Flashback:

She had cried herself to sleep in the back of the dark, cob-web covered van. She was too exhausted, to the point where her cries and screams for help went silent. Noelle had tried prying the door open too many times to count, but it was no use.

She was kidnapped.

And there was no escape.

The van had moved roughly around the street for a couple hours, until it finally halted to a stop. The masked man exited, and proceeded to open the van door, only to find the little, weak girl sleeping with dried tears on her cheeks and hair dishevelled. He almost felt bad for her.

Almost.

"Wake up barbie", he spoke loudly, causing her to jolt up into a sitting position. Noelle gasped in fear and shuffled backwards as much as she could before her back hit the surface behind her.

"If you don't want to stay here in the dark, all alone, I suggest you come with me", he said, irritated by the girl. She shook her head continuously, causing him to growl in anger, growing extremely impatient.

"I'll give you a cookie", he persuaded.

"I prefer brownies...", she whispered to herself, but he obviously heard since his masked face was now tensed.

He forcefully pulled her out of the car, causing her to yell out in fear and pain since he was holding onto her wrists tightly. She struggled against his hold and tried escaping, but the man was a lot stronger than she was, pulling her even closer by the arms.

They finally reached the entrance of the huge, ancient building, which looked somewhat abandoned, with overgrown vine leaves running down the brick walls, cracks in the large oak door, and webs covering the windows. She cried heavily as he pushed her into the basement, where the only source of light came from the tiny window at the very top of the wall. There was dirt everywhere, it looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years, and in the middle of the room, a cage. It looked like it belonged to a big dog. He unlocked the cage, while using one arm to tightly hold onto Noelle. He shoved her inside the cage and locked it once again. She cried even more and shook the steel bars, trying to rip it open, but she couldn't.

"Shut up", he ordered, causing her cried to turn into sniffled, not wanting to get hurt.

"Already learning huh? That's what we like", he spoke with a smirk on his face.

We? She questioned in her mind.

"Who's w-we?", she asked softly.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?!", his voice rose once again, and her heartbeat rose with it, feeling the tears resurface.

"You're really testing my patience, barbie. One more wrong move and I will not hesitate to knock you out, understood?", he threatened in a frustrated tone, and she nodded frantically.

"Good, now rest."

She obliged, and began to lay down on the dirty floor while not breaking eye-contact.

"- You're gonna need it."

Back to present time:

Easton was woken up by the sound of quiet whimpers and barks. His eyes fluttered open slowly, only to see that his beloved was tossing and turning on the opposite side of the bed. He looked at her, confused.

"Noelle?", he whispered softly, but it was too loud for her since she woke up almost instantly and fell off the bed, causing her to let out a painful whine, since her body was still injured. His eyes widened as he quickly stood up and ran to her.

He picked her up and placed her in his lap, still on the wooden floor, rubbing her back soothingly and shushing her. Once she was finally silent, he spoke.

"A nightmare?", he asked while staring down at her lovingly, but also worried. She nodded while shoving her face in his abs.

"Oh babydoll", he breathed out, standing up and laying back on the bed, wrapping the blanket over both of them.

"I wish you could tell me what the nightmare was", he said solemnly as she hid in the space where his neck and shoulder meet.

"But all you need to know, is that you are safe with me. Nothing can hurt you whilst you're with me, or anybody in this castle. Nothing, and nobody from the past can harm a single hair on your head, or a single strand of fur on your body. You may be little, but you are one of the strongest people I know. You're a survivor, my love", he spoke words of encouragement and reassurance, causing Noelle to blush furiously, but he obviously couldn't see.

She lifted her face to look at him, and she licked his nose, causing him to chuckle.

"I love you more than you'll ever know, Easty", she spoke in her mind.

He sighed as she went back to her original place, in between his neck and shoulder.

"I don't know how much longer I can go without knowing everything that happened. It's killing me, Elle. I want, no I need to know what they did to you, even if it will mentally and physically hurt me to hear. I want to murder everyone that hurt in you in cold blood, with my own hands", she let out a small, sad bark at his words.

"One day", she said.

"Go back to sleep, my love. I'll be here when you wake up", he ordered with reassurance, and she nodded tiredly, the sound of his slow humming lulling her back to sleep.

"I love you."

Meanwhile:

As dawn began approaching yet again, Michael and Iris had already been awake, not able to sleep due to the excitement and anticipation of being able to see there daughter again. They can't wait to tell her everything about her past. They couldn't wait to tell her how they found out Iris was pregnant. They can't wait to tell her about their journey as a couple. They couldn't wait to show her baby pictures. All of it excited the couple to the core.

"Is it ready yet?", Michael asked, referring to her powers.

"Hopefully", she whispered, closing her eyes and attempting to use her powers like she did years ago.

Her mind started going to random places.

Araceli - where it all began

A forest - where they last saw her.

A train station - the place the fled to after leaving her in the forest.

A basement - that destination confused Iris.

Kingdom of Highland - the last place she saw before her mind went blank again.

"She's back at the Highland's", she spoke as soon as her eyes opened. Michael's eyes widened.

"How? Cecelia said she was taken and hasn't been found", he questioned.

"She could be lying, she could have the wrong Noelle, she could be manipulating, but whatever it is, we need to go. Now", she spoke quickly, thoughts of the agreement flew out of her mind.