• Blinded or Silenced • {B. Barnes} •

• The Room • Prologue •

Once upon a time, in the midst a horrifying world, there was a room. The room cost well over a million dollars, and was bigger than the size of an average sized house. In that room resided a young girl.

She grew up in that room. Spent her childhood there. Her best memories were the same as her worst ones; being ignored and isolated for since she was old enough to understand what loneliness felt like.

All she had to keep her company for the first seventeen years of her life was the thousands of books and a single guard placed just outside her door. He was ordered by the young girls mother to bring her anything she asked for, unless of course, the girl asked to see her mother.

For the first few years while her age could still be described as a single digit number, the girl chose fairy tales to read. These fairy tales such often spoke of a young princess being saved by a handsome prince. She liked them just fine, but she appreciated the distinct pattern she noticed started to emerge in most of the books she read a lot more.

There was usually an evil parent or step parent involved. Lydia didn't even care about the prince anymore; his fate was utterly insignificant compared to the evil mother's.

Lydia couldn't wait to leave this room, and leave her evil mother behind too. Usually the evil mother got what she deserved in the end, so Lydia was hoping that would be the case for her too.

So, at the realization that there was more beyond fairytales, the girl branched out. Expanded her horizon of knowledge. Eventually she discovered her passion to be the exact opposite of her mother's.

The girls mother was a famous actress. Utterly adored by all. If you were to approach someone on the streets of New York City and ask if they liked Sarah Luna, you're answer was yes or else they'd be ostracized by society.

However, no one knew what happened within Lindsey Luna's home. Her private life remained a complete mystery to all. Therefore, no one knew what really happened inside that one room except the girl and her mother. The door between the girl and the outside world opened three times a day, same time every day with the finest of meals and new magazines.

Yes, magazines. It was all the poor girl had to give her a fraction of an idea of what was really out there. So the girl held onto that hope for seventeen long years.

Hope that she wasn't the princess that needed saving, although not that she would complain if prince with dark hair and darker eyes showed up. Hope that one day an opportunity would become available for her to rescue herself and leave her lavish lifestyle and neglecting mother behind.

Little did she know, all the hope in the world couldn't save the purest heart in the universe from the fate awaiting her escape of that room.

The girl spent her days learning at a faster pace than normal children. She learned about physical education and exercise to keep herself fit. She learned about proper dietary decisions and had only the finest and healthiest meals delivered to her day after day.

And by the time she was thirteen, she knew enough to have PhD in biomedical and forensic sciences, engineering, and multiple varying subjects the average person wouldn't dare attempt to pronounce.

This girl was named Lydia Lilac Luna, and for the first time since she was a baby her mother took her outside of her room for her eighteenth birthday party. Technically, it was a day before her actual birthday.

All Lydia wanted for a gift was to go to college to further pursue her education. The girl was beyond brilliant. Lydia was well versed in any subject you could think of. She received an IQ test when she was thirteen, scoring just under Albert Einstein.