Some people know why their parents chose the name for them. I had no clue why my parents called me Rosie. I can't complain though. It was not the worse name out there. In fact, I was a very happy girl that had the best life and parents that we could wish for. I was 11 when this story happened and was the only child. I was told again and again that I was a cheerful girl that always smiled. 

We were very poor and moved a lot. I hated moving, as it meant that I never had many friends at school. I did not want friends, as it would mean that I would be ever so sad when we had to move to another place. This also meant that I never went to things like scouts or dancing. I don't even think I ever had a sleepover. 

We were at a picnic in the forest. I loved being in nature. It was like there was so much place. It was a time that we could be together and forget the daily life we had. As I said mom and dad did not have a lot of money, so a picnic was something we could afford. I loved it when dad would find his old guitar and sing some songs he wrote himself. The only thing is that I hated the ants.

Mom got serious at the end and reminded Dad that they had to tell me the news. They looked at each other as to who would tell it. I saved them the time by saying that I did not want to move. I liked the small town where we were and I wanted to make new friends. I wanted a place I could call home. I wanted to stay!

Dad tried saying that we needed to move. He had the excuse that he could find a better job in a larger town. I turned around showing my back to my parents. I had a lot of emotions. I was mad. I was sad, I was frustrated. I usually accepted when they told me that we would be moving, but now I had enough. I wanted them to notice my protest. 

Mom tried to explain that Dad could not stay in one place for a long time. She said that he got anxious the longer he stayed. Mom blamed his childhood. She joked that it made him a bitter wimp. I just sat and sulked. Why should I suffer because of Dad's childhood? 

The strange thing is why our family was even poor. We were connected to the Royal family. The story is that one of my ancestors was a mistress to a king and she bore his child. I should have been living in a palace now. Our family name was Wonderworth, and it was still an influential family. So while we lived in poverty, a part of our family lived in luxury. We never spoke with them. Dad did not even want us talking about them. 

On the way home, Dad asked me if I was still mad. I scoffed at him and said that I hated my parents. I honestly do not know why I said it. I loved my parents so much. I wanted to take it back. 

As I was about to say that I loved them, a huge light suddenly appeared in front of the car. It was so bright that we were nearly blinded. However, if you looked very close, you could see that it was an old woman. Mom said don't drive over the lady and Dad tried to swerve the car around her. He lost control of the car. The last thing I heard before he hit a tree was when he shouted "She found us"

Everything went black. 

The next thing I remember was when I woke up in a hospital bed. I was very groggy and it was like my head was swimming around in circles. I remembered that we were in a car crash. I remembered seeing this old woman on the road after I telling my parents that I hated them. 

I saw my Mom and Dad standing over me. It was very strange. It was like they were there and yet were not. It was like they were foggy, I tried to whimper that I couldn't see properly, but no voice came out. I could not speak! I also wanted to say that I never meant it when I said that I hated them. I could only hear dad talking. 

" The curse!" he said, " She found us! I always told you that it existed. It should have been Rosie that died. I saw her! You saw her! She was there to kill our Rosie!"

" Thank God Rosie survived!" Mom answered. 

" Yes! The old woman did not have so much power away from her manor house. Let's hope that our daughter will escape the fate of the curse."

"There is no one to love and protect her!"

Then I heard a door open and a doctor come in. She was an old woman and said it was great that I was here. I managed to say that my parents are here. The doctor looked down and said that she had sad news. I looked back towards my parents, but they were not there. This made me afraid and confused, and I started to cry. I asked where were they? 

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The doctor held my hand and told me that I was in a bad car accident. I was lucky as I only had a few scratches and bruises. Then she squeezed my hand harder and told me that my parents did not survive. They are in heaven. 

I whispered that I have seen them. Then everything went black again. 

When I woke up again, I was alone. I no longer had parents or a family. I was an orphan. This thought made me stare at one spot for hours. I should never have told them that I hated them. It was the last words that they would hear from me. Maybe they were now in heaven and they knew that I loved them. Maybe there was no heaven. 

I got a visit from my aunt from England. She was Dad's youngest sister. She looked as if she was a rich woman with a nice hat and a nice coat. She didn't say much after she told me who she was. She just broke down crying. I did not know what to do or say so I just sang a song to cheer her up. It seems as if the visit was too much for her, and she left sobbing. That was a strange visit. 

Time went quickly. There were always doctors and nurses coming. They have done countless tests on me to make sure there was no hidden injury. Some came from school and this was nice. Despite that I was at the school for such a short time, it showed that some of the other children cared for me. They did not know what to say. What do you say to a girl that just became an orphan? Still, it was nice that they came. 

My teacher came as well. She told me that everyone was praying for me and she knew how difficult this was for me. She told me not to think about homework and to concentrate on getting better. I needed to be strong. This made me smile as the only positive thing I could think about was that I did not have to do homework. 

A social worker came in and told me that we needed to have a serious talk. It was her job to find me a home. Now that I was an orphan and could not live by myself as I was only 11. She spoke with my aunt that visited me. The social worker said that my aunt wanted to take care of me, but she was very insistent that she could not. In fact, she said she would not. The social worker said that my aunt was afraid of taking me in.

The social worker admitted that she would hate to send me to foster care. She did not say why, but I spoke with a boy here at the hospital. He told me that it was a hard life. Very few foster parents treated foster children as their own. He was also moved from one foster home to another. He was not happy and felt like he was a burden to society. I remember how sad this was to hear, and knew that it could very well be my future. I would not be wanted. I would just be fed and housed and when I was old enough, I would fend for myself. 

A few days later, I found out that would not be the case. The social worker came and said my great Aunt has agreed that I could live with her. I was told that she was a duchess and lived in a huge mansion. I may not have my parents, but I would never be cold or hungry and I would be safe. I whispered that dad always said she was a mean woman and never said anything good about her. The social worker put my file in a briefcase and smiled. It seemed that she felt she done her job and did not want to discuss it. 

The day before I left the hospital, my aunt visited again. She was a weird woman! The last time she said nothing. This time, she just held my hand and cried. Then, in the end, she apologized to me for not being able to take care of me. She sobbed as she said that she was too afraid. She sobbed further when she heard I would be living with the Duchess. 

"You will be living at Undergrove Estate. The duchess lives there. The manor is a huge building that is living in the past. The duchess has no heart and no soul. You do not deserve this. The thing is I do not know how to save you. I am so afraid of her and the estate."

My aunt ran out crying. A nurse came in and told me she overheard my aunt. She thought it was wrong for my aunt to scare me. I should be brave and give my aunt a chance. 

After a few days, I was on an aeroplane going to England. This was exciting in a way, as I never was on an aeroplane. It was exciting the way the plane lifted from the ground. I could feel it all in my body. It was strange thinking that such a big thing could fly. When we were in the air, the fun stopped. All I could do was sit and wait. Sit and wait. Sit and wait...

This gave me a lot of time to think. I would now be a rich girl living in a huge house. I would never move from place to place again. I would be without my parents. I would be living with an old woman that my Dad hated. I wanted to cry. I was worried. I was afraid. I was also excited. 

A driver was waiting for me at the airport. I was surprised that the duchess was not there. He told me to sit in the back seat of a very fancy car. That's the last he said. He drove me out of the city and on a motorway. It was raining, but England was so green and beautiful. If I asked the driver questions, he would just ignore me. How rude can one man be? 

The roads became smaller and smaller. It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. We finally came to some big gates that had an old sign on them. 

"Undergrove Estate"

We drove a long way through an overgrown garden. It looked like a jungle. It needed some tender hands. Then I saw the manor house. It was made of grey stones and pillars. There were dragons and sorta demon faces under windows. It looked both impressive and at the same time scary! I could not even count the windows. There were so many. 

We stopped outside the huge entrance. A maid and a small boy were waiting there. 

When I got out of the car, the maid told me that the Duchess was waiting for me. 

I took a deep breath. It was time to meet the old lady that everyone hated or feared.