Title: And the World Turned
Author: Angel LeeAnn
Rating: PG-13
Summary: A day of fun turns into a world of nightmares.
Disclaimer: Can I please, please, please have them? Please?
NOTE: I know, I know, how dare I start yet another story when I still have Resisting Danger and Remember You to finish. What can I say? I'm obsessed! Please understand that with three ongoing TLW stories (not too mention two X-men fics) that updates are going to be sporadic and –usually – far apart. SORRY!
Chapter One
Games
Sweat glistened off his bare back, rolling and disappearing behind the waistband of his beige trousers. The sweltering heat only heightened the reek of the manure he was burying in pits under the garden. A Heaven-scent breeze drifted past him and he closed his eyes, sighing with relief (even though the wind brushed the stench into his face and assaulted his nose). A canteen was thrust against his chest, his eyes immediately flying open to find a smirking heiress.
"You should be the damned one doing this," he sneered, snatching the offered canteen from her slender fingers. He took a long gulp of the water, wincing when – instead of being refreshing – the warm water scorched his dry throat. He screwed the lid back on, glaring at it disdainfully before tossing it aside. He shielded his eyes as he scowled up at the glaring sun. "It's too damn bloody hot. And it's you," he peered down at her, "who ruined the crop to begin with. And it's you who came up with this blasted idea of putting shit in the damn garden."
She was not intimidated. In fact, she smiled coyly, coming to stand inches in front of him. "My, my, my," she teased. "Such hostility from a supposed gentleman. And a noble knight such as yourself," she dragged a nail down his chest, "couldn't possibly expect a weary lady to do something so foul."
"That is true, but I fear that there is one fact you overlooked: you, Marguerite, are no lady." He grinned smugly, and then pushed the shovel at her. "Be my guest, Miss Krux."
Marguerite snubbed her nose at the offensive tool. "I will do no such thing."
"What? Afraid you might get dirty?" Roxton gave his Cheshire grin and then scooped up a pile of the T-rex manure only to chuck it at the unsuspecting woman.
Marguerite gasped, mortified and utterly shocked. "You bastard," she snarled. And then wrinkled her nose as the revolting aroma reached her senses. Her eyes watered and she gagged. "Damn you, Lord John Roxton," she choked.
He chuckled as he took off, sprinting towards the dense tree line. Marguerite gave chase, racing after the intolerable hunter. "You can't run forever, John," she screamed, leaping over a fallen branch.
"I can run much further than you," he called back. He led her to the river's edge and then stopped, breathing heavily as he wiped the moisture off his brow. "It's too hot of a day to be playing these games, Marguerite."
"Then maybe you shouldn't have messed with me," she retorted, finally catching up to him. Yet, instead of slowing down, she pressed on, slamming her side into him with full force, knocking him off balance. He flailed his arms as he lost his footing and tumbled backward. Instinctively, he latched onto her and they both toppled over into the water with a large splash in a tangle of limbs.
Marguerite kicked away from him and then burst out of the water, gasping for air. She looked around her, the sun's rays reflecting off the tranquil water, nearly blinding her. Her partner in crime was nowhere in sight. She sighed and folded her arms stiffly over her modest chest, her eyebrow quirked up in her usual look of superiority. "Anytime now, Roxton."
Seconds ticked by and she swallowed nervously, her arms falling to her sides as she scanned the river and banks. Where could he be? "Roxton," she ordered. "We've got to get back. Come on, enough goofing around. A jester's hat doesn't suit you."
Panic began to rise, but she held it in check. "Fine. I'm leaving without you. If I get eaten by a dinosaur on the way back then we all know who to blame." She waded toward the side, determined to march off when something in the corner of her eye caught her attention.
Marguerite whirled around and gasped. Roxton was floating facedown in the water three yards away. The dark haired woman fought against the current, desperate to reach his side. No, her mind pleaded. No, don't do this. You can't do this. She grasped onto his arm and rolled him over. His head fell back.
"John," she whispered, frightened. Had he hit his head on a rock? They weren't in the shallowest part of the river, but the water level wasn't that deep either. It only came to her waist. Had her body weight crashed into him harder than she thought?
She shook him, wrapping an arm under his neck, keeping his head from disappearing beneath the water. "John," she cried out. "John!"
The only response she received was the roar of a Tyrannosaurus-Rex.
End Chapter One