(I know I said I'd be working on school for a while, but these next several chapters have been written for a while, so don't yell at me. Also, I've been having so many awesome ideas run through my head for this story. And this might make me seem like a big baby, but I was near tears while I was working on it during a break from my homework. I honestly cant remember ever being more excited for a story than I am for this one. I hope you all enjoy where it goes as well.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and I'll see you all again in roughly a week with the next one!)

I awoke to bright light coming through the window between the cracked open curtains. I sat up, ignoring the screaming pain of my body, and noticed immediately that Sebastian was gone.

My heart sank a little, but my brain knew better. He had jobs to do around here, and I didn't even want to think about what would have happened had one of the other servants caught him holding me.

I shook the thoughts from my head, then threw off the covers and got to my feet. I slowly made my way over to the closet, trying not to make the pain any worse. I carefully tore away my tattered dress, frowning. I'd liked that one.

I turned back to my closet, grabbed a plain white dress that hung loosely, and somehow managed to put it on only using my right hand. My left still ached to move, so I tried not to do so.

I jumped when I heard a light knock on the door. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I took the few steps over to the door and opened it.

Standing outside was a relieved yet concerned Sarah. I gave her a small smile.

"I was going to help you change," she said as she entered the room.

"I just wanted to try. It was harder than I thought to change clothes with one hand."

"I'm sure it was. Here," she put her first aid kit on the bedside table and turned to me. "I should really change your bandages now."

I nodded, and watched her expressions change as she changed the bandages around my waist and the one on my cheek. Once she finished, she looked at me and smiled.

"All done. Everything seems to have stopped bleeding, so you should be fine in a day or two."

I returned her smile. "That's a relief. I hate lying around and not being able to do anything."

"I know you do, which is why I am not going to stop you from doing whatever you like today. You're not so injured that you can't walk, I just wanted your wounds to close before you started moving around again. You could've prevented them from healing."

I nodded, only half listening to what she said. Something was bothering me, but I couldn't figure out what. Maybe I was just paranoid because of the events of the day before.

Her concerned look returned. "Is something wrong?"

I shook my head quickly. "No, sorry. I'm just nervous."

Sarah nodded. "We all are. Jasmine refuses to go back outside."

My mind snapped back to reality at the sound of Jasmine's name. "Jasmine! Thomas! How are they?"

Sarah grabbed my shoulders. "They're fine. Both are back to their normal selves."

I sighed in relief. "I was so worried..."

Sarah gave me a soft smile. "There was no need to be. We told you last night that there was no lasting damage."

"But they're my friends. I worry about all of you."

Her smile brightened. She picked up her first aid kit, then walked toward the door. "What would you like to do today?"

I glanced over at the clock on the wall. It was nearly eleven in the morning. I really need to stop sleeping so late.

I faced Sarah again. "Tell Maia I'll be down for lunch soon, and tell Jasmine that she doesn't have to worry about the garden until everything is over. I don't want to force her to be somewhere she isn't comfortable. She can help you around the house instead."

Sarah nodded. "I'll see to it." Then she left the room, closing the door behind her.

After she left, I turned to my vanity and picked up my hairbrush. I did my best to brush my hair with one hand, then set the brush back down and eyes myself in the mirror. It didn't look the best, but at least I wasn't going to be walking around looking like Medusa.

I then looked down at my collection of hair ties, trying to decide if I could put my hair up one handed. I then glanced down at my injured hand and moved my fingers. The pain was far from dull, but it was bearable. I picked a glittery silver hair tie from the pile and used both hands to tie back my hair. I again looked over my appearance in the mirror. That was much better.

It had only been a few minutes, so there was no way Maia had lunch ready, but I decided to make my way downstairs anyway. I wanted to see Jasmine and Thomas. I knew Sarah said they were fine, but I wanted to see them for myself, and to thank Thomas personally for what he did for me.

I opened my bedroom door and stepped out into the hall. I could faintly smell something coming from the kitchen, but I couldn't place the scent.

I made my way down the hall and then down the stairs. The smell from the kitchen was drawing me to the dining room, but I stopped myself. I had to find one of them, at least.

As luck would have it, Jasmine and Sarah came out of a nearby room and entered the entrance hall of the house. I felt my face light up with a bright smile as I saw Jasmine walking around the place. I ran down the rest of the stairs and grabbed her in a tight hug. She let out a squeal of surprise, then a moment later hugged me back.

"I'm so glad you didn't get hurt," I told her, holding back tears that threatened my eyes. "I was so worried."

"I was more worried about you, I'm sure," she said, and I could hear the smile on her lips. "When I woke up, everyone told me what happened; how you had gotten hurt, and these people were only targeting you. I don't want to lose my best friend. I'm so happy that you're alright."

I pulled away from her, smiling and blinking back tears. "Don't worry. It's going to take a lot more than that for them to kill me."

Her tears overflowed then, and she latched onto me in another hug. I held her while she cried out her tears. "I'm not going anywhere, Jasmine. I promise you that."

She nodded, then pulled away and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry, I should get back to work."

I nodded. "Alright, but I want all of us to eat dinner together tonight. We haven't done so in ages."

Her smile came back, and she nodded. I felt Sarah place a hand on my shoulder, then they both left the room to get back to their duties.

I turned back toward the dining room, massaging my left hand. It hurt after hugging Jasmine, but I didn't regret it. I'd been so worried. I loved her. I loved all of them. They were my family, and I was never going to let anyone hurt any of them ever again.