Ok, next chapter

Chapter Three, A Strange Sort of Comfort

An few minutes later, Lita had explained her situation to Mina, the blonde simply grumbled a little and looked at the floor.

"If you only owe eight thousand, why do you want ten thousand?" asked the distraught lady.

"Two thousand for time and aggravation." Said Lita, who had grabbed a bottle of wine and was now drinking it.

Mina just looked on at her "host", a disgusted look on her face, "You're barbaric…"

Lita raised an eyebrow at Mina, "Really? Why?"

Mina sighed and rolled her eyes, "Well, for one, it wouldn't hurt you to use a glass." Lita just looked at the wine bottle and back at the blonde, who continued on, "And, on top of that, you curse, dress like a man, carry weapons and fancy the company of women over that of men."

Lita blinked, "Go on…."

Mina stared blankly at the Spaniard, "That's it, do you really need more proof?" Lita blinked again.

"Spain must be a silly country." Sighed Mina.

Lita began removing her boots and smiled, "I wasn't born in Spain, I was born in Scotland."

Mina shook her head, "Never mind, that explains enough right there."

Lita tossed her right boot to the floor and chuckled, "Oh, and you English are so damn perfect yeah?"

Mina crossed her arms and glared at Lita, "Yes, yes we are, it would do the world good to take after us."

Lita removed her cloak and threw it onto a chair, "And if they don't take after you, you'll just invade them and MAKE them take after you, right?"

"Lita, tell me, who's the king of Scotland?" asked Mina in a scathing tone.

"Fuck off…" replied Lita, no humor to be found in her voice. The tall brunette flopped back onto the bed and began untying her wavy brown hair. Mina looked at her closely for the first time since they met.

The first thing that struck the blonde, was how delicate Lita's features seemed. Her face was soft and feminine, her eyes were wide and full of life, AND hell. Her body was strong, she knew that much. She could feel the other girls muscles when she was carrying her, But she could also tell, now that the tall girl had removed her cloak, that her body was feminine as well, curvy and almost delicate in nature. Lita's tan skin was smudged with soot, and her cheeks were streaked with black dirt, and a little dried blood. Mina was suddenly transfixed, she was watching how the soft light of the lamp was flickering in the tall rogues eyes, now it was her turn to stare.

Lita noticed Mina watching her, she turned towards the blonde, "What?"

Mina flinched a little and snapped back to reality, "Huh? Nothing, just lost in thought is all."

"You're capable of thought?" asked Lita with a laugh.

"Oh….GO TAKE A BATH!" yelled Mina.

Lita blinked and looked rather confused, "Really?" she scrutinized the blonde, "What the hell kind of comeback was that?"

Mina sighed in resignation, "Really though, you do smell, it's very intrusive."

Lita jumped up onto her bare feet and grabbed an old bar of soap from her cabinet. She grabbed an old cloth and walked to the door, "I assure you, I ain't doin' this to appease you!" She flung the door open and stepped outside, "I was gonna get a bath anyhow!" and with that, Lita slammed the door.

Inside, Mina giggled a little, and then stopped, and in a moment of horrible realization, she said to herself, "You're attracted to her aren't you?"

Lita stomped down toward the river, her bare feet chilled by the dew on the grass.

"Silly fuckin' twit…" she growled to herself, "I ain't never met any creature as revolting as that in my entire life!"

Lita came to the river's edge and unbuckled her belt, "But, then again, I DID take her against her will."

Lita pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it to the ground, "And, she IS taking this rather well, considering I AM holding her here."

Lita scrubbed the soap across her filthy body as she continued her inner monologue, "But then again, what's to say she didn't bolt the instant I left the house?"

The tall girl thought on this for a while and then walked out of the water, finished with her bath. She dried herself off and began pulling her pants back on, "I ain't gonna complain if she left, I can just get the money some other way."

Grabbing her shirt from the ground, Lita began to put it back on her body, "Then again, if she wants to stay, I ain't gonna complain either, she is a hell of a looker."

And with that, Lita made her way back towards the house.

Mina had spent the time since Lita left contemplating her feelings for the girl. Why did she find herself being fond of her? What was it about the tall rogue that appealed to her? Mina laid on the bed, sorting it all out in her head, she couldn't figure out how an uneducated barbarian managed to fill her senses with such wonder. Then, like a bolt from the blue, it struck her.

Lita was against everything Mina hated. Lita was the exact opposite of what Mina was running from. She was carefree, wild, daring and dangerous, while pomp and riches, money and security had surrounded Mina's whole world up to this point. No danger, nothing out of the ordinary, everything seemed to fall into place, day after day, and there was no sense of chaos, or fun for that matter. This strange, uncultured daughter of a Spaniard and a Scotsman was the dash of color that Mina wanted so desperately in her world. The sort of color that Mina had always wanted…..but in a man.

Mina sighed and flopped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, She couldn't help but wonder how all of this was going to turn out.

Lita had finally returned to her house in the woods, still a little damp from the bath. She opened the door and peeked inside, half afraid that the girl inside would be on the other side of the door, waiting to ambush her. But another half of her wondered if the blonde had left and made her look like a sucker. But, as the tall brunette opened the door, she could clearly see the blonde lying on the bed, fast asleep. Lita smiled a little, for some reason she was happy that the blonde hadn't left. Lita walked in softly and shut the door quietly. She gently laid down on the next to the blonde, so not to disturb her as she slumbered.

As Lita dozed off to sleep, she couldn't help but notice how wonderful it was to have someone in her bed with her, even if they weren't the best of friends, it was was nice to have someone next to her.

For the first time in years, Lita didn't feel so lonely.

Well, there it is, the obligatory sappy chapter. R/R