Ok, well, here is a Lita/Mina romance set in 17th century England. Odd I know but what the hey…

Chapter 1

Lita grunted as the large man's fist met her stomach again. Gritting her teeth she looked up at the bald brute in front of her and tugged at the two men holding her arms. Behind the portly bald fellow paced a man with wavy brown hair, much like Lita's. In fact, at first glance, it would be easy to mistake the two for relatives. But Lita had a tan complexion, partly due to her lifestyle and partly to her Spanish decent. And the man was nicely dressed, a cape on his back and very regal looking clothes. Lita wore sack pants, an old ratty tunic, and a moth eaten green cloak, her grey tattered brogans paled in comparison to the man's nice buckle shoes. But then again, Nathan "Nephrite" Thatcher had money, Lita Skinner did not.

Nephrite walked up to his captive and grabbed her chin, smiling ruefully as he did so, "My money Lita, where is it?"

Lita huffed angrily "I ain't got it.." she growled.

Nephrite's eyes flared with anger, "Where is it then?"

Lita smirked "Flew away mate, just disappeared."

Nephrite chuckled a little, pulling his hand back, he backhanded the urchin in front of him. His white gloved hand hitting the girls cheek with a loud smack. Lita yelped as her head snapped to the side from the impact. Nephrite removed his glove and put it in his pocket.

"I'm losing my patience with you Lita, you know that if you are going to stalk the highway in my territory, you owe me a portion of what you attain." Nephrite said in a calm, clear voice.

Lita was a Highwayman, in her case, a highwaywomen. Being an orphan, Lita had three options if she wished to survive: marriage, prostitution, or crime. Lita took the lesser of the three sins. But it was times like this that made her regret her choice of occupation. Nathan Thatcher was a lord, he owned a large chunk of land, mostly farmland, actually he was one of the more wealthy land owners in Sussex. But Lita knew him as Nephrite, his alter ego. A crook and a gambler, he earned his "spending money" by working the underbelly of English society. He owned a brothel in London's East End, and ran all sorts of nasty black operations all over the country. And somehow, Lita had become enemies with him, and Nephrite was a bad enemy to have.

Nephrite looked at Lita once more, she hadn't said a word since he slapped her, "No witty reply? How unlike you."

"Eat shit.." she said as she spat some blood in his direction. It landed on Nephrite's shoe, the man minced in disgust and, with a motion of his hand, commanded his big bald friend to bury his fist into the girl's gut once more.

"GAHH that's getting' very old…" choked Lita.

Nephrite looked up at Lita as he wiped used a handkerchief to wipe off his shoe, "You have two options dear, your first option, give me what you owe, I don't care how, just give it to me."

Lita sighed, pain written on her face, "Whats my second option?" she groaned.

Nephrite smile "Option two, you work it off in my brothel." Nephrite stroked Lita's cheek and she faked a gag.

"Guh, what if I don't do either?" Lita felt the barrel of a flintlock pistol press to her forehead in response.

"I kill you and save myself the pain of ever having to deal with you again." Nephrite said coolly.

Lita sighed and slumped in defeat, "When do you want yer money by?"

Nephrite retracted his pistol, "By next Tuesday, 8000 florins, no less."

"BUT I ONLY OWED YA 2000!" Yelled Lita, anger playing across her face.

Nephrite grinned, "Consider it extra payment for all the hassle you have caused me." Nephrite waved his hand and the men released Lita. She fell to the ground and held her stomach, her ribs still throbbing in pain.

"By Tuesday Lita, I hope next time we meet it will be on better terms." Nephrite tossed a handkerchief to Lita, "and make note to clean up before then, you smell awful." Nephrite and his men turned and walked away laughing, leaving Lita to lick her wounds. She crawled over to where her pistol and rapier had been discarded. She gathered her weapons and stood up, slouched over slightly in pain.

Lita limped back towards Horsham, the town in which she resided. She managed to reach town after an hour of walking, and by that time, night had fallen. As she approached the town, the lamplighters were just finishing their work, and the dim glow of the lamps threw a lurid light on the surrounding buildings. The soft summer breeze made the trees shiver, and the air was thick and close, no doubt a storm was blowing in. Lita decided it best to find a bed for the evening, so she made her way to "The Black Jug". A lovely little pub where no one asked any questions, the only place where Lita could get a drink and not be bothered.

She walked up to the stone doorstep of the brown and white building, opening the door and letting herself in. She was greeted by the sound of laughter and the smell of pipe smoke. Lita inhaled deeply and smiled, to her it smelled like home. She limped up to the bar and took a seat, the barkeep looked over at her and approached her.

"What'll it be?" he grumbled.

Lita ignored his ignorant disposition and smiled, "Some plowman's and a glass of tangle foot."

"Twenty florins.." the barkeep growled. Lita handed the man a handful of coins and he counted them. There were twenty five in total, but he decided to take advantage of Lita's inability to count and pocketed the extra five.

"Comin' right up." The man said in a droll tone as he walked to fetch her and ale.

Lita leaned back in her seat, letting her ribs rest a little, sitting hunched over was killing her. She leaned her head back over the back rest of the seat just in time to see the door open. In walked a beautiful blonde lady, her hair tied up in a very decorative bow. She wore a very fancy dress, and stood with a very lady like posture. Lita suddenly became lost, and continued to stare at the girl. The blonde had very enthralling blue eyes that scanned the room, a look of mischief flashing across her face for a moment before disappearing again. The blonde girl sauntered into the room, and Lita still stared, she could almost feel a twinge of blush crossing her face. It was no secret that Lita favored women over men, a fact that made her even more of an outcast in the eyes of the community. The said that Lita "Wasn't very English." And somehow Lita was proud of that. Lita let her eyes focus on the blonde as she sat down at a table all alone, a few men flirting with her, and she flirted right back. Suddenly, Lita was pulled from her trance by a hand slapping her in the gut. Lita yelled in pain, and snapped up to see the barkeep holding her drink.

"Here…silly Spanish …." The barkeep trailed off as he walked away.

"HALF SPANISH YOU SOD!" cried Lita at the barkeep, who paid her no mind.

Lita shook her head at the man's rudeness and indulged herself in her ale. She set her drink on the counter and stared into it. Her mind was full of the day's events, and she still had no idea how she was going to come up with eight thousands florins by Tuesday. A hand resting on Lita's shoulder pulled her from her thoughts. Lita growled and turned toward whoever it was that demanded her attention.

"Can't a girl be alone with her thoughts for…." She stopped in mid-sentence when her eyes rested on who it was that tapped her shoulder.

There stood the blonde girl, smirking. Lita felt her face get warm again. The blonde giggled and finally spoke.

"I couldn't help but notice you were staring at me earlier."