AN: Wow so much feedback! I'm ecstatic! Thank you again for reading and I'll update as much as possible! Now, on with the story!

Horror

Day 2

My leg snapped with a sickening crack! I screamed as loud as humanly possible. I felt the scream more than I actually heard it. I felt nothing but the shattered bone in my leg. My head was becoming foggy and I couldn't see straight. '

"Would you like to rethink your last request?" my attacker was toying with me.

"No!" I screamed, "Don't try to help-" he hit me, hard and the glass tore through my skin. The blood dripped down my neck and I felt the heat spread over me. My fingers were becoming cold. His eyes darkened and I prayed for a quick death.

Something sliced into my wrist. I closed my eyes and knew it would I would die soon. I heard enraged yelling when I first opened my eyes I saw Jasper. Tackling my attacker down. I let the tears fall; he shouldn't see me like this. I tried to watch him in my last moments but my vision was blocked. I forced myself to look at who was blocking my view. Edward.

I tried to push him away but he held me down.

"No!"

I sat up, gasping for breath, Minnie was standing next to the bed, looking startled.

"Isabella, are you alright?" she asked. I cradled my arm and pulled my knees up to my chest. I sat with my head between my legs for a few minutes. When my breathing and heart rate had slowed, I looked up at Minnie.

"I'm alright. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." I said.

"Oh, no miss, you didn't wake me up, I've come to wake you up actually." She said, "it's time to start getting' ready for the day. Missus wants you to learn breakfast. Gathering eggs, milkin' cows, and preparing breakfast, and such." She paused, walking to the dresser she pulled out an ordinary dress with and pocketed apron. The dress was long and the apron was only about knee length. "Best be gettin' a move on, Miss. Breakfast is in an hour." She said as she left.

I yawned and stretched, feeling the sleepiness in my limbs melt away. I stood, reaching up and then bent to touch my toes. I pulled my knees to my forehead to deepen the stretch. I straightened up and discarded the night gown I wore on the bed.

The dress that Minnie pulled out for me was more of a long brown skirt sewed to a white men's button down. I unbuttoned the top as far as I could then slipped the dress over my head. The skirt settled in the natural curve of my waist. I buttoned the top again and rolled the sleeves up as far as I could. I pulled on my stockings and boots again. I pulled out the note and tucked it into the boot. I left the room with apron in hand. When I arrived down stairs, Minnie and Mary Elizabeth were in the kitchen. Mary Elizabeth was tending to a fire with a pot full of water, and Minnie was preparing beef bones.

"Minnie I'm ready for those bones now." Mary Elizabeth said, without looking up. Minnie took her the bones and some seasonings. When Minnie turned back around she saw me and gestured to Mary Elizabeth. I pulled the apron on and crossed the straps behind me and tied them in front.

"Good Morning, Mary Elizabeth." I said, she turned her head and she finished adding the bones and seasonings.

"Good Morning, Isabella." She said, wiping her hands on her apron. "Ready to start the day?" She asked.

"Yes, Ma'am." I said. "Where do we start?" I asked.

"Well, first we'll feed and milk the cows. Then, we'll feed the chickens and gather fresh eggs. After that we'll come back in and fix breakfast." She said. "Let's get to goin', we only have an hour 'til the rest of the family is up and Jasper gets in." She headed out the back door and I followed her closely. We went to the barn first and Mary Elizabeth went to a wall with a bunch of tools hanging on it and took the pitchfork down.

"Now, every morning the cows get fed and the milk cow gets milked. She speared some hay and put it in the milk cow pen. Then she gave me the pitch fork to me, "Put three forkfuls of hay in that pen and then come help me with the mule, sheep and pigs."

I did as she asked, maybe a bit more sloppily, by the third fork I was getting the hang of using a pitchfork. Mary Elizabeth had just finished with the sheep and she turned to me, "Easy?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think I've gotten than hang of using this." I said holding up the pitchfork. "What's next?"

"The mule for you. Two forkfuls for him. I'm going to go get the slop bucket for the pigs then we'll let them all out into their pens outside." She said and then left the barn. I took the pitchfork and speared the dwindling haystack. I put it in the mule pen. I scraped up the last of the hay and put it in the pen. Mary Elizabeth walked back up carrying a large bucket filled to the brim with what I assumed was slop.

"There was only enough hay left for the mule. I hope we didn't need more." I said. She dumped the bucket into a trough right outside the barn door.

"Oh, that's alright. The rest of the feeding is meal and feed. I'll have Jasper and James get some fresh hay down before we feed again tonight." She said, putting the bucket down next to the trough on a hook.

"Oh, okay." She took the pitchfork and hand me what looked like a long walking stick.

"These are for guiding the pigs and sheep. We're just letting the pigs out so they can eat." she opened the pig pin and went in and tapped all three of them on the back.

"Now, if they try to go anywhere other than the pen outside just tap 'em on that side and they'll go the other way." She said. I only had one pig that wanted to stray away. When the pigs were locked in their pen, we went back and Mary Elizabeth got down a couple buckets. I followed her the milk cow pen and she got a stool down.

"Milkin' a cow now?" I asked. She sat on the stool.

"Yes, do you remember how?" she asked. I shook my head and she tuned back around. "Well alright, look here and listen close." She said with a smile. "Dixie here hates cold hands, so whatcha gotta do is warm up as much as you can. She rubbed her hands together for a few seconds. Now, milkin' is easy once you get the motions in your hands. You grab at the base and squeeze and pull down gently at the same time." She did it a few times to demonstrate then she passed it off to me. "Keep going till she goes dry. She should fill two buckets." She said and then took the three cows out one at a time. When I finished the first bucket she was just finishing with the cows.

"Hurry up on that milk, Child. We gotta get the chickens fed and eggs gathered in the next twenty minutes." She said. I sped through milking Dixie as carefully as possible. When I was done, Mary Elizabeth had just finished taking the sheep out to their pen.

"Now tie this around her neck and lead her out with the other cows. I'm getting the feed out." I took Dixie out to the pen and put the lead back up on the wall. "Isabella, go on up to the loft and put a scoop of that chicken feed in your apron pocket, then come down and start feeding chickens." She called from outside.

I got the feed and carefully made my way back down to the ground. I was having a good day so far, I hadn't fallen or stumbled yet. I went out to the chicken coop and opened the doors.

"Come on out chickens." I said nervously. I'm not gonna lie, I've always been a bit scared of chickens. "Here, Chicky Chicky Chicky. Come get some yummy breakfast." I said. I stuck my head inside to see if they were even moving.

"Ya know, you aren't gettin' them to come out that way."

I jumped and my head slammed into the top of the little door way.

"Jesus, are you alright?" I heard the deep, gravelly voice. My eyes watered for a second then my head started pounding. I rubbed the spot where my head connected with the hard wood of the chicken coop.

"Good Morning, Jasper." I said straightening up and turning to face him. He was grinning from ear to ear and was holding a bundle of clothes.

"Good Morning, Miss Isabella. I sure hope I didn't startle you too much." He was toying with me. Oh, this man was going to make me crazy but, I think I might be okay with that. Why am I okay with this?

"How's your head?" he asked, giving me his crooked smile.

"Oh I'll live. It's nothing worse than I've had before." I froze. I let my guard down around him for one second and I slipped up.

"You've remembered something already." It wasn't a question. He was visibly disappointed. I had to think fast or I was going to blow everything.

"No, still… nothing. I mean I had to have hit my head pretty hard to not remember anything but my name." I said trying to hide my nervousness. I was really hoping he would accept this answer. His face brightened and he nodded in agreement.

"I guess you're right, Miss Isabella." He said. "You don't have to call them." He said pointing at the door to the coop.

"Just open the door and knock on the coop a couple times to wake up the old hens. Then start laying the feed down. They'll come out. Did Mama teach you how to tell if there's a chick inside the eggs?" he asked. I shook my head no.

"I'll teach ya." He smiled and laid his clothes down next to the fence. "Mornin' Mama." He called to his mother. She looked up and waved then went back to feeding. He knocked real hard on the coop and I heard feathers rustle and chickens started to move around. I started to lay down the chicken feed and the chickens started to emerge from the coop one right after the other. When I had laid all the feed I'd had down. Jasper opened up the larger door and entered. I followed him. He went over eggs and how to classify them. He held two eggs in his hands and told me to choose the one with the chick in it. I did everything he told me and picked the right one.

"You're holding a tiny life in your hand. It's amazing how humbling that is, to know that only for this moment you can choose where this life goes." He said. We had become very near to each other because of the size of the hen house.

I held the egg close to my chest marveling at how I'd never thought of a chicken's egg in that way before. I looked up at his face. He was watching me carefully.

"That's incredible." I said. He took the egg from me and put it back in the nest he found it in. He took the other egg and slipped it into the pocket of my apron. I looked down and his hand lingered on the edge of the pocket. He yanked it away and I looked up in shock.

"I'm gonna go see if Mama needs anymore help." He said and then exited the coop with haste. That was odd.

I gathered up the eggs and closed the large door to the coop again. I was closing up the chicken pen when Mary Elizabeth was walking by after closing up the barn.

"So, did you have any problems?" she asked me with a smile. It was no longer just the sunrise in the sky, the sun was just barely above the horizon now.

"I hit my head but other than that, not one." I answered. She smiled.

"Well, child if you'll give those eggs to Minnie or her mama you can go wash up for breakfast. I reckon it's almost ready now. Just need cook some eggs up and we'll be ready to eat and get to goin' on the morning chores." She told me. I nodded and we walked into the kitchen. Mary Elizabeth left the kitchen.

"Minnie, where would you like me to put these eggs? I asked her. A woman, Minnie's mother I assume, took a basket down from a shelf without a word and set it on the counter next to me. I piled the eggs in it and left the kitchen. On my way upstairs I was almost run over by Jesse.

"Oh, Morning, Miss Isabella." He said and continued down the stairs. When I reached my room. I went and sat at the vanity table. I started working my hair down from last night and put the ribbon away. I searched the drawers and found a tie. I brushed my hair out and French braided my hair back and around and on one side then I tied it off.

"I like your hair like that." Jasper was standing in the doorway. I turned.

"Thank you. It keeps it out of my face." I said.

"Do you mind of I come in?" he asked. I stood.

"I was actually just heading down to breakfast. Care to join me?" I asked. He smiled and offered me his arm.

"I think that's a mighty fine idea." He said. I took his arm and he ushered me down the stairs just like last night.

"I talked to Papa this morning about teaching you to ride on your own. He said we could come it a little early today so I could teach you. Is that okay with you?" he asked.

"That's perfectly fine with me." I smiled. We got down stairs and the rest of the family was already downs stairs. I remembered the open fire in the kitchen. And the note in my sock. We entered the kitchen and Jesse was already eating.

"Always thinking about his stomach." Jasper said. He went and got a plate from Minnie. I walked to the fire and pretended to be interested in the stock that was cooking. When I was sure no one was looking, I kneeled down, took the note and threw it in the fire.

"Is Mama making stew tonight? Sure sounds good to me." I heard Jesse behind me.

"You know, Jesse, I'm not sure." I told him hoping he would leave with that. My answer seemed to satisfy him and he left the kitchen again. After breakfast was done Elizabeth and her mother took me out and showed me how to work the gardens and pick anything ready to eat. Weeding and picking took most of the morning. Jasper, James and Jesse were constructing a fence between the tobacco fields and the gardens that would soon go around the rest of the tobacco field. They had finished with the first part of the fence before lunch and were coming back in for the midday meal as we finished.

"How's pickens?" James called, from several feet away. Mary Elizabeth stood with a large basket on her hip.

"We'll be teachin' Isabella how to preserve food in jars today. We had a big bunch come in today."

"What's for dinner Mama?" Jesse asked. That boy really did only think about his stomach.

"We'll I don't know, whatever Mable had time to fix I suppose." She answered. So that was Minnie's mother's name. I picked up my basket and followed Mary Elizabeth to the house. Jasper walked up next to me, taking the basket from me.

"Any of this seem familiar to you yet?" he asked.

"Oh yes, it's all familiar but, it's not plain. It doesn't become plain until someone tells me again." I told him, it was true I had only heard of doing some of this stuff. He grinned thoughtfully.

We had cold soup and sandwiches for lunch under a large tree near the house. I spent the rest of the afternoon learning how to preserve food for selling and eating, while the men were out in the field. Supper wasn't near as formal. Yesterday was Sunday supper and today was plain old Monday. Supper was still extravagant but, there were no corsets, no fine china and cutlery.

Jasper spent the evening teaching me how to ride a horse. Elizabeth and Jesse watched, while I struggled to command October to do what Jasper told me to. When I finally got the hang of riding her he gave me a few minutes to myself with her, so I could become accustom to being alone with her.

He returned astride a large black and white paint horse.

"Ready to see how you fare out there?" he asked, reining in his horse.

"I'll try," I was unsure of myself. "But I can't promise perfection."

"I don't expect perfection, Miss Isabella." He smiled.

"Jasper! Can I come to?" Elizabeth seemed very excited and was nearly jumping when she asked.

"Yeah, Me too. Can we Jasper? Can we please?" Jesse pleaded.

"I don't see why you shouldn't." he said. "Run and go get your horses and we'll wait for you." They both turned and sprinted off to the stables.

"I hope you don't mind. Mama doesn't fancy them riding alone. So they don't get to just ride much. Their horses are mainly for working." He explained.

"Oh, I don't mind one bit."

"I don't think you've formally met him. This is Pistol" he patted the horse. "Elizabeth will be riding Princess and Jesse will be riding Spade." Shortly after he said that, Elizabeth and Jesse came out of the stables. Elizabeth had the reins of Jesse's horse while he closed up the stables. We met them half way back and began our ride. We rode down the path to Jasper's house but we turned before we could get there. Jesse and Elizabeth entertained us with stories of school.

Jasper told us he was thinking of joining the Confederate Army. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later, I'd heard the stories. Jesse was all for the idea, Elizabeth however was more hesitant. She was afraid for his safety and she had every right to be. He asked us not to say anything to his parents yet.

"I'm planning to tell them tomorrow after dinner." He said. We were making our way home when a dark figure stood in our path holding his horse by the reins.

We had just gotten close enough to see his features when Jasper addressed him.

"Gideon. I could shoot you for trespassin'. What are you doin' here? Jesse, take Isabella and Elizabeth home." He commanded.

"Now no need to make 'em run off. Hello there Miss Elizabeth." He said with a sickening grin.

Elizabeth spurred her horse into a run and I followed after her. Jesse followed us making sure we both made it home safe. When we arrived, Jesse slid off Spade before he had completely stopped and yelled.

"Papa! Papa, Hurry!" James Whitlock rush out of the house.

"What is it, boy?" he asked. Jesse handed him the reins.

"McCaven's in the field. A quarter way to Jasper's." he said, but before he could finish, James had mounted up and was headed off as fast as the horse would carry him.

Elizabeth and I had dismounted and were walking our horses to Jesse.

"Who's Gideon McCaven?" Elizabeth shoved the bridle at Jesse and ran inside.

"I'll take October and put her away. You go on inside." He said.

What happened between the Whitlocks and that man? I went inside and when up to my room. I washed my face and cleaned up a bit. I changed into my night gown and pulled the dressing gown tight around me. I took my journal and sat in the small sitting area upstairs and wrote.

… fed chickens and none attacked me…

… so many vegetables…

…properly ride a horse, not very well, but…

…Gideon McCaven.

I finished that sentence when the door opened down stairs and I heard voices. Jasper came up the stairs looking tired. I stood up.

"Jasper." It was all I said. He looked at me and I knew he needed a friend. I sat my journal down and moved to wrap him in a hug. He didn't react right away. He slowly put his arms around my ribs and hugged me back. He let his head fall into the crook of my neck and bury his face in my hair. I held him in that embrace until he let go.

"Who was that man?" I whispered. His head dropped and he scrubbed his hand over his face.

"Gideon McCaven. He's a cruel, worthless man that used to work for us." He said.

"Why are you the first person to answer my questions about him?" I asked, gently.

"Because that man will never, ever be welcome here." He said. I waited silently pleading for more answers.

"He seemed alright when we hired him three years ago. He worked for us up until about eight months ago. One evening Elizabeth ran in the house screaming and crying and carryin' on. Her dress was ripped and she was bleeding from her nose. When mama finally got her calmed down enough to talk, she told us she was putting Princess away when Gideon pined her down in the stall and tried to rape her. Needless to say if Papa had found him that night he wouldn't be breathing. He was fired and we turned him into the sheriff but he got off because we only had Elizabeth's word. No one actually saw or heard anything happen." Jasper said.

My face changed from quiet openness to silent horror as he told me the story. My hands began to shake and I started to cry silently. I took a deep breath when he had finished.

"That's horrific." I whispered. I wrapped my arms around myself and pressed my hands to my body to stop them from shaking. Jasper wrapped me in a hug and held me tight.

"Neither of you have to worry, I'll be here tonight. I'm not gonna let him hurt you. I won't let anyone ever hurt you." I felt a second set of arms wrap around me from behind. I turned and saw Elizabeth. He eyes were red and puffy. I turned to her and wrapped my arms around her.

"Thank you Bella. I can call you Bella right?" she asked.

I squeezed her even tighter. "You can call me whatever you want to, Elizabeth." I said.

"Okay. This might sound odd but, can I stay with you tonight?" she asked. Her face was so hopeful. I couldn't deny her even if I had a reason to.

"Of course you can."

Jasper had stayed quiet the whole time. Just watching us.

"I'll be right down the hall if you need me. I'm only a knock away." He said. "I bid you ladies a good night a sweet dreams." He said, then disappeared into his room.

I lead Elizabeth to my room and tucked her in next to me. She went to sleep right away. I closed the curtains and blew out the candles. I wrestled with sleep because of one name.

Gideon McCaven.

AN: chapter three=Done! Let me know how you feel about it? Lots of love!