Tyr ~ Running from Destiny ~ D.E.666

When she decries his choice of career fields, he just smiles because it just meant she understood that he had succeeded. Not that bounty hunters should be looked up to, but they performed a necessary and needed service to society, by assisting law enforcement, though in this situation the result could be questioned. Still he was being paid, she had run, and look at the result, she’d decided the best option was being a whore, which really put in question her judgment ability. Charlie understood she wouldn’t be happy, and never could he remember once where one of his captives was happy with being apprehended.

Well, I would say you have little say in the matter. So twisting and fighting it will just cause additional harm that will serve no purpose at all.

Using his knee he help pin her while his free hand continues to search trying to determine if she had any weapons. Knowing that many a woman thought no one would invade their most private areas to search, he had no such compunction to avoid those areas. A simple mistake here could result in him suffering serious injury later. If necessary, he begins to peel back the layers of clothing rather than run risk of missing a possible weapon. Never underestimate your prey he thought, such arrogance usually ended very badly.

So methodically he begins to remove her clothing, not for sexual gratification, but out of necessity.

Since you aren’t helping, I’m going to make sure you aren’t armed.

Not that at some level he didn’t miss seeing her amazing body. That they were out in the wilds, with nothing but coyote around, did nothing to diminish just how sexy she was.

Charlie wasn't too far off when he thought she'd be unhappy. She was more then unhappy about what was happening. She was pissed, scared and upset. She struggled even more against his hold and she sobbed softly. Luckily she hadn't worn any kind of makeup that morning so she didn't have to worry about mascara running. "I do have a say in it!" she protested. "I'm a grown woman and I'm very capable of making decisions concerning myself and I didn't do anything wrong!" She sobbed again and tried to pull her leg free, but without the use of her other leg, she didn't have much luck.

Jewel knew that any woman would be happy to have the type of life that was being offered her. It would be a secure one with a nice home, beautiful dresses and a husband that would take care of her as long as she gave him children. But that wasn't the life Jewel wanted. She'd lived such a life for the first eighteen years of her life and it was horrible in her opinion. It was a cage. A fancy and gilded cage, but a cage none the less and she felt trapped there. To her, the open road was the life for her. It made her happy because she could do and be whatever she wanted, even if it was a whore. At least it was something she had chosen to do and wasn't forced into doing.

Feeling his knee press into her, she groaned and closed her eyes tightly as he began undressing her. Her face began turning red as he stripped her and she sobbed a little louder. The young woman let her head fall to the ground as she became still, her body shaking as she cried, turning her face away from him and she looked up at her horse who was becoming a little restless from the sound of her sobs. "I hate you." she sobbed, her words filled with bitter anger while he peeled away layer after layer of her dress. The only weapon that was hidden within her clothing was a knife. Its sheath was nestled in between her breasts and the simple but elegant jeweled knife was hidden from view thanks to the fabric of her dress.

As the clothing went, Charlie’s search was successful, as he found the jeweled knife, definitely sharp enough he noted to cause significant harm. Maybe he should have stopped, or considered that he had intruded enough, but he didn’t. The protests fell on deaf ears, as he continued to strip her. As much as he said it was for his safety, he couldn’t help but enjoy her body as each article of clothing was removed. Just to let her know he was serious, he put the jeweled knife in his belt ready to draw it, if some price of clothing seemed too difficult to remove.

Well if you did or didn’t do anything wrong, is really irrelevant. I was paid to bring you back, and that’s what I’m going to do. The more you fight it, the more it’s going to hurt.

Just cause he could he groped her tits as he continue to remove clothing. Though she had her back pressed into the dirt, he just kept pulling and tearing at her clothing, abruptly flipping her over so he could extract her from everything, till she was completely naked. Then he would search her clothing just to make sure; she had no more weapons, his body and leathers pressing into her, as his relentless search continued.

Hate me if you want to, but it doesn’t change a thing.

His hand runs over her body, as he works off her clothing. In the end she was a job and he had to keep that in mind, though he again found his eyes drawn to her body, and thoughts of that wild night.

Jewel's tears fell in vain as Charlie continued and she pretty much gave up on fighting. She wasn't strong nor was she in any condition to fight. When he found her knife, she didn't even say anything as he slid it out of her corset and put it into his belt. His words just made her sob again and she shook her head. "You weren't paid to bring me back. You were paid to bring back a someone they want as a slave and for breeding!" she spat. "That's all they want! They're bastards. The whole lot of them! Including my father! Trading me for a couple of cows, promising I'd be a good wife."

She was cut off when he groped her breasts and she sobbed again. Even though she had been a whore for the past couple of months, none of it had felt as degrading and humiliating as what Charlie was doing. She'd never been tied up and striped of her clothing in such a way and the way he kept groping her made her feel dirtier then anything else she'd ever done before. With her on her back, her injured hand and tied arms were pressed harshly into the dirt, the position making her shoulders hurt. As he continued pulling and tearing at her riding dress, she heard it tearing every now and then. The sound made her sob harder. The dress had been one of her favorites and it was one she'd worked hard to afford.

A sound of pain escaped her when he flipped her over, her leg becoming jerked a bit and she felt the dirt pressing into her bare breasts and her chest as well as her cheek. When he presses his body into hers while continuing his search, she closes her eyes tightly as she sobs. Each time he pulled at her dress, it pulled at her arms and made her sob harder. He would have to either cut the sleeves of the dress or untie the straps in order to get the dress off. With her undressed though and on her stomach, he would be able to see the dark bruise on her lower back from where she hit the wall earlier and there was a bruise spreading across her hip where it was obvious her hip was dislocated by the slightly unusual positioning of her leg.

What was the reason for her retrieval Charlie really couldn’t say, though he somehow doubted that he’d been paid to trek across the west to recover a girl solely for the purpose of breeding? Now had she been promised, such was possible, and though a quickly falling out of fashion practice in this country based on freedom and individual rights, such could be true. Still no matter the reasons or motivation, he still had a job to do.

The girl finally stopped some of her struggling making his search easier. Though he should have felt for her, and all that lead up to this, Charlie was single minded in his efforts as he physically manhandled her in his search for weapons. The bruises brought him momentarily up short, but in the end, he pulled the knife and removed the riding dress by force. The jeweled knife makes easy work of the fabric, as he cut it from her body. His eyes were cold as he was all business, years of bringing in the worst scum, made him hard. Yet he winced just a bit as she cried out, having been raised to respect woman, even if the woman in question was a whore. I

Never did he try to do permanent harm, he simply continued to strip, cut, and remove the various articles of clothing, till he had her bare-naked, and all possible weapons removed.

Look bitch, you lied to me, from the moment I got you. This would go so much easier if you stopped your fucking lying and cooperated. I asked if you had weapons, and you lied, so I’m not inclined to believe a word you have said so far.

The words were vicious, but he was pissed. The knife giving clear evidence that she would and could lie, and the drawing of the small pistol, showing she had no problems using force. Plus Charlie was mad at himself for letting her get under his skin, causing him to let his guard down. Next time he promised himself, he’d be the one taking advantage of the situation.

When she was finally bared before him, her pale golden skin almost glowing in the afternoon sun. Her long hair had come free of the pins and the clip that had been holding it up, the long black curls spread out over her shoulders and around her, her hair clip laying in the dirt about a foot away. She could see pieces of her dress littering the ground around them and she gritted her teeth before flinching as he spoke before she shook her head. "I never fucking lied to you! I said I didn't have another gun on me and I don't." she protested. Jewel didn't lie to him. She had just refused to tell him.

"Besides, think about what I do for a job! I'm a whore and then with the way you attacked me in the stables. Of course I'm not going to tell you if I had a weapon! Especially since you want to disrupt my life and take me back to the place I worked so hard getting away from, just so you can get paid." she argued while turning her head, tears still slowly making their way down her cheeks. "Why would I cooperate with you?! Trying to pull me off my horse after pulling a gun on me then you tie me up and force me to endure riding on a horse with a dislocated hip."

Gritting her teeth again, she twisted her arms just a little before wincing and looking over her shoulder again. "No would you get the hell off of me and untie me!" she hissed. "You've already undressed me and ruined my only traveling dress and my corset. There's no where else I can hide a damned weapon!"

Pinned in the dirt, naked as she was born into the world, actually brought a brief smile to his face. All the weapons gone, he was satisfied that he was no longer at risk. Though he was a bit bothered that he’d done this to a woman, and yet he knew the necessity of what he did, but at some other level, he wanted her naked and exposed beneath him.

Why as you so worried about being undressed, you’re a whore, that’s what you do for a living.

As if that was reason enough, he reaches in and enjoys her body for a moment, touching it in anything but an appropriate fashion. Still, he didn’t have time for fun, and they needed to be moving and not playing in the dirt. With her now disarmed and naked, her chances of being any kind of threat were nonexistent. So he takes the jeweled knife and cuts the ropes that bind her.

Can I help you with your hip?

At some level he was concerned because if she were injured, it would slow their ability to travel. He blocks her path to the horse or her bags, as he still hadn’t searched them. Getting up off of her, he moves over to her bags, and begins to disgorge them on the ground, looking for more weapons.

Do you have any more weapons?

Jewel glared slightly, the muscles in her jaw working as she clenched her teeth before feeling him touching her again. "Because this is different!" she snapped, "I don't like to be forced into being naked. While I may be a whore, being stripped of my clothing forcefully and touched when I do not want to be." She forced herself not to cry as he touched her, squeezing her eyes closed tightly. Once her hands were free, she pushed herself up into a sitting position and wrapped her arms around herself before looking up at him as he asked if he could help her with her hip and she glared at him.

"No, you can't." she said harshly while removing the remains of the straps from around her wrists. "I don't want you to touch me again." She began gathering the straps together and tied them together. However, the sound of her things being dumped onto the ground made her pause and look over at him. "Stop that! You're going to br.." she was cut off when she heard the sound that she'd been dreading. She heard something that fell out of her bag break and she forced herself up with a painful groan before limping over to her things that now laid on the ground.

Sitting the best she could, she began pushing her neatly folded clothing aside almost in a panic, burying her hands into the pile before yanking her hand back with a gasp of pain and she looked at her fingers. There were shallow cuts across her fingers. Looking at her things again, she pushed more things to the side before pausing. Sighing, she pulled what looked like a piece of glass from the small pile, a sad look on her face. A moment later she took out another piece of glass but when she put them together, it was clear it wasn't glass, but a very thin crystal.

The young woman bit the inside of her cheek before she pushed herself up again. "No, I don't have any more damned weapons." she said softly before making her way away from him, pausing to snatch up the leather straps before moving towards her horse. Sitting down on the ground on the opposite side of Angel from where Charlie was, she set to work fixing her hip. Stuffing the straps into her mouth, she bit down hard before pressing one hand to her hips and she hooked her other beneath her thigh. With a slight twist of her leg, a push and a momentary tug, there was a pop and a muffled scream of pain before Jewel bowed her head with a soft sob, the straps still clenched between her teeth.

The bags were search, the saddle checks, and everything seemed in order. The broken crystal, like anything beautiful he didn’t want to see it broken, but a sharp piece of glass, cut as deep as a knife, so loosing it was for him acceptable. He reaches down, and makes sure the glass shards are tossed away such that she wouldn’t have the opportunity to use them as a weapon. So except for taking the broken crystal, he didn’t touch her or assist her as she went about fixing her hip. He had no experience in this and really didn’t know the full extend of her injury. Still he’d help pop a few shoulders back into position after a serous horse fall, and knew that those kinds of injuries just hurt. What sympathy he did have was mixed with the knowledge that they would be slowed for the next several days, which put them at risk, if they had diligent pursuers, which he doubted would happen for a whore. Thinking it over he decided the best course of action was to get as far away from the roads and just go slowly till she was healed and they could go faster.

As he watched the girl pop the joint back in, he actually was impressed, she showed courage and determination that you didn’t always see in some people. It was wild out here in the west, and a person had to learn independence and strength to survive. Yet, she somehow had mixed that strength with an amazing physical beauty, and somewhere under that sexy body, Charlie felt there was someone special. Charlie admonishes himself, because this was business, and only business, and if he got emotional, it was only going to make his job worse. So he stays stern and just tries to think about the job, and not the sexy naked girl lying in the dirt.

Are you okay now, do you think you can travel?

They were in a good spot, if they had to camp for the night, though he would prefer to move on and put some more distance in, just in case.

She made a sound of protest when he took the crystal away from her and glared at him. "That's going with me." she said firmly. "I'm not leaving it behind. I don't care if you're the one carrying it, but it's going with me and I'm going to find out if there's a way to get it fixed." She was more then glad that he was staying away from her as she tended to herself. If he had forced her to accept some kind of help from him, she probably would of had a fit. The young woman hated having to deal with her hip. It always hurt when ever she dislocated it and she always did her best to keep it from happening, so when he caused it to happen even though he'd done it indirectly, she was still pissed.

After she relocated her hip, Jewel sat there completely motionless aside for the shaking of her shoulders as she gnawed on the leather and kept her sobs silent. Taking several deep breaths, she finally managed to calm herself down enough for her to remove the straps and she looked at them while rubbing her hip tenderly. The woman had gnawed through one of the thick straps and part of the way through another. With a sigh, she tossed the straps aside with a glare while slowly beginning to move her leg bit by bit, checking to make sure the joint would stay in place. When he asked if she could travel, she paused and looked up at him, the look on her face clearly showing that she thought his question was absurd. "No, I can't travel." she said. "Not unless you want to risk this happening again."

She slowly pulled her legs up against her chest, effectively hiding herself to the best of her abilities at the moment. "Now, would you mind handing me my clothing?" she asked. "Since you've ruined the only riding dress I had, I have to wear one of my others." The woman glared at him again while softly rubbing her wrists and her back where she'd hit the wall earlier.

It didn’t matter to him, if he saved or discarded the glass, and if it would keep her calm he could find a safe place in his own bags for it. So he takes the broken shards and wraps them in a piece of torn clothing. The thing she did to her hip looked painful and though he was reluctant to stay here, it was better than ending up with a cripple or some other serious injury which would impede his ability to collect his payment.

Then we’ll camp for the night and see how you feel tomorrow.

Still Charlie was unsure to what degree this injury would slow them, as he really didn’t know how serious it was. No matter they needed to move and keep moving, if for no other reason, then he needed to take her home. The concerns whirled through his mind as he tried to weight the various options and come together with a coherent plan. So when she requests him to assist her he was a bit slow, being in deep thought. Still he reaches over and picks up the clothing he had discarded and tosses them over to her.

After tossing the clothing, he ties off the horses, and goes about removing their saddles and preparing camp. He unties their bedrolls and saddlebags, and goes about making a spot for a campfire. He wouldn’t light the fire, till night, so the smoke wouldn’t give away their location. What Charlie was having trouble doing was keeping his eyes off of her body. He found himself constantly looking over and gazing at her, just wanting to see more of her. Over all the years he’d seen other naked girls and yet this one seemed to have his complete attention.

She watched him in silence as he wrapped the glass in a piece of her torn clothing while she continued moving her leg slowly. It hurt almost as bad as when it had become dislocated but she would be able to stand the pain. Hearing him speak, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "It's not like you really care." she muttered to herself while she glared at the ground. "The only thing you're worried about it getting money."

Noticing that he was slow in responding, she turned her gaze to him to see him picking up the pile of clothing and she gritted her teeth when he tossed them over to her, watching as the once clean clothing landed in the dirt and got even more dusty. Picking up a chemise, she slipped it on before forcing herself to her feet with a soft groan though she did favor her good leg by leaning slightly while she brushed her skin off and then smoothed down her chemise. She looked at the corsets that sat in the pile of clothing before deciding to forego them and she glanced at the dresses with a frown. The dresses were heavier then her riding dress and they would be horribly uncomfortable to wear through the night so she decided on just wearing her chemise and pantaloons for now. She'd dress in her lightest dress in the morning.

Gathering up her clothing, she limped slowly over to her bags and began putting everything away, making sure her bag of money was hidden beneath everything. It took her a while to finally pack everything before she glanced at him as he removed the saddles from the horses. It was when she looked at him that she noticed him looking at her and looking at her body. This caused the woman to glower at him while yanking a hair ribbon from her one of her bags. With one last glare at him, she turned away and made her way slowly over to Angel. She said something to the horse and he slowly lowered himself so he was laying on the ground.

With a nod, she slowly sat down and leaned against his side with a sigh. She ran her fingers through her long hair which had come loose and she threw the pins that were still in it, away from her before pulling her hair up into a ponytail. With one last sigh, she turned slightly and pulled her legs up close to her while leaning against her stallions strong shoulder and laying her head against his neck, petting his mane affectionately while murmuring to him. When she traveled, she didn't use a fire and very rarely she used a bedroll for warmth. Instead she preferred to lean against her horse, friend and companion for warmth at night.

The comment about him worrying about money was true, his family was dirt poor and he knew what it was to live with nothing. It wasn’t that somebody could buy his honor or make him do something he didn’t want to, but money was a powerful incentive in this world. To answer her, or to respond was just to open a wound and memories he wanted buried. Turning his back to her he ignores her words. He had a job to do and it was just that simple. Who was she to talk, selling her body for money. They all had to do what it took to survive.

Seeing her walk even if hobbled made him feel a little better, that whatever her injury was, that she would probably be okay if they were careful. Though the look she gave him, could have curdled milk, though he shouldn’t have expected anything different. While she gathered her things and got dressed, he gathered up stones and wood for a fire, to be lit later that night. From his own bags, he pulled some jerky and bread, holding it up for her to see.

Do you want something to eat or drink?

Looking over at her the clothing she’d selected though not as practical as what he destroyed, was a bit more pleasing on the eyes. No matter what had happened so far, Charlie was sure of one thing it was going to be a very interesting journey.

Jewel could hear him moving around as she slipped into her underclothes and her slip. She folded the dress she would wear the next day and set it near Angel's head Her slip clung to her curves a little but it went about halfway down her calves and it had short sleeves that rested off her shoulders. It was made of a white soft material and beneath it she wore a pair of knickers. The young woman was beginning to relax once again and she closed her eyes when she heard him speak.

Sighing, she opened her eyes and looked over at him. For several long minutes she stared at him in silence before looking at the jerky and bread he held up before shaking her head. "No. I'm not hungry." she said softly before turning slightly and nuzzling her face against her horses neck, wrapping an arm around his long thick neck as she closed her eyes once more.

As she sat close to the large animal, it softly nickered before resting his head against her side almost protectively. The large stallion kept its gaze on Charlie. It was as if the animal was suspicious of the man that was looking over the young woman that was currently leaning against the horses side. Jewel sighed and smiled against the horses neck before looking over at Charlie, watching as he looked her over. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, she frowned and curled up a little more so less of her body was exposed.

When she said she wasn’t hungry, he took it at face value, and didn’t offer again. Instead he just sat down, and ate the bread and jerky waiting for the sun to set. A breeze was blowing out of east, and he knew it would get colder and colder as the sun disappeared on the horizon. As he ate, he wondered if the girl knew that most horses only laid down for a few hours, and usually just as often stood while sleeping. Though warm now the horse would stand and that outfit, though nice to gaze upon would be a bit more problematic as it got cold.

Charlie finished the jerky and bread, washing it down with water. Not the best meal, but one that definitely filled the belly. Even though his face was stern and cold, his mind was filled with thoughts of the girl's naked body writhing beneath him. To himself, he realized just how hard this journey was going to be.

The sun was down and the temperature was dropping, so he lit a small fire, enough to take the worst of the heat off. Still it would go dead long before dawn, and wouldn’t attract any undue attention. Making sure the weapons were secure and she couldn’t get at them, he unrolled his bedroll and setup to go to sleep. The fire was already starting to dwindle, as the night got darker and darker, and colder and colder.

The young woman was happy that he didn't insist on her eating and he left her alone. The girl watched the sun as it began to set. As it went down, the golden red rays of the sunlight caught in her dark hair and her lightly tanned skin, making it seem to glow a little. She listened to both her horses breathing and heartbeat, the sound relaxing her and helping to sooth her more then frayed nerves. Jewel knew that it would get cold but she was used to the weather from traveling. She wasn't worried about how cold it would get but the next day, she was worried about how hot it would be. She wore a traveling dress for a reason. It had been made of light airy material that would keep her cool in the hot weather while traveling. But since she was going to have to wear a normal dress which was made of heavier material that would make her hot and difficult to ride in.

Once the sun was down, the girl felt a slight chill begin to set in and she glanced up at the sky, watching the stars glimmer over head. She had always loved watching the stars. Even as a small child, back before she had been worried about being forced into an unwanted marriage and before she had become a prostitute, she would stay up late and just watch the stars.

Her attention was quickly drawn away from the stars and back to Charlie when she heard him lighting a fire and she sighed while watching him get ready to sleep. Opening her bag again, instead of pulling out a bed role, all she pulled out as a blanket that lined the bottom of the bag and she wrapped it around herself. It was made of a warm, thick cotton that would keep her warm enough through the night even after Angel stood up again. With a yawn, she pulled the blanket even tighter around her and over her head a little before closing her eyes.

The sky was clear and the weather cool as the night came on. A cool breeze blew through their camp and the only real sound were coyotes howling while out hunting. For Charlie, this was the wild beauty that he so enjoyed about the west. So he went to sleep, though he slept lightly concerned the girl might try something.

How had Charlie come to this point in his life, so many simple decisions, usually led by the need for money. Working ordinary jobs, he’d joined a posse to track down a criminal, their posse having been successful, and his cut was almost a month’s pay. The sheer thrill of the chase had him on several other posses over the years, till he decided he could do it on his own, chasing one reward after another. Though he struggled, Charlie had kept after it, finding the job far more gratifying, then working a farm. To fill in he’d taken jobs like this one, and until now he’d never questioned his choice of a career. Still, he kept telling himself it was job, and only a job.

As much as he enjoyed the job, there was something about it that was beginning to wear on him, the solitude. Being a bounty hunter was a very lonely job; you had no friends, no allies, and had to depend completely on yourself, you were shunned and looked down upon by the vast majority of society. Even as sleep began to set in, he wondered why he was thinking about this now. Why would this one girl, make him even question something he’d done for so long and so successfully?

The girl didn't sleep for a while, laying there against the horses side as she tried to fall asleep but it didn't seem to be working for her. So as she tried to sleep, she pondered how she had gotten into the situation she was currently in. For a long time she had managed to evade anyone that might have been searching for her. But then she made one mistake. One stupid mistake. And that was becoming comfortable and happy in a place. She normally didn't stay in a place more then a couple of weeks before moving on to the next town or city. She had stayed in that town a week longer then she normally did and that had been her down fall. That and there had been plenty of men who had asked for her hand after learning of her skill in bed. They had promised her that she could keep her freedom if she just promised to sleep with them. She should of taken one of them up on their offer. Then Charlie couldn't of taken her and the man that paid him wouldn't be able to wed her.

But she still had a way to make not just her family suffer but that man as well and even though it wasn't much, it was enough to bring shame on both. Her parents, a well to do couple from both wealth and power, would suffer when everyone found out their eldest daughter had become a whore and the man she was being forced to marry would suffer knowing that he wasn't her first. And she would watch them suffer with great enjoyment because she would be sure everyone in her home town knew.

Some time during the night, Angel stood up and Jewel looked up at him as he stood before she grabbed her bag and moved it, the sound seeming loud as she moved around a bit before laying down with her head resting upon her bag. Not long after that she fell asleep, yet she remained close to her horse and he stayed close to her.

A sound brought Charlie out of his light sleep, he didn’t move, he just laid there listening, hoping to ascertain what the sound was that woke him. Quickly enough he realized it was the girl, and that she was moving. So he opens his eyes ever so slowly and watches as she moves about, adjusting her bag. He doesn’t say a thing and just waits to spring if she makes a break for it, when she doesn’t and when he hears the sound of her sleeping, he too falls back asleep.

The morning sun rises, and Charlie feels it warming rays against his skin, bringing him awake. Opening his eyes he sees that he’s the first to awake. Stretching he gets up and puts his roll away, then wanders a short distance to take care of nature’s business. Returning to camp, he sets about making ready to break camp. In a few more days, once they’d put some distance, they’d be able to have a morning fire, just not today.

Looking over at her sleeping, she looked so tranquil, so gentle, and then he reminds himself of the gun only yesterday that she had pointed at him. Charlie just shakes his head, trying to remind himself, that he has to be careful, very careful when it comes to this girl. While he waits for her to awake, he checks on his horse, making sure its okay. Several times he finds himself staring at her, watching her, thinking about her naked in the bed at the tavern. Finally almost mad at himself, he barks at her sleeping form.

Hey darling, its time to get up.

As the night wore on, Jewel slept peacefully and she didn't wake up for the rest of the night. When the morning came around, she was still sleeping peacefully as the sun rose, it's rays slowly moving across the land and then washing over her small body where she was laying. As the warm rays washed over her, she shifted where she laid and sighed in her sleep. As she laid there, she looked so peaceful and tranquil as she slept.... So... innocent and young. She seemed a lot younger then she was as well. Sleep made her seem as if all of her worries and cares were all gone.

But as he stares at her, she feels her gaze on her and begins to stir a bit before he barked at her, making the girl jump in shock and she sat up before groaning as pain raced through her lower back. Closing her eyes again, she fell back against her bag again and sighed as she rubbed her lower back. The girl grumbled to herself as she continued to rub her back before slowly pushing herself up, looking over at him with a slight glare. "Leave me alone." she muttered after pushing herself into the sitting position. She ran her fingers through her long hair and ran her hand over her face with a sigh. Slowly, Jewel looked up at the sky with a small frown before slowly stretching out her leg and testing it a little before just sitting there with a sigh.

The sun, shining down on her made her dark hair seem to glow a little, the faint red tints in her black hair giving it a red glow as she ran her fingers through her hair. "What time is it?" she asked softly while brushing her bangs out of her face and rubbing her eyes. Jewel was still exhausted from the day before and all she wanted was to go back to sleep. She wasn't used to being up so early. Normally she was up much later because of being with a customer all night.

Time to get up beautiful we have a long day ahead of us. It’s probably around seven so we need to get moving.

Even as he spoke, and though his voice was sarcastic and uncaring to her discomfort of being awoken, his eyes were doing something else, they were enjoying watching her. The girl has something that just kept drawing his eyes back to her, and he found it unsettling, that he couldn’t control the attention he was giving her. Finally he just swings around, and saddles his horse, using it as an means of breaking his stare. Charlie talks to hear, not looking at her, as he throws the saddle over his horse.

How far can you travel today?

The injury she had, still had him concerned, because they needed to put as many miles as they could between themselves and the town. The further away, the less likelihood there would be any questions. Charlie, tightened the saddle belt, and checked the bridle as he prepared his horse.

Do you need help?

If he could help and get her moving, the question wasn’t out of any care for her but simply a logical offer given their situation, or at least that was what he was telling himself. He knew better than to let of his prisoners get to him, he’d been at this far too long, and been successful because he knew how to keep it impersonal, he kept telling himself.

A soft groan escapes the girl as she listens to him and she sighs while running her hand over her face, rubbing her eyes as she worked on waking up some more. With a small frown, she looks up at him with another glare as he saddles his horse and she slowly pushed her cover off of her body. Picking it up, she folded it up and pushed it into her bag while sitting there. When he asked her how far she could travel that day, she paused and looked up at him. "I don't know." she said coldly. "It would depend on how fast the horse moves and when my leg begins to hurt. But don't you worry about me. You're money's waiting at the end of the journey. I'm sure you can't wait to get to it."

As she spoke, she shoved her things roughly, almost violently into the bag before grabbing her dress while standing up the best she could. The young woman still favored her good leg as she slipped her dress on over her head, beginning to tighten the ties on it. By the time she was done tying the dress closed and buttoning it, she was incredibly uncomfortable. Not only was the dress made of thick silk and it clung to parts of her upper body and to make it worse, she had to wear the dress without a corset because of traveling. If she did wear the normal corset, she'd end up with heat stroke in a matter of hours if even that.

Once she was dressed, she smoothed down her skirts with a sigh before looking over at him as he asked if she needed help. "Help? From you?" she spat while picking up her pack and moving towards Angel. "No thanks." She strapped her bag onto the stallion before slowly making her way over to where her shoes laid from where he had tossed them the night before when he had forcefully stripped her of all of her clothing. "I'll do things myself." she said before returning to Angel and putting her shoes into her bag.

Charlie could see that she was pissed, but really what else could you expect. So he tries to ignore her as she breaks camp and sets about loading up her stuff. The limp she had and the leg she favored were obvious to Charlie, but there was little he could do, and waiting around just wasn’t an option. The woman did select another article of clothing that was pleasing to the eyes, and only made it harder for him not to stare, but he managed to keep the glances to a minimum. The only problem he saw was the outfit she selected was impractical, but given what he’d done to the other, she probably was limited in her choices.

All right if you don’t need help, fine! Sorry for asking.

With everything loaded Charlie was ready to move on. He’d make his way across the plain and find a river or stream to fill the canteens. See how far she could make it, the further the better.

Well we should be moving out, best to make some distance before it gets too hot. You ready to go?

Charlie was ready to go, so he kicks dirt on their old fire, making sure it was out and moves toward his own steed ready to mount up, though waiting, to make sure the girl could make it on hers.

Jewel could tell he was attempting to ignore her so she did the same to him as she continued to get ready to leave. She was already beginning to feel hot by the time she finished shoving her shoes into the bag and she paused with a sigh, resting her head against the cool leather of Angel's saddle and closing her eyes for a moment before hearing him speaking again. She slowly opened her eyes again and sighed before looking over at him with a glare. "I never said I didn't need help you ass." she spat. "I said I didn't want help. Especially your kind of help. So don't bother asking any more cause you're just going to get the same reply."

She moved to Angels head and began checking over his halter, running her hands over the black leather. Unlike most other riders, she didn't use a bit for him. He behaved well enough for her and she never wanted to take the chance of ruining his mouth. "You've helped enough anyways." she muttered before checking the horses feet.

When he asked if she was ready to go, she just continued with what she was doing, not bothering to answer him as she moved around her horse. Whispering something to the animal, he suddenly became rather still aside from his breathing and the occasional flick of his tail or ears. She reached up and buried a hand into his mane and gripped the saddle horn with her other hand before slipping the foot of her good leg into the stirrup and beginning to pull herself up, her arms tensing as she tried to pull herself up. For a bit she couldn't do it and she stopped too take a deep breath before gritting her teeth and pushing herself up and sitting side saddle.

By the time she was sitting in the saddle, she was breathing heavily from the exertion and she did her best to get comfortable but it was hard to since the saddle was made for being straddled. But because of her hip, she wasn't going to take the chance at the moment.

The girl needed help, and struggled to get on her horse, and yet she still managed to accomplish it without any assistance. Charlie was again surprised by her strength and determination; she was a very head strong girl. Still in the end it just meant he would have to keep a close eye on her, because she was so determined.

With Jewel on her horse and the sun already up, Charlie leads them out. Charlie set a slower pace, not wanting to jar the girl and cause additional injuries. Plus putting up a large cloud of dust could draw attention, so it served two purposes to move slower. Obviously the girl was in a foul mood, so he refrains from talking and is happy if they just keep moving. Tipping his hat down, he keeps the sun out of his eyes as he holds the reins and watches ahead.

The river was still several miles ahead so it would be awhile till they got there. It would be a good time to eat, let the horses rest, and see if she could go on. Just putting a few extra miles on would make the chance of being followed minimal. The river would have additional vegetation and offer cover from observation, even if they had to make camp early. Charlie’s head occasionally turns and looks, making sure she was okay and to determine how she was taking the riding.

River’s a few miles ahead, we’ll stop there eat and water the horses. Then follow it for a few more miles, till we head west.