"Beatrice, did she give you the clothes?" Mother walks up to me in her nice day dress "Yes mama," I hand her the bag of baby clothes. She smiles looking through them "Yes, yes quiet nice! I'll have to thank Mrs.Reese later for her good work!" Mother says cheerfully, looking at the fabric of the baby clothes.

"Come on dear, we'll be late for the meeting." Father says to her, taking the clothes and handing them to Indigo, who runs to put them in the house. "Oh yes, my apologies husband! I just can't help myself." He smiles kissing her temple "Come let's go children." Father says once Indigo returns.

My family and I arrive at the town meeting, in the open fields. Where the meeting is being held, it's a big field off to the side of our town. Beside the fields that seem to just go on forever, but I know they are just only a day's ride to other towns. Is a forest that embodies another world, one very different from our own.

I look off in it's direction, everyone knows to never go in. The forest and the lands beyond it belong to a Queen named Ziva, she is not human like all the creatures in or past the forest barrier.

As a child I was always curious about the forest, but knew to never go in. Children have died for wandering too far, and not just children, anything that gets close will surely die.

So during meetings like this parents are aware to watch their children closely.

"Beatrice?"  I take my eyes from the forest to see Emmetts worried gaze. "Yes?" I ask, not knowing if he had said anything. "You've been quiet since you got back from Mrs.Reeses', are you alright? Did something happen?" He takes my hand in his, looking down at me with worry.

I smile, not wanting to give anything away about me meeting Parker. "I am fine, brother. Didn't get much sleep is all." He smiles from that amusingly "I bet, not many of us did with how loud mother and father were being!" I blush hitting his arm playfully "Don't speak of such things, it is rude!" Emmett chuckles with a boyish smile, I look away smiling myself, but not wanting him to know.

"I remember when Clay would take us outside at night when they got too loud, but now there's too many of us for that. They'd surely find out." He smiles at the fawn memory, I do the same feeling a lot better talking to my brother. "Yes I miss it a lot. It's a shame we've all come of age now, besides our younger siblings." He looks down at me fondly "Yes, before long Clay will be leaving us and I'll soon follow."  He says with a bitter tilt to the corner of his lips, just a slight shadow of a frown before it is replaced with a bright smile.

"Come, the meeting will be starting soon." He takes my hand gently and leads me to our family.

I walk up to them with Emmett, Liv smiling up at us. " The forest is really pretty." She looks off to the dark forest behind us "Even if it's a little scary." She giggles nervously, looking up at me shyly, I smile trying to comfort her. "I believe you can find beauty in dark places, just be careful not to get hurt by things that may look beautiful, but are quite deadly on the inside." I say in a bit of a warning, I don't want her getting too curious about the forest.

She nods in understanding "I understand, I'll be careful." She says with a sweet smile, I smile back cupping her cheek with my hand in a show of affection.

"I heard the big forest has monsters in it!" Isaac pipes up out of nowhere "Yes it does, and you'd stay clear of it if you don't want to get eaten." Clay answers looking down at little Isaac with authority, crossing his arms to get the point across.

Isaac hides behind my legs, making me giggle softly. Clay gives me a pointed look, but I can't help but keep smiling. "Clay is right Isaac, you have to be careful or we may never see you again and you us." Isaac nods his head on the back of my thigh, clinging to me in a scared way. I let my hand and fingers run through his hair to comfort him, kneeling down to meet his eyes.

"I will always protect you, but you have to stay close for me to do that ok?" He gives me a sweet smile, nodding his head in understanding. "Can y'all hush, the town leader is here and is about to start." Camila says, going over to stand next to mother and father who are with some other adults.

I huff standing up straight, Isaac still clinging to my leg. "Welcome and thank you for coming, I wish it was on brighter circumstances."  The town leader says loud across the field of towns people, I can visibly see some adults grow tense. I wonder what he means?

"I'll just get straight to the point, many know of this ritual that we've done for many generations. The Bloody Bride ritual."  Many adults gasp others turning pale, whispers and panic moves across the fields of towns people.

Blood Bride ritual? What kind of ritual is that? I go to ask mother and father, but as I turn to ask I come to find father barely holding up mother. I'm about to head over to her when the town's leader shouts "Everyone please calm down! You all know what this means and can not be helped..." I have no idea what's going on or happening. What does the Bloody Bride ritual mean?

I turn to Emmett and Clay to see if they know. Emmett looks just as confused as I and Clay looks stiff and worried. An emotion I've never seen on his face, it chills my bones. If Clay is worried this is very serious.

I go to ask him, pulling Isaac closer since he is clinging to me tighter from the panic of adults. Before I could get words past my lips the town leader speaks again. "I will be naming off young women who have not been wed from years 15 to 20. Whosoever name I call will be taken from their families immediately to be Bloody Brides of the forest monsters. And sent to the Queen who rules over the land at the forest barrier."

My face goes pale from his declare, my life breath leaving my lungs. My sisters and I are in years for such brides! I look to find Indigo and Camila huddled with mother who is holding them so frantically panicked.

Liv, who is holding Emilia, is just of 13 years  she'll be safe. She moves close to father who is trying to calm mother and my sisters.

Emmett and Clay move closer to me, both tense and on guard. I look at them worried, trying to comfort little Isaac with my gentle caresses on his head, keeping him close. I feel the town will go in a panic soon and it worries me.

" Lucy Dyer, Emma Compton, Willow Bowden," the town's leader started naming off girls, making my heart flutter with panic!

"Mother please I'm scared, I don't want to be a monster's bloody bride!"  Camila cries on mother's arm, Indigo sobbing in the other. Mother holds them close her own sobs rushing through her.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion, seeing young women being taken from their families. How is this ok? My mouth is dry, what can I say? What can I do?

"Beatrice Coldwell." My heart stops in my chest, hearing my name being called. I turn looking at my brothers horrified, the same look in their eyes. My whole family looks at me terrified, before I can say a word two pairs of hands grab me.

I look behind me to find two of the town's guards. Their meaty hands grabbing and pulling me away, waking me from my trance. "No stop!" I yell, trying to pull myself from their grip, knowing it's futile but still trying nonetheless. Isaac cries at my leg, trying as well to pull me from their grip "Leave my sister alone!! You can't take her!" He cries his little heart out, I know he's scared and doesn't understand what's going on. I just want to take him far away from here, far away from this chaos.

The guards pull Isaac from my leg, Indigo catching him. "Don't touch her!" I turn to see Emmett punching the guard on my left, right in the face. Out of nowhere two other guards come up and hold Emmett back. Clay, the most cool headed of us all, tries to pry them off him.

They start pulling me away, now free of Emmett's attacks. "No please don't, please!!" I cry out, fighting as much as I can. "Beatrice!!" Liv cries holding Emilia close to her chest, walking to me defeated as they continue to drag me away.

Father starts walking toward me, horrified. Before he can reach me some of the town's men stop him. "Let me go! She's my daughter! My first born daughter!" He cries, yelling with anger at the men stopping him.

"You have to let her go Coldwell, you understand why." One of the town's men said to father, he looked at them angered with distaste.

"Papa please!" I haven't called him papa since I was little, calling him father was more appropriate, mother said. But I still secretly knew he'd always be my papa and he'd let me call him that when mother wasn't around.

He looked at me broken, not having any power to save me. After all, no one really wanted me...

"Beatrice!" Father cried, fighting the men holding him back, doing whatever he can to get to me. Tears streamed down my face knowing all too well that my papa couldn't save me.

I looked over at my family, Emmett and Clay being held back by the guards, looking out at me with pained faces and broken hearts. The most pain I've ever seen on either of them, especially Clay. I can see guilt and regret, a special look in his eyes that only a big brother could have with his first baby sister.

Isaac doing his best to break free from Indigo's hold on him, crying out to me. Mother and Camila looking at me horrified, Liv and baby Emilia crying together.

Knowing that I'll never see them again I yell out "I love you! I'll always love you! Please don't forget about me!" I cry, being dragged away as I hear them call out to me. "Beatrice!!" Isaac is the last voice I hear before they pull me so far I can no longer see them in the crowd.