A/N Hello my little cowboys and cowgirls! ;D In her review, Evelyn Knight made a very valid point as well as giving a splendid idea for this chapter! I hope you enjoy! Watch the Kony 2012 video! (The link is on my profile.) Share it on Facebook, Twitter, etc.!A/N
Jessie scooped up another handful of sunflower seeds. Before shoving them all into her mouth she said, "Thanks for staying up with me tonight."
"No problem," Woody said with a smile, "It's the least I could do." Jessie rolled her eyes at this remark; she knew he was only trying to make up for the other day. But it's the thought that counts, right?
They sat in the corner of the barn on large lumps of hay. They had two large quilts; one for sitting on and one for covering their shivering bodies with. Their tiny space had a soft orange glow produced by a dripping candle. In between them sat a bowl full of sunflower seeds.
The snack confused Jessie quite a lot. How could you eat seeds? You were practically eating a flower as you noshed on the crunchy teardrops. As she flipped one over in her hand, she wondered if it would grow if she planted it outside. Jessie tossed the seed in the air, catching it with her mouth. They were quite strange, but extremely tasty.
Bullseye neighed softly in his slumber from the opposite side of the room, pulling Jessie out of her thoughts. She smiled at her faithful companion.
"I'm glad he's okay." she whispered.
"The doctor seemed to think so," Woody replied, "But you don't, do you?" She looked up at him as he raised an eyebrow.
"This is just a precaution to ensure his full recovery. I don't wanna be like your mom that one time." Woody gave her a questioning look, so she continued. "Remember when you got a stomach bug, but she thought you were faking so you wouldn't have to take a test on that Shakespeare play? Then you blew chunks in the middle of the test, all over the classroom." Jessie giggled as his cheeks turned red. "When you claimed to be sick, she never doubted it after that one."
"I took advantage of it too," Woody had a smirk on his face, "And don't say that you never faked the flu."
"That's how I got Bullseye, so I don't understand why it was so frowned upon."
"Hold on, what?" Woody nearly knocked over the candle and sunflower seeds out of surprise. He had never heard this story before...
~()~
A young Jessie crawled out of her bedroom window. It was a windy day; the gusts pushed her fiery strands back against her head and made the sleeves of her cotton shirt ripple. Jessie scooted along the back edge of her house, on the lookout for any nosy neighbors or even worse, her parents. When she decided the coast was clear, she darted into the woods across the road.
She took in the scent of the pines. This was her favorite place to explore. She could always find a new animal to befriend, or a wild flower to pick. Every now and then she would find something "exceptionally rare", and then make a few bucks off of it. (Jessie knew how to convince her friends into buying "extra"-ordinary rocks.)
But today she wasn't in it for the money. Today she was determined to find something so "ridiculous" that not even Woody had agreed to help her search for it. Jessie had heard a strange noise coming from the trees a few weeks ago and ever since then she had come daily to look.
A horse was all she ever wanted. It didn't matter if it was friendly or territorial, beautiful or ugly, big or small – A horse was a horse, and that's all Jessie saw when she would dream of having her very own.
If she were to find it in this forest, it would not only be completely free, but also totally legal. (Which was saying something; Jessie liked to play with the law at times.) She thought that taking the time to ask Woody's father, the sheriff, if taking the horse was okay would convince her parents that she was most definitely mature enough to care for it.
Anger bubbled in Jessie's stomach as she was reminded of her parents' outcry to her proposition. It seemed like the only things they knew how to say were "No." and "Not in this lifetime."
Again she took in a deep breath of the fresh air. It calmed her a bit, and eventually her anger diminished. Her boots thudded against the ground in a rhythmic pattern, almost identical to the beating of her young, free heart. She shoved her hands into her pockets and continued walking, pretending she had not a care in the world.
Suddenly she heard a crunch beneath her feet. Jumping off the solid object, Jessie expected it to be a stray tree branch or something of the sort. And indeed it was "something of the sort"; a sleek wooden arrow stood broken in half beneath her. A few feet away lay an entire bag full of the sticks, along with the bow.
It wouldn't hurt to test it out, would it? Jessie asked her conscious as she picked up the bow and an arrow. Using her handy pocket knife, she carved a large target into a nearby tree. She held the weapon awkwardly in her tiny hands.
Jessie inhaled deeply as she drew the arrow back, crossing her fingers that she was doing this right. Her eyes squeezed shut. She let go of the arrow as she exhaled.
Pop, doing.
"You're pretty good, kid." The voice rang through the woods. It sounded quite sinister and very reptile-like.
Jessie gasped and her eyes widened. She slowly turned around until she stood face-to-face to the owner of that very creepy voice.
He was a tall, broad-shouldered man wearing all black. He wore a long coat that covered most of his body, despite the day's warmer temperature. His face was covered with a dark brown rag, though Jessie was sure it would've been black if not for lots of grime and dirt, and it left the top third of his face out to the open air. Wisps of windswept blonde hair peeked out from the brim of a black hat. His brown eyes seemed to pierce into her soul.
Jessie's stomach fell. What if this man was dangerous? What if he was searching for someone to take hostage for ransom? What if he was simply and outlaw. Or the worst of all - What if he was a pedophile?
Then her curiosity took hold. What was he doing here? What if he was willing to give her something for keeping this meeting a secret? She debated the outcomes for a moment, and then decided what she was going to do.
"What are you doing here?" Jessie asked, puffing her chest a little bit. (Woody said this made you look more respectable. Although its never worked for him, Jessie thought.)
The man stared at her for a moment. The look on his face was rather "holier-than-thou"; as if he was trying to say "How dare you speak to me?" This look of confusion was soon wiped away and was replaced by a simple stare.
"I'm a tax collector," he explained, "I've been riding from town to town the past few days. But my horse was pregnant, so I thought I'd camp out for a few days until she had the foal." His voice was muffled by the rag that covered his mouth.
"You rode her while she was pregnant?" Jessie asked the man as though he were an idiot. "That's animal cruelty!" The man continued to simply stare at her. "The foal, is it okay?"
"Sure it's okay!" he said with a deep chuckle. "The most beautiful foal I ever did see." He had a thick southern accent and his voice would make one thing he didn't know much.
Jessie's heart leaped. The man seemed kind enough, even if he was a bit absent-minded. And why else would he mention the foal if he didn't want it taken off his hands? She took the leap of faith.
"Are you planning on keeping her? The foal, I mean?" Jessie stumbled over her words in anticipation.
"Him," the man replied, "And I wasn't planning on it. To be honest, I haven't yet thought of what I'm going to do with him."
"I'll take him off your hands." she tried to stay as calm as possible.
"Hey kid, everything comes with a price." Even with his mouth covered up, Jessie could tell he had a mischievous grin slapped on his face. She slapped herself mentally. Of course the man would want money! He was a tax collector.
"I could always shoot an arrow through your foot...Or hand. Which do you prefer?" She said with a wink, though her tone did not suggest playfulness.
"Fine." He walked up and snatched the bow and arrow from her hands. The man mumbled something about retrieving the foal, and disappeared into the woods for a moment. Jessie squealed quietly. She pranced around, performing an awkward dance.
When the man returned she could see a brown form behind him. As the brown horse marched before her, Jessie nearly toppled over. It was by far the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her entire life.
Before she had time to thank the mysterious stranger, he was gone.
~()~
"But...You told me you saved up your money to buy Bullseye!" Woody stuttered. Jessie smirked as she reached for another handful of sunflower seeds.
"That was a lie. Do you really think my parents would wake up one day and decide to let me get a horse?" she said happily.
"I gave you my allowance for an entire year just to help you out!" the sheriff cried.
"It did help me out," Jessie explained, hoping not to press his buttons to hard, "I bought a saddle, some food, and all that other stuff you need to have a horse. As for the extra money, I used that to build up my candy stash."
"My allowance!" Woody said sadly. When he didn't hear Jessie reply, he glanced over to see if she had fallen asleep. (It was quite late after all.) He wasn't surprised to see her gazing at her horse.
After a moment, she laid her head on his shoulder. Woody froze for a moment, wondering what to do. He glanced down at Jessie to see a sleepy smile on her face.
"Thanks again." she said quietly. Woody wrapped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed gently.
They had a mutual agreement - Bullseye was most definitely okay.
A/N Fanfiction logged me out one day and didn't save my hour of work. I was quite pissed...Although I think the final product is much better than what my deleted stuff was. But anyways, I'm pretty sure I'm in my writing mode again. :D Expect more frequent updates! A/N
