A/N: Roux comes to make the peace, but will you let him?

Chapter Eight: Unwelcome

After spending a few nights reunited with your family, you all begin to pack up what you've got, to head down the river the following morning, leaving behind this bank, and leaving behind the memory of Roux, you hope. Everything of yours is already packed, you'd only taken the bare essentials with you when you had left with Roux, and those were still unpacked in the bag you had brought back. You help Marella with her packing, talking endlessly and laughing, telling jokes and stories, talking about Bion and Célina, you had both always been known as the gossip of the family. Everyone worked so hard they became hungry, and therefore it was lunch time, Célina and Bion were looking most respectable, so they went into the village to get some food. Some of the children of the family came galloping into Marella's boat where you both were, singing a song about a pony.

'"Sing me a song about a pony,'" a voice said in your head. '"Once upon a time there was a green pony, who didn't have a name, and didn't have a home, and he wandered from place to place, every day alone."' You feel suddenly sad. That had been the day you met Roux, sing a song about a pony. A green pony, color of Ireland. No. Roux wasn't part of your life anymore, Roux didn't deserve to be part of your life anymore, and you were happy without him. You were happy without him, or were you just trying to convince yourself you were happy without him? There was something missing within you, some hole where Roux had ripped part of you away, and even though you hated him, like you had never hated anyone before, even the townspeople, you wanted him to fill it. Still, in time you would get over him, the hole would fill like a wound mends, and he would be gone, wiped out of your history, yes, that would be best.

Again, night had fallen rather quickly, even though it was summer and still very warm. You sat on the bank with Marella and Célina, Bion was somewhere else, and it was nice just to be surrounded by girls. You all lay on your backs, staring up at the sky, Marella had taught you about the sky and the stars, what they meant and how they formed. And now you were teaching Célina, and you knew the tradition would go on forever. You were busy pointing out different stars, different shapes, patterns, and talking about what they mean, and what they mean to different people, and all the complexities star-gazing held. You were so far in thought and explanation, you didn't notice the faint twinkling in the distance, of a procession of candle covered boats, softly drifting towards you.

Marella noticed it first, she had been gazing up at the sky too, but not teaching like you were. She had taught you, and now it was your turn to pass on her knowledge. She lifted her head up to reposition it, and saw the lights. She prods you.

"Hey," she says. "Don't look now, but there's people coming down the river, and they remind me of someone." Instinctively, you look, and at once recognise the boats as those of Roux's famiy. You hold your breath, surely, without him on board, they will just pass, not mooring at this bank. But they did moor here, just like before, one moored and the others came to a standstill.

"Do you think he's here?" you whisper to Marella.

"I would imagine so, otherwise they would have carried on, gypsies don't stop with others unless they want to see them."

"I'm going inside," you say, standing up. Marella and Célina follow you, not leaving your side. As you enter your boat, you see people leaving theirs and coming over towards your family. Célina goes to her boat, and wakes Bion, who comes at once to you, and you feel glad, Bion would protect all of you. He doesn't come into your boat as Célina does, and she sits with you and Marella.

"Why is he here?" you ask them, slowly rocking backwards and forewards, tears pricking your eyes. "I don't want to see him, he can just go away. He's probably only here to get his boat back, well, he can take it and leave, I don't want him docking here for the night." Marella stands up.

"I'll go and undo their mooring," she whispers, and leaves. Célina stays with you, a protective arm around your shoulders. You can hear people talking outside. Then you hear Bion's voice, and a thud. Célina peers out of the boat.

"I think someone's been hit," she says. "I'm going to make sure Bion's alright," and she also leaves you, alone in the boat. You then hear her voice.

"Roux?" she asks. Then you hear Roux positive answer, and you sink back into the depressional whirlpool you were in, Roux left you, yet part of you wanted to see him again, part of you wanted him back whatever he had done. He was here now, right? That meant he wasn't with Vianne. Unless she was here too, tears streamed down your cheeks and you tried so hard to keep them silent. Anyway, you didn't want Roux. Or did you?

"Have you got any idea what you've done to her?" you hear Célina hiss angrilly. "You are not talking to her."

"Why not?" he asks.

"I can't believe you."

"Célina, bring him here," you say, wiping the tears from your face with your shirt and sitting up. A moment later, Célina comes into the boat, closely followed by Roux, and then Bion.

"Give us a minute will you?" you ask them, and Célina and Bion leave. You look at Roux, he looks tattier than when you last saw him, and there's blood running from his nose, Bion must have hit him, he dabs at it with his shirt sleeve, and says nothing.

"So, you leave, then come and find me, and expect me to start the conversation?" you say, you stand up, facing him.

"Why did you run away?" he asks in return.

"Why did you go upstairs with Vianne?" you ask, determined not to let him undermine you, he looks surprised you know what he had done with Vianne. "You're here, you're grovelling, get started."

"Nothin' happened with Vianne, I just got, caught up, y'know?" he says. You can't believe you're hearing this, he got caught up? And now he's trying to get himself out of this.

"No, I don't know, tell me," you reply.

"Anouk's ill, I couldn't leave without sayin' goodbye to her, that's why we went upstairs, nothin' happened up there," he says.

"You said you'd be back! You were eight hours late! Well, you know what? It doesn't matter now. I don't know why you came here, oh yes, your boat, it's at the back of ours, I'm sure you'll recognise it, feel free to take it then leave."

"I'm not goin' anywhere without you," says Roux. "You think it doesn't matter now? It might not matter to you but it matters to me, I love you. I came back and you weren't there. I knew that you'd gone back, I knew I'd taken too long. I'm sorry," he says.

"You're sorry?" you almost scream. "You've hurt me Roux, like you can never imagine, and you're sorry? Well, I suppose that's better than nothing," you sniff, running your arm under your nose. "But that's not good enough."

"What do you want me to do? I know I've screwed up but I don't know what I can do."

"You can't do anything, there is nothing to do," you say, walking to the door of the boat.

"Nothin' happened, I don't want to loose you over nothin'," Roux says.

"Well I'm already lost," you say, opening the door for him.

"Alright." He walks through the door, but stops as he gets there and turns to face you, holding out a daisy. You don't take it, just glare at him, hoping every second that he'd leave, and finally, he does.