Hoss Cartwright stared at his little brother, then tore the slip of paper away from Little Joe, "Lemme see that!" His eyes scanned the page, then turned to his brother, a big smile on his face, "Well then whadaya know. Adam dun gone an got himself married!" Little Joe let out a loud whoop of joy and jumped up and down, "He did it! He got married! And to a good southern girl too!" As Joe pranced about the yard, hooping and hollering as though he had won a big pot in a poker game, Hoss studied the telegram note they'd gotten. It sounded like Adam alright...
One thing bothered Hoss though, his brother had failed to mention the name of the lucky little gal he'd snagged.
Adam grabbed Vanessa up to him after they left the telegraph office, tugging her down a small alley and hugging her tight "Well, that was the easy one. The hard one's going to be telling Pa." Vanessa's bright smile faltered, "Why? I would think your father would be happy for you." she checked herself, "For us." Adam smiled his happy smile, and tightened his grip around her waist, "Yes he will be, but he's always had this dream about seeing all three of us boys getting married on the Ponderosa." He set her down and took her hand in his, "Come with me. I've got a hotel room for us tonight."
Maria had been right, he'd had to trust her about handling both Nessa's aunt and his father for the next few days. He fully intended to give Vanessa a proper honeymoon, even if it was only to a hotel in town. Their first night together still replayed in his mind, and it bothered him that of all the times they'd made love, he'd only once had her in a proper bed, and even then it had been the bed of a whore. No, his Nessa deserved something better than the mud covered ground of a cave and a disreputable bed. She deserved a real bed, the loving bed that he could make for her.
----------
The house was empty, or at least it appeared so when Maria Raymond pulled up in front of it in her private buggy. One of Sarah Governs' stablehands came forward, and helped her to the ground. "Hello, Madame Maria." the voice was angry, and was coming from the front porch. Maria looked up and found herself looking into the glaring eyes of Sarah Governs. "Good evening, Ms Sarah. I was hoping I might talk with you...about Vanessa." Sarah's expression flinched, but otherwise stayed angry. Maria swallowed, 'Now be nice' she remembered Vanessa saying as she pulled on the dress Maria was letting her borrow, 'Aunt Sarah can be a real hard nose about some things, and I'm sorry to say I'm one of them. She'll be fire spittin mad that I'm not coming home with you.' Maria had said that she could handle the old widow, but now as she crested the stairs and looked at the woman, she could see why Vanessa had warned her to play nice. Sarah led the woman inside, and slammed the door shut behind them.
Elizabeth came running from her upstairs room, stopping on the stairs and leaning on the rail as she recognized Maria. "Evenin,Maria." she whispered, but Maria only nodded to her. "Now what's this about Vanessa?" Sarah asked, putting her hands on her hips, facing off against one of the hardest women in New Orleans. Maria looked down at her gloved hands, then whispered, "It's news that you've been waiting to hear, Widow Governs." Sarah's breath caught in her chest and she gripped Maria's arm, "Don't you tease me, Maria Raymond."
Sarah Governs was a twice widowed woman with no children of her own, the only enjoyment she had was the company of her nieces and nephews, getting them married off and watching their families grow. The only two left were Elizabeth and Vanessa, but Elizabeth was still too young, only two years younger than Vanessa, but she still had much to learn about the world. But Vanessa...Vanessa was more than old enough to be married off, and when she'd arrived complaining of a broken heart, Sarah had tried her best to distract her. Only a few months had passed before she noticed the hollowness in Vanessa's eyes, the shadow of an ache that she knew came from being separated from the one you love. And so she'd sent a letter to the Ponderosa ranch outside of Virginia City, Nevada Territory, addressed to Adam Cartwright. She'd explained everything, and asked him to come and save her niece. She'd waited another two months before she'd received a response, "Coming to New Orleans in Spring." Ever since then, she'd been real careful to not let Vanessa get to attached to Ranger Krikpatrick, to wait for Adam to arrive in the Spring. She knew what ranch life entailed, and knew that this man would be coming at one of the most busy times of ranch life. And here he was, giving everything he could to get her niece to live again.
Maria read the woman's thoughts and withdrew a sheet of paper from her purse, "This." she handed it to Sarah, who read it and then squealed in delight, "Elizabeth, go open your cousins trunk, we're going to pack her clothes and send her home!" Elizabeth didn't ask any questions, but she did hold out her hand to see the paper. Sarah handed it to her, and watched her young niece read the two words inscribed there. Elizabeth's lips followed her eyes, mouthing the words, and whispering them to herself, then smiling brightly at her aunt, "Vanessa Cartwright."
----------
He was having a small drink in the dinning hall, and from where he was seated he had a perfect view of the hotel lobby. Ben Cartwright watched his oldest son practically drag Vanessa into the hotel, sign for a room and lead her up the stairs. The sight surprised him, and made him take another drink, what was his oldest son doing...in a hotel...the thought bowled him over like a stampede. No! Adam wouldn't be...He loved Vanessa, didn't he? He wouldn't... wouldn't ruin her reputation by... Ben put the glass down and marched into the lobby, "That man and woman that just came in here, which room did they take?" the desk clerk looked down at his ledger, "He took a room on the third floor, room number 3-1." Ben nodded his thanks and set up the stairs at a march, he'd be damned before he let his son make this terrible a mistake.
They reached the room, and once inside were all over each other. Adam's hands were holding her, pulling on her clothes, needing to see her once again. The bed felt like it was miles away, but he knew it was only a few steps behind her. "Adam." she whispered, pushing him away from her. He growled at her and pulled her back, attacking her neck with his lips, "Adam!" she said, more insistent now. He continued to ignore her until a big beefy hand gripped his shoulder and pulled her bodily away from her. He landed on his side, his back still to the intruder. Why wasn't Nessa screaming? Maybe the newcomer had her in some sort of attack. He turned on his heel, ready to lunge at the man who'd thrown him off his wife, and froze when he saw his father. "Pa!" he grunted, and the great man glared at his eldest son, "I didn't believe it, I just don't believe it! Of all the bull-headed, foolish things I've seen you do in your life, this takes the cake!" Ben was almost shouting, and Vanessa hurried to shut the door, but Ben grabbed her arm, "And YOU! Following him, letting him bring you in here... to do god only knows what with you. Your mother would skin me alive if she knew that I'd let..."
"PA!" Adam shouted himself. Ben turned to him, and released Vanessa. She moved to the door and shut it tightly. Once they were cut off from the rest of the world, Adam launched into his father, "Pa, we're married." Ben felt his eyes widen, "You're what?" Vanessa moved quickly from behind Ben and knelt next to Adam, helping him stand, "You heard me, I said we were married. Been that way for about...three hours now." Vanessa watched Ben's face for the anger she'd expected to see, but was surprised when he looked at her in wonderment, "You mean to tell me that..."
He couldn't speak. He'd waited so long to hear that this one, Elizabeth's son, had finally found someone he deemed worthy of himself. When the two of them had announced their intentions to marry two years ago, he'd been happy for them. And when she'd left them, he'd felt his sons pain at her leaving, had encouraged him to ride after her and bring her back, and then when he'd learned that Vanessa had broken faith with him, deciding that she loved her land more than his son, he'd been just as hurt. But then Adam had admitted to still loving this girl, and he'd ridden alongside him to come to New Orleans and try to fetch her back...and now she was officially a Cartwright? Ben swallowed and stared at Vanessa, "You...married?" his breath was almost gone, it came out a shocked whisper. Vanessa grinned tentatively and nodded, "Yes, just as Adam says." Ben let out a loud guffaw and wrapped his arms around the girl, "Oh this is wonderful, absolutely wonderful!" he set her back down and looked to his son, "Adam, I..." Adam smirked and nodded, "I know, Pa. Now, would you mind..." he pointed to the door, and Ben caught the hint. Laughing the whole way, Ben let himself out of the room, closing the door tight behind him.
---------
Black Arrow watched as Maria left the home, then moved over to his own horse. "Alright, Titan. Our work is done here. What do you say we go home?" The brown horse nickered at him, and Arrow smiled, "I'm with you, let's go." As he tightened the cinch on the saddle, the back door to the house opened, and another man exited the house, "Excuse me sir, you wouldn't happen to know where I could find one Vanessa Warrick, do you?" Arrow chuckled, and turned to come eye to eye with a pair of brown eyes, "Well, for starters she's probably Vanessa Cartwright officially by now..." Arrow didn't see the malicious glint that came into the mans eye, "but yes, I can tell you where to find her if it's that important that you see her."
Ranger grinned.
Vanessa sat on the window seat, her feet tucked up under her nightgown as she watched the stars emerge from behind the clouds. She had waited until Adam fell asleep, and then had crawled up here, keeping a careful watch for whatever it was that had her belly in turmoil. She only got bellyaches when something bad was going to happen. She'd had a bad one the day of Ethan's attack and on the day her mother died. The only death that had caught her off-guard was her father's...and Hades...the thought of her beloved horse still set her on edge, and she had to take a deep breath to keep from crying. Hades, the horse that had more devil in him than the devil himself, or so her father had said. The blasted animal had broken a total of four legs, two arms and knocked enough of their men unconscious that Vanessa had found only she could handle the creature.
It was because of that particular choice on Hades' part that started their friendship, but it was the years of being together that had forged it tighter than welded metal. Vanessa had trained Hades so well that she didn't even have need of a bridle half the time, simple words, whistles and nudges were enough of a command for Hades. They'd spent so much time together that it wasn't really even needed for her to call for him, just appear on the front step and he'd come running for her. She'd missed that closeness with someone for a long time since she'd learned about his death, and now as she sat waiting for the moon to come out, she knew that she'd found something even better than that. She and Adam shared something that she could never have thought possible, and yet...
Adam stirred in his sleep and rolled over to find his new bride not in the bed beside him. Instead, she was sitting on the window seat, head leaned back against the sill, fast asleep as though she had been watching the stars roll past. He grinned, shook his head and got out of bed. It was only a few steps to the window, and then only a small matter of picking her up in his arms and carrying her back to bed. Vanessa's head rolled against his shoulder, and she let out a soft sigh, "What are you doing?" she asked as he laid her against the pillows, "You were at the window, I thought you'd be more comfortable here...with me." She grinned lazily and shuffled the blankets to bury her head, "Not if you can't find me." it was muffled by the blankets, but he caught the hint. Grabbing onto the blankets he pulled them back from her, and laughed aloud at her mock look of fright, "If you didn't want me in here, you should have said something." She shook her head and rolled away from him, tugging the blanket up around herself again, "I thought I did." he chuckled some more and slid in beside her, grabbing her waist and pulling her to him, "Are you happy, Nessa?" she sighed again and snuggled closer, pulling his upper arm up so that she could hold his hand. She turned it and kissed his palm, "I'd be happier if I could get some sleep." he chuckled again, kissing the top of her head, "You're that wore out, huh?" she laughed, "No, but you're almost more than I can handle."
She could feel his deep laugh as he pulled her tight against him, and kissed her neck and shoulder, "Well then, I better leave you be." He was about to pull away from her when they heard the footsteps in the hallway outside. Whomever it was jiggled the handle, then knocked, as though they had been expected. Vanessa felt him tense, as though he was waiting for a fight, and slid a ways away from him, and reached down for the gunbelt that they'd discarded earlier. Removing his weapon, she slid back to him, and handed him the weapon beneath the blankets. He took it, and held it against her side, the best angle for the door and waited.
The metal was cold against her skin.
There was a soft knock against the wood, and they didn't move. The person or whatever seemed to move on, and Adam lowered his mouth to her ear, "Get dressed, real slow and quiet." Vanessa nodded and slipped out from the blankets, feeling with her feet for the dress that Adam had so carelessly torn away from her earlier. Throwing it on over her nightgown, she tightened the belt and knelt bedside the bed, out of Adam's range of sight and hidden in shadow from the moonlight. The footsteps came back, and the knock returned. But this time, the intruder wasn't satisfied when they didn't answer, and began knocking more urgently. Vanessa heard the hammer draw back on Adam's gun, and he moved from the bed, his shirtless body framed in the moonlight for a moment before he disappeared as well.
The door creaked, as though someone was leaning hard against it, and then she heard the voice, "Vanessa...Vanessa, it's Ranger. I'm sorry to bother you, but it's Matthew. He's taken sick and the doctor won't see to him." Vanessa looked to where Adam had disappeared, and shuffled slightly. She could feel his eyes on her, trying to talk her out of what she was about to do. Carefully she stood, and tiptoed to the end of the bed, then spoke, "How bad is Matthew, Ranger?" She heard the shuffling of feet, and then Ranger spoke again, "Real bad, Vanessa. It looks like his mother's fever..." Vanessa started forward, but Adam was there at her side, holding her back. His frame was outlined in the moonlight, his face in shadow, but she could feel the heat of his gaze as he thought angry thoughts about her leaving. She stepped closer to him, and whispered, "Just let me open the door, let me tell him I'll be there in the morning." Adam's grip tightened suddenly, and tossed her aside as the door crashed open and Ranger's gun went off. Vanessa hit the floor hard, but instantly turned back to Adam...
Gunshot...Adam... "ADAM!" she screamed. He was on the floor, and something dark was staining the floor. He groaned slightly, but otherwise didn't show any sign of life. 'oh God.' she prayed, her heart aching, 'don't let him...no, God please. Not now...not when you've finally given him to me.' She was on her knees crawling to him when Ranger's hands grabbed her waist and hefted her to her feet. "Adam!" she squealed again, fighting tooth and nail as Ranger hauled her out of the room, "Adam!" She reached out and grabbed the doorjamb, preventing her from being taken further for another second, "Adam, please..." she whimpered, kicking her legs wildly, catching Ranger in the thigh but nothing more. Ranger adjusted his grip on her and shifted her to his side, protecting what she'd missed. For all her shouting and squirming, Adam still didn't move. The blood drained from her face, "No...." she gasped, and clung to the doorway as long as she could, "No!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, and finally heard the thundering footsteps of Ben on the stairs. Ranger reached up and grabbed her arms, gave one final yank and the two of them toppled over. He was quick to get back on his feet, and dragged her along with him, clamping one hand over her mouth and shoved the barrel of his gun under her chin as Ben rounded the corner.
The sight that met Ben's eyes was one from a nightmare. There stood his new daughter in law, held against a man with a gun under her chin, blood gone from her face. He could see she was trying not to cry, but the fact that he'd heard her screaming bloody murder just two seconds ago wasn't helping the pounding of his heart. His hand fell to his gun, but the man holding Vanessa shook his head, "I wouldn't. You move one finger and I'll blow her pretty little head right off, after all, that is what I was planning on doing in the first place." he adjusted his grip on her waist, and sneered at Ben, "You see, this little one here is a bonafide witch, confided such to me herself." Her eyes widened as she remembered that conversation, "Come to work your natural magic?" he'd said, and she'd answered yes...no, not another man thinking she was a witch. Suddenly she thrashed and bit down hard on his hand. Ranger howled and dropped it out of her way, but kept it close, "Ben!" she cried, her voice sounded strangled, "Ben … Adam, he's...." she couldn't speak anymore, her throat closed with tears. It didn't help that Ranger jammed the gun further into her chin, slamming her mouth shut. Ranger moved backwards, hissing in her ear, "You try that again and I'll kill you right here!" Vanessa swallowed, but obeyed as he pulled her away from Ben and the open doorway which led to where Adam lay dying on the floor.
Ranger smiled wickedly, and carried her down the stairs, glaring at anyone who came across them. Down two flights of stairs, out the back door and tossed into the back of a wagon, Vanessa couldn't stop the tears rolling down her cheeks, or the dull ache building in her gut. "No...No, God no. Not again, no please no. God, you know I haven't asked for much before in my life, but I'm begging you now. Please don't let Adam die..not yet...not until I tell him..." As Ranger cussed the wagon forward, Vanessa lurched in the bed and rolled against the side. "Dear God please, no...please no."
Adam found himself lying in a brightly lit field, although every time he lifted his head to see the sun, he couldn't move. Wildflowers sprouted everywhere around him, the warm summer breeze stirring their heads and releasing their heady fragrance. It was a beautiful scene but he couldn't quite figure out why he was here...the last thing he really remembered was being in a really soft bed with..who was it? Va...Ness... "Vanessa!" he shouted, but no sound came from his mouth.
There were footsteps thundering from somewhere off to his left, great heavy steps that sounded like his fathers...but that didn't make sense. He was in a field of flowers, he shouldn't be hearing footsteps on wooden boards! The footsteps stopped, and he heard a voice...his name was said, as though the speaker was in anguish. "...Adam..." he stirred at his name, but it was just so comfortable to be where he was...
Somewhere off to his left he heard the rustle of a woman's skirt through the flowers, the soft snap of stems and the thump as the heavy heads hit the ground. He wanted to stand, but he already knew who it was. This flower field and thick fragrance only appeared in his dreams when she was here. She knelt down next to him, her hair falling across her shoulders as she stared him in the eyes, a bright smile on her face, "Vanessa's a beautiful girl, Adam. She'll make a wonderful wife." it was her, his mother. "Mother?" she nodded, smiled and put a hand on his chest, "What are you doing here, my son? Shouldn't you be fighting for Vanessa?" His shoulder suddenly felt as though someone had rammed it with a branding iron, and he groaned. "Don't darling," she reached down and gripped his hand, "Don't fight it."
----------
Maria held Adam's hand as the doctor began to dig the bullet out of Adam's shoulder. The man that Vanessa loved threw back his head, groaning. "Easy, boy, easy." she whispered, putting a cool cloth to his forehead and wiping at the sweat. His breathing was becoming shallow and uneven, something that Maria knew was a frightening precursor to death.
----------
"My shoulder, mother...it's my shoulder. It feel like a hot pokers running through it." Adam groaned, tightening his grip on his mother's hand. "I'm not surprised, my son. You were shot in the shoulder, they've got to get that bullet out of you." his mother's voice was so calming, so nice to hear.
"Please let Adam be okay, God. Let him be okay and let me get out of this mess...Please, Lord. I'm begging you."
It was Vanessa's voice, tears thickening it. Adam tried to turn his head to assure her, let her know that it would all be okay. But his mother had such a grip on his hand, and she was so calm...so warm. "Adam..." Fear replaced the tears, "Please, Adam..." Her voice was growing insistent, and Adam wanted dearly to turn over to her, but his mothers grip on him was tight. "Adam, if you return to her..." the voice, along with the figure talking to him, changed to his father, "How do you know that she'll still want you? After all, you were the one who walked out on her..." Adam shook his head, "I know Pa, but I have to try."
----------
"She was...is...most...beautiful..." he grumbled, tossing in the fever that had caught up to him. Elizabeth wiped at the sweat on Adam's brow, dosing the cloth in the cold water basin next to her before he went back to it.
It had been two days since they'd put Adam in the bed in his and Vanessa's hotel room. Elizabeth had been sitting here ever since, telling herself that her cousin would be alright. Ben had waited only long enough for the bullet to be removed before he let her talk him into searching for Vanessa. "Someone has to find her, Mr Cartwright. Go, find my cousin." The doctor had gotten the bleeding to stop, but Adam's breathing was still labored, as though he was fighting off the very gates of heaven to stay. Maria came in, followed by Aunt Sarah, Elizabeth looked up at them and smiled faintly. Maria sat across from her, setting a fresh basin of water on the bedstand next to herself, "How is he?" she whispered, taking some fresh rags from Sarah before taking over the washing of his face. Elizabeth stood, stretching the muscles in her back, "He's feverish, but he's not overly warm. It's almost as though there's something holding him back." She folded her arms and sat on her cousins trunk and took a deep breath, "it's times like these that I wish Vanessa was here." Maria smiled grimly, "or had her knowledge about those herbs of hers."
Sarah grinned widely then, "Well then, I guess it's a good thing that I helped her make this," she removed a small jar from the basket she carried and took Elizabeth's seat, "When we made it, I asked her about it and she said it would help lower a fever real quick like." Maria reached across the groaning man and grabbed Sarah's arm, "She didn't happen to tell you what to do with that, did she?"
----------
Adam stared at his father, and repeated the words that he'd already said to his father, "If you could only understand, I was so...taken with what Vanessa was that all I could really think of was having her for myself...even if it meant having someone else in her place." The suddenly his father's understanding look changed into Nicholas, Vanessa's father, and he grabbed Adam by the throat, "You're ignoring my girl." he growled, "My girl needs you and you're not following the man that took her!"
----------
Maria rubbed the cooling salve onto Adam's chest, her hands running high onto his throat. It had only taken them a moment to figure out what the salve did, and Maria had been regulated to spreading it on his torso and arms, the quickest way to lower that fever. Elizabeth blushed as Maria's experienced hands drifted lower on Adam's body, lowering the thin sheet they had over him, and turned away as Maria tossed the sheet back and spread the salve on his legs.
----------
Nicholas's eyes were a fearsome red, his face a mask of anger. Adam reached up for the hand at his throat, and found it occupied already. He looked down at it, and found himself standing on the bluff above the lake on the Ponderosa, the great blue expanse stretching before him...and Vanessa. She was kneeling there next to him, her hands clinging to his left for dear life, and praying her heart out, "Please, Please bring him back to me...please." She looked up at him; tears were rolling down her cheeks as she continued to speak, "Adam please, if you can hear me please...please come back to me. I've lost so much in this life, don't make me lose you too." Nicholas was gone, his father was gone, his mother was gone, all that existed was he and her...and her tears begging for his return.
"Nessa..." he groaned, turning his head to the side, and slowly opening his eyes, "Nessa please don't cry."
----------
Maria gasped in shock as Adam's eyes opened, and he spoke. His voice was dry and cracked under the strain, but she heard it clear as day in the silent room, "Nessa...Nessa please don't cry." He blinked, his vision cleared, and he wrinkled his brow, "Maria? Where's..." he tried to sit up but Maria pressed him back down in the bed, "You stay put. You've just broken out of an odd fever and I want to make sure that shoulder of yours is in place before you move anything." Adam set his jaw and sat up, pain searing through his shoulder as he moved, but up he went and glowered at Maria, "Get me a rag to wipe this off with and then get me my clothes." his eyes turned to Sarah, "Which way did my father go?" Sarah swallowed, her eyes taking in the youthful magnificence of his body as he cleaned himself off, then said, "How do you know he's not still in town?"
Adam smirked, "If my father was still in town, he'd be sitting right where you are. Now, where did he go?" Sarah was still stubborn as he stood and fastened his pants and let Maria help his left arm into the sleeve, "Who said he went anywhere? He could be just downstairs..." Adam glared at the old woman and allowed Maria to put his arm into a sling to hold his shoulder easier, then fasten the buttons to hold it tight. "That's something that Vanessa learned about us Cartwrights that you've yet to, you mess with one Cartwright, you mess with us all." he smirked, and grabbed up his gunbelt. Holding it in his good hand, he glanced again at Maria, "You said I'd have to trust you..." Maria smiled warmly, and set the belt around his hips as Adam held it where he could grab his gun easily. Once finished, Maria looked into his eyes, "You go save my girl, Adam Cartwright, then you take her home to that Ponderosa of yours and give her all the children she could ever want." Adam raised an eyebrow, "What do you think I was trying to do?" Elizabeth gasped and turned back to stare at him, "Adam Cartwright, I can't believe you would talk about such things!" Adam smirked and chucked the young girls chin, "If you thought that was bad, you should hear some of the things I have come from Vanessa's mouth."
----------
Vanessa's arms hurt something terrible, and made her want to scream, but if she screamed he'd come back, and she didn't want that either. They'd driven in the wagon for several hours before he stopped them, and had taken her, now blindfolded so as not to let her escape into a place that felt cold and wet. She been tossed on the ground, hard as stone, and the wall behind her back was cold beneath her clothes. He'd bound her wrists tightly and then shackled them to the wall so that she couldn't move without fire burning through her muscles and her wrists felt raw. She shifted slightly, and felt something warm run down her right arm...blood. 'Great,' she thought to herself, leaning her head back against the wall, 'now I'm bleeding. I doubt my arms will be of much use when I finally get out of this...' she shook her head and banished the hurt that would come if she continued down that trail. Adam...she offered up another silent prayer that Ben had gotten to him in time, and that he was okay.
She didn't know how much time had passed since she'd been brought here, but it felt like forever. She hadn't eaten since before her marriage ceremony, and now her stomach grumbled angrily. She felt dizzy from lack of food, but at least someone brought her a glass of water every so often. She shifted her legs, feeling the reassuring feel of the rock she'd hidden away from her last excursion to use the necessities.
Footsteps...heavy breathing...a grunt as something heavy was moved aside...the grinding of stone...she was in a mausoleum? Her breath started coming quicker and her heart started pounding, she hated mausoleums, hated them about as much as Hades used to hate male riders. The stench, the cold that would creep into her bones, the absolute lack of life, of sunlight. The footsteps got closer, and she held her breath, waiting for the slap that come every time he came to check on her. A hand brushed against her cheek and she inhaled sharply, jerking her head away. "Easy girl...easy."
It was Ranger, just as she feared it would be. His hands moved from her face and dropped to her bruised shoulders, "I hope your not hurting too much." she heard him draw a breath, then click his tongue at her. "Aw now, will you look at that. You've gone and hurt yourself." She felt his fingers trace the blood trail on her arm, "We'll just have to get you cleaned up, you've got an appearance to make." His hands moved away from her, then she felt them move across the shackles on her wrists. She hissed as her arms fell onto her lap, she could feel the pain start in her shoulders as grabbed her under her armpits and hefted her to her feet.
She knew she wouldn't have a lot of power, but she had to try.
"There we go, Vanessa." Ranger looked at her face, and frowned to himself. He hadn't meant to give her those hits earlier, but the damn woman couldn't stop crying; even now tears leaked from beneath the blindfold, and he knew that if he removed the dirty rag, her eyes would be bright red from it. Shaking his head, he bent and fell to the floor.
Vanessa had waited until he bent to lift her onto his shoulders, and then she brought her throbbing hands up, gripping the stone she'd hidden and crashed them down against his neck. She heard him grunt, and took several fast steps away from him. As she moved, she tore the rag from her eyes and kept running.
Then she tripped on her long skirts on the stairs outside.
----------
Ben reined in his rented horse, and looked around him. The terrain was certainly that much different then what it had been the last time he and one of his boys had been here. He glanced at the great burly man beside him and shook his head, "Any idea where he might have gone?" Black Arrow looked around also, and grimaced, "I really don't." Off to their left was a cemetery, the multitude of mausoleums and grave markers looking like a miniature city in the setting sun. Ben was about to nudge his horse forward when Black Arrow reached over and grabbed his arm, "Did you hear that?" Ben shook his head, listening carefully. Black Arrow looked behind them, then off to their right, where the road forked. There was a horse and rider coming up on them fast, with hat pulled low over his eyes and left arm in a sling. Ben blew out his breath as Adam met up with them, "Boy, you should be in bed resting that shoulder." Adam shook his head at his father, "I'd rather be in bed with my wife, and that's not going to happen until she's found." Ben couldn't help the smirk that flashed across his face, and Adam kept talking, "Black Arrow." he nodded to Vanessa's brother, and the Indian nodded back, "We've eliminated most of the city by now. The only thing left is this cemetery, but if Vanessa's in there, she's keeping real quiet about it."
Ben's brow creased, "Why do you say that?" Black Arrow turned back to Ben, glancing at Adam as he explained, "All her life, Vanessa's hated them. She says they have the feel of death in them." He looked back at the cemetery, beyond the markers to the great family mausoleums in the background, "I'd just bet... Come on." he nudged his horse forward and turned into the cemetery.
----------
Vanessa rolled at the bottom of the stairs, and groaned. She'd just been locked up for too long. Taking a quick breath, she tried to push herself up onto her hands and knees, but her arms just weren't strong enough. Whimpering at her own helplessness, she flipped onto her back, and blinked to clear them. Vanessa knew that Ranger would be moving around soon, she hadn't hit him that hard, and if he wasn't already on his way out, he soon would be....and fighting mad to boot. She rolled back onto her belly, and used her left arm to help herself to her knees, holding her right tight into her body.
Once on her feet, she glanced around and found herself exactly where she never wanted to be as a live person, a cemetery. Drawing a shuddering breath, she took a small step forward and almost fell back onto her knees. 'Okay...easy girl. You aren't up to your old strength yet.' she knew it was from lack of food, but she didn't have time to find anything...and she doubted there was much she could find in a cemetery. She shuddered and took another step, then another, and another. Before long she was moving away from the mausoleum and deeper into the darkening cemetery.
"I hate cemeteries." she grumbled to herself, falling to her knees near a small headstone. She maneuvered to sit on her back side, and tucked her legs underneath herself. There was just enough light left for her to examine her arm, and she pulled it out to look it over. Her wrists was red and scratched raw, she swallowed and grabbed for the hem of her nightgown beneath her dress. Tearing away a few strips, she wrapped it around her wrist, tying it with her teeth. It wasn't much, but it would fend off an infection, at least until she could wash it with one of her rinses. She'd done it o many times for the hands back home or even some of the girls here in New Orleans when they'd broken skin on something, but never on herself. She bit her lip, remembering what she'd always told her patient, "It's going to hurt like hell." 'Yes, Vanessa. This is going to hurt like hell alright, but you're away from Ranger now.'
It was a small blessing. Leaning back on the stone, she braced herself with her good arm, and found her hand in a patch of something...with black leaves. She brought her hand back quick, wiping it feverishly on her skirt. Her curiosity took over, and she leaned closer, straining to see if...there, there they were.
Berries, black as midnight.