rosalina nodded. She wanted home, her home, her sisters home. Where they were happiest.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

gareth sighed as he waited.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

After Calista finished applying the balm to all of the injuries that she could see on Rosalina, she wiped the salve off her hand and gently picked up the bag of herbs before helping Rosalina to stand. "Lean on me if you if you need to," Calista whispered to Rosalina as she placed the woman's arm around her shoulder so she could support her. "Let's return to the wagon. I want to leave these grounds as quickly as possible," she added.
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Seeing that the women were heading back to the wagon, Darius followed them at a discreet distance.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina nodded and clung to Calista as they walked. When she saw Gareth and darius she trembled in fear, seeing only more men. But reconizing them for who they were.

Gareth sighed as he saw Rosalina shake. "Calista, stay in the back with your sister. I will drive. Darius can fly if he has to."

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

"It's all right, Ro," Calista told her gently. "They will do you no harm," she added soothingly as she just kept her sister close to her. Calista nodded at Gareth's instructions before helping Rosalina into the wagon and then turning back to the mage. "Thank you for everything," she told him softly. "Would you be willing to take us to our father's home?" she asked him. "It is just past the small village beyond the mountains yonder and near a mighty wood," she added quietly. "Rosalina wishes to return there," she remarked. "Back to happier times."
------------------------------------------------------------
Darius made no comment to Gareth's instructions as he listened to the mage and elder sister talk. Yet, he just kept his glare upon Calista, still blaming her for everything.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Once in the wagon Rosaina curled up into a ball.

Gareth nodded. "I will. Just tell me when we are near."

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

"Thank you," Calista told Gareth with a smile as she gave him a quick hug before climbing to the back of the wagon. Seeing her sister curled up in a ball just broke her heart and she felt tears prickle at her eyes. Sitting beside her, Calista gently took Rosalina's head and laid it tenderly in her lap as she lightly rubbed the young woman's back. After a few minutes, she sang to her sister a song that she used to sing as they grew up and before she was sent away to live with her husband. It was a soothing melody that spoke of love, hope and promise---a song whose words she truly believed until she had met Julius---though perhaps she could slowly start to believe again since Gareth had suddenly come into their lives. Letting her sweet soprano voice fill the stillness of the wagon, Calista only hoped to soothe her sister like she had many years before Julius had left her a broken woman.
------------------------------------------------------------
Darius meanwhile shifted into a bird so that he could fly alongside the wagon as it took off. Calista's song did nothing to soothe the own anger festering in his heart. In fact, it only served to enrage him more for all that Rosalina had to suffer.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina soon fell asleep as sister sang to her, the whole time Gareth drove the wagon.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

Calista stopped her song as Rosalina fell asleep. Nevertheless, she continued to lightly rub her back. Sighing softly, she felt tears prickle at her eyes again, knowing that her sister was suffering because of her. Glancing up after a moment, she saw that they were nearing the mountains. Once they passed them, they would be nearing small village and finally their father's home.
------------------------------------------------------------
Darius just continued to fly beside the wagon in bird form.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina slept as Gareth drove. "Are we almost there." He asked.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

Making sure her sister was comfortable, Calista noticed that they were nearing the village. From there her father's house would just be beyond that. "Yes," she remarked softly. "We should be nearing the village and after that a few more miles beyond that is our father's house" she remarked softly, knowing that their old home bordered a mighty wood with a deep stream that they had sometimes played in as children.
------------------------------------------------------------
Darius just continued to fly next to the wagon in bird form.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Gareth nodded and kept an eye out for the village Calista talked about.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

Turning her attention back to Rosalina, Calista just wanted to make sure that her younger sister was all right. After several minutes passed by, she glanced up again and saw that they were approaching the village. "Our father's home is shortly beyond this village," she told Gareth softly. It had been years since she had passed through this place and a strong longing started to well up within her.
------------------------------------------------------------
Darius made no comment as he continued to fly by the wagon.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Gareth nodded and urged the mules to go faster.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

As they road through the village, memories of her childhood started to flood through Calista's mind, as she remembered how happy and carefree she once was. The vibrant girl that she had been had long since been replaced but the quiet, timid and withdrawn woman she had grown to be after she lived with her husband.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

After a while Rosalina woke. "Home?" she asked.

Gareth looked around. To think, this was where it all started. What had Calista been like?

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

Calista had been lost in her memories as they rode through the village that she did not even notice when Gareth had pulled up in front of their old home. Hearing Rosalina's voice,however, snapped her attention back to the present. Glancing around, Calista felt her heart sink slightly at the sight of the place. The doors and windows were broken, and weeds overran the once beautiful garden. Yet, in her heart she knew that this could be home again. "Yes, Ro," she whispered. "We may have to clean the place up a bit, but we are home," she added softly. She would first make sure Rosalina's room was cleaned first then clean out rooms for Gareth and Darius, make everyone a meal and then tend to her own room.
------------------------------------------------------------
Once the company arrived at the home, Darius landed before morphing back into his human form.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!