The wind whispered through the badlands as the clouds parted and the moon peeked through. Alone in the middle of nowhere were four travelers, three were sleeping around a small campfire while the fourth, a young girl with chestnut hair and mischievous green eyes, kept watch.
Virginia finished disassembling her dual pistols and proceeded to clean the mechanisms with a small cloth.
I wonder what we'll find at Mimir's Well she thought, remembering the note her father left at her mother's grave. "Hopefully I'll get a chance to talk to Daddy about everything, why did he have to leave?"
She felt tears well up in her eyes, "No, now is not the time to be weak!" She angrily brushed away the tears that escaped her eyes.
She folded up the small polishing cloth and tucked it into one of the pockets in her saddlebags. She rummaged around in another pocket and gave a small smile of triumph when she found the small tin of grease that she had been looking for.
Virginia carefully twisted the lid off and placed it on top of a small boulder next to her, trying not to get any dust in the lid. She gingerly greased the trigger and hammer of both her pistols before closing the tin and placing it back in her bag.
She swiftly reassembled her pistols counting under her breath as she did so. "Yes! 2 minutes and 27 seconds! That has got to be my best record yet," she exclaimed! Virginia clapped her hands over her mouth as she suddenly remembered that the others were sleeping.
She glanced at her companions worried that she had woken them, but fortunately no one had even stirred. "They must be really tired from the trip from Boot Hill."
She smiled as she thought about her hometown, it was one of the few places that had rolling hills covered with lush green grass and towering oaks perfect for climbing.
She remembered the day her father had first let her try to shoot one of his dual pistols, the recoil from just one had thrown her violently backwards but her father was there to catch her. "He was always there when I needed him", she thought.
"I wonder why he never came home for 10 years; there must have been something very important keeping him away because I know he still loves mom and me." Virginia eased her pistols back into the embroidered holsters her mother had made for her.
She gazed out over the horizon as the dawn slowly overcame the darkness of night. Slowly the stars faded almost winking at her before they vanished. Virginia smiled as the light began to arouse her companions, "I'm coming Daddy, and I'm going to make things right this time."
fin