The small group was silent on the return home. The most noise they made was when Roger accidentally kicked a rock down the street. For a moment the child in Caleb wanted to continue the game, to see how far the rock could travel with them before it skipped far enough off the path that it would need to be left behind. But the exhausted knight won the very brief battle and he dropped his head back down to trudge along behind John Junior.

JJ held himself erect as he lead the way through the streets. No matter how exhausted he was, or how much his body hurt, he would not allow himself to show a physical indication of such. Some of his lesser potions were finally beginning to ware off, though their effects still ravaged his body. His color was slowly returning to normal, and his aching muscles were easing. He also felt mildly nauseous.

Sara walked beside Caleb, a reassuring hand on his shoulder. From behind she studied her son. How he had fallen this far she could not understand. Perhaps he had learned his lesson from all of this. It might only be a mother's dream, but her heart longed for him to set aside his criminal companions and to realize he was causing more harm than good. He could still obtain a respectable job, and he and Kayden could get their lives back on the straight path. A small sigh escaped her. Somehow, no matter what she may wish, she suspected that he would never fully detangle himself from the web of power he had been so immersed in.

As the house came into view, Sara felt her distaste for his situation grow stronger. Kayden waited out front, her anxiety disguised in tending to the flowerbeds below their windows. But her eyes were more often on the street than the dirt she knelt beside. Like a spider stalking a fly, Hazel hovered just past the child. As the small group came into view, Kayden leaped to her feet. She hastily brushed down her dress. Dirt and bits of grass scattered into the wind.

Kayden smiled brightly at the group as a whole, though her eyes remained locked on her father. "I'm happy to see that you have all returned in time for dinner. Jake and Skyla are upstairs taking a nap. Aunt Mary said it would be a wise choice to rest today, so she and I changed all the sheets and turned the beds down if you would like to claim one."

Sara nodded. "Caleb. Go. Roger will see to it that you are properly settled." She sent the child inside with a gentle kiss on the top of his head. Roger accepted his role easily. Once Caleb was asleep, he would see to tending to the injuries and effects of the day that his family had suffered, starting with little Jake. Sara turned her attention back to the distasteful woman. She fully intended to firmly dismiss that Hazel witch as soon as Caleb and Kayden were not there to hear her.

Hazel did not seem inclined to be dismissed. In fact, she appeared to be attempting to lecture John. Her hands were going wildly as she yelled at him silently, gesturing erratically at various symptoms of her potions. Sara had no doubt that if the witch could speak, Kayden would be doing her absolute best to pretend she didn't understand the colorful language.

Frustrated, Hazel threw her arms into the air and promptly dismissed John. She turned on her heal and stomped towards the herb garden she had previously taken note of. First things first, she needed to brew the cure for her voice. And then she would need to try and mix up something to counter the many substances John had stupidly subjected himself to. She had told him to only take two at a time for a reason. Three was the maximum that she would have allowed him to combine, and only if it was truly a necessary. It was just like him to disregard her warnings and to take on more than he could possibly handle. Now she would have to figure out exactly how much and how many he had used on himself and what he had distributed among his men. If he was lucky, he'd get out of this unscathed.

John scooped his daughter up into his arms and merely held her tight. He never wanted to ever let her go again. He had come far too close to death far too many times this last week. She deserved to know her father would always come home to her. "I love you, Kay Kitten." His whisper was ragged with emotion and exhaustion. Her could smell the lye of her soap as he buried his face against her hair. "Let's go inside. I'll sit with you, and you can tell me everything about your day."

Kayden pulled back enough to smile brightly up at her father. "You'll be proud of me, papa! Uncle Marrathew was asking lots of questions, but I didn't give anything away." She snuggled back in against his chest and closed her eyes. "I'm glad you're home, papa. I love you."