AN: Thank you to Yggdrasil Oak and Omok for the reviews.

Emma was woken, in the middle of the night, when the covers were ripped from her bed and she was dragged out of it. Landing on the floor with a thud, she opened her eyes to see two men she didn't recognise standing over her.

"What do you want with me?"

They didn't answer her, turning instead to face the door. Sir George Harte stood there, a candle in his hand. "This is the girl."

Their faces grim, the two men grasped her arms and hauled Emma to her feet. A young maid, the girl Emma had seen on the stairs the previous day, was ushered in, and placed a few items of clothing into a bag. She dredged her memory for the girl's name. "Sarah. Sarah, what is going on?"

Sarah looked Emma directly in the eyes, a fierce, defiant glare on her face. "You're being sent away, gypsy. Sent to where you belong." The words were spat out harshly.

Emma had no choice but to walk down the stairs, Sir GEorge leading the way and the maid, Sarah, bringing up the rear. She didn't, however, go quietly, demanding to know where they were taking her and what she had done wrong. As they passed Rosalie's bedrtoom, the door opened and she appeared, in her nightdress. "Father, whatever is the matter? Where are you taking Emma?"

"She is going somewhere more suited to her kind. Fortune telling nonsense, and all this talk about love, does not belong in this house."

When they reached the front door, Emma spotted the highly recognisable vehicle standing outside. The contraption resembled a cage on wheels, pulled by a horse, and it belonged to the Ravensbrook Asylum. "I won't go, I won't go!" Emma started fighting in earnest, landing at least one good kick. Though he howled with pain, her captor did not release her. "Lady Rosalie, help me!" When Rosalie saw the vehicle, all of the colour drained from her face.

"I won't let you do this, Father."

Ignoring his daughter completely, he ordered the men to throw her in the cage and "take her away". Emma clung to the bars as the carriage drove away. It was a sight that Rosalie would never forget.

"I will never forgive you for this." She stalked back into the house without waiting for a reply.

In the moving cage, Emma sat down and smiled knowingly. All she had to do was wait, and not lose her mind in the insane asylum. Rosalie was forming a plan.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

When she arrived at Ravensbrook Asylum, she was asked a few perfunctory questions about her health, then shown to a tiny cell. It, unlike most of the rooms in the building, had a window.

"Sir George tells us you are not violent, that the problem is purely in the mind. We will decide, when we have observed you for a few days, on the best course of action." Emma held her tongue. If she started to speak, she might go too far, and anger the doctors.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

My name is Emma Fletcher, and I am eighteen years old. My mother is called Amy Fletcher. I have never met my father, and all I know of him is that he is a gypsy. Mother would not tell me any more, and she would not have told me that if I had inherited her colouring. However, I am dark, like the gypsies. I received, through him, the gift of precognition. If I know a person, I can see their future once they have decided on a course of action. The better I know the person, the more accurate my visions are.

Lady Rosalie Harte, for example, I know very well. The instant she decided to rescue me from this place, I could see it. I also know how she intends to go about it.

I've worked for Lady Rosalie since I was fourteen, since my mother left me to fend for myself. Since that time, we've become, dare I say it, friends, or as near as a lady and her maidservant can become. I can't imagine working for anybody else, now. I was lucky when I found Ravensbrook, I definitely landed on my feet. Or at least, I thought I had, until tonight.

No matter. I shan't be here long, though the staff do not know it yet.

Perhaps, if I keep thinking about who I am and all the things I have done, the madness that haunts this place will not affect me. In the cell to my left, there is a woman (I think it is a woman) who does nothing but scream and cry. She begs to be released, to see her children one more time. I pity her, for I do not believe she was in this state when she was brought here. I fear she will never be released from this dreadful place. In the cell to my right is somebody who throws himself (or herself, I am not sure)at the walls every few minutes. The walls are padded, but that does not prevent them shaking from time to time. Strangely, there are no voices coming from that room. The guards outside are talking, wondering whether restraints should be used on the poor creature. I consider myself lucky, I have not been bound in any way, not even with a straightjacket, which are commonly used here.

I wonder who has replaced me as Lady Rosalie's maid. I suspect it is Sarah, the kitchen wench. I remember her now, though I didn't recognise her yesterday morning, on the stairs. Was it really only yesterday? Usually, she helps Cook, cleaning the dishes and so on.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Go back to bed, Rosalie. You need to be well rested for when Sir Richard arrives this afternoon."

"I could not care less about that despicable man."

"You will be his wife in two months time, Rosalie. Before then, you had better learn some respect."

"Respect a man who cannot show me the same courtesy? I think not."

"He is a gentleman, and it is a generous offer he has made."

Rosalie spun around to face her father. "I will not have anything to do with him. I have made my feelings on the matter very clear."

"Rosalie, get this nonsense about love out of your head. It is make-believe, stories told by servants and the lower classes to their children. It is not real, so do not waste your time on it."

"Just because you never loved Mother, only wanted what she could provide - a son!"

"One more outburst, Rosalie Harte, and you will regret it."

Rosalie stalked back to her bedroom, only to find a maid waiting there for her. "Get out."

"I'm here on your father's orders, miss."

She looked more closely, and recognised the girl who had carried Emma's belongings out to the carriage, smiling deviously. "Go back to your quarters, and return later this morning." The girl hesitated, but something in Rosalie's face must have warned her not to disobey.

"Yes, miss."

As soon as the door closed, Rosalie fumbled for the key she rarely used, and locked it. Fearing the girl might attempt to peek through the keyhole, she left the key in place. Quickly, she dressed in a plain, dark outfit, with a hooded cloak ocer the top. She bundled spare clothes into a bag, along with all of her jewellery, and some money. She didn't intend to return to Ravensbrook Manor, so she needed to make sure she had everything she wanted.

Rosalie opened her bedroom window, peered out, then dropped the heavy bundle into the hedge running past her room. She could retrieve it after she had spoken to her father.