Christine, now given the answer of going back home to her mother, did not reply to the strangers and stepped away, going for the door. She didn’t understand what the men said as she opened the door and walked out because it was in a language she didn’t understand. She wondered why she hadn’t thought of going there and had instead gone to her uncle’s but shrugged it off as the obvious answer. Her uncle was the one who gave her the secrets she had lost today. She checked periodically to make sure Argent was still at her feet and noted once more that she would have to find a new something to keep it in before they left. The thought was passive. The feelings behind leaving had not registered.<br/><br/>It didn’t even really hit home that her mother would know about what happened at the school until Christine was walking up the steps of the porch and Mother opened the door to greet her. “I’m sorry, Mother.” Christine couldn’t express how sorry she was for not properly keeping her secrets. This was a listen that she was sure to remember.<br/><br/>The expression in Mother’s eyes said she was sorry too. She leaned down and hugged Christine as if she had no intention of letting her go. She glared at the two men briefly, as if blaming them for her daughter’s soon departure. When she pulled away from Christine, she took her daughter’s hand. “Come along. Let us finish packing your things quickly.”<br/><br/>“I need a container for Argent,” Christine replied, trying to act brave when she wanted to cry again.<br/><br/>Mother looked at the ball of mercury as if summoning her own courage. “We will see what we can find,” she replied vaguely and lead Christine into the house, leaving the door open in case the two men wished to come inside as well. Mother was a strong woman. With her husband off to the war and a child who she knew was different than other children she had to be. This (her daughter’s being forced to leave for her own safety), though, was threatening to destroy her. She would not show it. When the house was empty and she was alone, unsure if her daughter was well or in danger without the chance to hold her in her arms, she would break down and cry. For now, her focus was on giving her daughter everything she needed to have a chance.