It was morning. She should have been at school, but was laying in bed instead. Erik had just tried to visit her, but her mother had told him that she was too ill and she truly was. Her head felt as if it were splitting in two as loud voices shouted from one ear clean through to there other. It was miserable. She couldn't even open her eyes. And then suddenly it all stopped as if someone had just turned the switch off.

"Jade," she heard Drake's voice and then opening her eyes realized that his hand was on her arm. She shied away, but as soon as his hand left her arm the blaring noise resumed. She almost shouted it was so horrible. "I see," Drake nodded and then he held up a cloth to her face, covering her nose and mouth.

Sleep, he thought to himself earnestly and once she had, he motioned to Amon who was standing behind him to come forward and help him put her in the bag they had prepared and then into the suitcase.

Rushing through the train station with that suitcase, praying no one stopped them as they boarded the train, nearly killed Drake's nerves, but once they were seated and Amon had taken Jade out of the suit case and sat her next to him on the bench in their little closed off booth Drake felt like he could begin to breathe again.

"This is all happening too fast," Drake put a hand to his head as the old train creeped into it's chugging motion.

"Ah, well now if you don't mind," Amon said completely ignoring Drake and taking a silver flask out of his pocket.

"I very much do!" Drake snatched it away from his uncle, "I need you when the train is stopped to get her to Damien's, you see."

"It's an eight hour train ride, Drake," Amon whined like a child, reaching out for the metal flask, "what else is there to do?"

"We are surrounded by bookshelves filled with books, trinkets, and games," Drake sighed, "take your pick."

"Books," Amon scoffed at the notion of reading. Drake studied the dark circles beneath his droopy eyes and the paleness of his skin. He looked older than Dane who was twelve years his senior.

"Are you trying to drink yourself to death?" He asked in a serious tone. His uncle had been drinking since before Drake could remember him. It wasn't as if he were worried, but rather that he was bored and was trying to start a conversation or so he told himself anyways.

Amon simply laughed, "I," he paused to take a deep breath, "it's just my means of escaping, right?"

"Fair enough, I suppose," Drake muttered, glancing at Jade, who was still sleeping away. He leaned back and stared at the cracking paint on the ceiling. Tilting his head, he wondered why little cherub babies were always painted on ceilings and why they always seemed to be naked. He smiled to himself wondering what Erik would do once he realized that Jade was gone. "And," he began, "how long will she sleep for because as you've said this is an eight hour train ride."

"Long enough," Amon glared at him a green tint coming over his face.

"Withdrawals already, dear uncle?" Drake raised an eyebrow, mockingly.

Amon flashed his emerald eyes at Drake and smiled, "You are so much like your father."

And with that the conversation ended and neither spoke to the other until those long eight hours had passed and they had to exit the train.

"Remember," Amon muttered through a thin smile, "she's still too drugged to stand. You carry her. Damien will get a thrill out of that trust me. I want to see the look on his face."

So with a deep sigh, Drake scooped her up into his arms and followed Amon off the train. It was hard to carry her and see where he was going so Amon ended up grabbing the right corner of his coat, tugging him behind himself.

As soon as they were off the train and shoved out into the bustling train station, Drake met Dane's eyes. How that was even possible Drake didn't know. It was as if Dane had known exactly where and when to look at Drake and vice versa.

He casually strode up to the two of them. It was hard to loose sight of him as he waded through the crowd because of his abnormal height. As usual he looked tired and serious. Dark hair swept carelessly around his head, just touching his shoulders and pale blue eyes seeming to understand everything.

"Still blacked out?" He muttered, glancing down into Drake's arms once he reached them. He studied Jade, Drake watched his eyes move over her body. The last time he had seen her was six years ago.

"No," Amon began, "we knocked her out. It wasn't as if she would have come willingly."

"And you aren't drunk?" Dane laughed, tearing his eyes from her, "Only Damien is capable of keeping you away from liquor's enticing kick or well, . . . lull in your case."

"And nothing has changed that," Amon growled, blinking furiously and then glancing at Drake murderously.

"I swear if you," Drake began taking a step towards his younger uncle.

"Now, now," Dane muttered, coming between the two of them. "We should leave or Damien will begin to get anxious. Shake on it and we will move along."

Drake pursed his lips but stuck out one hand nonetheless, being careful not to drop Jade as he felt for Amon's and gave it a quick shake. Dane the great peace maker, Drake rolled his eyes.

The carriage ride up to Damien's mansion was short and dark. Jade sat sleeping between Amon and himself, while Drake watched the fireflies and stars twinkling in unison. His insides were twisting and turning. If he could have he would have run far, far away from Damien, but he couldn't and the carriage arrived far too soon.

"I'll take her," Amon sighed as Dane and Drake jumped out of the carriage. A servant opened one of the pair of massive doors and the three walked in. "By the way," Amon muttered she's starting to wake up.

"She's going to freak out," Drake snickered to himself.

"Set her down so that she can stand," Dane muttered grabbing her hand as she stood up, moaning and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She seemed oddly calm. Drake knew that Dane was calming her with just his touch. Drake smiled. He couldn't remember how many times he had thanked his lucky stars that Dane had that power over people. If he didn't Damien would have surely killed them all by now. He rolled his eyes at the thought of the man's fiery temper.

There was a soft shifting noise from above, directing all four of their eyes onto Damien, standing in the middle of the staircase to their right. He had dropped a stack of papers he had been flipping through, sending them cascading through the air and scattering down the red carpeted stairs. He was staring at Jade with a slightly open mouth. There were almost tears in his eyes . . . from hatred. Why did he hate her so much? Drake wondered, but sure enough there he stood trembling from it, glaring down at her. He hadn't seen her for about seven years and just as quickly as his eyes had met her he turned away, but not for long because he turned back with a sigh.

Slowly he closed his mouth into a grimace of pure fiery hatred and stepping on the scattered sheets without a second thought descended the staircase until he was level with her and the rest.

"You're unexpectedly early," he muttered to Drake, glancing down at him with those dreadful eyes.

"She blacked out," Dane responded quietly, trying to meet his stare evenly, "I figured-"

"Yes," Damien interrupted him and then mechanically switching his eyes to Jade spoke stiffly to hide his broiling anger, "so . . . what's your name again. I apologize, but I seem to have forgotten. It's been so long."

"It's Jade," Dane answered for her. Drake shook his head. Of course he knew her name. Why was he playing these games?

"This is kidnap, you realize," she growled, making Damien smile and tilt his head as if he were amused. She also realized that of course he knew her name.

"You'll soon learn," he muttered softly, cruelly, "that I always get my way."

"I remember very well. What do you want with me Damien?" She snapped at him, but he had already turned around and begun walking away from her.

"Take her to whatever room you chose for her," he muttered to Amon and Dane as he continued to walk away, "I don't want to see either of them until dinner."

Either? Drake thought to himself irritatedly. Not even so much as a thank you? He shook his head, realizing that it was idiotic to expect a thank you from a forced job done. He paused his thinking for a minute as his eyes laid on Jade. He couldn't hear a single one of her thoughts and that meant that she could hear every one of his. It irked him. He didn't want her knowing everything about him. He vaguely remembered her and what it was like to have her hear his thoughts and him to hear hers, but he got the sense that he didn't like it very much.

"My head hurts," she muttered to Dane as she took an unsteady step forwards.

"Well, we'll take you to your room and you can sleep it off," Dane said with little to no sympathy, "but you'll have to be ready for dinner by seven."

"Is there nothing I can do to escape all of this? What about my parents? What about Erik? Don't you think that they'll come looking for me?" She flashed her bright blues eyes at each of them.

"They would if they hadn't died in a fire, a terrible accident, everyone inside died, including you," Amon said, his voice as slick as oil, "and Erik won't because Damien knows his father and he's already lost one son to us."

"Died?" Jade melted onto her knees. Drake rolled his eyes. They weren't her real parents and if she was being honest she didn't care about them deeply. She didn't really even know them.

"Get up," Dane sighed, grabbing her by her arm and jerking her to her feet.

Dane and Drake then led her to her room. She was very quiet while her two escorts carried off their conversation.

"So there were no complications?" Dane asked, casually as they made their way through the maze-like hallways.

"None except Amon and his alcohol addiction," Drake muttered, turning a corner with Dane, "well that and we had to change her clothes because she couldn't very well have taken that bright blue dress out of Monorail or we would have been stopped before the train had even reached the half mark."

"Sadly it'll be the death of him," Dane sighed and then stopped to open a door on their right. The room was lit, but very depressing looking. There was simply a bed with grey sheets and a dresser. The window had no curtains and the walls were bare.

"Lovely," Drake mumbled to himself. "It looks like Damien chose it out himself."

"It's better than what Damien had originally planned, believe me," Dane guided Jade in, gently placing his hand on her back. "How's your head dear," he said in a careful tone as if he didn't really believe her when she told him she was in pain.

She just shook her head and sat on the bed. Then leaning forwards, buried her face in the stiff sheets and began to sob.

"Why does Damien need her?" Drake growled, annoyed with her sobbing. She knew nothing of pain, not like he did. She had no right to cry over such petty things.

"He's keeping her away from Emerson and he needs her for our future," Dane spoke truthfully.

"Who's Emerson?" Drake raised an eyebrow.

"Another uncle," Dane sighed, closing the door behind them, "but for all I know the bastard could be dead. Let's hope so. Come on, now we should leave her to adjust to all of this misery."

"Does Damien actually mean for me to stay clear of him until dinner?" Drake laughed.

"Your father," Dane began harshly, "wants to be left alone to think."

Drake cringed at the reminder of who Damien really was to him. "Well," he started cooly, "that shouldn't be a problem on my part. However, I can't imagine that he will leave it at that. Surely he wants to question me about everything that went down at some point."

"I think that you're wrong," Dane said bluntly, "he wants nothing more to do with you or her."

"Nothing more to do with-" Drake started angrily, "then why the hell does he want the two of us? We both want to leave, but he won't let us and yet you say he doesn't want us!"

"You're frustrated," Dane pointed out with a laugh, "I can't explain everything to you, Drake, but Damien hates you more than you hate him and he despises Jade, but he does need the two of you. I doubt that knowledge will fill you with any comfort, but there you have it."

"I want to leave Dane!" Drake sighed heavily, "I want to be done here, but it seems that everyone else's desires fall short in the shadow of Damien's don't they?"

"Yes," Dane smiled and then paused with a glimmer of humor in his eyes, "well maybe except for Petra on occasion."

"Ah, well," Drake rolled his eyes as they turned a corner, "there's another one who always gets their way."

The two of them entered the library, which sort of took the place of a living room. It was rather small with a red carpet and lined with dark stained cherry wood shelves filled with books and in the center of the main wall was a roaring fireplace, surrounded with a circle of luxurious cushioned chairs and then off to the side was an old grand piano. Drake rolled his eyes as the feeling of comfort came to mind.

They had obviously made a wrong turn though because there sat Damien with a cigar between two fingers like a pencil sitting in one of the red cushioned chairs with one leg crossed over the other, reading the paper, while Amon gently played the piano, his one redeeming quality. Damien didn't look up and Dane quickly ushered Drake out of the room before Damien could have seen him, but Dane stayed behind and sat down in the chair opposite of Damien. Drake rolled his eyes and sulked away.