Hello everyone! It has been a while since I've posted anything. I decided to make a group of scenes that feature Shay and Connor as their relationship progresses. There was progression in Ashes to Ashes, but we didn't really see one-on-one times with them that strayed from the main story so I thought it would be fun to start at the beginning and work from there. I envision them butting heads quite a bit at first, and it being one-sided infatuation for a while with Shay rather than Connor so I hope this comes across. Enjoy!
I do not own AC.
August 1773
A nuisance – that's what this little project was turning into. The cattle didn't want to so much as budge from where they were grazing, giving Shay the proverbial finger every time she tried to urge them in another direction. Instead they merely turned their backs to her, nipping at the lush grass that grew at the edge of the farm. Frustrated, she raked her fingers through her sweat dampened hair and let out a deep sigh. Warren had made it look so easy when he had herded the first batch into the barn.
Maybe if she could persuade them with a different tactic she would have better results. Plucking a few daisies from the fence line, she waved them precariously in front of the cattle. "Come on you stupid heifers," she taunted, gritting her teeth as one raised its head and snorted in her face.
Gross, cow snot. It was all that stupid assassin's fault. If he hadn't brought her to this sorry excuse for a homestead she wouldn't be stuck in this throng of dumb beasts. If this was their idea of paying off debts she was certainly in trouble; she was a city girl, not a ranch hand, and that was obvious as she warily slipped around a cow.
Her mind wandered momentarily to the formidable assassin, and just how much he annoyed her with his impatience and inflexibility. It was like he was made of stoic stone instead of flesh and bone like the rest of them. Although she would admit that he was good looking, even with the scowl he loved to give her. Wetting her lips, she shook her head to rid herself of the distracting thoughts. That was not going to help with getting her out of here or with these cows.
Grabbing a sizable stick off of the ground, she wielded it against the flank of a brown and white cow, tapping it rather roughly. The cow started with surprise, lashing out lamely with a rear hoof before smacking Shay pointedly with its tail. She couldn't help but spit with her own surprise as a nice long tail hair got caught in her mouth. Disgusting, absolutely disgusting. To hell with these cows, they were going into the damn barn whether they liked it or not!
Another well placed smack sent it into an angered frenzy, its ears pinning neatly against the back of its skull as it turned on her. What was that fact she had read on the internet? Oh right, it was that silly picture of a cow that proclaimed cows kill more people a year than sharks – fear the real killer. Now, however, she wasn't doubting the claim as it snorted and pawed the soft dirt.
Turning tail, she quickly leaped out of the path of the raging bovine. Its eyes flashed red as it rounded the small enclosure, charging at top speed. Doing nothing to quiet the yelp that tore from her throat, Shay quickly darted out of the enclosure. Her green eyes darted wildly as she tried to find a place to escape the now rampaging fifteen hundred pounds of cow flesh. There weren't exactly many options that wasn't someone's home, and bringing a cow into someone's living room wasn't exactly going to win the townspeople over.
Taking a labored breath, she took a sharp turn, only to collide with something that was considerably solid. A sharp oof! rang with her surprised yelp of pain as she tumbled downwards. Every roll down the short hill brought more dull pain as the jutting rocks failed miserably to cushion her fall, finally ceasing as she came to a stop. That tumble had seemed like it had gone on forever, and now she had no problem just lying on this heap of goods someone had left. God help whoever tried to come move her in the next ten to fifteen minutes – it wouldn't be pleasant for them.
Not that she would have been able to move much; every inch of her body ached, undoubtedly bruised and scratched up from the jutting stones and hard earth. Mother Nature was very unforgiving. What had she hit anyways? Raising her head, her stomach immediately plummeted and her mouth went dry with dread.
Beneath her was the assassin, who was fixing her with that scathing glare he liked to save for the times she was around. Her heart fluttered uncomfortably as she lay paralyzed – with fear or infatuation she wasn't sure, but it made her feel like throwing up and that sure as hell wouldn't win her points. God, I hope he can't feel how fast my heart is beating right now. I would never live that down.
His chest rose and fell steadily beneath her fingers, his muscles firm and tense. He wasn't necessarily uncomfortable to lay against, and had they been friendlier she might have even enjoyed it. Or was she enjoying it now? Her head hurt, and this wasn't making it any better as she began to shake with the tingle running up her spine.
"Get off," he growled.
"Oh, um... right, sorry," she muttered. At least she had the grace to flush with embarrassment as she stiffly rose off of him. Her joints cracked in protest as she straightened and brushed the dirt off of her pants. I just got these she thought bitterly before extending a hand to Connor.
He hesitated, but took it, and stood up as well. "What were you doing?" he demanded, still glaring at her as he wiped the dirt off of his arms.
Oh, is that how it was going to be? Two could play that game. Glaring back at him with her previous feelings completely forgotten, Shay brought herself up, squaring her shoulders defensively. "I was tending the cattle for Warren like you told me to," she bit back, folding her arms across her chest angrily.
Connor raised a brow as he glanced up the embankment at the cattle now wandering along the property. This girl did nothing but give him a headache, especially when she couldn't do a simple task such as getting cows into a barn. Now he was going to have to clean up the mess among the rest of the important tasks on his list. He didn't have time for this, and Achilles would not be understanding of this little detour.
Grunting, he threw a hand up, pointing at the cattle. "I told you to put them in the barn. Now they are loose and must be rounded up," he snapped.
"Oh, it's not the end of the world. At least I'm alive, thanks for the concern," she retorted.
"It is a cow," he said plainly, clearly not impressed.
"Oh yeah? Well cows kill twenty people a year! Twenty!" she snipped back, causing him to furrow his brow in irritation.
"Are you both finished?" a rather cross and strict voice snapped, bringing the two to attention.
Shay winced and groaned under her breath as she hesitantly turned to the person that crotchety old voice belonged to. Did this old man get a kick out of watching them day and night? It felt like any time she turned around he was right there scolding or barking orders at her. Sure, this was his homestead, but good God, he could certainly respect a little personal space.
Achilles frowned down at both of them as he patted the shoulder of the cow that had started this entire predicament. "I expect you will fix this, and give Warren back his livestock. Then get back to work," he stated plainly as he turned and hobbled along on his way.
"How does he do that?" she asked no one in particular.
"He was an assassin," Connor answered flatly.
"It was a rhetoric question," Shay retorted, shooting Connor a frown before starting up the slope.
A stable hand stood at the top with their horses, avoiding Shay's gaze as she took the reins. This would certainly have helped earlier – why hadn't she thought of it? Because she was too focused on him. Grabbing onto the saddle, she attempted to heave herself onto the gelding's back, only to miserably fail and land on her feet. The poor horse snorted but patiently stood still as she attempted again.
"This is just great," she grumbled.
The joys of having short legs and a tall horse. Connor merely watched for a moment, silently enjoying the sight of her struggling to get her foot into the stirrup. He almost felt embarrassed for her as she pulled the horse a few steps to the side trying to get into the saddle. Quietly, he approached the gelding, giving its neck a gentle pat before turning to Shay with his hands out.
Reluctantly, Shay glanced at Connor and then to his hands linked together in a makeshift step. Oh, now he's a gentleman she couldn't help but think sarcastically. Still, she wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, and gratefully took the step up onto the gelding's back. Settled and comfortable, she didn't wait for Connor to mount up. Instead she guided the gelding gently around the cattle, using his size to bully the bovine into a group.
Connor and his mare brought up the left side, keeping the cattle from straying as they urged them back to the barn. Thankfully the damage to the property was minimal, nothing a little elbow grease wouldn't fix. The fencing was a little bent and banged up, but they would be able to fix it in no time flat. Warren didn't look terribly pleased as they rounded the rest of the cattle up into the barn.
"I'm sorry," Shay apologized before anyone could say anything, grimacing.
"Well, at least you made it right," Warren said, waiving the apology off. "Thank you, Connor, for helping."
"Of course," Connor replied, nodding his head. "I will see to the lumber and labor to fix the fence."
"I will fix the fence," Shay blurted, cheeks going red as she made a point to avoid Connor's surprised stare.
"I'll ask Terry and Godfrey to give us a hand. I will see you in the morning," Warren replied, tipping his hat before heading to the barn.
Relieved that this day was finally heading down a smooth path, Shay turned her gelding along the path towards the stables. One could only take so much excitement, and she was at her limit for the day. Sneaking a glance at the young assassin, she bit the inside of her lip gently. Her pride flared at the idea of thanking him for helping, but it was the right thing to do. He hadn't let all of those cattle loose to terrorize the homestead. And they were terrifying – God help her if she had to go near another cow for the next few weeks.
"Thank you for helping," she said begrudgingly, staring ahead.
Connor glanced at her, once again surprised by her humble and grateful attitude. This was certainly not the spit fire personality he was becoming accustomed to seeing from her. Shifting in his seat, he nodded slight. "You are welcome," he replied steadily as their horses came to a stand still near the stables.
The young assassin dismounted, handing his mare off before assisting Shay down from her gelding. Despite the tension between them his hands were gentle as they helped lower her to the ground. Without another word, he turned and began to walk away from her, determination in every step.
Shay's eyes tracked him until he disappeared into the manor, leaving her alone with her gelding, who bumped her in reminder that his dinner was waiting. Ignoring the horse, she closed her eyes, remembering the sharp spark that had run along her spine with his touch. She had enjoyed that brief moment of contact in the grass, even if he was a complete jerk and they did nothing but butt heads.
No, I can't think like that. I need to focus on getting out of here and back home she scolded herself, forcing her eyes open.
To bring her mind off the thoughts, she led her gelding to his stall to get him settled in for the night. With a last glance over her shoulder, she began to remove his tack and put the assassin to the back of her mind.