The door swung open on silent hinges, a tall shadow looking in the doorway.
Maka scrambled for her discarded shirt on the floor, but it was too late.
"Its ok hun, it's just me." Tsubaki's voice called softly as she slipped into the room.
Maka turned her back to the door and covered herself as best she could.
Maybe she hadn't noticed?
"I'm not decent for women's eyes." Maka squeaked.
Tsubaki shoots her a sly little smile.
"It's ok hun, I know." Tsubaki says in a hushed tone as she steps further into the room.
"What?" Maka stammers as she finally turns to look at her.
"I've know since the first day we met. One look at you, and I knew straight off that you were a woman."
Maka couldn't help but gape at the raven haird woman.
"How? I thought I had hid it so well"
"Your gender was pretty obvious to me. The men around here are the world's biggest pack of fools sometimes." Tsubaki chuckled softly. "I would have talked to you about this sooner, but I couldn't find the time to speak to you alone. Even now I can't stay long here with you or it would raise suspicion. Do you think you could come to my room down the hall in an hour? Soul will be dead asleep by then."
Maka, feeling bone tired and slightly overwhelmed could only nod her head in reply.
She had been found out and there was nothing she could do about it.
If Tsubaki wanted to, she could tell Soul about her true gender.
He would no doubt be too pleased to send her back to England.
Maka's face must have shown her distress, because Tsubaki smiles gently at her.
"Its true we have a lot to talk about, but don't you fret none, your secret's safe with me."
Maka let out a long wheezing breath, her brain reeling a bit. She hadn't realized she had been holding her breath the whole time.
She still felt on edge, but there was a small glimmer of hope there.
Tsubaki giggled as she turned to leave. "Don't forget to breath sweetie, everything is going to be alright."
"Why would you help me?" Maka asked suddenly, finding her voice.
"Why would you lie to Soul and to everyone you know?"
Tsubaki paused at the door, her dark eyes shining with mirth. "Because us woman have to stick together." she said simply and then slipped out into the hallway.
The door clicked softly behind her and once again Maka was alone in her room.
She had a thousand questions left unanswered, but Tsubaki had put her fears to rest.
They hadn't known each other for long, but Maka felt that Tsubaki had been nothing but kind to her.
She believed that she would keep her secret.
They were both women, and they shared a kinship that none of these rowdy cowboys could ever understand.
Maka couldn't help but smile as she redressed.
An hour later Maka tiptoed out of her room and down the shadow filled hallway.
Tsubaki's room wasn't very far down the hall, but Maka took her time as she inched her way along the wall.
Every board in the floor threatened to creak as she took one slow step after another.
Maka had never been a woman of grace, often tripping over her own feet, but she felt rather proud of herself as she sidled up to Tsubaki's door.
Men's britches definitely gave her more mobility.
With Soul's room also on the same floor Maka opened the door and slipped in without knocking.
The last thing she wanted to do was wake up Soul, her nerves were frazzled enough without adding him into the picture.
Tsubaki sat at a small corner table reading a book by the light of an oil lamp. Her exotic dark eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled in greeting.
"You look like the dog drug you around the yard today."
Maka looked down at her filthy hands and splintered nails.
"I had one of the hands bring me up a bucket of fresh water earlier, you looked so ragged I figured you needed a good scrubbing."
"Tubaki, you're an angel." Maka sighed as eyed the bucket greedily.
Tsubaki laughed softly. "I don't know about an angel, but I reckon you needed a small kindness today. Lord know this whole farce hasn't been easy for you."
Maka nodded as she stuck a finger in the water bucket. It felt like ice but the thought of washing some of the days grime off was too tempting.
"I'm going to step out and let you wash real quick. I'll make us some chamomile tea and a snack and be back in a jiffy."
Maka shot her a greatfully smile. If she wasn't so dirty she might have even hugged the woman.
Once the door shut behind her Maka unbuttoned her too big shirt and let it slide halfway around her hips. She grabbed the rag that sat on the buckets lip and dunked it into the water.
Her skin pricked with goose flesh as she ran the wet rag across her arms and neck. The water was chilly, but her aching muscles rejoiced at the feel.
Maka scrubbed as best she could with her bucket and rag, before she gingerly went over her ribs.
The raw flesh from her chest binding seared painfully as she dabbed it gently.
Without knocking, Tsubaki walked briskly in, carrying a tray with two steaming mugs and a plate of sweet biscuits.
"Lord have mercy hun! What did you do to your skin?!" Tsubaki half whisper yelled.
She set the tray down on the table and leaned in to examine the red welts on Maka's back and sides.
Back in England Maka would have been embarrassed to show so much skin in front of another person, but oddly she didn't mind a bit.
Possibly she was too tired to care, too hurt to feel abashed, or maybe, this wild place with its unorthodox people was slowly starting to free her of high society's social norms.
The realization of this ever growing freedom was intoxicating.
If she wasn't careful though she would eventually end up with no shame at all.
Her poor parents were no doubt rolling in their graves at her wild ways.
Without a word Tsubaki hustled over to her chest of drawers and began rummaging until she produced two small tins.
"Ta da! I've got some salve for those raw places to help heal and a tin of burnt flour. Just sprinkle a little bit in your binding before you wrap yourself."
"Burnt flour?" Maka asked eyeing the tin.
"Its not a fancy corset talc like you probably used in England, but around here it's the best thing to stop chafing.
"Its perfect Tsubaki, thank you so much." Maka couldn't keep the wobble from her voice. "You have no idea how much this means to me."
Tsubaki smiled kindly at her as she unscrewed the lid on the salve. "Here hun, let me get your back, unless you can reach?"
"No, please do."
Gently Tsubaki applied salve around the edges of her binding.
Maka sucked in a sharp breath as it began to sting. Slowly though, the fierce pain began to subside into a numb tingle.
Tsubaki worked quietly, her hands skilled at her craft.
"You're very good at this." Maka remarked.
"I've had a good deal of practice doctoring up the cowboys around here. They're always hurting themselves. Sometimes it's from hard work, sometimes its from stupidity."
Maka laughed, but stopped short at the stabbing pain in her ribs.
"You must have strained a muscle while doing your chores today." Maka grunted in reply. "If you can call that chores. I feel more like a workhorse than anything."
Tsubaki worried her lower lip between her teeth, her eyes concerned "Hun, can I ask why you're doing this?"
"Because Mr. Evans is a downright scoundrel! He's working me to the bone, but I have to listen to him, because some unknown godly reason he's in charge around here."
Tsubaki stifled a small giggle. "No hun, I wasn't talking about Soul."
"Oh, of course not." Maka blushed fiercely.
She was thankful the room was only half alight.
"No, I mean why are you here hun? Pretending to be a man? Surely you'd rather be back in England and not here in this dust bowl?"
"Maka took a deep breath, wondering how best to explain herself. She had kept her secret for so long now, it felt almost wrong to say it out loud.
"I... I have nowhere else to go Tsubaki. There is nothing waiting for me back in England."
"Not even family?" Tsubaki asked quietly.
Maka shook her head. "Stein is my only remaining family. My parents are both passed now and my friends in England wouldn't even speak to me after the disgrace my Papa brought to the family. Once we lost our fortune I quickly realized just how alone I truly was."
Tsubaki reached out and squeezed Maka's hand. It was such a small gesture, but Maka smiled greatfully.
"It sound like you've traveled a hard road to get here hun, and I respect the hell out of you for it. But I hope you know... being here, pretending to be something that your not. It's going to be a hard road in it's own right."
"I know, but I have to try." Maka let out a long pent up breath. "In his letter he specifically said women had no place on the ranch. What else was I to do? I know it's horrible to lie to everyone about my gender, but I'm desperate. Am I wrong to do so?"
"No, hun I don't think you are in the wrong. You were forced into this situation, all because of a pig headed decision made by a grumpy old man."
"Is there no changing his mind then? I was hoping to speak to my uncle when he returned. I was hoping deep down that he would accept me after we finally met."
Tsubaki shook her head sadly. I'm afraid not, he's never broken his rule, except for me and I was a very rare situation."
"How so?"
Tsubaki's eyes had a far off glint that shone in the candle light. Whatever she was thinking of, it was another lifetime ago.
"That's a very long story, and I don't know if I have the courage to go over it tonight. We will speak about it another time though, I promise."
Maka squeezed the other women's hand and nodded. Whatever her story was, it was something she didn't like speaking about. Maka hoped after more time together this woman with her far off eyes and gentle spirit would open up to her.
Until then she wouldn't pry further.
Tsubaki squeezes back and smiles half heartedly. "I"m very blessed to live here and I respect your uncle more than anyone, but his rules about women are silly. We will figure out some way to make him acccept you, even if you are a woman."
"Why is my uncle so callous towards woman in the first place?"
Tsubaki shrugs her delicate shoulders. "I'm not very sure to be honest. All I know is that long before my time here, something dreadful happened to him. Some say it was his mother who abandoned him as a child and ran off with another man. Others say it was a woman he loved who broke his heart and he never truly recovered from it. Whatever the reason he still refuses to talk about it to this day."
Maka walked to the window and gazed out at into the night; the moon was full and it flooded the yard with soft pale light. She tried to absorb the information she had recieved about her uncle. Slowly she was piecing together who he was as a person. So far she didn't know if she liked him or hated him.
After a minute she spoke, her breath fogging up the glass pane window. "I can understand why he's so bitter towards women, but can he really turn away his own flesh and blood because of my gender?"
Tsubaki sighs as she lights another candle. "His feeling go far beyond just bitterness, his prejudice goes so much deeper than just gender I'm afraid."
"What do you mean?" Maka asked, turning away from the window.
Tsubaki's suddenly somber mood unsettled Maka deeply.
"Its not just woman he has a problem with, it's affection and courting that he really can't stomach. He forbids it here on the ranch."
Maka sucks in a sharp breathe. "How can that be?"
"Its true I'm afraid." Tsubaki pauses as her voice on the verge of cracking. "He has no give when it come to courting."
Just what kind of person was her uncle?
To refuse people in love?
A single tear, slid down Tsubaki's face. It caught in the lamp light leaving a silver trail of stardust across her pale cheek.
Maka gasped in disbelief.
Why was Tsubaki crying?!
Unwittingly fragments from breakfast came back to her. The lingering glances, the quiet moments, and soft smiles shared over cinnamon buns and coffee. The way Black Star had lingered in the doorway and Tsubaki had clutched the spatula in her hands as he left.
Tsubaki and Black Star... they were too afraid to say it out loud.
They were keeping their true feelings locked up tight, for no one else to see.
"This is a catastrophe!" Maka burst out then slapped a hand over her mouth.
Tsubaki partly giggled, partly sniffled as Maka's wide eyes swiveled to the door.
"No worries hun, Soul sleeps like the dead most nights."
"I've never heard such rubbish in all my life. It's an infringement of rights, a bloody injustice!" Maka whisper yelled.
Tsubaki smiles softly as she swats away the last trace of water from her cheek.
"You sound down right extra British when you're angry."
Maka scowled, but she couldn't deny her observation.
Since she had come to America she had tried her hardest to fit in, including her speech habits, but deep down to her very core she was still undeniably British.
Maka patted Tsubaki'a shoulder. "I'm sorry, I'm just upset on your behalf."
"My behalf?"
"Yes, I know this must be hard on you and Black Star."
Tsubaki goes ghostsly pale at the mention of his name, her hands twisting in the folds of her skirt.
"Oh no hun, you've got it all wrong. Me and Blastar... we're just friends of sorts. Nothing more nothing less. I've known him most of my life. To fall in love with him would be... a foolish thing."
Maka searches the young women's features for signs of jesting, but if anything her face is set in firm resolve.
She was serious.
Surely Maka hadn't imagined their tender interactions?
Thinking back to earlier she was almost positive she had caught a glimpse of something there.
The look on Black Stars face as he went out the door had definitely been one of longing.
So why was Tsubaki denying it now?
Unless she was frightened?
A cold sens of dread washed over Maka and settled into her base of her spine.
"Tsubaki? What exactly happens to the people who end up courting or falling in love here?"
"Well, Stein has always sent them packing."
"You mean he kicks them off the ranch?!"
Tubaki nods.
"We've lost quite a few cow hands over the years to his silly rule. In the past if a cowhand started courting a gal from town or a neighboring ranch they'd do it in secret. But this is a small town and Stein somehow always gets wind of it. He'd give em' two options, quit the courting, or hit the road. More often than not the cowboys would choose their sweetheart and leave and find work else where."
So that was it, why Tsubaki looked so panicked at the mention of Black Star's name.
She was concerned about him keeping his job and home.
She was putting his well being above her own true feelings.
Surprised by her own boldness Maka gave Tsubaki an impulsive hug.
"You have the biggest heart Tsubaki."
Tsubaki smiled and hugged her in return.
"I promise to keep your secrets like you have mine."
They broke apart and smiled shyly at each other.
"I'm sorry for the hardships you've gone through hun, but I'm really glad you're here. It's going to be down right nice having another woman around. Even if you aren't in a petticoat!"
Maka smothered a giggle with her hand.
"Petticoats are daft anyways, I'll take trousers anyday."
Somewhere in the house a clock chimed out the arrival of midnight and Tubaki let loose a wide yawn.
"It's getting late, we should probably hit the hay."
"I still have so many questions though." Maka sighed.
"They can wait for a bit. Soul working you to death tomorrow won't."
"Ugh please don't remind me. That man is going to show up in my nightmares tonight"
Tsubaki muffled her laughter with the back of her hand.
"Do your best and give him hell tomorrow."
"I'll try my best! Good night Tsubaki... and thank you again for everything."
"Good night hun, sleep well."
Tsubaki blew out her last candle and Maka slowly tip toed back to her room through silent hallways.
It had been a strange night, but both of their sporots felt a little lighter.
Sharing of one's secrets had a way of lifting the heaviness from the heart.
Two woman had formed an unspoken bond tonight. One woman in a night gown with her beautiful raven hair down and the other in mens trousers, with her hair shorn off, and blisters on her hands.
Both very different, yet both also the same.
They were women, and they would stick together, against all the odds.