Gareth nodded slowly. "Loosing you almost killed me." He said, his voice having gone quiet. "I'm scared." he finally admited. "I love her but I;m scared."

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rosalina whimpered and covered her head.

_________________
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)

Catalina gave Gareth a gentle smile before lightly caressing his cheek. "It is natural to be afraid, my love. Just don't let this fear hold you back. For I foresee that if you are willing to act on your love, there will be some hardships yet, but many blissful moments for you to come."
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"Oh Ro, I wish I could take this sorrow from you," Darius whispered to his love, still afraid to touch her.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Gareth nodded. "Stay with me, please, until I wake." He said. "Please." He asked as a child would.

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

Rosalina started to whimper louder.

_________________
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)

Giving Gareth a tender smile, Catalina drifted closer to him and wrapped him in a tender embrace. "How could I deny such a request from the man I love?" she remarked gently before placing a kiss to his forehead. "Just remember my words, my love," she whispered.
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Hearing Rosalina whimper louder, Darius could not help himself and he instinctively reached out to rub her back. "Ro, darling, you are safe," he whispered to her.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Gareth nodded as he held his wife close. "I may love her, but you will always be my first." He said as he wrapped his arms around her , holding her as tight as he could. Closer and tighter then he had when she was alive.

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Rosalina started to scream again, begging her assultant to let her go.

_________________
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)

Giving Gareth a smile at his words, Catalina sighed softly as she leaned against him, much like she used to when she was alive. "I know," she remarked softly. "You are the only man I have ever loved," she whispered. "And I want to see you happy again," she added, loving the mage's embrace.
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Hearing her sister scream instantly roused Calista from her slumber. Glancing around her room and seeing Gareth asleep in a chair near her bed with a peaceful expression on his face caused a small smile to trace her lips. Removing the blanket from her, she lightly wrapped it over him before gently slipping a pillow behind him, careful not to wake him before she made her way to her sister's room. Slipping quietly into Rosalina's room, she saw her sister whimpering on the bed as Darius tried desperately to wake her. Swallowing as she saw the man, she could hear Gareth's words playing over and over again in her mind---about how he had betrayed him and an innocent woman died because of it. "Let me see if I can help her," Calista remarked softly as she slowly made her way to her sister's bedside.
Not hearing her approach, Darius jumped slightly and shot a withering glare at Calista although he stepped back from the bed to make room for the elder sister. "Ro," Calista whispered in her ear as she lightly rubbed the younger woman's back. "It's Calista. You are safe, dearest sister and no one will harm you again," she whispered gently.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Gareth looked up Catalina, bringing her head down so he could kiss her as he had when she was alive.

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Rosalina slowly stopped screaming, but she whimpered.

_________________
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 Gareth lowered her head, Catalina yield to him and kissed him gently---much like she had done in the past.
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"Shh, Ro, my dearest sister. It's okay, you are safe," Calista murmured as she continued to gently rub her sister's back, hoping that she would calm down and have a peaceful rest. As she tended to her sister, she could feel Darius' stern glare upon her and knew in her heart that she needed to talk to him after she tended to Rosalina---not over how he was treating her but over what he did years ago that left such a deep wound on the heart of the man that she had quickly grown to love.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Gareth kissed her, hard and passionate, with tears flowing from his eyes.

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After a while the whimpered eased so it was barely notacible, but was joined with a look of distress on Rosalinas face.

_________________
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)

Wrapping her arms around Gareth as he kissed her with great passion, Catalina moaned softly before kissing back with equal passion and desire. "It's..all right...beloved," Catalina whispered in between their kisses as she felt his tears. "Everything will be all right," she added knowing that she will have to go soon but she would love him in his dreams while she could.
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Seeing the frown on her sister's face, Calista began to sing softly to her, hoping to lull her into a more restful sleep.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Gareth stood and lifting her, kissing her all he could.

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Rosalina soon started to calm, but would switch to her frown, as if her mind wasn't sure.

_________________
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)

Closing her eyes with a sweet smile on her lips, Catalina just continued to kiss Gareth back hungrily.
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Calista just continued to sing her sister and rub her back gently, trying to let Rosalina know that she was safe---that no man was ever going to hurt her again. Then once her sister was calm, she would talk with Darius and find out why he had hurt his best friend so.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Gareth ran his hands through her hair, the hair he missed so much.

soon rosalina fell silent, her face calm. Her dreams stopped, all together, she was just asleep.

_________________
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)

Sighing contentedly as Gareth ran his fingers through her hair, Catalina gave him a loving smile as she ran her fingers through his hair before running her hands along his back.
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Breathing a soft sigh as Rosalina fell asleep, Calista pressed a light kiss to her forehead and brushed back some loose strands of her sister's dark locks before turning to Darius. "Darius, can we talk?" she asked softly.
Grunting a response, Darius merely glared at her before nodding.
Drawing in a deep breath, Calista slowly walked from the room and down the hall so that they would not disturb her sister.
"What have you to say wench?" Darius growled at her when she finally stopped to look up at him.
"Why, Darius?"
"Why what? Treat you like this? You should know...If it wasn't for you, Rosalina would not be suffering!" he snarled.
Calista took a slight step back as if she had been stung but only shook her head. "Not about me. For I deserve all the scorn within you..."
"Glad we are in agreement," Darius muttered and Calista decided to ignore his barb.
"But why Gareth? Why hurt him, betray him? He was your best friend!"
"Stay out of this girl! What happened is between him and me! It is no bussiness of yours!"
"It concerns me when someone I care about...someone I love is hurt!" Calista cried. "I can feel his pain Darius. How can you not care?"

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Gareth looked at her. "Will i ever see you again after this night?"

_________________
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)

Catalina gave Gareth a sad smile and slowly shook her head. "It is highly unlikely, my love. But you will not need me anymore. You have another now," she whispered.
------------------------------------------------------------
Darius chuckled bitterly as Calista looked up at him with tears prickling at her eyes. "So the elder sister becomes self-righteous," Darius mocked. "Love, what do you know of love?" he scoffed at her.
"I-" Calista started to say.
"IF you knew anything at all about love you would know that your VERY EXISTENCE is endangering us all...especially your sister. Julius is after YOU, not me, not Rosalina, not Gareth. But you. Every mess we were involved in was because of you! And when Julius finds us it will be a death-sentence for us all. You claim to love Rosalina but you didn't love her enough to protect her from the bandits!" Darius spat at her.
"I...tried..." Calista started to say her voice shaking but Darius just ignored her and continued on with his assault.
"And Gareth? You profess to love the mage but tell me do you honestly expect a single man to withstand all of your husband's armies? He did once but how long do you think he will be able to hold out against their fury? You will only get him killed!!!" Darius growled.
"No...no..." Calista whimpered as he lowered her head and covered her ears as if trying to block Darius out, tears falling freely from her face. All the more enraged, Darius grabbed her arms and removing them from her ears, he just stared down at her with hate as she gazed up at him with tear-filled eyes. "You claim to love others but you love only yourself, you selfish wench!" he yelled and shook her roughly by her shoulders before slapping her across her face.
"I'm sorry!" Calista wailed as she staggered back but could not rub her cheek as Darius held on to her with an iron grip. "I-I don't...want to see anyone hurt..." she sobbed.
"Too late for that wretch! Rosalina was hurt because of you and it will only be a matter of time before Gareth is too," Darius spat at her.
"Tell me what to do and I fix it, I swear I will..." Calista pleaded.
"You want to help?" Darius snarled at her. "Then turn yourself back over to your husband or better yet just rid the world of your miserable life. We would all be better off if you joined your child in the grave..."
"My child?" Calista whimpered. "I had a child?"
"And it died the night we fled. Julius saw to that when he beat you. And if you ask me, that child is better off dead than having you for a mother," Darius spat. "Why don't you drown yourself in a river and save all of us the trouble," he hissed at her before turning on his heel and storming off. Staring numbly at Darius' retreating form, Calista walked stiffly out of the door and toward the nearby river that flowed through the woods near the house. Darius is right, Calista thought to herself as tears streamed down her ghastly pale face. I am a curse to everyone here. Everyone would be safer if I was dead, she thought as she headed to the river. Upon coming on it, Calista slowly waded through the icy waters, letting the liquid seep into her gown and pull her down as she made her way to the deepest part of the river.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!