Dance for the Devil

Journal entry

Kitsy

Today started off dreary, but at least it got interesting near the end.

In the evening I was on my way to the saloon when I heard Lauchlan and some of the other men mention that Dugald Cameron had went to challenge the Devil. I asked him about it and he told me that he had pointed the young preacher in the right direction himself, said he even offered a gun but it was turned down.

I didn't believe a word of it at first, not until I went to my fathers house myself, and saw the smug man myself, thinking he had the gall to defeat my father. At least that's what I thought at the time, now I realize he may have had a reason to be so as he was.

I walked up to him, told him what I thought of him being there and said a rude remark about his singing in church. Though I must admit I do find his voice tasteful, but it doesn't change the fact that the hymns are terribly slow and boring. He actually laughed at my comment, which only frustrated me.

They must've been settling their problems with the fiddle, I heard playing on my way up, and after I got there Dugald Cameron made a remark about my father being terrible at playing the fiddle.

This comment seemed to anger my father, and after pushing me aside he shoved his prized fiddle into the preachers hands and told him to see if he could do better.

I've always rather fancied the young man, his handsome face, slight form and rather attractive voice…not that you'll ever be hearing me admit it aloud, even now I won't, because there's still a large part of me that resents the man. But when he played that fiddle…well let's just say it's the first time I truly thought something beautiful.

He stopped, to my dismay, but after making yet another comment that angered my father, I wasn't paying attention to it, he started to play the Devil's Hornpipe. It was played like never before, even though I had heard my father play it many a time, this was different. That fact became obviously apparent when my body started dancing and twirling without my consent. I found myself in a daze and don't remember much of it.

Eventually, when I fell to the floor, Dugald Cameron ran over to me to see if I was okay, and I was, of course, and even if I wasn't there surely wouldn't have been much for him to do. I remember him handing me my skirt, which must've somehow come off in the commotion.

It was shortly after that when my father and brothers exited, looking defeated, and will probably never come back again. That was also about the time when I realized that I would be Dugald Cameron's slave forever, when he burned the all moonshine my father had made. The preacher misunderstood me when I said I am now the Devil's own, he thought I meant my father and foolishly corrected me, but I was talking about him, for he is my Devil. My Devil because he terrorizes me, if my attraction to him weren't enough, he also isolated me from my family, who I'll never see again. Now I'll be forced to change my ways, and based on the look he had on his face and what followed, be his marry him.

He interrupted my thoughts with a rather passionate kiss. I'll give him this, it was better than any other kiss I've had.

We then rode into town and he gave the people one week to make the manse fit for him and I to live, he even referred to me as his wife; I'm not saying I liked it, but I didn't outwardly resent it, not at the time anyway.

I have a feeling that this town's going to change a lot, and as my Devil's own, I'll just have to get along with the changes somehow.

Written by,

Sadie Skalozub