<em>~Mila with her family~</em><br/><br/>Mila listened to the banter of her companions, the mixed feelings that mimicked what she felt, and it helped calm her.  But where she really drew her strength was by looking at Mari and Nicci's hands clasped together.  Right there, that was the glue that was going to make this work out.  They already relied on one another for comfort; that was good.  It wasn't as if they were going to die out here, and a little bit of hard work, even unfamiliar hard work, would not kill her.  She'd support the others however she could, and in doing so, she would flourish too, discovering where her weaknesses and strengths were.  She was going to have a role here, even if the isle and the castle intimidated the hell out of her.<br/><br/>She smiled at the others, looking around the room.  "Okay, we're going to make this work.  And after six months, we're going to go on vacation to somewhere warm.  The Bahamas.  Because I'm telling you guys now, I'm going to need to be defrosted.  You can't take a girl who's only seen snow a couple of times, and only a dusting at that, and expect that winter in Scotland will leave her unscathed."  "Here, let me help," she said as she stood.  Kissing Nicci on the cheek, she started gathering some of the dishes.