Our fathers gave us liberty, but little did they dream

The grand results that pour along this mighty age of steam;

For our mountains, lakes and rivers are all a blaze of fire,

And we send our news by lightning on the telegraphic wires.

"Uncle Sam's Farm," written by Jesse Hutchinson, Jr., of the Hutchinson Family Singers

When Sheeta had been a girl the field of wheat had been cut down with sickles or scythes, then hand-raked and tied into sheaves. The grain was hauled to the barn where it was spread on a threshing floor and beaten with hand flails until the kernels were knocked free of the straw, which was then raked away. The remaining mixture was tossed it into the air where the wind would blow the chaff and lighter debris away from the heavier grain, which fell back onto the threshing floor. Farmers like Sheeta's family relied primarily upon their own strength, the strength of family members, and sometimes that of oxen, mules, or horses.

When Pazu began working the farm he also took to repairing the machinery that the neighboring farmers used. The money that brought in their home purchased items they needed but could not make themselves. Eventually, Pazu learned enough about the machines he was repairing to begin building his own. His first project was a three bottom gang-plow, an improvement over the basic oxen-drawn plow that Sheeta's parents had used. The next year Pazu put together a grain harvesting machine and added moving canvases that carried the grain to a platform where he would tie the sheaves into bundles with a twine-tying mechanism while he rode on the machine. After he'd been there three years he built a self-propelled steam traction engine for threshing the grain and pulling the gang-plow in the wheat fields. The thresher used a revolving, toothed cylinder and concaves, threshing drum, and a fanning mill to simultaneously separate all the grain from the straw and clean the grain.

Eventually Pazu was developing his machinery one step ahead of the technology that the local farmers could afford to buy. Local farmers began renting Pazu's equipment for their own farms. Sheeta and Pazu agreed early on to split the money they earned three ways, one third to each of them and one-third would be saved or spent on common expenses. They split the costs of the farm and household evenly between themselves. This arrangement suited them. Before long the house was well stocked with food, soft beds, pretty curtains, and books. They were also able to buy whatever they needed for the farm that they couldn't craft for themselves. With the new machinery and Pazu there to do most of the manual labor Sheeta was able to manage the chickens and other animals in the morning. She spent her afternoons cooking dinner, sewing linens for the house or for sale, mending their clothing, cleaning up, and managing the money.

Four years passed in this manner. Pazu's old yellow cap showed the signs of its age and Sheeta's repeated repairs to it. He loved the old hat because of the adventure it had been on with him. It was the end of day and he stored all of the farm equipment in the shed he and Sheeta had built last year. He'd developed a tan, going from working in the dark mines of Slug Ravine to the wheat fields of Gondoa, so his skin was a light brown color all over. His hair had lightened a shade in the near-constant sun, but it was still light brown.

He picked up a bundle of firewood from the stack outside the shed and carried it with him toward the stone farmhouse. It was large enough for more than just the two of them. Early on, Dola's sons had stopped by regularly to visit Sheeta and they always helped with the farmwork when they came to stay. Usually on Saturdays Pazu would fish at the lake down the hill from where they lived. He would clean and cook the fish so that Sheeta didn't have to make dinner for a few nights each week.

Pazu found Sheeta asleep, curled up in in an overstuffed chair in front of the wooden stove that heated the house. The little dog they'd found along the road last year was curled up in front of the fire. Pazu quietly set the wood near the stove. It was dark already because it was winter time. Sheeta must have dozed off, he thought. He went to the chair that he thought of as his and found the cat curled up on a folded up blanket in his seat. He looked over and there were two steaming mugs of hot chocolate on the side table. She hadn't been asleep for too long, he thought. He went up the stairs to his own room as quietly as he could. He set his cap on the side table next to his bed and retrieved a the wooden box he'd made for Sheeta.

After he came back down he lifted the blanket and the sleeping cat carefully off of his chair and set them both down on the floor. Then he set the little wooden box next to Sheeta's chocolate and waited for her to wake up. It didn't take long. The dog woke and noticed the cat was on the floor. The ensuing chase woke Sheeta.

"I wish she would stop chasing him," Sheeta mumbled, sitting up.

"It's good exercise for him," Pazu told her affably.

"Still," Sheeta yawned and reached for her mug under Pazu's watchful eye. Sure enough, her fingers touched the wooden puzzle box before they touched her steaming mug of chocolate.

"What's this?" she asked him, wide brown eyes looking at him in surprise and pleasure.

"I got you a gift," he told her, nervously, "I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I'll love it," she told him fondly. She puzzled over the wooden box for some time. They both finished their chocolate. He poked the fire a few times while he waited.

"Would you like me to help you?" he offered, eventually.

"Um," she looked regretful, "I think so, yes."

"Alright," Pazu knelt down in front of her chair and helped her to solve the puzzle box. When it opened there was another box inside, this one white. It opened easily.

Sheeta stared at the gold band inside and then looked up at Pazu, whose heart felt like it was in his throat.

"I know," he murmured, "that we're only seventeen. We've lived together as partners in this farm for four years now. These four years have been the best years of my life so far. We've had each other this entire time to lean on when times got hard. I've never known a girl as daring or as brave as you are. I love you and I can't imagine leaving or living my life with anyone else. Would you consent to marry me, Lusheeta Toel Ul Laputa?"

"Yes," she said, her hands shaking as he slid the ring on her finger, "Of course I'll marry you. I love you, too. Oh, Pazu!"

She fell into his arms and he caught her, grateful and relieved. She pulled back to kiss him while he held her gently. He adjusted his hold on her when she pulled back to scatter kisses over his face. He swept her up into his arms and whirled them both around, her feet barely missing knocking over any number of things. When he set her back down on her feet again they were both breathless and he was reminded of the moment they'd first seen Laputa.

"May I kiss you again?" he said quietly, and almost before he finished they were kissing again. Her lips was soft under his mouth. Almost compulsively, he rubbed his hands up and down her sides, over the soft orange dress she wore. She murmured his name and he buried his face in the curve of her throat. Her fingers threaded through his hair, making him feel light and nearly delirious with the pleasure of it.

After a few moments, Sheeta pulled back and took his hand in hers. She had taken her parents old room when he'd come to live with her. He had always used her old room. As she led him up the stairs, he didn't think he would be sleeping alone tonight. Sheeta slipped out of her shoes before she entered her room and he did the same. He stood inside her darkened room, more nervous than words could say, as she went around the room lighting the gas lamp and a few candles. She came back to his and they kissed again. He felt something and looked down to realize it was her delicate fingers, undoing the buttons of his shirt.

He tried to speak, then cleared his throat and said, "We can wait. If you want to wait, we can wait."

"We've waited long enough," she told him softly, her dark eyes were soft when they looked up at him, "Life is too short to waste time." He hoped she couldn't see the red that flushed over his cheeks. He noticed she looked more rosy than usual and realized they were both blushing.

"Yes," he agreed, before her mouth took his again. He slipped out of his suspenders and she pushed his shirt off of his shoulders. The shirt was still tucked into his pants so it still hung off of him. Her hands and eyes swept over his chest, curious and light as a feather. She took a step back and reached for her own clothing, but he took her hand and shook his head.

"Let me," he told her, hoarsely.

He slipped her dress over her head carefully. Sheeta stood before him in only a thin white slip. She'd grown over the years he'd known her. She would never be as well endowed as Dola. Her figure was willowy, long and slender, from top to bottom. Thin straps over her shoulders held the delicate slip up and a piece of lace decorated the low neckline and the bottom hem.

Pazu pulled Sheeta close to him again to kiss her. She took one of his hands while he kissed her and held it gently to her chest. He could feel satin fabric stretched over her breast and the press of her nipple against his palm. He rubbed up and down her side, but the roughness of his hand caught the fabric and drew it up a few inches unintentionally. He trailed a finger over the lacy neckline of her slip. His finger dipped into the space where her breast curved along the way and she shivered. He bent a little to lay kisses along the curve of each of her breasts.

Sheeta sighed with pleasure and her hands tugged at the waistband of his trousers. He straightened, took his hands from her body reluctantly, and helped her to remove his pants. He still wore white cotton shorts and socks when he stood before her. He was acutely aware that his shorts were giving away his obvious arousal. Sheeta, mouth slightly parted, trailed her curious fingers over the curve of his partial erection. His erection moved, jumping at her touch. She looked up at him, her eyes shining in the candlelight. She stepped closer to him, pressing the length of her body against the length of his. His arms came up to hold her automatically and his mouth fell on hers.

"Touch me," she urged him quietly, barely more than a whisper in the near darkness.

"Yes," he responded, his voice nearly unrecognizable to his own ears.

Pazu slid his hands up beneath the slip she wore, raising the slip. He grasped her and lifted her against him. He held her there for a moment. Sheeta spread her soft thighs and wrapped her legs around him. He let her feel the press of his erection against her, still separated by his underwear and hers. Sheeta kissed him as he held her off the floor. He stepped toward her bed, their bed, and sat her gently down.

"The miners talked about sex sometimes," Pazu told her, his breathing ragged, "I know that there will be mess. Do you want to get a towel?"

Sheeta shook her head and whispered, "I need to wash the quilt tomorrow in any case."

Her voice sounded odd and Pazu stopped stroking her torso beneath the slip.

"We don't have to keep going if you don't want to," he assured her, "We can stop whenever you want to stop."

"My grandmother didn't just teach me spells," Sheeta spoke softly, "If you are gentle, if we go slowly, there doesn't have to be any pain." He swallowed hard and nodded.

"Gentle and slow," he promised her.

Pazu pulled back, still standing next to the bed where she sat, and together they pulled the satin slip over her head. The shining material pooled at Pazu's feet but he didn't notice. His dark eyes were on Sheeta's as he cupped one of her naked breasts in his palms. He saw her parted, pink lips, the way her eyes widened at the unfamiliar touch.

"I have rough hands," he told her, a note of apology in his voice.

"I like it," Sheeta confided, "My hands feel different when I touch myself. I'm glad it's finally you."

"Show me," he said, surprised he could still speak, "Show me how to touch you."


Due to the explicit content, the rest of this chapter has been censored on FanFiction. The full work can be found at Archive Of Our Own (AO3) under the pseudonym SDLynn, with the story ID 4978708.