Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Far and Away
0ooo0
"This book is irritating me." Shiro Takamachi said as he stood up and walked over to the bookcase. He put the book back where it belonged and turned around slightly to steal a look at his wife, who was busy sewing a shirt. After making sure her eyes were still glued to the fabric in her hands, he turned back around and pulled out a bottle of gin, which he hid behind another book, and took a quick gulp.
"Do you actually think you're fooling me, Shiro?" Momoko said without looking up at her husband. The lights in the fireplace iluminated her red hair, turning it into the color of flame.
Shiro held his breath for a few seconds as he was caught red-handed by his wife. He slowly turned around and looked at her. "Would you prefer I proclaim my independence and drink in the open?" He spoke quietly.
Momoko stopped her work and looked up at her husband, "No. I like the system we've got." She sighed, resuming her sewing.
Shiro didn't comment on as he turned to the bookcase and contemplated for the next book to read, when his wife voice rose again, catching his attention.
"How could she be so cruel? Not to send us any words." Momoko exclaimed in an angry-mixed-with-sadness tone.
Shiro looked at her silently and after a moment, he breathed out heavily. "She's in America, Momoko." He spoke softly. "She's been writing to me for sometimes now." He walked to the piano near the ceiling-high window and pulled out something inside.
"You hid these from me?" Momoko already stood up and walked to her husband. She took the wrinkled letters from his hold and sat down at the couch nearby.
"At Nanoha's request." The landlord said. His voice was laced with a bit of regret. "Read them…though they may not bring you comfort."
Momoko began to read when suddenly something crashed at the window, startled both her and Shiro. Then many rocks and fire bottles came crashing at their windows, all coming from outside. Flames began to spread over the carpeted floor, licking its way to the wall and the furnitures in the study room. Yells and shouts were emitted from the garden.
"Death to the landlord!"
"Burn the house to the ground!"
They can hear the men screaming outside as they raided the mansion. They wore bags over their heads to conceal their faces and attacked the guards with sticks and rocks and bottles.
Shiro ran to his wife, shielding her from the windows as he tried to get them out of the room but the fire was spreading fast, already engulfing the room in flames.
"Oh, the letters!" Momoko exclaimed as she slumped down on the floor to get the letters which had fallen out of her grasp the moment the window was broken. "No! My baby!" She cried hopelessly when some of them had caught fire and started to burn.
"Leave the letters, Momoko!" Shiro shouted as he roughly pulled his wife up.
They suddenly heard gunfires from afar and Shiro turned his head to look out the broken windows to see Yunno galloping from the garden on his horse, firing in the air with a pistol. The raiders panicked and ran away from the mansion.
Shiro took his wife's hands and dragged her with him toward the door but a burning pillar had crashed right in front of them, blocking their path. "Hold on to me!" He cried.
Then Yunno suddenly broke in the room. He hastily took off his coat, which was now burning from the back, and jumped over the broken pillar in his rush to the landlord and his wife.
"Yunno! We're over here!"
"Quickly, this way!" Yunno grabbed them and guided them all to the broken window, the only window that had yet been burned by the fire. Luckily, the study room was on the first floor so they jumped out and ran away from the now-in-flame mansion.
They stood from afar, watching the mansion burn like a torch in the night with Momoko's cry of anguish and fear. Fire was dancing in her eyes as tears stained her cheeks.
0ooo0
"I'm truly sorry for your lost, sir." Yunno said as he stood next to Shiro. The landlord didn't say anything as he picked up his burnt pipe, which was now as black as charcoal.
They were standing in the used-to-be study room with several men digging under the debris, trying to find whatever left that was useful. The room was now burnt down into only singed walls and broken wooden pillars. The furnitures were also burnt badly, pieces of what was left of tables, chairs and books scattered around the room in piles of ashes.
Shiro walked outside, standing in front of his front door and regarded his house. The mansion was burnt out completely, leaving only its frames. Columns of thick black smoke could be seen billowing from the recent extinguished fires. The garden was also destroyed cruelly by the hand of men, making the once beautiful villa and its sceneries look devastated.
"Does this mean we're finished? Are we impoverished now?" Shiro asked rather more to himself when he felt Yunno's presence.
"No, sir. You still have your land and your holdings." Yunno answered with an encouraging smile.
The landlord sighed and shook his head. He walked to where his wife was, who was kneeling on the ground, holding a burnt music box. It was Nanoha's. She gave it to her as a gift on her thirteenth birthday.
"This is no longer the Ireland of my birth." Momoko let out a small sob, clutching the destroyed toy to her chest. She turned when a hand squeezed her shoulder gently and looked up to see her husband's sad eyes. "Our daughter's fallen into perilous ruin, Shiro. We must go to her now." Momoko shakily rose to her feet. She grabbed her husband's hands in hers tightly.
"Nanoha?" Yunno asked upon hearing his love interest's name.
Shiro turned to the blond man. He looked at him hesitantly before sighing, "She's been in Boston these many months." He said.
Yunno looked surprised at first and then a small smile appeared on his face. He narrowed his eyes as he looked toward the grayish horizon, where little pink and orange clouds decorated the morning sky floated by lazily. "Then we shall find her there." He mumbled.
0ooo0
Fate watched in amusement as an auburn-haired beauty glared daggers at their foreman, who earlier had lightly knocked at her head with his pen for her lack of progress in plucking the chickens. The short bald man stood with his chin up as if daring her to do anything and Fate prayed to herself that Nanoha would just leave it at that. And she breathed out with relief when Nanoha begrudgingly turned back to her work, ignoring the man.
"I think the prettiest girl in this factory, one with the prettiest eyes and prettiest red hair is Fate's sister." A young man next to Fate exclaimed in his thick Irish accent. "If you don't mind me saying so." He laughed.
"You can say what you like, lad." Fate said as she dipped a cage of dead and unplucked chickens in the steaming pot. "But I warn you, that redhead has a bite that stings."
It'd been months since the day they first came to America and Fate and her unexpected companion had some how gotten used to the life in here. Of course they still hadn't come to like one another's presence but they managed to tolerate each other's antics and although Fate was the one that mostly gave into their quarrels, Nanoha also had learned to behave. Though hard, the landlord's daughter had accepted the fact that she was no longer the high and mighty princess.
Everyday, from morning till afternoon, they worked in the factory, plucking chickens, and in the evening, they ate together in their room with so much talking as throwing each other mild insults. Then they would go to sleep, with the same arrangement from the first night: Fate on the floor with a blanket and Nanoha got the bed. They somehow had sneaked a spare pillow from Molly's room and put an end to their silly fight over who should get the pillow, which Fate always lost. Then morning would come and they would repeat their activities, working hard with the same hope to save enough money to get them out of Boston.
Fate frowned as once again hey eyes had found their way back to the beautiful redhead. Nanoha had stopped working and instead had sat down on a bench nearby, wiping at her forehead. Unfortunate for her, that short foreman seemed to have taken a liking of spotting her whenever she went and Fate's frown worsened as she realized she was acting just as much the same as the disgusting man.
"Get to work!" The foreman snapped at Nanoha, pulling at her arm.
"Get your filthy hands of me, you ugly animal." Nanoha spat, yanking her arm back.
Laughters and giggles emerged from others workers and the short ugly foreman growled in anger, his face was turning red.
"That will cost you a day's wage." He snarled, feverishly writing down in his stack of papers. "Go on. Insult me again." He looked up at the red-haired girl and spat down at her feet, grinning. His teeth were of a decayed yellowish color.
Nanoha gritted her teeth. Her fists were so tight that her knuckles turned white. She was trying her best to hold back the desire to punch the man in front of her. She looked at him with menacing eyes instead and slowly drawled out the word, "Pig." And it earned her good laughters from everyone nearby.
"There goes tomorrow." The foreman wrote down on his papers again. His face was now purple. "Done?"
Nanoha was boiling and she had to look away to cool her head. She accidentally caught eyes with burgundy and saw Fate waving 'no' at her and point to her desk, mouthing her to get back to work. But Nanoha had a better idea. She pretended to walked away from her feud with the man and when he was beside himself with victory, Nanoha abruptly turned back, "Take Friday as well, you spineless little fraction of a man." She hissed.
And Fate and the factory burst into laughters.
0ooo0
"What are you looking at?" Nanoha asked with a slight irritation in her voice as the blonde next to her kept staring at her for quite a while now. Fate's stare made her blush and she didn't like it.
"I'm just trying to figure out what you're doing there." Fate said matter-of-factly as she watched the shorter girl doing her laundry.
"It's obvious what I'm doing. I'm cleaning my clothes."
"I see."
Fate's lips tugged into a smile as Nanoha continued cleaning her clothes. The redhead used her thumb and index finger to pick at the hem of a shirt and started swirling it around in the basin in slow circles. Occasionally, she stopped to dip it in the suds a few times then resumed swirling.
"Do you ever wonder why it takes you so long, Nanoha? I mean, look at my clothes," Fate gestured to her clothes hung on a rope. "Washed and hung. Done."
"Your talent astounds me, Fate." Nanoha just shrugged and smiled.
"Move over." Fate said and walked to Nanoha. "Move over." She pointed at the girl and used her authority voice. And to her surprise, Nanoha did move. "If you want to clean your clothes, you have to get your hands wet."
Nanoha stepped back behind the tall blonde and strained her neck to look over broad shoulders. She smells of soap and fresh grass. Interesting.
"First, you place the board like so," Fate said as she put the washing board in front of her, placed its back against the edge of the basin. "You take the soap in your right hand, the clothes in the left…" Fate illustrated with her hands high in front of her so that Nanoha could see. She was too occupied with her task that she didn't noticed someone shamelessly smelling her from behind. "Then you brush the clothes across the soap twice," She rubbed the things in her hands together roughly, causing some of the droplets to splash over her chest. "Then you plunge and scrub, plunge and scrub…" Fate repeated as she literally plunged the clothes into the suds and violently scrubbed it against the washing board.
Nanoha watched the show in front of her in amusement. But rather looked at the hands that were working consecutively, she glued her eyes to Fate's face, staring in awe at her concentration, admiring her skin as some drops of sweat smeared her forehead and neck.
"…And plunge and scrub and lift." Fate kept ranting. She stopped scrubbing then opted to squeeze the clothes till it stopped dripping, then she flapped and draped it over the rope. She quickly reached behind her back and pulled out the clothespins strapped on her belt like she was drawing out two pistols and pin them on either side of the hung shirt to keep it in place. "There you go." She turned around in time to catch the auburn girl staring and she blushed.
Their afternoon ended in silence after that, with Fate busied herself scrubbing the bathtub and Nanoha cleaning her clothes. And Fate was pleased to see the princess was now doing it her way.
0ooo0
"Thirty, forty…, forty-five…"
"You could be a banker, Fate, with your ability to count." Nanoha commented behind the partition as she was dressing for bed.
"Oh, a compliment. Thank you, Nanoha." Fate laughed dryly as she dropped the coins back in a small pouch and stood up to place it inside a wooden box near the closet.
"Don't suppose you've canculated what the journey will cost." Nanoha said as she loosened the lace on her dress.
Fate sat down on the box and ran a hand in her golden mane distractedly, "If I barter I can get a buckboard for under twenty-five or so…" She picked up her foot and began to take off her sock. "It's the harness that's costly. Bit, frame-" She trailed off as she caught the dress of Nanoha pooled at her feet through the gap of the partition. Small feet were visible now that she wasn't wearing that frilly, long dress of hers and Fate willed herself to look away. "Frame, collar, reins." She mumbled.
"Oh, very impressive." Nanoha hummed.
"How much have you saved, Nanoha? Are you still praying you'll make it to the Oklahoma race?" Fate asked as her eyes once again glued to the partition and this time she saw white, creamy long leg as Nanoha braced one of hers on the frame of the bed, pulling her tight off.
"I'll get there."
"Ha. What a corker! You're a corker, Nanoha." Fate smiled. "Why don't you go back home to Ireland? Write to your parents for money. They'll forgive you for your foolishness." The blonde spoke softly as she threw her socks at the foot of the bedside table. She stood up and faced the opposite, taking off her shirt.
"America may not be exactly what I thought it would be but…if I went back to Ireland, I wouldn't-" Nanoha paused.
"What? Wouldn't what?"
"I said I'll get there and I'll get there by myself." She finally said as she took off her corset and draped it over the partition, followed next was her under dress.
"Well, you need supplies." Fate mused as she unbuckled her belt and took off her pants. She walked to the closet and took out a blanket along with a pillow.
"Of course. Food, clothes…"
"Ammunition, gun." Fate added.
"Whenever I think of guns, I remember Yunno Scrya." Nanoha mumbled as she hunched on her knees and watched through a small hole on the partition as Fate spread out the blanket. She bit her lip lightly when Fate bent over to smooth out the hem of the blanket, unintentionally showing a little of her buttocks as her underpants sagged. Looks firm.
"You're lucky to be rid of that piss-headed snob." Fate snorted.
"Oh, he wasn't so bad. You didn't know him as well as I did." Nanoha smiled to herself as she admired Fate's muscular shoulders through her thin undershirt and fought the urge to run her hands over the ripped, hot flesh. "Me, he adored. He worshiped me. There wasn't a puddle of mud he didn't lay his coat upon for me to walk across." Nanoha quickly rose to her height when Fate turned around. She kept a giggle in when she realized she was almost caught staring.
Fate stood still and watched through some tattered holes on the partition as the girl behind it was dressing. She caught sight of a bare back, a small waist and a swell of breast as Nanoha pulled her auburn hair out of the way. Her skin looked so pale and soft under the effect of the candle light and Fate thought she had seen a splitting image of a pink peak on that smooth-looking breast.
Fate forcefully turned her head away as she felt blood rush to her head. Her face and body felt hot all of a sudden and she rubbed her hand roughly over her face to distract herself from the aching between her legs. She panicked a little. No one had ever had an effect on her like this girl had. Only patchy images of her naked could get Fate in such desperate state and it scared her. Calm down Fate. Think of something else.
"Are you facing east?" Nanoha suddenly spoke and she swore she saw Fate jump.
"Right, facing east." Fate quickly faced the closet and stood with her back to the partition.
"Alright. Al most ready…" Nanoha drawled as she stood on her toes to get a final look at the blonde in front of her. Fate's undershirt was cut short at the waist, revealing the tan skin of her lower back and the loose waistband of her underpants was doing Nanoha a favor. The landlord's daughter could hear her heart beat louder in her chest as she stared at Fate's round and firm butt. I wonder what it'd feel?
To Nanoha disappointment, Fate pulled up her pants when she felt it had dropped down too low. "Thanks be to Jesus." She mumbled to herself.
"Light." Nanoha called out grumpily and watched Fate stride to the bedside table and turn off the light. She quickly jumped in bed and pulled the cover up to her shoulders. "I'm in"
"Good night, Nanoha."
Darkness, in an instance, engulfed the room and its occupants, only the light of the moon shone through squared-glass window. Its silver light casted shadows on Fate's face as the blonde lay on her back, an arm draped across her forehead. She looked to Nanoha and as expected, the girl lay facing the wall, her back to her. Long tresses of auburn locks spread on the white pillow causing a mass contrast to the masterpiece Fate was admiring. She wanted to run her hands in her hair and breathe in its fragrance. Just the thought of it made Fate shiver with desire.
Nanoha suddenly turned around and lay on her stomach. She propped herself up on one elbow before speaking. "Fate." She called softly, staring at the blonde on the floor.
"What?" Fate looked to her right.
Nanoha looked down and bit at her lip. She looked at Fate again and gathered her courage. "Am I beautiful at all?" She whispered.
Fate slowly pushed herself up on her elbows. She stared at the girl before her, looked into sapphire pools with strange passion that even she couldn't explain. And now that she had turned back to face her, the moon lit her face and brought it to a new level of perfection. Her hair was now a darker shade of red, tossed wildly over her shoulders. Her thin and quirky dark eyebrows furrowed in slight annoyance. Her small, straight nose seemed to always point up in the air and her lips, Oh her lips...Full and perky, pink and soft, ready to be kissed. Fate stared at the girl in fascination. And in a moment, she thought she forgot how to breathe.
"I've never seen anything like you in all my living life." She whispered slowly.
Nanoha was surprised. She had expected Fate to purse her lips and throw insults at her. And the way Fate looked at her confused her. Was that excitement she felt? Did she mean I am beautiful? Nanoha looked away immediately when she caught red eyes staring back at her intently. "Good." She huffed then turned to face the wall once again.
Fate lay back down again. The complex of the question left her wide awake. Images of Nanoha's naked skin floated in her mind, causing her to imagine inappropriate things. And the sounds of the people living upstairs didn't make it any better. Fate squeezed her eyes shut and began to pray silently in hope of distracting herself from the moans and gasps from above. But the more she tried, the more it resounded in her head. Sounds of moans, flesh colliding, bed creaked loudly at the weight it carried drove Fate crazy. She popped open her eyes and bolted up. She roughly dressed and in a blink of an eye, ran out of the room, leaving a confused auburn-haired girl on her bed.
0ooo0
"Let's have another boxing match. We need another challenger. This man has not been defeated tonight. Will anyone box him?" Dermody ranted, pointing at a man next to him who had a few bruises on his face but rather than that, he looked healthy. The boy was standing in the middle of the saloon, pulling at men to get their attention.
"I'll fight him." Fate exclaimed as she strode in. She pulled her hair up in a messy ponytail before striking at the man's face, much to everyone's surprise. The man fell to the floor as a result of an unexpected blow came right at his jaw.
"No! No, no, no, no! Fate, there's rules in this club." Dermody whined. "Toe the line and all that. You have to wait until I signal." He knelt on the floor and drew a line in the center with a white chalk. "No kicking, no biting, no gouging!" The boy cried out the rules in a shrill voice and hurriedly backed away to the side.
"Fight me here, farmer." The man who Fate'd punched earlier cried as he stood with his feet on the other side of the white line. Men from other corners of the saloon started to gather around, making a big circle around the blonde and the man.
Fate glanced around her quickly and saw people begin to bet money on their fight. She turned to looked at her opponent before her and saw the red in his face. With one final look at Dermody, Fate stepped up and stamped her foot on the line. And a blow met her face right at the front, sending her backward to the human wall behind her. The sudden punch caused Fate a slight dizziness as she struggled to rise back up. The men behind her kept pushing at her back, shoving her toward her waiting opponent. "Get away!" She yelled.
"Toe the line! Toe the line!"
They continued to scream and shove at her and as fast as a lightning, Fate swirled around and threw a punch at the man who kept pushing at her. The heavy blown broke his nose, knocking him on the floor, unconscious.
"Come on, you!" Fate's opponent yelled. He braced two of his arms on either side of his head, ready to fight.
Fate said no more as she charged in and struck his side, causing the man to grunt in pain. "Come on!" She pulled back, yelling.
The man let out a roar and plunged himself at her but Fate was too fast for him. She ducked immediately and in an instance, threw a side mock at his ribcage. The pain seemed to drive the man crazy as he blindly charged forward and missed Fate's face as she ducked her head again and punched at his stomach. This sent him backward a few feet. He staggered back, hand clutching at his belly. Fate stood her ground and waited for her opponent, a smirk on her face.
Her smirk boiled his blood as he roared and flung at her. Fate quickly dodged to the side and threw a heavy blow direct to his left side. She didn't wait for him to recover this time as she continuously hit him from side to side. And now she was aiming at his face, with blow after blow, punch after punch throwing repeatedly at his abused flesh. She cornered him with her strikes, slowly pushing him backward until he slammed his body against the bar, knocking some of the bottles down. Fate stopped her attack as her opponent slid down on the floor pathetically, lying unconscious.
"Stop! You've won, Fate. You've won!" Dermody ran to Fate, yelling, pulling her arm up in the air.
People in the room cheered for Fate. Some of them even wrapped their arms around her and picked her up but Fate somehow managed to escape the crowd.
"What a fight! I knew you had it in you the first time I set eyes on you." The ward boss, Mike, came and congratulated her. He dragged her pass the dance floor where many girls dress in skimpy dresses danced to the cheerful music. "What do you call yourself again, kid?"
"Fate. Fate Testarossa." Fate panted slightly as she stared at a particular dance girl, who kept winking and smiling at her. Fate blushed despite herself as the lavender-haired girl swayed her hips at her seductively.
"That's right. You clobbered that fella's brains out, kid. Who would have thought such a girl like you." Mike laughed as he guided Fate to sit at his poker table and started pouring her a glass of whiskey.
"Who's that, Kelly?" A voice from behind them echoed. It was a gentlemen-looking man in a black tailored suit. He wore a black expensive top hat and black pristine shoes. In his palm was a long red wooden cane with a round silver head, an eagle was engraved on its surface. "A newfangled style of fighting she's got there."
"Fate, shake hands with Mr. D'Arcy Bourke, member of the city's council." Mike smiled at the man then turned to Fate.
Fate reached out her hand and gave a vague handshake. "I'll shake your hand, Mr. Bourke, but I'm not in a friendly mood." She pulled her hand back and turned to look around. "I came here to fight. There's fight left in me yet."
"She's a lively one, Kelly. A girl so young." Mr. Bourke laughed merrily. He sat down in front of Fate and took her in intently. "Would you box an Italian if I scared one up?" He lowered his voice.
"I'll box any man you put in front of me." Was Fate's firm answer. She picked up the glass of whiskey and downed a gulf and instantly scrunched up her face.
"Mike! Mike!" Dermody voice came screeching from behind them as the boy rushed toward the poker table. "Mike!"
"Jesus Christ, Dermody! When's your voice gonna change?" Mike snapped at the panting boy, rubbing at his ear. "What is it?"
"We've got another pug."
"Then bring him on." Fate said, standing up.
"And I'll put money on you, girl." Mr. Bourke pointed his pipe at Fate. He smiled at her when the blonde turned around and raised his thumb up. "The kid's got an appetite, Kelly."
"Toe the line, lads. Fate." Dermody said, looking at Fate.
Fate looked at the man in front of her. He was tall and buff. His beard was thick and there were drops of water dripping down from it. Fate frowned at the sight. Her hands would have to touch that disgusting beard if she ever wanted to win. And so she decided that she would end the fight soon. She just needed to gather more of her strenth to each punch and the man wouldn't stand a chance. Fate stomped her foot on the line and immediately started the fight with a punch.
0ooo0
Nanoha flopped down the bed, heaving a frustrated sigh as she had gotten up to turn the light on. Apparently, Fate wasn't the only one that couldn't sleep because of the noises from upstairs. Nanoha scowled at the ceiling, mumbling curses at everyone, including her blonde roomate. Come to think of it, it was Fate who put them in this damnable brothel and every night she was cursed with all kind of disgusting sounds. It only stopped at dawn when the girls of this place finally called it a night and went to sleep.
Nanoha huffed loudly, burying her head deep into the pillow. She thought she was immune to it after many months living in this hell and in fact, at some point, she was. But tonight was different and she blamed it all to Fate. It was all because of her damn low pants, her broad shoulders, her muscular arms and her delicious butt. Oh God, no. Did I just say 'delicious'?
She was about to think of many other things to curse Fate when she heard loud voices down the hallway. Nanoha sat up and quickly turned the light out as the footsteps and voices were now outside her door.
"Steady now, you rogue."
The door suddenly opened wide and two people clumsily walked in.
Nanoha turned on the light immediately and got off the bed, "What happened?" She gasped.
"Help me get her to the bed." The woman with purple hair said as she carried a messy blonde inside.
"Fate, you're covered in blood. What happened to you?" Nanoha exclaimed as she held onto the blonde's arm and guided her down the bed.
"She's been prize fighting, but she'll survive." The woman said, lighting a cigarette after they had properly laid Fate down. "She had a charge of gun powder in her that needed to go off." She giggled, puffing out smokes as she talked and was oblivious to a certain person's discomfort as she was too busy looking at a knocked-out blonde.
"And who might you be?" Nanoha asked with no friendliness in her tone.
"I'm Ginga. I work at the social club."
"I did well tonight, didn't I?" Fate suddenly spoke. Her voice was slur and rasp.
"Aw, you beat 'em all." Ginga cooed as she sat down on the bed next to Fate. "But don't talk now. Get some sleep." She ran a finger across her sweaty forehead, down a jawline and rested it on her lips.
Fate mouth curled up into a smile but she was too tired that her jaws went slack and her snores finally echoed through the room.
Ginga gave the blonde one last look before standing up. "I need to talk to you." She turned to Nanoha and pulled her outside.
Nanoha grumpily walked out and closed the door not so gently behind her. She frowned when the woman before her once again pulled out another cigarette.
"You're her sister, right?" Ginga asked, lighting her cigarette.
"Uh-huh."
"What sort of a person she is? I mean beside tough and handsome as the devil?"
"Well…" Nanoha looked at the woman in a skimpy outfit and frowned when her eyes rested on a very large bosom. She wore only a red corset and left her shoulders bare. The corset was barely there to cover half of her breasts, showing a mass amount of her cream-white cleavage. "She's extremely moody." Nanoha finally said.
"Ah, I believe that." Ginga sighed dreamily, blowing out a ring of smoke. "Full of spit, isn't she? And passion…?"
Nanoha forced her eyes away from the woman's chest again to look her in the eyes. "No, not really. She's fairly dull." She tried to make it sound casual but failed miserably. What are you talking, Nanoha? Fate isn't dull.
"Dull?" Ginga laughed. "Well, I don't know what sort of people you used to…but she's anything but dull." She slowly puffed out another ring. "And the build on her- Me and the girls got swollen eyes from gawking at her bum." She giggled again.
Nanoha tried to unclench her jaws. She didn't know she was gritting her teeth the whole time Ginga was rambling. She turned away abruptly and walked to her room. "Well, goodbye, Ginga."
"Would you tell her I-"
"Nice to meet you." Nanoha cut her off as she opened her door and stepped inside.
"Well, I just want to tell her-"
"Goodnight, Ginga." She smiled and shut the door.
"That was Ginga." Fate said softly from the bed. "She dances in the burly-cue."
"Yes, well, never mind her now" Nanoha turned around and regarded the blonde on the bed. One of her eyes had started to swell, her lip was cut and her cheeks were bruised but still, Fate had a smile on her battered face. "No, Fate, lie there, lie still." She walked quickly to the bed and pushed the blonde down as she attempted to sit up.
"Look in my boot down there." Fate whispered, pointing at her boot.
Nanoha reached for her leg and pulled the trouser leg up and saw some papers stuck at the faded boot. "Four dollards." She gasped.
"I won it." Fate grinned.
"That's more than plucking chickens in a month."
"I'll have my horse and buggy before the winter comes…" Fate sighed happily."And it won't be from plucking chickens."
"There are other ways to get to Oklahoma, Fate."
"You should have heard them, Nanoha, cheering on me." Fate mumbled. Her eyes fluttered closed. "It was grand. So grand."
Nanoha watched her roommate drifted off to sleep and frowned. The way Fate smiled happily after being beat black and blue disturbed her to no end. Surely, there were plenty ways to earn money. This was not something to be proud of. This was wrong. This money was dirty, Fate'd earned it by shedding her blood and others.
Nanoha dropped the money down onto Fate's chest and walked to the tin basin on the bedside table. She poured water from a pot in the basin and dipped a towel in the cool liquid. She sat down on the bed next to a sleeping blonde and gently wiped her blood-stained face. Nanoha mumbled curses as Fate moaned softly at the touch of the wet fabric. She ran her fingers across her forehead to clear some of her stray blonde locks and stared at her. Fate was still smiling in her sleep, her face was peaceful and Nanoha was suddenly reminded that Fate was, after all, a very young girl, barely older than her a few years. And despite all of her toughness, there was a soft look to her face that Nanoha appreciated, the look of a woman no matter how she acts, no matter what she wears.
Nanoha turned off the light and pulled the cover over Fate's shoulders. She gave her once last glance before settling herself on the floor where Fate's sleep place was. She closed her eyes and sighed. Fate needed the bed more than her right now. And for a splitting moment, she realized she'd been so unfair with Fate these many months.
0ooo0
"Would you be still for a second? Do you want to loose you ear?" Nanoha grumbled as she held a lock of blonde hair in her hand, a scissors in her other one.
"Sorry." Fate smiled sheepishly.
Nanoha said no more and resumed her work. She worked her scissors through long blonde strains, cutting them down one by one. The locks fell to the floor graciously, pooling at her feet. Nanoha looked at the blonde through the mirror placed in front of them and noted that Fate was in a good mood today. She was staring out the window in their shared room, humming a particular song Nanoha didn't recognize.
"You're in a good mood today. How rare."
"Oh, I am. Ginga will be here in a couple of minutes and I am to escort her to the church- Ow!" Fate yelped as her hair was suddenly being pulled on roughly. "What the-"
"Sorry. There was a knot in your hair." Nanoha said casually.
Fate didn't comment on and let the auburn-haired girl work on her hair. "Thanks, Nanoha. I didn't know who else to ask of this." She said after a while.
"You could always ask your friend Ginga." Nanoha's voice was laced with sarcasm but Fate seemed to not notice. She, once again, let her mind wander off some where else. "Such a pity." Nanoha mumbled distractedly as she ran her hand through blonde hair, feeling the smooth, soft golden locks slide off her fingers like streams.
"Huh? What?"
"Your hair. It's just too beautiful to cut off."
"My hair?"
Nanoha snapped out of her daze immediately and cleared her throat loudly. "I mean, it was really long. You must have taken a lot of care to grow it out that much."
"Oh no, I didn't." Fate smiled. "I never cared much about my hair. I was just too busy to get a hair cut, is all."
"But still…"
"I need it short now. It was getting in the way when I fight."
Nanoha was silent. It was now a common thing that Fate was a regular fighter at the club. Every night, she would come to the saloon and fight for money. And then in the morning, she came home battered with a bright smile and a few dollars. Fate had stopped working at the factory and spent the day at the saloon instead, drinking with the men and fooling around with the dancers. She gained popularity very fast, in fact. People in this little ward now knew of her name, of her fight, her skills and her invincibility. Nanoha had heard that no man or woman had defeated Fate. She just simply won every fight, knocked out every single person that dared challenge her.
"You're done now." Nanoha said as she ruffled blonde hair that was now short to the base of Fate's neck.
"Wow. It looks amazing!" Fate exclaimed as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. "You've got talent. Who taught you?"
"My mother." Nanoha said as she put the scissors into a small tin box then stood on her toes to place it on the shelf. She turned around to watch Fate once again and couldn't stifle a laugh as the bonde still tried to fix at her hair, not used to her new style. "You look like a man."
"I hope. I've got enough of jokes on me being a woman in a fight club." Fate grinned and turned around to face her roommate. "How do I look? I mean, besides the 'I look like a man'." She laughed.
Nanoha's expression softened at the excitement in Fate's face and she,too, smiled. "You look handsome." She whispered.
Fate blushed and widened her eyes as the face of the girl before her became red. She stared in awe as said girl looked down at her feet and glued her sapphire eyes there, ignoring her. "T-Thank you." She finally said and it came out as a stammer.
"I've got shopping to do." Nanoha side-stepped and quickly walked to the door. She didn't wait for Fate's reply as she slammed the door behind her and rushed down the hall. She heaved violently once outside and chastised herself for saying inappropriate things. Fate isn't handsome and you are not affected by her. Not at all!
"Nanoha!"
Nanoha turned to the woman who'd just called her name and it was Millie, her workmate in the factory. "Oh, hi Millie. I'm sorry. Did you wait long?"
"Not at all. Come on." The woman called Millie laughed. She looked about her late twenty, with dark curly hair and green eyes. She laced her arm with Nanoha and together they walked downtown.
They met with a few other women later, who also worked at the factory, and together, they trolled the market, looking for things, haggling with butchers and marveling at expensive dresses hung behind the glass windows of fancy tailor shops.
"Would you look at that." Millie exclaimed, pointing at a dress.
"Oh, look at the sleeves all billowed out." Another woman mumbled in awe. She pressed her palms against the glass, drooling.
"It's from Paris, France, it says." Millie said, turning to Nanoha.
Nanoha stared at the dress, mesmerized. She too, placed her palm on the glass and traced her fingers along the embroideries on the jade-color dress. "So beautiful and modern." She whispered. This dress was far more beautiful than her regular dresses she used to wear at home in Ireland. Its sleeves were billowed out at the arms and its neck was a turtle-neck-like, decorated with white lace. It would fit her form perfectly.
"Look, Nanoha, there's your famous sister." Millie said as she pointed at the blonde who just stepped out of a shop.
"Good grief. She's bought herself another hat." Nanoha turned around snickered as she watched her fake sister tip her newly-bought hat at a couple of women walked by.
Millie and the women laughed at her words. "See you tomorrow." They tapped her shoulders lightly and waved good-bye.
Nanoha waved at them before turning around to faced Fate and she caught a briliant smile plastered on the blonde's face.
"Hello, Nanoha." Fate tipped her brown bowler hat again.
"Hello, Fate. Where is Ginga?"
"She couldn't come. Well, what do you think?" Fate said and quickly discarded Nanoha's question by prompting another at her. "Do you like it, my hat?" She grinned, tipping her hat once again.
"No, not at all." Nanoha snorted and walked away, leaving Fate standing like a fool.
"I'll get some other opinions." Fate recovered from her little shock earlier and strode along side the auburn beauty. "Hey, do you like my hat?" She called out to a seller.
"It's a fine hat! And a fine fight last night!" The man laughed, throwing Fate a fresh peach which she caught with no effort.
"Glad you like it, Connor." Fate took a bite and grinned at Nanoha. She smiled smugly when the girl rolled her eyes at her.
Fate walked with Nanoha as they strode back to their house and she couldn't help but smile broadly along the way as people throw compliments at her hat and her fight. Some people would even run to her, grab her for a hug or a handshake. She was famous. Children looked up to her, elders praised her and women stared at her hungrily every time she passed by. For once in her life, Fate felt powerful.
"You have changed, Ms. Testarossa." Nanoha suddenly turned around and said as Fate shut the door to their room.
"Improved, you mean?" Fate said as she took off her jacket and hung it on the wall. She then squatted on the floor and did some push up.
"Nope. Changed." Nanoha snorted, gesturing her hand toward the shelf. "Look at all these silly hats. You'll never get to Oklahoma. You've spent all your money."
"At the rate I'm going, they'll bring the land to me." Fate heaved on the floor, lifting her body up and down with her arms.
"You have turned into a snob." Nanoha sneered and smirked when she saw red eyes gleam dangerously at her. She sat down on the bed and was about to throw more insults at the blonde on the floor when a feminine voice from outside the window cut her off.
Fate pushed herself up on her feet and brushed off her hands. She smiled at the auburn-haired girl. "Excuse me." She got to the window and looked down at the street to see a purple-haired woman in a frilly burgundy dress, who was waving at her. "Hello, Ginga."
"Hello, Fate." Ginga giggled shyly. "I'm so sorry I couldn't make it this morning. But next time…Will I be seeing you in church next weekend? We can share a pew, me and you."
"Sounds devine and holy, Ginga." Fate dashed her best smile at Ginga. She stole a glance at the girl with sapphire eyes behind her and stiffled a laugh at her fuming face. She turned back and exchanged some sickly sweet good-bye with the purple-haired woman and finally shut the window.
"She's got an awfully large chest to be going to church." Nanoha stood up with a huff and made her way to the partition.
"Nanoha, all chests are equal in the eyes of the Lord." Fate shook her head and smiled as she took a hat in her hand and examined it.
"Oh, she goes into the confession box, she'll never come out, the little tramp she is."
"Ginga isn't a tramp, Nanoha. She's a dancer in the burly-cue." Fate turned to look at Nanoha, her red eyes flashing disapproval.
"That isn't dancing. That's kicking her knickers up." Nanoha snapped, waving her hand up for illustration. "I suspect if you asked her to, she would kicked her knickers off."
"Maybe she would." Was Fate's quiet answer.
Nanoha stopped whatever she was doing and stared at Fate intensely. "Has she?" She snarled.
"Well, let me see."
"Has she?"
"I'm trying to remember here." Fate pretended and she enjoyed the way Nanoha looked at her. It was as if she was about to pound on her and pull all of her hair out.
"Well, think hard, if there's any brain left in your head." Nanoha hissed, knocking at Fate's head. "Look at you. They're making a fool of you, the ward boss and his friends."
"They respect me."
"They do not. They don't respect you."
"Enough." Fate warned. Her eyes had become darker.
"You're money in their pockets and nothing more, Fate." Nanoha opened a drawer and pulled out a pillowcase. "You let them pickle you like a piece of pork." She kept abusing Fate's pride, completely oblivious to a shaking blonde behind her as she was too busy changing the pillowcase. "They're just using you-"
"I said that's enough!" Fate roared and charged herself at her roommate. She quickly scooped the startled girl onto her shoulder and roughly walked out of the room.
"No! Put me down, Fate!" Nanoha screamed and continuously slapped at her captor's back. She was kicking her arms and legs all over to free herself but to no avail. Fate was too strong for her.
Fate strode to the bathroom with a wailing girl in her arms and slammed the door open. She then not so gently and practically threw Nanoha into the tub, which miraculously was filled with water to the edge. Nanoha stopped screaming immediately by the sudden stunt and because water had filled her mouth and nostrils.
"Tell me, tell me you like my hat." Fate grabbed Nanoha's arm and shook.
"You're not wearing a hat." Nanoha coughed and spat out water.
"Say it! Say you like my hat."
"You're not wearing a hat!" Nanoha yelled, glaring daggers at Fate.
"Just say it!" Fate yelled back. She was puffing like a bull, her red eyes were flashing with anger. "Why can't you say it, Nanoha? Why can't you say you like my hat? Why can't you say you like my suit? I've earned it. I've done well." Fate stared into beautiful ocean pools and gritted her teeth as the girl before her was speechless. Why can't you be proud of me?
They fell into an oppressing silence as Fate finally turned around, her back to Nanoha, and stared at the floor. She put her blonde head in her hands, shame and guilt finally reached her. She couldn't believe what she just did. She was rough to Nanoha. Her mother didn't raise her to be rough to women. She felt ashame of herself not only by the fact that she treated Nanoha like shit but also because she was right. Everything Nanoha had said was right. And it had shot a bullet straight to her fragile pride. They don't respect you! They're making a fool of you! They're using you! Nanoha's words echoed through her mind, jabbing and twisting till it bled and Fate laughed dryly at herself. She was pretending to be blind. She knew all too well what the ward boss and his powerful friends were after. They would keep sucking blood out of her till one day she had no left then they would kick her out, like a rag doll, whose job was to entertain people.
Nanoha slowly stood up and made her way out of the tub, "Don't touch me, Fate!" She snapped and slapped Fate's hand away when the blonde had intended to help her out. "Why don't you go fondle that slut with the runaway tits?"
"You're jealous of me. I make more money than you and you're just jealous." Fate's anger built up again. She stood at the door way and screamed at the soaking girl who was having trouble walking back to their room.
"I can make money as fast as you can, you just watch me, asshole!" Nanoha yelled and then laughed out loud as Fate slipped on the wet floor when she was dashing toward her. She quickly slammed the door shut and locked it.
0ooo0
"Fate! Fate! Mike Kelly is looking for you." Dermody yelled as he ran pass the ladies to the living room of Molly's place.
"Molly, have you seen Nanoha?" Fate asked, walking to Molly where the woman was sitting at the piano, talking to the girls. She ignored Dermody's wailing and only looked at the older woman. "She didn't come home from work."
"Tonight's the big fight, the big fight, Fate."
Dermody kept begging and Fate needed to push his head away a few inches so that her ears could have some peaceful moment. "Molly?"
"No, I haven't seen her." Molly finally answered with slight annoyance in her voice.
"She's there." The boy quickly caught up with the adults. He grabbed Fate's arm desperately. "Nanoha is there."
"Where?"
0ooo0
Fate walked in the bustling saloon with people every where. Banners and posters and flags with the color of Ireland and Italy blurred her vision. As people had finally noticed her appearance, they yelled and screamed at her, both in joy and disgust. But there only one thing mattered to her at that moment, Nanoha. She didn't come here to fight, didn't come here to entertain anybody. She came here for Nanoha. Fate frowned when she caught the sight of a redhead in skimpy clothes walking and dancing suggestively in the burly-cue. She sprinted forward, knocking and pushing at people that were in her way.
"Nanoha, stop this!" Fate hissed as she finally stood in front of the stage. "Where's your dignity, woman?"
"Mind your business, Fate." Nanoha snarled and hastily bent down to pick coins people was throwing on the stage. "You get your brains smashed in every night. What's the difference?"
"There's a world of difference." Fate said before pulling her shirt off and climbed up the stage where Nanoha was standing. She used her shirt as a cover and wrapped it around the girl in hope to save some of her dignity.
"Come on, Testarossa. Come in there and box." Mike had appeared somewhere near the stage and yelled at Fate. Next to him was Mr. Bourke.
"I've got a hundred bet on you tonight." Bourke said urgently.
"Kiss your money good-bye, Mr. Bourke." Fate answered firmly. She pushed Nanoha behind her back and looked around to fine a way out of the club.
"I'll make it two-hundred and I'll split the winnings with you. It's two hundred dollars, Fate!" Bourke roared, pulling out money from his vest and pushed it at Fate.
"No!" Fate snapped.
"Fate!" Nanoha suddenly called from behind. "Take it." She whispered.
"Take it? I thought you didn't want me to fight?"
"But it's so much money. You've boxed for nickels before. This is a fortune!"
Then from afar, Fate heard people calling her name. She looked toward the door and saw a big, muscular man walk in. He has an Italian flag wrapped a round him and when her eyes and his met, he flexed his muscle and smirked at her.
"You'll have it. You'll have Oklahoma. You'll never have to fight for them again." Nanoha's soft and gentle voice brought the blonde to look in her eyes as she whispered. She grabbed Fate's hands in hers and squeezed. "This will get us out of here."
Fate paused and stared at the blue orbs before her, mouth agape. She suddenly felt her throat gone dry and her heart beat faster. Was she imagining things or her ears had tricked her this time? "Us?"
"Well, you…" Nanoha looked away and blushed. She slowly let go of Fate's hands. "I mean you."
Fate shifted her gaze toward her opponent and back to Nanoha. There was a strange gleam in those blue eyes that urge her to fight, to win. And all she could see was trust and, was it love? The pink hue on her cheeks, the red on her lips had drowned out the noises in the crowded room. And the spark in her eyes spoke louder than words and Fate finally understood. She would fight, not for Bourke, not for Mike or even for her. She would fight for Nanoha.
Fate jumped off the stage and raised both her arms up in the air for Mike to tie a flag at her waist. She turned around to look at Nanoha one last time and smiled. She would win.
People had gathered around them into a circle. Fate stood wide-legged in front of the Italian man and noted that he was not big only, he was a head taller than her. But she stood her ground, glaring up at him with defiance.
"This is a fight to the finish, gentlemen. Side betting is allowed and a knock-out terminates a round." Dermody yelled. He crawled on the floor to draw a line.
Fate stepped on the line and immediately threw a punch at her enemy. She dodged away two punches sending at her head but was hit in the cheek at the third one. It turned out her opponent wasn't called the 'Smasher' for nothing. He hit fast and his blows were hard. Fate regained her balance and wiped the blood off her lips. She ducked under his next hit and quickly threw hers at his sides. The man gave out a little grunt and swiftly locked Fate's arm when she tried to swing it at his face. He then used his other fist to blow at her side and each punch felt like thunder through her ribcage. Fate unlocked herself by hitting his face with her free elbow, pushing him back a few feet. She caught her chance and consecutively throwing punch after punch at his face, smearing her knuckles with his blood. But he was no ordinary man. He used his arms to lock hers and used his head as a weapon to knock at hers. The unexpected blow threw Fate backward to the circle of men and some of them used this chance to kick at her sides then they threw her back to her opponent to be hit at the face one more time. Fate quickly got out of his aim and slid behind him and hit at his back. She waited for the man to turn around and performed her famous uppercut at his chin. This knocked him flat on the floor.
"Come to scratch!" A man yelled as he pulled out his pocket watch.
Fate stood and heaved violently. She watched her opponent wipe away his blood then regain his stand. She was about to charge at him when suddenly she heard someone yelp in the background. She looked toward the direction of the voice and her blood boiled as she saw Nanoha was being pushed at Bourke and the man was pulling her down onto his lap.
Fate started walking to the auburn-haired girl but was stopped by a punch to the face. The man plunged himself at her and she used her body to push him back. She flung her head up at his face and hit him square in his jaw. The man fell back into the human wall behind him. Fate didn't care if her enemy was dead or whatever as she roughly made her way toward the stage, where Nanoha was.
"Get your hands off her!" She yelled when she near Bourke. "Filthy pig!" She yanked Nanoha to her and violently pushed at him, knocking him to the floor.
"Get back to scratch! Do you want to forfeit?" Mike threw her off the stage into the awaiting hands of people. They immediately carried her over their heads back to the fight.
"Nanoha!" Fate cried as she was helpless in the hands of the men below her. She tried to kick at them but they didn't let go of her. "Nanoha!"
"Fate, no! Let go of her, please!" Nanoha sobbed, crying her throat out but her voice was drowned by the yells of men.
The men tossed her carelessly on the floor but Fate sprang up immediately. She pushed herself at them but there were too many of them she couldn't budge. They pushed her back and accidentally, her feet hit the line in the center and it gave her opponent the right to start the fight.
A heavy blow was sent at her back, jerking her up and Fate heard the sound of her bones cracking. She had yet to regain her balance when he again hit her hard in the face. She tried to punch him but her blow was now too slow and weak due to the loss of strange that he caught it easily and hit at her face continuously. Fate was forced to her knees but still tried to stand up but her enemy didn't relent. He kept hitting at her face even when she was nearly flat on the floor.
Fate's blood spilled on the floor into streams at the final hit and she lay on her stomach, jerking weakly. Far away, she heard Nanoha's piercing scream and men yelling wildly. She tried to raise herself up but her limbs felt like noodles and her eyelids were heavy as if there were two weights hung on either of them. Blood dripped into her vision and it stung. Fate finally let go and slumped on the cold floor.
0ooo0
The sounds of stray cats mewling woke her. Fate lay on the dirty floor with false food every where. She propped herself up and found that she was at the trash-dump. She groaned as she pushed herself up and tried the first few steps on shaky legs. Her face was still covered in blood and an eye of her had swollen to the point she could no longer see clearly. Her body hurt terribly especially her left side, where the Italian man had broke a few bones of her.
Fate staggered through the street and stopped dead when her remained good eye spotted a dirty-blond head. She scowled at the tall gentleman, who was surrounded by drunkards, and flinched. Put her every where in any conditions, Fate could still always recognize that face. It was Yunno Scrya, the man that burnt her house in Ireland. She involuntarily stepped back and hid behind a wall but someone grabbed at her shoulder and yanked her around.
"Have you seen a girl like that?" A policeman pointed his stick at her. He handed her an old picture.
Fate took it and used her one-eyed vision to examine. It was a picture of a girl with bright auburn locks, a pointed nose and deep, sparkling blue eyes. Fate shook her head and quickly dashed away when she heard Yunno's voice near.
"If you see her, her family is in Jefferson Court. Number Six, Jefferson Court." The policeman called after her.
Fate ran and barged inside Molly's place. Molly herself and other girls were standing in the hallway, their faces were white with fear.
"What happened to your face, Fate?" Molly asked.
Fate ignored her and accelerate the stairs toward her room. She opened the door and what first caught her eye was Nanoha. She sighed with relief as the girl looked fine with only tears staining her gorgeous face.
"Do come in, scrapper." Mike growled from where the wardrobe was, in his hand was a little tin box. He walked to the bed and poured all of its content on the mattress, coins and bills, hers and Nanoha's saving.
"That's our money. We earned it." Fate gritted her teeth. Her hands had formed into iron fists.
"There isn't a penny here that doesn't originate with me." Mike snorted and he immediately cowered back as Fate had plunged herself at him. "Hold her back!" He yelled at his men and together they hit her.
"Don't touch her!" Nanoha cried and used a woodblock to hit at Mike's back. He turned around and pushed at her, yanked it away from her.
"Get them out!" Mike and the guys flung Fate and Nanoha onto the cold stone road. "You're done, scrapper. You don't work here, box here, nothing here. Get her up! Too bad, but I saw it coming, the first time you walked in off the boat." He finished his insults by hitting at Fate in the stomach and laughed as her body slid on the ground.
Nanoha flung at Fate and sobbed. She held the blonde tightly, rubbing their foreheads together. The wind blew mercilessly around them and she felt Fate shake violently in her arms. "It's okay, Fate. I'm here." She whispered.
"Molly Kay, these two are banished. You shelter them even a night, I'll shut this whorehouse down." Mike's cold voice echoed through the empty street as he spoke to Molly. "Come on." And he left with his man, leaving Nanoha and Fate on their own.
0ooo0
"Fate, we can't keep wandering like this. It's too cold." Nanoha mumbled in her hands as she blew air into her palms to keep them warm from the blizzard. They'd been walking outside for three days without any food of drinks. All the shops and hotels slammed their door at the sight of their faces whenever they asked for help. And Nanoha wasn't surprised. They were all scared of the ward boss and his minions. He had made it clear the night he kicked them out that no place should shelter them as long as he still reined in this little crime world.
"I know." Fate wrapped her arms around Nanoha, rubbing up and down to give her some warmth.
Nanoha looked at Fate and she almost cried. Her face was paler than usual, her lips was dried to the pointed they turned purple and her teeth was banging against each other due to the cold. The only thing that seemed to not looses its spark was her eyes. They shone brightly through the night and Nanoha began to think she had gone crazy for she could feel the warmth radiated from those burgundy pools.
"Nanoha?"
"I can't, Fate. I just can't." Nanoha dropped to her knees in the middle of the sidewalk. The heavy snow covered them and drowned them out in the white of the night.
"Come on, Nanoha. Don't give up on me." Fate said as she pulled the shorter girl up but she too, was weak due to the freezing weather and lack of nutrients that she slumped down on the ground, next to Nanoha.
Nanoha rubbed her face against Fate's chest, shaking. In those three days, they tried knocking on some doors of the residents to ask of work or food and were turned down harshly. She remembered once, they were yelled in the face and were chased away by dogs just because the of owners' 'don't hire Irish' policy.
"Hang on. I think this house is empty." Fate suddenly said. She pushed and kicked at the frozen gate violently till it finally gave out. "Come on."
They broke their way inside a big mansion and just as Fate said, it was empty of people.
"Look. A tree…" Nanoha whispered when her eyes spotted a big Christmas tree with colorful ornaments and toppers. She picked up a dried pine and examine it in her palm. She suddenly was flooded with memories of her younger days, celebrating Christmas with her parents. She nearly cried at a particular memory of a seven-year-old her, excitedly tearing off the expensive wrapper of her present.
"Look! Food! There's food here."
Fate's exclamation startled her and she looked to her. Fate was stuffing her mouth with bacons and pies. Her hands were working, too, filling her pockets with fruits and bread. Nanoha ignored the blonde and stared at herself in the mirror nearby. She took off her head scarf and gloves and let her auburn locks spill over her shoulders. The moonlight shone through the many high windows, illuminating her hair, turning it into streams of gold.
"Look at us, Fate. I never thought it would turn out like this."
Fate stopped eating. She stared at Nanoha and the way her body basked in the silver lights of the moon. She looked like an angel even in her most disheveled state. "Nanoha, sit down at this beautiful table."
"No, we can't. We're buglars."
"Please…please. I want you to pretend." Fate took of her hat and walked to the large table. "I'll serve you. Tonight, I want you to dine." She pulled a chair out and gestured with her eyes.
Nanoha came and sat down at the chair Fate had pulled for her. When Fate began to spread the white napkin before her, she stopped her. "No, Fate. Don't serve me. Sit down with me." She tugged lightly at Fate's sleeve, whispering. "Let's pretend…that this hous is ours, that you…are my lover…and I am your woman." A blush dusted her cheeks and the way Fate looked at her right at the moment burnt her but she didn't care. She now knew something.
Fate had sat down beside her and was staring at her intently, waiting for her to continue.
"Fate, did you ever wonder what that land you dreamed of looked like?"
"Yes."
"Mine was a green pasture with tall grass that rolled just a little bit." Nanoha giggled.
"And mine had a stream running through it. Perhaps some trees…" Fate smiled, still locking eyes with sapphire. "Rich, dark soil and no rocks to pick out of the ground."
"Green pasture and a stream…they would compliment each other, no?"
"They would." Fate moved her face closer to feel Nanoha's warmth. She didn't realize she had been drawn to deep, deep oceans with an invisible force. "One, in fact, depends upon the other."
And Nanoha was silent. She kept staring tenderly at the blonde before her as if this was the first time they'd seen each other again after many years apart. She suddenly lifted her hand and traced the outer line of Fate's lip and was pleased that Fate didn't budge. "Pretend…that you love me…" She whispered softly.
"I'll pretend I love you."
"I'll pretend I love you, too."
Fate slowly moved her face closer to Nanoha's. They were close enough to breathe in each other's warmth. Nanoha closed her eyes at the lightest touch of lips and involuntarily jerked her head back as an alien feeling jolted through her body. She looked up at Fate and saw gentle red eyes gazing at hers and she suddenly had no fear.
Fate smoothed her palm on silky auburn locks, tucked away some of the stray ones that getting in the way. She drew in a shaky breath as the girl in front of her fluttered her eyes at the touch of her hand. You're so beautiful. And once again, Fate moved closer, brushing her lips upon softer ones. She held Nanoha's head in her palms and slightly pulled her in. She nipped gently and her lips then shyly licked at them and to her delight, Nanoha parted her lips.
Nanoha ran her hands in soft blonde locks, pulling lightly. She boldly thrust her tongue inside Fate's mouth and felt the warmth of the cavern. She sucked at her tongue sensually, biting playfully at the muscle. She pulled her tongue out of her mouth and slowly licked at her swollen lips, then without a warning, she bit down on Fate's bottom lip and couldn't hide a smirk as Fate groaned softly into her mouth.
A sound at the front door broke their sweet moment. Fate jerked her head back and listened intently.
"Who's there?" A deep, male voice echoed in the room, followed were the sounds of footsteps.
"Run, Nanoha." Fate cried and bolted up. She pulled Nanoha with her to the door, yanked it open and pushed the girl out. She immediately ran after Nanoha but her ears had perked up at an odd sound. Fate turned around and saw a man standing at the front door pointing his gun as them. "No! No!" She yelled, waving her arms in the air.
But it was too late, a deafening sound roared in the dark of the night and Nanoha fell to the ground. Fate ran to the fallen body and squatted on the ground. Nanoha was unconscious and Fate saw pools of blood seeped onto the ground, staining the blanket of snow red.
"Police! Get the police!"
Fate heard someone yelling from behind and she panicked. If the police found them guilty in breaking in their house, she and Nanoha would be locked in for ever. And Nanoha was hurt, she couldn't let that happen. She quickly picked the auburn beauty in her arms and ran as fast as she could away from the scene.
Fate ran and called for help in the storm, with a bleeding girl in her arms, but no one answered her pleads. She slipped on the icy road and fell and was pretty sure her knees would have some scratches but she didn't care. She looked at Nanoha and bit her lip at the face before her. Nanoha's face was now as white as the snow around them, as if all the blood had been drained out of her fragile body. Her lips were slightly agape, as gray as ash and Fate could tell the warmth was gradually leaving her. Fate bit back a sob and held her close to her, brushing her lips against her ashen cheeks. "I love you. I'm not going to let you die…" She whispered. A tear fell on Nanoha's cheek and ran down her jaw. "Even if this will tear me apart." Bracing her legs, Fate stood up shakily and began waking into the night, a direction set up in her mind.
"Is this the Christies'?" Fate yelled at the maid who opened the door for them. She quickly blocked the door with her foot when the maid attempted to shut them out.
"Nanoha!" Yunno suddenly appeared at the door. He opened his mouth and then closed it, staring at her ashen face like a man who had gone mad.
"Just let us in."
The blond man snapped out of his head at Fate's words and nodded curtly. He stepped to the side and let Fate carry Nanoha inside. "Quickly, fetch the doctor." He called out to the maid.
Fate walked inside the living room and laid Nanoha down gently on a couch. She was about to brushed some of the stray hair away from her forehead when Yunno appeared beside her and shoved her away.
"Step aside. You'll infect her with your filthy hands." He hissed harshly." What did you expect? That you could climb to her station?"
Fate was silent at the insults. She watched with baited breath when Yunno started to examine Nanoha's back. And she bit her tongue when blood seeped out from the wound into his hand.
"Gunshot!" Yunno exclaimed breathlessly. He turned his head and threw a menacing look at Fate, as if he was about to plunged at her and strangle the life out of her. "God! Look at her." He muttered under his breath as he tore her shirt open.
"Will she be alright?" Fate asked quietly, avoiding his cold green eyes.
"She will now. The wound is in the shoulder. I have to clean it." Yunno stood up and walked out of the room without any more words.
Fate trained her gaze on Nanoha as she moved to the couch. She still looked pale and her lips were still colorless but her body had become warmer thanks to the fireplace behind them. Fate blinked away the tears as she watched the beauty before her breathing heavily. She was very much asleep and Fate genuinely hoped she didn't get any nightmares. She took her hand in hers and squeezed. It was still cold but compared to a few minutes prior, this was much better.
"You're safe now, Nanoha. You're in your house." Fate wiped away a tear, her face contorted in a broken smile. "You'll be fine." And she leaned in to plant a kiss on her forehead. "I'll remember you." She would remember everything, how they met, how they managed to America, how they fought every single day and still tolerated each other for months. She would burn the memories down, how it felt when their lips brushed for the first time, how the warmth radiated from their closeness and burnt her to life. And she would remember those eyes, gazing at her so lovingly, those cheeks with rosy hues and soft, pink lips parted to smile at her.
Fate quickly stood up and walked away when she felt Yunno came in. He immediately soaked the towel with whiskey and dabbed it on the wound on Nanoha's shoulder. Nanoha let out a little grunt and Fate smiled with relief. She would be okay. She would.
Fate slowly made her way to the entrance. She turned back and stole one last look at the sleeping girl on the couch. She looked peaceful, as if she was home, and she was indeed. Fate wouldn't blame Nanoha if she chose to forget what they had with each other. She just hoped Nanoha wouldn't erase her completely, hoped that she would keep memories of her in the back of her mind. This little adventure they had had finally come to an end and Fate wanted to tell Nanoha she treasured every single moment when they were together. But she doesn't need to know. Nanoha was safe, and that was enough.
"Take care of her." Fate said to Yunno and walked out of the room. She dashed for the front door and in seconds was out on the street.
"Mr. Christie, something terrible has happened!"
Fate heard the maid sobbed to the man who just got off the carriage and knew that Nanoha's parents had returned home. She quickly sneaked behind a stone pillar and watch they hurriedly walk inside.
Alone in the deserted street, Fate dragged her feet on the snow-clad road, walking toward no direction. Then she began to stride and ran and suddenly, she was racing in the storm. She ran and ran, letting the snow cut her face with its cruel coldness, letting the wind violently slap at her body, freezing her to numbness. She didn't care when her feet screamed in pain, didn't stop when her toes bled. She just realized she didn't have a care in the world, that she didn't have a reason to believe in any more. And so Fate ran, ran away from nothing.
AN: Hi guys, long time no see. I hope this long update will somehow make up for the long wait and this isn't the end yet. The second part will take place many months later. I'll try to finish this story fast, hopefully in one more chapter.
Thank you for taking your time reading my story. Enjoy!