🔪Trigger Warning🔪: Child abuse

  The second he fell I stood frozen as I stared down at him. The look of shock on his face made me feel sick to my stomach as tears slipped out of my eyes. Stop crying Cleo! He was going to kill you!

"Cleo, we need to go before anybody finds us," I look up in surprise at Leo. I thought he could come in here.

"Thank you," I say quietly as I look back down at my brother.

"Anything for you love," He says and I wrinkled my nose at the nickname.

"How did you get in here?"

"It was pretty easy since there were only two guards to get rid of, I thought there would be at least a couple more. Anyway I knew you needed my help so here I am."

I hated that he said that so easily, how he could kill someone without a second thought. I started walking towards the throne room door. I swung the door open as bright rays of sunlight hit me blinding me for a couple of seconds. When my eyes adjusted I saw the throne sitting there and no surprise that my father was sitting on it.

"You finally arrived," he said with a huge smile on his face. He has a lot more Gray hair than I remember him having the last time I saw him and his body looks more frail. I look behind me to Leo and his eyes darken.

"I thought you were dead, guess I should have known it was too easy." He comments as he shifts in his chair looking uncomfortable.

The throne room was as huge as I remembered, the only thing that was in it was the throne and a big glass window behind it that let in all the light making whoever sat there look like a god except my dad looked like anything but.

"How has it been living with a devil like him," my father asks, gesturing to Leo.

"Better than it ever was with you," I'm not sure if that's true but it hasn't been horrible.

My father looks taken aback as he looks at me,"He's changed you for the worst Cleo, look at yourself what would your sister think." I muster a glare at him that he doesn't seem to notice. "You need to rethink your decision, how could you trust someone that killed so many people."

"He actually killed for a reason unlike you, I wish you were never my father, you're cruel, insufferable, and stupid. You think you're all powerful because you have magic but what can your magic even do? make roses, make water, make food, I dont get why that makes you so "special" besides I've never seen you use your magic in my life."

"I have used my magic, all of it on something that your boyfriends knows a lot about. Remember that virus that has been going around burning people from the inside out? I created that with my magic to kill off the people of my choosing. I have tried your boyfriend multiple times but it never seems to work on him. He must be immune to it, I tried you and let me just say it seems to be working," I stood there frozen in fear, I was going to die because my father infected me. Maybe he wasn't even telling the truth. How could his magic create some disease so dark?

"Y-ou killed Mom?" I ask weakly.

"Of course I did, she was useless, she gave me children and that was her only use." He looks around me and I assume at my brother's body. "Looks like your the only one in my way of ruling now."

"You're not infected Cleo," I hear Leo's voice say behind me,"He's lying."

I look back at him confused but he quickly reaches his arms out and catches a knife that my father threw at me. I quickly look back at my father who looking a little shocked that Leo had been able to catch that.

"Think about what you're about to throw, I'm always going to catch it," Leo looks deadly, his eyes seem to sparkle and it doesn't look like a nice sparkle it looks plain evil. I turn back to my father with my arms crossed.

"We can work something out, a truce maybe?" He asks and I almost laugh at how pathetic that sounds.

"No father, you can't rule anymore, look at how everything is now. Children as slaves, women getting sold like me, slaves in general. It's not right at all and you need to realize that but it might be hard for you since you're literally as smart as a newborn baby." He lets out a laugh at my little rant.

"You really have changed," he pulls out a knife and holds out the hilt out to me, "Here kill me." He says it so bluntly like he doesn't even care. I just stand there staring at him frozen in place and that's when the guards start rushing in. They surround us before we can even move there must be about ten of them.

"I am a nice man Cleo so I'll give you and your boyfriend a choice, you can either die now or I'll let you go and I don't want to ever see you again. I want you to leave Rose kingdom and never come back." The guards have swords pointed at us so I slowly raise my hands up.

"We'll leave," I nudge Leo to signal him to raise his hand up but it doesn't work because he only just grabs my arm and starts walking towards the door. The guards move out of his way as he walks and soon he makes it to the door. He pushes me through first and then follows me closing the door behind him. He finally lets go of me and we walk side by side out the front door of the palace.

"We need to leave," Leo says, still not looking at me as we walk out the front gate.

"But-"

"We need to, lay low for a bit, find some supporters then we can come back." We are walking towards town when Leo goes up to a stable that says 5 dollars per hour. I come inside and immediately see our white mair. He goes up and unlocks the stall and gets on and then pulls me up.

"There's a place I need to go before we leave," I pause but I don't get a response, "When I was about to be sold this child had been there. I guess as a servant but I just need to go get them, it will make me feel like I actually did something."

He sighs,"ok."

"Thank you," I say.

*************************************************************************************************************

On our way there we stopped at Axles for a little rest but the second the sun set we left. Leo and I have barely talked and I think he might be mad at me for making such a foolish plan to kill my family when I couldn't even do it.

"I'm sorry," I say quietly and he turns his head to look at me,"I'm sorry I shouldn't have made a plan I couldn't even follow through with.

"It's fine," He says and he says it so quickly I almost miss it.

It's almost dawn when we reach the auction place, I shiver at the memories that rush into my brain and I can swear I feel the Rose on my arm tingling. There is a building behind the outside stage. Leo stopped our horse and we got off. He starts walking towards the side door and I follow but before we go any farther he stops and turns around.

"What are you going to do with this child when we actually get them?" He looks mad and I immediately take a step back from him.

"I um- keep it?" I say quietly and he rolls his eyes.

"We can't keep a child, do you know how much responsibility that would be."

"I just thought...maybe we could find a good family for it when we find another city, a better city."

"There might not be any city out there Cleo do you really want a kid to suffer through hunger and starvation."

"They are probably already suffering, I just need to do this, please Leo."

"Fine" he mutters angrily. I wonder why he is still mad at me. He walks off and I follow. I notice a door at the side of the building which must be some sort of entrance. When we get to the entrance Leo opens the door to what looks to be a sitting room. I immediately see her, the lady that had found me in the sewer.

I immediately find myself hiding behind Leo as he walks over to the lady.

"No returns, Auctions are on Saturday, and no you can't buy a girl now," She says dryly, not even looking up from the paper she is reading.

"Sandra," Leo says, sounding bored, he knows her? Sandra's head immediately shoots up at Leo's voice.

"Oh Mr. Arden," She looks flustered and then her eyes find me and she smirks. "How is the girl treating you?"

"Fine."

"What do you need," She stands up from the chair she was sitting in.

"My girl has told me that there was a child servant here, is that true?"

"Oh yes Mr. Arden, would you like me to go get her, she has just undergone some punishment so she doesn't look the best right now." Punishment? I want to throw up right there on the floor. Sandra leaves and Leo turns to me.

"Don't act so scared, they're not going to do anything to you." I slowly walk up to stand next to him.

I can hear the child before I even see her, I can hear the cries and she makes. I clutch on to Leo's arm as I prepare myself for what I'm about to see. Sandra walks back, she is basically dragging the little blond girl, she throws her at our feet and I want to vomit right there. I can see wounds all over her body and some blood is already leaking on the floor.

"You can have her, she's been a nuisance since she was sold to us." I kneel down and place a gentle hand on her shoulder which only makes them sob harder. This is going to be a lot harder than I thought. 

***********************************************************************************************

  I know... This chapter need a lot of editing... wait actually this whole story needs more editing! I wanted to let you all know that this is a first draft so obviously this story is not going to be the best...  

  After I finish posting all parts of Roses Are Red I will start editing dont worry! 

This is how I imagine the little girl in this chapter!!