Hey guys! So, this is my first FanFiction story ever, so I'm a little nervous. I hope you enjoy it! :D R n' R please!
Two figures, one much taller than the other, walked slowly down a deserted road. The sun was high in the sky, beating down on them. The smaller person, a young girl, stumbled and sank to the ground, exhausted. The taller person- this one an older girl- let a battered duffel bag slide from her shoulder and squatted down beside her.
"C'mon, Angel, just a little farther," the taller one pleaded.
"No, Maxie. I'm tired. We been walkin' all day. Can't we take a break?" the smaller one called Angel whined.
"We took a break two hours ago, sweetie," 'Maxie' said. "We need to keep goin'. The town can't be too far now."
"Noooo…" Angel refused stubbornly, tears coming to her eyes. "I'm tiiiired."
"Shh, calm down. What if I carry ya?"
The little girl wiped her eyes and nodded, holding out her arms and standing on her toes. The older girl picked her up, slipped the strap of the duffel bag over her shoulder, and stood up. After adjusting her grip on the young girl in her arms she started walking down the dusty road again.
Wrapping her arms around her carrier's neck, Angel murmured, "I love ya, Max."
Max rubbed her back. "I love ya too, Angel. Now get some rest. We'll be there soon."
The little girl rested her head in the crook of Max's neck and asked sleepily, "D'ya think we can stay here fer a while Max?"
"Maybe, Angel, maybe. We are purty far away. He might not be able to find us here."
"I don't want 'im to find us again."
"Don't worry, sweetie. I ain't gonna let him hurt ya again. Go to sleep now, 'kay?"
"Okay, Maxie." Angel closed her eyes, and soon she was fast asleep.
Glancing down at the young girl's peaceful face, Max thought determinedly, I won't let 'im lay a finger on you, my angel. He won't hurt ya anymore, I promise.
Fang leaned back in his chair and groaned. Rubbing his eyes, he glanced at the clock despairingly. He'd lost track of how many hopeful young men had come up, hoping to join his cattle drive only to be turned away. And there were still three hours left before he could call it a day.
"Fang, why don't ya just pick somebody an' get it over with?" a girl with brown eyes and hair and a deep tan asked him.
"Because, Ella, I wanna make sure that who I pick is capable an' hardworkin', an' ain't gonna back out when things get tough."
"You wanna know what I think?" Ella didn't wait for him to answer and continued, "I think you're scared to hire somebody 'cause of Dylan." Fang's hands visibly clenched at Dylan's name. Ella smirked at him. "Thought so."
Before Fang could reply, another guy walked over to the table Fang had set up in a corner of the saloon. He was young, obviously hadn't worked a day in his life, and half-drunk. Sighing, Fang forced himself to return back to the job at hand.
It was going to be a long three hours.
"Angel, wake up. We're here," Max whispered softly forty five minutes later.
The little girl blinked and lifted her head to look around at her new surroundings. Stores lined both sides of the dirt road that they were walking down, and there were nicely dressed people everywhere. Brightly painted signs hung from poles extended over the wooden sidewalk, announcing the store's name and giving passers-by an idea of what was inside. A bakery, general store, pharmacy, tailor, and blacksmith shop were visible from where Max stood with Angel in her arms.
"Wow!" Angel said, looking around with wide eyes.
"Help me look for a barber shop, 'kay sweetie?" Max asked. Angel nodded, still busy admiring the town.
After a little while, Max spotted the red-and-white striped barber's pole and walked inside. Setting Angel and the duffel bag on the floor, she went over and talked to the man who seemed to be in charge and was in turn led her to a chair along the wall. The man picked up his scissors and Angel watched in fascination as large chunks of dirty blond hair fell to the floor.
A quarter of an hour later, Max stood up and turned to show Angel. "Well, whaddya think?"
The little girl pointed up at her and laughed. "Ya look like a boy, Maxie!"
And it was true. With her baggy, faded clothes stolen from the guy's section at a Goodwill they hit earlier, her old boots, and the new haircut, she did look like a boy. Her chest wasn't well developed, so as long as she bound it and wore baggy or bulky clothing, it wasn't noticeable. Her face made her look younger than she really was, but that was fine.
"That's the idea, sweetheart," Max replied, picking her up and spinning around.
Angel giggled and shouted, "Whee!"
Smiling, Max set Angel on her hip. She dug a few crumpled bills from the duffel bag to pay the barber, then slung the strap over he shoulder and walked outside. "Now, let's find somethin' to eat," she said, setting a cowboy hat on her head.
"Yay!" Angel cheered, excited at the prospect of eating for the first time that day.
They made a quick stop at a store for some snacks, then walked around the town in search of a place to stay for the night. A hotel or a bed-and-breakfast was out of the question because they definitely couldn't afford it, but maybe there was a barn on the outskirts of town or a nice family willing to let them stay in exchange for a few chores. As they were passing a busy saloon, Angel suddenly squealed, "Lookit, Max! Horsie!" She wriggled out of Max's arms and dashed across the street.
"Angel, wait!" Max shouted, chasing after her. A stage coach rumbled down the road, forcing her to stop for a second as it passed before crossing over to Angel.
Angel's sudden appearance and loud squealing startled the horse, causing it to rear and whinny loudly. Angel was knocked to the ground, and as the horse tugged on his reins that were tied to a hitching post his hooves came dangerously close to her. When she got across the street, Max wasted no time in pulling Angel out of harm's way, then moving to try and calm the horse down.
"Easy, easy there," she whispered in its ear as she stroked its neck. "Calm down, boy. It's okay, everythin's alright now." The horse quieted at her soothing words, resting his hooves on the ground and nudging her with his nose. Max patted his neck and turned to kneel in front of Angel. "Angel? You okay sweetie?" she asked, checking her over for injuries.
Angel didn't answer, instead throwing herself into Max's arms and sobbing. Max held her tightly and rubbed her back, trying to calm her down. "Angel, it's okay. The horse just got a little spooked, that's all. Ya can't run up to a horse like that, it scares 'em."
"I-I'm s-sorry, Maxie. I w-won't do-o it ag-again," Angel stuttered out, trying to stop crying.
"It's alright, there's no harm done. You'll know next time," Max said as the little girl's shaking stopped.
Max sighed in relief, glad that Angel was okay, and hoped that nobody saw what had just happened. She didn't want to get in trouble for "disturbing the peace" or something like that on their first day there. Her hopes were dashed, however, when a slightly gruff voice behind her asked, "Excuse me, but is she alright?"
Fang groaned for the thousandth time and pushed his chair back. When Ella looked over at him curiously, he said, "I can't take any more of this right now. I'm takin' a break. I won't be gone long. If you need anythin', yell for Iggy. He should be 'round here somewhere."
Ella nodded. "Alright. He's prob'ly tryin' to charm some girl he met." She rolled her eyes, a tint of jealousy in them.
Fang sighed. "Prob'ly." Standing up, he stretched and picked up his hat before walking outside. He set the Stetson firmly on his head as he headed out the door, hoping to find something that would ease his boredom and tension.
What he saw, however, was far from that.
He knew what was going to happen the second the little girl dashed across the street. The horse was new to his outfit and not well trained, so of course he spooked at her squeals of joy. I knew I shouldn't have brought Ember! I figured he could use the practice, but look where that got me, he thought. Before he could do anything, a boy appeared and pulled the girl out of the way. Fang watched as the boy expertly calmed the horse down and bent down to check on the little girl. He guessed that they were brother and sister, given how he rubbed her back and calmed her down.
Feeling like he ought to apologize, since the horse belonged to him, Fang walked over to them and asked awkwardly, "Excuse me, but is she alright?"
The boy stiffened and stood up slowly, turning to face him. "Yeah, she's fine. Just a little scared, that's all," he answered, looking Fang over almost warily. The little girl hid behind the boy's legs, gripping the fabric of his loose jeans tightly and peeking out at Fang every now and then.
Fang thought nothing of the girl's behavior, because he knew that children could be really shy around strangers, but the boy's extra cautious attitude came across as a little strange. Maybe it's because he doesn't know me. I must look like some random stranger to him, Fang thought. Deciding to introduce himself and hoping that would make the boy relax, Fang said, "I'm Nickolas Ride, but most people call me Fang."
The boy said somewhat hesitantly, "Max. And this is Angel." The little girl poked her head out again and gave him a shy smile. When he returned it she giggled and hid behind the boy- Max's- legs again.
"That's my horse, Ember. He ain't been trained much yet, so he's still a little skittish. I'm sorry he spooked 'n scared your… sister?"
Max nodded a 'yes' to the implied question and replied, "It's alright. She knows better than to run up to a strange horse." Here Max gave Angel a stern look, making Fang think, Yep, definitely an older brother. Angel buried her face in his pants, and Max sighed and gave her a small smile. "But it's okay now." Angel grinned and hugged his leg.
Fang hooked his thumbs in his pockets, studying Max closely. Now that he took a closer look, he looked to be around fifteen or sixteen, and tall for his age. Without the hat on, he probably came to just above Fang's shoulder. His clothes were loose and dusty, and looked to be fairly worn. The knees of his jeans and the elbows of his plaid shirt were faded, and there were a few holes in them. His boots were scuffed, and even the Stetson perched on his dirty blond hair was a little frayed.
The girl, Angel, fared no better. Her dress might have once been a dark blue, but now it was dirty and faded. The hem came a few inches too high and was ragged, and her shoes were worn out. They both looked rail thin, as if they hadn't eaten a decent meal in a while, and the kind of dirty that came with sleeping on the ground in the wild with no shelter for a while. The duffel bag slung over Max's shoulder looked to be half full at most and was almost threadbare in places, the shabby strap threatening to break at any moment.
Their appearance made Fang curious. He hadn't seen these two around town in the few days that he'd been here, and they gave the impression that they just got here and didn't plan on staying for a while. Where had they come from? Where were they going? Why did they look like they crawled out of a charity store? And why did they seem so wary of him? He knew his choice of all-black apparel was a little weird to some people, but no one had ever seemed scared of it.
Max, noticing his appraising gaze, shifted uncomfortably. "Err… Can I help ya?"
"Sorry, it's just… I haven't seen y'all 'round here before. Are ya new?"
"Yeah… Just got here today."
"I see." Looking at Max, an idea popped into his head, but he quickly pushed it away. It was crazy and impulsive, and he didn't typically jump at random ideas. As quickly as he got rid of it, however, it came right back. "Ya… Ya wouldn't happen to be lookin' fer a job, would ya?" he asked slowly.
"Uhm, maybe… Why?"
"Well, I'm leadin' an outfit out to California. There's a ranch out there that hired my dad to bring a big herd of cattle out to 'im. One of the guys ditched a few towns back, and I've been lookin' to hire someone. Ya interested?"
"Well…" Max said, looking a little hesitant.
"C'mon, Maxie, please? It'd be so much fun!"
Max rolled his eyes. "Ya don't happen to hire girls, do ya?"
Fang, thinking she was joking about hiring Angel, smirked slightly and said, "Naw, but your sister's welcome to come with us anyways. My sis an' her friend are gonna be there, an' my little brother, so she won't be alone."
"…Can I think 'bout it?" Max said finally.
Fang nodded. "Come 'round this way sometime tomorrow an' lemme know. I'll be here with my sis an' one of the hands."
"Sure thing," Max replied, nodding at him and reaching down to take Angel's hand. "See ya tomorrow."
Fang watched Max tug on his sister's hand and lead her away down the street. Angel twisted around and waved at him with her free hand, shouting, "Bye, mister!" before they turned a corner and disappeared from his view.
One corner of Fang's mouth lifted up as he turned and walked back into the saloon he had left his sister and Iggy in.
So, there it is. I hope you liked it. In case it wasn't obvious, it's set in an Old-West type of era- I'm not sure exactly when, but not very modern. I probably won't be writing about cell phones and computers and iPads. Also, how did I do on the slang/ acccents? I'm from just south of the Mason-Dixon line, so my accent isn't as pronounced as this... I've read fics where the accent was exaggerated and I tried to stay away from that... I didn't want it to seem forced or unnatural or anything like that...
Anyways, I hope you like the first installment of Home on the Range! Leave a review and tell me what you think!
~FromTheAshesXx