Using a tall snake plant sitting not far from Leah's room to hide him from view, Charles waited as Wren and Leah's voices came closer. Butler and Heiress came into view as they neared the top of the staircase, and he pressed himself further into the shadows.

"I have mixed feelings about tomorrow," Leah said. He noted both were in none too big of a hurry to separate from the other and thus, moved at a snail's pace to Leah's bedroom door.

"Why? I thought you would be excited to bring Fiona home."

"I am! Don't get me wrong. I can't wait to have her back in the Kingsley Mansion. Its just.."

Leaning against the wall, Wren crossed his arms. His tender gaze caused Charles's teeth to clench. "It's just?" He pressed.

"I lose you." The frank way she stated this stabbed at Charles. When had she ever worried about losing him? Jealousy made him wish he had followed through with his plans to get rid of the butler. When the time came to convince Samantha, he'd changed his mind and instead paced the halls waiting for Leah's return. He squinted through the long green blades, noting as Wren's eyes turned softer, caressing Leah's face with every sweep of a glance.

"You're not going to lose me Leah. I'm staying here for a year. No matter what. And, if I take you up on your offer as your body guard..."

Charles stifled a curse. A body guard?

"Have you considered my offer?" Leah sounded hopeful.

Curious to hear Wren's response, he strained to hear but it was not to be. Samantha's door, which was not but a few feet from him, opened. Cursing under his breath at the interruption, Charles willed himself to blend into the darkness that helped hide him. Thankfully, Samantha didn't even glance his way as she was focused on Wren and Leah. He could see the strong dislike on both their face as Samantha approached.

"I have something to say to you two." The sad broken tone of Samantha's voice startled Charles, as well as alarmed him.

Leah seemed no more convinced than he felt. She crossed her arms. "What would that be?"

There was a pause before Samantha did something none of them had ever seen. She started crying. "I - I just want to tell you, I'm sorry."

Disbelief etched Leah's face and she and Wren swapped doubtful glances. "Sorry? Really?"

"Yes. I realized today that I have no friends. I don't want to live that way and so...I have decided to change." Her voice rang with determination and to Charle's dismay, Leah's expression softened.

"Surely she doesn't believe her?" His mind screamed. He could tell Wren didn't.

"It can be lonely not to have friends, can't it?" Leah said.

Charles wanted to slap his palm on his face. She was believing it!

"Yes." Samantha reached up to wipe what Charles could only imagine to be fake tears. "I'm so sick of it, Leah!"

There was a long pause during that moment. Leah broke it. "It's not too late to change."

Nodding, Samantha sniffed. "That is the conclusion I came up with too. I plan on proving to you I've changed. I don't expect you to just believe me.Starting by giving Wren back."

To say everyone didn't feel affected by this announcement would be an understatement. Wren coughed, Leah's jaw dropped, and Charles jerked like he had been burned.

"Y-your ...giving me Wren back?" Leah's voice was a mere squeak, but her eyes were dancing with excitement.

"Yes. I'm sorry I took him from you. I have sent word for my own butler to come from England. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me over time."

"Really?" Leah seemed genuinely touched. Alarm blared in Charles's head and even though he really disliked Wren, he was grateful to see the same emotions . Something was very off.

"Yes, really. He will be here in a few days. Well, that was all I wanted to say. I won't bother you guy any longer. Enjoy your day together tomorrow and tell Fiona I'm excited to see her."

"Um, okay." Leah offered a tentative smile as she watched Samantha leave, but as soon as the red head disappeared, Leah's smile went with her. Eyes hardening, she turned to Wren again. "That girl is up to something and we need to find out what before its too late."

**************************************

Pressing herself off her bed, Leah gazed at the alarm clock on her night stand. One - thirty a.m. Sighing, she rubbed her tired eyes before letting her shoulders sag wearily.

"What is she up to?" she whispered into the dark space and wished again Fiona were there with her. How she missed her maids quiet, yet strong wisdom! Samantha's broken expression filled her mind, and her brows pulled together. She didn't believe that pathetic fake for one second! Uneasiness settled around the perimeters of her heart, sending strong signals of warning to her already confused mind. Something was definitely not right.

"But what do I do?!" She felt exasperated. If only she had someone who was bigger and stronger than the Queen family. Someone who could fight these battles for her. Her mind drifted to Wren. He was always protecting her. But, she realized she needed to protect him this time. Whatever Samantha had up her sleeve, it most likely involved the butler.

There was God... On instinct she reached up to nervously twist a strand of hair. The last time she had spoken to him had been the car wreck. He had heard her then and even answered. Still, she doubted to a small degree of his validity. Was he even real. Had that been a coincidence? That seemed unlikely.

Looking in to the darkness, she didn't close her eyes or even bow her head. "God? Are you there?" She paused and waited. When nothing responded, she shifted on her mattress uncomfortable, but pressed on. "Well, Wren says you are, and I'm beginning to think he might be right. If you are there, I need help. "I feel like I need wisdom right now. A lot of it! I think Wren is in trouble but I don't know how to stop it. I want to protect Fiona, Wren, Edward, Bates, and even my father from her, but I don't know how. If You are real and You are there...please tell me what to do. Give me the wisdom that Wren seems to carry. Please help me protect the people I care about. I guess that's it. Um, Amen?"

Sighing, she stood and walked to her window, pulling aside her large curtains to look into the night outside. Her eyes were already adjusted so she didn't miss the owl swooping from a nearby tree with talons outstretched as it snatched something from the ground before gliding off. A blinking red light caught her attention then, and she squinted her eyes to see what it was.

"Oh, yeah. The cameras," she huffed a bit and rolled her eyes when a thought suddenly struck her. Edward! Maybe he could help her! "After all, that is his job," she whispered aloud as hope spiraled through her, "He's good at protecting people!"

Not needing another second to question her decision, she let the heavy drapes fall forward again and rushed to pull on her silk pink robe, tying it securely around her waist before rushing out her door into the hallway. If Edward was doing his job, he would see her now, so she simply waved at the camera as she hurried by it. It took her only a few minutes to get to her door but when she opened it, a breathless Edward was already standing there, arms crossed and face scowling.

"Hello, Miss Kingsley. Going somewhere?" He was giving her an 'I don't think so' look, that made her smile.

"Actually, I was coming to find you. We need to talk. Can we go back to the security room?"

Edward glanced down at the silky robe wrapped around her. "Dressed like that? Why?"

Flushing, Leah lifted her chin. "Because, I said so."

Sensing her authoritative tone that she used only when becoming head strong, he shrugged. "Alright. Let's go." He knew it was useless to argue.

Once they were in the guard shack with the door closed, Edward turned to her."What's going on?"

"Samantha is up to something and I have a really bad feeling about this."

He shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes. "That Ice brick is always up to something. You shouldn't let her get you all worked up."

"I know Samantha is always plotting something but this time seems different. I can't explain it but I think we need to prepare."

"Prepare? Prepare how?"

"That's why I came to you. You are good at protecting people. I want help to protect Fiona and...Wren."

"Well, I will keep a close eye on her on the cameras and I will tell Bates you are worried as well. Also, if you like, I can tap her room for you and monitor her conversations. But really, Samantha isn't a threat. She's just a kid."

Leah's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?! You can do that."

"My job has it's perks." he winked as a grin lit his handsome face.

Leah smiled in relief. "That would be wonderful. Is there anything else I can do?"

"Hm. Well..." The guard's face lit up and he went to his desk, opening a metal drawer. Turning back to her, he grinned sheepishly. "Close your eyes and hold out your hand for a big surprise!" He had raised his voice in a dramatic manor making Leah giggle.

"I'm not a little kid, Edward!"

"Do it! Or no surprise!"

Laughing again, she complied and held out her hand, resisting the urge to peek.

"Okay....Open!"

She starred at the long object in her hand. "A pen? Really?"

At her flat tone, Edward laughed this time. "Not just any pen. A voice -recorder pen."

"Voice recording? Really?"

"Yep. It records up to 24 hours. You can turn it on here and turn it off with this button." He proceeded to take the pen from her to show her the tiny buttons, before pulling it apart to reveal a hidden thumb drive. "Then you can load the conversations to your computer and delete the pen and record all over again."

"That is so cool! Thank you, Edward." Beaming up at him, Leah was unaware of how pretty she looked to the young guard nor how he turned away from her nervously.

"Sure.... not a problem. Now you get on out of here before rumors start spreading. The last thing I need is to get fired for something stupid like that."

"Okay. Good night and thank you! I would like you to tap her room tomorrow please. Is that possible?"

Nodding his understanding, he jutted his chin to the door. "Out."

Rolling her eyes and feeling much lighter, she smiled and nodded. "Okay, okay! I'm going!" Soon she was walking up the path to the mansion steps, but just before climbing them, stopped and looked up into the starry sky.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thanks so much."

The same owl she had been spying on earlier at her window, now sat on a tree branch watching her. His head cocked sideways as he observed the strange girl staring up at the night sky smiling, before she ran up the steps disappearing inside.