Chapter#4. Oops, I Did It Again.
Quatre had kept riding until it got much later. The sun had even retired for dusk. Behind him his unknown passenger had fallen asleep, leaning against his shoulder in bleary semi-conscious. But Quatre wasn't worried. He knew two things: 1. That he couldn't bring back his passenger to the mansion for fear of them being targeted 2. That he had a cabin out here they could stay in until they got everything sorted out.
Taking a fairly hidden trail from the beach, he rode up to a small log cabin and carefully climbed off, picking up the now apparently female passenger of his around the waist and setting her on the ground.
As she fought to stand up, still being half asleep, her head happened to loll back, making her hood fall off. Long streamers of silvery blond hair rolled down her shoulders and to her side as she collapsed against the horse, her eyes still closed.
Quatre had seemed to go into shock for the first few minutes as he realized who it was, but woke up in time to catch her before she fell into a distinctly smelly pile of hay. With a sigh he carried her into the cabin before returning to lead Sandy to the stable and brush her down.
When he returned to the cabin he still had to deal with the problem of her being asleep, which he immediately remedied by tossing a glass of water on her face. He smelled like horse and she probably wouldn't have liked him patting her face, he justified.
Dorothy gasped as she sat up straight from where she'd been laid, the hems of her dress ragged and stained.
"Quatre?!" She gasped out, "what are you doing here?!"
"I should ask the same thing of you," he said flatly.
Suddenly her eyes went wide as it all came back to her, making her groan into the pillow, "so.you saved me."
"Yes, and now I'd like to know why I had the misfortune of helping you out," he stated pointedly.
For once Dorothy, the woman who knew it all, was speechless. Finally she managed out, with a grimace, " 'Frost's Wings' society took acception to me divulging their secrets, now they want to get rid of the problem-Me. I'll have to leave town for a while," she stood up woozily, like a drunken sailor, before almost falling to the floor. Quatre managed to catch her in time and set her back on the couch, " thank you."
"I have a place where you could go," Quatre offered.
Dorothy hesitated for a few seconds before finally agreeing, "..okay, where is it exactly?"
"All I can say is wear your snow suit," Quatre pulled out the cell phone that was always with him, "Hello Fredrick? Yes, I was wondering if you could set a shuttle flight for my Barmache Cabin for tomorrow. Yes, I know storm season is coming up there, I'll be going anyway. I have to drop off a friend, her mother is ill and my friend has been working here in L2. Thanks Fredrick."
As Quatre hung up Dorothy stated plainly her dislike of the situation, "do you have to come with me? I can take care of my own business transactions, you know."
"Yes, but this transaction has gotten way out of control. Besides, I'm know for seeing to all my friends personally. It would be out of character for me to just send you on your merry way, then they would really suspect something," Quatre had her bested and she knew it. He didn't doubt that she knew that he knew that she knew it. Their relationship had always been a complicated one.
"All right," she finally conceded as she nodded sharply, "when will we leave?"
"We'll have to ride to the helicopter pad and then take it to the shuttle. One of the Mogwanacs will be there and will make sure to take Sandy back for me," Quatre chose to ignore Dorothy's startled reaction at the new, decisive him, which immediately took charge.
Soon enough night fell and they each retired to separate rooms of the luxuriant cabin. The next morning they confronted each other in the cabin's single bathroom.
"You know I really don't need your help," Dorothy stated firmly as she brushed out her hair with a borrowed brush.
"Really?" Quatre was shaving his three quarter shadow with an electric razor, "you mean I didn't have to save you from two men with guns? I'm sorry for not realizing that you could stab them to death with seashells." He turned away and picked up his denim jacket which had been laying on the counter.
"Quatre," Dorothy finally said, coolly exasperated, "would you care to tell me what it going on? Normally I am the one testing the powers' patience and you're calming the waters with peace. What is wrong?"
Quatre glanced at her for a few seconds before saying quickly, perhaps too quickly, "it's nothing. Just Stress is all."
"It's more than just stress," Dorothy silently vowed, then and there, that she would find out what was wrong, even if it killed her.
Quatre had kept riding until it got much later. The sun had even retired for dusk. Behind him his unknown passenger had fallen asleep, leaning against his shoulder in bleary semi-conscious. But Quatre wasn't worried. He knew two things: 1. That he couldn't bring back his passenger to the mansion for fear of them being targeted 2. That he had a cabin out here they could stay in until they got everything sorted out.
Taking a fairly hidden trail from the beach, he rode up to a small log cabin and carefully climbed off, picking up the now apparently female passenger of his around the waist and setting her on the ground.
As she fought to stand up, still being half asleep, her head happened to loll back, making her hood fall off. Long streamers of silvery blond hair rolled down her shoulders and to her side as she collapsed against the horse, her eyes still closed.
Quatre had seemed to go into shock for the first few minutes as he realized who it was, but woke up in time to catch her before she fell into a distinctly smelly pile of hay. With a sigh he carried her into the cabin before returning to lead Sandy to the stable and brush her down.
When he returned to the cabin he still had to deal with the problem of her being asleep, which he immediately remedied by tossing a glass of water on her face. He smelled like horse and she probably wouldn't have liked him patting her face, he justified.
Dorothy gasped as she sat up straight from where she'd been laid, the hems of her dress ragged and stained.
"Quatre?!" She gasped out, "what are you doing here?!"
"I should ask the same thing of you," he said flatly.
Suddenly her eyes went wide as it all came back to her, making her groan into the pillow, "so.you saved me."
"Yes, and now I'd like to know why I had the misfortune of helping you out," he stated pointedly.
For once Dorothy, the woman who knew it all, was speechless. Finally she managed out, with a grimace, " 'Frost's Wings' society took acception to me divulging their secrets, now they want to get rid of the problem-Me. I'll have to leave town for a while," she stood up woozily, like a drunken sailor, before almost falling to the floor. Quatre managed to catch her in time and set her back on the couch, " thank you."
"I have a place where you could go," Quatre offered.
Dorothy hesitated for a few seconds before finally agreeing, "..okay, where is it exactly?"
"All I can say is wear your snow suit," Quatre pulled out the cell phone that was always with him, "Hello Fredrick? Yes, I was wondering if you could set a shuttle flight for my Barmache Cabin for tomorrow. Yes, I know storm season is coming up there, I'll be going anyway. I have to drop off a friend, her mother is ill and my friend has been working here in L2. Thanks Fredrick."
As Quatre hung up Dorothy stated plainly her dislike of the situation, "do you have to come with me? I can take care of my own business transactions, you know."
"Yes, but this transaction has gotten way out of control. Besides, I'm know for seeing to all my friends personally. It would be out of character for me to just send you on your merry way, then they would really suspect something," Quatre had her bested and she knew it. He didn't doubt that she knew that he knew that she knew it. Their relationship had always been a complicated one.
"All right," she finally conceded as she nodded sharply, "when will we leave?"
"We'll have to ride to the helicopter pad and then take it to the shuttle. One of the Mogwanacs will be there and will make sure to take Sandy back for me," Quatre chose to ignore Dorothy's startled reaction at the new, decisive him, which immediately took charge.
Soon enough night fell and they each retired to separate rooms of the luxuriant cabin. The next morning they confronted each other in the cabin's single bathroom.
"You know I really don't need your help," Dorothy stated firmly as she brushed out her hair with a borrowed brush.
"Really?" Quatre was shaving his three quarter shadow with an electric razor, "you mean I didn't have to save you from two men with guns? I'm sorry for not realizing that you could stab them to death with seashells." He turned away and picked up his denim jacket which had been laying on the counter.
"Quatre," Dorothy finally said, coolly exasperated, "would you care to tell me what it going on? Normally I am the one testing the powers' patience and you're calming the waters with peace. What is wrong?"
Quatre glanced at her for a few seconds before saying quickly, perhaps too quickly, "it's nothing. Just Stress is all."
"It's more than just stress," Dorothy silently vowed, then and there, that she would find out what was wrong, even if it killed her.