Wanted for War

1. Ashley

I sit on the seat beside the window sill, looking outside with all the birds with a range of colours. All of them look beautiful, and all the things they have to say are beautiful as well. I sigh and tilt my head so it's touching the window.

"Ashley!" I jump.

"Yeah?" I yell back.

"Come down here!" I sigh, knowing it's Lily, the head of this rusty, old orphanage; I wonder what she wants. Have I done anything bad? No, I don't think so, could I be getting adopted? I perk up at that idea but then I shake my head, who would want to adopt me anyway? I slowly descend the stairs until I'm with Lily in the main room with a couple.

"Ashley, this is Mr and Mrs Anderson, they'd like to adopt you but first they'd like to know a little more about you, and before you ask, I've already done the background checks and they have a lovely house for you to live in," Lily explains, I'm speechless, my greatest dream actually has a chance of coming true! Instead, I nod enthusiastically.

"So, Ashley, tell us something about yourself," Mrs Anderson informs me.

"Well my name is Ashley Berry Moore, I still have my parents surname. I don't have a favourite colour or animal because they're all amazing; I love ice cream; I'm currently learning Italian and Spanish as they're so similar but they're hard to distinguish from each other and I stand up for what I think is right," I smile, willing it to be good and hoping they like me. Mr and Mrs Anderson turn their backs and talk in hushed whispers that I can't hear. I stand their awkwardly, slightly moving back and forwards, pursed lips and ever so slightly swinging arms. I avert my eyes elsewhere.

"We'll take her." My head snaps back to them, a grin slowly forming on my lips. I'M GETTING ADOPTED! WHOOP WHOOP!

"Come with me, I'll give you the paperwork," Lily says cheerfully although her demeanour shows otherwise, her slouching hints that she's unhappy and her eyes are so sad and worried I almost want to say I want to stay here with her, but that would mean I'd have to stay with everyone else; and I can't do that. "Ashley, go start packing," Lily says, snapping me out of my hazed form.

"Okay," I start running up the stairs to my room which I share with 3 other girls, it's a cramped room.

"What are you doing?" I look to see Rosie, a eight-year-old with ebony hair and emerald eyes holding a teddy bear.

"I'm being adopted," I downplay my enthusiasm for her sake, she's obviously sad and we were - are good friends.

"Oh okay," she looks down, downcast. I crouch down to her height (yes, I'm fifteen but that doesn't mean I can't be reasonably tall, I'm about 5'8 currently.)

"It'll be fine, I'll come and visit you, I'll never forget about you," I smile softly at her.

"Promise you'll come and visit?" She asks in a small, soft voice.

"Promise."

"Good," she envelopes me in a hug, "I'm going to miss you so much Ash!" She cries, I sniff, holding back my tears, she's always been such a ray of sunshine.

"I'm going to miss you too Rose petal; promise you'll never forget about me?" I pull back and look at her face, newly varnished with tears, she sniffs and wipes her eyes with her hand with the other holding onto me.

"Promise - if you come back."

"I promise," she holds out her right hand.

"No, you have to pinkie swear," she says making me smile, she's so cute, I link our pinkies to together.

"I pinkie swear."

"Good." She smiles widely, showing off her baby teeth.

"There's the Rose I know...now, when life gives you thorns remember you're the rose and the rose always wins," I inform her, we always pretend that she's a beautiful (she doesn't agree but I still say it) rose petal and I'm the light ash that guards it somehow (I don't understand her imagination) and thorns are all the problems in the world.