Don't Judge A Flower By Its Color

The Beginning

Several children of all ages and sizes stood in a straight line. Their backs pressed up against the brick wall of Manor Mansion while an elderly gentleman eyed them each with strict consideration.

He wore a long white lab coat. His eyes concealed by a pair of thick framed glasses. Before arrival to the mansion, the children were told to call him Doctor but this man's aura didn't give off the warmth of a caring doctor.

He walked down the line, tapping a finger to his chin until he got to the end. Most the children were in between the ages of six and ten but this little girl seemed to be only four years old. Her wide eyes still held wonder for the world, unlike the others who seemed to be a bit dull.

The elderly gentleman stopped to study her tiny figure. Her arms were covered by the long sleeves of her satin dress but he decided it didn't matter if she had visible veins or not. It was a want he could live without. After seeing her, he knew she was the perfect patient for the serum. She still had hope.

"What's her story?" He asked aloud to his daughter.

The long haired woman that hand-picked each child from different orphanages all over the state begun to smile. She handed him a yellow file folder, explaining the details about the little girl's past.

The little girl capable of hearing the words unwanted and abandon sunk her head. From the moment she could concept the difference from bad and good, she realized unwanted was a hurtful word. It made her heart ache.

A familiar boy from the same orphanage that stood beside her saw a tear had escaped and he extended a hand. He gripped softly onto her small clamp one, narrowing his sights at the doctor. The others didn't understand it yet but these people who had adopted them weren't going to love them.

It was common gossip at the orphanage about kids being adopted by a beautiful angel then ending up dead weeks later. The orphanage did very serious background checks in hopes to keep these incident from happening but the constantly did.

"Rosalind." The boy whispered while the doctor scanned the contents of the folder closely, "it'll be okay."

The little girl sniffed once and looked to him for comfort. She trusted him. They never spoke much back home but he had given her such a unique name that he didn't need to say it aloud. She knew he cared about her.

"It'll be okay," she repeated as the doctor took a step forward.

Every child held their breath. The doctor wasn't hiding behind a mask any longer. An insanely huge grin broke across his face when he saw the children tremble. He enjoyed terror. It was his best friend.

"Mary-Ann, gather the others in the shed. I'll take project seventeen downstairs to the basement."

Before the doctor could outreach his gruesome hand and stain the little girl's clarity, the boy came in between. He was not going to let this evil man touch her. No one was allowed to hurt his precious rose.

He straightened his arms out, setting himself in a protective position. His green eyes fierce as he stared up at the doctor. It was his way of silently warning the doctor to back off.

There was a sudden gasp from the crowd. The children were in awe at the boy's actions. They all grew to the custom of every man for themselves. They had never known about true selflessness.

The doctor didn't find it amazing. Rather, he found it quite amusing. He couldn't believe a nine year old boy thought he could take a 5'9 man.

"Back down, boy." He said to the boy with deep authority.

"My name's Darien," the boy snapped, "and hers is Rosalind. Not project seventeen."

The doctor released a huge laugh. He swung his head upward towards the lavender sky then begun to sputter nonsense. His sanity was such a precious thing.

The little girl gripped onto the back of the boy's shirt. She heard the whispers and understood bad was going to win. There was nothing they could do.

"Mary-Ann, make sure he suffers." The doctor snickered.

It seemed to happen in slow motion. The little girl fell to the mud with a bump. Her companion was lifted by the beautiful woman effortlessly and thrown halfway across the yard. His figure making a sickening noise once it landed.

"DARIEN," the little girl's voice screamed over the other worried whimpers.

The boy weakly peaked through the grass at her. His heart racing hard against his chest. He wanted to stand and make sure she was alright but his eyelids were heavy.

The little girl stumbled onto her feet. She ran to his side in a hurry. The doctor and his daughter not even daring to stop her.

After all, they both knew the boy was a goner.

"Darien," she whispered to her friend.

She patted his head in hopes he would awake. She thought he was only asleep. There was no possible way that the boy could be gone forever like her parents.

"Darien?" She shook his shoulder.

His whole body moved slightly at the small amount of force. When she let go, he went still. Nothing seeming to have changed.

"Darien, wake up!"

Before she could shake him again, a sharp pain came to the back of her neck. The doctor was above holding a needle. His words honeyed with promises that some day she would be able to save people better than she was capable too now.