Tuscany Trip

"Everte Statum!" Khaat shot a bolt out of her wand. It successfully struck Brian and set him firmly on the floor.

"Crap," he cursed softly. Then he laughed. "Ok. That's one. You dont' get anymore." He got up and fired a tickling charm at her, but she had her shield up.

"Tickling? You resort to tickling?" she laughed. "You really are desperate. Ventus!" she fired a fierce blast of wind at him, and it almost knocked him off his feet.

"Finite!" he ended her spell, and fired one back of his own. "Carpe Retractum!" It quickly bound her in ropes and pulled her towards Brian.

"Buggar!" she cursed.

Steven stood dumb struck as she watched Ronata leave the villa , him wrap her in cotton wool if anything he ahd not don'tr such a thing , he pondered if he should go after her or give her the space she craved to cool down.

Moving to the basement door he opened it slightly and looked in he couldsee Khat and Brian having fun. He took a set of keys from the rack and moved inside "sorry to spoil your duel, but Ronata's gone, she walked out in a foul mood and I don't know where she went, so Im going to look for her " he said moving threw to the garage "he paused at the garage door and looked back at them "something dosn't feel right to me , shes never once raised her voice to me like she hads today, not once" he said the hurt in his eyes and on his face.

Khaat sighed heavily. More moodiness from Ronata? At this rate, they'd all be crazy before the next nine months were overwith. She looked at Brian. "Go," she said quietly. "Someone needs to stay here in case she changes her mind. Go ahead."

"Sorry, Babe," he said. He pocketed his wand. "Do NOT go outside, Khaat. Lock the house, and don't put your wand down. I'll try not to be gone long. Hopefully the protection charm will hold. Alright, Steven. Let's go."

Khaat watched them leave and went back upstairs. She double checked to make sure that the house was locked. Then she went into the kitchen and retrieved the bottle of firewhiskey and a glass She poured herself a glass of firewhiskey and took a quiet, reflectful sip, trying to ease her temper. This was all getting on her nerves.

Ronata moved down the road the more she walked the more she felt her self move where she didn't want to go. Soon she found her self in an old vinyard the vines long since dead now nothing but twisted thin twigs like fingers wrqpped around the thin string. she found her whole body shook as she walked from what she didn't know, something drew her to a small cave hid at the far corner of the vin yard. She wanted to run from it, but she couldn't, her feet kept drawing her ever closer, she wanted Steven, she didn't want to shout at him but the words tumbaled from her mouth as if some one else was saying it.

Soon she drew close to the entrance a small white haird woman walked out, two more followed, each cackaling and grinning as they drew her inside and lay her on a stone bed in the middle of the room three candels lay at ether sides and at her feet, one White Candle representatong positive energy, a Black Candle representating negative energy. Laying there she found she could not move as sa third was placed on her tummy a Green Candle representating healing, she could only hear enchantments and spells being cast around her, the more the beat of a drum went the more relaxed she became as if her mind listened to the sounds of the old witches voices.

One stood out she could hear it, the soft sound of her mother calling to her.
"Don't be scared" she said softly she wanteed to ask what was going on but her voice didn't work in face she found her self falling deeper into a trance like sleep, it was then she felt it a poresure on her abdomen a pain so intense she cried out , then nothing everything went black. Only the sound of her own breathing met her ears that and the soft sound of a single voice her mothers whispering softly "“Mother Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and Spirit,
I ask thee to cleanse this body of all negative energies” then it was gone.

"You have any idea where she went?" Brian asked Steven. "She could be anywhere. I can't imagine she got very far. She wasn't gone that long. And she was on foot. If you've got any idea, now is the time because I'm clueless." He wanted to help, but at this point, he wasn't sure how. She could have gone any direction. And if she had apparated anyplace after she started out, then the distance could be larger still. Wizards were not as easy as muggles to track. He was a good tracker, but wizards were definately more of a challenge.

While they looked, Khaat had had a few quickly swallowed shots of firewhiskey. She poured one more and began to pick up clutter in the house. Generally, things had been put back--all except Brian's travel brochures on different sightseeing places in Italy In anger she sent them back to his room. She didn't want to see them at the moment. She picked up the bottle of firewhiskey and took it to her room. She stretched out across her bed, putting the bottle on the nightstand. She was starting to feel warm and relaxed. She didnt remember ever having more than enough firewhiskey, but, well, she didn't have to wkr tomorrow so, what did it matter?

She was laying on the bed when she felt someone sit beside her and stroke her hair. She looked up, for some reason not feeling startled. Maybe her reactions were a bit slow. It was her father.

"Well," he said quietly and gently. "This is a first. You are right on the edge of drinking too much. I've never seen you do that before. Ever."

"There's a first for everything, Daddy," she replied. Was that a very slight slurr she heard in her own voice.

"It appears you're right. Do you have any place at all that isn't bruised?"

"I don't think so."

"Hm. Alright. So talk. What's caused all this?"

Steven though for a moment he turned on the spot trying to see if he could see anything , then he saw it her shose in a feild of old grape vines "there" he said stopping the car. Jumping out he ran to the spot seeing soft impreshiosn in the damp earth "shes gone that way " he said standing up , he drew his wand and walked the way she had gone.

Slowly he could make out a lit cave entrance covered by a blanket chanting and noise came from inside, the beat of a drum almost defening as he drew close, then nothing and the cave went black. He moved to it, pulling back the entrance with his wand. A single white haired woman stood over Ronata who lay motionless.

"She will be fine now, as is the unborn child " slowly she turned to face them her eyes white as the driven snow " she will rest and remeber nothing of this day, take her" with that and a whosh she was gone.

Brian had followed Steven. He had not felt any negative energies from the strange woman in the cave, so he had not drawn on her. He was glad she had been safe all along while she had been there. "Take her home," He told Steven. "I'll bring the car. It looks like she just needs to sleep now. I don't sense anything that would harm her."


Khaat had spilled to her father what she thought was a coherent rant. Robert heard several issues all jumbled together, thanks to the firewhiskey. He simply sat and petted her hair while she vented at him. To her surprise, when her glass ran dry, he simply refilled it. "Brian bought you crappy firewhiskey," he said dryly. "Well, you can't really get the good stuff here in Italy. I suppose its your lot here. But you really should at least have been entitled to have your first real overindulgence be on good firewhiskey instead of this charcoal lighter."

"It tastes fine to me," she said. "I think I'm getting used to it."

"No, that's not why you're not noticing the taste anymore," he smiled. "Khaat, listen to me as best you can. I don't know why I"m telling you this now because I'm just going to have to repeat myself, but here goes. This is not about you. Understand? It has nothing to do with you. You really, really do need to trust me. This woman is using you to get my attention. Well, by God, she has it. That really is all I can tell you without dramatically making the danger to you a great deal more intense. " He kissed the top of her head. "Khaat, you know I would do anything it takes to protect you. You know that."

"But what if I need to protect you?" she retorted angrily.

"Not this time," he said softly. "I can't. The stakes are too high. Please. Wait. It will soon be over. Stay here and just wait for me."

Ronata felt nothing but a floating and warmth next to her cheek witch she moved closer to as a sudden blast of cold air hit her hot body, she curled against the warmth even tighter.

Steven picked her up holding ehr against him as Brian said to take her home he felt her snuggle against him like a small child would to their mother and he sighed "right I'll let Khaat know your on your way back once I get sleping beauty back in her bed for teh night " he shifted her to hold her better as she stood "maybe she can explain in the morning , though from what that strange woman said I dought she'll rember" he nodfded to Brian and moved out side , quickly aperating away back to the villa.

once ther he moved inside adn to their bedroom, thinking she should not be left alone that night , placing ehr down he covered her up and left to find Khaat.

Robert had simply continued to refill Khaat's glass as she tried to get him to let her in on what he was doing and why. He had simply refused quietly, letting her continue to drink. He had simply stroked her hair and sat with her, pausing only long enough to lay his hand softly on her forehead to check her. He needed to be sure she was alright. She had told him that Ronata had gotten into s snit again and had stomped off. That had not surprised Robert in the least. But he was concerned that Khaat was being left alone. He was silently furious with both Steven and Brian. They worked for him. Ronata or not. And their assignment had been to protect Khaat. She was the apparent target, not Ronata. Pregnant or not, Ronata had not been at the risk that Khaat was, and Khaat had been left in far more risk by being alone. If his men were incompetent, he would have to step in and protect his daughter and try to be two places at once.

Khaat had told him about Steven's engagement to Ronata and her pregnancy. Steven could not be trusted to be objective anymore where Khaat was concerned while his new fiancee--well, new and pregnant fiancee-- was around. So, he would have to turn the entire assignment over to Brian. Steven was now, as far as Robert was concerned, on vacation purely. This particular assignment was now over.

Khaat started to slip into sleep. Robert took the glass from her hand and put it on the nightstand. He took her shoes off and pulled a blanket over her, but he was not leaving her. He took his cloak off and draped it across the foot of the bed and sat back down beside her. He heard someone come home. He listened to the footsteps. Steven's. Not Brian's. Obviously they'd found Ronata. Well, at least that crisis was over.

Steven moved straight to Khaats door and looked in seeing Robert he stood his arms folded across his chest just standing watching. " Drunk?" he asked his voice soft so not to disterb her "she'll feel that come tomorrow, Brians bringing back the car " he said his eyes never leaving Khaats form on the bed even he knew Ronata was not his main concern Khaat was. Ronata had just been stupid doing what she had and he would tell her in the morning when she woke.

"Ronata 's sleeping off what ever it was she had done, she was stupid for walking out like that, anyone or thing could have got in and with Khaat like this, makes what Ronata did unforgiveable. " His face now like thunder as he stood looking at them both.

He stood thinking could he actually rely on Ronata to do her job if she became part of the organisation, part of him wanted to say yes but another said no and that she was too emotonal at that moment. He knew he would have to speack to Brian when he came back about her, he cared about her but he would not have her puting others at risk be it Khaat , Brian or any one she had to show a bit more responcibility with her actions.

He could not get the feeling that he would drive her way if he did, but he knew if she trully did want to be aprt of the organisation she would understand why they were doing this.