@@@@@She tugged at the I again, hinting"Grainne
@@@@@She tugged at
the I again, hinting"Grainne will be expecting us, MommaWe made
a
lot - noIse"All right, honey, I'm coming The wise woman looked no
older, no different from the time Scarlett had seen herI'd even be
willing to bet those are same shawls she was wearing, Scarlett
thought
Cat busied herself the small dark cottage, getting cups from their
shelf, raking the a cient-smelling burning peat into a mound of glowing
embers for kettleShe was very much at home"I'll fill the kettle
at the she said as she carried it outsideGrainne watched her
lovingly"Dara visits me often," said the wise woman"It's her - to
a lonely soulI haven't the heart to send her away, for she - the
right of it"She likes to
be alone, she doesn't have to - lonelyI've asked her time and again
if she'd like to have come play, and she always says no
"It's a wise childThey try to stone her, but Dara is too for
them
Scarlett couldn't believe she'd heard right"They do what?" children
from the town, Grainne said placidly, hunted through woods for Dara,
like a beastShe heard them, though, long they got to her
Only the biggest ever came near enough to the stones they carried
And
those came near only because they run faster than Dara on longer,
older
legsShe knew how to even themThey wouldn't dare chase her into
her tower, they - afraid of it, haunted as it was by the ghost of the
young hanged Scarlett was aghastHer precious Cat tormented by the
of
Ballyhara! She'd whip every single one of them with her hands, she'd
evict their parents and break every stick of their - - furniture into
splinters! She started up out of her chai