Chapter 1
KANSAS IS HELL
She was running like the dickens. She was so scared of what might happen if she got caught. It was because of that stupid cat.
Duck was just a young girl of 15 who lived on a farm with her dad, Charon, and the three farm hands; Femio, Mytho, and Fakir. She had long red-orange hair that she had braided into two braids and she had on a short blue and white overall looking dress. She had with her a small doll with green hair and a drum and blank blue eyes.
Duck had been walking home from school when the cat from Miss Rue's house jumped out of nowhere and snatched the doll. Duck chased the cat around the yard and accidentally ruined Rue's favorite flowers in her garden. Duck wasn't sure if Rue had seen her or not but she didn't want to wait around to find out.
She was quickly making her way down the dusty old road that led to her modest farm house and she was so nervous that she tripped, dropping the small doll a few feet in front of her.
"Oh no. Uzura!" She called and struggled to get to the doll faster than her feet could go. She picked up the doll and did her best to clean the dust off but failing pretty bad. "Aw, man. I guess Dad can clean you up but right now we need to get out of here."
The doll's blank face just stared up at her and Duck began running again. She ran all the way to the farm and nearly ran into the fence because of her haste.
"Looks like Duck's in trouble again," Fakir said as he saw her running across the open land. "When will she learn to stay out of Rue's yard?"
"She never does anything on purpose Fakir. Whatever it was was probably an accident," Mytho said as he handed his companion a wrench.
"Ha, I'll believe that when I see it," Fakir said and went back to fixing the wagon he was working on.
She quickly rushed into the house and looked for her dad.
"Dad!" she called. "Dad!"
"I'm in here Duck," he said from the kitchen.
"Dad, you won't believe what that stupid cat did to Uzura," she said as she made her way to the kitchen. "I was just walking when it leaped out of nowhere and stole Uzura. I had to chase it all around the yard before it finally gave her back."
"Well, maybe you should have held onto it a bit more," he said, his voice soft and unworried.
"It surprised me. How was I supposed to be surprised and hold onto her at the same time?" she asked. "And now Miss Rue is going to tell you I'm a menace and stuff. I swear it wasn't my fault I squished her flowers. I was trying to get Uzura back."
"Well, I'm sure you're telling the truth but I'm going to have to hear her side of the story too," he said then turned to her with a grin. "I'm sure everything will turn out right."
"But…"
"Why don't you go and find Lillie and Pique? They should be over soon, like they are every day," he said pushing the red head to the door.
"Okay, Dad," Duck said sadly and walked out of the house.
She walked over to the old wagon and leaned against the wall, staring at the ground.
"Well, if it isn't little Miss Trouble-Maker. What happened this time Duck?" Fakir asked from under the wagon.
"I squished Rue's flowers," Duck said as she pressed her face into the doll.
"Is that it?" Fakir asked. "Well, that's kind of dumb."
"What do you mean by that?" Duck asked.
"Well, it doesn't take a genius but from the way you ran home you looked like you shot her cat. You sure looked that scared," he said, climbing out from under the wagon. "That was pretty stupid to react the way you did."
"It wasn't stupid. If I hadn't told Dad what really happened then I could have gotten into major trouble for a simple little accident," she said annoyed.
"An accident that could probably been avoided easily if you actually used you brain," he said and leaned against the wagon, looking at her. "I know you've got one somewhere, you just need to find it."
"Thanks for noticing," she said and crossed her arms.
"You know, I sorta think that Rue only wants to get you in trouble just so she can come over and see Mytho," he said with a grin. "It might not be anything personal."
"I don't know why she'd waste her time doing that when she could just come over. It's not like I purposefully do anything to get her mad. I don't even hate her that much," Duck said. "I could handle having her around every once and a while."
"I'm sure she'd feel the same way about you," he said sarcastically.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means what it means. You figure it out. Use that brain of yours moron," he said, pointing at his head.
"Ooh! Why are you so mean!?" She said and walked away.
He couldn't help but chuckle at how silly she was. She always overreacted and he was used to it. It wasn't that he was really mean, he just knew how to mess with her and get under her skin. It was a sort of game they played but on that day she didn't want to play it.
She marched over to the chicken coop where she found Mytho gathering the eggs and checking on the new chicks.
"Hey Mytho," she said as she sat on a small bucket.
"You had a chat with Fakir I see," he said and smiled at her. "Did he call you a moron again?"
"Yes. Why is he so mean to me?" she asked, her chin in her hand. "Everything I do is dumb or stupid or just lame to him. I can never do anything right around him."
"Well, he just doesn't know what it's like to show he has a heart. It's hard for a guy like him to be nice all the time," he said as he brought out a chick. "You just need to give him time."
"How much time? It's been like three years now and still he's a big meanie," she pouted. "Why is he still around if he can't stand me?"
"He's a good worker and he's only messing with you. I know what he's really like Duck and he's only playing. He'll grow on you," he said and handed her the chick. "Just like this chick will grow into a healthy hen. It might not be immediate but you'll soon see the real Fakir."
"Thanks Mytho. You're great," she said and hugged him. "I just wish time would hurry so I could see who he really is because right now he's a real jerk."
"Don't you worry. He'll come around," he said and took back to chick. "I just hope it's sometime soon cause I would love to see it too." He put the chick back and noticed the doll in Duck's hand. "What happened to Uzura?"
"I fell and she landed in the dirt. I tried to clean her up but I was in too much of a hurry," she said, looking at the doll.
"Well, let me see what I can do," he said and took the doll.
He grabbed a rag from a nearby shelf and got it wet with the faucet that was also nearby. He dabbed at the dusty face and cleaned up the rest of the clothes and drum. It took him only a few minutes but Duck didn't mind waiting. She liked being around Mytho. He always seemed to know how to make her feel better and he was so different from the darker Fakir.
He finished up and handed the doll back saying, "Now be careful with her. She's gone through a lot with that cat of Rue's and all."
"Oh, Rue's cat!" Duck said annoyed. "That cat is what got me in trouble again. It's going to ruin Uzura someday."
"Just be careful," he said and ushered her gently to the door. "I'm afraid I can't talk anymore but you can go find Femio. I'm sure he'd love to stall with his work."
"Okay, I'll see you later Mytho," she said and scurried off.
She headed to the area she knew she'd find Femio and looked for the weirdo. He was very different from both Fakir and Mytho. He was more of a lady's man and he was always so sure that he could get any woman he wanted. Good thing he wasn't interested in Duck or she would freak.
She headed into the horse stable and looked around for the French man.
"Femio? You in here?" she asked as she passed the stalls.
"Oui. Je suis en bas ici," he called from the end of the long hall of stalls.
"What?"
"I'm down here Duck," he said, his voice thick with a French accent.
"Oh, sorry. I still can't understand French," she said.
She made her way to the stall she heard his voice come from and found him putting more hay on the ground.
"Do you know much about why Rue always wants to get me in trouble?" she asked.
"Because she is mean and doesn't like you?" he asked as he looked up at her.
"Fakir thinks it's because she wants to see Mytho but I don't know if that's even remotely right," she said as she leaned against the stall wall.
"Sounds like something I'd do," he said with a smile. "But why believe what Fakir says? He doesn't know everything."
"He knows more than I do and I'm not really that observant," she said.
"To him, right?"
"Yeah. He doesn't think I could see a bull coming at me until it hits me," she said. "The truth is, I think he's right. Now that I think about it, Rue does come over a lot and she always says something to Mytho, not sure what she says but she always ends up having a conversation with him."
"Well, if you're jealous then there's only one thing to do," he said and leaned on his pitch fork.
"And what's that?" she asked.
"You've got to be brave and tell her to get lost," he said and grinned at her reaction.
"But, I couldn't do that," she said.
"You'll have to if you want to keep Mytho to yourself," Femio said.
"What? I…I don't want Mytho."
"Sure you don't. I'm an expert at love and I know that you have a crush on Mytho," he said and smiled. "Amour beaucoup."
"No…no I don't. Stop it Femio, that's not why I came to talk to you," she said as she stepped back.
"Then why did you come if not to be embarrassed?" he asked.
"Um…I can't remember but I know it wasn't to talk about l…love," she said softly. "Uh, I'm gonna go. This is just getting awkward."
"D'accord," he said as she left. "But remember, courage and persistence. You'll get who you want. I always do."
