AUTHOR'S NOTE (07 Mar 2022):
Howdy, readers! It's been TWO AND ONE-HALF YEARS since I last updated this story! I hope you've stayed healthy during this time of the pandemic. Thus far, my family and I have managed to avoid catching the virus.
For a long time I didn't touch this or any other of my stories because I simply did not feel like writing, but in 2022 I have the desire to pick up the pen (er, keyboard) once again!
In the previous chapters of this story, Skylor made a request of her father, Purple Army commander General Chen, which he refused to honor. The action of the chapter below takes place on the very same morning. The focus is now on Kai's wife, a Yellow Army supporter, who is being held against her will by the Purple Army while she recovers from an accidental gunshot wound. The background history between Sam (Kai's wife) and Jake can be found in Chapter 14 of my story The Fire Within a Ninjago Cowboy.
And now, without further ado, the next chapter…
Chapter 58 - Prelude
That same morning...
Sam sat by herself at the table of her little kitchen area of her cottage, idly staring out the window at the cloudy February morning. Shades of brown and gray dominated the woodsy view, accented by patches of white snow and the green clumps of moss stubbornly adorning several trees surrounding the dwelling. A gap among the trees allowed her to look down the footpath leading from the cottage to the frozen Ninjago River a few dozen yards away.
To Sam, it seemed like winter had lasted forever. However, based on what she remembered from this time last year, the river was about to thaw, and its happy gurgling would soon resume. Indeed, she was starting to hear occasional cracking sounds, meaning that the ice was starting to break. And the birds and the spring peepers would soon resume their cheerful music.
The thought of spring returning brought Sam a modicum of cheeriness to an otherwise bleak existence. These days, she spent her time mostly alone. The gunshot wound in her leg had healed to the point that she no longer required round-the-clock care. With the use of a cane, she was able to dress herself, move around the cottage, and cook for herself.
Today she was eating a simple breakfast of pancakes. Normally by this time she'd be done with the morning meal, but today she had awakened later than usual, on account of losing sleep in the midnight hours.
As she sat on the kitchen chair, she rubbed her cold bare feet together. Jake had taken away her stockings and her shoes, along with her cloak, in order to prevent her from venturing out into the snow and cold and escaping from the Purple Army. She didn't know why Jake had bothered to take away those articles of clothing. She wasn't planning to go anywhere, not if that meant jeopardizing the safety of her beloved Kai.
Keeping Kai safe was the thread of comfort she clung to during General Chen's disgusting nocturnal visits, the latest of which had just occurred last night. She tried not to think of the vulgar comparisons he had made in the dark between her and the kabuki girls whose company he frequented in the past. But the memory of his repulsive comments - and loathsome touching - creeped into her mind, and she shivered.
A fluttering sensation in her midsection distracted her. Her unborn baby, the tangible reminder of Kai, had moved in her womb.
Sam closed her eyes and patted her tummy. Thank you, little one, for reminding me that there's still goodness in this world, she smiled.
A knock on the front door caused her to open her eyes again. From the kitchen, she heard the door creak open. Jake had taken off the lock weeks ago so that Chen could have easy access to the cottage. A moment of panic seized her before she heard the intruder call out, "Samantha dear, it's me, Jake!"
As she rose from her chair to meet Jake at the door, Sam breathed a little easier. At least he's not Chen! She wasn't surprised to see Jake; he came around once every few days to check on her and bring supplies and ensure the adequacy of the firewood supply. With her cane, she hobbled through the parlor, to where he had shut the front door behind him and was taking off his coat and hat, whistling as he did so. Through the window behind him, Sam noticed a tan canvas-covered wagon parked in the clearing in front of the porch. It was filled with many items.
He usually comes here in the cutter. Why did he bring a wagon?
"Good morning, my dear Samantha!" he cheerily greeted her upon seeing her. "How are you this fine morning?"
He certainly is in a jovial mood today, Sam silently observed. Ignoring his inquiry, she glared at him. "Why did you bring a wagon today? And I see it's quite loaded. Looks like enough supplies to last me a whole month."
Jake in turn ignored her inquiry. He paused to sniff the air. "Mmm, I smell something divine." He barged past Sam into the kitchen and spotted her half-eaten meal on the table. "That good smell must be your pancakes. Fix me some and I'll tell you some news."
Sam inwardly seethed at his command for her to cook for him, but she was curious about what news he had, and she figured the quickest way to hear it was to make him his meal. "I hope you brought flour today, because I'm running low," she informed him as she followed him back into the kitchen, her cane tapping the floor as she limped. "And I could use a little more ham, too."
He draped his coat and hat on one of the dining chairs, topping them with his unbuckled gun belt before settling himself in another dining chair. "There's no need for you to worry your pretty little head over supplies," he assured her condescendingly. "The wagon has everything you need. Now, let me check a few things in my log book in silence while the meal is cooking." He retrieved the book from an inner pocket of his uniform jacket and busied himself with leafing through it.
Sam, biting her tongue so as not to utter a retort to his rudeness, turned her back to him and temporarily set her cane aside, busying herself at the stove.
When the pancakes were ready, she limped back to the table with a plate, a napkin, and eating utensils, and unceremoniously placed them on the table in front of him. Then back to the stove she went in order to retrieve the frying pan, quickly flipping out the four fragrant discs onto his dish. "Here you go," she announced grudgingly.
Jake leaned over the plate and took a deep breath. "Mmmm. They smell divine," he declared enthusiastically. He cut a piece and popped it in his mouth. "They taste divine, too, even without butter" he stated with equal vehemence.
"Thank you," Sam curtly replied, returning the frying pan to the stove. Another few trips between the table and stove - for coffee - occurred before she finally sat down to finish her own half-eaten plate of cold pancakes. She waited for him to share his news, but he ate his food in silence. Sensing he was toying with her patience, she resolved to show indifference, and so she wordlessly ate her own meal. As she sat, she became aware that all the extra walking she was doing was starting to increase the soreness of her leg, as well as decrease her energy level.
"Delicious, my dear," he affirmed upon consuming the last pancake bite and dabbing his mouth with the napkin. "Now would you be so kind as to refill my coffee cup?"
Sam glared at him before rising from her chair to shuffle over to the stove once again for the pot. Begrudgingly she refreshed his beverage and once again returned to the stove to re-home the pot on the burner.
"So, dear Samantha," Jake spoke, causing her to pause with the coffeepot in midair. "Now that you've served me pancakes, it's time for me to fill my end of the bargain and tell you my news."
Setting the pot down, she turned to face him as he continued. "You'll be interested to know that, as we speak, the Third Division is preparing to pull up camp stakes and leave Garmadon Ranch, heading east for Ouroborus."
"Really?!" Sam hardly dared to breathe. This was unexpected good news! Could it be that this nightmare she'd been living for nearly two months was ending, and the detestable Purple Army was actually going away?
"So I finally get to go back to the main house?" she nearly squealed. To see Nya and Miss Gayle and Mr. Wu again, and baby EJ, and the dogs…oh, how wonderful that sounded! And it would be so wonderful to feel safe again…especially at night…
But her excitement was short-lived. "No, you're not going back there," Jake answered matter-of-factly. "You're coming with us."
The pancakes Sam had eaten earlier suddenly turned into a heavy stone of disappointment in her stomach. Her nightmare was going to continue. "But…Jake...why?" she stammered.
"Remember last month when we said we were going to have you switch your country of citizenship to Ninjago?"
Sam did remember that time, but after a few days without the appearance of a King's magistrate, she assumed plans had changed.
"We changed our mind and decided you were more valuable to us by remaining a United States citizen. And now that the United States is entering our war as an ally of the Yellows, you and your baby are going to be our hostages."
Sam turned away from him, her heart sinking to her feet. With one hand clutching the stove, she steadied herself, wiping tears from her eyes with the other hand. Noooo, this can't be happening! I..I'm so tired of all this! War…and cruelty…and sadness…there's nothing good left in this world anymore!
Just then she felt the baby move.
My baby! My sweet, precious baby! Sam placed her hand over her abdomen and struggled to compose herself. Oh, little one, thank you for reminding me…you are God's good gift…to me…and your father…
Sam closed her eyes and drew a few deep breaths. Everything would turn out alright, somehow.
After a minute, she realized Jake hadn't said anything.
She turned back toward him, and was shocked to observe that the Purple officer had stood up from his chair and unbuttoned his shirt and the torso portion of his union suit, revealing his bare chest.
"JAKE! What are you doing?!" she gasped.
Jake grinned menacingly as he slipped off his shirt. "My sweet Samantha, we're going to be together for a looong time. You see, as long as you are a bargaining chip in negotiations between the King of Ninjago and the United States government, the King - as per his telegram sent just this morning - has officially entrusted me to personally oversee your day-to-day health and safety. Which, by the way, means I'm being promoted to the rank of Colonel," he proudly disclosed.
He draped the shirt over the back of the chair from which he had risen. "So while we have a few minutes alone, I thought I would, well, personally oversee you. Besides, if your father hadn't meddled, you'd have married me and I would have bedded you years ago."
"I'm GLAD my father set me straight about you, Jacob Clouse!" Sam yelled. Frantically looking around for something with which to defend herself, she picked up the cast-iron frying pan. "You turned out to be a...a...sleeveen!" she declared, borrowing from the language of Miss Gayle. "Sleeveen means bastard!"
She hurled the pan in his direction, but the heaviness of the cast iron merely caused the pan to land on the table between them and skid across the surface, knocking the breakfast dishes to the floor before joining them with a tumultuous clatter.
"Now look what you did, Sam," Jake mockingly scolded her as if she were a child. "You put shards of glass and dishes all over the floor. Can't walk on that with your bare feet." And within seconds he had circled around the table and scooped her up in his arms, bridal style, taking her to the parlor where her bed had been moved to take advantage of the warmth of the fireplace.
"But Jake, what about your fiancee?! Don't you love her?" Sam sputtered in an attempt to logically dissuade him from his intended actions, knowing she was too physically weak to stop him.
Once in the parlor, he tossed her on the bed. Her head collided with the headboard, momentarily stunning her.
"Jake, please, no!" she whimpered as she helplessly watched him shed his boots and then his trousers. Now he was clad in only his union suit.
"Now, my dear, let's get you a bit more comfortable, shall we?" He crawled onto the bed, straddling her.
Suddenly the front door burst open and a gunshot rang out.
