A/N Hello my readers. I'm sorry there has been such a break in my updates but I do have 5fanfics on the go, as well as an original AND a little matter of my GCSEs. Yes, I know, it is a stressful existance. Well, next week is officially a week of hell, considering the amount of tests, performances and coursework deadlines. But there is one good thing from that, I decided I should update before it commences because I doubt anything will get updated then! So, here you go, the penultimate (not including the epilogue) chapter of Rose of Red. And yes, I know it's quick but in my re-write (planned for the summer) the story will get elongated ok? Good. Now READ!

Tears have been compared to many things in the history of literature. But there is no words to describe the tears that rolled down Calla's cheeks as she walked away from the castle. They embodied her sorrow, her pure and unadulterated sadness. The sky grew dark as clouds covered the sun but it didn't rain. She walked down the path and into the forest. It was a place she had been often, a place she had once felt at home, a place she had once felt safe. But now, perhaps because this was an unfamiliar part, or perhaps because of the scene she had left behind, the forest was a dark and dismal place. A place that reflected her emotions.

She had never had a friend, but that is what she had in Adam. Whatever he looked like, however he had acted once, he was the only person she had ever connected to. And she knew that wasn't just to do with the spell. At least she hoped it wasn't. Calla hadn't wanted to leave him but she had no choice. That was Kairos' aim, to force them both into a corner with what seemed like no escape. She wished she could have stayed, however crazy that might seem. Then she could have stayed with Adam and helped to save him from becoming the Beast. Somehow they would have broken the curse.

But she had had no choices, her family needed her, and she had the power to help. She was an enchantress. It was so... surreal, but nothing in the past few days had seemed normal. The past few days? Calla thought to herself. It couldn't just be a few days ago that her mother had told her of the curse. Had only a few days passed since she'd thought her life was over? So much had changed since then, her perspective and even her personality. The curse wasn't even a curse to her now. It was a... gift, because it meant she had met Adam, it meant she had been forced to test herself and her views. Her life was far from over, it had only just started, at least that is what she had been thinking before the vision. Now she didn't know. If she saved her grandmother would she have time to get back to the castle and save Adam, would she even be able to return? And what would she tell her family?

Her thinking had taken her through the forest without much trouble. She hadn't concentrated on the directions but had just felt her way home. Surprisingly she had now reached the road. Soon, she would be home. Or at least what had been her home. Now she didn't know where that was, home is where the heart is some said, and where her heart lay was a mystery to her. As she reached her street the rain began to fall, concealing her tears. She realised then she had been crying freely the whole time it had taken to make the journey. What magic, she thought, made the journey to the castle take so long? Why has it been reversed now? Maybe it was her will that made her return so quickly, she did have a will of magic now.

Calla opened the door and stepped into the hallway of her house. "Mum?" She called.

"Calla?" Her mother cried, running from downstairs. She enveloped her daughter in a hug, squeezing her tightly and not wanting to let go. "You're soaked, you have to get changed and your wearing..."

Calla realised then she was wearing her castle attire, that of a seventeenth century lady. But there were more pressing issues than her clothing. "Mum, where's Gran? Kairos showed me the most horrible vision is it..."

"It's true," Annabel interrupted. "She's upstairs. I wondered whether that witch would let you out."

"She wasn't keeping me captive," Calla said, remembering the scene in the tower, remembering the look on Adam's face. Before the tears began again she followed her mother upstairs. She knew there would be plenty of reasons to cry awaiting her.

She followed her mother into her Grandmother's room, steeling herself for what might be there. The sight was even worse than the vision had portrayed. Her Grandmother looked even paler and even more frail. It was hard to even tell she was breathing. Her silver locks were pale and stuck to her head with sweat. Her eyelids moved rapidly as she slept. Annabel went over to the bowl of cold water next to the bed and began to wipe a cold cloth over Naomi's forehead.

"I can't believe she did this. This is lower than I ever thought she would go..." Annabel looked stricken, she had been trying everything she could to help Naomi but she knew there was nothing she could do to cure her. The cold cloth didn't bring her temperature down even a degree. She couldn't bear to lose someone else she loved.

"Mum I... There is a reason Kairos let me go... well, she said I wasn't her captive but," Calla sighed, "I'm an enchantress. I know it sounds crazy but,"

"I know," Annabel said, interrupting her once again, "Kairos told us, and I have to say it wasn't really a... shock."

Calla narrowed her eyes, "You knew? How?"

Annabel gave an unamused laugh, "I know you don't think I know you at all, but you are my daughter and I have paid more attention to you than you think. There have been signs."

"I..." Calla didn't know what to say to that revelation. Instead she continued with her story, "So... Kairos said I have the power to save Gran. I don't know how, but I have to try."

"Oh Calla... you're so much braver than I ever was." Annabel said coming over to her and stroking her cheek.

"No, I'm not," Calla said, beginning to choke up again. "This was exactly what she wanted. She wanted me away from Adam, we were so close... but I had to come, I would never have been able to live with myself if Gran had died and I hadn't tried."

"Calla-Rose," Annabel said, with that voice that only mothers have perfected. "You did what you could, we have no choice in any of these events, we must only cope as well as we can. And you have coped with things beyond the expectations of anyone."

"But I went there to help Adam, and we were so close. I couldn't bear to leave."

"I wish I knew how you felt, but my time at the castle wasn't as your seems... I just wanted to come home. I missed my home so much, I missed my family and I missed my friends."

Calla wasn't used to talking with her mum like this. They had barely crossed paths before in such an emotional way. She had never known why her mother kept her distance so much, but it occurred to her now that perhaps Annabel was guilty, because she knew what was in store for Calla.

"I need to help Gran. If I can," this was the part she was so unsure of. She sat down on the chair next to Naomi's bed and placed her hands on Naomi's forehead. It was an incredible heat, one beyond any childhood illness Calla had ever experienced. She thought back to her journey through the woods and pushed away the confusion. She needed to concentrate on one thing and one thing only. Somehow she would cure her grandmother. She had to.

She cleared her mind, concentrating only on her wish. She moved one hand from Naomi's forehead to over her heart. Then Calla closed her eyes and imagined Naomi as she had been before, healthy and happy. She felt her hands growing warm she thought she could see a white light with hints of green enveloping Naomi. Calla didn't know how long she stayed like that for, but soon she felt Naomi's temperature lowering and she began to feel her own energy sapping away. She kept her hands in place until she felt almost completely drained. Then she opened her eyes and smiled up at her mother. Suddenly all she saw was black.

She awoke the next morning in her own bed. She thought for a moment that perhaps it had all been a dream, but then she felt the thumping in her head. Annabel came in to the room, and smiled proudly at her daughter. Her face was pale and she had black circles around her eyes but she looked a little better than she had done yesterday.

"Well done Calla, your Gran seems a lot better, she hasn't woken yet but I expect her body is giving her time to heal properly. You know her, as soon as she is awake she will be wanting to be up and about. How's your head?"

"It's alright, a bit sore... what happened?"

Annabel came and sat on the end of the bed, "You collapsed, with exhaustion I think, you banged your head as you fell."

"Oh."

"Do you want to talk about... the castle?"

"I..." again Calla felt stupefied. Her and her mother never talked, it had always been her dad she had confided in. But now he was no longer here. "I expected it to be horrible, I thought my life was over. I blamed everyone for it, even you. I'm sorry."

"I understand completely, go on."

Calla then retold all her experiences in the mysterious manor house. Her mother stayed quiet, absorbing all the information. Her eyes widened at some points, like when she heard of Calla's experimental spell, but she said nothing until Calla had finished. She saw her daughter's eyes were watery as she recounted her goodbye.

"You really cared for this boy didn't you?"

"Yes. He was the first person I've ever been able to talk to, he was my first true friend."

"I never felt that way about his father... I tried to like him, I wanted to break the curse. But he was truly detestable. It isn't surprising this Adam has picked up some of his bad habits. It is lucky that he isn't completely in his image though, otherwise I'm sure you too would have found your Beast... intolerable." She thought for a minute, "Beauty and the Beast... such a romantic title... so unlike the story itself."

Calla sighed, "I know... Adam and I said we could write a book about it, or a film maybe. I wish I hadn't had to leave."

"I know... Calla, can I ask you... why did you swear never to love?"

"I..." this was a question whose answer she was unsure of herself. "I thought you had betrayed me... and I thought you had betrayed Dad."

Annabel's eyes widened, "Why on earth did you think something like that?"

"Because you were meant for Adam's dad. You were meant to be with your Beast... you couldn't have loved Dad..." As Calla said it she knew it sounded stupid and childish. But that was how she had felt at the time.

"I was never meant for Jack. I never loved him, I've only ever loved your Dad in that way. Calla, I thought you knew that, he was my one and only. My soul mate," her eyes were clouded with sadness now, "I loved him so much that it hurt, and the pain when he died... I hope it is something you never experience." The she shook her head. "No... because the hurt of his death pales in comparison to the multitude of happy times I had with him. You know that don't you?"

Calla began to cry again, "I never wanted him to leave. Why did he have to? I miss him so much,"

Annabel hugged her crying daughter, her eyes filling with tears too, "I know, I know. But he wouldn't have wanted us to be sad, he wanted us to be happy, to keep living without him. But we'll never be without him, we always have his memory."

"I'm sorry Mum, it was stupid... I never thought properly I... I knew you loved him. I knew you never betrayed him."

"You just needed someone to blame," Annabel said, knowingly.

Calla nodded, "I'm sorry."

"It isn't your fault darling, but what we have to decide now is what happens next. Your Gran will be alright, I'm sure of it. You did so well."

"Then... I have to go back,"

Annabel looked down into her daughter's pale blue eyes, " Are you sure? It is a hard decision, and I don't want you to make it without thinking. I should have stopped you being so rash the first time,"

"I'm sure Mum. We can break the curse," Calla said determinedly. Her emotions and feelings were suddenly clear to her and she knew exactly what she must do.

Beast had spent the night awake, padding silently through the dusty halls of the once great manor. He couldn't sleep, he was so restless. He missed Calla already, and he had never missed anyone before. Even when he had moved out of his Dad's house to live in his Mom's new house, he hadn't missed Jack. He had been a terrible father anyway. Barely even there... Adam supposed he had never really had anyone to miss. Except he wasn't Adam now. He was Beast, and would be forever more.

He had to resign himself to that fate, the curse was not going to be broken. Calla had been his only chance to break it in the "proper" way. And now she was gone all his inspiration for other ways of breaking it were gone. There was no point, without her he was doomed to fail, that was how the curse had been written. He shook his head at himself, he sounded so morbid, not that he had much choice of emotions. It was either morbid or crying. And he certainly wasn't going to be doing that.

He was out in the courtyard when the sun rose. The sky turned a deep violet then streaks of orange began to creep over the wall. Then the forest arose with the dawn chorus, the choir of birds singing out their tunes, each interweaving with the next to create a spectacular symphony. The sky lightened to a pale blue, much the same colour as Kairos' and Calla's eyes. It was beautiful but also foreboding. It was like Kairos in that respect. Beautiful but deadly. He remembered a saying he had once written an essay on in English, or rather copied an essay from Darren or Sam -one of his old friend's anyway. Roses have thorns- Beauty and Pain go together. It was an apt saying for his experiences. He was amazed he had actually remembered it, usually he was too bored to remember such insignificant things. But then he realised, that was one thing he hadn't been all this time. His entire life had been spent in boredom, but now in the midst of an ancient curse... he felt free. It was a contradiction but one that seemed to make sense.

He just lay by the fountain for the rest of that day, his thoughts lazily drifting back and forth like waves on a beach. Nothing mattered now and he had all the time in the world. At least he thought he did. He wasn't really sure how it would work, was there a special ceremony to be performed, announcing he was to remain a Beast for eternity. Then he remembered the rose. He ran back inside and through the labyrinth of corridors to his room.

It was there, glowing slightly as it floated in the centre of the room. It was almost completely bare, only four petals remained. Four petals to drop and then his fate would be decided. As he watched, one petal fell to the ground. As it hit the thick carpet it disintegrated into a shower of sparkles. It would have been quite amazing if his stomach hadn't been churning so much. He realised then that no matter how cool he tried to treat it, he didn't want to stay this way. He was so nervous.

"Hello my Beast. How are you faring without the lovely Calla?"

"I'm not your Beast," Beast growled, turning around to face Kairos who was standing in the doorway. She came into the room and walked towards him.

"So defiant even at the last when there is no more hope," she laughed her usual cruel laugh but it sounded different. Hollow. Like she didn't reallymean it. She glanced at the rose, it seemed a nervous gesture like one would check their watch nervously before an important interview.

Kairos was nervous, thirteen generations had passed. Once Adam's soul was captured, she was free. But free for what? She didn't know what would happen after he had agreed to the deal but she knew he would, he could see it in his eyes. He was nervous too, he didn't want to live his life like this any more than the others had.

"What do you want?" He said fiercely defensive.

"As you can see the rose has almost lost all it's petals. Which means your time is running out," she glanced over at the glistening red rose again. Another petal dropped. Only two were remaining. "Which is why I am here to offer you a deal. It is simple, you pledge your future son's place in return for yours."

"Never!"

"Don't be so hasty young Beast. Think about it, you would be free. You could live your life again, you would be human again."

"I..." He didn't want to do it, he knew he shouldn't. But there was always the possibility he wouldn't have a son. It was the excuse of a coward but he could admit it. He was scared. He didn't want to remain a Beast forever, he wanted to be Adam again. And here was his get-out-clause, a way to break the curse without Calla. True it would mean the curse would carry on to the next generation but perhaps they would be luckier than he and Calla. Then he thought of Calla's daughter. Not only would he be pledging his son's life, he would be pledging hers too. He didn't know what to do.

He glanced at the rose, and yet another petal fell. There was only one left. "Time is running out," Kairos said, a small smile on her face, although her eyes mirrored his sadness, not her smile.

"I... I agree," he said, speaking the same words as Kairos had when she had agreed to her part of the curse. At his words two things happened. The last petal began to fall and the door to his room was flung open revealing a dishevelled Calla. Her jeans were muddy, her shirt was ripped and her curls were windswept but none-the-less she was indeed a beauty.

"No, stop! Don't do it Adam! I... love you!" Then the final petal reached the floor, shattering in a shower of sparkles.

A/N Ok, you can all breathe now. Well, I know I was holding my breath anyway. But what did you think? Please please please tell me in your reviews and I want long reviews this time because this chapter is longer than usual and especially emotion-packed! My next update will come as soon as possible, but with GCSEs I just don't have all that much time. I'll make time for your juicy reviews though! Please!