Hey! Guess who's back with the next chapter! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, and I really hope you'll like this one too! I'll keep this short, so here you go!

By the time noon rolled around, Penny felt completely dead on her feet. Everything was sore, she could almost feel the bags under her eyes, and she was just about ready to pass out right then and there. She had spent all night in the stables, cleaning hay and dung while trying not to wake the horses. Poor things were worked so hard, they needed their rest. So did she, desperately, but at this outpost, Jonah's word was law.

Most of the time, anyway.

Leaning against a nearby pillar, she felt her eyelids begin to droop. She just… needed to rest her eyes for a second…

"Hey!"

The sudden voice jolted Penny back to wakefulness. She spun around to see the stablemaster, Murphy, standing by his forge looking very cross with her.

"This ain't naptime, kid. You've got work to do."

Good old Murphy, as warm and pleasant as ever. When she first arrived at the fort, she was made a stable hand due to her past experience with animals, technically becoming Murphy's assistant. Of course, this usually meant that he would stick her with the worst, most grueling tasks that he couldn't be bothered to do himself while he took a nap or drank some whiskey.

"Christ, Murphy, give me break! I've been up since midnight…" she groaned exhaustedly.

The older man frowned at her and crossed him arms, not looking at all sympathetic. "Yeah, and whose fault is that?"

"Jonah's." she answered, her voice completely deadpan.

"That's the Colonel to you," he sternly corrected her, "And you're the one who won't stop getting into trouble, trying to run all the damn time."

"Yeah, well, if you'd all just let me leave, we wouldn't be having these problems, would we?"

"You'd best not get smart with me, kid, or I'll be having you cleaning up horse dung until it's coming out your ears."

"Like you don't do that already…" she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, Murphy…" she decided not to push it today, far too tired to keep arguing. She turned away to start on changing the water for the troughs, only to lose her footing and nearly fall over, catching herself against a wall just in time.

At the time, Penny wasn't sure if the sight of his assistant tripping over her own feet due to sheer exhaustion tugged a singular string of Murphy's usually cold, dead heart, or if he just didn't want her to embarrass him in front of the men. Either way, it was with a heavy sigh that he trudged over to where he stored his personal belongings and withdrew a small tin cup.

"God damn it, here," he grunted, tossing it over to her. She fumbled a little, not totally have her wits about her, but managed to catch it, "Head to the canteen and get yourself some coffee; you're useless to me like this."

Penny looked down at the tin cup in her hands and then back at the portly stablemaster, her expression having softened at the gesture. The man worked her like a dog, but he would show her some decency every once in a while, which was more than could be said for the other men stationed at the outpost. The two of them gave each other crap all the time, but she really did appreciate these occasional acts of relative kindness. "Oh… thanks, Murphy."

"You've got ten minutes, understand?" he ignored her show of gratitude, making his way back to the forge to get started on some new horseshoes, "And if you're back even a second later, I'll tan your hide myself!"

Ah, Murphy. If he didn't follow up his brief moments of being nice(-ish) by threatening to beat her, then he just wasn't Murphy.

Throwing him a playful mock salute, she began her trek across the fort towards the canteen. She always tried not to walk out in the open, where dozens of leering, judgmental eyes would be on her like flies on shit. No, she didn't feel "flattered by all the attention," despite what others said. She'd had those kind of eyes on her before, and it hadn't ended well for anyone involved….

After arriving at her destination and pouring herself some coffee, she sat herself down on a chair. She had less than ten minutes to wake herself up before she had to return to the stables, so she may as well take the opportunity to give her aching feet a rest. She was pretty sure the last time she sat down was when she was getting chewed out by Jonah for her latest escape attempt. Speaking of…

Penny would have to begin planning her next attempt at some point. Not right away, of course. She had just been caught the night before, so she would have to wait about a week or two for the heat to die down. She had seen a pair of soldiers repairing the loose pillar on her way over here, much to her dismay. She wasn't too worried, though; she'd come up with something, she always did. She just hoped that whatever she came up with would actually work this time.

She was startled by the sound rowdy laughter. Looking around the corner, she saw a group of four soldiers headed her way, most likely looking to grab some lunch. She groaned, reluctantly getting up and slinking away to a corner of the canteen where they wouldn't see her. She wasn't going to outright leave, of course; she'd earned her goddamn break, but she also didn't want the men to know she was there. She'd already had her daily dose of disgusting comments thrown her way, thank you kindly.

"Ugh," one of the men moaned after yawning loudly, "I didn't get any sleep. Got woken up in the middle of the damn night by Penelope. She tried to run again, can you believe that?"

"Sorry to hear that, friend," a much livelier voice chuckled.

"Ah, shove off. How'd you all sleep through all that, anyhow? It's a miracle you even hear the bugle call in the morning."

"Hey, now. You're just out of sorts, Johnson. Come on, eat up. You need your strength,"

Penny heard a relenting grunt, and then the sound of utensils clinking against plates. She rolled her eyes. Yeah, she knew that they wouldn't be happy with her, given that her little escapade ended waking up half the fort. Not that they were ever happy to see her, of course, but still.

"What's she doing here, anyway?" A third voice asked, "The army's no place for a woman."

"Hell if I know. Just showed up here six months ago. The Colonel's never said anything about it, and I'm not all that inclined to ask him, neither. Good luck asking Penelope, too. Girls got a chip on her shoulder the size of Texas."

Penelope scowled as she sipped her coffee. 'You'd have a chip on your shoulder too if you were constantly being jeered and looked at like you were dirt. Or worse, a piece of meat.' She thought bitterly.

"Come on, fellas. Isn't it obvious?" a fourth voice laughed.

"What's obvious, Fletcher?" the second man replied dubiously.

"Really now? Seriously, everyone's thinking it. That the Colonel's, heh, taking his coffee black, so to speak..."

Penny bit back a scream. Honestly, this again? She'd been hearing this nonsense since day one, and she was sick to death of it. Yes, neither she nor Jonah ever told the men the real reason she was at the fort, but did they really have to immediately jump to the most unsavoury conclusions possible? Good lord, these soldiers gossiped more than a gaggle of farmwives.

Of course, she was sure that Jonah already knew everything the men said about the two of them. Nothing went on at this outpost without him knowing, really. Made her wonder why it didn't seem to bother him that his men thought that he, a 35-year-old man, was regularly having sex with his 18-year-old cousin. Well, they didn't know about the whole cousin part, but still…

"Hey, don't you go saying such things about the Colonel! He's an honourable man who'd never degrade himself like that!" the second man was quick to defend his superior officer.

"I dunno, I kind of get it. I mean, I can't even remember the last time I've seen a woman, and she's not bad looking. For a coloured girl, anyway." The third voiced chimed in, quick to add on that last part of his sentence before the others looked at him funny.

"Doesn't matter if the Colonel's doing her or not, the next time I see that little bitch I'll be teaching her a lesson…" the first man, Johnson growled.

"Hey, just let me have a go with her first, will ya buddy?" the third voiced chuckled, the other three men laughing along as if they'd just heard a funny inside joke.

Penny drained the rest of her coffee as quickly as she could, despite her stomach being in tangled knots. After she finished, she left the canteen as quickly and quietly as possible so the four men wouldn't see her, already having moved on to a different topic of conversation.

She kept her head down as she nearly sprinted back to the stables, wanting to look as small and unnoticeable as possible. She'd been hearing that kind of talk every single damn day since she arrived, and had much, much worse things said to her during her time in Alabama, but it never ceased to rattle her. Worse still, she was pretty sure that at this point, she'd heard similar sentiments from just about every man at this outpost, except for Jonah and Murphy.

Maybe they did it intentionally, somehow knowing that she could hear them. To remind her that despite all of their Colonel's words about this place being safe, in reality she was little more than a small, helpless rabbit surrounded by ravenous wolves, always one wrong move away from being torn apart and devoured.

Penny quickened her pace.

She needed to get out of here as soon as possible.

If there was one thing Penny could say that she actually kind of liked about living at this fort, it would be the horses. She'd loved animals ever since she was a little girl, way more than she liked other people, if she was being honest. There was a kind of beautiful sincerity to them, always living in the moment and never doing anything they didn't mean. They were there for her, too, just like it was her job to be there for them.

"Alright, Chauncey, you're all done." She smiled as she finished brushing out the thoroughbred's brown-coloured fur. Chauncey puffed up his chest proudly as she put the brush down, looking quite pleased with himself. "Yeah, yeah, we all know how handsome you are. There aren't any mares around to show off for." He nickered at her playfully, gently brushing his muzzle against her cheek. "Oh, so it's me you're showing off for? Aw, you know I love you Chauncey, but you're just not my type. Can we still be friends?" He nickered again, which she was pretty sure meant yes. She pat his muzzle lovingly and moved on to the stallion in the next stall.

"Your turn, Blue. Let's get your coat all nice and shiny, okay?" Blue snorted to voice his approval, and she got to work, running her brush up and down his torso and belly. She looked over towards the forge and found Murphy lounging with his foot up in a wooden chair, snoring loudly enough to wake the dead.

She frowned at the sight. Pretty typical, at this point. But on the plus side, that just meant that she could be alone with the horses, as long as she didn't make too much noise.

As she brushed Blue's coat, she angled herself so her back faced the setting sun to keep the light out of her eyes. She reckoned it was anywhere from 7-8 in the evening, the time of day when everyone began to wind down and finished up their remaining duties before going to bed. Dinner had already been served and eaten; Penny ate her own rations in her tiny quarters next to the stables like she usually did, away from the canteen. She never dined with the soldiers, very much preferring the company of the horses. It worked out both ways too, as more than one of the men had made it clear to her that they didn't want her to eat with them, either.

So deep in her thoughts she was that she hadn't realized she had stopped brushing Blue's fur until she felt the stallion in question's nose against the side of her head, exhaling a gust of hot air into her face.

"Hey, settle down, now," Penny laughed, patting the horse's back, "No need for that, Baby Blue. I'm halfway done, so hold your… uh… donkeys?"

Blue, Chauncey, and three other stallions burred at her simultaneously, as if to let her know how terrible her pun had been.

"Well, aren't you guys being awfully cheeky right now? Y'all are lucky I like you so much." She grinned at them before getting back to work. As she brushed, she spared a glance towards the setting sun, and felt her smile fall from her face. She used to love watching the sunset back in Maryland with Momma and Daddy, but now, all it did was remind her that there were gone. That she was alone, and that the place she had called home no longer existed.

Feeling herself grow increasingly melancholic, she gently stroked Blue's neck to soothe herself.

"Hey… do horses ever think about their parents? I mean, did you spend a lot of time with them before… you were taken away?" she asked. The horses looked at her, then each other, then back at her again, looking bewildered. "Yeah, stupid question."

A stupid question indeed. She wasn't sure about the details, but she knew that pretty much all of the horses at the outpost were born and bred for military service, never having spent a single moment in the wild their whole lives. Literally branded as property of the United States Army pretty much out of the womb, this life of rigid training and soul-crushing protocol was all they knew. Poor things.

"I wish I could take you all with me," she confessed, "When I leave, eventually. Don't know how I'd manage it, of course, but it's a nice thought. What do you think? To run wild and free, for the first time?"

Blue responded by gently rubbing his nose against her hair, feeling to Penny like he was consoling her. She leaned into the touch, rubbing away the tears that had begun to form in the corners of her eyes.

"I know. Not likely. Still nice to imagine, though…"

"Still talking to them, I see."

Startled, she looked back to see Jonah saddled atop his trusted steed, Granite, looking every bit the commanding, ruthless military officer he was. She frowned at the sight of him.

"Of course," she turned away from him to finish Blue's brush, "They're the only ones around here that actually listen to what I have to say."

"A romantic thought, but ultimately just wishful thinking." He dismounted from his saddle and casually sauntered towards her direction. "They're mindless animals, Penelope. They can't understand you, and they can't respond either."

"They're not mindless, Jonah!" she whipped her whole body around to meet him with a fiery glare, "They absolutely understand what we say, and they can respond, just not with words. You're just so damn full of yourself that can't see that!" she angrily shouted back, though not at a loud enough volume to spook the horses.

Jonah, as usual, was unfazed by her outburst. In fact, he looked almost entertained by her show of rage. "Duly noted. I'll have to remember that the next time one of them acts out of line. I'll simply wag my finger and tell it to behave."

Penny grit her teeth and curled her free hand into a fist. Lord, she was so not in the mood for his nonsense right now.

"Look, what do you want, Jonah? It's almost the end of the day." She grumbled. She had been awake for at least the last fifteen hours and felt just about ready to drop dead. Kind of a miracle she hadn't already, to be honest.

His expression unchanged, he grabbed hold of Granite's stirrups and lead him over to her. "I need you to give Granite a good cleaning before you retire for the night. Give him plenty of food and water, too. I want him in top form for tomorrow."

She didn't respond, only glaring at the man as she took Granite's stirrups. Looking pleased, Jonah was about to walk away without another word, but Penny stopped him.

"The men are still talking about us, you know."

This gave the Colonel pause, looking at her with a raised eyebrow, placing his hands behind his back. "Oh really? And what are they saying?"

"Come on, Jonah, you know what. Why I'm here. About what we are to each other."

"And once again, that is none of their business."

"You know that's just gonna make them even more curious, right? You should hear some of the nonsense they're spewing. They think you're fucking me, for Christ's sake."

"You shouldn't say something so vulgar in polite company, Penelope." He wrinkled his angular nose at her language.

"Oh really? That's funny, I don't see any polite company around here, do you?" she shot back, not waiting for Jonah to start scolding her about her foul mouth, "But whatever, I get it. It's not like you can just tell them the truth or anything. Better for them to think I'm your exotic little plaything then to learn that we're," she gave a mock gasp, "related!"

"Keep your voice down!" he finally snapped, taking a menacing step forward as he matched her glare with one of his own. This time around, she was the one that wasn't intimidated, feeling confident in the knowledge that he had just proven her right.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." She said plainly.

This rare moment of actual emotion from Jonah didn't last, however, as it took him only a moment to collect himself and become the stoic, unshakable Colonel once again.

"As I have said before, Penelope, our relationship is none of their business. As long as they respect the chain of command, let them think whatever they like. And for those that don't," his lip curled upwards into a sinister-looking grin, "I suppose they'll just have to be reminded of who's in charge of this outpost."

Penny suppressed a shudder. She always hated it when he said things like that; it reminded her way too much of that old man.

"Sure," she turned away, leading Granite into the nearest pen to prepare him for cleaning, "Easy for you to say. You're not the one they talk about "having a go" at." She couldn't hide the quiver in her voice at the end, doing everything she could to push back the memory of that night three years ago.

If she had still been looking at him, she would have seen Jonah's gaze soften ever so slightly. "They won't try anything like that, Penelope. Not on my watch." He said solemnly.

"Stop it," she grit through her teeth, already feeling her eyes begin to water, "You can't keep that promise, Jonah, and we both know it. Not like last time. So just…" she let out a ragged breath, a lone tear falling down her cheek despite her best effort, "… Just go away…"

Jonah looked like he wanted to say something to her, but seemed to decide against it, merely nodding to bid her a good night before walking away. Now alone with the horses, she turned to look up at Granite.

"C'mon, boy. Let's get you ready for tomorrow." He didn't respond at all, standing completely still and looking straight ahead. That was Granite, for you. It was no wonder he was Jonah's favourite horse. As she grabbed her equipment, she suddenly remembered Murphy, and quickly turned to where he had been sleeping. Sure enough, there he was, still snoring away. Penny couldn't help but roll her eyes. That man slept like a log; it was really a wonder how he managed to get anything done.

Well, she thought, she supposed that was why she was here. To pick up his slack. That was all the people here seemed to think she was good for, anyway…

Okay, that was chapter 2! I hope you all liked it, and feel free to let me know if you think there's anything I could improve on! See you again for chapter 3!

MA