"Next," hollered the woman angrily. She was staring Jade down as if she wanted to strangle her and Jade wondered if she should have been afraid.

"Go on," Drake muttered, giving her a push in the direction of the angry woman "you are holding up the line."

She gave Drake an angry glance before being jerked away by her arm by the fat woman.

"Need your passport," the woman barked, without stopping.

"What?" Jade asked, frowning. This was different from all of the other train trips she had taken so far. Usually they didn't ask for that until she bought her new clothes.

In your pocket dear, Drake thought to her.

She reached her hand into the fabric of her dress. He was right there was something in her pocket. It was a piece of paper with a picture of her, her name, and her age-

"Yes, that's it," the woman snapped as she tore it out of Jade's hands.

How did you know? She thought to Drake suspiciously. She didn't even remember putting it there. In fact she knew that she hadn't put it there, but as of usual Drake thoughts were silent to her if he wanted them to be. She rolled her eyes.

"Okay, Miss Priss," the lady grumbled, "stand here I'll check and see what you have?"

Confused, Jade nodded. Once the woman had walked away and was out of her mind, Jade was able to notice that she was in some sort of dressing room filled with women dressed in corsets, hats laced with ribbons, flowers and feathers, leather boots, beautiful gem stone chokers, parasols, and jewelry made of gears and cogs.

In all of the train customs that Jade had been through, she had always bought new clothes from a special area in the station and handed whatever she had on over to the train people and they kept it until she returned to that world. The train station was in charge of keeping people in the correct clothes and items for each world then they had to keep track of the clothes that people left with them, which meant that the woman was leaving to fetch Jade's dress that she had left with them when Drake and Amon had ripped her away from her world.

And just as Jade expected, when she looked up she saw the woman carrying a cerulean blue dress. It was the very dress she had worn the day that Amon and Drake had stolen her from her life and dragged her into the hell that they lived with Damien.

She reached out for it and the woman handed it to her, along with her necklace, a pair of black boots, and lace stockings.

"You can go in there Miss," she said gruffly, pointing to an open dressing room.

Slipping into her old clothes, made Jade feel happier than she had in months. She spun around smiling, running her hands through the soft, silky fabric. She looked in the mirror, shocked to see herself. She felt like she actually looked nice for once, with her long black curly hair draping her shoulders and her bright blue eyes piercing out at her. She smiled at herself and almost laughed.

"Are you quite finished," the woman began to bark at her from outside.

She swung open the curtains and strode out, "Yes," she smiled happily, "thank you, what was your name again?"

"Didn't tell you little princess," she said mockingly, "now get, I've got work."

Keep walking straight. Drake thought to her. He was already waiting at the loading station, very impatiently. Through those doors, the ones that read Platforms eight through ten.

Jade pushed open the door, slightly irritated that Drake was being so snappish with her, to walk into a long tunnel, half of which was track for the trains and the other half made for walking. She looked to her right, where a red brick wall lined the tunnel. A metal sign with a golden number 8 was plated to the wall.

Go to Platform Ten. Drake's thoughts droned on in her head.

She strode past hundreds of men and women dressed in corsets and jacket with all sorts of hats and frills. It all seemed so familiar, almost as if she were at home. Suddenly a train blew it's deafeningly loud whistle. Shocked Jade threw her hands over her ears and clenched her eyes shut. Then Drake grabbed her by her elbow and tugged her towards an empty bench. Once she had sat down and the ringing had left her ears, she opened her eyes to find his deep brown eyes looking at her as a smile stretched across his face.

"Don't you look beautiful," he smirked, reaching out and running his fingers through her long, dark, curly hair.

With eyes wide, she studied him, ignoring the fact that his hand was in her hair. He looked just like he had when they were in Monorail, when he had tricked and played with her mind. She turned away from him, the memories burning on the backs of her eyelids. He was wearing a black double breasted tail coat. Shorter in the front than in the back, it defined his handsome figure very well with a pair black pants and boots, everything finely lined and ornamented with silver. She dared to look back at him and noticed that he had drawn his hand away from her and was now staring deep into her eyes almost apologetically.

"Jade," he began softly, "in Monorail before, you do know that Damien-


"Of course I know that!" She snapped, "I'm not stupid."

She steered her mind away from the previous night when Dane had informed her of that matter and instead thought about how hateful Drake had been to her every single day since he had brought her to Damien like some sort of prized animal.

"Right," he muttered as her thoughts uncontrollably flowed into his mind, "this has been as hard on me as it has been for you."

"Has it really?" She laughed out loud, sarcastically.

"Yes," he said frowning, looking even deeper into her eyes, "yes, of course it has. Do you think I want to live there anymore than you do?"

She rolled her eyes and turned away from him, "I'm sure that I can only imagine the suffering you've been through."

All pity vanquished from Drake's mind and he suddenly lashed out, grabbing her arm once more turning her towards him violently, "Jade, dear, I am forced to live with a man who is supposedly . . ."

He stopped himself suddenly and blinking furiously as he regained himself, began just as quickly, "who is apparently-"

He stopped again choking on the words, letting his head hang low, defeated. Jade thought he had given up, but at that moment he said, looking up at her, "A man who is my father, but not only hates everything about me, but also curses the day I came into this cruel world with every single breath he takes! Do you not understand how that tears at me constantly? Sometimes I feel like I am being ripped apart and there is nothing I can do about it! What did I ever do to him to deserve such hatred? I have no one Jade. No one. You at least have Erik and Dane and Amon too, recently. I have absolutely no one."

He had never been so open with her. These were some of his darkest thoughts, the ones he even had trouble admitting to himself. She stared at him dumfounded, almost expecting him to cry, but then she remembered who he was and knew that he wouldn't, even if he was on the inside. He looked so haunted that she did the only thing that she could think to do and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around him in an embrace. He sat rigid for a moment and then she felt his hands on the small of her back, pushing her closer to him.

They sat there for some time before Jade realized that he had fallen asleep. He hadn't slept in a week, but she didn't like sitting there with him draped over her. Sighing she leaned back, letting his head slide onto her shoulder.

"Did you kill him?" fluttered a sarcastic high pitched voice from the bench behind her.

She turned her head, annoyed that someone could be so nosy and found a girl around her age with large goggles on her head. She had reddish orange hair in two pigtails, sticking out on either side of her head and sitting her lap was a white cat, who like his owner also wore a set of goggles. Beside her laid a large floppy orange hat. She smiled at Jade devilishly. 

"Who are you?" Jade asked indifferently as she could.

"You didn't answer my question," the girl responded without even taking as much effort as to turn her head and look a Jade.

"What do you think?" She replied haughtily, "Of course he isn't."

"He looks familiar," the girl commented, now turning to look at Drake. Then she smiled and laughed with that high voice of her's, "Familiar indeed."

"What is so funny?" Jade asked angrily. This girl was starting to get on her last nerve. Her seductive voice and mesmerizing eyes were making her uncomfortable.

"Damien White," she said almost as an exclamation or statement she glanced at Drake as if she expected him to jolt up at her words and then muttered, "didn't know I'd be on a train with the bastard or else I'd have brought a gun."

"You know him," Jade asked, scowling at the sound of his name.

"No, of course not" the girl said stopping her laughing with a nervous cough, "but who hasn't seen or heard of the King's chief councilor."

"Hmm," Jade murmured. "You should take a closer look."

"Really?" she asked unbelievingly, looking from Drake to Jade.

"This isn't Damien," Jade said rolling her eyes.

The girl opened her mouth in an ah I see sort of way and then lost the look and squinted at Jade with an eerie smile. Then reaching out a hand prodded Drake in the shoulder. He opened his eyes slightly and then after a few seconds, shot up, looking at Jade suspiciously as if it were her fault he'd fallen asleep on her shoulder. Maybe he was wondering if everything that had just happened between the two of them was a dream or reality, but either way it wasn't too long before Drake's head ache returned, forcing him to double over in pain, Jade pursed her lips, trying to hide how much it hurt, while Drake simply began to curse.

"What the hell?" he shouted at the girl angrily, once he had stopped shouting about his headache, "I was trying," he turned to actually look at her and a quick frown flashed over his face as he finished his sentence more calmly, "to sleep."

"You wouldn't have for much longer any ways," she muttered through that same devilish smile as the loud blow of the train whistle laughed in Drake and Jade's pounding heads, but for a single moment in the pure sound Drake's eyes met with the girl's and yet only for that brief moment because Drake soon fell prey to another series of curses.

"Sure have a temper," the girl commented, mostly to herself.

"You would too if you hadn't slept in a fucking week," he growled at her and then mouthed to Jade, "who the hell is she?"

Jade only shrugged, while the girl said, "I'm Petra, Petra De'Vore Don't bother introducing yourself, I already know who you are."

"Do you really," Drake said, almost forgetting about his headache, "edify me then. Who am I?"

She gave him a smug look and then said, "You're Damien White, but my question is who's she?"

Jade glanced at Drake, wondering how he'd respond, "Damien White," he mused to himself with a laugh to guise his cool anger, "nice guess, but thankfully for you dear no."

"You're quite strange," she sighed and then reaching behind her into an old brown leather bag, pulled out a newspaper. She flipped through the pages, casually and then muttered, "See," holding the newspaper in Drake's face as she grinned. There was a picture of Damien and if Jade had to be honest she couldn't have been able to tell whether it was Drake or Damien without the caption. "You can't tell me that that isn't you. You do know by now, right?"

"Keeping pictures of Damien White?" He almost mocked her and then pursing his lips, Drake looked away, "It's time to board the train any ways. Come on Jade."

Giving a loud sigh to try to show Drake how annoyed she was with him for always ordering her about, she stood and followed him. She wasn't shocked by how much noise and smoke the train made. Each train seemed to be louder than the last. The trains were only used for transport between worlds and each one had its own path and was never taken off of it.

"Tickets," said a burly man with a thick brown mustache, dressed in a blue uniform with elaborately etched, golden buttons.

Drake reached into his coat pocket and handed them to the man, who in turn replied, "Thank you, you're in Booth D1."

"All right," Drake said and then reaching behind him took Jade's hand and led her into the train.

It was a golden kind of wood that lined the entire interior and the floor was covered with a mahogany carpet. Drake led her through that small hallway, as they passed by plenty of booth doors. The place was old, not quite to the point of dusty, but very well worn.

"In here," he said pushing her through a slide door and into a small booth, carefully closing the door behind them. She sat down and then scooted closer to the window, where cold air was seeping through the paper thin glass.

The small room was lined with bookshelves with an infinity of things from books, to toys, to card games, chess games, pictures, and much more. Along the wall ran a tiny train track, but it was sheltered by a round golden cage. Very similar to the other trains she had ridden on with Damien and Drake over the past several months.

"What's all of this stuff for?" She asked Drake. She'd never understood the reasons for all of the little trinkets and oddities in each booth.

"The train ride is over a day long," he replied, not even looking at her, but instead moving the red curtain lining the window of the booth with his index finger to look out into the hallway. "That funny girl with the cat is coming down this way, God, I hope that she doesn't come in here. Of course she is though. Just my luck."

"Well, this is going to be fun," Jade replied, folding her arms on the table in front of her and laying her head down on top of them.

"Listen," he said turning to her. "Did I happen to say anything strange to you before I fell asleep earlier? I can't decide if it's a dream or not."

"Can't you read it in my mind?" she asked him indifferently.

"No, all I hear is an overflow of everything you are currently thinking. Please, dear just answer my question," he whispered agitatedly, "and preferably before little miss kitty cat comes in here."

"Yes," she began slowly, "you did talk about Damien and about how much it disconcerts you that he hates you and how you're . . . well alone."

"Damn it," he growled to himself, just as the cat girl, Petra, slid the door open.

"Damn it," she muttered eyeing the two of them and then sighing sat down in the seat opposite Drake and Jade, "this will be a long ride."

Not soon after, the train jerked forward and then began to chug away. Jade looked out her window, watching the brick wall begin to move faster and faster, until she couldn't identify each brick separately and it all became black as they entered the tunnel.

There was a click and a light overhead came on, shining an orange glow. As Drake drew his arm back down to his side, Petra spoke for the first time since she had sat, "So you're his son then."

Rolling his eyes, Drake gave her a sarcastic smile and said, "Yes, now shut the hell up. I'm not in the mood to listen to you."

"Then go back to sleep because I don't particularly enjoy your company either," she retorted.

"I can't," he said grinding his teeth.

He was in a terrible mood, so Jade reached over and grabbed his hand. His headache immediately vanished from her head. Her constant thoughts finally left his mind and sighing in relief he closed his eyes and leaned back letting the velvety soft darkness engulf him.

He knew that he wasn't fully asleep and wouldn't be for a few minutes, especially since he couldn't shake the idea of him spilling out all of his worries to Jade, the ones which he'd kept hidden from her for so long.

Suddenly natural light flooded the booth as the train left the tunnel and entered a snowy plain.

"He said your name was Jade right?" Petra asked, stroking her cat behind the ears as it purred away.

"Yes," she replied shortly, not bothering to look away from the scene at her window.

"This is Vincet," she said, holding up her cat, smiling. He gave a deep meow and so she put him back down in her lap.

"That's fine," Jade said, watching Drake begin to lean her way. He'd fallen asleep and he wasn't the type of person to sleep sitting up. So she let him lay down in her lap.

"Are you two related?" Petra asked, curiously.

"No," Jade said, glowering down at him, hating everything about him.

"It's just that," she continued, "for two people who seem to hate each other so much, you seem very familiar with one another."

Jade pursed her lips, remembering what Damien had told the two of them long ago. "If you don't act like you are absolutely in love with one another, people will notice that you are too unpretentious with each other. They'll begin to ask questions."

With a soft sigh, Jade gently pushed the stray ash blonde hairs, out of Drake's face, "No, we aren't related, but we're-" pausing to regain herself, so that she didn't laugh, she continued, "we're in love," not knowing in better way to phrase it.

"Oh," Petra replied with a frown, "I did not see that at all. I mean the way he treats you is terrible."

Tell me about it! Is what Jade wanted to say, but instead said softly, "He's just in a foul mood because he hasn't slept in a week, wouldn't you be?"

"Not that you treat him any better," Petra finished her sentence with that devilish smile.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Jade said, frustratedly.

"Yes, but I don't want to start a fight," she laughed, tossing her hands in the air.

"Then don't," Jade snapped, digging her finger nails into the table tearing the old paint off in frustration. This girl had absolutely no idea what Jade had to live with every day and she had no right to sass her about her life.

"All right, I'm sorry," Petra muttered in defeat, eyeing the torn up table with pursed lips, "I didn't realize it was such a touchy subject. So, um, what's it like living with the infamous Damien White?"

Jade's eyes twitched onto Petra, what kind of question was that? "He's cruel and cold as a stone," Jade rolled her eyes.

"Hmm," Petra smiled and then with a cough, "figured as much." Her smiled grew into a grin as her eyes flashed with ferocity. "So . . . um," she laughed again, "well how is he? I've heard that he doesn't let the two out of his sight and well he clearly isn't here with you."

Jade frowned, but gave an answer nonetheless, "He's recovering."

"From what?" Petra smiled indifferently, lifting her hand into the light and tilting it this way and that watching the shadows with a morbid curiosity.

"I'm really not sure myself," Jade laughed with a roll of her eyes, "somehow he ended up with a broken arm and leg and nearly bled to death."

Petra's smile froze as her hand dropped with it. She pursed her lips and stopped speaking. Clearly and thankfully their odd conversation was over.

Jade sighed and let her eyes wonder around the shelves caging the booth. There had to be something to entertain her for the time being among the hundreds of trinkets on those wooden boards. Finally her eyes rested on a small golden watch ticking with the small bit of life the poor old thing had left.

Somewhere in the distance she thought she heard Petra say something to her, but she ignored her muffled voice, simply focusing in on the ticking of the clock feeling it beat in rhythm with her heart. Tik tok tok tick tok tok and so on. Suddenly she felt as if someone had grabbed her and yanked her forward and just as quickly and hard had shoved her back into her seat.