Blacktail Deer Plateau I want reasons to stay

The charade dropped.  Suddenly there was a despondency around Raleska that Rosalyn had never seen; not even when they had spoken a while back, after her mother's departure.  She expected bad news, but not delivered so plainly.  It took her a moment to even hear it properly.

For herself, Rosalyn felt nothing.  Her rival was dead, but the chance to be friends had long since passed.  The pirate wanted nothing more than for the woman to leave her life for good and now, apparently, she had.  The only grief she felt was for Raleska and the struggle that brought tears to the young girl's eyes.  Rosalyn did not remember her mother's face, her voice, or even her name,  but she did remember grieving her.  Losing a parent would always be hard, no matter if it is their physical presence or what they stood for.  And, unlike Rosalyn, Raleska did not have anger to hide behind.  Caiaphas had not thrown her daughter away.

She didn't quite know what to say, so she didn't for a moment.  Her single eye shimmered with a host of feelings, none of them the triumph that perhaps would have taken her alone.  Finally, she took a step forward, to lend her presence if Raleska would let her.  Maybe she did not need to say anything.  For now, she would listen.