Tyr ~ Running from Destiny ~ D.E.666

Just as Jewel finished dressing, she heard him call up to her and tell her to help. Looking back at him, she gazed back at him and then looked out to the water where the fish was fighting to get away. Sighing, she made her way down to the waters edge and looked at the fish through the water, unsure of what to do. Jewel had never been fishing before, though she'd always wanted to. When ever her brothers and father would go, she'd beg to go along but her father would yell at her and tell her to return to the house and continue with her womans lessons. And those lessons consisted of how to run a house of servants, how to do needle work and to learn what would be expected of her when she was married. Her father didn't even want her to learn numbers or writing but her mother insisted upon it, telling him that she had learned them and Jewel should as well.

Moving over to the water, she looked at the fish then up at him as he told her to flop the fish out of the water and up onto the shore. With a determined but cute look on her face, she began attempting to do as he told. But as she did, the fish kept wriggling and she eventually got splashed, causing her to squeal. However, the more she was splashed, the more she actually relaxed and her soft laughter filled the air before she finally managed to get the fish up onto the shore.

Jewel glanced at him and saw the smile on his face and her small smile widened a bit as she ran her fingers through her slightly wet hair before moving up to the bank near where he was and she began squeezing the water out of the skirt of her dress before glancing at the flopping fish on the shore.

Charlie could almost forget for a moment that she was his prisoner, and that he had a job to do. It was just so easy to forget and enjoy the moment, and how much fun he had with her. The fish landing on the shore, her smile, it just made all the problems wash away as she squealed. He couldn’t help but laugh as the fish hopped and wiggled about, his own face matching hers with a large smile. Putting down his stuff he follows after her to secure tonight’s dinner. As Jewel squeezed the water out of her clothes, he reached down and grabbed the elusive quarry.

Let’s see if we can make a meal out of this little guy. Some fresh food would be nice.

Used to doing things himself, he walks over to the campsite and begins to work on cleaning the fish. He pulls out a sharp knife and begins the task, some of the negative vibes of their prior problems gone.

You know, we might make a fisherman out of you.

No longer dwelling on his conflicting emotions, he relaxes and works the fish. Looking up he sees the sun is already setting.

Why don’t you get the fire ready, and we’ll cook this little guy up.

Jewel turned and watched as Charlie picked up the fish while she did her best to squeeze out her skirt before stumbling up the bank a bit and walking towards the camp, following several steps behind Charlie. When she reached the camp, she looked at him as he spoke and talked about making a fisherman out of her and she couldn't help but to smile gently as she looked up at the slowly setting sun. It would start to cool down soon so she either needed to change or stay close to the fire.

At the mention of getting the fire ready, she nodded slightly before wandering away from him a bit to collect some wood for the fire before returning to where Charlie was cleaning the fish. After stacking the wood carefully, she began working on lighting the fire. It took her several tries before she finally had one going and she nursed it until it was crackling and the scent of burning wood soon filled the small area. With a sigh Jewel sat back before looking down at her hands.

The junction between her pointer and thumb was bright red and raw and her palms burned from tearing apart her dress. Sighing, she stood up and grabbed a stray piece of cloth she had missed before heading down to the water where she got it wet before returning to the camp and sitting down. Carefully, the young woman wrapped the cool wet cloth around her hands. Tearing the cloth had given her something similar to a rope burn on her small hands. She'd had a rope burn before but this seemed a bit more painful but she just shrugged it off. The redness would be gone by morning.

With the fire going, the fish gutted and cleaned it soon was over the crackling fire cooking. Charlie having lived on his own most of his adult life didn’t ask her to cook, he just did it, as it was something he did every day. The air was soon filled with the smell of cooking fish, as he watched over it, turning it occasionally to make sure it was evenly cooked.

Charlie didn’t know what to do or what to say to Jewel. It was so disconcerting to him that he was totally unable to keep this on a purely professional basis, and that his carnal desires were so strong when it came to her, such that keeping them under control seemed impossible. As much as he admonished himself, he knew that no matter how many times he told himself he shouldn’t touch her, that he would if the opportunity arose, and would do so with enthusiastic abandon. What was going on? The questions swirled as he turned the fish. Not a thing of course being said as he crouched next to the campfire tending to the cooking.

Fish will be ready in a few.

Charlie leaves it unattended for a moment and retrieves some items from his pack. A plate, a fork, a cup, bottle of liquor and some spices. He puts a few of the spices on the fish as it cooks on the spit. Soon enough the fish was done, and ready to be eaten.

Fish is ready. Would you like something to drink?

As Jewel tended to her hands, she watched Charlie curiously. She'd never met a man before that didn't expect a woman to do the cooking and in intrigued her. Though she knew it shouldn't surprise her. Men that traveled alone had to cook for themselves. As the scent of fish filled the air, her stomach growled softly and she blushed a bit.

With a sigh, she looked away from him while adjusting the fabric around her hand. The woman was so confused. She knew she should hate this man that's been so rough and mean towards her, but she couldn't help not to and what was worse... She found him utterly attractive. There was just something about him that turned her on and as much as she tried to fight it and hide it, she was loosing the fight. When he spoke, she jumped slightly and blinked as she was shaken from her thoughts and she nodded. "Okay." she said gently.

Standing up she moved to the water once more and got the cloth wet and re-wrapped her hand before heading back to the camp and sitting down once more. As she was told it was done, she nodded and pushed her hair back from her face. "Yes, thank you." she says gently after being offered something to drink.

The conversation was minimal, as Charlie really didn’t know what to say. The woman confused him; his own emotions about her were a jumbled mess. Living mostly alone and capturing bad guys, was what he felt comfortable about, but with Jewel it was just different, he’d never fucked one of his prisoners before. So he just ate, pouring a bit of the liquor into a small metal cup, its bite offering a warming feeling as it slid down his throat. Charlie wasn’t sure so rather then speak up and sound like a fool he just sat there quietly nursing his drink and eating his fish. Charlie offers the cup if she would like a sip.

Neither of them could see the man several hundred yards off lying on his belly watching them through the bushes. Charlie had never met him, so he wouldn’t have recognized him if he was to met the man, but Jewel would have, as he was one of her regular customers. His name was John and he was a local independent prospector, who had some luck, but when he did just spent it on liquor and whores, Jewel being his favorite. Numerous times he’d talked her about running off with her when he struck it big and setting her up in a fancy farm. So when he’d come into town with some good nuggets, he’d plan to celebrate with his favorite girl, only to find her gone. With some quick investigation, he’d found that one or two people thought she’d run off with a guy that had recently come through town. No one seemed to care or was worried she was gone. John knew she wouldn’t leave without him; they were going to settle down once he’d got enough money together.

It had taken everything he knew about the outdoors to find their tracks and to catch up to them. Whoever Jewel was with, John was sure he was no good, and she was in trouble. Jewel loved him, and he loved her, and they were going to be together forever. So he’d set off, barely sleeping, as he hunted for her, finally finding some suspicious tracks that were off the beaten track. Day after day he relentlessly followed them, he had to save her he thought, someone had stolen his love away, and he was going to rescue her.

Laying down and watching, he waited, knowing he had to strike when they were asleep.

Jewel sat there in silence, unsure as to what to say. She felt she needed to be very careful as to what she said to him because he usually got edgy any time she said something and somehow her words ended up twisted around and anything she would try to say never came out right. When he offered the cup to her, she looked up and took it, taking a drink of the liquor and grimacing slightly.

The young woman never usually drank and anytime she did, it was always watered down whiskey. That way she could drink when invited to by a customer, she wouldn't get drunk and she'd be able to get the money from the men. The two sat in silence for quite some time, most of it she was gazing down at her lap or playing with the hem of her torn up dress.

The dress she had torn up was one that was given to her by the very man that was watching them. On one of his last visits when he had come upon some luck, he came straight to the salon and she dropped another potential customer because she knew John paid very well and he gave her the dress as part of his payment to which she gave him a special treat. She knew John thought she loved him. But that's what women in her line of work was supposed to do.

Courtesan. Whore. They were all the same. They gave themselves to the highest bidder and they were paid to make men believe what they wanted to believe. There had been many a night that she'd spent with John and he drunkenly told her of the dreams he had for them. A nice farm for them to live on together after he struck it big. She would just lay in the bed or the bath with him and smile, occasionally laugh at something he said. She never told him she loved him, but she also never told him she didn't. He was a nice man and she enjoyed his occasional company when he was in town and he wasn't half bad in bed either, so she never crushed his dreams.

John watches and waits, the time passing so slowly. If he were a good shot, and knew for sure he wouldn’t hurt Jewel, he’d take a shot at this varmint, and make sure he could save Jewel. Various plans were running through his mind, as he tried to figure out how he was going to get Jewel and get away. Though killing a man really wasn’t something he would do, unless no other option was available, it just wasn’t in him as a God fearing man. The sun was already down, and the camp fire illuminated the two as they sat there obviously eating, if they were talking or what was being said John had no clue, but he waited. The only thing he was confused by was he didn’t see her tied up, not that a man couldn’t overpower a delicate flower like Jewel, maybe he’d stolen her away with a silvery tongue, whatever, he was getting her back.

Charlie finished his meal, and took the dishes to the river to clean. When he was sure the horses were secure, and everything was fine, he went and grabbed his bedroll, tossing it down near the fire.

We should be getting to bed soon, we have another long day ahead of us tomorrow.

Maybe he should have said more, or discussed his conflicting feelings, but that just not what guys did. So rather than start another fight or make the situation worse, he rolled out his blanket and made read to get some shuteye.

Jewel ate in relative silence, some of her long curly hair falling in her face as she moved a little. She could feel a slight chill setting in as she sat there, the sun setting and soon the only source of heat was from the fire in front of her. The young woman finished eating first and she gave Charlie the dishes when he finished, watching as he moved over to the small river to clean off the dishes. With a soft yawn, she stood up and slowly moved over to her horse where she pulled out a simple blanket. She didn't have a bedroll like him, just a small blanket that she would lay under. She was used to being dirty while traveling, so laying on the ground didn't bother her.

As Charlie spoke about getting ready for bed, she nodded with a soft yawn. Moving back over to the fire, she paused and rubbed her leg before slowly laying down on the ground. She was laying down on the opposite side of the fire then he was on. With a sigh she wrapped the blanket around herself and curled up on the floor. After closing her eyes, she slowly began to drift asleep.

Even though he was more used to traveling than she was, Charlie was still tired. The days had been long, and he’d stayed awake far longer than he should have just to make sure she didn’t escape, all of it had caught up to him. So sleep came quick and hard as he thought about Jewel, and not as his prisoner, but as a passionate lover. Normally a light sleeper, tonight was different.

John waited and waited to make sure that the man and Jewel were fast asleep before he slowly crept his way closer and closer to the camp, stopping several times to wait and listen to make sure that no one was awakened by his approach. Finally he was only 20ft or so away, as he took a moment to check out the camp, the dim illumination of the moon and camp fire, his only light as he planned out his attack. A simple snatch and grab would fail if Jewel inadvertently yelled out, as he really didn’t want a gun battle. Taking her horse would also be too risky, and untethering her stead could be very problematic, so John considered and discards one plan after another. Finally though he didn’t want to, he decided to knock her out and drag her off, figuring it would be the quietest and offer the least chance of detection. So with reservation he sneaks up to her and with the butt of his pistol, hits her over the head.

Even though she had fallen asleep, Jewel was only in a light sleep. Every now and then she would shift a little but then she'd stop and settled back down. When John snuck into the camp, she was resting peacefully but her horse looked at him and snorted, watching carefully as the man moved towards the sleeping young woman. When John got closer, she stirred again, her eyes fluttering and she sighed but didn't wake. But when he hit her over the head, she made a soft noise before stilling as she sunk deeper into unconsciousness.

((Sorry so short, wasn't sure what else to put.))

((Sorry my last post didn’t leave much room to respond))

John felt guilty but he didn’t have much choice in the matter if he wanted to be successful. Putting his pistol back in its holster, he bent down and picked Jewel up. He couldn't take the time to rescue her stuff; he just needed to get her out of here as quickly as possible before that bastard that took her woke up. The moon offered some light, as he walked with her in his arms back to where he had his horse tethered to a bush. Jewel didn’t weight much, but still hauling her over all that distance had John's muscles burning. Finally though he reached his horse and tossed her over its hindquarter, before he started to walk the horse out. He wanted to get more distance before he started to ride out, also it gave him a chance to disguise some of their trial to slow a possible pursuit. Further he planned to use the creek to cover the horse hoof marks. Hopefully the Jewel would wake so they could ride, it would save time and allow them to make substantial distance if everything went right. John couldn’t wait to see her face, and how happy he knew she would be for rescuing her.

(That's okay. Oh, I changed the picture for my character.)

As Jewel was picked up, her blanket fell from her slender body, exposing her torn and dirty dress as well as her dirty skin. Her body was completely limp within the mans arms, one of her arms resting draped acrossed her stomach while the other dangled at her side, swaying slightly with his movements while her head rested slightly against his arm and a little tipped back. With her head tipped back, John would be able to see her face. Her lips were partially parted and her normally slightly tanned skin was smudged with dirt while her dark hair hung loose in tangles. But even dirty with messy hair, she was beautiful.

As she was tossed over the horse, the young woman groaned but didn't wake yet. She hadn't been able to sleep very well the night before, so she wouldn't be waking up right away which gave John plenty of time for him to get them a good distance away. Finally, after some time the young woman began to stir. She shifted in her spot on the horse and gave a soft groan as she closed her eyes a little tighter before they fluttered slightly. "Oh my head." she mumbled, her hand going to her head where he hit her only for her to pull her hand away quickly with a hiss when she touched the tender bump on the back of her head.

(Picture looks great!)

John was pleased he’d covered up the majority of their tracks as he cut back, double tracked, and used the terrain to his advantage, with some luck he’d be many miles away before that scumbag awoke to find his beautiful captive gone. Looking back at her draped across the horse, he couldn’t imagine what horrors she must have endured at his hands, the poor thing didn't deserve whatever he had done. Just looking at her dirty tattered clothing John knew it had been rough on her, she was such a delicate flower, that he knew she needed his protection. Looking at her he tried to put out of mind his own indecent thoughts about her, because even though she was a whore, he knew they shared that special something. As he quietly guided the horse, its hoofs the only real sound, he heard her stir. So he stopped, still holding the reins, he stepped back to see how she was doing.

Its okay my love, its just me John, you’re free everything is fine. I got you away from that criminal scumbag.

John instinctually caressed her across the back, trying to reassure her that everything was okay. They were far enough away that he was sure that no one would hear her, even if she screamed in shock. Still never hurt to be cautious, plus John wanted her to be happy and know he was there for her. He knew she’d now see why she had to stay with him, so he could protect her.

Come on let me help you down, and let's make sure your okay.

John reaches out to help her down off his horse, wanting to feel her against him, to touch her, to know she was fine.

(Thanks)

Jewel started when she heard a voice she certainly wasn't expecting. She jerked her head up in surprise, but that caused her head to spin and she groaned again while closing her eyes, breathing deeply and steadily while listening to John speak. After a little bit, she opened her eyes again and lifted her head to look up at him. "John?" she murmured, blinking several times as she looked up at him and he caressed her back. "Wh-what happened?" she asked. The young woman could hear the sound of the horses hooves on the ground as it moved.

When the horse was stopped, she looked at him before placing her small hands on the saddle as he spoke about helping her down. Slowly she slid down off the horse before staggering a little after her feet hit the floor before falling into his arms after tripping over her own feet. When she fell against him, Jewel flung her arms around him and clung to him with a gasp, her small hands clutching his shirt. "Sorry." she murmured while she worked on regaining her balance. Tipping her head back a little, Jewel looked up at him with wide eyes before resting her head against his chest with a sigh.

No it’s all right, you’re okay.

James held her in his arms, wanting to protect her. Such a wonderful creature, that even though he’d paid for her services, he knew she cared about him. She’d been new to the town, and he’d just come back from a successful prospecting trip, seeing her in the tavern, he’d agreed to pay for a whole night never having even know if she was any good, though she turned out to be even better than his wildest dreams. They’d talked so often since then as he promised to take her away from this. Now he was going it, and he felt so good.

John ran his hand through her hair, caressing, petting her as he held her close. She was the object of his love, his desire, and now he had her, and he wasn’t going to let he go. She would now see everything he said was true, and that he could protect and provide for her.

I was so worried, when I found you were gone. I knew something awful had happened, that you wouldn’t just leave me.

He kissed her forehead as he held her tight and close.

Jewel slowly relaxed in John's arms as he held her, closing her eyes as she rested against him. Her head was still throbbing and she winced as one of her hands moved to touch the bump lightly with a sigh. She wasn't sure how to react to John being there. Part of her wanted to rejoice and celebrate being free but another part was saddened by being away from Charlie but she pushed that part of her down, mentally scolding herself for such foolish feelings since Charlie was only going to take her back to her father who would force her into a marriage.

As John stroked her hair, she smiled gently with a sigh. The woman listened to him as he spoke and she smiled gently before looking up at him. "Thank you John." she whispered to him. "But... my things. All my money.. my jewelry.. everything you'd ever given me is back there." Jewel wasn't a materialistic woman and John knew that. She'd told him that several times on different occasions when he brought her a gift, but she hated to just leave her things behind.

John could hear Jewel’s worries and concerns about her personal possessions, but there was no way he could take her back, the risk was just too high. All he could do was console her, and hope it was enough.

I’m so sorry my love; we can’t go back its just too risky. No matter you are safe, that’s the most important thing, and everything else can be replaced.

Even as much as he just wanted to stand there and hold her, he knew they had to be moving soon. They needed to move on and get as far away as possible. John could feel her body pressed against his, and letting her go, now that she was close was hard, but he needed to get her to freedom, if he was going to be with her. So as not to scare her, he speaks softly in a controlled voice, as he continues to hold her in a tight embrace and stroke her hair.

We have to be going, we have to make as much distance before the sun comes up. He’ll be looking for us, and I don’t think either of us would be happy if he got you again. Do you think you’re okay to ride; all you have to do is just hold on.

Jewel listened to John as he told her that they couldn't go back and she sighed before nodding. "Very well." she said softly. "I just hate to loose all those things that you had given me." She yawned softly and closed her eyes as he held her and stroked her hair.

Slowly Jewel pulled back from John and nodded, glancing back in the direction that they had come from before looking at him again. "You're right. We should get as far from here as possible." she said softly. "And I think I can ride. I'm a little tired, but I can hold on." She became silent for a moment and touched her head before looking at John once more. "Lets go. I'd like to sleep in a real bed soon."

Sounds good my love, let’s go!

She was she now his, all his. Any doubt he had was washed away as she agreed to his plan. Now John knew that they were meant to be together it was destiny, all those years of hard prospecting and he was going to get the girl, the perfect girl. So with reluctance he steps back and moves to the horse, mounting it first, and preparing to reach down and help Jewel up so she could hold onto him.

If we push, we should be able to make it to the next town by late tomorrow. The cool night will allow the horse to push on, and we should take a break in the morning, but with some luck we’ll be in a nice bed before the sun goes down.

John was already imagining what it was going to be like, and how much he was going to enjoy his reward for rescuing her. With a large smile on his face he was ready to move out.

She forced herself not to flich when he called her his love before nodding. She yawned softly again and stepped back, watching as he mounted the horse before waiting for him to reach down to her and help her up. Grasping his arm, she placed a foot into the stirrup and carefully pulled herself up behind her with a soft groan.

"That sounds lovely John." she said softly at the mention of a nice bed. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she held on firmly. "Thank you for looking for me John." she whispered and rested her head against his back. "Now, lets go. THe sooner we leave here, the better." She leaned up a little and kissed his shoulder before relaxing against his back as she smiled to herself.

Part of her hated leaving Charlie but she couldn't go back to her childhood home. She couldn't go back to feeling like a prisoner again. Not after living a free life for so long.

With her arms wrapped around his waist John couldn’t help but glow, feeling her leaning against him as he gave the horse a nudge. With it being dark, the pace was slow, but methodical as John guided the horse along the open ground. He looked back several times, but he saw nothing but that was expected given how late it was. Moving by moonlight, he continued to quietly guide the horse further and further away from the camp of that kidnapper.

Charlie slept well, the long day and great sex had proven to be a wonderful catalyst for a deep sleep. So only when nature came calling was he roused from a great dream involving Jewel and himself. Waking up and standing he was shocked and angered to see that Jewel was gone. Looking around he saw her horse, so he thought she might be off taking care of same urge he had. So he finds a spot off and relieves his own pressure, before he begins a search for her. Closer examination shows a very disconcerting scenario, as he discovers not only drag marks, but boot prints that were for someone larger than Jewel.

Following the prints he finds the location were someone had obviously been observing them, and later were the person’s horse had been tied off. Charlie was pissed, and while letting loose with a stream of foul language he quickly headed back to camp. Quickly he loaded up everything, and tethered Jewel’s horse to his as he prepared to track the varmint that got his girl. Damn he was pissed at himself for not having woken up. The sun would be coming up soon, and he had no clue how large a lead they had.

Jewel felt John nudge the horse and she sighed as they started off for what ever destination John had in mind. For a while she sat behind him just gazing up at the sky, but slowly her eyes began to drift shut as her exhaustion washed over her. She yawned and nuzzled her face against his back before tightening her arms around him. Slowly the young woman drifted to sleep against his back. With her pressed against his back, he would be able to feel that she wasn't wearing a corset like she normally would. No matter what, she had always worn a corset under her dresses.

Her body slowly swayed with the movements of the horses movements but she never once slipped from its back in her sleep. Instead, she remained leaning against Johns back and her head resting on his shoulder.

John stopped as the sun was coming up to give both the horse and the girl a rest. It would also allow him to see if anyone was close or pursuing them. He was sure that he’d done a good enough job to get a decent lead, but a single man on a horse was always faster than two. Still they had a good chance and now that he had Jewel he was not going to give up. Plus he wanted to go slow enough that they didn’t make too obvious of tracks or worse yet put up a dust cloud that could be seen for miles. While Jewel rested he took a quick rest, and checked back from the way they came, not seeing any pursuit.

Charlie was pissed, he wanted to tear out after the girl just abandoning camp, and was about to when he thought twice of it. Who ever grabbed her wanted her alive, and since they didn’t put a bullet in him, he suspected they might not be the violent kind and more than likely not a posse or law enforcement. Which bated the question who was it?

So he took the extra vital minute to quickly pack up not only his stuff, but hers too, before he untethered the horses and start off. The darkness was his enemy and Charlie, an experienced tracker found himself numerous times backtracking and searching for any signs of tracks. Who ever had taken Jewel knew what they were doing and night did nothing to help. Charlie lost precious time, it wasn’t till the sun was almost peaking, he’d finally found a consistent trail, but it was many many hours old. He’d be lucky if he even caught up to them today, more than likely it would take another day, if they didn’t make more trouble for him. Damn he was mad at himself for letting her get away, and some of it had nothing to do with the reward.

Jewel yawned softly as she rested against his back but when he pulled the horse to a stop, her eyes slowly fluttered opened and she looked around with another yawn before slowly sitting up. Her small hand rested on Johns stomach while the other was on his back. "Why'd we stop?" she asked sleepily, some of her hair falling in her eyes which were only partially opened. While she waited for his answer, she thought about Charlie for a moment and wondered whether or not John had killed him. For some reason the thought made her shiver a little though it would seem like it was just a chill or something of the sort.