A/N: I know it has been like FOREVER since the last time I updated, but I
was so caught up with school and such, that I have had absolutely NO time!
And now, its even worse because am on the basketball team, but I will try
to squeeze in some time for my beloved readers at FF.Net. So, without
further ado (except maybe the disclaimer) I give you, Chapter 5 of Cat's
Story, enjoy!
Disclaimer: Not mine, 'Nuff said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cat's Story
Chapter 5- Going Home
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cat woke up to the gentle Irish brogue of her cousin Meg. "Cat aroon, you have to get up now, you've a long journey ahead of you."
Slowly rising from the comfortable bed, Cat quickly dressed in the slightly rumpled dress from yesterday. Smoothing it down, she quickly pinned up her hair in a simple, yet elegant twist. She added a final pin, and went to eat breakfast. As soon as she opened the door, Cat was met with the enticing aroma of cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. Meg met her halfway, carrying a tray full of the delicious looking breakfast.
"Oh, Cat dear, I didn't expect you for another few minutes yet. I was going to bring these to your room," Meg stated.
"There was no need for that Meg darling, I'm not anyone special," Cat smiled sweetly. "Here, let me take those from you. Let's go eat with the boys."
Meg and Cat made their way to the small kitchen. A fire was burning merrily in the stove, and Kane and Seamus were already seated at the large table that took up about half of the kitchen. Cat set the tray down on the countertop, and taking a roll of the stack, joined the other three. The conversation went from little things like the weather, to finally Cat's leaving. There was an uncomfortable silence as the all remembered why she was leaving so early in the first place. Seamus just stared down at his plate. They all knew that they owed Cat a great debt, but no one really wanted to talk about it. So, to break the silence, Meg asked, "So, Cat, how is your ankle?"
"A little better," was her hesitant reply.
"Well then, maybe Seamus ought to come with you, just in case."
"Alright then. I'm finished, when are we leaving?" Cat said hastily.
Cat blushed profusely at her last comment. 'I hope I didn't sound too eager,' she thought, embarrassed. 'This should prove to be interesting.'
Soon after breakfast, the horses were ready, and so were the two travelers. After a sad goodbye, and many promises of return, they were finally off, Cat riding Flash, and Seamus on his horse, Ebony, a black stallion. After about an hour of comfortable silence, they were crossing through a patch of woods. "Why don't we stop for lunch here?" proposed Cat.
"Didn't we just eat breakfast?" replied Seamus.
"About two hours ago, and this is a gorgeous place, look at that little stream, its absolutely darling!"
"Women," muttered Seamus under his breath as they spread a blanket out on the moss covered ground next to the bubbling stream.
Lunch only consisted of a loaf of bread, a large hunk of cheese, and two small cakes. They ate the food ravenously, despite the fact that they HAD just eaten, as Seamus said. After the food was gone, Seamus and Cat sat there, just admiring the serene beauty of the woods. "Cat, can I ask you a question?" asked Seamus.
"You just did," Cat replied playfully.
"Ok, how did you end up in Barton in the first place? It's not like you would just decide to trot off for sixty miles."
"Well, its kind of a long story, but we've got time, let's get this cleaned up and I will tell you all about it."
So, as promised, as soon as the mess they made was all clear, Cat started her story, beginning with how she met Eli in the first place, all the way up to when she met Seamus. Seamus, being the good guy he is, listened without interrupting, and only frowning once, at the mention of Eli's father.
"Nelson, you say?" Seamus asked when she was finished.
"Yes, of Edensville, why do you ask?"
"I grew up in Edensville, until I was about seven years old. William Nelson was the landlord then too. That was shortly after the Famine, and there still wasn't much to go around. My father was a tenant farmer, and didn't get paid much money. One day, after not paying the rent, my father was arrested, and we were evicted. It was a horrible experience. They told us that we had fifteen minutes to get all of our belongings out, and fifteen minutes was very gracious to the brutes. We made out with most of our belongings, but once outside, we had to watch the bloody English soldiers burn down our house. And Nelson sat there watching with us, the evil creature, with a smile on his face. A bloody SMILE! Here was my mother, crying her poor eyes out, and Nelson standing here smiling! Ugh! I hate him!" By now, there were tears streaming down Seamus's face. Cat just sat there, astonished that Eli's father could do such a thing. 'What kind of family would I be marrying into?' thought Cat, then 'Poor Seamus, I bet he has been bottling up those feelings for so long.'
"There, there. It's alright now. You and your brother have a nice little cottage in Barton, and no one is going to take it away from you. They would have to go through me first," she said, stroking Seamus's back.
"When the soldiers came into the cottage last night, I was so scared. I thought, 'Oh no, not again, anything but this.' But then, you came to the rescue. I am so grateful to you, you just cant believe." Seamus leaned on Cat, as his tears slowly stopped. With a final shuddering breath, he wiped his eyes on his shirt, and looked into Cat's mesmerizing green eyes. Cat caught his stare, and returned it, amazed that his midnight blue orbs could hold so much intensity, so much feeling. He leaned in, and Cat followed his example, until the small space between them was filled. Her lips touched his, and an electricity shot through the both of them. Cat snaked her arms around his neck, so he couldn't pull away until she was ready to. She deepened the kiss, and felt Seamus respond immediately. Then, suddenly, Cat pulled away from the embrace. "I'm so sorry," she muttered, then hobbled as quickly as she could to her horse, hopped on with ease, and galloped away as fast as her horse could take her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Haha, aren't I evil? But I was positively DYING to get that one out. Sorry it took so long, I bet you all thought I had died, didn't you? Anyway, here's to my faithful reviewers.. THANKS A BUNDLE TO:
queenofdiamonds1 GonewiththewindGurl Kitten4 Cheergoddess And, last, but not least, kryste!!!
Kudos to ya'll! Now, click on the button, go ahead, you know you want to...
Disclaimer: Not mine, 'Nuff said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cat's Story
Chapter 5- Going Home
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cat woke up to the gentle Irish brogue of her cousin Meg. "Cat aroon, you have to get up now, you've a long journey ahead of you."
Slowly rising from the comfortable bed, Cat quickly dressed in the slightly rumpled dress from yesterday. Smoothing it down, she quickly pinned up her hair in a simple, yet elegant twist. She added a final pin, and went to eat breakfast. As soon as she opened the door, Cat was met with the enticing aroma of cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. Meg met her halfway, carrying a tray full of the delicious looking breakfast.
"Oh, Cat dear, I didn't expect you for another few minutes yet. I was going to bring these to your room," Meg stated.
"There was no need for that Meg darling, I'm not anyone special," Cat smiled sweetly. "Here, let me take those from you. Let's go eat with the boys."
Meg and Cat made their way to the small kitchen. A fire was burning merrily in the stove, and Kane and Seamus were already seated at the large table that took up about half of the kitchen. Cat set the tray down on the countertop, and taking a roll of the stack, joined the other three. The conversation went from little things like the weather, to finally Cat's leaving. There was an uncomfortable silence as the all remembered why she was leaving so early in the first place. Seamus just stared down at his plate. They all knew that they owed Cat a great debt, but no one really wanted to talk about it. So, to break the silence, Meg asked, "So, Cat, how is your ankle?"
"A little better," was her hesitant reply.
"Well then, maybe Seamus ought to come with you, just in case."
"Alright then. I'm finished, when are we leaving?" Cat said hastily.
Cat blushed profusely at her last comment. 'I hope I didn't sound too eager,' she thought, embarrassed. 'This should prove to be interesting.'
Soon after breakfast, the horses were ready, and so were the two travelers. After a sad goodbye, and many promises of return, they were finally off, Cat riding Flash, and Seamus on his horse, Ebony, a black stallion. After about an hour of comfortable silence, they were crossing through a patch of woods. "Why don't we stop for lunch here?" proposed Cat.
"Didn't we just eat breakfast?" replied Seamus.
"About two hours ago, and this is a gorgeous place, look at that little stream, its absolutely darling!"
"Women," muttered Seamus under his breath as they spread a blanket out on the moss covered ground next to the bubbling stream.
Lunch only consisted of a loaf of bread, a large hunk of cheese, and two small cakes. They ate the food ravenously, despite the fact that they HAD just eaten, as Seamus said. After the food was gone, Seamus and Cat sat there, just admiring the serene beauty of the woods. "Cat, can I ask you a question?" asked Seamus.
"You just did," Cat replied playfully.
"Ok, how did you end up in Barton in the first place? It's not like you would just decide to trot off for sixty miles."
"Well, its kind of a long story, but we've got time, let's get this cleaned up and I will tell you all about it."
So, as promised, as soon as the mess they made was all clear, Cat started her story, beginning with how she met Eli in the first place, all the way up to when she met Seamus. Seamus, being the good guy he is, listened without interrupting, and only frowning once, at the mention of Eli's father.
"Nelson, you say?" Seamus asked when she was finished.
"Yes, of Edensville, why do you ask?"
"I grew up in Edensville, until I was about seven years old. William Nelson was the landlord then too. That was shortly after the Famine, and there still wasn't much to go around. My father was a tenant farmer, and didn't get paid much money. One day, after not paying the rent, my father was arrested, and we were evicted. It was a horrible experience. They told us that we had fifteen minutes to get all of our belongings out, and fifteen minutes was very gracious to the brutes. We made out with most of our belongings, but once outside, we had to watch the bloody English soldiers burn down our house. And Nelson sat there watching with us, the evil creature, with a smile on his face. A bloody SMILE! Here was my mother, crying her poor eyes out, and Nelson standing here smiling! Ugh! I hate him!" By now, there were tears streaming down Seamus's face. Cat just sat there, astonished that Eli's father could do such a thing. 'What kind of family would I be marrying into?' thought Cat, then 'Poor Seamus, I bet he has been bottling up those feelings for so long.'
"There, there. It's alright now. You and your brother have a nice little cottage in Barton, and no one is going to take it away from you. They would have to go through me first," she said, stroking Seamus's back.
"When the soldiers came into the cottage last night, I was so scared. I thought, 'Oh no, not again, anything but this.' But then, you came to the rescue. I am so grateful to you, you just cant believe." Seamus leaned on Cat, as his tears slowly stopped. With a final shuddering breath, he wiped his eyes on his shirt, and looked into Cat's mesmerizing green eyes. Cat caught his stare, and returned it, amazed that his midnight blue orbs could hold so much intensity, so much feeling. He leaned in, and Cat followed his example, until the small space between them was filled. Her lips touched his, and an electricity shot through the both of them. Cat snaked her arms around his neck, so he couldn't pull away until she was ready to. She deepened the kiss, and felt Seamus respond immediately. Then, suddenly, Cat pulled away from the embrace. "I'm so sorry," she muttered, then hobbled as quickly as she could to her horse, hopped on with ease, and galloped away as fast as her horse could take her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Haha, aren't I evil? But I was positively DYING to get that one out. Sorry it took so long, I bet you all thought I had died, didn't you? Anyway, here's to my faithful reviewers.. THANKS A BUNDLE TO:
queenofdiamonds1 GonewiththewindGurl Kitten4 Cheergoddess And, last, but not least, kryste!!!
Kudos to ya'll! Now, click on the button, go ahead, you know you want to...