Rosalina cursed her brother-in-law as her sister calmed and she could see the damage he had done. Quickly she ran to the window. "Darius!!" she called, she needed to be fast, Julius had gone too far. They were leaving, but she needed her lovers help.

_________________
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 call his name, Darius shifted into a bird and flew into the room before morphing back into his human form. "What is---?" he started to ask but the question died on his lips as he saw Calista lifeless on the ground. There was a deep gash on her forehead, dark bruises were forming on her cheeks, dried blood crusted at the base of her nose and splotches of blood dotted her white nightgown, and he figured there were probably other injuries that he couldn’t see. Cursing under his breath, Darius quickly knelt at the woman's side and placed two fingers at her neck, checking for a pulse. At least the woman is still alive, the shifter thought bitterly as he felt the faint beating of her blood. "We leave tonight, love. Grab some of your things and her things and fly this place," he told her urgently, not wanting what happened to Calista to happen to her.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

"Can you carry us both, or should I get a wagon?" Rosalina asked, still pale and shaken from finding her sister in this state. "Which would be easier on my sister?" she asked as took a bag and started gathering her sisters things before she would go and get her own.

_________________
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 can carry you both if I morph into gryphon or some sort of large winged beast and fly through the air. But it may be safer for her if we get a wagon. If the journey proves to be uncomfortable, I can carry you both." Glancing down at the lifeless woman then, Darius let out a curse as he saw a pool of blood forming around the lower portion of her body. "Ro, hurry!" he urged. "Your sister needs to see a healer immediately. I fear she has already lost a lot of blood," Darius remarked as he placed his fingers against the woman's neck, wanting to be sure that she still had a pulse.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina paled. "Ok, I think I know one who can be trusted." She said and ran off, using a route that lead away from Julius before finding the healer, he had seen to her sister before. Soon she returned to the room with him in tow.

_________________
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)

Meanwhile, Darius gently lifted Calista into his arms and laid her on the bed. As the healer stepped into the room, he was not able to hide his shock at the woman's condition. "I need someone to start a fire and gather water," he remarked.
"I'll do that," Darius remarked before quickly going to the fireplace and kindling a flame and then heading out to the well to draw water. Meanwhile, the healer examined all of Calista's wounds before shaking his head silently and moving over to the table to crush the herbs. "What happened?" he asked Rosalina while he blended several herbs together to create a medicinal paste for her wounds. Walking over to the lifeless woman, he then applied the paste to the wounds on her face as well as the bruises that covered her body. "I need the water to create a brew for her that will stop her bleeding," the healer told Rosalina as gently as possible just as Darius walked back into the room.
"Will she be all right?" Darius asked the healer.
"It's hard to say," the healer said softly as he looked at Rosalina with some compassion. "Your sister was pregnant but this abuse caused her to miscarry. I can stop the bleeding with a potion, but she has already lost a good deal of blood---both from the abuse and the miscarriage."

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina paled. Calitsa wanted a family. "I didn't know. She never told me she was with child." she said and told the Healer of what happened, and what she had come in to see. 'Will she live?"

_________________
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)

"There is a chance that she didn't know. Or she may have kept her condition a secret because she did not want to burden you further," the healer told Rosalina sadly. Sighing at her question, the man remained silent as he started to crush the herbs for the tea after setting a pot of water over the fire to boil. "She is in Heaven's hands now," the healer remarked softly as he mixed the herbs for the tea together with a ladle. Once it was completed, he poured the liquid into the cup and gently lifting the woman from the bed, he tilted her head back and slowly began to trickle the liquid down her throat so she wouldn't choke. After about five agonizing minutes, he finished his task and gently wrapped a bandage around Calista's forehead before he gently laid the woman back down on the bed. "I fear your sister may also have a severe concussion," he told her softly. "But based on her injuries, she will be lucky if she lives through the night. I am sorry, but I have done all that I can."

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina looked at the healer. "I want to have a wagon and leave with her so she may not be touched by Julius again. But I need to know, if I do, would it cause more damage?"

_________________
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 depends. If you expect the path to be rough then yes the jostling of the wagon will cause more damage. If the paths are smooth then I do not anticipate any trouble," the healer remarked. "You are a good sister and I wish you luck my lady," he remarked with a small smile. "Julius would not stop hunting either of you for leaving---not out of love---but out of pride. May Heaven shield all of you," the healer added before taking his leave.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina bit her lip. "Darius, I will go and pack before getting a Wagon. Could your bring her out when I come below her window with the wagon." she asked him. She had to try and leave with her sister, and if her sister died, she would return to slay Julius.

_________________
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)

"Of course, my love," Darius remarked before kissing Rosalina gently on the lips. "By my life, I swear I will do all in my power to protect you," he whispered to her. "Now go and get ready, I will make sure no harm befalls your sister," he remarked with a tender smile.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina smiled. "THank you." she said and took the bag of her sisters things and left the room, going to her own and packing her own things in a seprate bag, and gathering all the blankets and pillows she could, she went to the stables and got one of the bigger wagons, putting the bags in the compartment behind the driver seat, and spreading the blankets and pillows for her sister and herself. She hitched up the two mules and lead the wagon to the window. "Darius." she called.

_________________
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 Rosalina a soft smile before she left, he moved to sit at the edge of Calista's bed and just monitored her condition for a few minutes before moving close to the window to listen for Rosalina's call. Upon hearing her voice, Darius walked over to the bed and gently scooped Calista into his arms. Making sure to keep his walk gentle as to not jar the injured woman in his arms, he walked over to the wagon. "Let's go to my home," Darius told her. "It is on the outskirts of this land so it may afford us more privacy," he added. "Go in and watch your sister. I can drive us there," he said simply as he stepped up into the wagon and gently laid Calista down on one of the pillows and covered the woman with a blanket.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina nodded as she got into the back with her sister, taking the womans hand. "Hold on Calista." 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)

Calista did not respond as Rosalina took her hand, her breathing rather weak.
Climbing into the driver's seat, Darius urged the mules onward at a swift pace, although not too swift as to jar the injured woman in the wagon. For Rosalina's sake, he hoped that Calista would live, knowing how much his love cared for her older sister. He still could not understand why she would stay---from everything that Rosalina told him, it certainly wasn't out of love for the man. "How's she doing?" Darius called back to Rosalina as the wagon continued to move at a decent pace to his home.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!