Okay, don't own LK. Never have or will. Oh, yeah, this fic has alternating S/J POVs...
The Mystery Guest in this chapter is...
Recurring in the next chapter!
A semi-slimeball!
And James pays him!
Oh, Sarah's REALLY pissy in this chapter, so James is kinda pissy too, at least at the end...
Oh, and the stuff about taverns is actually true... I think I learned it in elementary somewhere.
We really ought to be riding more, but we're both tired. It doesn't exactly help that there's a river to be crossed. I slide off of Cesar, helping Sarah down from him. I forge the river, holding Cesar's reins.
We both make it okay, and so I tie Cesar to a tree and reach my arms out for Sarah. However, Sarah falls into the river. Fortunately, I've got her hand, but the current's really fast. I manage to pull her up, but it takes a while, and by the end, we're both wet and tired. We're both collapsed in a pile on the ground.
Sarah looks up tiredly at me.
"James, can we stop now?" Sarah pleads, exhausted.
I nod and we both stay on the ground for a while, resting. This is kind of nice.
Sarah's getting up though, muttering something about getting dry. My eyes are closing, and next thing I know, I'm waking up with a cup of water in the face. Ice cold water. I shake the water from my face almost like a wet dog. Suddenly, I am reminded of when I jumped off that boat to England. The thought brings up memories that I don't really want to remember.
"What is it, Sarah?" I snap, harder than I intended to.
I guess these memories are affecting me more than I thought. She seems a bit taken aback at my tone and I look down, kind of ashamed at my rudeness.
"Well, I just think that we ought to get to some place dry, and, no offense, of course, but you were sort of invading my space there a little, James," Sarah explains quickly.
I nod quickly, wishing to get out of this uncomfortable situation as quickly as possible. Untying Cesar, I helped her up, and getting up myself, riding off towards the horizon. However, as the sun sets, Cesar grows more tired and Sarah more hungry.
Well, we are going at a grueling pace... Hmm, I see a tavern ahead. I yank on the reins, stopping a few inches before the door. Sarah's arms grip my waist tighter, which is kind of squeezing the breath out of me. Ouch. Though, this does feel kind of nice...
Okay, James, we cannot go down that road again. Remember how badly that ended. I think all this time around her is screwing up my head. Those feelings are going to return, I just know it! Wait, how can they return if they never left?
Oh, great. I'm already confused.
"James!" Sarah shrieks.
It is then that I notice that Sarah's dangling off the horse and the owner has come out. I jump down, helping her safely reach the ground, and then carefully walk Cesar to the stables out back. When I return, I'm greeted with a slap in the face. No, I mean it literally. She's obviously upset.
My face red and stinging, I turn calmly to the owner.
"Sir, how many rooms do you have available?" I ask, ignoring Sarah ignoring me.
"One," He replies nonchalantly.
Sarah looks like she's going to explode. I'm afraid. Very afraid.
"How many beds does the room have?" I ask timidly.
He looks me straight in the eyes. I'm a little freaked out.
"One," He answers in the same relaxed tone.
I bite my lip, sneaking a glance at the enflamed Sarah standing next to me. There is no way that this will end well. At all.
"Straw mattress?"
"Feather."
Hmm, nice.
"So, are there any free spaces in any rooms?" I asked, beginning to panic a little.
There is no way I'll survive in the same room as Sarah. I mean, not just because she'll kill me, which she will, but because of all these problems. The man smiled.
"If you two want to sleep with other people, then yes," He explained, amused.
Sarah glared at him with a look that could melt glass. I gulped. Uh oh. Glancing back at Sarah, I pulled out some money.
"Uh, we'll take the free room, thank you," I said, not looking at Sarah and handing him the money.
He accepted it and led us through the tavern. Our room was at the back. As I opened the door, taking in the surroundings, I realized that this was rather nice for a tavern.
"Honeymoon suite," The man muttered.
My eyes widened. He thought that we were...? Uh oh. And then he's putting his hand on my shoulder and winking at me.
"Good luck with the little lady."
Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick or dead. But probably dead, judging by the way Sarah's looking at me.
"Better me than someone else," I muttered, trying to pacify her.
However, this almost turned out to be a greater mistake. Sarah gave me a withering stare. I winced at the intensity.
"Sarah, come on, it's not like I had much of a choice," I bemoan.
She shoots me a glare, which softens a little.
"Okay, fine, but you get the floor," She hisses.
Some animal rage takes over me, for a reason unknown to myself.
"No. I'm not going to," I retort.
Sarah's face is an expression of surprise. Before she can even speak, I interrupt.
"There's no reason why we can't share it, Sarah," I mutter violently.
She looks shocked, but I don't care. I might be in l-... No, I won't finish that sentence. Definitely no.
"It's improper," Sarah screeched.
I'm so sick of this improper stuff. Seriously. It's really annoying. So I ignore her, kicking off my shoes, taking off my socks, and going to go in the bed.
"Sarah, everything in life doesn't have to be proper or planned, or, for that matter, make sense," I snap, getting under the covers.
Sarah scowls.
"Well, I never!" She states emphatically.
I rolled my eyes, annoyed, pulling the blankets over my head.
"Well now you have!"
Sarah hmphed and reluctantly crawled in the wide bed next to me. However, she was as far away from me as was possible, leaning over the edge of the bed. I heard her furious grumbling under her breath, but could not bring myself to care.
- Loren ;
Review... And build a foundation of inspiration for the author to stand on. Because if she's unhappy, then the story will be even MORE unhappy.
Yeah, they had to share rooms... and beds, even... in taverns back in the day... with strangers, mind you. And there were actual bedbugs and the mattresses were mostly straw, unless you were loaded, and then you got feather... So, James and Sarah actually lucked out.
Sarah oughtta apologize for being so mean...