As I will be out of town starting Friday and don't want to leave people waiting, I'm posting daily now.
From part 2
******
Sam still was not quite convinced, but before he had a chance to respond, Lois said "I'll be fine, *really* I will."
Sam sighed, he had not realized his reluctance was so obvious. "Okay, princess," Sam conceded, knowing his daughter would not budge. "I'll leave now, and I promise I'll be careful. I'll be back in a few days. You take care of yourself while I'm gone. If you need anything, I'm sure Perry will help."
"Goodbye, Daddy," Lois said. "Good luck."
"Goodbye, Princess," Sam said, leaving the house. Then, quietly, mostly to himself, continued, "Be safe."
And now part 3
******
Sam navigated his way carefully through the woods, heading towards the fairgrounds. It was very dark and he was having trouble seeing the trail, there was not even a moon out to help light his way. The meager light from the lamp attached to the wagon he had rented only radiated a few feet, barely illuminating enough of the trail to manage to stay on path. He shivered; there was something very ominous about tonight. How Sam wished there was some moonlight to see by.
Several hours later, it became apparent to Sam that he was lost. None of the surrounding country was familiar, and he should have been nearing the fairgrounds, but there were none of the typical noises one would associate with the inventor's fair. Suddenly lightning flashed overhead, illuminating a castle ahead of him. The sky opened, and a deluge came down, instantly soaking Sam. Not wanting to be caught out in the storm any longer than necessary, he headed for the castle and the shelter it promised.
The gates to the castle grounds were in disrepair and parted when Sam pushed on them. They groaned and creaked, protesting the effort to move them, but the struggle was no contest. Sam went inside and entered the castle looking for shelter. The interior was dark and foreboding, but at least it was dry, Sam thought. Lightning continued to flash, giving him glimpses of the inside of the castle. It was in surprisingly good repair for one that was apparently abandoned. There was no dust, no signs of age one would expect in a derelict building. But Sam was too tired and cold to do more than briefly wonder at it. He was soon asleep on the hall in the entryway.
******
Sam woke the next morning to the sounds of birds chirping and the sun streaming into the castle. In the light of day, he could see that the castle looked well tended for on the inside, despite the outward appearance of being abandoned. Surmising that someone lived here in secret, Sam was suddenly eager to leave the castle, fearful what the occupant, or occupants, might do if they found him invading their space.
Outside the sun was shining brightly, the air was crisp and clean with that after the rain smell. Everything looked so much brighter and cheerier in the day, no longer ominous like last night. Looking around, Sam noticed rose bushes lining the path to the castle. They were the strangest roses he had ever seen, they were a pale lavender color unlike any others he had seen. They were also among the most beautiful roses he had ever seen.
He smiled sadly, remembering Ellen's love of roses. Before Lois was born, she had wanted to plant rose bushes to brighten up their cottage for their child. Sam had let her work the garden while he tinkered with his inventions. Occasionally he would come out and help, but more often than not he got caught up in his work and the day would pass before he realized it. Slowly though, she had managed to get the rose bushes to grow and bloom in the once barren land in front of the cottage. She had been so proud, Sam remembered.
Not long after that Lois had come into their life. Sam had been disappointed because he wanted a son to carry on his legacy, but he had tried not to let Ellen see it. He began to spend even more time on his inventions, leaving Lois and Ellen together to keep each other company. Now, he wondered, if he had not been avoiding spending time with them because of his disappointment in having had a daughter instead of a son. So went the first few years of Lois' life. He regretted missing them now, especially after what happened to Ellen.
Just before Lois turned three, Ellen had begged Sam to go and purchase some more seeds for the garden. She had wanted to expand it as a birthday present for Lois. Lois was already becoming a frequent visitor to the garden, spending time there with her mother. But Sam had delayed, not wanting to leave his inventions to go. Eventually Ellen had gotten fed up and gone to town without him.
Sam nearly broke down and cried as he remembered that day. He had not even realized she had gone at first, barely acknowledging her when she said she was leaving and asked him to watch Lois. It was not until dusk Sam had even known anything had happened. Then his world had crumbled.
There had been a knock on the door, and on the other side was the town magistrate. From the look on his face, Sam could tell something had disturbed the normally stone-faced man. "Sam..." the magistrate began, unsteadily.
"What's wrong?" Sam asked, concerned. The man was obviously having trouble with something.
"I don't quite know how to say this," he continued. "We found your wife outside town about an hour ago. She was... it was awful. We found her beaten, barely recognizable. It must have happened some time ago. There was nothing we could do; she was dead when we found her. We don't know what happened, but apparently she had been waylaid and robbed. I'm sorry."
Sam was stunned. Ellen was dead?!? Someone had beaten her to death over what, the piddling amount of money she had taken to buy seeds? He should never have let her go. He should have gone himself like he had promised. How was he going to survive without her? He had not even been able to respond.
The next several days were a blur, he was suddenly stuck a single father with very little idea how to care for a child. He had missed Ellen horribly; he still did. He cursed the time he had wasted with his inventions instead of spending time with her. Silently, he promised he would try to make it up by being the best father he could be. So he had cut down on his inventing, spending more time with Lois. He had encouraged her to do what she wanted to, denying her very little.
As she had grown, Sam had come to realize that she was not a disappointment. She was everything he could want in a child, even if she was not male. He had taught her to read and write when she had expressed an interest in doing so. He was proud of the young woman she had become.
Lois had come to love the roses as her only connection with her departed mother. Once she was old enough, she had taken over tending for the roses, which Sam had been doing up until then in memory of his wife. She lovingly tended them every day, rain or shine.
That thought suddenly brought Sam back to the events of the other day. He had been waiting at home for Lois to return, when he had heard voices outside. Through the window he had seen Lois and Lex talking. He did not like that Lex fellow, he was just too slimy, and he kept bothering Lois, that really upset Sam especially since Lois was not interested. But Lex was not one to take no for an answer, and he had set his sights on Lois. He watched in horror as Lex had trampled over Lois' prized roses, sure that he had done it on purpose because they were something that she cared for, and Lex could not abide that.
It had taken all of Sam's restraint not to rush out there and do something to Lex, but he had known that would only bring trouble. He had watched Lois valiantly hold her composure until Lex left, then run off. He did not blame her; his own fists were still clenched in rage. Sam had decided to stay until Lois returned home, even though he should be leaving soon, in case she needed his support. He had known she would have been upset at him for staying, but he had needed to be sure she was all right before leaving. Things had gone much as he expected when she returned. He had been glad to see the spark back in her, and had felt much better about leaving. Of course, he had ended up lost in the dark, which would upset Lois even more; he had best get home soon before she began to worry.
Coming back to the present, Sam decided to bring one of the roses back for Lois. Hopefully, it would make her feel better about losing her roses. Sam reached out to pluck one of the roses, and suddenly the sun was blotted out behind him and he heard a fierce growl. Fearfully, Sam turned around, thinking the master of this place had found him.
Behind him, Sam saw a large, dark form towering over him, mere inches from him. The form blocked out the sun, and Sam was unable to make any features of the form out as a result. The aura of light surrounding the form made it all the more difficult to tell what it was, but what little he could make out had Sam shaking.
"How dare you defile my rose bushes!" a harsh, raspy voice boomed, with an eerie animal like quality.
Sam gulped, barely able to swallow through the sudden tightness in his throat. He stammered a reply, trying to explain himself, "I'm sorry, sir. I noticed your unique roses, and I wanted to take one for my daughter. She loves roses, and recently her own rose bushes were trampled. I meant no harm, I just hoped to cheer her up with one of these lovely roses."
Sam scarcely dared breath while he waited for a reply. Something in the figure's posture softened, and it replied, in a much softer, though still somewhat feral, tone, "Take it and go."
Not willing to waste a moment, in case it changed its mind, Sam took the rose and rushed off, quickly mounting his steed. Not daring to glance over his shoulder, he raced away through the woods not stopping until he reached home.
******
Clark had been unable to stay in his castle after looking into the mirror. He had taken off and just flown away as fast as he could, trying to outrun his thoughts. But, inevitably, they had caught up with him again, and he had stopped running and collapsed, emotionally worn out. Some time later, Clark was not sure how long, but judging from the sun he had been there all night, he made his way back home.
Upon his return, Clark noticed a figure in his garden. Anger welled up in Clark at the thought of yet another thief stealing from his castle. Quickly, he swept the castle but nothing seemed to be missing. Relieved, Clark was about to let it pass when the man reached out toward one of his flower bushes. His anger returned full force as he watched. Those roses had been a gift from Star, who had told him about the curse. When he had finally tracked her down, after their initial encounter, she had given him this strange rose and told him it would lead to his freedom from Tempus' evil. Clark had not really believed her, but when he got home he had planted a cutting anyway. It had become his symbol of hope that someday he would be human again, or as close to human as he was before.
Now someone was messing with the rose bush. Clark could not take it. He swooped down, positioning himself behind the man so that the sun was behind him and would blot out his features, unwilling to let anyone see him in this form. His animal nature taking control, Clark growled a warning. As the man explained himself, Clark's reason reasserted itself. Ashamed of his outburst, Clark told the man to go and returned to the solitude of his castle. His loss of control was just a reminder of what he feared most, losing himself completely.
******
Lois waited impatiently for her father's return. She worried about him whenever he went away, who knew what trouble he might run into on the road, especially late at night. Normally she would tend to her roses and try to take her mind off of it, but they were beyond care now. And thinking about it just upset her all over again. She could not concentrate on anything, not even her writing, and spent the time watching for her father's return.
By the time the sun began to set, Lois was climbing walls. Her father should have been home hours ago. She was just about to give up waiting when he finally arrived home. "Daddy!" Lois exclaimed throwing her arms around him. "Welcome home. I was worried about you."
"Hi Princess," Sam replied, returning the hug. "Sorry I'm late, I got a little lost..." Trailing off, Sam produced the odd flower he had found to distract Lois from questioning him about getting lost. "I saw this and thought you might like it."
"Oh, it's lovely," Lois exclaimed, taking the flower, totally distracted by it. "Where did you find a rose like this?"
Sam panicked for a second, not wanting to tell her about the castle, or the hideous beast he encountered there. Unable to come up with anything, he fumbled, "Uh, just happened to see it in a clearing in the woods over there," gesturing in the general direction and praying she would drop the subject.
Lois could tell he was avoiding the subject, but rather than pressing it and make him suspicious, she decided to investigate later on her own. To allay her father's fears though, she replied, "Oh, it doesn’t really matter. It's so beautiful, thank you. I've never seen a rose like it."
Sam was so relieved that she had not pressed the point, he decided not to press his luck. "Well it's late Princess," he said. "I think I should turn in. I'm tired from my journey. I'll see you in the morning."
Lois watched her father go to bed, already planning to search for this mysterious clearing tomorrow. She might not have much to go on, but she was determined to make a good try of it. Satisfied, she headed for bed, intending to get an early start in the morning.
******
