Note: I haven't been feeling good, so today is the first day I actually did some writing. My brain feels fuzzy I can't guarantee satisfaction.

Dark 2

Hues of orange, red and yellow blossom on the horizon as the sun peaks its head up for the first time. I found it hard to sleep, well harder than usual. Usually in her arms I can find some amount of comfort and peace. Things I thought I'd lost so long ago, but she brought them back to me with an innocent flare and I've cherished ever since.

The bench is pushing splinters into my thighs as if trying to punish me. It's not even close to the pain I should endure but I'll take it and let it fester. I'm waiting on Sara; since she needs to go to the market I figured I'd might as well go and find a messenger.

I don't really know if Eve can help but she exemplifies that part of Gabrielle that I once traveled with. Innocent and all about love not fighting. I can feel her eyes on me now, watching me from the doorway. I'm still torn, but I guess I shouldn't be. It's Gabrielle. There's not someone else in her body, this is Gabrielle.

'You trying to avoid me?' Her voice never sounds light anymore. Her boots scrape along the dirt ground as she walks towards me.

'Watching the sunrise.' I say with no sense of conviction. I feel her body come up close to mine, her hand rests on my shoulder. A shiver races through me and I'm not entirely sure if it's a good one or a bad one.

'No, you're trying to avoid me.' She states in a very manner of fact tone.

'I'm trying to adjust. It's a bit different.'

'I'm still me.' She's angry with my uneasiness.

'I know.'

'I don't think you do.' Maybe she's right about that. 'Maybe I should leave.' I'm on my feet, turning to face her in one sweeping movement.

'No, don't.' I grab her upper arms as she looks at me in surprise. 'I just…..I just feel guilty, this is all my fault.' She chuckles in an almost evil way.

'Not everything is your fault; the world does not revolve around you.' She jerks her body out of my grasp. Sara finally comes out, a bright smile on her face.

'Oh, are you coming to the market too?' Gabrielle gives me an odd look then turns to Sara.

'Of course I am.'

She used to flit through markets, flashing her smile trying to get vendors to bring their prices down. Her happiness seems somber and muted now. Her arm is linked with her niece's, and to an outsider it would seem like any other family enjoying the day. The difference I see though is huge. Maybe though I need to stop seeing the differences and just see her.

'Mother!' I turn on my heel, finding Eve moving through the crowd of people toward me. Looking down at the message in my hand, I realize I haven't even sent it out yet. We meet, wrapping our arms around each other; I'm definitely a proud mother.

'What are you doing here?' I smile as I look her over.

'A few weeks ago I got the sense that something was wrong. So I came as soon as I could.'

'How did you know to come here?' My hands clasp her shoulders and I really just want to hug her again. Her smile fades slightly.

'I just knew. So I'm right.' My arms fall back to my sides as I turn to where Gabrielle stands. She looks to be threatening a stall vendor; I can see the fear in his eyes from here. 'What happened?' Eve whispers.

As we trail Gabrielle and her niece through the market, I tell her everything, from the very beginning. There is only so much to be learned from the scrolls that Gabrielle once wrote about our lives. I fill in the gaps, the stories that never got told until I'm caught up to today. She needs to understand the true evolution of the woman I've traveled with, in order to understand what is so wrong with who she is now.

'But she's not evil.' Eve states as she studies the body language and movement of Gabrielle.

'No.' I shake my head. 'No, that's not it. She's angrier; the hatred that she's always overcome is the only emotion that she truly feels.'

'But she loves?'

'Yes.'

'That may be more dangerous.' I'm confused by this. We stop, but I keep an eye towards my partner. I watch as men flirt with her and this new energy she gives off. She plays along for a minute before leaving them crushed and angry at being toyed with.

'Before, what would she have done for you?' Eve asks, trying to break my attention away from Gabrielle and back to her.

'Anything.'

'And now; with nothing to stop that hatred, that anger? What would she do for you?' I hadn't thought it through that way; the idea is sinking like a stone in my stomach. Even in the best of times, there are occasions when she can be irrational. That irrationality can be deadly now; for her and whoever she sets her eyes on.

'Don't push her away.' Eve says, as if reading my thoughts. 'That would only make it worse, and she is the same person. There is no betrayal in loving her.' I amazed sometimes as to how far Eve has come in so little time. The wisdom she expresses is beyond even my years sometimes. The mother in me comes out as I pull her into a hug, kissing the top of her head over and over.

'What would I do without you?' I say as she pulls away. Her face Is sober as she looks at me.

'Gabrielle's the one you couldn't live without.' I start to protest but she stops me with a smile. 'Love comes in different forms.' She gives me a reassuring nod as she moves off towards the person in question.