The plants took Roselyn to a forest outside of Gotham. As she walked through the forest, the vines began dropping off of her since they couldn't survive that long out of the soil and they didn't want to kill her by using her blood. Their job, they felt, was to protect her. And besides, the main plants were in Ivy's greenhouse so technically they weren't dead, just part of them were. Or, that was what Roselyn told herself as they fell one by one. Eventually, the Venus fly trap fell over. She knelt beside it and pet it gently before continuing to walk further into the forest.
She let her tears fall without bothering to wipe them from her cheeks. Her adrenaline was fading and the cool night air was starting to make her shiver. She found a clearing where she heard water and decided to stay near there just in case she'd be there for a few days before she figured out what to do. That awful stabbing pain in her chest came back and made her cry harder.
She climbed up a pine tree to sleep. She was exhausted and decided to figure things out in the morning. The tree branches created a nice bed for her, almost like a cradle so she wouldn't fall out of the tree. A branch covered her and she thanked the tree for taking care of her. Apparently, the only things in life she could trust are plants. Humans so far had done nothing for her.
A couple of days passed and Roselyn was content with living out in nature. She could have used a jacket or blanket, but she was getting used to the cold. Spring would come soon enough and then it would be warm. She was thankful she wore a sweater the day she ran away since it kept her warmer than a thin shirt would have. It had been easy to repair the damage the plants left in her sweater where the holes were since she could easily thread some plants through it. She made sure the plants she used were willing to give up part of themselves before she took from them. Her leggings wouldn't be easily repaired and she had to figure out some way to fix the two holes in them.
During her time alone, Roselyn had time to think about everything that happened. She was still very angry at Poison Ivy about what she had done. But did she hate her like she thought she did? No, she decided. No matter what she had done to her, she couldn't forget all of the nice things she did. Roselyn was unsure whether Ivy truly did care about her or if she only wanted to use her to see what her blood could do that Ivy's couldn't.
She wished she could take back what she said to Ivy that night. She had just been so angry words came out of her mouth. She admitted to herself that she messed up. "I'm sorry, Pammie," she whispered as tears fell down her cheeks. She knew words could hurt and she bet her words cut into Pamela very deeply just like how seeing her blood in those test tubes hurt her.
Roselyn sat by the water hugging her knees to her chest. She wished she brought her cell phone with her. Perhaps it would have had enough power for her to send one text message to Ivy at this moment. But when she thought about it, Batman probably caught up to her eventually and brought her into Arkham. She sighed and threw a rock into the water carelessly.
She heard a twig crack and she didn't even care to turn around to see who it was. Maybe she'd be lucky and be thrown into Arkham. She'd have to tell them too bad because photosynthesis kicked in and she needed it since she hadn't eaten since the last time she was at school. "Roselyn," a boy's voice said as he approached her carefully. She turned around and saw it was Robin standing there in his traffic light costume. "I have been searching for you the past few days."
"No need to be so formal, Tim. I know it's you," she sighed.
"Yeah I guess I screwed up the other night," he said sheepishly.
"You are the only person to ever call me Rose," she pointed out. Tim laughed.
"Is it okay if I sit?" Roselyn only shrugged. He took this as an okay and sat beside her. They were silent for a while until Robin spoke up again. "Look, I swear I didn't turn you in. You have to know that."
"You tricked me into being friends with you to track down Pammie," Roselyn took a deep breath to keep herself from crying again.
"That isn't true," he said. "I didn't know who you were at first. At least not until I saw…her pick you up from school," he explained.
"You found out during dinner," she whispered.
"Look, I know things don't look good for me right now. But I swear to you I didn't ask Batman to come after you. You looked happy, Rose, and even though you were staying with a villain, I wasn't about to ruin my best friend's happiness. It was seriously just a coincidence that Batman decided to go after you." The two sat in silence just watching the water flow and listened to the calming sounds of nature. "Let's go," he said. "I promised to take you to the police station once I found you."
"So basically this is your way of taking me in? Being all nice to me and then casually saying let's go?"
"What? No! You're not going to juvy or anything. It's just a place where they can do something and give you a place to stay. You won't go back to the orphanage, though."
"So they're going to put me back in Arkham?" she hoped.
"Actually, they don't want you in Arkham when Poison Ivy is there. You'll be in a foster home until I can have Bruce find you a permanent home," Tim explained. "We are going to make sure you're in a good home, Rose. When I told him what happened the other night, he promised me you'll be somewhere good and where you'll be treated right."
"So does Bruce know you're Robin?" Roselyn asked.
"No, he doesn't," he said, taking a deep breath.
"Hey," she said and put a hand on his knee. "I won't tell him. But could you do me a huge favor?"
"I can't let you run away, Rose," Tim stated firmly.
"I'm not asking that. Just...before I go with you to the police station, could you sneak me into Arkham?"
"I can't do that," Tim replied.
"Look, I'm not stupid. I know they won't let Pammie keep me. I just want to see her and apologize for everything and let her know I'll come visit all the time as long as I'm in Gotham," Roselyn explained.
"Rose," he said, looking deep into her eyes. He ran a hand through his dark hair before taking her hands in his. "You can't see Poison Ivy anymore. They don't want you to be influenced by her and..."
"What?" Roselyn began to openly cry, letting the tears drop off her face. "What do you mean I can't see Pammie? I have to see her. I need her, Tim. Don't make them take me away from her. Please, Tim. You can't."
"It's not up to me," Tim said, his own tears welling up in his eyes. "If it was up to me, I'd let you stay happy."
"Then will you do this one thing for me?" she pleaded. "I just want to say I'm sorry. I just want her to hold me one more time." They were both silent for a while; Roselyn was looking down at her lap while Tim really observed her and ran his thumb over her knuckles. "I-I think she really does love me and it wouldn't be right to leave things like this."
"They're expecting me to take you to the police station once I find you. But," Tim said and she looked up at him with blurry eyes. "I'll really bring you to Arkham tonight and you'll see her."
"Thank you so much Tim," Roselyn smiled and hugged him tightly. He returned the hug with his chin resting on top of her head. "Thank you."
"I told you before; you're my best friend, Rose. Just do me a solid and never tell Bruce about my secret." She let out a laugh, throwing her head back, and nodded. "And remember to call me Robin if we run into anyone."
"Yes, sir!" she said happily. Roselyn should have been upset at the fact she'd never see Ivy again after the night, but she wasn't going to think about that. She was more focused on making things right. She was going to apologize and make sure to tell her she was the best thing that ever happened to her. She wasn't going to let Ivy think she didn't love her. Robin readjusted his mask and took Roselyn with him.
Roselyn gets to see Ivy one more time! Will everything be fixed up between them or will things end on a sour note?
Thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to review my work. Thank you to everyone who is still reading this :)