Death.

It was never fun. It only made the world a little darker and crueler, for those it affected. It meant that someone who was deeply loved had gone somewhere... else, or nowhere at all, depending on what they believed. It was a sad time for anyone close to the deceased person and probably joyous for those that hated those that had died.

The rain poured down on those that lingered in the cemetery. Only a few still gathered by the fresh grave. Slowly, even they left leaving three children behind with a pickle faced man. He was holding an umbrella for the children, but the youngest one stayed just apart from her siblings. She was being drenched by the rain as well as her own tears. The pickle faced man turned to leave, and so did her siblings, but she did not move to follow them.

"Miss Lambert, we must get you home and dried." Came the dry scratchy voice of the man that had been a part of the children's lives since they were born.

The child turned and glared at the old man with eyes that could be mistaken for emeralds. "Don't rush me. I'll leave when I'm good and ready... not any sooner... if you want to leave then go." The girl of ten years told the older man with a cold tone in her little, normally soft voice.

The man frowned with concern as did the older boy. The middle boy just glared at her with hate in his brown eyes.

An obscenely fake and colorfully dressed woman then came over followed by a man holding an umbrella over her. "Don't start you little brat. Come along or I'll have Hugo here drag you by your hair."

The oldest child then spoke with anger in his young voice. "Don't you dare speak to my sister like that!"

The woman turned to the boy and glared at him, which caused him to shrink away. "I'll speak to her however I wish. Your father is dead and she is no daughter of mine, nor are you my son. Now if you and the little wet rat want to stay out in the rain then feel free, but my sweet cherry blossom will not. Come along Joel." She began to walk away when she suddenly turned. "And if the two of you get sick... you'll both be sleeping outside in the dog house until your better," the brazen woman said with a sneer.

The middle child of the group stuck his tongue out at the other two and rushed over to his mother before they walked off back to the car.

"I'm sorry Brayden... I didn't want you to get into trouble," said the drenched child before she sneezed in the cold.

Her brother frowned and left the dry comfort of the umbrella to take his sister into his arms. "No worries, Caz... She doesn't bother me. You're more important to me then she is. I hate it when she calls you names like that." The child then shivered, and the boy's frown deepened "Come on... I don't want you getting sick. You heard what Cruella said." He steered her back to the weathered man, their beloved butler, and the trio walked to the limo.

The funeral party arrived home where a little gathering was taking place. It was in honor of the man they had lost. First out of the limo was the fake woman who had a fake smile on her fake face, then it was her Cherry Blossom son, Joel. Lastly it was Brayden and the young girl. The two siblings were quickly taken in hand by a maid and lead away from the party. The mistress didn't want wet mongrels at the party.

As the girl was led inside and up the stairs she turned to her brother. "I hate parties."

"I know you do Caz... But we must. Change into dry clothes and I'll meet you in the parlor." Said the boy who now appeared to be a man before his sister's very eyes.

The green-eyed girl stared at her brother with a look of awe. In just a few hours he had gone from being a boy to a man. She now felt like a woman instead of a girl herself. She missed her father dearly and tears suddenly sprang to her eyes. Quickly she turned her eyes away from her brother and nodded before pulling out of the maids grasp and headed to her room.

Reaching her room, the child threw herself on her bed and cried. She had been daddy's princess and now her daddy was gone. And now her guardian, her step-mother, hated her not to mention she hated her step-mother as well. A small sigh left her lips and she sat up drying her eyes with the back of her hands. She glanced around at the once pink room. She hated pink and told her father as such. He immediately changed it to blue upon her request. Surprisingly though, being the only girl child, she wasn't spoiled, nor was she girly. Having two brothers and a ton of boy cousins she had to learn quickly that she shouldn't be pushed around.

Another sigh left her soft pink lips and her green eyes stopped on a photograph of her and Brayden, their father was holding them both in his arms and they were all laughing and having a good time. Another tear fell down her cheek, before she stood up and quickly changed out of her wet dress and into a soft black velvet dress. It was only proper to wear black when mourning, unlike her evil step-mother.

Once she was dressed, the child hurried out of her room to meet her brother. On the way there she overheard voices coming from her fathers' study. With a small frown on her angelic face, the child silently inched to the partly open door. She was surprised to hear her step-mothers voice arguing with her father's lawyer.

"So, you mean to tell me, I'm not in my husband's will?" Came the woman's shrieky voice.

The child winced and then smiled hearing the lawyer's warm voice. "Mrs. Lambert, Mr. Lambert specifically left everything to..."

"Don't you tell me... it better not be the brat!" The woman cut off.

"That brat, is a very sweet and loving child, and yes Cassandra Lambert inherits everything, along with her brother, Brayden. Joel only gets a quarter of the property, which is no surprise. Bray and Cassy are both his real children, unlike Joel." Said the lawyer.

"Joel is his blood child, same as the other two." Screeched the woman.

"Only because you tricked Mr. Lambert. Blood tests were never drawn by your request. And he acquiesced. Do not press this, Mrs. Lambert. He at least gets a quarter." The lawyer insisted which must have caused the woman to huff, because the woman made strange breathy noises.

"The children can't inherit anything until they're of age... Brayden has four years. The brat has eight. Who is in control of the property in the mean time?" Asked the scheming woman.

"I'm afraid, you are."

"And what if something happens to them?"

"Well the children must behave. Anything illegal then they are both out of the inheritance and you will gain everything."

"Is that so...? It'd be a shame if anything happened to the poor dears."

The little girl frowned hearing this. She knew her step-mother would try anything to take her father's business, but the woman knew nothing of what her father did. If she did, then she would probably have been appalled. She knew though and so did Brayden, they were one of the few who knew what her father had really done. She and Brayden would have to make sure that they were perfect until they could inherit their father's home and business.

Cassy hurried to the parlor to greet her brother and the two entered the ballroom together. She saw Joel with that idiot Sterling Morgan. They weren't friends so why were they talking. The Morgan's were rivals of her family's and they did not get along. In fact, she had an extreme dislike towards Sterling. She watched as Joel and Sterling chatted before pulling her brother into a corner so they could be alone. She quickly relayed what she had heard, and her eyes softened seeing Bray's expression darken.

"We won't worry about it now, Caz. We're celebrating the memory of our father. We'll talk more about it later." He suggested and then led her back out into the crowd.

With a sigh, she nodded and mingled as best she could even though she hated parties. Sterling seemed to have drawn a crowd to him and Joel and it only made her dislike the boy even more. Her brother was talking with a rather pretty girl and her step-mother had just arrived dressed like a peacock. This was proving to be the worst party she had ever been to in her life.