Sebastain stared at the sleeping rogue girl.

The original sleeping spell had worn off earlier that morning, but Sebastian put her back to sleep for the sake of keeping things calm while they got her to the house. They laid her in a bed, under some blankets for modesty, and then Seb broke her curse.

In her human form, the girl looked far younger than he’d expected. She couldn’t have been older than eleven by his guess. Her hair was dirty blond and matted, she seemed underfed. Whatever her story was, Sebastian could already tell it wasn’t a pleasant one.

When they saw what she looked like, Luke had whimpered in sympathy, and Edmund’s expression screamed heartbroken. Sebastian wasn’t sure what to feel. Relieved they had been able to help her, remorseful they couldn’t have helped sooner, or angry at whoever had done this to her.

“She’s so small.” Ed whispered. “And these marks...”

“Burns.” Sebastian said. “There are so many. Don’t you guys have enhanced healing?”

Luke nodded. “It can't be normal burns. They don’t show on her wolf form, so they’re also a bit older...”

The three teens remained silent as that sunk in. Sebastian remembered when his neighbour had a close call in a house fire two years ago. She’d been a bright cheerful woman but following that incident she was much more sombre. The thought that this girl, this child, had faced a similar – possibly bigger – traumatic experience, it made him sick to his stomach.

“How long until the sleep wears off?” Edmund asked, finally breaking the silence.

“Not long, I think.” Seb replied. “We just have to wait.”

“Someone needs to tell the others about what happened though.” Luke said. “And get her something to eat and drink.”

Edmund nodded. “One of us should stay here in case she wakes up. Sebastian?”

“If you’re going to make me go just because I’m human–”

“Actually, I was going to ask if you want to be the one who stayed.”

Seb blinked in surprise.

Edmund shrugged. “I do know you can protect yourself, even if I worry sometimes. And you were the one to break her curse, so maybe she’ll be most comfortable around you if she wakes up.”

Luke nodded in agreement. “I will get some food and water.”

Ed nodded then narrowed his eyes at the younger teen. “Did you just leave me with the informing everyone thing?”

Luke smiled a little. “No.”

“You–” Edmund cut himself off with a laugh which made Luke’s grin widen. “Alright then. I’ll deal with the others. And come back as quickly as possible.”

Sebastian nodded and then the two left him alone in the room. Just him, his thoughts, and the sleeping rogue. He looked back at her arms. Now that there was no one to distract him, his thoughts could torture him with endless ideas for how she’d gotten those burns.

He got up from the chair he’d been sitting in and began pacing to try and calm his nerves. He walked the length of the room twice, glanced over at the bed, then started pacing again. This time he did four laps, looking up, and still nothing had changed. He started walking once more, looking over at the bed mid-step during his third lap then he froze.

A pair of bright hazel eyes were watching him. Staring with a sleepy curiosity. He wasn’t sure if he should move or speak or anything at risk of spooking the girl. But then she narrowed her eyes at him.

“Who the fuck are you?”

Sebastian laughed, startled by the unexpected profanity. “Um, hi. My name is Sebastian.”

The girl perked up a little. “Like the crab?”

“Yeah.” Seb wanted to laugh again but managed to restrain himself this time. “May I know your name?”

“Daisy.” She answered before looking around. “This isn’t my room.” then she frowned. “My room is... Papa! Where’s my Papa?!”

Sebastian felt his heart break all over again. “I’m sorry, I don’t know where he is.”

“I can’t feel him, or mama, or Aunt Lea, or, or, or– shit.” She sat up straight in the bed. The blanket fell to her waist, but somehow she was, thankfully, already wearing a pale brown tank top.

Seb slowly moved forward. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay.”

“But they– my family– they’re...” Daisy was shaking at this point.

Sebastian didn’t know what he could do to make her feel better. He wasn’t sure if there was anything that could be done. He vividly remembered losing his dad, he couldn’t image what it would have felt like to lose his whole family.

“I can’t feel them.” Daisy whimpered. “I can’t feel anyone.”

Sebastian knelt beside her bed and put a comforting hand on her knee. Can you remember anything? About what happened to them maybe?

She grimaced. I... there was blood. A lot of blood and fire and -

The world around Sebastian changed. It was like he was looking through someone else’s memories. He saw a man with dirty blond hair and hazel eyes sitting on a loveseat next to a woman with short cropped black hair and brown eyes. They were looking at each other with a very deep fondness that reminded Sebastian of his own parents.

They looked away from each other to him, then the scene changed. He saw the woman with another woman who looked similar, except a bit older with longer hair. The second woman was holding a toddler with the same black hair and a pair of bright blue eyes – unnaturally blue eyes – werewolf blue eyes.

The toddler looked over at him and giggled, then the scene changed again. This time he saw the man from before. He was talking but Sebastian couldn’t hear the words. He could only watch as the man made small balls of light dance around on his hand.

Whoever’s eyes he was looking through reached out to one of the lights, then the scene changed again. The woman with the long hair was holding her toddler again, but this time he didn’t look... right. There was something sickly about the paleness of his skin. His eyes were dull, lifeless. And the woman was crying and screaming in agony.

The scene switched this time to the woman with shorter hair looking out a window. The man with the blond hair came over to her and whispered something. The woman shook her head and the man said something else. She sneered at him then immediately looked regretful. She said something else, and the man nodded in agreement.

The next scene – shit, it was horrifying. The two women were fighting. Their eyes were glowing blue and gold respectively. The man scooped up the person Seb was watching through. Daisy – he guessed. Just as they got out of the room, he saw the woman with longer hair claw through the other woman’s chest.

They were running through a house, a big house. There was fire and blood everywhere. Suddenly something fell down on them. When the smoke cleared a bit Daisy could see the man was trapped. She tried to get him out, but he pushed her towards the door. When she wouldn’t go, he said,

“I’m sorry.”

It was the only words Sebastian had heard this whole time. And the last thing he heard before suddenly yellow-green sparks flew from the man’s hands towards Daisy – and the whole world went blank.

Sebastian blinked and he was back in his own body, back in the present, sitting beside Daisy. They were both crying now. Seb moved to hug her, and the little girl all too easily melted into his arms. Those words echoed in his mind.

I’m sorry.

Daisy’s father had been the one to curse her...