Spring was slowly giving way to summer in Starlight Shores, and it was time for the troupe to move on once more. Rose was beside herself when she found out where their next stop would be - they would be back in Champs Les Sims for the Summer Festival.
"I'm not ready, Stephan. I just can't go back yet. I've talked to Esmerelda, and she has agreed that I can stay here for the summer, and then join back up with the troupe in Moonlight Falls."
Stephan was completely understanding.
"I think they can get along without a magician for a few months. Crystal will be happy too, that we won't have to pull her out of her performing arts school."
And so it was settled. Rose, Stephan and the girls would stay in Starlight Shores, while the troupe moved on to Champs Les Sims. Rose hugged Stephan tightly.
"Thank you for understanding."
The night before the troupe left town, Rose threw a huge going away party at the Festival Grounds. With her offer of free food for all, most of the town turned out for her Love Day Celebration.
Stephan went all out putting on his best show yet for the appreciative crowd, with Crystal providing background music for his act.
Diamond, now grown into a child, watched her mother work with fascination. She was young yet, but still, Rose could somehow tell that she had inherited the same 'gift' that Tabitha had seen in Rose so many years ago.
It was become more and more obvious that although she hadn't inherited Rose's 'gift', Crystal had definitely inherited her love of partying.
Rose and Stephan rocked out on the dance floor with Crystal for a while, before Stephan had a suggestion.
"Come here, you," he whispered, pulling her close.
"Let's go have a picture made, to remember tonight," he continued with a wink and a grin.
Giggling like a schoolgirl, Rose followed him into the booth.
Needless to say, they both completely forgot about picture-taking, once they were inside.
Stephan checked the photo slot afterward, just to be sure, even though he was pretty sure they hadn't pushed the 'take photo' button inside. Oops! It was a good thing he checked!
Nope, it wouldn't do for anyone to see that picture. Better make the pieces as small as possible! All in all, it was the perfect end to an epic party.
After the troupe left, Rose spent her days at the old alchemy shop on the edge of town. Esmerelda had been encouraging her for a while now to learn the fundamentals of alchemy, but something always came up. Now it seemed she had all the time in the world.
She could almost hear Esmerelda's shaky voice in her head, as she studied the recipes and began to attempt a few potions.
"Having the gift is all well and good, but you have to be able to convince your clients that you have the gift, as well. Sometimes a little Vial of Bliss mixed into your client's drink before the session starts can open their mind, and make all the difference in the world."
With the Festival gone, Stephan found himself a gig at one of the local bars. Often Rose would attend his performances, ready to become a 'volunteer' for Stephan's new trick, 'Box of Swords'.
"And now, with the lovely lady locked in, I begin to insert the swords."
Sometime she would make little gasps and muffled shrieks from inside, just to make it more interesting.
"Ta Dah! As you can all see, the lovely lady is unharmed!"
The trick was an audience favorite, and never failed to produce lots of applause.
As the weather grew warmer, Stephan and Rose took the horses for long rides on the beach almost every day.
They spent the warm summer weekends at Del Mar Beach with the girls, swimming and splashing in the surf.
After the sun and sand, they headed into the nearby beach house for some cool drinks and a round of pool.
Crystal loved the old jukebox and sang and danced along with the old tunes, while Diamond tried her best to imitate her older sister, with mixed results. Music was definitely not her forte.
They finished off the day with a dinner of grilled hot dogs, hungrily gobbled down on the deck overlooking the water.
One particular Saturday near mi-summer,as Rose and Crystal sat the beach house bar enjoying their hot dogs, Rose stopped mid-bite and looked over at Crystal with a sudden premonition of danger, followed quickly by a vision of Esmerelda lying motionless in her little wagon. The vision and accompanying fear faded as quickly as it had come, but Rose on on edge, and insisted on heading home early that evening.
Sure enough, they had barely walked in the front door, when Rose's phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Oh no! That's terrible! Yes, we'll be on the first plane out. I'll call you back with the details."
After Rose hung up, she looked at Stephan with tears in her eyes.
"It's Esmerelda. She's been taken ill. It doesn't look good, Stephan. I don't think she's going to make it. We need to be there for her, even if it means going to Champs Les Sims."
Stephan pulled her into a comforting hug. She was so glad she could always count on him completely.
"Don't worry, Rose. Esmerelda is a tough old lady. If anyone can pull though, it'll be her. Are you sure you want to go back to Champs Les Sims?"
Rose nodded emphatically in his embrace.
And so they pulled the girls out of school, and made boarding arrangements for the horses, and early the next morning they caught a taxi to the airport. As they boarded the plane, Rose once more felt that sharp sense of danger. But Esmerelda needed her, and there was no way she was going to let her down.
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