Chapter
A couple of hours later, the dance had ended and even though the festivities had ended, the night was still filled with warm laughter, and crickets chirping loudly somewhere in the distance. While the good people of Serenity were heading home in wagon's with their families, Anna and Ororo were heading back to the hotel exhausted and worn out from dancing and the socializing. Ororo sighed happily as she took a moment to take it all in. The evening's warm air brushed across her face gently, and Ororo closed her eyes and smiled secretly as it reminded her of the soft touch of a lover. While she was ready to get out of the constricting gown and shoe and call it a night, another part of her didn't want the night to ever end. She couldn't remember the last time she had so much fun. Thinking back on the evening she felt a smile dance across her lips as she thought about the man she had spent most of the evening with.
Remy had been the most perfect gentleman. There had been something so powerful and thrilling about the way he had manage to sweep her off of her feet the entire evening. If he wasn't making one charming comment after another, he was making her laugh with heart warming and amusing moments he recalled from his earlier childhood years. All night he had managed to find her even when she had been engaged with several other people in a conversation. He stole her attention like a bad outlaw. Even though she had tried her best to fight it, he had manage to completely captivate her . They had danced together for several different scores of music, much to the disdain of several of the young single town women who apparently had their eye on him. After the dance had ended, Remy had offered to escort her back to the hotel not wanting her to walk in the dark streets alone, but Anna had quickly stepped in and rather coldly informed the charming cajun that it wasn't necessary before linking her arm through Ororo's and stalking off leaving Remy starring after them wistfully. Now that they were a good distance away from the lingering crowd of people gathered at the town hall's, Ororo dared to sneak a glance at Ann who seemed to be silently fuming which confused Ororo.
She didn't understand why her friend seemed so angry. Every time she had glanced up while dancing with Remy she had saw Anna in the company of several different men smiling and socializing as if she was the life of the party. She had doubted that Anna had noticed how much time Ororo had spent in Remy's presence, but now she wasn't so sure. Even though Anna had made it clear that she liked the cajun, Ororo couldn't help but feel some affection towards him as well. She knew that this little truth might put a strain on her friendship with Anna and that was the last thing that Ororo wanted to happen. It was a silent pact between them that neither of them would ever let a man stand in the way of thier bonds of friendship. Not wanting to be the one to break the promise and have any bad feelings between them, Ororo attempted to smooth things over by striking up a conversation.
"Wasn't the ball absolutely lovely, Anna? The music was so beautiful and it felt so wonderful to dance again," the white hair woman smiled as she and the brunette continued to walk arm in arm down the road towards their hotel.
Anna nodded even tthough she wasn't feeling as cheerful and joyful as Ororo. In fact she was feeling the exact opposite. The conversation that she had with Emma had left the sassy brunette feeling more then just a little uneasy. If Remy was somehow a threat to Ororo, Anna had to make sure to keep an close eye on him. A part of her didn't want to believe that her handsome and charming tavern owner could ever hurt someone, but their was a dark side to the mysterious Remy leaving her feel suspicious and troubled. Despite learning that Remy might be more of a villain a knight shining armor, Anna was still slightly jealous and more then a little sore over the fact that Remy had shown more attention and interest towards Ororo, then he did her. She had hoped to catch his attention by flirting with other men, but Remy had been too focused on Ororo to even notice, further irking the brunette. She knew that it was less then dignified then to over zealously pursue a man, and she wanted to let go, but it stung that Remy seemed to prefer Ororo's company over hers.
"Yeah, it was alright Ah suppose, and not that this town don't seem nice and all, but when do you suppose we be hittin' the road again, Ororo?" Anna asked stiffly.
The thought of leaving Serenity put a slight damper on Ororo's mood. While she knew that it was inevitable that they continued on their way to find her parent's killers, she was sadden to leave a place that had bought her a precious amount of peace that she hadn't experienced in a very long time. For the first time in a long time she felt that she didn't have the weight of all of her heavy emotions pressing down on her shoulders. She couldn't remember a time ever where she felt so...content. Thinking about leaving that feeling behind made a depressed sigh escape her lips.
"I suppose we should be moving along very soon. It just saddens me that we have to say goodbye to such a lovely town," Ororo said wistfully.
As they continued to stroll down the dirt road, Anna scowled unhappily. She knew that the only reason why Ororo was hesitant to leave Serenity wasn't because it was such a lovely town, but because she wasn't looking forward to cutting ties with Remy. She huffed moodily and the more she thought about the whole evening Ororo spent spiraling around the dance floor in Remy's arms the more annoyed became until she could no long hold back her anger and her jealousy began to spew over.
"Since you find it so lovely, we can completely abandon what has been a long and hard search for your parent killers and take residence here. It doesn't make no difference to me," she said tightly.
The sooner the words had escaped her lips, Anna was desperately wishing that she could have taken it back. The statement had come out completely wrong. Anna bit her bottom lip softly as she realized by Ororo's stunned and angered expression, that her statement had been more then heartless; it had been downright mean. She immediately felt ashamed and disgusted with herself. She had been so hurt and angry that Remy had ignored her all night preferring to be in Ororo's company that she lost control of her jealousy and lashed out at her friend in the most awful of ways. Anna knew that she should try to make things right, but she didn't have no clue as to where to start.
"Ah am sorry. Ah shouldn't have said that. You have to know Ah didn't mean nothin' by it. Ah just figured you would want to stay because of Remy," Anna stammered trying to back peddle, but it was far too late.
Ororo stopped walking abruptly at the mention of Remy's name. She suddenly realized Anna's problem. It was so ridiculous to Ororo that she had to force herself not to laugh incredulously. Anna was jealous and the worse part was that she had convinced herself that she was so smitten with went too far by questioning her dedication to her quest of avenging her parent's death. While Ororo had taken a liking to Remy, she would never dream of being with him after Anna had made it perfectly clear how she felt towards him. However, since Anna seemed to believe otherwise, Ororo was more then willing to indulge her friends' suspicion and trust.
"Even if I did have feelings for Remy and he had feelings for me, What does that have to do with my willingness to search for my parents killers?" she demanded, her eyes flashing with anger.
Anna gulped and shook her head quickly.
"N-nothin', Ororo. Ah dont' know why Ah even said that," she stammered flustered.
Ororo stared at her coldly.
"I know exactly why you said it. You said what you did to imply that I have yet to leave Serenity because I want to get to know some slick talking saloon owner who runs a brothel better rather then to track down the people who slaughtered the only family I had," Ororo snapped heatedly.
Anna winced from the harshness of Ororo's tone. She knew she must have severely struck a nerve because never in all of her time knowing her best friend had she ever seen her get as infuriated as she was in that moment. Suddenly Anna felt herself getting angry as well. What right did Ororo have to be mad at her when she was the one who had been delaying the trip in the first place? The only reason why they were still in Serenity was because Ororo had yet to pinpoint the day they were due to ride out. A part of Anna believed the reason why Ororo was hesitating was because she was afraid. She was afraid of finding the outlaws and she was afraid of what the outcome would be. The tension between the two women was very obvious as they stared at each other with simmering hostility and resentment.
"Listen, Ro. Ah apologized, but in mah own defense, you took what Ah was tryin' to say the wrong way," she tried to reason.
Ororo arched a snowy white eyebrow dubiously and scoffed rudely as she stood firm with both hands planted on her hips squarely. Who was Anna try to fool? Ororo knew for certain that the brunette meant exactly what she said. She couldn't believe that Anna was petty to let some man that they both hardly knew come between them.
"The way I took it was that you would think that I am too busy swooning over the object of your affection and him in return swooning over me to remember what it is that I am suppose to be doing," Ororo said cutting the other woman off sharply.
"Remy ain't spoken for by me. You don't owe me any explanation," Anna exploded.
"That's peculiar because it seems like with your line of questioning that you were expecting one," she said curtly.
Anna's expression clearly showed she wasn't trying to argue anymore. It seemed that every time she opened her mouth, she only said the wrong things. As she stared across at her friend, Anna felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach as she saw the hurt and disdain shining in Ororo's piercing azure colored eyes. It weighed heavily upon her that she had devastated her friend with her show of rare jealousy and she wanted nothing more then to take back what she had said. It had come from a place of envy and spite. She didn't really mean to belittle Ororo's resolve to find the outlaws that had ruthlessly tore her parent's from her life.
"Just be careful, Ro. Remy may not be quite what he seems," she warned softly.
Ororo forced a smile. Earlier she had been thrilled about the outcome of the evening, but now that happiness had faded away and was replaced by anger and hurt. While she cared about Anna deeply, at that moment she wanted to be far away from the brunette as possible before she ended up saying something that that would sever their friendship beyond repair. Once she had been absolutely comforted by the fact that she wouldn't be alone when she faced down her parents murderers, but now she wasn't so sure if she wanted Anna to ride by her side anymore. How could she trust her to watch her back, when Anna didn't even trust her when it came to a man?
"While I am gone to find my parents killer, maybe you can stick around and find out exactly who and what Remy is. I do not wish for you to accompany on my quest any longer," she said scathingly before stalking off.
Anna blanched as she watched Ororo whirl on her heels and walked away from her. She knew that she should go after her and apologize until she made things right with the righteously offended black woman, but a small part of her was still angry that Ororo seemingly didn't care or respect Anna's feelings for Remy. Despite all the emotions surging through her, she knew that she shouldn't have verbally doubted Ororo's motivation to find her parent's murderers. Not only was it out of line and down right insensitive, it was cruel.
"Damn it! Anna scolded herself silently, "Why is that Ah am always sticking my big foot into mah stinkin' mouth?"
Feeling the need for a strong drink and not particularly wanting to endure the uncomfortable silence that she was sure that was going to be waiting for her back at the room she shared with Ororo, she abandoned her trip to the hotel and instead headed in the direction towards the saloon.
*********
As Ororo headed back to the hotel, she was silently seething inwardly as she recalled the argument that had just taken place between her and Anna. She couldn't believe her friend was so jealous that she would say something so vicious! Anna knew better then anyone else that there was nothing Ororo found more important then finding the band of killer' who slaughtered her parents. Nothing! The fact she would even suggest that Ororo lost focus of avenging her parent's death because of an attractive and charming man made her furious. The thought was so absurd! It pained her that she was at odds with one of the only people in her life that she had the pleasure of calling a friend, but she couldn't stop replaying Anna's hurtful words in her head.
The white haired black woman was so upset and swept away in her emotions that she wasn't paying attention as she crossed the road. The sound of horse hoofs beating across the dirt road snapped Ororo out of her trance and she barely had time to jump back before she almost got trampled. In all the abrupt confusion, Ororo tripped over the skirts of her gown and fell to her hands and knees wincing as she felt a sharp pain jolt through her left wrist. A cry of pain escaped her lips as she immediately cradled her injured wrist blinking back tears as the pain became more intense with each passing second. The carriage that had been driving by halted and immediately she heard a masculine voice call out to her concern. As the owner to the wagon jumped down and rushed towards her and Ororo felt her throat constrict as she realized it was no one other then Sheriff Logan.
"Are you alright?" he asked concerned as he reached down and helped her off the ground gingerly.
Ororo blushed furiously as she tried to hide her pain behind a forced smile. Several strands of her white hair escaped it's pins and fell down into her face hiding half of her face.
"I am alright. I should have been looking where I was going," she said feeling humiliated as she brushed off the dirt of the silk gown.
Even tthough Ororo had told Logan that she was alright, that statement couldn't be any further then the truth. Her arm smarted with the scratches she had suffered from the fall, and her wrist was throbbing with a dull pain ache. She hissed in discomfort as she attempted to rotate her injured body part only to have a greater pain shoot up her arm. Nothing her tormented facial expression, Logan immediately realized that the white haired woman was filled with too much pride and was suffering in silence. As he stared at her with quiet admiration, he realized that she wasn't the typical woman. He had thought her friend Anna had been a shock to his senses, but the more he discovered about Ororo, the more surprised he became. She kinda reminded him of himself when it came to put on a touch exterior to hide what was going on underneath.
"Hey, are you sure that you are ok? Your wrist looks a little tender there. I can go grab Hank," he started.
Ororo glanced up at him sharply.
"I said I am fine," she said a little more harsher then she had intended.
Logan laughed surprising and startling Ororo at the same time. As she observed him in the midst of his amusement she noticed that he looked so much more handsome with a smile on his face instead of the permanent scowl that he seemed to wear most of the time. However she was still seething from her confrontation with Anna, and his laughter didn't sit too well with her. She didn't see what it was that he found so funny, but his laughter made her anger surge slightly and she narrowed her eyes until they looked like tiny slits with flashes of blue peering out beneath her dark eyelashes.
"As much as I would love to stick around and futher amuse you, it is late and I must be heading to turn in. The sooner that I get out of this town, the better," she growled turning to leave.
His laughter was cut short as he quickly blocked her exit with an sheepish grin on his face.
"Wait, don't run off. I wasn't tryin' to be rude, darlin'. I just...," he trailed off as the words died on his lips as his gaze met her fiery one.
Her eyes were the color of dark ominous skies right before a lightning storm which showed that she was extremely upset. Her lips were marred into a deep frown and her arms were folded cross her chest defensively. He could see where her fall had left several scratches on her left arm and he had a fleeting thought to reach out and touch her soft inviting chocolate colored flesh to examine her injury more closer but stopped himself deeming it wouldn't be appropriate. Besides, she already looked angry enough to lash out and slap him if he had tried such a thing.
"What?" she snapped annoyed when he failed to finish his statement.
He snapped out of his trance and cleared his throat feeling embarrassed. He didn't understand what it was exactly about this woman that was making him act so unsettled, but it was starting to make him slightly crazy. He was a man use to being in full of control of his emotions and whenever something or someone came along and disturbed that it made him feel uneasy. He wanted to walk away from her and head home before he had the chance to make a fool out of himself, but her beauty held him rooted to the very spot where he stood.
"No, I was just...I just was just wanting to say that you looked absolutely beautiful when you are all riled up, you know that?" he asked huskily.
His response took her completely off guard and without any warning, the atmosphere suddenly changed and there was a slight tension between them which was more from physical attraction then anything else. She stared up into his deep dark eyes feeling her heart skip a couple of beats as he held her gaze unwavering. Flustered, Ororo looked down at the ground finding herself lost for words not understanding how his simple compliment had manage to make her melt internally. She felt deep blush flood her cheeks as she fumbled with the skirts of her dress pretending to be focused on getting the dirt of when she was secretly trying to avoid meeting his gaze.
"Thank you," she mumbled blushing.
When she finally had the nerve to meet his gaze again, she was stunned to find that she was feeling the same way she had been feeling earlier when she had been dancing with Remy, but somehow...this was different. While Remy's charm had appealed to the passionate side of her, Logan's gruffness and ruggedness appealed to her womanly side. She couldn't put into words the intensity of the look in Logan's dark eyes was causing her or the unnatural way her heart was fluttering around inside of her chest. He reminded her of a wild animal who was fierce and intimidating when confronted with his presence, but could be protective and extremely loyal. It was like a storm of emotions were whirling around inside of her uncontrollably and there was nothing she could do to contain them. Suddenly someone emerged from the hotel a few feet away from them and Logan cleared his throat softly, breaking the spell that had fallen between them.
"Is there any particular reason why you were so upset and are tryin' to escape Serenity? The cajun ain't got nothin' t' do with it, does he?" he asked narrowing his eyes intently.
Logan couldn't explain why the thought of Remy upsetting Ororo made his blood boil. Even though he had enjoyed himself with Jean that night at the dance, he couldn't help but turn his attention in the direction Ororo had been dancing with the cajun every now and then. He hadn't like the way Remy was looking at her nor had he like the way Ororo seemed to be swept away by his over used charm. Logan wasn't the judgemental type, but he knew the type of women Remy went after and Ororo didn't fit into the category of all the whores and loose women he tended to take to bed at every blink of an eye. Unlike those other women whom he could read from a mile away, Ororo was someone who was more refined and a mystery to him. A mystery he wouldn't mind uncovering if he was ever presented the opportunity.
"No, well not really," Ororo admitted truthfully, "I have delayed my journey for far too long, and there is something very important that I must see to," she said with an determined edge in her voice.
The thought of her departing the town made Logan feel disappointed. He had hoped that she stayed around long enough for him to get to know her. She was an intriguing woman and every conversation he had held with her thus far made him want to learn that much more about her. However he knew that she had a purpose that was driving her and he respected that. He was deeply curious as to what it was that she was searching for, but he knew that asking her something that personal might put her back in a hostile and angry mood so he held his tongue.
"Well it's too bad that yer leavin'. Jubilee and I were plannin' on askin' if you would care to join us for Sunday dinner tomorrow night," he murmured.
The invite came as a surprise to Ororo. She got the feeling that Logan was a very private man and inviting someone in his home to share a meal was probably a truly rare thing for him. She stared into his dark eyes shining with sincerity and felt her resolve weaken was about to say yes when suddenly a nagging thought began to resound in her head. What if Anna was right? What if Ororo was putting off the journey to find her parents killers? Ororo knew it wasn't because of Remy's charm or even Logan's fascinating allure. What if it was because deep down she was afraid that after she found her vengeance, she would lose her humanity and what made her who she was? What if her taking a life resulted in her never being able to connect or feel for anything or anyone ever again? The thought was so chilling it made her shiver slightly.
Realizing that Logan was patiently waiting for an answer, she forced a smile. If she was on the edge of losing her humanity, what would it hurt for her to experiance one more night of normalcy and peace? Surely there could be nothing wrong in indulging herself in one last moment of happiness, could there?
"I suppose that I could stay one last night. After all, I did promise Jubilee that I would tell her stories of my travel if that is alright with you of course," she said with a smile.
Logan grinned amused. He should have known that Jubilee would be curious enough to make Ororo promise to tell her about all the places that she had seen and the interesting things that the free spirited woman had experienced. However he was just glad that she had excepted his offer for dinner. That meant he would get to see her one last time before she rode out of Serenity, and perhaps, his life forever.
"Well then, I suppose we will see you at supper tomorrow night. I must warn ya, I ain't the best cook, but my infamous rabbit stew will definitely charm your taste buds," he joked.
Ororo laughed softly and Logan couldn't help but to smile pleased at the response that he had managed to draw from her. Even though she looked stunning when she was furious, she was absolutely angelic when she smiled. There was something so enchanting by the serene look on her face, especially standing there in the gown which looked black due to her standing in the night beneath a faint moonlight.
"It sounds lovely. I will see you tomorrow evening before I ride out. Good night, Logan," she smiled warmly as she began to cross the street towards her hotel she was staying in.
"G'night, Ro," he murmured hopping back up on his wagon and riding out of town towards the woods where his homestead was waiting for his arrival.
As Ororo watched him retreat with a smile, she couldn't help but suddenly feel sad. Serenity was a wonderful time that had the most kindest people she had ever met, but she knew that it was not her destiny to dwell there forever. She would have loved the chance to develop a deeper friendship with Katherine Pryde and Jubilee, reconnect with Scott Summers or even establish a romantic relationship of some sort, but that was all just a fantasy. Her reality wasn't so pleasant, and the thought made her heart grow heavy in her chest. Casting one last lingering look in the direction Logan had disappeared to, she sighed heavily before walking into the hotel.
