Exceptional

So this story is lightly based on the Television series Banished. The main characters will by my OC and Marston. The story plays in England, around the 1800's. Marston is a grumpy, solitary man. Living alone, being able to make his own tools, and working on his land as a farmer, he has nothing to do with anybody. But then other people start living around him, and he does not like it. To sway him they offer him something he has not, a woman of his own. And a very beautiful one at that.

This will not be a simply woman falls for man love story. Marston will be his grumpy self (mixed with a little Sandor) and our woman will have to learn her place, beside him.

Enjoy…

Chapter one.

It had been raining all day long and I wondered when it would ever stop. Since a few days I had been part of a migrant group that had set sail to Australia. People who searched for a new life in a beautiful, unexplored country. I had my own reasons for leaving Amerika and was traveling alone. The people I was traveling with had not asked me any questions at all. I liked it that way. I liked living alone and could handle myself quite a bit. Well in normal circumstances anyway.

'Well miss Reid, do you plan on staying with us after we leave Botany Bay?' William, an older man asked me kindly. I wondered why he asked me. The only deal I had with this people was that I cooked the meat they got me, and they kept me safe. Well they kept their hands to themselves, that was enough for me.

'I don't think so, why do you ask?' I asked him, my voice flat, my gaze on the water. We finally had reached the harbor and we would leave our ship within an hour or so.

'Well, it is not safe for a woman to travel alone. Surely you must know that.' I slowly looked up and met the men's eyes. They were as blue as the water beside us, and yet they seemed to look right through me.

'Surely one as beautiful and young as you,' another interfered. His name was Jack and I had seen the way he looked at me, something I did not like at all. He came closer and smiled at me, like he thought I would think it handsome, or attractive even.

'I know that, I'm not that stupid,' I answered, once again adverting my gaze and watching the sea.

'I did not mean to call you stupid, miss Reid. I just think it is not wise for a woman to travel alone. What if someone would hurt you?' Jack asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

'We shall see,' I whispered.

It had been a whole day of walking before the group I was in found a place to stay. There was a little cave that could easily give us all shelter for the night and the next days to come.

I had decided I would stay for a while, just until I had figured out where I wanted to go. But before I knew it, days became weeks and weeks became months. Our group grew bigger as more people joined us and even whole families became part of the group. Within months houses of chopped down wood had been built and I had a cozy little cabin for myself. The people knew I liked to be on my own and had stopped trying to set me up with some of the men. Even some of the men had quit trying to court me. But not all.

'Good morning Nova, how are you today?' Jack asked, passing by my cabin. He stopped and stared at me. People called me miss Reid, or just miss. But Jack kept calling me by my first name, a name I regretted telling him.

'Just fine Jack,' I replied shortly, not wanting for him to linger here any longer. He cocked his head to the side and watched me closely.

'Some say you have a husband somewhere, and you are hiding here, you know that?' he said. It was not the first time he tried to lure my from my calm state of mind with lies. He did not liked how I was not attracted to him, and he was getting more and more agitated every day.

'I don't care for that nonsense Jack, just let me be.' His eyes narrowed before he grinned.

'Do you know that the farmers here are protesting to us starting our lives here? They seem to think that they are the only ones who have that right, as they came here first. The governor is negotiating with them.'

I rolled my eyes.

'Thank you very much for informing me Jack, but I have other matters I have to attend to.' I went to walk pass him, to leave him here. He gripped my arm instead.

'They are thinking about offering the farmers the one thing they cannot arrange for themselves Nova,' he told me, his voice very low. I swallowed and pulled myself free.

'What are you talking about?' I asked, suddenly curious. His grin expanded even further.

'They can harvest all the grain they want, make all their tools. Heck, they even have their own blacksmith! But, they are all men. Only a few are married and have children. It will take years before those little girls are old enough for the farmers that are alone just now,' he said, his eyes constantly watching my lips.

'The governor is thinking about trading something of ours for pieces of land, you know,'' jack said, his eyes racking my form. I was horrified.

'You are lying,' I said. Jack shrugged his shoulders but his grin reappeared.

'If you were married, you would be safe. I would keep you safe,' he said. I kept myself from spitting.

'You would like that, hmm Jack? Well find some other girl to marry. I will take my chances.' I hurried away and kept walking until I arrived in the little town we had made. I tried to shake the conversation off my mind. The governor could not make deals like that. There were people involved.

The next few days were quiet, and Jack, fortunately, had stayed away. It was only when I went to town to get some supplies I overheard some people talking and then saw some of the biggest men I had ever seen. I stopped walking and just stared. Before me, tree very long, big build, men stood before our governor and his men.

'You better make us a better deal, before we just wipe out your little town. You are on our ground little man. Our land, our rules.'

I felt a little scared, and they weren't even talking to me. Where this the farmers Jack had been talking about?

'I – I have nothing to offer but our services and our knowledge of-' One of them men cut him short.

'We know more then you could ever share with us. We invented this whole country!' I licked my lips nervously, wondering if I should be here, or should run away right now.

Then, the largest one of the tree men turned and his gaze landed on me. He was extremely big and his arms showed pure muscles. His dark hair was bound on the back of his head, a beard covering his chin. I saw his eyes were brown, his face not clean, but smeared with some black stripes. I wondered if he was the blacksmith that Jack had mentioned.

'Well, you could have some of our woman?' The voice of the governor froze me to my spot. What did he just say?

'You offer us your woman? You call us barbarians, but you would offer us your only source of reproduction?' the biggest man asked, his voice written in disbelief. I didn't know what to think. Should I feel scared that the brown eyed man still looked me in the eyes, or that the governor had offered them his women.

I decided the first and turned, running away. I did not see the beautiful nature around me before I finally arrived at my cabin. I quickly entered, shut my door and did not turn on any lights. The words were replaying in my head and scared me to the bone.

It was getting dark outside and before I knew it, there was a knocking on the door. I kept silent. There was more knocking before I heard the governor ask me if I was alright.

I slowly made my way over towards the door and opened it. The governor seemed a little unnerved. He watched me briefly before he glanced beside him and I saw the brown eyed man from earlier standing outside my little cabin.

'Miss Reid. I am so sorry to trouble you so late in the evening. But I do need to talk to you. You are our only solution to make a deal with the farmers, so I would like to discuss this with you.'

I blinked and dared to meet the big man's eyes briefly. He seemed so enormous, so grim and grumpy. Still I noticed how his eyes lit up when I met his gaze.

'What are you talking about?' I asked. I was still standing in my doorway, not inviting them inside. I kept the door in my hand, just in case I needed to shut it to save myself from harm.

'This man is Marston. He is one of the first farmers here and I made him an offer.'

'So?' I asked. The governor swallowed deeply.

'I offered him a woman to have. I offered him you.'

Sooo curious yet? Let me know...