"Only time will tell, Ro. Maybe by some miracle she will grow to trust me," Darius remarked softly. "At least that is what I am hoping," he added in the same hushed tone.
------------------------------------------------------------
"You are weak. Useless. A breaker of your bond," the voices continued to hiss in her mind.
"No, leave me alone!" Calista screamed at the shadows as maniacal laughter enveloped her. Suddenly Gareth appeared in front of her and she instinctively rushed over to him. Grabbing on to him, she clung desperately on to his tunic as she gazed up into his hazel green eyes. "Help me," she pleaded, her blue eyes filled with fear.
"You must do this on your own," Gareth told her in a stern voice. "I cannot be with you. Befriend Darius or he will forever remain in his true form..." he told her before vanishing into the darkness.
"Gareth, no! Don't leave me!" she wailed, as she sank to her knees and covered her ears with her hands, trying to silence the laughter of the shadows.
------------------------------------------------------------
"Gareth, please don't! Don't go!" Calista was crying out in her sleep.
"Rose, wake up!" Gareth shouted as he shook her, trying to rouse the woman from her sleep. "I'm right here," he whispered as she continued to thrash weakly about, trapped in the suffocating darkness.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina bit her lip. "I still won't forgive him." 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)

Chuckling slightly, Darius did not make any further comment. "That may be the case, Ro. But do not provoke him," Darius warned her. "Something tells me that while he is not omnipotent, he is much more powerful than he is letting on. Moreover, I sense that he is no stranger to leaving death and torment in his wake. You push him too far and it could very well be your death," he warned her softly. "And I do not want to lose you."
------------------------------------------------------------
Suddenly Darius appeared in the mist and circled her as a hunter does its prey. "Go away!"Calista screamed at him. "Let me be...please!" she begged as her blue eyes nervously followed his movements.
"Free me..." the beast told her softly as Calista just cowered in fear. "Free me," he said again, his voice much harsher the second time as he approached her.
"I--I can't!" Calista cried.
"FREE ME!!!" the dragon-lion demanded, this time pouncing on her and pinning the trembling girl beneath him.
"I---I don't know how!" Calista cried as she turned her head away as the beast's muzzle came closer to her face so that that she could feel his hot breath on her skin.
------------------------------------------------------------
"Calista!!!" Gareth shouted as he shook her harder as the woman cried out in fear again. Beads of sweat glittered on her forehead as she twisted from side to side as if trying to break from free the mythical creature's grip.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

"Darius, he wouldn't kill me, would he?" 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)

"I don't believe he would, but if pushed beyond his limits, anything is possible---especially for a man in love," Darius remarked softly. "And I fear with Calista being as she is---the mage's temper may get worse," Darius added with a sigh. "Remember I nearly killed Calista's father for attacking you? If you try his patience he may snap and yes attack you. This time Gareth refrained from attacking you after you challenged him. Do not expect such mercy every time."
------------------------------------------------------------
"Calista, wake up!" Gareth shouted as he shook her again.
"Why won't she awaken?" Daniel asked the mage as Gareth's jaw tightened in worry. Moaning again, Calista gave a sharp gasp as her eyes fluttered open and she just stared up at Gareth and her father with wide, frantic eyes.
"Gareth? Abba?" she whispered as her gaze flickered between the two of them.
"It's all right love. You are safe," Gareth remarked as he gently lifted her off the bed and held her close.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina nodded. "Ok. i will try to be less. But if anything happens becausw of the spell . . . "

_________________
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)

"Don't worry about it. We will figure something out," Darius told Rosalina softly. All he could hope for that he would not be trapped in his true form forever since he couldn't hold her like he wanted to.
------------------------------------------------------------
"No, it is not all right," Calista whispered against Gareth. "I can't be the one to help Darius. There must be some way to reverse the spell..." she pleaded.
"I am sorry, Rose. But some spells are irreversible," Gareth told Calista softly before kissing the top of her head.
"Then why did you cast it?" Calista asked softly. "When you know I couldn't help them?"
"Because you can, Rose." Gareth said softly. "You just need to have faith in yourself."

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina bit her lip. "I hope so." she said and held him tighter.

_________________
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)

A small smile crossed across Darius' beastly lips as Rosalina held him tighter. She was truly a special woman, one that he loved with everything within him.
------------------------------------------------------------
"I am not strong, Gareth. Nor am I brave. I cannot face this. I don't want to face it," Calista whispered. "And now I am going to have to see him in that form everyday and be reminded of what a selfish coward I am," she added as she pulled back from him slightly and turned her head away.
Turning her chin toward him, Gareth tilted her face up so she was looking into his eyes. "You are more courageous than you realize, my love," he told her softly. "Do you remember how you resisted your attacker? And even when you were frightened of going outside, you went to find herbs to help Darius and Rosalina."
Calista just let out a bitter chuckle at his words. "I did such a marvelous job at resisting that I just ended up passing out and being ravished for only heaven knows how long. You call that strong? That bandit had his way with me in the end and I cannot face Darius without quivering in fear. How then am I suppose to befriend him?" she asked.
"You will find a way if that is truly your heart's desire, Rose," Gareth whispered soothingly to her but his words did not bring her any comfort.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina trembled as she started to cry. "I don't want you to remain this way." she confessed. "I know its your true form, but I love your human form just as much."

_________________
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)

"Shh. Don't cry, Ro" Darius whispered as he gently nuzzled her neck. "It will be all right," he added softly. "I don't want to remain in this form either, love. I like my human form as well," he added, wishing her he could just hold her again.
------------------------------------------------------------
"So how are we going to keep Darius here in whatever form he is in?" Daniel asked, breaking into the conversation. "I think we should just leave him outside. This house was not meant to hold an animal."
"We can't do that father. Rosalina would be terribly upset," Calista interjected as she turned her attention to Daniel. Smiling slightly, Gareth knew that her compassionate nature would assert itself again when another's wellbeing was at stake.
"But a wild beast does not belong in the home," Daniel protested. "I won't have him indoors."
"But if we leave him outside, what happens if someone tries to use him as game and he gets hurt? How would Rosalina feel?"
"I am sure he can take care of himself," Daniel remarked crisply, not liking that Calista was challenging him on this.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina sighed as she held Darius. "What happens if even if she trusts you, but the spell willl not break."

_________________
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)

"I don't know, Ro. I haven't thought of that. But even though I think Gareth is a pain, he seems to have a sense of honor and is well skilled in the magical arts. So I am going to trust his words---at least for now."
------------------------------------------------------------
Taking to pacing, which was more like hobbling, around the floor of the room, Daniel couldn't believe that Calista was challenging him on this. "If he stays in our home, he will be all the closer to you," Daniel remarked softly as he stopped his pacing to look his daughter directly in the eyes. "Can you handle it?" he asked her and Gareth was about ready to curse at the man for questioning what little confidence Calista had.
Swallowing hard, Calista averted her gaze as she just stared at a fixed spot on the floor but immediately fell silent. "I thought so," Daniel remarked. "So it is settled. He must remain outside."

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina bit her lip again. "I trust in you Darius. I always have."

_________________
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)

"And your trust means more to me than you could ever know," Darius told her softly before raising his head and glancing around, wondering if he would now be forbidden from staying in the house now that he was an wild animal.
------------------------------------------------------------
Biting her lip at her father's firm decision, Calista felt herself torn in two again. She knew it would be wrong to force Darius to remain out in the elements without any semblance of shelter save for a tree, but just the thought of him being in the house in that beast form sent shivers down her spine. Glancing up at Gareth, she looked to him for advice, wishing he would just tell her what to do.
"You can only do what your heart tells you too," Gareth whispered in her ear as he caught her look, before he leaned forward and kissed her lightly on her temple.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina lifted her head, giving him a small sad smile. "I just wish I could see you." 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)