The tall Indian traveled through the night, using the moon's light to guide her, until her horse could go no further. Realizing that both she and Winter Escape needed rest, and not wanting to run the mare to death, Blue Fire reluctantly found a place to camp for a while.
She hated having to stop; the wagon tracks she was following were beginning to fade, and Robyn knew the men had at least half a day's lead on her.
"East," she muttered, trying to force herself to rest, succeeding only in staring at the fire. "All I know is that they're headed east. What is out there? Where are they taking her?" Robyn wondered, aloud.
"I will find you, my love," she swore. "If it is the last thing I do, if it takes the last beat of my heart and the last breath of air from my lungs, I will find you." That promise given, she tossed the small twig she'd used to stoke the fire into the flames, watching it slowly burn, before digging through her bag.
Pulling out some of the notes Alicia had left throughout their time together, Blue Fire found tears welling up in her eyes at the memories. A quick note left when the blonde was too tired to stay up any longer, but Blue Fire was not yet home… or a small letter placed where the Indian was sure to find it, simply stating the rancher's love… they all brought back wondrous emotions of her life with Alicia, and the love they shared.
Holding the papers close to her heart for a moment, she returned them to the bag carefully, and then stretched out on the ground to try to sleep.
Waking two hours later, just past dawn, the Indian rose and called her horse, gently asking the animal if she could carry on for another day. When Winter Escape snorted, and tossed her head, the tall woman mounted with ease, spurring her mare into a quick gallop.
After three days of following the wagon tracks, Blue Fire was frustrated to wake one morning and find they were fading. She could barely make them out, and was forced to dismount and slow her pace, in order to examine subtle clues left behind by crushed leaves and broken twigs.
Later that same day, as the sun was setting and Robyn considered stopping for the night, the tracks suddenly reappeared, clear as crystal. The Indian paused, cautious. The men were either both extremely stupid and careless, or they wanted her to find them. She was going for the latter.
That meant they knew she was there, and that worried her. She'd been planning to have the element of surprise on her side, since she didn't know the circumstances under which Alicia was being held, but now it didn't look like she even had that anymore.
Deciding this new discovery was trouble, Blue Fire began walking beside her mare, traveling until the sun rose the next day. If Jake and Brian knew she was following them, Robyn assumed they would attack her sooner or later, and more than likely at night. To hinder that threat, the tall woman only slept for a couple of hours, and only during the day.
One week into her journey, one of the daytime naps brought problems. Robyn had just fallen asleep with Winter Escape a few feet away, when the Palomino snorted, startling her mistress.
Frowning, the Indian leapt to her feet when she heard movement nearby, shouting, "Come out! Face me!"
"As you wish," chuckled Jake, stepping out from behind the bush he'd chosen for cover, hand already poised on the pistol at his hip.
"Where is Alicia?" she demanded, her temper flaring at the sight of the man she loathed.
Jake shrugged. "She's around," he smirked, enjoying taunting the Indian immensely.
Her lip turned up at him, dangerously. "If you've hurt one hair on her head, I will kill you myself, I swear it," she warned, lowly.
The man snapped his fingers, and five more men appeared, surrounding the woman, who immediately sent her mare running, out of the danger.
"Six to one," Jake clucked, "what odds. Let me caution you, savage bitch. If you fight back, you'll never see your precious Alicia alive again. That I swear to you."
With that, two of the men rushed towards her, grabbing her arms tightly. Fighting back her instincts, which told her to struggle and free herself, Blue Fire allowed her captors to carry her off, and shove her into an awaiting wagon.
"Why would you do this?" she asked Jake, who instantly backhanded her with all his strength, splitting her lip wide open.
"You don't speak until you're given permission, slave," he sneered, and Robyn glanced up at that word. "Oh, that's right; you'll be our slave until we have what we want."
Blue Fire looked indignant, and spat at the man's feet. "I am a slave to no one," she stated, receiving another hard slap.
Jake was not pleased with her response. "Then you will watch Alicia die, and she'll know you chose to sentence her to death." Seeing the utter look of terror written on the Indian's face, the smirk on his face returned. "Or, you can do as you're told," he continued, sweetly.
Robyn hung her head. "I will do as you ask, just don't hurt Alicia," she agreed, quietly.
Gripping her chin painfully hard, Jake forced her head up to meet his gaze. "You're the reason we failed in the first place," he snarled, "so you don't have no right to bargain. If I feel like killing her off, then there's nothing you can do about it, understand?
"Now, shut up, you're annoying me. Blindfold her, you idiots!" Jake ordered, and Blue Fire felt a cloth go around her eyes. She was silent the entire ride, which she guessed to last about four hours, contemplating a plan to rescue Alicia without jeopardizing the blonde's life.
She was unable to come up with anything; each scenario she chose led to the death of her love.
"Out," a voice commanded, and Robyn was dragged from the wagon. Allowing the men to lead her forward, her sensitive hearing soon picked up on the sound of a door or gate opening, and then another.
"Lock her up," was the last thing she heard, as a club to the side of her head rendered the Indian unconscious, and she fell to the floor.
"Well, well, well, boys. Looks who's awake."
Blue Fire groaned as she came to, and found herself chained to the wall. Her wrists were suspended by iron chains connected to the ceiling, and the restraints on her ankles were fastened to the side. Pulling on her bonds for a moment, she found them to be made of heavy iron, and very strong.
"Stuck now, ain't you, savage?"
"Who are you?" she asked, and a hand reached out, striking the woman hard in the stomach.
"Jake said you ain't supposed to talk," the voice reminded.
When her vision cleared, the Indian was able to examine her surroundings. She was chained inside a cell that appeared to be little more than a dungeon, with a barred gate, and thick cement walls. The room was barren, save iron rings in the center of the ceiling to transfer her chains, she assumed, so as to have access to her entire body.
All in all, it was not a comforting scene for the Indian, who remembered with a grimace the lashings she'd received a few months before, also at the hands of the white man.
A door was opened, and Blue Fire squinted for a moment when the light bombarded her eyes.
"Jake wants you all up here to take care of the blonde wench," a deep voice called, which Robyn recognized as Brian's. "Leave Matthew to give her some water; Jake wants her alive." The woman heard footsteps, and saw two silhouettes leave the room, leaving a heavy silence around her when the door slammed shut.
Her sapphire eyes widened in surprise when a young boy entered the cell, bringing her a pail of water and a ladle.
"A child?" she whispered, and the boy's head shot up to meet her stare, his brown eyes hard.
"I ain't no kid; I'm fourteen," he corrected, seriously, offering the woman the water, which she drank gratefully.
The Indian frowned. "I am sorry Jake has involved you in this," she said, honestly.
This made the boy pause. "Why do you care?" Matthew asked, brushing his shaggy blonde hair away from his face. "You don't even know me."
"That does not mean you deserve to be here," Robyn stated. "This is no place for a boy like you - why are you here?"
Matthew looked away. "Jake said he'd give me two of the lady's horses if I helped him," he admitted. "We all know the horses from Escape Ranch are 'specially good, and my ma and sister ain't doing good, and we need the horses."
Blue Fire shook her head. "He is greedy, and cares only for himself. He will give you nothing in return, Matthew."
Apparently not liking that idea, the boy turned on his heel. "You ain't supposed to be talking, anyhow. I shouldn't be talking to you, either," he added, and headed out of the cell.
"Matthew!" cried Robyn, and the boy stopped. "Thank you, for the water." He said nothing, but sat down at a table just outside the cell, and began playing cards by himself.
Chained up as she was, Blue Fire couldn't be sure, but she guessed about an hour had passed before the men returned, and she received another beating. It went on like that for many days, until the Indian lost count; the two men would come every couple of hours to beat her, leave, Matthew would bring her water, and then sneak her some of his food since Jake didn't feed her otherwise. She began to develop a slight friendship with the young boy, and had just finished listening to the child describe his mother and sister's struggle to make ends meet since his father left them, when the door opened once more.
There were three of them this time - Jake was with them. Opening the gate, he walked within a few feet of the Indian, grinning idiotically.
"You hanging in there okay?" he questioned.
"Just fine," she replied, tersely, not finding the joke at all amusing.
Jake's smile didn't falter. "And how's that dog of yours?"
"Fine," Blue Fire growled, determined not to let the man get to her. He was trying to get a response out of her, and she knew it. The Indian didn't plan on giving him the satisfaction of knowing he bothered her.
"You know, in all the years I've known Alicia, I never realized just how good of a fuck she really is," he remarked, casually.
That did it. No amount of restraint or self-control could avoid the anger that welled up within her heart, exploding from her soul in the form of a cry that bordered on a roar, as the Indian pulled against her bonds, trying hard to maul the man that would dare speak of the woman she loved in such a way.
"You bastard!" she spat, continuing her struggle until the other two men moved in beside Jake, using thick clubs on her sides until she was subdued, Jake laughing cruelly just three feet from the woman's now-exhausted body.
"This is the way slaves like you get treated when they don't behave," explained Jake, leering at the weakened body that hung before him.
Suddenly, a voice shouted, "Hey, Jake, you'd better get up here quick! You won't believe who just showed up."
The man frowned, and headed for the door. "Stay here," he told Matthew, "keep an eye on her. Don't get close to her 'less you're giving her water. I don't want to see you anywhere else, is that clear?"
"Yeah," said the boy, evenly, as Jake continued on his way out the door.
"Matthew, have you ever seen the lady Jake has here?" Blue Fire asked, when Jake had gone, and the boy glanced up at her.
"Nah," he admitted, "I ain't never seen her. I only been in here since I came."
The Indian sighed, worried about Alicia; Jake's remark hadn't helped her concern at all. "Do you think you can do me a favor?" she questioned, quietly.
Matthew frowned, and didn't answer right away. "Why? What do you want me to do?" he countered, brown eyes wary and hunting for a trap.
"Do you know where Jake is keeping the lady?"
"Yeah, why?"
Here was the real question: "Can you find a way to check on her?"
"What for?" asked the boy. "She's white, and you're an Indian."
"Jake is holding my soul," Robyn said, softly.
Matthew frowned, and interrupted her to ask, "You mean like magic or something?"
"No, Matthew, it is not magic," the woman told him. "Alicia… the lady… she is more important to me than anything else on this earth. I love her very much, and I am afraid she is hurt."
"Kinda like how I wanna help my ma and sister," the boy stated, after taking a moment to think about what Robyn had said.
The woman smiled, weakly. "Yes, kind of like that," she agreed. "I'm worried that Alicia is hurt, and that Jake has done something to her, and I would feel better if I knew she was okay. Will you check on her, Matthew?
"Do not do it if you think you'll be caught," she added, quickly. "I don't want you to be in trouble."
Matthew grinned, proudly. "If'n I don't wanna be seen, can't nobody find me," the boy boasted. When the tall woman began coughing due to a dry throat, he rushed to bring her the pail of water, carefully helping her drink.
"I'll go next time they come in, that way they shouldn't be here again for a while," he promised. "An' if they ask where I'm at, you tell 'em I just went to get some more water."
Blue Fire looked a little more relaxed. "Thank you, Matthew," she whispered, sincerely.
The boy simply nodded, and exited the cell, returning to his seat only minutes before the same three men walked through the door.
Without a word of warning, or a single cruel taunt, Jake opened the gate, and led the others right to her, unleashing an angry fury of fists and an occasional club on various parts of the woman's body.
"Move her," the man commanded, and Blue Fire was vaguely aware of her chains being released through the fog in her mind, and then heard the click as she was once again enchained, this time in the center of the room. Snapping his fingers, Jake watched his men go to work on the woman again, stopping them only when she didn't have the strength to lift her head from her chest.
"Good news, savage," sneered Jake, grabbing a fistful of jet-black hair, forcing cloudy blue eyes to focus on him. "Sounds like my gorgeous blonde friend may be pregnant. I'm gonna be a daddy, what do you think of that?"
Robyn knew if she had the energy, she'd have been sick, but instead she groaned and was glad when Jake released his grip, leaving the bloodied and heartbroken Indian alone in her cell as he walked away.
Although wishes for death ran through her mind, Blue Fire was grateful when Matthew dutifully brought her water, which she took a single sip of, and then refused anymore. She had failed Alicia terribly, and now the woman was pregnant - the Indian's only desire was to go to sleep and never wake up again.
"Hey," Matthew called, softly breaking into her grim thoughts, "I'm gonna go see to the lady, now; if'n you still want me to."
Blue Fire sighed, but gathered enough strength to nod. "Matthew," she said quickly, before he left, "be careful, and thank you again." Smiling a little, proud to have a mission, the young teen went on his way, creeping through the hall.
After what seemed like an hour, but was really only twenty minutes, the door opened, and Blue Fire held her breath as she had at every noise, hoping the boy hadn't been caught.
To her relief, Matthew was alone, with a triumphant grin on his face as he approached her.
"I did it," he said, and the Indian nodded.
"Did you see her? How is she? Is she okay? Is she hurt?" Robyn asked, the concern back full force.
Matthew's response was gentle. "Yeah, I seen her. She's real pretty looking, too. Got a bruise on her cheek, but other than that she's all right," he reported.
Then Blue Fire asked a question she wasn't sure she wanted to be answered. "Is she… is she chained, like me?"
Brown eyes grew wide. "Oh, no! She's got a bed an' food an' everything! They treating her real good. I was gonna stay longer, but I heard Jake say something about getting her to sign something or he was gonna show her something she wasn't gonna like," he explained, and the woman didn't like the way that sounded.
Sure enough, no sooner did Matthew sit down and begin another game of solitaire, but voices were heard down the hall.
"Keep moving!" Jake growled, as the two men, along with Brian and Jacob walked ahead of the man to open the door for him.
"Nothing you could show me will make me change my mind, Jake!" cried Alicia, and Blue Fire's breath caught in her throat at the sound. "I will not give you my land, or my horses."
"So, you won't sign the deed?" he repeated, as he opened the door and motioned the woman inside.
"No, I will not sign…" The blonde's voice trailed off to a gasp when her emerald eyes took in the suspended form of her chained love. Immediately rushing towards the gate, Jake moved quickly and restrained her, gesturing to the others with him to work on the woman again.
"No!" begged Alicia, tears in her eyes as she watched the men pummel the woman with all their might, Blue Fire completely at their mercy. "No, please stop!"
Jake smiled. "Sign the deed over to me," he demanded.
"No, Alicia!" shouted Robyn, with more force than she thought she had left, and winced when the blows only increased. Her bruised body could no longer withstand the pain; mercifully, she passed out.
The rancher couldn't stand it any more. "I'll sign it! I'll sign it! Just stop hurting her," she pleaded, and the beating instantly ceased.
"Get the deed," ordered Jake, releasing Alicia, who ran to the bars, only to find the gate locked.
The blonde turned her eyes back to Jake, requesting, "Let me in there. Please, I said I'd sign it, now just let me see her."
With a sigh, Jake approached the gate and told the men inside, "Release her," while unlocking the iron barrier. As the unconscious Indian fell to the floor, Alicia rushed in, and caught her just before she hit the ground.
"Oh, Blue Fire, I'm so sorry," mumbled Alicia, tears leaving their marks on her cheeks. With an audible groan, blue eyes fluttered open, and the fallen Indian focused on the woman above her.
"Alicia…" she uttered, and the rancher's sob was unstoppable as she heard the soft, gentle, loving voice she'd missed for so long caress her senses again, although weak, tired, and broken.
"You're crying? Don't cry, my heart. Are you okay?" Robyn asked, worried.
The rancher nodded. "I'm fine, sweetheart. But, you…"
"I am all right."
"No, you're not!" countered the blonde. "I saw what they did to you; I know you're hurt, Blue Fire. Now, please, don't lie and tell me you're all right. What hurts?"
Before the Indian could respond, a pen and paper was thrust into Alicia's hands, with the demand, "Sign it, wench."
Looking it over carefully, the young blonde frowned and shook her head. "I can't sign this," she said, and Jake was quick to strike her, causing sapphire eyes to flash angrily, as an injured Indian attempted to move to defend the woman, only to have the pain overtake her.
"Leave her alone," growled Robyn, but Jake ignored her completely.
"Sign it or watch her die!" Jake's two henchmen made a move as if to grab Blue Fire, but Alicia cried out, halting them.
"No! I mean this is an old deed. It still has Matthew's name on it, so even if I signed it, it wouldn't do any good. I've been meaning to get a new one, but haven't had a reason, yet," she explained, and Jake paused, not sure what to do.
"We'll discuss this with the boss," he decided, abruptly leaving the room with his men, so the women were alone, save a young boy who was playing cards, politely trying to give them their privacy as best he could.
There was silence for a moment, as Alicia lovingly held the woman's head in her lap, stroking her long hair.
"I will get us out of here, my love," Blue Fire promised, and called for her friend. "I have a plan, Matthew, but I need your help. I think Jake will want to send someone to town to get a new deed, and he will choose you because you are not that important to him. Lauren will be the one to make the new deed.
"If you go, go to Lauren, and tell him to draw up a deed to Alicia's land that only requires her signature, but to make it false. Something small that is not very noticeable, so if they get it, they will only have a piece of paper.
"Then go to the sheriff, and tell him what is happening," she instructed. "Ask him to follow behind you until you return, when he should be hidden, and come in later. I don't believe the new sheriff will have a problem with your request. Can you do that, Matthew?"
Matthew nodded. "And then Jake will go to jail?" he questioned.
"Yes," agreed Blue Fire, "he will. So will Brian and the two men he favors using for the physical work."
The boy seemed to accept this, and said, "Well, I'll leave you both to yourselves, since I don't know when Jake'll be back in." True to his word, Matthew went back to his card game, trying to concentrate more on the cards than the soft-spoken conversation the women were sharing.
"I was worried," admitted Blue Fire, lowly. "I didn't know what Jake had done to you… it scared me."
Alicia gently kissed the woman's forehead. "All I knew was there was a gunshot before they took me; I didn't know if they'd shot you or what.
"And Jake only hit me that first week; after that, he left me alone. I didn't know you were here… I should have made the connection. He stopped taking his anger out on me, and turned it to you."
The tall woman fell silent for a time. She didn't want to ask Alicia about what Jake had said, because she didn't want the blonde to confirm it. The Indian knew if it were true, the idea that Jake had managed to give Alicia the one thing she never could would destroy her.
"Hey, are you all right?" came the concerned voice, and Robyn gave a weak smile.
"Just tired," she lied, assuring the blonde she loved. They had to discuss the dreaded topic of pregnancy at some point, but now was not the time; Robyn wasn't up to it, physically or mentally, and she knew it.
"You can rest, sweetheart. I'm not going anywhere." Closing her eyes, Blue Fire thought about how good it felt just to have the woman nearby, and swore she'd do whatever she had to, to never let them be forced apart… ever again.
Jake's conference with his men and the boss lasted for another ten minutes, before the sounds of their return alerted Robyn.
"All right, this is what we're gonna do," Jake announced. "Matthew, you'll go into town and get a guy named Lauren to make a new deed for the land, he's the only one knows how to do it. You do that, and bring it right back here. Screw up or try anything funny and it'll be your sister that pays, got it?"
Matthew agreed, and got to his feet.
"I'll go with him and make sure he does like he's told," a deep voice offered, and blue eyes shot open when the Indian recognized the voice: Jacob. "I want to speak with my niece alone for a moment. Leave us, all of you," he ordered, and they scrambled to obey, Matthew included.
"Alicia," murmured Blue Fire, upon noticing the woman had not stopped the loving caress of her hair, "it is your uncle… help me up, or he will know we are together."
The blonde shook her head. "Being away from you these past two weeks was too much, Blue Fire. All that matters to me right now is that you're here… I honestly don't care what anyone thinks, even my uncle."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," was the brave reply.
Jacob approached the two slowly, eyeing Blue Fire with caution, as she struggled to get to her feet, leaning heavily on Alicia for support.
"I might be injured, and I don't have my tomahawk, but you are not going to be off the hook, as you say. I warned you not to follow me, and I will carry out my threat with my bare hands, if I must," she growled, a pitiful sight with blood running from a cut above her left eye and a split lip, bruises and small cuts visible everywhere. She stood for a few moments, trying her best to look intimidating and strike fear into the man, but was soon forced to her knees by the pain, Alicia gently helping her to the ground.
"Just hear me out," pleaded the banker, watching his niece interact with the Indian with some interest. "I came here to help… to try to atone for what I've done."
"Uncle Jacob, what are you talking about? Why are you here?" questioned Alicia, warily.
Blue Fire responded before Jacob had the chance. "He is the one who told Jake and Brian what to do. It is his fault we are here," she spat.
"What?" the rancher cried, turning on her uncle. "Why?"
Jacob looked away. "We don't have time to talk about that right now," he said, avoiding giving an answer. "I'll go with Matthew to make sure he can carry out my plan, which is to…"
"He already knows our plan," interrupted the Indian. "He will do it that way."
"Okay, then I'll go to ensure his success," the man corrected. Blue and green eyes looked skeptical. "Listen, if I go, they won't be suspicious of anything. I know what I've done is wrong, and now I just want to fix it. Please, trust me," he added, sincerely.
"Why should we?" demanded Blue Fire.
"Because right now you have no choice!" he replied, angry. "I want to get you out of here, and I'll do my best to get you home safely, but you have to work with me! I'll leave instructions for Jake to allow you to visit, Alicia, and for no one to touch you."
"Or Blue Fire," she stated, and the man sighed.
"Or Blue Fire," he echoed, dutifully. "It should only take us four or five days to get there and back, so you'll both have time to heal.
"I'd better call them in, so we can get on our way," Jacob decided, and added quietly before he left, "I'm sorry."