

"Cinder!" yelled Yang who was still swinging her stick at the imaginary enemy while looking back at the dark haired girl who was just standing there between the park bench where Taiyang and Summer were sitting and the playground itself. The older girl looked over at Yang and blinked owlishly even as she and Ruby both gazed at her with expectant looks on their faces.

"You said you would play with us." Said Ruby, sounding almost disappointed in the fact that Cinder hadn't joined them. Cinder however found herself feeling utterly guilty about not joining in for some reason. Sure she had said she would but if she were being honest, she still wasn't sure about it. However just a few seconds of Ruby giving her that look was more than enough to make Cinder completely cave. She didn't know how the kid did it but she was wondering if she had her aura unlocked then maybe it was her semblance.

Cinder put on a small smile to try and reassure the girl and said "All right, I'll play." The girl's eyes lit up almost instantly and Ruby and Yang rushed over to her with ridiculous speed. Both of them had each grabbed a separate arm and were practically dragging Cinder towards the playground and were looking for a suitable stick for her to use against the imaginary Grimm.

As Cinder joined in the weird little game, she slowly found herself enjoying playing with the two girls. Granted this wasn't something that she had ever done before and while it was childish, she honestly didn't mind. It was just so much fun!

While the trio continued to play their little game, Taiyang and Summer watched on, a pair of gentle smiles on their faces as they watched. As far as first days went in a new home surrounded by new people, they both thought that things were going quite well.

To be continued.