Sighing to himself, Darius finally nodded. "All right. We will check on them, but I do not want you to overtax yourself, love. You are still weak from being sick yourself."
------------------------------------------------------------
"I'll rest later," Gareth told Daniel. "Once I know both you and Calista are all right."
"Gareth! You could overtax yourself. You always tell Calista rest and relax, but now you are being just as stubborn as her, not wanting to rest when you need it! Or perhaps she is picked that up from you," Daniel remarked with a shake of his head, remembering the amount of time that his daughter spent with the mage since she was a young girl. It seemed that they were so close that they had developed a secret code to speak with one another.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina nodded and went to Calista's room.

_________________
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)

Without another word, Darius followed her into Calista's room.
------------------------------------------------------------
Stopping his discussion with Daniel as Rosalina followed by Darius entered the room, Gareth studied them for a brief moment. "How are you feeling?" Gareth asked Rosalina softly, knowing that Darius would unleash all the wrath of Hades if something happened to that woman. "Gareth, take a break," Daniel hissed at him. "I will be fine and if the heavens are willing, my daughter will awaken soon."

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

"I'm fine." Rosalina said. "But I agree with Daniel. Rest and I will look after Calista for the time."

_________________
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, Gareth merely shook his head when the woman told her to rest. "I can't rest just yet. I need to go and gather a few more berries. I fear Daniel had a mild heart attack a few minutes ago. Probably due to everything that has happened to Calista."
"Gareth, I'm fine. Just rest."
"I am not going to tempt fate. Calista will be heartbroken if something happens to you."
"And you think she will be happy if something happens to you?"
"Children!" Darius interjected. "Daniel, just let Gareth help you. He won't yield and it will be easier on us all if you don't fight with him on this. It won't be worth it. And then you BOTH rest. Rosalina and I will be here," he added as if that would settle the issue.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina sighed and sat next to Calista.

_________________
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)

Walking over to Calista, Gareth gently caressed her wan face before kissing her lightly on her cheek. Giving Rosalina a slight nod, he left the woman in her care as he went to gather the herbal berries.
------------------------------------------------------------
Coming up behind Rosalina, Darius stood behind her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "You all right, love?" he asked her as he heard her sigh. Bending down, he gently kissed the crown of her head, wishing that all of this misery would end soon.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina looked up at him. "I'm alright." she said, fully meaning it, but the bags under her eyes said something different.

_________________
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)

Seeing the bags under Rosalina's caused even more concern to fill Darius. "Ro, your body is exhausted. I really think you should be resting. Gareth seems to be fine, at least for a while longer."
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Just keeping his eyes on Calista, Daniel sighed softly, wishing that his daughter would awaken and feeling utterly powerless that she was ill like she was. He liked to be in control of situations and the longer his daughter remained unconscious, the more worried he felt himself becoming.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina sighed. "Darius, I am fine. Remeber, I didn't sleep for a while." she told him then smiled.

_________________
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)

"Which is why you should be resting," Darius told her a bit sternly. "Ro, I just don't want you to hurt yourself any more or have you become ill again. You need to rest," he added, not sure how many times he told her something along those lines already.
------------------------------------------------------------
Ten minutes later, Gareth returned from his errand and brought another decanter into the room. "Has she awoken yet?" he asked Daniel and the old man just shook his head. Sighing sadly, Gareth wished he knew what was going on with her and could only pray that the loss of oxygen did not cause any permanent damage. Squeezing the berry juice into the vessel he had Daniel drink it before setting the cup on the side.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina looked at Darius. "After Gareth has rested, I will." She told him. Its been the same way since she was young. She was always doing things and he would tell her to rest. It never helped that she got sick easily, still did but not 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)

Darius had to just draw in a deep breath or else he might just scream in frustration. Why wouldn't Rosalina just listen to him instead of pushing herself to far? "Just don't overtax yourself," Darius warned Rosalina before turning to Gareth and Daniel and signaled that the both of them should get some rest.
"Are you sure Calista will be all right?" Gareth asked, not wanting to leave her.
"Rosalina and I will watch her. Go and rest before I force the both of you to," Darius added. Slowly nodding, Gareth turned his attention to Calista and kissed her cheek lightly. "Hold on, love," he whispered to her and caressed her face gently before leaving her chambers for his own. Daniel also departed for his own chambers shortly after he whispered encouraging words to his comatose daughter.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina watched the pair go and sighed again. Gareth and Daniel needed more rest then She did, she was sure about that. She sat and looked at Calista, she was worried about the womans state, and felt guilty about it too. She closed her eyes, feeling her self slipping, before forcing herself awake. Her wearyness was catching up to her.

_________________
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)

Seeing Rosalina start to doze off and then force herself awake, Darius only lightly placed a hand on her shoulder before kissing the top of her head. "You should rest, Ro," he said softly. "I can watch Calista," he added softly.
------------------------------------------------------------
A involuntary moan came from Calista as the muscles in her back tightened and the trunk of her body seemed to contort and jerk. As the spasms continued and grew worse, a frown of pain spread over her once peaceful features, though she gave no other sign that she was conscious of what was happening to her.
------------------------------------------------------------
Walking into his room, Daniel flopped upon his bed as he just stared up at the ceiling, his thoughts dwelling on his daughter. Memories of her flashed through his mind and he looked back with regret that he never really truly gave her the love she deserved. He remembered how she would scamper up to him and bring him flowers, learn how to cook little treats and present them to him and he would merely pet her head with a small smile before promptly ignoring her and turning back to some village matter. From the corner of his eye he would see the crestfallen look that would cross over her face as she waited for some sort of attention for a few minutes before turning dejectedly away, a slump in her small shoulders with her head bowed low as slowly walked away with tears in her eyes. So Gareth's arrival had been a blessing for him. The mage managed to keep his daughter busy and relieved him of the burden of raising a daughter in his life. Yet, now as he reflected on everything, he realized that he had no real memory of loving his only child. The only memories that came to his mind were of his cold indifference or stern rebukes. And with pangs of regret smiting his soul and tears streaming down his weathered face, he realized that perhaps Gareth knew his daughter better than he, was closer to her than he and had always loved her better than he ever did.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina shook her head. "I am fine." She said and noticed Calista. "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)