An- Welcome to the most random thing I have ever written. The background to this goes back to when I first saw Cowboys and Aliens in theatres. I loved that movie in all its campy glory, and I left the theatre with the realization I liked my westerns mixed with Sci Fi. Then I thought about how I'd love to mix a western with a fantasy...and then somehow I went from the epic fantasy fanfic that we created...and then things happened. Things like Lord of the Rings 2003: A Western AU. So, enjoy (but don't look for historical accuracy in this, because I threw that to the wind and just had fun).
Lord of the Rings 1895
It began, as many things did, with an unexpected meeting. There had been nothing unexpected that day, and it hadn't been anything out of the ordinary. No one expected the night to be any different.
It was late, when Jane began the walk back to the boarding house. She was nervous about being out so late, about walking alone after dark, but there had been so much to do at the school house that she had lost track of time. The school didn't resume for another month, but Jane had come too far to not take her job with the utmost seriousness. The journey from the east coast to the west had been a trying one, but the call for teachers had been too great a temptation for her to ignore. It wasn't proper, but she wanted adventure, and this was the only respectable way for her to achieve it.
She heard voices as she hurried through the town, and she picked up her pace. She wasn't quite running, but as close to it as it came. This wasn't a dangerous town, but it wasn't a safe one either...it was the west, after all. It certainly wasn't the place for a young woman to be wandering alone after dark.
She was nearly to the boarding house when a man's voice called out to her, "Why Miss Jane, aren't you out late?"
She shouldn't have stopped, but too many lectures on courtesy from her mother made her stop. She turned towards the voice, plastering a polite smile on her face. Then man, who was one she recognized from around the town but didn't recall a name, ambled towards her.
"There is quite a bit to do at the school house," she replied politely, "and I lost track of time. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really must be going."
He stopped when he reached her, and Jane took a step back. Her heart was beginning to pound, and fear was uncurling in her stomach. When she tried to back away, he reached out and grabbed hold of her arm.
"Please," she stuttered, fear gripping her, "I have to go!"
"Don't be like that teacher," he leered at her, and Jane was terrified, "I'm just making sure to walk you home."
That was not what he meant, and Jane knew what he actually wanted from her.
"I think the lady said to let her go. I'd highly recommend doing just that."
He sneered, and turned towards the voice, already beginning to cuss. He stopped short when he saw the gun pointed at him.
"I will shoot you Jacob, and you know it. Seeing as the sheriff is such a big fan of mine, I wouldn't even be punished for it. Now let her go and be on your way."
The man did nothing for a long moment, apparently debating whether or not she was bluffing. Then he cursed, let go of Jane's arm and stormed away.
Jane was left there trembling, and when she turned to see her rescuer, she didn't know what to say. Jane knew who the woman was -everyone in town knew who she was-, but she had never once spoken to her. They had crossed paths once or twice, and she had always given Jane a friendly smile, which Jane had never returned. Her employment rested on her reputation, and it would only become a bad one if she was ever found to be associating with a girl like Niori.
If Jane's mortified silence bothered her, Niori made no mention of it, "You alright Miss Jane?"
"Yes," Jane finally found her voice, "Thank you."
"You're still shaking like a leaf," Niori commented, " Come on then, I'll walk you back to the boarding house."
Once again, Jane was frozen. She was petrified of continuing on herself, no matter how short a walk it was. Yet, if anyone saw her with Niori...
The dilemma must have shown on her face, because Niori chuckled, "Don't worry. This time of night, no one is out to see us together. If anyone is, it's just idiots like Jacob, and no one will take their word over yours. I can get you to Erin's without anyone being the wiser."
Though a part of her was still nervous, Jane nodded. She didn't want to walk alone, but more than that, it didn't seem right to refuse. Niori could have kept walking, but had instead stopped to help, and was being kind to her besides that.
"Thank you," she finally said, "I'm very grateful."
They started walking, and Jane realized that the gun was no longer in Niori's hand. She had no idea where Niori had put it, though she must have a holster hidden on her somewhere.
"Do you really know?" She asked tentatively, "The gun? How to use it?"
"Darling, when you're in my line of work, you learn to shoot a gun real fast. If a man thinks he has the right to force himself on a girl like you, what do you think they think they can do to a girl like me?"
A blush heated up Jane's cheeks at the reminder of what it was that Niori did. She fidgeted, and when Niori noticed it, she sent a sympathetic glance her way.
"I apologize. I forget you're a lot more gentle than the folks around here."
Jane didn't know what to say, because it was the truth. Most of the women here were harder than any of the ones Jane had known back home. Oh, she knew women just like this were back east, women who were just as like Niori, but Jane had never met any of them. The world Jane lived in was one of gentlemen of wealth and refined ladies who held polite conversations and tried to find suitable husbands. It was smothering and terrible, and all Jane ever wanted to do was scream. That was why she had come here, why she had run across the country to get away from it all. Jane didn't have to say anything at all because they reached their destination. At least, they almost did, because instead of continuing on next door to the boarding house, Niori turned up the steps of the saloon.
"Lights are on," Niori called back, "Erin's inside."
Without having anything else to do, Jane followed her.
When Niori walked in, Erin was behind the bar, and her nephew Thomas was busy cleaning the tables. The saloon was closed - the hours were noon to midnight, and Erin allowed no exceptions-, but that didn't stop Niori from waltzing up to the bar and taking a seat on one of the stools.
"Closed mean anything to you?" Erin asked in a deadpan voice.
Niori just grinned, "It's never too late to buy a drink from an old friend."
They had been friends since they had been little girls, when Erin's mother had taken pity on Niori and her cousin Carla, daughters of whores who had no fathers, and taught them to read and write. She was a good woman, one who didn't hold their mothers' sins against the girls like so many others did. She had passed before Niori ended up taking the same path as her mother, and for that she was grateful. Even after any years, when Niori became a whore and Erin married and was widowed and left the saloon she and her husband had started together, they managed to remain friends. It was strange, because Erin struggled enough keeping her saloon and the boarding house she opened up in her own home enough as it was. Keeping it a respectable establishment was a hard task, but she managed, friendship to the best whore in town or not.
"What do you want?" Erin only sighed.
"Whiskey, and whatever the teacher wants, if anything at all."
Startled, Erin looked up and saw Jane standing there awkwardly. This was only the second or third time Jane had been inside the building, and it had always been after closing and only briefly. She wouldn't dare set foot in there while there were other patrons inside. Erin looked back at Niori and raised her eyebrows, and Niori shrugged in response.
"Jacob Williams was drunk and was looking to force her. I stopped him."
Erin looked back to Jane, "Are you alright?" she asked in concern.
Jane nodded, and took a seat at the bar. It was strange, and she'd never sat at one before.
"Do you want a drink?" Erin asked, no condemnation, only curiously, in her voice.
Jane blushed at the thought, "No!" The idea of her actually drinking a saloon was too much for her adventurous mind to imagine.
"Just the whiskey then. It's been a long day."
Erin snorted, "In your line of work, it's always a long day."
Niori lifted her glass in a silent salute and tossed it back. She put it back down on the bar for Erin to fill it again. As she did, Niori kept talking, "I'm leaving tomorrow for the bank," there was no bank in town, it was too small for that, and closet was a town a day's ride away, "I'll be spending the night, and be back Friday. I'll come by after closing and give you your cut for the month."
They had a lucrative deal, the two of them. They were too astute business women, and both were willing to fight tooth and nail to be independent. Niori refused to put herself under the thumb of the man who owned the town's brothel, and Erin refused to accept any sort of help from men who only wanted an avenue to steal her business from her. So they helped each other. Niori paid a monthly fee for the use of one of the rooms above the saloon. Niori conducted her business there instead of being in a brothel or using her own home, and Erin made a high profit.
Jane sat on her stool awkwardly. It was shocking, in a way, hearing the two women speak of such things so nonchalantly, but couldn't help be a bit fascinated as well. She had never paid attention to business back home -that was such an unseemly thing for a woman, or so her mother told her- let alone business like this.
"Thomas," Niori called over to the eleven year old, who was still cleaning tables, "can I count on you to run by and check on my place while I'm gone? Make sure no one is getting into anything they shouldn't be."
Niori's home was on the edge of town, and one of the nicest on top of it. Though Jane had no way to confirm it, she had an idea what Niori was quite well off. Not rich in comparison to what she was used to, but rich in comparison to most of this town. Niori jealously guarded her house, made sure it was the one place that was not allowed to be viewed by the public, unlike the rest of her. Very few had been in there, and to gain the trust to gain entrance was a feat indeed.
"Of course Miss Niori."
Niori smiled and finished her last drink. She put coins on the bar and stood up to leave, "Thanks for the drinks. I'll see you Friday Erin," she paused for a moment, and turned towards Jane. "Word of advice Miss Jane. Next time, don't stop. When you're alone at night, forget all your good breeding and don't be polite."
"Thank you," she was sincere, and very grateful, "I'll remember that."
"Night all," and then Niori was gone.
Erin turned back to Jane, and smiled, "Congratulations, you survived your first conversation involving Niori, and come out with only a blush. A permanent one perhaps, but I've seen worse," Erin laughed as Jane's blush deepened, "I'll be done soon, and then we'll head back home. I take it you don't want to walk even that bit by yourself," Jane shook her head, "Then just sit tight."
Minutes went by, and Erin kept closing and getting ready to open the next day. She was almost done when Thomas spoke, "Aunt Erin, there's someone trying a horse up out back. A woman."
Alarmed, Erin moved out from behind the bar and went to the window Thomas was peering out of. She looked out, and then cursed in a way Jane had never heard before, "Damn," Erin hissed, and then turned her attention to her nephew, "Thomas, go find Niori and bring her back here now. Tell her her cousin's arrived. Once you have, go home."
Thomas only hesitated for a moment, "Yes Aunt Erin."
"Erin?" The reaction that this unknown woman was causing was making Jane nervous.
Erin swore again, "Don't say anything, alright?"
Jane nodded mutely, and waited for whatever was coming. Jane had no idea what to expect when the door opened and the woman walked in. When she caught a glimpse of the woman, it was nothing that she could have ever guessed. She was wearing men's clothes, and even here in the west, Jane had never seen that before. There were guns strapped to her sides, and she made no move to hide them. She was bold...and it was obvious that she was dangerous.
The woman stepped once she was a few steps inside, and she turned towards Erin, "Hello Erin."
When Erin replied, neither her voice or face showed any emotion, "Carla."
The two women just stared at each other for a long time, and then Carla sighed, "After three years, I was hoping for a bit warmer greeting than that."
The look on Erin's face softened, "You know I'm happy to see you, and you know I'd never turn you away, but if you're hiding, this is the last place you should be. Everyone knows you here."
"It's not about hiding this time, at least no more than usual. I just felt the need to be somewhere familiar for awhile."
"Carla Dawn, are you telling me you're feeling homesick?"
Carla laughed out loud at that, "For this place, hell no. But I did recently make some mistakes that got me in trouble, and I wanted to be somewhere I know better than the back for my hand. For better or for worse, it's this place."
Erin looked startled, "How close?"
Carla didn't get a chance to answer, because the door slammed open and in stormed Niori. She saw Carla standing there, and her face darkened.
"What the hell are you doing here!" Niori hissed angrily.
"Didn't take you long to call her in," Carla commented, raising her eyebrows at Erin.
"There is one person capable of dealing with you," Erin replied, completely deadpan, "and it's her, not me."
"You will stop ignoring me right now, or so help me God I will shoot you!"
"Hello Niori," Carla turned towards the other woman, "it's good to see you too."
"I'd be happier if I didn't suspect you were here hiding from someone who wants to hang you."
"I'm an outlaw," was Carla's smooth reply, "someone's always looking to hang me. Why do you think today is anything special?"
"Because, cousin, I know you better than anyone else in this world."
There hadn't been many paths open to the cousins, not with who their mothers had been, and none of them were respectable. Niori had taken one, but Carla had balked at it. She'd forge her own way, and wouldn't do it on her back. First it was only stealing, horses mostly, but after you've killed once -it had been self defence the first time, but that was one of the few times it was- it only gets easier to do. She still stole horses, but targeted wagons, particularly sending money for the banks. She and her gang had been the bane of the western banks for the last year or so.
"Please tell me your boys aren't following you here, because I don't want them anywhere near my town!" Niori was still fuming, but stop when the dark look passed over Carla's face.
"They're not going anywhere ever again," she paused, and when she spoke again, no longer sounding hard or dangerous, "I did something really dumb Niori."
The colour drained from Niori's face, "How close?" Carla didn't answer, "Damnit Carla!"
"If I hadn't been able to call in a favour, the noose would have been around my neck, just like it was the others."
Niori was silent for a long moment, "Coming here was a mistake. This isn't a place to hide, not with your wanted poster hanging up in the post office and jail."
"And in every other town from here to the boarder. The difference is here there isn't a soul who would think the reward money is worth taking me on."
The last time someone in this town had tried -right after the first wanted poster had gone up, only for horse theft that time-, Carla had killed all three men who had tried. A few years later -when the poster had added murder and reward money-, when another unfortunate man had tried, she had killed him too. That time she made a show if it, using it to prove a point. The point was it was dangerous to your health if you tried to take her down. Carla had left town not long after that and stayed away, but the lesson stuck.
"And I don't plan on advertising that I'm here. Best way to do that is let me stay at your place. No one but you ever sees the inside of that place."
Niori was still pale, but she scowled, "There's a reason for that, and you know it. I don't like the idea of putting myself in front of the firing squad by hiding a wanted criminal."
Carla actually snorted, "You're so good at your job that there's no way in hell any man in this town is going to let anything happen to you. You have them twisted around your finger, and it helps that it's made you one of the richest women in town. I'm pretty sure the law will leave you well enough alone, no matter what you're doing with me."
"Well, there is that," Niori looked far too proud of herself, given what Carla was almost complimenting her on.
"I mean no offence cousin, but I'd rather hang than do what you do."
Niori only grinned at her, "No offence taken, as I'd rather do what I do than hang."
"Hang?" Jane finally squeaked in horror. She had been sitting there silently, just as Erin had told her, but she couldn't take it anymore!
For the first time, all of them looked over to where she sat. From the looks on the other girls' faces, Erin hadn't even remembered she was there, and neither Niori nor Carla had realized it.
"Who is she?" Carla directed her question at Erin, not Jane.
"Miss Jane Woodridge. She's the teacher, and she stays at the boarding house."
"Good to see that they still make ladies so frail out east," Jane blushed even further at the condescension in Carla's voice, "Get that poor girl out of here before she has a fit and faints."
For all that this entire situation was making Jane dizzy, she was furious that this woman was dismissing her as weak. How dare that woman!
"How-" Jane began to protest, rising to her feet in indignation. The rest of her words were cut off as a loud boom, followed quickly by a bright flash of light, shook the saloon.
There was a crash coming from behind the closed door that led to the saloon's storage room. Multiple voices -alarmed, and all of them male- grew loud soon after. At the first sound, both Niori and Carla drew their guns. By the second, Erin had reached behind the bar and pulled out her own shotgun. When the door to the storage room flew open and a number of unidentified men fell out, all three guns were pointed in their direction.
"If any of you move," Erin's voice was steely, and Jane had never heard her sound that way. In that moment, she was just as hard as the two other women beside her, "I will shoot you."
They all looked confused as they looked around them. From the confusion, the looks went through various degrees of worry. They picked themselves off the ground, and Jane noticed that there were nine of them, from an old man to four children. They looked as though they had fallen out of one of the storybooks Jane's nanny had read to her when she was a child. They looked like characters from a fairy story, with swords and everything.
"Where are we?" The old man asked.
"Owens," Erin replied, and when she received only blank looks, went on, "Alberta," the looks stayed black, and Erin began to look confused, "Where do you think you are?"
"In the wilds near Rivendell," this time is was one of the other men who replied, the one with a shield on his back.
"You're in a wild enough place, but there's no place named that around here. I'd love to know how you ended up in my storage room while looking for it."
"Gandalf, what's happening?" the dark haired child asked, and Jane realized he wasn't a child after all, neither were the other three.
"Saruman," the old man spoke, sounding grave.
"The bottle I shot," the tall blonde one said this time, "It muse have contained some sort of spell."
Jane was even more confused, and a glance over told her that the other three women felt the same. Anger was very quickly overcoming the confusion on Carla's face. Jane shrieked a little when the shot rang out. Carla aimed high, and it hit the wall above the tall blonde one's head. It was a very clear warning. Erin shot Carla a dirty look for damaging her wall.
"I think it'd be in your best interest to include us in this conversation, and tell us what the hell is going on."
All the men tensed, and Jane saw hands reaching for weapons. It was a stand off, and Jane knew it wasn't going to end well. Carla, Niori and Erin may have had guns, but the other group was heavily armed as well. They were strange weapons to be sure, but deadly all the same.
"Please!" Jane cried, making herself sound as helpless as she could, "A group of strange men fell out of a room in front of us! Surely you can see why we're nervous!"
Her helpless act, which she knew wasn't as much of an act as she would have liked, worked, because they softened somewhat in the face of it. They all looked less tense, the old man especially.
"Of course my dear," he said, "you and your friends deserve an explanation as well."
"Thank you," Jane replied sincerely. She glanced over at the other woman, "Perhaps it'd be best if we put all the weapons away while explanations are given," the scowls and glares the other women sent her, Jane amended tentatively, "or perhaps just lower them?"
For a long moment, none of them moved, and Jane held her breath, thinking it wasn't going to work. Then, without blinking, Niori lowered her gun. A moment after that, Erin did the same. Finally, glaring, Carla followed suit.
"Fine then," She grit her teeth, "now talk."
The old man did, and he wove them all quite the story. He told them of a magical land, where an evil creature was reeking havoc. He told them how they were on a great quest to destroy the creature's source of power, an ordinary ring that hung around one of the little one's neck. He couldn't tell them how they had come to be here, only that he expected it was because of a spell sent by yet another villain.
Jane listened, a little dazed in realizing that her idea of a fairy story wasn't that far off. The other three had looks ranging from shock to disbelief of their faces. By the time the old man -Gandalf the Grey is had told me- finished his tale, even Carla was openly gaping.
"Now that we've put your minds at ease," one of them -Aragorn, Gandalf had introduced him as-, "You should do that same."
It was clear that Erin, Niori and Carla had no idea what to do, but once again, Jane's upbringing made her respond politely, "I'm Jane Woodridge, and I'm a teacher. This is Erin Bradshaw, the owner of this establishment. Niori-" Jane stuttered, realizing she had no idea what Niori's last name was, let alone Carla's.
"Just Niori," the woman herself interrupted, "and that's Carla, and neither of us have last names to be proud of. As for what we do, that's none of your business."
"You are currently in the town of Owens," Jane continued, on the verge of babbling now, "which is in the west, in the province of Alberta, in the country of Canada. We have nothing like you describe here...none of it."
"Which is why I'm having such a hard time believing what it is you're telling us," Carla sounded hard and unwavering again.
Most of them looked affronted, but Gandalf didn't. In fact, he looked understanding, "I understand, and I do not blame you. It is hard to believe a story like ours if you have nothing like that here. Yet, I ask you to give us the opportunity to prove we tell you the truth, for we are strangers in this land, and we do not have time to wander. We have too important a task, and we need to find a way back to it, and to our world. We're asking for your aid."
It was hard to decide which of them looked the most shocked at the announcement, let alone which group did. It only took a stunned moment for the explosion.
"Gandalf-"
"Are you mad?"
"Hell no!"
"You are a bunch of lunatics!"
Jane saw it escalating, saw that the words were beginning offend the opposite part. Just like before, she knew that it would end badly.
"Wait!" She cried, and they paused in their arguments to look at her, "I believe we could all use time to discuss this before we make any decisions. Don't you agree?"
It was reluctant, but they agreed with her.
"There are rooms upstairs," Erin told them, "you can use hem to talk, but you better not damage anything."
"Thank you," Gandalf replied, and then shepherded the eight men upstairs. Once they were gone from the room, Niori whirled around.
"You are not seriously considering this!"
"We can't just turn them out!" Jane argued, "No matter what the truth is, they're still strangers here. Where will they go?"
The other three women exchanged glances with each other, and then looked back at Jane. It was Niori who spoke first.
"I like you Jane, I really do, and that child-like naiveté is sweet, but not real helpful at the moment. Chances are they're a bunch of lunatics caught up in some imaginary world."
"Or lying through their teeth," Carla added, "and trying to trick us into something."
"Even if they are telling the truth, which I doubt," Erin finished, "if they really are from some magical world and on a quest to destroy an evil ring, that something you really want to get caught up in?"
"Are you really so willing to just dismiss it so easily?" Jane didn't know why she felt so strongly, why she believed them or why she was so determined to help, only that she was, "To dismiss how strange their arrival was, or how elaborate their story is?"
They were all silent for a long time, lost in their own thoughts. It was Carla who spoke first, "I've been in a lot of strange places, and seen even stranger things. I'm not saying I believe in such things, but I'm not willing to discount it either."
"There's not enough room in there for Thomas and I to be in there at the same time, let alone nine men, most of them grown. I was in that storage room not even five minutes before Niori and Jane came in. There was no one in there, and I would have seen the group of them come in. They weren't in there, and then suddenly they were falling out."
"So the explanation is magic?" Niori was incredulous.
"You got a better one?" Erin shot back.
It was obvious Niori wanted to argue, but was stopped only because she had no argument to make, "How in the name of God have I become the voice of reason?" The question Niori asked herself was rhetorical.
"And what if they're telling the truth? What if they are from another world, and they're the ones trying to save it? If they're telling the truth, and we turn them out, we're helping something evil ruin their world. Can you live with that on your conscious?"
"No," Niori sighed, "Damnit, my heart is too damn big for a whore."
"Of course not. There are few people in this world who'd be truly fine with that," they all looked at Carla in surprise, "What? Just because I've killed people doesn't mean I like the idea of an entire world being destroyed. I might not lose sleep over it, but doesn't mean I want to see it happen."
"No one likes that, but do you know what you're asking? What do you think this will do to us, if things get out?" Erin looked away, "My husband and I started this place together. We took over that decrepit cesspool this building and we made it something to be proud of. We put blood, sweat and tears into this place...and then he died. He left me alone, and I've struggled every day since to keep this place in my hands. Now, you're asking me to risk everything I've worked for, because some strangers fell out of my storeroom. Why should I take that chance on men I've never met before?"
None of them had anything to say to that. Erin's husband Anthony had been like Jane, someone who had come west seeking adventure. He had ended up in Owens by accident, wandering in after his horse and belongings had been stolen. Erin's father had been mayor at the time, and he had been the one to see to Anthony. Anthony had fallen in love with Erin first, and the town second. He stayed for her, but he shared her dreams of making the town better because he believed in it. Re-modeling the saloon had only been the first step, and they had so many more to accomplish. All of it was cut short when Anthony caught a fever, and nothing the doctor did could save him. The only thing that kept Erin from drowning in despair was keeping her saloon going. If she lost it, nothing would stop her downward spiral.
"Erin has a point Jane. If word gets around that Carla and I are keeping company with a group of men claiming crazy things? Just the hazards of our respective jobs. If it's you or Erin they find out about? Your reputations will be ruined. Erin might be able to survive it, but not you. If even a whiff of scandal comes with your name, they'll ask you to leave town. They won't want you as a teacher anymore, and you'll have nothing else to do but head back home in defeat. Something tells me that that's the last thing you want."
The thought of having to go back, to return to Halifax as nothing more than a failure, horrified her. What awaited her -the smirks hidden behind hands, the whispers that would stop when she came in the room and the snide, condescending words hidden behind polite words- if she came crawling back in failure, was too much to bear.
"Maybe I am too naive and soft hearted, but I just can't turn them away and wash my hands of the whole thing. The affect on me might end up being a bad one, but it'll be nothing compared to the bad that will happen if we don't help."
Abruptly, Erin walked behind the bar and poured herself a drink, not long after, both Niori and Carla did the same. For the first time, Jane was tempted to do the same.
"I don't believe them," Niori spoke, "not a word of it, but if you're so determined to do this, you're going to need help. You'll never pull this off yourself."
"And if they turn out to be dangerous, you're going to need someone to put a bullet in them. I don't see any of you doing that willingly, so it looks like I need to stick around."
It was down to Erin, "It's not fair. They fall into my place, and they think they have the right to disrupt my life? And you're asking me to let them?"
"No one is going to force you Erin," Jane told her softly, "it's your choice. We won't say a word either way."
"If we do this," Erin said, "then we do this together. We're in this together, no matter how it goes. No one's going to run off and leave this problem in our laps."
When each of them nodded, it felt as though they were making a pact, one that could only change their lives.
"Fine then, we're doing this. That's all fine and good, but how are we going to do this? We can't just let them wander around the way they are."
"We find them clothes," Carla replied, "that shouldn't be too hard. As for the wandering, we keep that as non-existent as possible."
"And where are we going to keep them? The boarding house is for women and children only, and the rooms above the saloon are for only a few nights, a week at most. That limits what we can do...especially since Niori and I have jobs, and if they stay long enough, Jane will too."
"They can stay down at my place," it was said lightly, but the seriousness was in Niori's voice. They all knew how serious that was for Niori to offer, "it'll raise some eyebrows, but if we put out a rumour that they're filthy rich, that'll explain it, and the extra long entertaining I'll be doing. The little ones can't stay though. They look like kids, and they'd be out of place. I can't have too many questions being asked, given the fact I'll be hiding a wanted criminal as well. As for the job...that's the advantage of being the most sought after commodity in town. I make enough to have a bit of a vacation if I desire it."
"If everyone thinks they're children, claim that their parents sent them here to be schooled," Carla said, "They wouldn't be the first ranchers to board their children in town so they can go to school. It'd be easy enough to convince anyone who bothers to ask that their parents mixed up the dates school started up again and sent them early."
"Carla and I watch over them during the day, while Erin works and Jane...does whatever it is that teachers do when they're not teaching. We do our damndest to keep them away from anyone who will ask too many questions."
"I don't think they'll like it, us telling them what to do," Jane said a little nervously.
"I don't care what they like," Niori snapped, "They're the ones coming into our lives, into my home. It's payment. If they don't like it, then they are more than welcome to find their way to the door."
"Fine then. Let's go tell them what we've decided."
When they made their way upstairs to the room the group had taken to talk, the men stopped mid-argument. They looked up at the four women.
"We don't believe you," Erin told them bluntly, "but as long as you do what we say, you can stay while you figure out a way back to wherever you come from. And no matter what the truth is, you leave us out of it. We want no part of it."
l.l.l.l
Years later, those four women stood -three in body and one in spirit- in a great forest in the world they had been unwillingly pulled into.
An outlaw had sacrificed her life to protect two worlds. A widow found love again. A whore became a hero. A teacher found her place in the world. A bond was made between them. a friendship that could never be broken. They had all lived through joy and suffering. They had lived an adventure that none of them could have ever imagined. They found happiness and a place to belong.
"No, it's not," Niori replied with a smile as she too turned her eyes to gaze at her new home, "It's just a new beginning."
l.l.l.l
An- And there you have! The western AU of our Lord of the Rings AU. Hope you enjoyed!