Prologue- 2048

Ivory sat on her window seat, surrounded by multi-coloured cushions and stuffed animals. The six-year-old was curious about why the sky outside was grey all the time, while the skies in her picture books were a bright-blue, scattered with lots of fluffy-looking clouds.

She had asked her foster mother, Renee, who had taken her and her little brother, Ethan, under her wing, after their parents died, whether it would be possible to see a blue sky in real life someday. But all Renee had replied, was a simple, "I don't know, darling," before getting back to chopping up carrots for a stew.

Ivory then tried asking her foster father, Craig, after that, and had pretty much the same response, ditto with her grandfather, so she decided to give up.

The family lived together in a large manor house that had been built over a hundred years prior to them moving in. It had so many corridors, staircases and rooms, to the children, it was like a giant playground, there was so much to explore. The only thing it lacked was a back garden. There was a grassy bit at the front, however, but it was rather dead-looking, which was another thing that puzzled Ivory.

The only major question that had been answered in her life, was what had happened to her birth parents. She had been told that they passed away from a disease, after Ethan was born. No one ever told her what disease it was, though, stating that they, "couldn't remember the name of it," when Ivory asked.

Maybe the disease was the reason why Ivory and Ethan had to stay in the house at all times? Maybe it was something to do with the grey sky, but if it was, then why did the family's cleaner, Anna, come and go, whenever she pleased? Why did her grandfather get to go out and buy supplies like, food, shampoo and beer, without a problem? It was all a mystery to her.

And it would remain a mystery for years to come.