Daphne: "Here is the third chapter. Sorry that it took me so long to get it
up. I had writers block! Well, I hope that you will enjoy it, and please
review! I really like your support.
~*~*~*~
The Alluring Anthea
by: Daphne Li
Chapter 3.
"Well, this is goodbye." Syaoran mumbled the next morning, as Haley and Chang, dressed in commoners clothes, prepared to mount their horses and begin their journey to Vaile. Little Rose was clinging to her mother's dress skirt, watching the process with a less than happy face. Aki was silent as he watched his favorite not-really-a cousin hug Sakura, and then move onto Syaoran. When Haley reached him, her eyes were full of unshed tears. He hugged her tightly, closing his eyes and wishing that this could be just a bad dream; But it wasn't. It was real, and they couldn't even be sure that they would see Chang and Haley again.alive, at least.
"Have a safe trip. You will be all right." Rose said, hugging Haley and then moving onto Chang, who welcomed her hug with surprising fervor. Chang even gave a short hug to his mother, and then bowed politely to his father, before climbing onto his horse. Haley jumped onto hers, and they turned away, trotting their horses to the gates surrounding the palace. They turned back once, to wave one last time, and then they departed through the gate without looking back. Rose sighed and looked up at her mother, tears filling her eyes.
"They will be all right, mommy. I promise." She whispered, looking after her brother, and not even noticing that her mother had not heard what she had said.
~*~*~*~
"All right. We follow this road up until that ridge up there, then, when we reach the three-pointed turn-off, we take the right-handed road until we reach the city of Gaunge. From there, we head north until we see a bright red barn on the far right, and that is where we are expected." Haley said a few days later, looking at the map that Syaoran had handed to her before they had left. Chang's hard eyes turned towards the road and he kicked his horse into a gallop.
"Chang! Wait for me, please!" Haley yelped, nudging her horse to follow his.
"If we want to get there before sundown, we have to run these horses as fast as they can go." Chang stated, as she raced up beside him. She sighed and then watched for the three-roads. She did not have to wait long.
"There." Chang pointed at the turn off, and they raced through, taking careful measures to take the right road. Within a few minutes, they found themselves in the bustling city of Gaunge, the very heart of Vaile. They rode through, getting curious glances from people they passed, but not acknowledging them. They duo rode far out of town and then stopped to orient themselves.
"North until we reach the big red barn.aha! There it is!" Haley cried, standing up in the stirrups and pointing at a huge red barn. It was only a small part of the massive farm that they were to be 'working' at. Chang nearly wrinkled his nose at the thought of living with strangers, but he hid it well behind his mask of naturalness. Haley led the way across a small bridge that was built over a creek, and then down a dusty road to the farmhouse.
"So.about that dream." Haley teased, as they pulled up in front of the house. Chang turned cold eyes on her.
"You never forget, do you." It was a statement, not a question. She nodded proudly, and grinned.
"Good! We need someone around here who is not forgetful! The last servants I had were bumbling and stupid, and couldn't do a thing right." A deep voice said. The two turned around, startled, only to see a small, middle aged man standing next to their horses. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes that seemed to watch their every move. Chang immediately was on his guard, and looked at the man coldly. Then he remembered that he was no longer a prince, but quite literally a pauper!
"I am Hannah, and this is Shane." Haley said, quickly making up false names for them. Chang caught onto what she was doing, and nodded a greeting. The man seemed content with this.
"I am Conrad Fletcher, and this is my farm. My daughter, Marie will be home soon, and you will meet her then. Until she comes, I will show you the ropes and introduce you to my slaves." The man led them into the large house, without glancing at them. Haley shot a startled look at Chang.
"Slaves?!" She whispered, looking stunned. He nodded.
"They still have slaves here, you know." He muttered, his eyes glued to the back of Conrad's head. Haley sighed and continued walking in silence. This certainly was different than back at home! They had slaves and they wore funny clothes, and they had handsome men, and they.
'Wait, what? Handsome men?!' Haley thought, glancing back out the window where she had seen the young man. He was still there, standing in the middle of the yard with their horses at his side. Haley gasped a bit, and Conrad came over to see what she was so enchanted with.
"Oh, that is Garrett, one of my man-slaves. Pretty nice piece of work, isn't he?" Conrad chuckled, making Haley wince at his vulgar words. Chang growled softly, but said nothing. The young man in question looked to be about twenty-five years old, with light blonde hair and azure blue eyes. He was quite muscular and strong-looking.
"Haley is fond of him already." Chang murmured, so Conrad could not hear. Haley turned bright red and slapped him on the arm. Though his face was neutral, she was sure that he was laughing at her inside; He, however, had not meant his words to be a joke. He was just stating the obvious, and he became quite annoyed when she had hit him.
"Now, here are your rooms. You will begin promptly at seven in the morning, and continue with your work through four in the afternoon. If you fail to do this, I will not hesitate to take drastic action." Conrad said in a no nonsense voice. Haley and Chang couldn't tell if he was joking or truly serious.
"Yes, sir." They both murmured.
"Hannah, you will work in the kitchens, as a maid. Shane, you will work in the stables with Garrett. You will also be expected to help with the harvests." Conrad informed them, as he left them to sort out which room was who's.
"I will take the green one. You take the blue." Chang said, stepping into the room that was painted entirely with green paint. It was a rather plain room, with a bed, only one dresser and a rickety chair, on which sat a bowl and pitcher of water, so he could wash his hands and face. Chang sighed and threw himself on the tiny bed. How had he gotten himself into this? Why him?!
"Chang, perhaps we should go back downstairs. Conrad.or sir, as he wishes to be called, just announced that his daughter was home, and he wanted us to meet her.and his.*wince*.slaves." Haley stated, as she stuck her head into the room. Chang swallowed a sigh and then followed her down the stairs.
"Ah! Hannah, Shane, here you are. I would like to present my daughter, Marie. Marie, these are our new servants, Hannah and Shane." Conrad announced, putting his arm around a slim, short girl with brown hair and dark brown eyes. She would have been quite pretty if she had not tried so hard to become so. Her lips and cheeks were tinted with rouge, and she wore heavy makeup on her eyes and eyelashes. She was also pouting absurdly.
"But papa, are you positive we need new serv." Her words trailed off as she caught sight of Chang, and her eyes grew sly and greedy. They roved over him, and then returned to his face, looking satisfied. Her lips folded into a smile, that made both Haley and Chang shiver.
"Actually, I don't mind at all! I certainly think that we need a new stable hand, and a new maid would do me no harm at all. Pleased to meet you. What did you say your name was?" She asked cheekily, putting her hand out to Chang to kiss. He only just kept from wrinkling his nose, and then did the proper thing. He kissed her hand and then met her sickly-sweet eyes.
"My name is Shane, lady." He answered, making her giggle with delight.
"Oh, I am no lady! Please, just call me Marie." She said, in what must have been her interpretation of a 'seductive voice'. Chang met Haley's eyes, and Haley had to look away to keep from laughing. Neither of them noticed that Conrad had left the room.
"Hannah, Shane, these are our slaves, Garret and Annie." Conrad said in a bored voice as he came back into the room. The two 'servants' turned to see the boy they had spotted earlier, and a girl. Haley gasped softly and Chang met her eyes, transferring a silent message. It was the girl from the dream! This 'Annie' wore a rather ragged brown dress, and her hair was concealed by a piece of fabric.but her eyes! They looked at Chang with curiosity, turning a bright blue color, and then her face changed again, this time, neutral, like his own. Her eyes darkened and turned almost midnight blue. Her pretty blood-red lips pursed, and she looked nervously at Marie, who was now glaring at her with vengeance. Chang realized that he was staring and he turned away.
'Just like Haley's dream.' He thought, his eyes roving over the young man beside Annie. Now, to smother any accusations about Chang's feelings for Annie, I will warn you that he was staring at her in curiosity (and slight disgust), not interest. He was simply wondering why on earth she had been in Haley's dream in the first place, and what it all meant.
".join us for supper, won't you?" Marie was saying, as Chang returned to the present. Haley looked at him and nodded.
"We would be honored to join you for supper, right Shane?" Haley hissed, eyeing Chang with annoyance. He nodded silently, and Marie beamed. It seemed that she had become quite fond of Chang, and was now throwing out all the charm she could muster, to get him wrapped around her finger. As she led them out, he rolled his eyes in annoyance, a move that was not missed by two people.
"You might want to be careful around the.mistress. She tends to get a little touchy-feely when she has had too much to drink." Garret warned. Chang turned cold eyes to him and growled.
"She will not lay a finger on me. No one will, or they will come to regret it." He hissed. Annie's eyes widened and her eyes darkened again.
"That was not kind! Garret was just trying to warn you.and you have no idea what she is capable of. Her father has been known to do worse things to a man than just hurting them.Mughff!" She exclaimed, as Garret's hand slapped over her mouth. Chang simply stared at the girl with hidden amazement and suspicion. A real slave would never reveal such things about their master.or at least, a well trained slave. He nodded.
"Then I will heed your warnings. But I maintain what I said before. For your information, no one has ever dared to raise a finger to me, and they certainly are not going to start now." He stated, walking from the room. Annie turned her wide eyes toward Garret.
"He seemed.nice." Garret said, finally looking at her. Her eyes smoldered.
"I find him suspicious. 'Never raised a finger to him'? What was he, some sort of Rajah? He certainly acts like one." She hissed. He smiled.
"You were no better, Annie, admit it. But you are right. He is no ordinary servant, and neither is she. The way they speak is almost enough to give it away, though they are quite good at disguising their voices to sound like ours." He stated, an image of Hannah entering his head and making his cheeks redden. Annie rolled her eyes in disgust.
"Come on. The horses are getting hungry." She sighed. He shrugged ruefully.
"Well, perhaps they will share their grain with us, seeing as master has refused to give us supper, tonight." He commented, as they laughingly exited the room, unaware that they had had a listener.
~*~*~*~
"I.am going to take a walk outside, all right?" Haley asked, as she and Chang walked up to their bedrooms. Chang shrugged and then closed his bedroom door. Haley then snuck down the back stairwell and slipped out into the barnyard, being careful not to spill what was hidden in her skirts. When she had accidentally heard Garret's and Annie's conversation, she had immediately felt sorry for them and therefore saved most of her dinner, plus some carefully stolen rolls, to give to the two slaves. She quickly made her way into the barn, where, she had been informed, they slept. As she tiptoed through the barn, she heard soft voices in one of the tall stalls, and she knocked cautiously on the door. The talking stopped, there was a yelp and then a "Hey!", that didn't sound like either of the two servants voices.
"Who is it?" Garret called out cautiously.
"It.it's Hannah. I brought you something to eat, if you would like it." Haley answered. The door slowly opened, revealing two guilty faces. Haley smiled shyly, understanding their discomfort.
"Don't worry. I heard nothing that was said. I was more worried about getting here without spilling the food!" She giggled, making Annie smile shyly. She beckoned Haley in, and then shut the door behind her.
"Here. I tried to keep them as warm as possible." Haley commented, revealing the rolls and pastries and pieces of ham and potatoes, plus several other yummy looking things. Garret and Annie gaped at the layout, making Haley smile.
"You must have given up your whole supper for us!" Garret commented. Haley's smile widened.
"Not really. To tell the truth, I just put my first two helpings in here, and then ate the last two. You have no idea how much they eat! I could never have downed it all, but Marie can!" Haley laughed, causing the other two to look at her in amazement, and then grin, helping themselves to her offering.
"So tell me, Hannah. Where do you come from?" Garret asked, watching closely as 'Hannah's' face turned neutral. She shifted uncomfortably and looked away.
"Quite far from here, I am afraid. It took my cousin and I several days to reach here." She murmured, plucking at a string on her dress. They looked at her strangely, but said nothing.
"Oh, I am sorry for that. You must be exhausted." Garret said carefully. 'Hannah' smiled back.
"Not at all. We stayed at an inn not quite five miles from the city." She answered, not realizing that she had worked herself into a trap; Because Garret knew that any real servant would not stay in a fancy inn, let alone sleep at all. They would continue on until they reached their destination. He smirked at her, but said nothing. She, however, turned slightly frightened eyes toward him, as though she could read his thoughts.
"So.he is your cousin?" Annie asked slyly, her eyes probing. Haley sighed in slight annoyance and amusement.
"Fine, we are not actually related, perhaps, but our families are very close. We are actually more like brother and sister." 'Hannah' admitted, her eyes dreamy as she thought of the days when she, Chang, Aki, and Rose would go outside and wake quiet walks in the woods, and they times that they had snuck out of the palace to swim. Well, Haley, Aki and Rose would swim. Chang would sit on the bank, his dull eyes turned towards the sky, as if he could see something that they couldn't.
"No wonder he is decent to you." Garret said, without thinking about his words. Annie jabbed him hard in the side, but surprisingly, 'Hannah' began to laugh sweetly, her giggles ringing musically throughout the barn. "He is something, isn't he.I never have found out why he is like this. I think it was just something that he had when he was small, and it sort of developed as he got older. He really is quite.'decent', once you get to know him." 'Hannah' commented, her laughter gone. The two slaves looked at each other in disbelief, but before either of them could say anything, Annie gave a shriek and jumped up, waving her hand.
"OH! Something slithered over my hand! I think it was a snake!" She cried. Garret stood up.
"She is terrified of snakes. Perhaps I should escort her out." But his words were interrupted by 'Hannah's' laughter.
"Oh, no. Don't worry about it. It was just Shane's lizard, Zoe. She came along with us." 'Hannah' said, holding up the emerald green lizard. At the sight of it, Annie began to coo.
"That's all right! I love lizards! I have one of my own in fact. Perhaps we will introduce him someday!" She murmured, picking Zoe up. Zoe immediately curled up in her hands, it's intelligent eyes turning reproachfully on Haley.
'Sorry, Zodiac!' She thought, using her telepathy to make the little lizard hear. The lizard nodded slightly, a movement that only Garret caught. He had noticed that 'Hannah' had suddenly become very focused on the lizard, and he was curious to see how it would react. To his surprise, it nodded, and then looked up at Annie probingly, as though it was trying to sort out all of her secrets.
'Well it had better not!' He thought, rolling his eyes and sitting back down. All of this Annie did not see, though. She was content on petting the lizard and cooing over it.
"Well, we had best be going." Haley sighed, taking Zodiac away from Annie and opening the door. The three stepped out and were startled to see Chang, or 'Shane' as he was called here, standing beside his horse's stall and petting the creature's silky muzzle.
"Zodiac." Chang said in a monotone voice, his eyes never leaving his horse. The lizard slipped from Haley's grasp and rushed onto the shoulder of her master in a matter of seconds, much to the astonishment of Garret and Annie.
"Come, Hannah." He commanded, his eyes still refusing to stray for the beast in front of him. Hannah/Haley smiled apologetically at her two new friends, and then began to follow Chang to the barn door, leaving the two slaves quite confused and curious. But the departing two were stopped by a loud, obnoxious voice ringing out through the barnyard.
"Shane? Oh, Shane?! Where are you? I want to speak with you! Shane?!" Called Marie's voice. Garret came up behind the two frozen friends and chuckled, while Annie giggled at Shane's/Chang's frozen face. Then the young Chinese man growled. Marie was not going to make this mission easy. Not if she kept trying to flirt with him and hang onto his arms. With another growl, Chang/Shane lead the other three through the shadows of the barn, and safely into the house before Marie even had a chance to spot the still lighted lamps hanging in the barn.
~*~*~*~
~*~*~*~
The Alluring Anthea
by: Daphne Li
Chapter 3.
"Well, this is goodbye." Syaoran mumbled the next morning, as Haley and Chang, dressed in commoners clothes, prepared to mount their horses and begin their journey to Vaile. Little Rose was clinging to her mother's dress skirt, watching the process with a less than happy face. Aki was silent as he watched his favorite not-really-a cousin hug Sakura, and then move onto Syaoran. When Haley reached him, her eyes were full of unshed tears. He hugged her tightly, closing his eyes and wishing that this could be just a bad dream; But it wasn't. It was real, and they couldn't even be sure that they would see Chang and Haley again.alive, at least.
"Have a safe trip. You will be all right." Rose said, hugging Haley and then moving onto Chang, who welcomed her hug with surprising fervor. Chang even gave a short hug to his mother, and then bowed politely to his father, before climbing onto his horse. Haley jumped onto hers, and they turned away, trotting their horses to the gates surrounding the palace. They turned back once, to wave one last time, and then they departed through the gate without looking back. Rose sighed and looked up at her mother, tears filling her eyes.
"They will be all right, mommy. I promise." She whispered, looking after her brother, and not even noticing that her mother had not heard what she had said.
~*~*~*~
"All right. We follow this road up until that ridge up there, then, when we reach the three-pointed turn-off, we take the right-handed road until we reach the city of Gaunge. From there, we head north until we see a bright red barn on the far right, and that is where we are expected." Haley said a few days later, looking at the map that Syaoran had handed to her before they had left. Chang's hard eyes turned towards the road and he kicked his horse into a gallop.
"Chang! Wait for me, please!" Haley yelped, nudging her horse to follow his.
"If we want to get there before sundown, we have to run these horses as fast as they can go." Chang stated, as she raced up beside him. She sighed and then watched for the three-roads. She did not have to wait long.
"There." Chang pointed at the turn off, and they raced through, taking careful measures to take the right road. Within a few minutes, they found themselves in the bustling city of Gaunge, the very heart of Vaile. They rode through, getting curious glances from people they passed, but not acknowledging them. They duo rode far out of town and then stopped to orient themselves.
"North until we reach the big red barn.aha! There it is!" Haley cried, standing up in the stirrups and pointing at a huge red barn. It was only a small part of the massive farm that they were to be 'working' at. Chang nearly wrinkled his nose at the thought of living with strangers, but he hid it well behind his mask of naturalness. Haley led the way across a small bridge that was built over a creek, and then down a dusty road to the farmhouse.
"So.about that dream." Haley teased, as they pulled up in front of the house. Chang turned cold eyes on her.
"You never forget, do you." It was a statement, not a question. She nodded proudly, and grinned.
"Good! We need someone around here who is not forgetful! The last servants I had were bumbling and stupid, and couldn't do a thing right." A deep voice said. The two turned around, startled, only to see a small, middle aged man standing next to their horses. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes that seemed to watch their every move. Chang immediately was on his guard, and looked at the man coldly. Then he remembered that he was no longer a prince, but quite literally a pauper!
"I am Hannah, and this is Shane." Haley said, quickly making up false names for them. Chang caught onto what she was doing, and nodded a greeting. The man seemed content with this.
"I am Conrad Fletcher, and this is my farm. My daughter, Marie will be home soon, and you will meet her then. Until she comes, I will show you the ropes and introduce you to my slaves." The man led them into the large house, without glancing at them. Haley shot a startled look at Chang.
"Slaves?!" She whispered, looking stunned. He nodded.
"They still have slaves here, you know." He muttered, his eyes glued to the back of Conrad's head. Haley sighed and continued walking in silence. This certainly was different than back at home! They had slaves and they wore funny clothes, and they had handsome men, and they.
'Wait, what? Handsome men?!' Haley thought, glancing back out the window where she had seen the young man. He was still there, standing in the middle of the yard with their horses at his side. Haley gasped a bit, and Conrad came over to see what she was so enchanted with.
"Oh, that is Garrett, one of my man-slaves. Pretty nice piece of work, isn't he?" Conrad chuckled, making Haley wince at his vulgar words. Chang growled softly, but said nothing. The young man in question looked to be about twenty-five years old, with light blonde hair and azure blue eyes. He was quite muscular and strong-looking.
"Haley is fond of him already." Chang murmured, so Conrad could not hear. Haley turned bright red and slapped him on the arm. Though his face was neutral, she was sure that he was laughing at her inside; He, however, had not meant his words to be a joke. He was just stating the obvious, and he became quite annoyed when she had hit him.
"Now, here are your rooms. You will begin promptly at seven in the morning, and continue with your work through four in the afternoon. If you fail to do this, I will not hesitate to take drastic action." Conrad said in a no nonsense voice. Haley and Chang couldn't tell if he was joking or truly serious.
"Yes, sir." They both murmured.
"Hannah, you will work in the kitchens, as a maid. Shane, you will work in the stables with Garrett. You will also be expected to help with the harvests." Conrad informed them, as he left them to sort out which room was who's.
"I will take the green one. You take the blue." Chang said, stepping into the room that was painted entirely with green paint. It was a rather plain room, with a bed, only one dresser and a rickety chair, on which sat a bowl and pitcher of water, so he could wash his hands and face. Chang sighed and threw himself on the tiny bed. How had he gotten himself into this? Why him?!
"Chang, perhaps we should go back downstairs. Conrad.or sir, as he wishes to be called, just announced that his daughter was home, and he wanted us to meet her.and his.*wince*.slaves." Haley stated, as she stuck her head into the room. Chang swallowed a sigh and then followed her down the stairs.
"Ah! Hannah, Shane, here you are. I would like to present my daughter, Marie. Marie, these are our new servants, Hannah and Shane." Conrad announced, putting his arm around a slim, short girl with brown hair and dark brown eyes. She would have been quite pretty if she had not tried so hard to become so. Her lips and cheeks were tinted with rouge, and she wore heavy makeup on her eyes and eyelashes. She was also pouting absurdly.
"But papa, are you positive we need new serv." Her words trailed off as she caught sight of Chang, and her eyes grew sly and greedy. They roved over him, and then returned to his face, looking satisfied. Her lips folded into a smile, that made both Haley and Chang shiver.
"Actually, I don't mind at all! I certainly think that we need a new stable hand, and a new maid would do me no harm at all. Pleased to meet you. What did you say your name was?" She asked cheekily, putting her hand out to Chang to kiss. He only just kept from wrinkling his nose, and then did the proper thing. He kissed her hand and then met her sickly-sweet eyes.
"My name is Shane, lady." He answered, making her giggle with delight.
"Oh, I am no lady! Please, just call me Marie." She said, in what must have been her interpretation of a 'seductive voice'. Chang met Haley's eyes, and Haley had to look away to keep from laughing. Neither of them noticed that Conrad had left the room.
"Hannah, Shane, these are our slaves, Garret and Annie." Conrad said in a bored voice as he came back into the room. The two 'servants' turned to see the boy they had spotted earlier, and a girl. Haley gasped softly and Chang met her eyes, transferring a silent message. It was the girl from the dream! This 'Annie' wore a rather ragged brown dress, and her hair was concealed by a piece of fabric.but her eyes! They looked at Chang with curiosity, turning a bright blue color, and then her face changed again, this time, neutral, like his own. Her eyes darkened and turned almost midnight blue. Her pretty blood-red lips pursed, and she looked nervously at Marie, who was now glaring at her with vengeance. Chang realized that he was staring and he turned away.
'Just like Haley's dream.' He thought, his eyes roving over the young man beside Annie. Now, to smother any accusations about Chang's feelings for Annie, I will warn you that he was staring at her in curiosity (and slight disgust), not interest. He was simply wondering why on earth she had been in Haley's dream in the first place, and what it all meant.
".join us for supper, won't you?" Marie was saying, as Chang returned to the present. Haley looked at him and nodded.
"We would be honored to join you for supper, right Shane?" Haley hissed, eyeing Chang with annoyance. He nodded silently, and Marie beamed. It seemed that she had become quite fond of Chang, and was now throwing out all the charm she could muster, to get him wrapped around her finger. As she led them out, he rolled his eyes in annoyance, a move that was not missed by two people.
"You might want to be careful around the.mistress. She tends to get a little touchy-feely when she has had too much to drink." Garret warned. Chang turned cold eyes to him and growled.
"She will not lay a finger on me. No one will, or they will come to regret it." He hissed. Annie's eyes widened and her eyes darkened again.
"That was not kind! Garret was just trying to warn you.and you have no idea what she is capable of. Her father has been known to do worse things to a man than just hurting them.Mughff!" She exclaimed, as Garret's hand slapped over her mouth. Chang simply stared at the girl with hidden amazement and suspicion. A real slave would never reveal such things about their master.or at least, a well trained slave. He nodded.
"Then I will heed your warnings. But I maintain what I said before. For your information, no one has ever dared to raise a finger to me, and they certainly are not going to start now." He stated, walking from the room. Annie turned her wide eyes toward Garret.
"He seemed.nice." Garret said, finally looking at her. Her eyes smoldered.
"I find him suspicious. 'Never raised a finger to him'? What was he, some sort of Rajah? He certainly acts like one." She hissed. He smiled.
"You were no better, Annie, admit it. But you are right. He is no ordinary servant, and neither is she. The way they speak is almost enough to give it away, though they are quite good at disguising their voices to sound like ours." He stated, an image of Hannah entering his head and making his cheeks redden. Annie rolled her eyes in disgust.
"Come on. The horses are getting hungry." She sighed. He shrugged ruefully.
"Well, perhaps they will share their grain with us, seeing as master has refused to give us supper, tonight." He commented, as they laughingly exited the room, unaware that they had had a listener.
~*~*~*~
"I.am going to take a walk outside, all right?" Haley asked, as she and Chang walked up to their bedrooms. Chang shrugged and then closed his bedroom door. Haley then snuck down the back stairwell and slipped out into the barnyard, being careful not to spill what was hidden in her skirts. When she had accidentally heard Garret's and Annie's conversation, she had immediately felt sorry for them and therefore saved most of her dinner, plus some carefully stolen rolls, to give to the two slaves. She quickly made her way into the barn, where, she had been informed, they slept. As she tiptoed through the barn, she heard soft voices in one of the tall stalls, and she knocked cautiously on the door. The talking stopped, there was a yelp and then a "Hey!", that didn't sound like either of the two servants voices.
"Who is it?" Garret called out cautiously.
"It.it's Hannah. I brought you something to eat, if you would like it." Haley answered. The door slowly opened, revealing two guilty faces. Haley smiled shyly, understanding their discomfort.
"Don't worry. I heard nothing that was said. I was more worried about getting here without spilling the food!" She giggled, making Annie smile shyly. She beckoned Haley in, and then shut the door behind her.
"Here. I tried to keep them as warm as possible." Haley commented, revealing the rolls and pastries and pieces of ham and potatoes, plus several other yummy looking things. Garret and Annie gaped at the layout, making Haley smile.
"You must have given up your whole supper for us!" Garret commented. Haley's smile widened.
"Not really. To tell the truth, I just put my first two helpings in here, and then ate the last two. You have no idea how much they eat! I could never have downed it all, but Marie can!" Haley laughed, causing the other two to look at her in amazement, and then grin, helping themselves to her offering.
"So tell me, Hannah. Where do you come from?" Garret asked, watching closely as 'Hannah's' face turned neutral. She shifted uncomfortably and looked away.
"Quite far from here, I am afraid. It took my cousin and I several days to reach here." She murmured, plucking at a string on her dress. They looked at her strangely, but said nothing.
"Oh, I am sorry for that. You must be exhausted." Garret said carefully. 'Hannah' smiled back.
"Not at all. We stayed at an inn not quite five miles from the city." She answered, not realizing that she had worked herself into a trap; Because Garret knew that any real servant would not stay in a fancy inn, let alone sleep at all. They would continue on until they reached their destination. He smirked at her, but said nothing. She, however, turned slightly frightened eyes toward him, as though she could read his thoughts.
"So.he is your cousin?" Annie asked slyly, her eyes probing. Haley sighed in slight annoyance and amusement.
"Fine, we are not actually related, perhaps, but our families are very close. We are actually more like brother and sister." 'Hannah' admitted, her eyes dreamy as she thought of the days when she, Chang, Aki, and Rose would go outside and wake quiet walks in the woods, and they times that they had snuck out of the palace to swim. Well, Haley, Aki and Rose would swim. Chang would sit on the bank, his dull eyes turned towards the sky, as if he could see something that they couldn't.
"No wonder he is decent to you." Garret said, without thinking about his words. Annie jabbed him hard in the side, but surprisingly, 'Hannah' began to laugh sweetly, her giggles ringing musically throughout the barn. "He is something, isn't he.I never have found out why he is like this. I think it was just something that he had when he was small, and it sort of developed as he got older. He really is quite.'decent', once you get to know him." 'Hannah' commented, her laughter gone. The two slaves looked at each other in disbelief, but before either of them could say anything, Annie gave a shriek and jumped up, waving her hand.
"OH! Something slithered over my hand! I think it was a snake!" She cried. Garret stood up.
"She is terrified of snakes. Perhaps I should escort her out." But his words were interrupted by 'Hannah's' laughter.
"Oh, no. Don't worry about it. It was just Shane's lizard, Zoe. She came along with us." 'Hannah' said, holding up the emerald green lizard. At the sight of it, Annie began to coo.
"That's all right! I love lizards! I have one of my own in fact. Perhaps we will introduce him someday!" She murmured, picking Zoe up. Zoe immediately curled up in her hands, it's intelligent eyes turning reproachfully on Haley.
'Sorry, Zodiac!' She thought, using her telepathy to make the little lizard hear. The lizard nodded slightly, a movement that only Garret caught. He had noticed that 'Hannah' had suddenly become very focused on the lizard, and he was curious to see how it would react. To his surprise, it nodded, and then looked up at Annie probingly, as though it was trying to sort out all of her secrets.
'Well it had better not!' He thought, rolling his eyes and sitting back down. All of this Annie did not see, though. She was content on petting the lizard and cooing over it.
"Well, we had best be going." Haley sighed, taking Zodiac away from Annie and opening the door. The three stepped out and were startled to see Chang, or 'Shane' as he was called here, standing beside his horse's stall and petting the creature's silky muzzle.
"Zodiac." Chang said in a monotone voice, his eyes never leaving his horse. The lizard slipped from Haley's grasp and rushed onto the shoulder of her master in a matter of seconds, much to the astonishment of Garret and Annie.
"Come, Hannah." He commanded, his eyes still refusing to stray for the beast in front of him. Hannah/Haley smiled apologetically at her two new friends, and then began to follow Chang to the barn door, leaving the two slaves quite confused and curious. But the departing two were stopped by a loud, obnoxious voice ringing out through the barnyard.
"Shane? Oh, Shane?! Where are you? I want to speak with you! Shane?!" Called Marie's voice. Garret came up behind the two frozen friends and chuckled, while Annie giggled at Shane's/Chang's frozen face. Then the young Chinese man growled. Marie was not going to make this mission easy. Not if she kept trying to flirt with him and hang onto his arms. With another growl, Chang/Shane lead the other three through the shadows of the barn, and safely into the house before Marie even had a chance to spot the still lighted lamps hanging in the barn.
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