I don't own any of the characters, Disney does.
Hope you have fun reading it
It was 6 am and I was standing on the platform waiting for my train to come. I packed a handbag and a backpack; I figured it would suffice for an eight day journey. Well besides the five shirts and sweatshirts I had on me; plus a hoodie and a coat. Hahaha maybe you guessed it already. But yeah, I was travelling on a trans-Siberian. I had planned it a while back, with all the crap coming my way I had to get away. Luckily nobody will be able to pull their shit on me in the middle of nowhere on minus 40 °C. I hope. I pick up my bag and get on the train. There's enough people here to fill up a stadium. I managed to reserve a compartment all for myself. It cost extra but who cares; like I would want some random person snoring in my general direction. And so I strolled through cars looking for my compartment. The inside of the train was relatively warm; warmer than outside in any case. But then again my appearance was not far from that of a teenage bear. The train would be leaving in thirty or so minutes and I really wanted to put away all my stuff before I started to roll around the floor along with all my (few) possessions.
I finally reached my compartment and threw my stuff on the bed. There were two beds there actually. I'll be sleeping on the lower one. Have you ever had that weird feeling that you would fall out of the bed in the middle of the night, but only if you're sleeping on the upper bed? Yeah, that's my super irrational fear. Maybe it's not the fall but the impact that worries me? Never mind, I'm sleeping on the lower bed. There's a nightstand by the bed and an uncomfortably looking sofa in the corner of the "room". I stuff my bags under the bed; my guess is that the area there serves as a wardrobe. But who cares I am finally all alone, and soon enough... I'll be alone and in the middle of nowhere. I pull out my thermos and place it on the nightstand. I made some fresh coffee. It should still be warm enough later in the day. I lie down on the bed and wait for the train to start off. Or for the conductor to hole-punch my ticket so I can get some sleep. I'll tour the train later, it's still too early in the morning to do anything besides wake up and pass out again.
My eyes start to feel heavy and I wouldn't mind letting myself fall asleep. But then there's this annoying commotion outside and it's getting louder and closer to my compartment. I snap open my eyes and cast the door an angry stare. Maybe my anger will wrap its nasty fingers around their neck and make them go away. The shouting is getting louder and now I can see a figure through the matted glass on the door. For the... Just don't enter... A tall man burst in through the door.
"OK there's an empty bed ri..."
"This bed is taken! Now leave." What the hell? They think they can just burst in here and claim the bed I paid for? Ha ha, over my dead body! I get up and stare daggers at the man. He looks at me for a moment and then turns and looks out side.
"It seems the bed is taken." He turns back to me "Where is your room mate if I may ask?"
"There is no room mate, I booked the entire compartment. You have a problem with that?"
"Well no, but we have a bit of a situation here..."
"I seriously don't give a fuck! Get out and let me have my rest, in the compartment I paid for, on the bed I paid for, under the empty bed I also paid for!"
There's some mumbling coming from outside. The man turns around and starts talking to someone. The other person's voice is quiet and I can't distinguish if they are a man or a woman. Through the matted glass I can see a not so tall silhouette; my guess is the person is a woman after all. Her voice is still quiet but I can see her dropping her hands down, in defeat (just guessing). Her hair seems to be red. The man is still standing on the doorstep talking to her but I can feel my anger subsiding. "Can you please talk outside? And close the door."
He looks at me and nods his head. He then turns and closes the door behind him. Two of them move away from my compartment. After a moment I open the door and look around the passageway. There's the conductor coming my way. I greet him and search my pockets for the ticket. He punches a hole in it and bids me farewell and a nice journey. Finally I can get some sleep. I throw myself on the bed and stretch. I take a moment to think about the man and the woman from before. What was that all about? Well no matter. They're gone.
I wake up a few hours later. I could sleep some more but getting up after 10 always leaves me sore and pissed off for the rest of the day. And I've been sleeping in my clothes again. Great. I pull my bag from under the bed. I take out my toothbrush and soap. There's a built in toilet-plus-shower in my room and I thank the forces out there for not making me shower with random strangers in a shared bathroom. I take the prospect I got at the station, it has the train plan in it. I use it to find my way around. It seems there's a room with a coffee machine after every few cars, it also provides boiling water. There's a restaurant to the back of the train, a Russian restaurant. I think later on there's gonna be a Mongolian restaurant cart attached also. But never mind that now. There's a lounge cart also somewhere there. I make my way to the back of the train. There are some bags on the floor not so far from my compartment but I don't pay them much mind. I got some food with me before the journey but I still want to try the food they offer and so I make my way to the restaurant. The breakfast (brunch judging from the time) is good and cheap, I figure I'm gonna eat my meals here after all. Something is nagging at me and I look up. Nothing strange; only people eating and chatting. I could swear there was something... A glimpse of red catches my eye just for a moment. I look in the direction it came from but it's already gone. Red. That woman from before had red hair. Is that what felt so strange? I wonder again, the man said my compartment had an empty bed. Was she looking for a compartment to stay in? Why do I worry? Tough luck, going on a cross-Siberian train and not thinking where you're gonna sleep. I smirk to myself and continue with my breakfast.
I start back to my room. On the way back I notice those bags are gone. I wonder if they got stolen. Then I wonder why I would think that before the idea of the owner picking them up?
We will be stopping on our first station in a few hours. I decide to spend the time in the lounge car so I pick up some stuff I might need (and my thermos with my precious coffee) and cram them in my backpack. There probably won't be enough time to go far from the station but I like to be prepared for anything. I take a seat and grab some newspaper. I throw the first paper away, it's in Russian. The red head is sitting at the back of the car. She has her bags on the floor next to her. The same bags I saw in the passageway. Well here's my answer about them getting stolen. She looks up and right at me. Her eyes are green and they match perfectly with her hair. And... she's a girl. Well I figured before she was a girl; but much younger than I expected. She goes back to her book. She didn't recognize me. But then again why would she recognize me? She didn't even see me. And I didn't really see her either. But that has to be her. And she obviously doesn't have a compartment to stay in, seeing her bags are right there with her. I sigh and go back to my reading. Or I wish I did. The lines escape as my brain works out the idea that the girl is actually quite attractive. Maybe I should try and find out what happened. Buuuuut, not right now.
Sometime late in the afternoon we make our stop. I head out and stretch my legs. The air is fresh but it's goddamn freezing out here. I hurry inside the station. There are some "natives" there, selling some home-made food and souvenirs. Nothing really interests me so I just stroll around looking at the items. I notice a small girl dressed in an oversized coat; she's selling some babushka dolls. I don't know why but I buy one from her. She says something and I figure it has to be "thank you". I smile at her as I shove the wooden doll down my pocket.
That's it for our stop. Fifteen minutes and we're off. I rush back to the train. The sun has settled already and truth be told I do feel tired. I grab a snack from the restaurant and go back to my compartment. I haven't seen the red head during the day. Maybe I'll meet her tomorrow and ask her what all of that fuss was about; unless she got off the train on that station. I take out the babushka and put it on my nightstand. There's a smile creeping on my face and I can't explain why.
Next morning I get up fairly early and head straight for my breakfast. It's around 8 in the morning but a lot of people are already up. I notice the tall man from yesterday eating his meal and drinking what I believe to be coffee. Some of the restaurant staff pass his table and greet him. I figure he must be a manager of sorts. Does that mean he was looking for a bed for that girl? I move to the living room, yeah I call it the living room now. I move to sit down when my eyes fall on her sleeping figure. Her sleeping figure. She's sleeping in the lounge car. She is curled up in the corner of the booth; her head is resting on the wooden wall while her legs are curled under her. The position itself looks quite uncomfortable. She is covered with a coat; I'm guessing it's her own. Her red hair is falling over her face but I can see her small nose peeking from underneath. Her lips are slightly parted. They look soft.
I turn around and rush out of the room. Ten minutes later I'm back with two cups of hot coffee and a croissant in my hands. I sit in her booth and look at her. Well here goes.
"Hey, wake up." Nothing's happening so I put my hand on her shoulder and lightly shake her. She stirs and opens here eyes. She looks like she's in a fairytale and has no idea what's going on. Her eyes meet mine and for a second she looks at me like she's known me forever. Then her eyes snap and she sits up straight, wiping the small trace of drool from her face. No idea why I thought it cute.
"Hey" I say and smile at her. I hand her the coffee cup and the croissant I brought with me. She looks at them and then back at me. I can tell she has no idea what's going on. Well neither do I.
"Here, take it. I got those for you anyway." She takes the coffee and the croissant and puts them on the table.
"Ummm thanks I guess. But why?"
"No problem. Well I figured you slept here all night and that doesn't seem like the nicest thing in the world, so I figured you wouldn't mind something nice to greet you when you wake up."
"Oh! Well thanks again then." She says and sends a small smile my way. "I'm Kim by the way."
"Hey Kim, I'm Shego. Nice to meet you." She shakes my hand. It's a good grip, I like it.
She takes a sip of her coffee and a bite of the croissant.
"I don't usually drink coffee, but right now, it tastes like heaven."
I smile and lean my chin on the palm of my hand.
"So how come you're sleeping here."
"Ah, that is the story to tell. I got a ticket and booked a bed. It's an eight day long trip after all. Well yesterday I got on the train and went for the compartment where I booked the bed. But there were two people in there already. A man and a woman. At first I thought I got the wrong compartment but the ticket said I was at the right one."
She licked her lips and took another sip of her coffee.
"So what did you do?"
"Well first I asked the people in there if they got the wrong compartment. They assured me they were at the right one. I asked them to show me their tickets. They looked at me like I was a madwoman or something. The man started yelling at me I had no right to make such demands."
"Did they show you their tickets?"
"Well... No I didn't really see the tickets. But I think somebody heard the fuss and called the room supervisor of some sorts. Well this tall man came to the compartment and checked their tickets and said everything was alright. Then he looked at my ticket and said there must have been some mix up at the station where I bought my ticket and that surely they must have sold the same ticket twice."
She was close to crying as she told me what happened. I couldn't help but think it would make her even more beautiful. I had already made up my mind by that point I was just not saying anything yet.
"After that I went from one car to another looking for an empty bed. There were only two. Well the first one was out of option because the man inside insisted on moving naked in his room. The second one..."
Yeah the second one must have been me.
"... was unavailable because the lady in there booked the whole compartment and apparently was in a very bad mood."
Yep that was me he he he. Well I'll fix it anyways so all is good.
"So the tall man, forgot his name, said I should wait for the next stop because somebody will probably get off on the next station. And so I waited but nobody got off and when the night came I had nowhere to sleep but in the lounge. And so here I am." She said and bit down on the croissant. It left small crumble on the corners of her mouth and I wanted to reach out and wipe them off with my thumb.
"Listen. You know that second compartment? Yeah well that was me." I hold her gaze as I say it. Her eyes widen and she stops chewing. She has this bedazzled look on her face and it makes me want to giggle. So damn adorable.
She's speechless. Otherwise she would be cursing me already. I continue.
"Well yesterday I was in a really bad mood and everything, especially after that guy burst in my room without even knocking. And I did pay for the entire place." She's still not talking.
"Anyhow, I saw you sleeping here this morning and I figured I would offer you the extra bed in my compartment."
She puts the food down "You could have helped me out yesterday." There's a bit of anger in her voice. I can understand that.
"I could have, but I didn't want to. And I had the right to refuse you since I did pay for the entire compartment. And I still don't have to help you, but here I am offering you a bed. So this is not the time to be pissed, it's time to accept the offer." I flash a smile at her and wink. She's a lot more pissed now than before but she holds her mouth shut. I know she's gonna accept. Sleeping in the lounge is downright awful.
"OK I accept. I'll pay you back for the food. Unfortunately I cannot pay you for the other half of your compartment." There's a pinch of sarcasm in her voice. She must think me a petty cheapskate; I smile inwardly. So amusing.
"Don't worry about it princess. I'm sure we can come up with some sort of an agreement." I lean forward and say in a voice huskier than I wanted. She's perplexed and I can follow the thoughts forming in her mind as her cheeks start to flash a bright red colour. Oh, this one is going to be so much fun.
