Remy rode at her side, crooning and moving rhythmically in time with the horse's gait. His shirt was unbuttoned, his vest and jacket folded over the saddle. It was a hot day, Rogue tried to solve it by giving herself air with her hat, but it didn't fix anything. They hadn't dawdled to set out, but they were still riding in the blazing sun. All of a sudden Remy went on alert and she automatically imitated him, he reached for the lasso and with astonishing skill, threw it into the air. The lasso made a perfect circle in the air and landed on the ground, catching a huge hare. Just like that.

So that's what would happen if she decided to run away. She would end up with her neck snapped on the other side of a rope. Maybe it was for the best, all her life she had been a prisoner, of Mr. Preston, of her mother and her gang, and now of this cowboy. After all, when all this was over, she would be a prisoner again if the sheriff kept his word. Otherwise, she would have the same fate as the hare.

"Poor thing," Remy commented weighing the animal in his hands, by the size it would weigh about seven pounds. He hung it from his belt and gave her a goofy grin. And she wasn't sure if he was being nice or threatening her. "Bien, I'm tired of the parched flesh I took from Summers."

Rogue just nodded and he looked at her curiously and smiled again. Hunting the damn hare put him in a good mood apparently.

"When we get to the trees, we'll stop for lunch, we'll find firewood and shade there, okay?" Remy added pointing to the horizon.

When they reached the edge of the forest they got off the horses. Remy took care of them, she was used to seeing him take care of the animals. In fact, she was curious to know what the French words he whispered in their ears meant. He took them out to drink and left them grazing in the shade.

"I'm going to get some firewood, prepare the hare," she said tossing the animal onto her lap.

Rogue made a few small cuts in the animal's skin and pulled at the fur to remove it. She gutted the hare, pushed the guts aside, and walked over to the river to wash her hands and the piece of meat. She hated the slimy feel of the blood between her fingers and kept scrubbing her hands to make it disappear.

She was distracted when she heard footsteps approaching her. She knew it wasn't Remy because she could hear him in the distance. She took a breath and stood on guard.
Rogue turned and saw a man emerge through the trees. He was very tall, with a scar over his eye and huge, muscular arms. He was very well dressed, wearing an expensive suit and carrying a shotgun.
She cursed the moment Remy had taken the gun from her, but at least he hadn't asked for the knife back. Her heart was going to pound out of her chest, and she tried not to panic.

"Excuse me miss," said the man raising his hands. "I didn't mean to scare you, I'm looking for some men in these woods and when I heard noises I came over to check if it was them."

Damn Cowboy and his humming habit. It was the best way to get noticed, she didn't understand how he could be so careless.

"I didn't hear anything," she replied reaching for the knife.

The guy looked at her and took a step towards her again. Kneeling on the banks she felt incredibly small compared to that guy. But she pondered stabbing him and running away.

"Are you alone, miss?" he asked and suddenly his voice sounded worried or perhaps even scared one might say.

"She's not alone, Lucas," Remy said appearing behind him with a pile of firewood which he dropped at the man's feet.

The guy turned and stood face to face with Remy, he was at least a head taller than him.

"Of all the bounty hunters in Louisiana I have to meet you, LeBeau," this Lucas guy said, resting the shotgun on his shoulder.

The two looked at each other for a moment and she rose to her feet, knife in hand. Maybe it was the only way to win. But the men burst out laughing and gave each other a tight hug, patting each other's backs enthusiastically.

"What are you doing so far south, mon ami, isn't it dangerous for you?" asked Remy bending down to pick up the firewood.

"Working. Not that I like being so close to those damned slavers, but I've come here following a lead," replied Lucas, helping him with it.

"A good bounty, huh?" he asked, smiling ." I could use a little money."

"You always so selfless, LeBeau," the man dropped the firewood near her and looked at her quizzically. Rogue stood with the knife in her hand and tense as the nails of a stagecoach. "I think I've frightened your friend."

"She's wary as a stray cat," Remy replied bending down to light the fire. "And she'll probably scratch too."

" I beg your pardon? I'm right here, cowboy " she grumbled annoyed and the only reason she didn't throw the hare at his head was that it was her food. " Maybe I should stab you."

Remy burst out laughing and looking at the man shook his head.

"Pardon my manners, miss, I'm Lucas Bishop," he said extending his huge hand towards her. " I am a gentleman not like that swamp rat." He said pointing to Remy with his head.

"Oh, swamp rat, I like that," she replied shaking his hand. "You do look like a gentleman, Sugah."

Lucas tugged at the lapels of his jacket and smiled kindly.

They sat around the fire to eat and Luke shared with them the food he was carrying.
Lucas was looking for some highwaymen. He had been on their trail since Michigan and had been on the road for almost a month. He was certainly a man with a purpose and was convinced that the gang had hidden so south thinking he would not follow them. They were violent and dangerous and for some stupid reason, Remy decided to offer himself as bait. The recklessness of this man was overwhelming.
They moved to the edge of the road and Lucas lent him the jacket which was a huge fit, if he wanted to pass himself off as a lost lordling in the middle of the woods she wasn't sure that was the best of ideas.

"You look like you mugged someone," she said looking him up and down. "You couldn't pass yourself off as a rich man, not even as a joke."

"Well as long as they think I have money everything is fine," he replied. "Or is it that you are worried about me, chère?"

She rolled her eyes and folded her arms. The bounty hunter had a way of getting on her nerves.

Lucas and she went to hide behind a small hill from which they could see the whole road.

They lay on the ground to watch and wait for the assault.

"Can I ask you something, how come you have such an expensive suit? It seems a little odd to me..." asked Rogue to her companion.

"For a black man?" he asked without taking his eyes off the shotgun scope.

"Well... Yeah... Uh but also a bounty hunter I mean uh..." She replied embarrassed. She didn't mean to be disrespectful, but that sort of thing wasn't available to everyone.

"Don't worry everyone thinks so, the truth is after I had my custom suit made I spent a month eating weasel soup and the weasel only lasted two days," he replied.

Rogue burst out laughing, behind his serious looks was a guy with raunchy humor that she liked.

"Isn't it better to invest in food, sugah ?" she asked curiously.

"But there's nothing more satisfying than seeing a rich white man upset because you can dress how he does," she replied with a shrug "They love the order of things and everyone looking like what they are and I love rubbing their prejudices in their faces."

Rogue smiled again, she could understand that even though she was sure it was dangerous.

They waited for the assault for over an hour, Remy pacing up and down with listless steps. He sat down on a rock and stood up again until some voices were heard approaching and he prepared to spring into action.

"Cain's the one in red," Lucas whispered as he saw a group of men appear down the road. " Watch out."

The man Lucas was talking about was huge, much bigger than he was. He was escorted by three other men, they were noisy and moved all the way across the road. They showed their guns without disguise, it was clear that they intended to look intimidating.
Remy approached them asking for help. His movements looked nervous but moved as if he owned the world. An excellent performance. He exaggerated his French accent making it clear that he was alone. He never looked in their direction.

Remy pulled something out of his pocket and one of the men punched him in the face. Remy wiped the blood from his lip and punched the man back.

Rogue held her breath as the four men lunged at Remy.
Bishop shot at their feet, to draw them away. She was unarmed, but four against one seemed like an unfair fight. Remy was doing very well, though. He dodged the blows with grace moving like a dancer. Still, he couldn't dodge all the blows. She growled in frustration and jumped into the road and without thinking too much she shoved one of the attackers.
Rogue heard Lucas' scream as he jumped into the road as well. The guy she had pushed looked puzzled. So she punched him. They got into a fight, but the man wasn't able to reach her. Everything was chaotic around her. It had been a long time since she had fought hand-to-hand with someone. And never had been very skilled at it. More of a street smart set of moves for self-defense.

Lucas hit Cain with the butt of the shotgun but he didn't even blink. It was like watching two railroads collide. Rogue turned to see what was going on and realized that Remy had knocked out two and the one she was fighting with decided she wasn't enough of a match and took on the cowboy.
So she did jump on Cain's back to help Lucas stop him. She managed to grab one of his big arms, but before Bishop could cuff him he threw her off as if she were a child and tossed her to the ground.

Rogue stopped to take a breath and saw out of the corner of her eye how her companions managed to reduce Cain, who kept shouting insults and curses. She stood up with her hair sticking to her forehead from sweating and full of dust. Suddenly heard a shot, close, very close, and turned in the direction of the sound. There was someone hiding, she closed her eyes waiting for the impact, but it didn't come, Remy's arms wrapped around her and they both fell to the ground. She heard him exhale a relieved sigh and almost involuntarily she ran a hand through his hair.

"You need to stop putting yourself in the way of bullets, Roguey," he whispered in her ear, chuckled, and rested his head on hers.

"I...uh..." She felt the weight of his body on her, arms still covering her head. A pressure began to grow in her chest and she felt short of breath. "Get off me," she said nudging him.

"You're a sweetheart, chère," Remy said sarcastically getting to his feet and offering his hand to help her up. She leaned on the floor and got up without so much as a glance at his hand.

Lucas appeared with the shooter grabbed by the shoulders, he was a small guy trying to wriggle free.

"Good job guys," Bishop said looking at the pile of bounties that would fill his pocket. "We'll take them into town and earn a nice pinch for them."

A couple of hours later they arrived at the nearest town, the men walked behind horses tied to ropes by the wrists.

Lucas and Remy shared memories and laughter which helped her disappear once they arrived at the sheriff's office.

She needed to be alone, she was going crazy, wasn't sure what she was doing anymore, or what was best. She missed her mother but knew the only thing she would get from her was a disappointed look. Rogue leaned against an alley wall, all the options were bad. She didn't want to lead Remy to their lair, she didn't want to endanger her mother, she didn't want to endanger him. She growled in frustration trying to stifle those thoughts when someone pulled hard on her arm and she found herself pinned against the wall. Victor covered her mouth with one hand so tightly it barely let her breathe. He smiled and brought his face close to hers.

"You smell like Cajun," he said with his nose buried in her neck.

Rogue kneed him and he broke into laughter.

"Where's my mother?" she asked rubbing where he had touched her.

"Hiding, she's very disappointed, you betrayed her for a man," Creed said leaning his back against the other wall of the alley.

"I'm her prisoner," she replied crossing her arms.

"I've seen you sharing drinks and laughing, babydoll. Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Yes, yes I do."

Creed jumped at her and punched the wall.

"Watch what you say, your mother isn't here to protect you," he said placing a hand over her mouth and pushing her against the wall, his thumbnail digging into her cheek. "You've always been a loose talker maybe I should rip your tongue out."

She held his gaze, wasn't going to let him know that she was afraid of him. Creed enjoyed hurting, seemed to feed on fear. Rogue focused on her own breathing and bit his hand. Victor clawed at her face and pushed her against the wall again.

"What do you want?" Rogue asked touching her sore cheek.

"Tomorrow at the crossroads you will go to the right, there Mystique and I will take care of LeBeau and the prodigal daughter will come home." He wasn't asking, he was warning. "Did you understand?"
She didn't move, didn't say anything just looked at him defiantly.

"Do you understand?" he asked again aggressively.

She nodded her head, trying to contain her anger and Victor smiled aware of it.

Creed disappeared into the shadows and she was left with an uneasy feeling tightening in her chest. Tears fell down her face, rage, anger, sadness, and pain battled inside her. Rogue took a deep breath and after wiping the tears from her cheeks, she walked out.

She wandered for hours through the town until she felt hungry and headed for the saloon. There wasn't any natural light and the moon barely illuminated her footsteps.
On the way she saw Remy coming out of an alley, he was buttoning his pants and carrying a bottle in his hand. Rogue saw no one else and wondered if he was really alone. He smiled at the sight of her and she realized how adorable his smile was.

" Bonsoir, chère, where were you?" he asked walking up to her.

" Wandering," she replied, her words came out of her mouth in an rude way and Remy frowned. But in less than a second he was smiling smugly.

"You were a lot nicer when you were trying to con me," Remy remarked, offering her the bottle of whiskey, which she declined with a shake of her head.

"That's what a con is all about," Rogue replied looking away. "I don't understand why you're so insistent you already know the truth and..."

"I liked having you around and I thought you did too," Remy whispered in a sweet tone interrupting her taking her chin gently. "Did you get that scratch in the fight against Cain and his men?" he asked staring into her eyes, concerned.

She didn't understand why he was so sweet with her, she didn't deserve it. She closed her eyes trying to keep back the tears and turned away from him.

"You're so drunk," she sighed tapping his chest with her palm.

"I'm celebrating catching the bounty," he replied back to his usual lighthearted tone.

Rogue smiled and was tempted to take the bottle from him and drink it down in full.

"Is there still anything for dinner?" she asked walking toward the inn.

"The food is awful and looks even worse," Remy replied putting himself in her stride. "But the innkeeper is very sensitive about that subject, so smile and say it's tasty if you don't want him to spit on your plate."

"I'll keep that in mind, Sugah" she replied.

They walked down the road together and she couldn't handle the weight on her chest. She was a terrible person.

hello anon! thank you very much for your reviews, I haven't thanked you before but your comments encourage me to continue. ( and yes the canadian was Logan, I have a lot of fun with these little cameos)
and thanks to mcballinger4 too, you are so nice!