Sorry for this taking so long guys, I had a lot to do. For a few chapters now you will hear about Ann so please be patient. This chapter is really long though so sorry about that, please read and review, enjoy!

Chapter 17: Ann's story

Dante's P.O.V

The rocking of the boat seized after one last lurch of the boat which made Dante feel his stomach was going to come out of his mouth and spill all over the deck. Dante was grateful that both Aqua and Bold did not mind boats and that they were not going to vomit in his cap. Dante went and got Night out of the stables, the stallion frisked and danced about, he was eager for a run. Dante felt for the animal, he also wanted to get out and run, this was going to be a vast search out here, the city was large and full of houses and people, there was also a dense forest to the north of the city and mountains surrounding the rest of it. Dante looked at the buildings and they seemed vaguely familiar, he pushed that thought to the back of his mind and began his search, Aqua said she was to the north, they had to pass through the city and possibly the mountains and forest beyond, they were going to need more provisions if the forest was as large as it was dense and if it turned into a mounted search through the mountains. The forest and mountains pricked at Dante, he did not know why but something about them set his mind in a frenzy, he concentrated on his fiancé and pushed the mountains and forest to the back of his mind

Ann's P.O.V

Ann had heard that Cliff was no longer staying at the inn; he was going to be staying at Oakhurst farm. Ann brushed her almost strawberry blonde hair as she sat in front of a dusty vanity mirror that had been in the basement of the inn; she had never used a mirror before, but she felt like doing her hair well today. She flicked her hair in front of her and started to braid it. Five minutes after beginning the braid she sat and stared in the mirror, she looked at the braid hanging over her shoulder and sighed. Ann terrorized the braid as she pulled it out and brushed through her hair again, she did not look as good with her hair in a braid. Why was she worried? Why did she all of a sudden care whether her hair looked good? She always did her hair this way, what did it matter now? Despite the thoughts running through her head, she could not stop herself brushing her hair so that the waves of her hair rippled down her back. Ann brushed through her fringe and curled it so that it sat nicely above her eyebrows, she looked in the mirror and was satisfied with how it looked, her hair done that way made her look older, if slightly, and more mature.

Ann looked through the draws of the old vanity mirror set; she believed it was her mothers before she died. Ann found some lip gloss and some eye shadow along with a bag of makeup. Ann applied the lip-gloss and then put on some soft green eye shadow to bring out the blue in her eyes. She also applied soft pink blush and again looked in the mirror. She was pleased with the result, she had brought out the blue in her eyes and her hair rippling down her back looked a lot like a model style hair; she was sure she could get on television with. She stood up and realized the dust covering her blue overalls and yellow T-shirt. Ann didn't even bother to try getting off the dust, this was the perfect opportunity to change her clothes to more girly clothing, and as for the rest of her changes she had no idea how she was going to pull off an excuse for that. She put on a pair of dark blue sandy jeans and a light yellow top similar to the ones she wore with her overalls all the time. This top was kind of different though, this top showed off her midriff and her rather skinny figure. Being the daughter of an innkeeper she had learnt to cook and she had enough weight not to be scrawny, but nowhere near enough weight to be chubby, she was just the right size in her opinion.

Ann had prepared a dish for Cliff; he would get hungry on the farm working to look after Dante's animals. She grabbed the plate and stuck her head through the door out of her room; her father was on the phone bartering with a salesman that was going to supply him with more ale. Ann took the opportunity to dash out of the inn and into the street, she was sure she could have walked right past her father and he would not have noticed, but she had to be sure, being caught like this would be so embarrassing because her father would know she had a thing for Cliff for sure. WHAT? She had never admitted that to herself before, she didn't like him, did she? Sure she was getting a little excited this morning with makeup and her hair, and sure her stomach did summersaults and other acrobatics when he smiled at her, but she didn't like him, not like that. She pushed the thought right to the back of her mind and kept her eyes on the signs that would lead her to the farm.

On the way she passed Yodel Ranch and Barley and May called out to her to come and have some morning tea with them. Ann went into the yard where all the sheep and cows were kept and found a full grown chocolate colored horse, the animal moved around the stake it was tied to and kicked and neighed loudly. Ann realized that the horse was not exactly tame, it needed more room and an owner that could devote some time to taking care of it, for some reason she had an idea of where it should go, but before the idea formed completely Barley came up and began to talk with her.

"Hello there Ann, admiring the horse there are we, well you need not take it into your head that this one is a calm horse, it is pre-owned and has gone almost wild with hate, it was left here by that Dan fellow, can't see why the man would leave such a magnificent horse behind but he did, guess it would cost too much to put it on the boat with him" Said Barley in a tone that suggested he really did feel sorry for the animal, but the look on his face said it was dangerous to have the horse here with the other animals and May.

"So what are you going to do with him Barley, I can't see that you are going to keep him here; way too stressful and dangerous for May, and you are getting older Barley, you can't tame horses like you used to" said Ann calmly, why did she feel like she knew where it should go or where it should be?

"Well I was thinking along those lines, but I am by no means too old to tame this horse, I just can't, I don't have the time. This horse is not as fast as Night, not with Night being born and raised in a large farm, this horse does not appear to have been raised like Night, but he is, like Night, a horse that could pull a cart should the need arise, strong this one, but like I said before, not as strong as Night" Said barley sounding rather pleased with himself that the horse he had given to Dante had grown and raced so well, no doubt Barley took some of the credit for the horse being such a good one. At the mention of Night a light bulb went off in Ann's head, of course! Dante's farm would be a great place to take this horse, Cliff could raise it while Dante was gone, Ann knew he loved animals, especially horses, and Cliff would jump at the idea of helping a horse in need.

"Barley, why not give the horse to Cliff, Dante's farm is the perfect place to treat this horse, there aren't any animals in the paddocks after noon and there are no little children to worry about, Cliff can also keep the horse there, I heard Dante has more room in those stables" Ann said sweetly, she flushed when Barley looked at her like he could see through her words, why she really wanted to give the horse to Cliff, but she kept a straight face and waited for his reply.

"A wonderful idea, I'll get Cliff on the phone now and he can come get the horse, he can name him as well" Said Barley.

"Wait! No need to take him away from his duties, I'll take the horse over to the farm, it's only another ranch away and I can handle most animals, you know that Barley" Said Ann quite sternly, she was glad she did not blush this time though.

Barley fretted for a while but gave her way soon enough. Ann left Cliff's breakfast with Barley, she could make more when she got there. She walked the animal by the reigns, she did not touch its nose or its back, it was obviously very confused and hurt and did not need her trying to comfort it in between owners. The animal only looked back at her when she looked at it, meeting her stare for stare, she didn't pull her eyes away until the horse did, she felt a little self-satisfied for that. Ann rounded the corner of the gate and walked into Oakhurst farm.

Ann's heart jumped into her throat and her stomach tied itself in knots while her eyes bulged in her head, she must have looked similar to a frog. She was looking at Cliff shearing a sheep, he had jeans on but wasn't wearing a shirt; showing muscles he had worked at the orchard, showing now tanned skin and brown locks sliding down his back. He was sweating too and hadn't noticed her, good thing too, she looked ridiculous, but she couldn't pull her eyes away from those gorgeous shoulders and that hair; she wanted to wrap her fingers through some of those lose curls. She dragged her mind from some of the other things she also wanted to do. Cliff's hair was tied in a ponytail and the ends of his dark brown hair were lose wavy curls, no doubt if he turned around she would see his fringe was parted and hanging in front of his face. It gave him a handsome and cunning look, she absolutely loved it!

Cliff suddenly stirred and Ann put on her sweetest smile, it was hard trying not to let her heart jump out of her mouth, no man should have this kind of power over a woman! Cliff rose from the sheep he had sheared and suddenly there appeared two little elf-like creatures from a small house, they took the sheep into the barn and were bringing another out while a few more took the wool; to be processed into a ball of yarn most likely. If Ann were still a child she would have believed she had seen the Harvest Sprites, but maybe it had been her imagination, she closed and opened her eyes but they were still there. Upon opening her eyes she realized Cliff was standing over her smiling and telling her good morning, she looked up into those chocolaty eyes and tried hard not to let her knees fail her. He was a lot taller than her, he was tall, she estimated he was about 5"9 too about 6"2, whereas she was 5"3, she didn't care though, she craned her neck back and loved those eyes looking down at her. She hadn't really registered what Cliff had been saying, she was too busy admiring his eyes, but he didn't seem to mind, he just stood there waiting for a reply.

"Huh? Sorry Cliff, kinda spaced out there, good morning, what were you saying?" She said sheepishly, she sounded so foolish!

"Good morning...again…I asked what you were doing here, and what was with the horse?" He said between laughter.

"Oh…um….I ah….that is I am……umm" She just couldn't spit it out, he was looking at her with those eyes grinning his arse off!

"Settle down, no rush, are you alright, you look kinda flushed, I think you should sit down." He started that sentence with a big grin showing pearls of white moon drops for teeth, but by the time he finished he looked worried, she wasn't flushed however; she was blushing! She just couldn't do it, this was getting ridiculous!

"I'm fine…. I'm just a little tired that's all. Barley gave me this horse to bring to you, he had it at the ranch and it was unsafe for Barley and May as it isn't really tame so I suggested that you take care of it if you don't mind until Dante gets back" She spat out in a rush, there were absolutely no breaks what so ever, this was really bad!

"Um, right, well thanks, I'll take him from here then" Cliff took the reigns and walked the horse to the stable, the stallion seemed to settle at the very touch of Cliff's hand on it's nose, maybe Ann had done the right thing, even if it was just so that she could see Cliff.

Cliff returned from the stable surprised that she was still there, he looked her up and down this time though, and he seemed to be admiring what he was seeing too. Ann couldn't care less; she had done this for him he might as well see. Cliff went inside for a minute and she thought he was going to ignore her; she turned and began to walk back to the inn. Soon she heard the sound of running, she turned and realized Cliff had caught up to her, he had a shirt on this time though, not so intimidating.

"I was going to ask to walk you home, but when I came out from getting a shirt on you weren't there, do you mind if I walk you home?" He sounded almost embarrassed but it did not affect Ann's ears.

"Not at all" She managed to say without showing too much of her excitement. The walked off together and chatted as they went.

Hope you guys don't mind what i've done with the story now, better read and review chapter 18 as well for me, thanks guys.