Rosalina moaned and opened her eyes. "Darius?"

_________________
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)

Hearing Rosalina moan, Calista turned to face the woman. "Darius stepped out for a moment to talk with Gareth," she replied meekly as she stepped closer to the bed. "Would you like me to call him back here?" she asked.
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When they were in the main room, Gareth stopped and turned to face Darius, crossing his arms over his chest as he did so. "Talk," Gareth commanded him, his hazel-green eyes flashing.
"What?" Darius hissed.
"What happened back there while I was away? I left Calista in a semi-stable mental condition and come back to find her an emotional mess. I haven't seen her that terrified since she was a child."
"I merely asked her for temporary herb to bring down Rosalina's fever."
"Asked?" Gareth remarked as he narrowed his eyes. "How?" he questioned.
"So I was a bit rougher than normal...I needed answers and she wasn't remembering anything..."
"What did you do to her?" Gareth growled.
"Grabbed her left wrist and shook her a bit and demanded answers," he remarked.
Eyes flashing at his words, Gareth grabbed Darius by the cuff of his shirt and jerked him roughly. "You insensitive beast!" the mage snarled, "She was emotionally fragile before your stunt! You've just made it worse! Not to mention you may have just reinjured her wrist! How could you be so foolish?!" he hissed, wishing he could just kill Darius without any repercussions for the hurt he caused Calista. "You have an issue with my lady, you take it up with me, you understand?" Gareth hissed.
Laughing cruelly, Darius just shoved him back. "And how was I supposed to take anything up with you? You were away and my lady was burning with fever. If you took any longer, she could have DIED without further aid. I did what I had to do. I am sorry your woman was caught in the cross-fire, really I am. But I do not regret pressuring her for answers," he remarked coldly.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina shook her head as she sat up. "Its ok." she looked at Calista. "Listen, I'm really sorry about Darius. He is just really protecteive of me." She sighed. "I am sorry too, for what I did. I should have known better. Especially after what happened with my mother. I would never want her fate to happen to any one again."

_________________
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 gave Rosalina a weak smile at her words. "It's fine, just forget about," she murmured as she moved to sit at the edge of the bed. "I don't know what is wrong with me," she whispered as she folded her arms over her chest. "I just seem to jump at everything," she remarked in a barely audible voice before falling silent. "What happened to your mother?" she asked after a few minutes. Suddenly realizing that she was prying, Calista just bit her lip for such a breach in conduct. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she added hastily.
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Gareth growled at his response, his hazel-green eyes flashing with pure rage. "You truly are a selfish beast," the mage hissed. "Ever since you arrived, Calista has been thrown into chaos! And you have only added to her calamity!"
"My lady needed shelter, was taken by bandits and is now pregnant by the one who ravished her before! Do you not care about that?!"
"And mine was ravished and nearly beaten to death. Then within twenty-four hours was forced to endure two suicide attempts by one of her guests in her own home---one of which ended in so much bloodshed that it would cause most maidens to swoon in fear on top of enduring both verbal and physical abuse by her other guest. Then she must also withstand being blamed for every foul deed by a certain party here,” Gareth remarked pointedly.
"Had Calista watched her speech, Ro would never have found the herb."
"Do not forget you are a guest here, Darius. Calista did not know she was there, nor should she be made to be a prisoner in her own home. If you cared about Rosalina so much, you should have kept a better eye on her."
Darius merely snarled at Gareth's words. "She needed her space."
"Well, it is not Calista's responsibility to monitor her actions," he replied as he crossed his arms over his chest.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina sighed. "My mother . . . When i was 6 she killed herself. I never knew how. Just she had died by her own hand." She looked down. "A the time i didn't know why. I just knew one day she was happy, the next . . . she was . . . she behaved as you do now. Everything is how she behaved. The fear . . . the uneasyness . . . everything. I was young, I didn't understand. When she died, I was more confused. I thought I made her unhappy, that I was at fault." Rosalina looked at Calista. "I watched her spiral downward. And my father was to busy to notice." She closed her eyes, it hurt to remeber. "It wasn't until I was older, 9 years old I learned the truth." Rosalina took a deep breath. She didn't want to finish, but Calista had to know. "My mother's sister was in an abusive marriage. After many years, she killed her husband, then herself. . . . my mother saw it. She had walked in as her sister killed the husband. It destroied her, killed her." Rosalina looked at Calista again. "She suffered, it was a sort of stress disorder. We didn't know until it was too late. I don't want you to suffer the same."

_________________
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 just listened as Rosalina told her mother's story. "I am sorry about your mother," she told her honestly as she finished her story, reaching and lightly placing a hand on her shoulder. A few seconds later, she withdrew her hand and just stared down at her lap. "I don't know what will become of me," she whispered. "From what you have described, the prognosis sounds rather bleak," she remarked. "But do not concern yourself with me. Just take care of yourself," she remarked as she just stared off in the distance, thinking that suicide may be preferable to living a life of fear.
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"You truly a hypocrite, aren't you Gareth?" Darius remarked. "You accuse me of caring too much for Rosalina, but all you care about is Calista!"
Gareth just chuckled coldly at his words. "If I didn't care about Rosalina, your woman would be dead by now. How many times have you run to us for herbs? How many times have I had to leave my woman to find an herb to save yours? Leave her foolishly in YOUR care only to return to find her utterly petrified and a mere shadow of the vibrant woman she used to be?" he added. "I have no issue with Rosalina. It's YOU who I don't like."

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina took Calista's hand. "Calista . . . Its my fault your like this. I know that. If . . . if I hadn't done what I did with the knife . . . " She closed her eyes. "Its like watching my mother all over again. She tried to hide it. Breaking down a few times. She didn't talk to anyone. Didn't let people get close . . . not even me." She looked at Calista. "Let me be here, let me help. Don't follow my mothers footsteps."

_________________
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)

Glancing down at Rosalina's hand over hers, Calista just drew in a shuddering breath. "What can I do?" she whispered, feeling utterly hopeless. "I don't want to burden anyone else---which is all I seem to be doing," she mumbled, remembering how troublesome she was becoming...especially for Gareth. "I deserve everything that is happening to me," she added. "If I had been more cautious, you wouldn't have nearly died from the nectar," she whispered as she looked away again. "I am sorry that you have had to suffer so much. You are a guest under my roof, I should have tended to your wounds immediately, but I ignored them for so long---allowing them to get infected. If it wasn't for Gareth, you would be dead. I can't do anything right," she muttered. "Maybe I would be better off dead..." she added under her breath.
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"Well, I guess we are even. I don't like you either," Darius remarked.
"Nor does it seem that you know how to treat a lady. You have not given Calista an ounce of respect since you have come here. Instead you badger her around as if she were some worthless slave," Gareth hissed. "Where are you and Rosalina from?" he challenged, wanting to know the history of this man and woman.
"That is none of your business mage."
"It will be my business if your presence endangers my woman any further. How can I trust you when time and time again you have proven that I cannot match your speech with your deeds? You said you were sorry for how you treated Calista, and yet have never apologized to her. Nor have you thanked her for everything she has done. How do I not know that you and your woman are wanted individuals and will place this village at risk?" Gareth questioned.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

"NO!" Rosalina said, this is what she feared. "Don't think that. Please . . ." she bit her lip. "Calista, don't give up. The first time I was ravished I wanted to die, but I thought about Darius, and what it would do to him. And now I remeber what my mothers death did to me. What would your death do to Gareth, to your father. If not me, try for them." She said and looked down. "Maybe I never should have come here."

_________________
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 sighed as she thought of her father and Gareth. She knew that her death would hurt her father and of the impact that it would have on the mage. After watching Rosalina, Gareth had made her promise not to take her own life. Closing her eyes, she could see still the look of entreaty that he gave her and the pain that was in his eyes as he blamed himself for her brutal ravishing and beating. Seeing that look in his eyes felt as if someone had plunged a dagger straight into her heart and remembering it only caused tears to flow from behind her closed eyelids. She could not endure that look again. She could not risk hurting either her father or Gareth. She loved them too much to do so. "I'm sorry. You're right," she whispered without looking at Rosalina as she opened her eyes. Turning to face the woman at her last statement, she just gave her a weak smile. "Don't blame yourself for this," she whispered. "I probably would have ended up a nervous wretch even if you were not here," she whispered.
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"We are no murderers or thieves. I can assure you of that," Darius remarked.
"Well, that's comforting," Gareth remarked sarcastically. "It still tells me nothing of who are you are. Or what harm you both may place us all in."
"Rosalina and Rosalina alone will decide how much of herself to reveal to you. All I can say is that I am her guardian and will do all in my power to protect her."
"Have it your way then,” Gareth hissed. “But bear this in mind," he hissed. "You are a guest in this house. You will behave as such to Calista. Threaten her, touch her, yell at her, harm her again and you will answer to me. Understand?" the mage snarled.
"And you will treat Rosalina with care and respect. Or I promise you, you will feel my wrath," Darius growled back.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina gave her a small smiled before hugging her. "Before now, Darius was my only friend. the only one I could look too." She said.

_________________
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)

Smiling lightly as Rosalina hugged her, Calista felt a small measure of comfort from this sisterhood that she had never known. "For the longest time, I only really had Gareth. My father cared for me, but at the same time kept his distance," she remarked. "So Gareth was really the only support I had," she added as she returned Rosalina's hug. "I am glad we met. It would be nice to have another friend," she whispered after a moment.
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Eyeing each other for a few minutes more, both men decided to save the blows for now, less they end up destroying the house and all within, and neither wanted to place the women in mortal danger. Turning on his heel, Gareth walked back to Rosalina's room to check on Calista while Darius hurried back to check on Rosalina.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

"I feel the same." Rosalina confessed.

_________________
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)

Smiling softly at Rosalina's words, Calista merely nodded after she pulled back. "How are you feeling?" she whispered.
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Stepping into the room, both Gareth and Darius watched as the two women conversed. Smiling that Calista seemed relatively calm, Gareth decided not to interrupt them, sensing that the talk was having a calming effect on her. On the other hand, Darius frowned slightly, a bit puzzled as to why Rosalina was not resting. Nevertheless, he remained silent for the moment.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

"Better. What about you?" She asked. "Do you think you will be ok to an extent?" Rosalina asked worried.

_________________
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)

Unaware of the presence of the men, Calista gave Rosalina a small smile when she remarked that she was doing better, glad of that at least. At her question, her expression fell slightly but she forced another smile to her lips as she nodded. Seeing her forced smile, Gareth felt his heart sink, knowing that she was just saying anything to ease Rosalina's worries and probably did not mean it. "Just relax," Calista said instead. "Darius will be furious if you do not take care of yourself."
"Indeed, I shall be," Darius remarked, rather light-heartedly as he walked over to the bed and placed a light kiss on Rosalina's forehead. Started by his presence, Calista yelped in alarm and moved so fast to get away from the bed that her legs got tangled in her dress and she ended up falling. Rushing to her side in an instant, Gareth knelt beside her and pulled her close. "It's all right, love," he whispered before gently kissing her brow. "He won't hurt you again," Gareth whispered in her ear. Finally seeing the fruit of his actions, Darius only sighed as he looked at Calista apologetically while the woman clung tightly to the mage. "Calista, I'm sorry. I never should have treated you in such a manner."
"Just forget about it. Just forget about it," Calista squeaked, feeling as if her throat closed up on her.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!