April stepped out of the farmhouse into the blazing Texas sun. Three mybrids and one human male sat on horses in front of her, faces hidden by wide-brimmed hats and blue bandanas. Resting her army-surplus rifle on her shoulder, she stepped up to them, her blue eyes narrow.
"What are you boys doing around here? I thought I told your boss I'm not interested in selling." Pushing the brim of her hat back slightly, she looked from the human to the lizard, to the boar, and lastly, the coyote, the leader of the group, sizing them up.
"Señorita, Don Cervantes has given you a very generous offer, we are merely here to tell you that he is losing patience. You have until sundown tomorrow to sell, or else something bad will happen to you." The coyote's eagle feathers bobbed on his hat as he jerked his head. "Vamanos, la cena esta lista." He told his comrades, and turned his horse around, spurring it away, the other three following close behind.
April cursed as they left a trail of dust in their wake, and turned to survey the land the local land Baron was after. She had come there with her father as a child, losing her mother to cholera on the trail. It had been a wasteland when they had first arrived, but with lots of hard work her father had been able to turn it into a sprawling ranch that was famous in the Republic of Texas for the quality horses that it produced for the Rangers.
Being his only child, April had been raised to inherit the farm when the time came. She proved herself to have a natural talent with horses, picking up on her father's unconventional way of training with ease, and even improving it. While she could read and write, her mathematic skills were less than stellar, and they had been looking for a partner to cover the books of the ranch.
Her life had been going great when her father died suddenly in a flash flood. Now the land Baron Domingo Cervantes was after her land, believing that she was unfit as a woman to run it on her own. That was the fourth time that month he had sent his men to threaten her off her land, but nothing short of them dragging her dead body off of the property would get her off of the ranch her father worked so hard to flourish.
The Ocelot mybrid swirled his wine as he lounged in the red plush chair he had just had imported from France. Looking out of the window, Domingo Cervantes watched over his rancho as it buzzed with activity. Everything he could see from the third story of his massive home belonged to him- well, almost everything.
Frowning at the small farmhouse in the distance, he heard a soft knock at the door.
"Come in." He commanded, and the door opened to reveal a small human woman in simple servant garb.
"I apologize, Don Cervantes, but Rocoso and his men have returned." She said quickly, her brunette head bobbing as she curtsied. "Shall I let them in?" Domingo waved a hand to her.
"Let them in. Hopefully they were more persuasive this time around." She curtsied again, and turned to let the hired bandidos in.
The coyote entered first, followed by his men. Clutching their hats in their hands, they lined up before the powerful land baron, looking nervous. That was not a good sign in the Don's book.
"Well, were you successful in convincing her to sell?" He asked curtly, amber eyes flashing. The human, boar and lizard looked to their leader, who bared his teeth slightly.
"I'm sorry, Don Cervantes, but she still refuses to sell. I'm afraid we'll have to resort to more… drastic options." Rocoso replied, a soft growl in his voice. Never had he met a female as stubborn as she was.
"Still? I have been more than generous in my offer for her land, yet she still refuses?" The ocelot snarled, smashing the wine glass against the table that sat next to his chair. "And she has the law on her side already, both the Mexican Army and these so-called 'Frontier Rangers'." He absently licked away the blood from a cut on his hand, staring at the house that marred his view in the distance.
"I do have a suggestion, Don Cervantes, if you are willing to listen." The boar, Manolo, spoke up. The lizard, Telmo, elbowed him in the ribs with a sharp hiss and the human, Josue, smacked him on the head, eyes dark.
"Don't you even think of it, Manolo, no one deserves that fate." Josue scolded him. Domingo held up his hand to silence the others.
"What is this that you are suggesting?" He asked, eyes meeting Manolo's. The boar twisted his hat in his hands and cleared his throat.
"I have friends- sailors- that are in need of entertainment while they travel to India. The woman would be welcomed on the ship, even if she is less than willing." A dark smile came to the tusked face. "They are willing to pay handsomely for them as well." An ear twitched as a frown marred the Don's handsome face.
"I will think about it." He said, turning to the group. "For now, go to the bunkhouse and get yourself some food and a bed." The bandidos turned to go, their boss calling after them "Do not forget to take care of your own horses! Do not leave them for my stable hands like you did last time, people might start to talk. "
"Sí, patrón." Rocoso replied, tipping his head to his boss before leaving the room.
"So what are you going to do about that stubborn she-devil next door?" A feminine voice asked, irritated. Domingo looked over to the female Ocelot, who was embroidering an alter cloth for the church. It was later that same day, and Domingo had just finished telling his wife about what had transpired earlier.
"Hush, Rosa, you should not say things like that." He scolded his wife.
"Have you ever seen her in church? I haven't, even at that horrid Baptist Church in the next town." Her green-gold eyes narrowed. "And it seems like she has not taken interest in any of the men around here." A low growl came from her as she undid a stitch and corrected a mistake. "If she got married, we could at least get her husband to sell in some way." Domingo sighed and poured the two of them some wine. Handing her a glass, he sat down in the chair across from her.
"I know mi amor, but we cannot force her into marriage. I will have to take Manolo's suggestion into serious consideration." He took a sip of his wine and picked up the book he had been reading.
"Yes, but I can only image what would happen if Padre Tormenta found out that we sent her to that kind of fate." Rosa shuddered as she clipped the thread from the cloth and held it up to make sure no stitch was out of place. "We could be subject to la ley fuga, or far worse- excommunicated." Satisfied with her work, she folded the cloth and added to the pile "Of course, if you have no ties with those men…she could just…disappear one day. Just leave her be for now, and in six months or so, she'll leave the farm one day and not come back, and you could be the good neighbor and take care of her farm. Then, when she is declared dead, you can offer to buy her farm from whoever she gives it to in her will." Domingo grinned at his wife, sharp teeth gleaming in the lamplight.
"I knew there was a reason I married you, and not just for your beautiful face." He said, laughing. "The next time I go into town, I will get you some nice silk and the latest fashion from France." She smiled back at him, standing up and turned off the lamp beside her chair.
"You might as well wait for that, mi amor. Soon you will have another son to help out with the ranch." Her husband's gold eye glimmered in the low lamp light.
"This is very good news, Jorge will be very happy to hear that he is to have a new brother." He said to her. Placing his book to the side and rising to pull her into a hug.
"Tomorrow, then you will talk to your…acquaintances, and inform them of the plan?" Rosa asked, turning off rest of the lamps, and leading her husband to bed.
"Yes, and we'll sort out the other details while we're at it. They will be paid handsomely for their silence on our part of this, and of course, we will donate a good sum to the church to help outweigh any of our guilt with in this matter." Domingo replied, as he double-checked the lamps. The female mybrid huffed.
"If anything the church should pay us, driving that godless heathen off of land that should belong to good, church-going people like us." She muttered, shutting the sitting room door behind her.
Nearly a year later found April smiling as the first of the foals that she had bred herself were born. The latest one had the most promise, coming out of her best stallion, and a great mare that had been retired to her farm after an illustrious career in the U.S. Calvary. His coat was beautiful gunmetal grey, and he already showed himself to be a lovely mover.
Stepping away from the field, she walked back to the barn and began to hitch up her wagon horses to take a trip to town, making sure her rifle was under the seat. It had been some time since Don Domingo's men had come around, but she knew that he wouldn't give up that easily. Not long after they had shown up, she went to visit a childhood friend, Casey Jones. He had joined the Frontier Rangers after his father had been killed at the Alamo and if something ever happened to her, he would be the one to look into it. She also left her farm to him in her will, under the stipulation that he was to never sell it, if he were to sell it, it would be donated to the Rangers as a training academy.
Starting down the road, she went over what she would need in her head, and sang an Army cadence as the horses trotted down the way.
And in her hair, she wore a yellow ribbon.
She wore in the spring time, in the merry month of May.
And if you asked her why the hell she wore it,
She wore it for that soldier who was far, far away.
It was a beautiful day in May, pheasants darting on and off the path, a Red-Tailed hawk flying in the distance. April smiled and turned her head to the sun. Maybe the lemonade man would be out today. The last few months had been busy with both the foaling and calving, and she deserved a treat.
The peacefulness of the day was interrupted by a shot in the air. The horses were well trained enough to ignore the shots, and kept going until April urged them faster. Turning around, she saw Telmo and Rocoso coming up after her at a mad gallop, guns waving in the air. Swearing to herself, April pulled her rifle from under the seat, and tried to take aim at the bandidos chasing her.
Suddenly, the horses halted, throwing April forward, hitting her head on the foot board. Through blurry vision, she saw Manolo and Josue sitting in the middle of the road, their own weapons aimed at her. Rocoso moved his horse up beside the wagon, a dark smile on his face.
"We warned you that you would be punished for being so stubborn. We had to resort to desperate measures to make our Don happy." The coyote grinned, showing his sharp canines.
Soon she was tied up and tossed in the back of the wagon, Josue driving it and his horse tied to the back.
"What are you going to do to me?!" She demanded, blue eyes flashing with anger. Rocoso chuckled.
"You, my dear, are going to become very friendly with some sailors who need company on their long voyage to India." He told her. "Ahora, callase el hosico or we might have to break you in before we get there, and they won't be happy with you being damaged goods- and they'll take it out on you. A calmarse niña, we have long trip to San Francisco."
The port town of San Francisco bustled with activity and the group made their way to the docks. Telmo's horse shied away from a wagon as it tore down the street, and April rolled her eyes as the lizard tried to settle the animal. She almost felt sorry for the Don to have these fools to rely on to do his dirty work. Finally he had the horse under control and they were back on their way.
Their first stop was at a dress stop, so they could get her some clothing to look like a 'proper' woman. Silk dresses and laced petticoats were piled up for purchase, along with fans and large-brimmed hats. She had to wonder what kind of ship she would be on to get the clothes they got her. As Rocoso paid for the items, and ordered the others to take the luggage it was packed in, she heard Telmo complain about how much was spent.
"Hush." Josue scolded the lizard. "She needs to make an impression on the Captain, he is very picky about who he chooses as a companion on his voyage. At least he provided us with the money to pay for her clothing, and we don't have to pay out of our own pockets."
After a stop at the saloon for lunch, they were off again, heading down to the docks. April could smell and hear the docks before she saw them. She had never seen a body of water bigger than a pond before, and some small part of her was excited to see it. She couldn't help her gawking as the Pacific ocean came into view, water stretching out as far as the eye could see, boats looking like they were about to fall off the face of the earth.
It wasn't long before they had come to a large ship, men of all shapes, sizes, and ethnicities loading barrels of furs for trading and supplies for the long trip. The four took the woman off of the wagon and lead her up the gangplank where a man in a vibrant purple jacket and an over-sized hat stood.
"Ah, Manolo, my old friend, is this the lovely young wench you told me about in your letters?" He asked in an exaggerated French accent. The air around him was thick with cologne, and April found it hard to breath around him.
"Yes, this is her." Manolo said, yanking April forward. "I would watch it, she gave us some trouble in the beginning." The Frenchman took a handkerchief from a sleeve, and dabbed it under his nose.
"I am sure we will be able to tame this little filly, Mon ami." The Frenchman assured the four. He called to a short, older man with thinning grey hair. "Monsieur O'Malley, will you please take our dear Avril to her room."
"Aye, sir, I'll take her right away." He took April by her bound hands and brought her below deck, stopping at a door next to what was a parlor or a drawing room. Mr. O'Malley cut her bonds and opened the door.
"You'll be staying here, Miss, I hope everything is to your liking. I'm going to get you some linens, please make yourself comfortable." April sighed as he closed the door behind him, and looked around what was going to be her living quarters for the next few months.
At least they gave her a small room, versus leaving her to stay with the sailors below the deck. There was an actual bed, and a small dresser beside it. A china bowl and pitcher sat on top of it, a pretty green pattern cover the pristine white surface.
A knock came to the door, and Mr. O'Malley came into the room, carrying the clean bed linen, set them on the bed, and then turned to her.
"I must apologize for what you are going through, ma'am, if it was up to me, I wouldn't allow this, but our Captain has a different view." He told her, grey eyes sad. "All I can really say is not to let them get into your head." His eyes looked straight into hers. "I will try to help you out though. Keep your head low, and do what they tell you, and I will get you off this ship. We're at sea now, but we have a stop in China, so I'm going to try to get you off there, and get you a ship back to the states, okay?" April gave the man a questioning look.
"Why are you helping me?" She asked him, wary. He turned his head away for a moment, and then looked back.
"I have a daughter who is not much older than you. She lives alone at home, taking care of her invalid brother. I fear that the same fate could befall her if something was to happen to my son." He replied. They were interrupted by Captain De Guignes walking in, ostrich feathers bobbing on his hat.
"Ah, Monsieur O'Malley, I 'ope you are not getting too friendly with our guest." He said grandly, his eyes roaming April's form.
"No, Captain, I was just making sure she was settled into her quarters." O'Malley replied. He left the room with haste, leaving them alone. The Captain turned by his American captive, he pale blue eyes looking down at her bosom.
"Now my dear Avril, let us go to my cabin and get more... acquainted." He said, his voice felt slimy on her skin, and April had to repress a shudder that ran through her. Remembering the first mate's words, she steeled herself and gave the French bastard a smile she had seen the girls in the 'boarder house' give the cowboys who came through town. She was not going to give this horrid man the pleasure of breaking her.
"That sounds wonderful Sir." She told him, trying to look a little coy. The young woman then followed him out of her room, her head held high.
