Disclaimer: I don't own them. They aren't mine. However, Mercedes, WindSong
and Riley are mine. You can't have them.
Author's notes: I know this idea has been done to death, but I couldn't help it. It's all my brother and muse's fault. My brother bought me the 'Lord of The Rings' books for my birthday, and so I've had LoTR on my mind for the past few weeks. And I'll admit it; I've been reading the FF on this site. The two, combined with my muse (who had a mind of her own) decided that I should branch out and try my hand at this fandom. This is the result. I hope you like it.
Any and all mistakes are mine. While I have a muse, reviewers are hard to come by. All flames will be used to cook marshmallows in my back yard with the Fellowship.
*~*~*~*-^_^-*~*~*~*
A Beautiful Mess
*~*~*~*-^_^-*~*~*~*
It wasn't dark. It wasn't raining. It wasn't some back alley in a city, or some red light district. It was the middle of the day on a Friday afternoon. There were crowds of people, walking not twenty feet from where she parked. There was no reason for Mercedes Georgia O'Connell, Meg to her friends, to doubt that she shouldn't walk to her car alone.
She had just finished her weekly grocery shopping, and was making her way to her new Jeep she had just bought. She loved it. Midnight Blue, it had a tan cloth cover for the back seats, but what with it being the middle of summer, she loved to feel the wind in her hair, and the sun on her face. Not to mention, it was far easier for her and her girlfriends to checkout cute guys that way.
She had just finished putting the last bag in the back seat when an ape- sized arm wrapped it's self around her middle and lifted her clear off the ground. It's twin's hand reached up to cover her mouth, but it was so massive it managed to cover her entire lower half of her head, from the bridge of her nose to under her jaw, and ear to ear.
Whoever it was, they were massive. Mercedes stood at an even six feet, and weighed 140 lbs dry, but it was all muscle, and she couldn't even move her head a quarter an inch. She tried to scream for help, but her throat had closed up, and only a low whisper of a moan pushed it's way through her vocal cords.
In response, the man drove her face first down the alley in front of her Jeep that she would have swore wasn't there yesterday. A dumpster that she also didn't remember blocked her from view of the parking lot to her right. There would be no help from the left, the only thing there was a garage, and it was closed this time of the week.
She knew what was going to happen. It was flashing in fifty-foot neon letters in the back of her mind. And she also knew that even though she was skilled in self-defense, and could handle a stave like a master, she was truly and royally sunk. Just as she was about to slam face first into the wall..
.She sat up strait in bed, breath coming in loud gasps, sweat covering her face, and shaking like a cube of Jello. Taking a deep breath, Mercedes reached over and turned on the light next to the bed, and took a good look at her Pooh and Friends sleepy time alarm clock. 2:51 in the morning. Nine minutes until three, and then another three and a half hours until she had to get up and get ready for work.
Leaving the light on, Mercedes slipped out of bed, care full not to wake Riley who was, as usual, sprawled across the end of her mistresses bed. At the tender age of two years old, the large German Shepherd already promised to be a monster. Her paws were nearly double the size of her palm, and she was at least 145 lbs. Fiercely loyal, she defended her with a devotion that few could match. She had already scared away two would be burglars, and one morning Mercedes found her sitting on the back porch, chewing on a tennis shoe who's tread matched those that were found under her window. The local police had yet to figure out whose shoe it was, but Mercedes was reasonably sure that they wouldn't be coming back.
Making her way into the kitchen, Mercedes flicked on one of the lights that hung over the center island and reached for her favorite mug that was hanging next to the kettle. Filling it up with water, she dropped in a tea bag and popped it in the microwave for a minute thirty. The sound must have woke Riley, because a moment later, her paws could be heard clacking on the hardwood floors that filled her entire house, save for the bathrooms and a sunken in area in front of her fire place in the bottom half of her house.
Mercedes loved her house. It sat on a hill, over looking a lake. One of her favorite things was to stand on her deck at dusk, and watch the sun sink behind the western hills. The sky would turn all different hues of reds, oranges, pinks and purples. That, and watching as thunderstorms danced there was across the lake. There were numerous shots of sunsets and lightning strikes scattered around the house.
Hearing the beep on the microwave, she grabbed her cup just as Riley made her way down the stairs and over to the couch. She was used to her mistress waking up in the middle of the night, and had become used to the routine of after nightmare let down. Depending on how bad the nightmare way, her owner could very well spend the rest of the night just sitting on the couch rather than going back to sleep. Looking over the back of the couch, she sighed. No more sleep tonight for Mercedes.
Sipping slowly, Mercedes made her way over to her weapon's case. It wasn't the normal kind of weapons you would expect to find in such a case. There were no guns, but bows, arrows, throwing knives, and a sword or two. You see, Mercedes worked at the local King Richard's fair on the weekends. She played the part of Marion, Robin of Loxley's not-so-fair maiden. A lot of people got a kick out of the fact that this Maid Marion could lay you flat on your back in ten second's flat, shoot a bow as well as her Lord, and could pin a leaf in your hand to a tree with one of her throwing knives at a hundred paces.
A lot of her friends also worked at the fair. Lyn worked as the baker's wife, and made the best bread ever. It didn't hurt that she really was the baker's wife. And no woman could asker for a better husband than Edmond. Eddy for short, he looked more like a blacksmith than a baker, but Lyn loved him all the same. And then there was Anthony, who played Meg's Robin, was taller than her, and was as good a shot with the bow as her. In fact, he was the one who got her interested in the fair in the first place. They had been dating at the time, and he invited her to go. One time was all it took. She was hooked. The music teacher (violin, acoustic guitar, and piano) now spent her weekends and summers prancing around the woods in Maine in leather and homespun cloth, a quiver of arrows over her left shoulder, a sword on his right side, a bow in her hands, and various throwing knives all over. It seemed her long slender fingers could pluck more than one kind of string.
Sighing again, she walked over to her handmade bookshelves (they had been bought at the fair) and pulled out a romance novel that her friend Lyn had been trying to get her to read for ages. Something about a Viking that gets sucked through time a thousand years to the future and falls for a woman who's specially happens to be, big surprise, the Viking people. If that didn't put her out, nothing would. And who knew, maybe her next dream would be about some blond haired, blue-eyed Viking lord that would travel through time just to fall in love with her.
*~*~*~*-^_^-*~*~*~*
To her surprise, Mercedes loved the book. It was one of the funniest books she had read in a while, even if it was a romance. Some of the situations that the two main characters got themselves in were just downright ridiculous. And even though she hadn't gotten any more sleep, she felt better than she had in a while this soon after a nightmare. Looking at the clock, she let out a yelp. It was seven. She had twenty minutes to get dressed and out the door. It looked like Riley was going to the fair with her today.
"Riley, love, get off your furry butt! Come on love, we got to get going. Mom's going to be so incredibly late." Grabbing Riley's portable bowls from the hall closet, she threw them in Riley's hiking pack/harness, as well as a length of cord, her leather leash, two zip lock bags of dog food, a tennis ball, her favorite rubber water toy (there was a lake of the fair grounds that Riley loved to swim in) and last but not least, her whistle.
Racing up the stairs, Mercedes flew into the shower and jumped in while the water was still cold. Her screech was enough to convince Riley that she should get going, and the Shepherd moved off the cough and went hunting for her owner's keys. Ten minutes later, sitting by the front door, keys in her mouth, she watched her mistress slid across the hardwood floor in her socks, grabbing a leather thong from the basket next to the phone, and secured her braided hair with it as she began slipping on her boots. Two minutes, one thump, three curses, and yet another sigh later, She watched as Mercedes pulled her knives, arrows, and bow out of the cabinet. Her tail began wagging in anticipation. She was ready, why did it take the pack leader so long?
"Riley, have you seen my. They're in your mouth. Have I told you lately that I love you? Come here love, let's put your bag on, then we can leave. Stand still; lift your paw, such a good girl. Let's go. Wait, need to lock the door. Kay. Now, up in the back. Sit, down, stay. Good girl. And, we're off." Mercedes said, pulling her Ford F150 truck out of her driveway and out on to the back road that would take her to the highway, and then it was a half hour drive to the fair.
*~*~*~*-^_^-*~*~*~*
"Lyn, love, can I leave Riley here till she's done eating? Then you can let her out. It's still early, she'll find her way over to me. Leave her harness on for now; I'll hide it behind WindSong's spare tack. We're gonna be doing the jumping course today. Which is good. I wouldn't want to get rusty." WindSong was Mercedes' Georgian Grand stallion. Standing at 17 hands high, and weighing in at around three fourths of a ton, he was a brute of a horse. But, even though he was so large, his saddlehorse background showed in his speed and agility. He was one of the fastest horses Mercedes had ever ridden (which was quite a few) and could go through an agility course as easy as a horse much smaller and could jump five and a half foot jumps and have inches to spare.
"Megs, of course Riley can stay here. She is always welcome. Are you sure you can't stay for a fresh roll? They'll be ready in a few minutes, and if your hair is any indication, you didn't eat breakfast this morning." Lyn said, checking one last time on the rolls that were baking in the earthen oven in the back of her and Eddy's stall.
Mercedes blushed. "Well, truth be told, I didn't get mush sleep either."
"Oh Meg, did you have another nightmare? This is what, the fifth one this month. And it's only the second week. Meg, you need to talk to someone. I don't care what you say, this many dreams, and all the same, they mean something. Something bad. You can't keep living like this. The stress is beginning to show. Even Edmund's noticed the bags under your eyes, and you know how observant he his." A soft 'hey' drifted to their ears from somewhere in the back. Edmund, who had been chopping wood for the stove came in front, patted Riley on the head, kissed his wife on the cheek, and gave Meg a hug.
"Hate to say it Meg, but Lyn's right. You could fit the whole of Maine in those things. Yeouch. What? It's true." Lyn and Mercedes just shook their heads and laughed while Edmund rubbed the back of his head where Lyn had whapped him with her wooden spoon.
"I'd love to say, but I can't. I'm late as it is, and if I don't start tacking WindSong now, I'll never finish in time. Just stick some rolls in a cloth where Riley's food was, and I'll eat them when she gets to the stalls."
"You'd better, of I'll sick Emma on you." Lyn threatened. Emma was her and Eddy's six-year-old daughter. She had been staying with her grandparents for the past two weeks.
"She's back? When did she get in? Who picked her up? How is the little spore?"
"Hey, I'm the only one who can call her names." Lyn joked." Mom and dad are bringing her. Their plane lands sometime around noon, and then it's a two- hour drive to the fair, and then I can see my baby girl. She's gonna be all dresses up to, just like a baker's daughter. Mom and dad to. They're taking over for Grace and Ben at the woodcarving shop for the rest of today. Oh boy, there's Tony. He must be looking for you. Quick, out the back. Cut across the gypsy platform, it'll get you to the back door of the barn that much faster." Smiling, Mercedes gave Lyn one last hug, and ducked between the oven and shelves, and took off toward the stables.
*~*~*~*-^_^-*~*~*~*
It was the end of the day. Mercedes, Anthony, Lyn, Edmund, Rory, one of the gypsy dancers, Becca, who worked as a barmaid in the tavern and Laurie, who was currently engaged to Anthony, and ran the petting zoo, were gathered in the stable. They were some off the last people still at the fair. It was late, and everyone was tired.
"Are you sure about taking the week off Meg? I don't like the though of you being locked up in your house all alone."
"Don't worry Lyn, I'm gonna be fine. Me, Riley and WindSong are gonna spend some time together. There is still so much of my land that I haven't explored, and I have the satellite tracking device and emergency beacon if anything goes wrong." She replied, slowly backing up the ramp of the horse trailer that was attached to the back of her truck. It was large enough to hold four horses, though only WindSong was going in it. It was primarily used to carry her and her friend's horses when they went on one of their trips. Securing WindSong to the side of the trailer, she fluffed the hay in the net by his head.
"The question is, are you gonna remember to take it?" Becca teased, reminding them of the time Mercedes forgot to bring her house keys when she left for an overnight trip. When she came back the next day, she was locked out, and anyone who had spare keys was out of state. She had to wait till the next day for someone to come home.
"Yes, I promise, as soon as I get home, I'm sticking the thing in WindSong's new saddlebags, which I love. Not to mention Riley's new collar. Her old one was ready to go to that big leather house in the sky. I need to thank Charlie and Rick for both things next time I see them. I love them. And I love how they wrote me and WindSong's name in Elvish script on the bags, and Riley's on her collar. Who cares if no one but us can read it. Tolkien knew what he was doing when he wrote the story of Middle Earth."
"Have you even read any of the books I bought for you?" Anthony asked, lifting the last box of supplies into the bed of her truck. He laughed as Mercedes blushed and mumbled something about not having enough time. "Well, you're gonna have a week and a half off, counting weekends, read them now."
"We'll see. At least I've seen the movie, doesn't that count?" She asked, already knowing the answer to that question. She had asked it every time this subject came up.
"No," Was Lyn, Anthony, Becca, and Edmund all dead paned. They, unlike Mercedes had read the books, and they knew there were great differences between the two.
Mercedes laughed. "All right I'm off. See you all in ten or so days" and with a whistle for Riley, Mercedes closed the horse trailer door closed secured it, opened the cab door, waited till Riley got in, pushed her over, and started the truck. With one final wave, she pulled off the fair grounds and drove toward home.
Author's notes: I know this idea has been done to death, but I couldn't help it. It's all my brother and muse's fault. My brother bought me the 'Lord of The Rings' books for my birthday, and so I've had LoTR on my mind for the past few weeks. And I'll admit it; I've been reading the FF on this site. The two, combined with my muse (who had a mind of her own) decided that I should branch out and try my hand at this fandom. This is the result. I hope you like it.
Any and all mistakes are mine. While I have a muse, reviewers are hard to come by. All flames will be used to cook marshmallows in my back yard with the Fellowship.
*~*~*~*-^_^-*~*~*~*
A Beautiful Mess
*~*~*~*-^_^-*~*~*~*
It wasn't dark. It wasn't raining. It wasn't some back alley in a city, or some red light district. It was the middle of the day on a Friday afternoon. There were crowds of people, walking not twenty feet from where she parked. There was no reason for Mercedes Georgia O'Connell, Meg to her friends, to doubt that she shouldn't walk to her car alone.
She had just finished her weekly grocery shopping, and was making her way to her new Jeep she had just bought. She loved it. Midnight Blue, it had a tan cloth cover for the back seats, but what with it being the middle of summer, she loved to feel the wind in her hair, and the sun on her face. Not to mention, it was far easier for her and her girlfriends to checkout cute guys that way.
She had just finished putting the last bag in the back seat when an ape- sized arm wrapped it's self around her middle and lifted her clear off the ground. It's twin's hand reached up to cover her mouth, but it was so massive it managed to cover her entire lower half of her head, from the bridge of her nose to under her jaw, and ear to ear.
Whoever it was, they were massive. Mercedes stood at an even six feet, and weighed 140 lbs dry, but it was all muscle, and she couldn't even move her head a quarter an inch. She tried to scream for help, but her throat had closed up, and only a low whisper of a moan pushed it's way through her vocal cords.
In response, the man drove her face first down the alley in front of her Jeep that she would have swore wasn't there yesterday. A dumpster that she also didn't remember blocked her from view of the parking lot to her right. There would be no help from the left, the only thing there was a garage, and it was closed this time of the week.
She knew what was going to happen. It was flashing in fifty-foot neon letters in the back of her mind. And she also knew that even though she was skilled in self-defense, and could handle a stave like a master, she was truly and royally sunk. Just as she was about to slam face first into the wall..
.She sat up strait in bed, breath coming in loud gasps, sweat covering her face, and shaking like a cube of Jello. Taking a deep breath, Mercedes reached over and turned on the light next to the bed, and took a good look at her Pooh and Friends sleepy time alarm clock. 2:51 in the morning. Nine minutes until three, and then another three and a half hours until she had to get up and get ready for work.
Leaving the light on, Mercedes slipped out of bed, care full not to wake Riley who was, as usual, sprawled across the end of her mistresses bed. At the tender age of two years old, the large German Shepherd already promised to be a monster. Her paws were nearly double the size of her palm, and she was at least 145 lbs. Fiercely loyal, she defended her with a devotion that few could match. She had already scared away two would be burglars, and one morning Mercedes found her sitting on the back porch, chewing on a tennis shoe who's tread matched those that were found under her window. The local police had yet to figure out whose shoe it was, but Mercedes was reasonably sure that they wouldn't be coming back.
Making her way into the kitchen, Mercedes flicked on one of the lights that hung over the center island and reached for her favorite mug that was hanging next to the kettle. Filling it up with water, she dropped in a tea bag and popped it in the microwave for a minute thirty. The sound must have woke Riley, because a moment later, her paws could be heard clacking on the hardwood floors that filled her entire house, save for the bathrooms and a sunken in area in front of her fire place in the bottom half of her house.
Mercedes loved her house. It sat on a hill, over looking a lake. One of her favorite things was to stand on her deck at dusk, and watch the sun sink behind the western hills. The sky would turn all different hues of reds, oranges, pinks and purples. That, and watching as thunderstorms danced there was across the lake. There were numerous shots of sunsets and lightning strikes scattered around the house.
Hearing the beep on the microwave, she grabbed her cup just as Riley made her way down the stairs and over to the couch. She was used to her mistress waking up in the middle of the night, and had become used to the routine of after nightmare let down. Depending on how bad the nightmare way, her owner could very well spend the rest of the night just sitting on the couch rather than going back to sleep. Looking over the back of the couch, she sighed. No more sleep tonight for Mercedes.
Sipping slowly, Mercedes made her way over to her weapon's case. It wasn't the normal kind of weapons you would expect to find in such a case. There were no guns, but bows, arrows, throwing knives, and a sword or two. You see, Mercedes worked at the local King Richard's fair on the weekends. She played the part of Marion, Robin of Loxley's not-so-fair maiden. A lot of people got a kick out of the fact that this Maid Marion could lay you flat on your back in ten second's flat, shoot a bow as well as her Lord, and could pin a leaf in your hand to a tree with one of her throwing knives at a hundred paces.
A lot of her friends also worked at the fair. Lyn worked as the baker's wife, and made the best bread ever. It didn't hurt that she really was the baker's wife. And no woman could asker for a better husband than Edmond. Eddy for short, he looked more like a blacksmith than a baker, but Lyn loved him all the same. And then there was Anthony, who played Meg's Robin, was taller than her, and was as good a shot with the bow as her. In fact, he was the one who got her interested in the fair in the first place. They had been dating at the time, and he invited her to go. One time was all it took. She was hooked. The music teacher (violin, acoustic guitar, and piano) now spent her weekends and summers prancing around the woods in Maine in leather and homespun cloth, a quiver of arrows over her left shoulder, a sword on his right side, a bow in her hands, and various throwing knives all over. It seemed her long slender fingers could pluck more than one kind of string.
Sighing again, she walked over to her handmade bookshelves (they had been bought at the fair) and pulled out a romance novel that her friend Lyn had been trying to get her to read for ages. Something about a Viking that gets sucked through time a thousand years to the future and falls for a woman who's specially happens to be, big surprise, the Viking people. If that didn't put her out, nothing would. And who knew, maybe her next dream would be about some blond haired, blue-eyed Viking lord that would travel through time just to fall in love with her.
*~*~*~*-^_^-*~*~*~*
To her surprise, Mercedes loved the book. It was one of the funniest books she had read in a while, even if it was a romance. Some of the situations that the two main characters got themselves in were just downright ridiculous. And even though she hadn't gotten any more sleep, she felt better than she had in a while this soon after a nightmare. Looking at the clock, she let out a yelp. It was seven. She had twenty minutes to get dressed and out the door. It looked like Riley was going to the fair with her today.
"Riley, love, get off your furry butt! Come on love, we got to get going. Mom's going to be so incredibly late." Grabbing Riley's portable bowls from the hall closet, she threw them in Riley's hiking pack/harness, as well as a length of cord, her leather leash, two zip lock bags of dog food, a tennis ball, her favorite rubber water toy (there was a lake of the fair grounds that Riley loved to swim in) and last but not least, her whistle.
Racing up the stairs, Mercedes flew into the shower and jumped in while the water was still cold. Her screech was enough to convince Riley that she should get going, and the Shepherd moved off the cough and went hunting for her owner's keys. Ten minutes later, sitting by the front door, keys in her mouth, she watched her mistress slid across the hardwood floor in her socks, grabbing a leather thong from the basket next to the phone, and secured her braided hair with it as she began slipping on her boots. Two minutes, one thump, three curses, and yet another sigh later, She watched as Mercedes pulled her knives, arrows, and bow out of the cabinet. Her tail began wagging in anticipation. She was ready, why did it take the pack leader so long?
"Riley, have you seen my. They're in your mouth. Have I told you lately that I love you? Come here love, let's put your bag on, then we can leave. Stand still; lift your paw, such a good girl. Let's go. Wait, need to lock the door. Kay. Now, up in the back. Sit, down, stay. Good girl. And, we're off." Mercedes said, pulling her Ford F150 truck out of her driveway and out on to the back road that would take her to the highway, and then it was a half hour drive to the fair.
*~*~*~*-^_^-*~*~*~*
"Lyn, love, can I leave Riley here till she's done eating? Then you can let her out. It's still early, she'll find her way over to me. Leave her harness on for now; I'll hide it behind WindSong's spare tack. We're gonna be doing the jumping course today. Which is good. I wouldn't want to get rusty." WindSong was Mercedes' Georgian Grand stallion. Standing at 17 hands high, and weighing in at around three fourths of a ton, he was a brute of a horse. But, even though he was so large, his saddlehorse background showed in his speed and agility. He was one of the fastest horses Mercedes had ever ridden (which was quite a few) and could go through an agility course as easy as a horse much smaller and could jump five and a half foot jumps and have inches to spare.
"Megs, of course Riley can stay here. She is always welcome. Are you sure you can't stay for a fresh roll? They'll be ready in a few minutes, and if your hair is any indication, you didn't eat breakfast this morning." Lyn said, checking one last time on the rolls that were baking in the earthen oven in the back of her and Eddy's stall.
Mercedes blushed. "Well, truth be told, I didn't get mush sleep either."
"Oh Meg, did you have another nightmare? This is what, the fifth one this month. And it's only the second week. Meg, you need to talk to someone. I don't care what you say, this many dreams, and all the same, they mean something. Something bad. You can't keep living like this. The stress is beginning to show. Even Edmund's noticed the bags under your eyes, and you know how observant he his." A soft 'hey' drifted to their ears from somewhere in the back. Edmund, who had been chopping wood for the stove came in front, patted Riley on the head, kissed his wife on the cheek, and gave Meg a hug.
"Hate to say it Meg, but Lyn's right. You could fit the whole of Maine in those things. Yeouch. What? It's true." Lyn and Mercedes just shook their heads and laughed while Edmund rubbed the back of his head where Lyn had whapped him with her wooden spoon.
"I'd love to say, but I can't. I'm late as it is, and if I don't start tacking WindSong now, I'll never finish in time. Just stick some rolls in a cloth where Riley's food was, and I'll eat them when she gets to the stalls."
"You'd better, of I'll sick Emma on you." Lyn threatened. Emma was her and Eddy's six-year-old daughter. She had been staying with her grandparents for the past two weeks.
"She's back? When did she get in? Who picked her up? How is the little spore?"
"Hey, I'm the only one who can call her names." Lyn joked." Mom and dad are bringing her. Their plane lands sometime around noon, and then it's a two- hour drive to the fair, and then I can see my baby girl. She's gonna be all dresses up to, just like a baker's daughter. Mom and dad to. They're taking over for Grace and Ben at the woodcarving shop for the rest of today. Oh boy, there's Tony. He must be looking for you. Quick, out the back. Cut across the gypsy platform, it'll get you to the back door of the barn that much faster." Smiling, Mercedes gave Lyn one last hug, and ducked between the oven and shelves, and took off toward the stables.
*~*~*~*-^_^-*~*~*~*
It was the end of the day. Mercedes, Anthony, Lyn, Edmund, Rory, one of the gypsy dancers, Becca, who worked as a barmaid in the tavern and Laurie, who was currently engaged to Anthony, and ran the petting zoo, were gathered in the stable. They were some off the last people still at the fair. It was late, and everyone was tired.
"Are you sure about taking the week off Meg? I don't like the though of you being locked up in your house all alone."
"Don't worry Lyn, I'm gonna be fine. Me, Riley and WindSong are gonna spend some time together. There is still so much of my land that I haven't explored, and I have the satellite tracking device and emergency beacon if anything goes wrong." She replied, slowly backing up the ramp of the horse trailer that was attached to the back of her truck. It was large enough to hold four horses, though only WindSong was going in it. It was primarily used to carry her and her friend's horses when they went on one of their trips. Securing WindSong to the side of the trailer, she fluffed the hay in the net by his head.
"The question is, are you gonna remember to take it?" Becca teased, reminding them of the time Mercedes forgot to bring her house keys when she left for an overnight trip. When she came back the next day, she was locked out, and anyone who had spare keys was out of state. She had to wait till the next day for someone to come home.
"Yes, I promise, as soon as I get home, I'm sticking the thing in WindSong's new saddlebags, which I love. Not to mention Riley's new collar. Her old one was ready to go to that big leather house in the sky. I need to thank Charlie and Rick for both things next time I see them. I love them. And I love how they wrote me and WindSong's name in Elvish script on the bags, and Riley's on her collar. Who cares if no one but us can read it. Tolkien knew what he was doing when he wrote the story of Middle Earth."
"Have you even read any of the books I bought for you?" Anthony asked, lifting the last box of supplies into the bed of her truck. He laughed as Mercedes blushed and mumbled something about not having enough time. "Well, you're gonna have a week and a half off, counting weekends, read them now."
"We'll see. At least I've seen the movie, doesn't that count?" She asked, already knowing the answer to that question. She had asked it every time this subject came up.
"No," Was Lyn, Anthony, Becca, and Edmund all dead paned. They, unlike Mercedes had read the books, and they knew there were great differences between the two.
Mercedes laughed. "All right I'm off. See you all in ten or so days" and with a whistle for Riley, Mercedes closed the horse trailer door closed secured it, opened the cab door, waited till Riley got in, pushed her over, and started the truck. With one final wave, she pulled off the fair grounds and drove toward home.