"Ro!" Darius screamed as he rushed to the woman's side and caught her as she fell. "Ro!" he exclaimed again and lightly shook her to see if she would stir. Sighing to himself, he could only shake his head as he gently lifted her into his arms, knowing that she had pushed herself too far...
------------------------------------------------------------
"Gareth, help!" Calista screamed as tendrils of smoke chains wrapped themselves around her wrists, waist and ankles.
"Calista!" Gareth yelled as he rushed forward only to have bars spring from the ground to bar his path and maniacal laughter envelop them both.
"Release her!" Gareth commanded as he blasted at the bars with his magic only to have them withstand his attack.
"Gareth..." Calista whispered weakly as a figure robed in black came up behind her and traced her neck with bony fingers laced with acid. Crying out as the acid burned her flesh, the young woman's head slumped forward as the dark figure held her captive in his chains as she blacked out from the pain.
"No! Don't hurt her. She has done you no harm!" Gareth screamed as he grabbed on to the bars that cut him off from his love at all sides, leaving him powerless to help her.
"No..." came the raspy voice. "But YOU did. You betrayed me. You took my life. And now I will take something from you..." Bringing out a knife, he plunged the blade straight through the woman's chest and stuck out from her body.
"NOOOO!" Gareth yelled as Calista's body jerked with impact before she crumpled to the ground, a widening pool of blood surrounding her body.
Jerking up in bed, Gareth drew in labored breaths as he sat up, his face bathed in sweat. "Calista..." he whispered as he buried his face in his hands for a brief moment, the dream shaking him to his very core. Quickly climbing out of bed, he made his way to her room, needing to check on his love.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina remained unconcious, but she started to cough, hard.

_________________
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)

"Ro!" Darius yelled, worried when he heard her cough. Cursing inwardly, he did not know what do. Rosalina's cough was frightening him and Calista did not seem to improve.
"What on earth-?" Gareth exclaimed as he walked into the room only to be greeted by the putrid smell of vomit and Darius holding an unconcious Rosalina.
"Calista's body started to contort but not from a seizure. I don't know what it was. And she nearly choked again. Rosalina managed to clear her airway but that pushed her past her limits."
"What?!" Gareth just about yelled at the top of his lungs at the news that Calista nearly choked again, Rosalina's plight not at the forefront of his mind as he just gazed on the lifeless form of his own love.
"Please, I need something to help Rosalina..." Darius remarked, snapping Gareth's attention to him. Nodding wordlessly at Darius' plea, Gareth quickly headed back to his own room to gather a few herbs.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina's cough became worse and worse. Her face turned red from the force and strain.

_________________
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's cough grow worse and seeing her face turn red nearly sent Darius into a full scale panic. When Gareth finally re-entered carrying the much needed herbs, it took all of Darius self control not to clobber the mage for taking so long.
"Where the heck were you?" he yelled at Gareth.
"Looking for the right herbs," Gareth snapped.
"Well hurry up! Rosalina is getting worse!" he shouted.
Growling at Darius' tone, it took all the restraint within Gareth not to blast the man. He was already irritated over the needless agony Calista was undergoing and Darius was only testing his already frayed nerves. Crushing the herbs and berries and placing them in a pot of water, he quickly set it on to boil and mixed the brew together. Once finished, he poured it in a cup before handling it to Darius. "Here," he told the man coolly before going outside to fetch more water to clean up the vomit.
------------------------------------------------------------
Taking the cup, Darius held the brew to Rosalina's lips. "Drink this my love," he whispered to her, worry in his voice.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina started to drink, but she couldn't stop coughing, so she ended up inhaling the drink between coughs, causing her to choke.

_________________
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)

Pulling the drink back as she started to cough, Darius began to rub her back, the concern for Rosalina causing the frown to deepen in his face.
------------------------------------------------------------
Walking back into the room with a bucket of water, Gareth quickly cleaned up the new large puddle of bile before rinsing his hands and going to check on Calista. Lightly placing a hand on her forehead, he could only sigh, wishing she would just awaken.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina coughed up the drink and breathed a bit ragged before she coughed again. Her lungs started to tire after a time so the coughing slowly stopped, leaving her breathless.

_________________
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 was a bit relieved that Rosalina had stopped coughing but was still worried for her health. Lightly brushing some hair back from her face, he gently pressed a kiss to her forehead before sighing sadly.
"Go and care for your woman. I'll watch Calista." Gareth told Darius, breaking into the other man's thoughts.
Nodding, Darius gently held Rosalina close and he rose and carried her into their room before lying the woman gently on the bed and heading back to Calista's room to retrieve the cup with the remainder of the brew. Sitting at her bedside, he just kept his eyes on her, the worry never diminishing from his face.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina breathed heavily in her deep, dreamless sleep. the red in he face had fadded to normal.

_________________
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 FEW DAYS LATER

The sun's rays peaked over the horizon as the sounds of birds chirping slowly started to fill the air. Calista still had not regained consciousness and Gareth began to grow more frantic for the woman's health. In all that time, he had barely left her side, even when Darius, Rosalina and Daniel encouraged him to rest.
Now as the morning light filtered through her plain window, Calista stirred softly and a weak moan escaped from her lips as her lashes began to flicker. "Gareth..." she croaked out, her voice faint.
Dozing in and out of sleep, Gareth was awake in an instant as he heard his love's weak voice. Quickly rising from the chair, he sat down on the bed and gently placed his hand along her forehead, relieved that her fever had finally broken. Tenderly lifting her from the bed and into his arms, he lovingly pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm here, my love," he whispered, feeling tears of relief fill his eyes. "I'm here," he whispered again as her lashes continued to flutter before her eyes slowly opened.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina laid in bed, awake. When she had woken after she had passed out Darius had been there, she knew he was worried, but she didn't want him to be. She woke him as she coughed again, but it wasn't that bad and she was able to drink what he had given her. But since then he praticly made her sleep when he wanted her to. She would have argued, but every time she started, she coughed. Sighing Rosalina got up from the bed to get a drink of water.

_________________
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)

Feeling the bed shift, Darius opened his eyes and saw Rosalina rise to get a drink of water. Climbing out of bed after her, he wrapped his arms about her waist before lightly pressing a kiss to her temple. "How are you feeling?" he asked her softly, concern in his voice.
------------------------------------------------------------
As his blurred form slowly came into focus, Calista gave Gareth a wan smile as she weakly reached up to trace his face lightly with her fingertips. Taking her hand afterwards, Gareth gently raised it to press a kiss into her palm. "How are you feeling, my love?" he asked her, worry in his eyes.
"Weak, but better," Calista whispered before coughing a little. Gazing up at Gareth a frown crossed her fair face as she took in the mage's worn appearance. "Gareth, what's wrong?" she asked, worry in her voice. "You look exhausted..."
"Don't worry about me, sweet maiden. I will be fine. I am just concerned about your health," he whispered as he kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Have you eaten or slept?" Calista asked him, clearly concerned.
"A little," he remarked. "But enough about me. I just want to be sure that you are well."
"Gareth..." Calista whispered in a warning tone, worry for him shining in her glazed blue eyes.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina nodded. "My throat feels raw . . . did I cough last nigt in my sleep again?" It was a thing that had been happening every night so far.

_________________
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)

Wincing slightly when Rosalina remarked that her throat was raw, Darius could only nod at her question. "Yes, Ro, you did," he said softly. "I just want you to take it easy for now. Something tells me if you push yourself to far, your health could be at risk.
------------------------------------------------------------
"Calista, my love, don't worry about me. Just focus on your recovery," Gareth told the woman gently as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead lightly.
"Gareth, you need to take care of yourself to," Calista managed to croak out. "If you get sick, I will never forgive myself. Please, just rest," she whispered. "I will be okay, see?" she remarked as she gazed up at him as she snuggled against his chest.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

rosalina sighed. "Dary. I have never had such a cough before. It shouldn't be that simple.

_________________
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)