Chapter 4

A/N:

If I spent years of research on the SINF series (which I won't) -trying to pin down and adopt every aspect of Dare this chapter would still be far from legit. It never will be!

Heck I wish I could find a better way to rewrite the whole thing, but hey, this is a fanfic. People. Nothing for us to get too worked up about.

If there are any mistakes, grammar or character-wise (plenty mistakes lol I'll give you a cyber cookie for each one ya find) –please feel free to tell me.

Haters, torches, flames- all welcome buddy.

And as always, the wonderful SINF series belongs to no other than Michael Scott. We do not own the books or anything in them; characters, settings etc. All we own is a good spoonful of insanity.

Adios

Chapter 4

~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dare~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Virginia Dare, Mistress of the Forest, found herself thrown headfirst into the bustling city of New York just months after her quick 'drop-in' (literally) at Danu Talis; which she barely managed to escape with a delirious and damaged John Dee. She quickly cut off all connections with the mentally unstable Doctor, swearing upon her very flute to never deal with the cursed man again. Upon her arrival to Virginia, her home, sanctuary, and source of happiness, she found herself wildly sobbing in uncontainable happiness when she saw her lonely tent folded in the very bush where she had left it.

Now here she was in New York, curled up on a brown leather sofa with her laptop. Looking up the latest urban fashion trends.

She wondered for quite a long time about whether to accept or decline her job offer as a fashion critique. It was maybe too soon; she had just gotten back and needed a bit more time to settle her nerves, enjoying every moment of her life in the forests as if she would never see them again.

But by the end of the week she had to choose; stay as a hermit in the outskirts of civilization forever, or get to know a bit more about the country of her birth. Needless to say, Dare was reluctant to travel after having gone through so many leygates in the shortest amount of time possible.

But she moved anyway. And finding herself in New York took some great adjusting to.

First of all, there were people.

Most of them (except for those well dressed and fashionable) she imagined to be nothing more than weak, disgusting, simple-minded beasts, who she'd rather have as slaves building her empire under the heel of her boot than have to walk by on her way to work every week.

She always made sure to have her aura surround her like invisible bubble wrap- to keep people at least a couple inches distance from her whenever she went out.

The second thing she found a bit annoying to her about the city was a lack of direction. In the forest, any forest really, she could easily survive as long as she had her flute and natural acute senses to guide her; after decades of studying the environment she could alone locate the nearest source of water within an incredible 20 mile range, make a decent vegetable soup (spices and all), and craft an entire one person canoe out of sturdy oak, all in one day- and without having to ask a single one of her animal friends for directions as how-to.

She could sense that a city was somewhat like a forest, in a way that you could easily get lost… But here, even with all the power her flute possessed she still couldn't locate the nearest subway station without having to ask a greasy human for directions.

Many times she asked herself why and how she could have possibly even considered taking on this cold stuffy place. Maybe it was her past glorious years of experience in Hollywood and its convenient setting that made the image of New York seem such less brutal. After all, she very much missed her fame- but after her many years on the big screen she had eventually fake her death, otherwise her undying appearance would've attracted too much suspicion. And courters.

The third thing, and the thing she hated the most was inconvenience. She had to walk to work. If it rained, taxis and subways were the only option. There were house bills and taxes, which she forgot how to handle for a while now. She had a schedule, curfews and deadlines included.

She had to face this kind of crap daily while living in the city.

She was definitely going to hire a maid or two when she gets wealthy enough from the fashion industry.

To say the least, her first year in New York was busy; she could barely find time to herself as she learned how many art galleries and fashion shows required her presence. Getting used to the city was utterly horrible.

But her job was so worth it.

While Dare clicked away at the thin keyboard in her spacious living room her cell phone started to ring. The space next to her on the couch vibrated, blasting a shrill tune which was her only means of getting up for work in the morning. She turned her head and looked at the caller ID.

Billy calling… the screen showed.

With a neutral expression she reached out her slender arm, pressed the call button, and held the phone up to her ear.

"What."

Her flat, monotone voice was revealing of her true character.

"Hey sis." Dare could practically hear his dumb grin.

"Hey. What do you want" then added irritably "Don't you dare call me that. I have no siblings."

"Oh, alright. Sistah. How're you doin? How's the big city?"

"Fine," she replied. With her free hand she scrolled down from the image of an expensive tan jacket to a pair of matching high-heeled boots. "Yeah, fine. Anyway, what do you want?"

"Boy, you sound excited" he mumbled before continuing,

"I'm just checking up on my sis, -there ain't nothin' wrong with that."

"Whatever. How's school?" She looked at her watch. "Shouldn't you be in class or something?"

"Oh, uh, no not today- I got the day off."

"You're not skipping classes are you?" She quickly demanded

"No, I-"

"After what Niccolo did for you, you better be passing your classes you little ingrate," she butt in, raising her voice.

"Oh-ho," Billy whispered, nodding to himself "Nic makes sure I do. He checks my grades 'least once a week. Everyday during exams."

Virginia huffed. "Wow. I'm surprised…" She clicked a link which opened a picture of a close-up of Angelina Jolie's face.

"With your intention span, I'm surprised that he has any hope for you at all."

She heard Billy grumble on the other side.

"I'm not callin' just to hear you make fun of me," he bit his lip thinking of a quick retort, "-well what are you doing now? I'd give two pennies for a bet if you're doing anything more productive than I am over here-"

"I'm shopping."

Billy got up from his xbox chair and sauntered across his dorm room like an irritated cat. He stopped midway through striding and opened his mouth as to declare something, but then snapped it shut and sighed. He unconsciously sifted his fingers through his sandy hair in frustration. Man, by the grease that gathered he was definitely going to have to take a shower soon.

He suddenly got an idea, a good one. "When do you have off?" He asked in an excited rush.

Virginia gave a pant of laughter. "Like I would know! Never…-I'd have to convince my manager to give me a break, and being a rising fashion designer, Billy, it's not going to work out."

Billy wondered what could possibly keep her busy. He imagined her sitting in a chair right now, applying make-up to her face.

"But…" he protested,

"I got Spring Break starting Friday this week, and I get 3 weeks off!" He paused, he wasn't giving up this fast. "So then, do you have any plans this week?"

Virginia's mouth hung open at his inquiry.

"Are you asking me out?"

She heard a snort from the other side as the Kid held back his laughter.

"Maybe in the next life," he joked, but then went on. "Can we go to that shadow realm we went to last summer? What was the name…I-"

"Sure, maybe, if I have time." She suddenly paused. Wait, ….no.

Her hair rose, literally, as her aura sent thin trickling waves of energy through her arms and shoulders. She could barely keep herself from screaming, which was a feat to be praised of, since she never had secure control of her temper.

"Oh hell no, NO. We're not going there this time!"

Before Billy could object she continued shrilly, "You don't learn from your mistakes DO YOU? You remember the last time-? No, I'm not taking you anywhere with me, -not until Niccolo teaches you some decent method on how to protect yourself." Billy was sitting on the ground now rendered speechless.

"I'm not saving your ass like the last time. GOD. I can't fight all your battles for you." 'Blah, blah blah' was pretty much the only thing Billy could comprehend after that before she finally finished.

"You can't even tell where the natives bury there land mines." She ended flippantly.

"But how the heck can you even tell? They're land mines,-"

"NO. I'm keeping my word- until you get some proper training you're not going anywhere with me."

Billy let himself fall backwards onto his bed. "No wonder you're so lonely," he huffed. "You may be pretty and all on the outside, but once someone gets close to your space you're no better than a raging bull."

"For your info, it's called 'Independent woman'. And there are a lot of things you don't understand. Many things. " she defended herself stiffly. "One of them is Beauty. And what do you know about beauty, you of all people? Haha, nothing. Let me make it clear; I'm the most desirable woman on Earth!"

*click*

Eyebrow raised, Billy looked at his phone and tossed it to the side next to him.

"More like the biggest bitch."

A/N: That's the only curse you'll hear from him! I swear…..-I think Billy's the most innocent immortal in the series. Other than the whole western dueling outlaw thing.