Chapter One: Hermia, meet Lysander
(Hermia/Rain)
I waded into the pond and watched as the tiny silver fish swam around my feet. I could feel their slimy tails brushing against my toes and my ankles. The water was freezing cold. I couldn’t step farther into the water or my silk dress would get ruined. I leaned down and rinsed off my wounded arm in the water. The cut was deep and at least four inches long. I watched as my blood mixed in with the water. Then I stepped out of the pond and walked over to the rock where I had left my sweater. I put my sweater on to cover up my wound. If John saw the injury, who knows what he would do. I slipped my black ballet flats onto my feet and walked up to my home.
I saw a young boy leaning on a tree as I was walking down the path. He couldn’t have been much older than me. I envied him, being able to sit there and relax without a care in the world. He startled me when he suddenly looked up and said, “Is there something I can do for you ma’am?”
“I uh...”
“Its just that I saw you eyeing me and I was wonderin’ what a pretty young lady like you was doin’ walkin’ around all by ‘er lonesome,” he said before I was able to respond thoroughly. I straightened me back, “I can not be more than half year younger than you, sir.” He stood up, “Yes I know that. But it seems that I ain’t a lady. And I ain’t by my lonesome.” His face was inches from mine. I caught my breath as he stared intently at me with his big, beautiful blue eyes. “Wha-what do you mean you’re not alone?” I stuttered, temporarily flustered by the closeness of his face to mine. He came closer to my face and I took a step backward. “She’s with me,” he said, pointing his thumb in the direction of the tree. I looked toward the tree and saw no one. “Who?” I asked. “The tree,” he said as he walked back over to the tree and patted its bark. “This tree here.” Confused, I replied simply with, “I must go. My...husband is waiting for me.” It still discomforted me calling John my husband. His eyes widened as I started to walk away. “At such a young age?” asked with a shocked voice. I simply nodded and kept walking. “But you don’t like it,” he added with a smirk in his voice. I turned toward him, “I hate it.” He smiled, and I turned and kept walking.
“Hello darling. Where have you been?”
“I...went go pick some berries.”
“Where are the berries?”
“I ate them.”
“Never heard that one before,” he said sarcastically. “Go start dinner.”
“Who are you to order me?” I replied. He stared at me, “I am your husband!”
“You are my forced conjoined male being of whom I was conjoined with in order to pull my family out of economical trouble. You are NOT my husband,” I replied. “And you, on the other hand, are my wife of whom I married because you are beautiful and your parents strongly wanted me to be your husband. Now go start dinner,” he retorted. I fumed off to the kitchen. I lit the oven and put the meat into a pot full of water, which I placed on top of the stove. Then I quickly exited the house through the back door. I climbed up the pile of logs by the side of the house and sat on the roof. Why had this happened to me? What had I done to deserve this? I stared down the hill at the forest pathway. Just then, I saw a boy walking down the pathway away from my home. It must have been the boy I had met on my way home earlier. I imagined the boys beautiful blue eyes...they were like blue pearls. And his teeth were whiter than pearls! He had absolutely exquisite features, but it was not just his features that appealed to me. He talked like a western boy. I had always had a thing for western boys. I could just imagine him in a cowboy hat riding a big black mustang down that path. He would ride up to me and sweep me up onto the horse with him, and we would ride away. Ride away from all the cares and troubles of marriage and adulthood. I would be free...like a girl should be at thirteen. I laid back on the roof and stared up at the darkening sky. Let me just tell you how I got here.
My family and I have lived here in Washington our whole life. This place is beautiful, full of friendly people, and right in the place where my daddy got his job. He owns a little hardware shop. Problem is, my daddy got out of work about a year ago because a bigger, better, and cheaper hardware shop was built right down the road from where my dad’s place is. So for a while my dad tried to farm and sell his produce. Unfortunately, our land isn’t good farming land, and nobody wanted to pay us for the food we attempted to grow. Then, just at the right time, my seventeen year old sister got married, and our family was just good and dandy. Then, sadly, my sister’s husband drowned in the river. We were of course all devastated to lose him, but we were most certainly not in a better financial situation because of this tragic happening. My sister’s husband died before he got the chance to update his will. His family, unfortunately, had never cared for my sister, and they made sure that they took everything that had belonged to their son away from my sister, including the house, the cow, and all the money. My sister moved back in with us, depressed, lonely, and completely broke. Then my father came up with a brilliant idea: marry me off to rich man and put our family back up on their, as my dad calls it “financial feet”. My sister did not approve, and neither did I, but we had no say in the matter. John Sampson, the very wealthy son of Georgina and Jonathon Sampson, volunteered willingly for the job. Many other men volunteered too, but my father decided to choose snotty, self-obsessed John to be my husband, because John was richer than the others and my father was feeling greedy.
On the day of the wedding, my sister ran away from home. But not before she slipped a farewell note into my flower bouquet. On the note, she wrote:
Dearest Rain Dance
I have found that our quaint little home has become too dangerous and depressing for my liking. It has come to my attention that I can go anywhere I want! And so I will. I bid you good luck with your new torture device of a companion. Who knows, maybe he’ ll end up like mine! Was that too harsh?
I honestly understand that you will be very angry with me for leaving you in your time of need, but do believe me, good sister, I have not left you alone. I have left you Peter. You will find out soon enough who he is. Peter will protect you, but I warn you, don’t fall in love with him. Many a girl have made the same mistake and all but one of them have had their hearts broken. The one who didn’t broke his heart in a completely pitiless way. Since her, he has never loved. And darling, he never will. So don’t try it. (Not that you would, seeing as you have such a wonderful companion already.) Once again, I’m very sorry for leaving you at this terrible time, but I could not stay here any longer. I love you dear sister, take care of yourself. Or at least have Peter do it for you.
All my love,
your sister- Jane Tienry
Since I received that letter, I had been searching everywhere for Peter. I couldn’t seem to find him, and I wondered if my sister had made him up.
I sat up on the roof. What if...what if I had met Peter? What if that boy...leaning on the tree...had been Peter? He certainly was one whom I wouldn’t deny many girls would fall for. But if that had been Peter, then...what took him so long? Why had I only met him today? It was all so confusing. Just then, John threw open the back door, “RAIN! YOU GET BACK IN HERE IMMEDIATELY! DO YOU HEAR ME RAIN? I AM COMING OUT TO GET YOU!” My eyes widened as I watched John storm off in the direction of the river. I quickly jumped down from the roof. I glanced over at John as I raced into the house and I saw that he was walking father and farther away from the house and the path I always took. I quickly climbed up into the loft, grabbed my bag, and filled it with all my belongings. This wasn’t hard because my belongings were very few. I ran down into the kitchen and grabbed all the money I could fit in my bag from our money jar. Then I dashed out the back door.
I raced down the path...past the tree where I had met that boy...past the pond...past the place where I had gotten my wound...I stopped running when I remembered my wound. I looked at my arm. The blood was seeping through my sweater! I sat down on a rock on the side of the road and took to treating my wound. I then wrapped it up in gauze and changed my sweater. I put my backpack back on my back and took off back down the road. Three quarters of the way to town, the sky turned pitch black. I kept walking down the path, but eventually I stopped, worrying that I might stray and get lost. I sat down and leaned on a large boulder. My arm stung like I had been attacked by thousands of bees. I tried not to react. I tried to sleep. But eventually I found myself screaming out for help unconsciously and wheezing from the pain of my injury. It had not hurt this much when it first happened!
I woke up laying in a bed with brown covers. It was morning, I could tell that by the light pouring in from a window and the sound of the birds singing outside. I started to sit up but then my arm started stinging again. I cringed and wheezed. “Wait just a minute, and I’ll help you get rid of that pain,” a voice said. I gritted my teeth together and squinted my eyes closed. “Whe-where am I?” I asked through my teeth. “You’re in my guest room.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Peter.” Peter. Peter, the man who my sister had assigned to be my body guard. I leaned back against the bed. “Hello Peter,” I sighed. “Do you know me?” he asked with curiosity in his voice. I heard his footsteps as he entered the room, but I did not see him because of my closed eyes. “My sister told me that she assigned you to protect me,” I replied. He laughed, “Well, yes, but I’m obviously not doing a very good job considering your condition right now.”
“I’m ok...” I said as I opened my eyes. I gasped. It was him! The boy I had met on the path! “you...” I whispered. he smiled and sat down in a chair near my head. His face was inches from mine again. “Me,” he whispered. I jumped out of bed on the opposite side of where he was sitting. He looked at me with a confused expression. “What are you doing?” he asked. “I’m getting out bed. I injured my arm, not my whole body,” I replied. He smiled, “Well then!” He laughed, “Most ladies would just stay in bed and moan all day with that large of a wound!” I smiled, “I’m not like most ladies.”
“Certainly not. Most ladies aren’t married at your age. And ‘specially not to someone they don’t love.” I frowned, “It was arranged,” I replied. “For money reasons I’m guessing?”
“For financial reasons, yes.”
“You don’t have to go and use big words like financial around here,” he replied. I grinned, “Habit.” He started walking out of the room and followed him into the kitchen. “Yes, well, since you’re up and out of bed, I’m expecting you won’t be needing that pain killer anymore,” he said. I frowned, “No, I certainly would still like pain killer, please.” He chuckled, “Aw yes, I was expectin’ that you’d say that. Even a brave girl like yourself don’t like pain.”
“Oh, and you do?”
“No, definitely not. Did I say I did?” he replied. I put on a confused expression, “No, but...” He chuckled, “Aw, I’m just teasing ya’. No need to get all worked up. Let me get that pain killer for you.”
I sat down at a kitchen table and watched as he rummaged through his cupboards. He took a out a bottle with some herbs crushed and mixed together in it. “I always use this on me. Works almost instantly!” he said. He brought the bottle over to me and rubbed it gently onto my arm. “Won’t that infect the wound?” I asked. He shook his head, “Nah. I just put it around the wound. Not on it.”
“Then how does it stop the pain?”
“That’s for me to know, and you not to find out. I worked a long time to figure this out.”
“I see. How do you know so much about this stuff?” I asked. He smiled, “I studied to be a doctor. And I could have been one too, a real good one.”
“Really? What stopped you?” I asked. He frowned, “Mary Goy.”
“Mary Goy? Who’s that?” I asked. He frowned and didn’t reply. I blushed, “Never mind. None of my business.”
“She was the girl who took love away from me,” he said, staring at me, “I haven’t been able to fall in love since her.”
Oh. So Mary Goy was the one girl whose heart he didn’t...accidently break. I tried to imagine her. Beautiful? What color hair? What about her eyes? “Well, that should do it. Your arm should stop hurtin’ in a few minutes.”
“Thanks...”
“Mhm.”
“Peter?” I asked. He turned to face me, “Yes?”
“Why did you agree to protect me?” He blushed lightly. “I uh...used to know you.”
“What? Really? When?”
“You were uh...very young. Probably eight years.”
“...tell me what happened.”
“Well...we were at school. You were new and kids were ya’ know, pickin’ on ya’ and all that, and I saw you run off campus and into the forest. I...followed you. I uh...kinda felt this pull in my body that told me to follow you. I felt kinda...you know...defensive and uh protective of you. So I uh followed you into the forest. You just kept running and running! Eventually you stopped and crawled up in front of a log. I went over and scooped you up into my arms...you were very light. You cried into my chest and you said to me “Never leave me! Don’t...don’t go...” I didn’t know what to do. After that day you always kinda avoided me, I think you were embarrassed. But I uh...always kinda followed you. That feeling of protectiveness over you never really went away. I felt possessive of you...I felt...I dunno’. So I’ve really always been...uh...protectin’ you. It was sorta’ part of the reason Mary...you know. So when your sister asked me to protect you, I had no problem with it.” By the time he finished his story, I was staring at him with wide eyes. “Th-that was y-ou?” I asked in shock. He blushed more, “Um...yea.” I looked away from him and stared at the floor. He started to walk out of the room. “Thank you,” I whispered. He turned to me. I looked up at his face with tears in my eyes, “Thank you for protecting me.” He stared at me and I stared right back. If it had been anyone else at any other time, I would have looked away and been blushing by now. But I just kept staring. He looked away eventually, “Don’t thank me,” he said as he stared at the ground with his hands stuffed into his pockets, “I would’ve stopped by now if I could,” he said as he smiled at me. “What do you mean?” I asked as I wiped the tears away from under my eyes. “I’m a very obedient kinda guy. You told me to stay with ya’, so thats what I’m doin’.”
“Oh. I see.”
“Yea. So...you wanna take a ride with me?”
“A ride?”
“On my stallion. Well, she’s not a real stallion, but she sure looks like it. She’s a real beauty!” He had a horse. And he was asking me if I wanted to ride on it with him. I almost laughed. “So?” he asked as he flipped his black hair away from his eyes. “Ok. I’ll come.”
“Alrighty then! Boy, I sure am lucky, I get to take a pretty lady on a pretty horse with me!” he chuckled ad he led me to a small barn with a beautiful black horse in it. “Wow...” I gasped as I looked at the beautiful horse. She neighed and jumped, flipping her beautiful black mane in the same way Peter flipped his hair. “Ain’t she a beauty? Her name’s Rain Dance.” he said. I stared at him, once again, with wide eyes. “Rain Dance?”
“Ya. I bought her from an Indian, and he told me that was her name. I thought it was a real nice name, so I didn’t change it,” he said as he patted the horse on the back. I stared at the horse. “Somethin’ wrong?” he asked curiously. I looked over at him, “Uh...no...its just...my name’s Rain...and my sister always calls me Rain Dance.” He widened his eyes, “Really? Wow. Small world, huh?” I nodded my head as I turned my eyes back to the horse. She seemed to be staring right at me. “Shall we go?”
Chapter two: Complications
(Helena/Emma)
I sat down on my porch swing and stared off at the hills. I couldn’t believe everything that was happening! One moment, John and I were smiling, walking everywhere hand in hand, totally in love, another moment I get an invitation in the mail to his wedding to stupid Rain Patson, my so-called best friend! I didn’t understand it. Yes, Rain was certainly beautiful, gorgeous even, but John had never seemed the least bit interested in her before! Then one day her father decides that they need money, and he marries her off to MY John! The one whom I’ve been in love with since I was eight! When I asked Rain how she could do this to me, she looked at me like I was a lunatic, “You think I would EVER do this to you if I had the choice?! I am not the least bit interested in him! I HATE him! You know that! When you started dating him, I told you that I didn’t understand how you could possibly want to date him! Its not my choice!” she said. What did I care what she said? The stupid girl ruined relationships all the time without even realizing that she was doing it! I remembered the time when boy Peter was dating Mary Goy, but it ended painfully for him because Mary saw him following Rain everywhere. I remember when I asked Mary why she had been so cruel to Peter, she replied, “Me, cruel? Its him who is cruel! I gave him my heart and what does he do?! He turns down dates and special occasions because he’s worried that stupid RAIN PATSON is going to get herself into trouble! Well I’m SICK OF HER! She can have him! I’m done with that stupid boy!” I sighed and looked at the path as a woman with a basket of fruit walked down the path. I watched as she disappeared from my view. Then I turned my head to look and see if there was anyone coming from the other direction. I saw a boy and a girl riding a black horse, her arms were wrapped around his stomach and the horse was running very quickly. I watched as they got closer and close to me and then they were right there. Everything seemed to slow as I saw the girl laughing, with her hair flying out behind her, and the boy smiling widely. It was Rain and Peter. I jumped up o say something, but they were already gone. I stared after them, and she howled like a coyote. “WHAT?!” I yelled. “WHAT IS THIS? WHAT IS GOING ON?!” My parents were both out in the field, so they couldn’t hear me yelling. I picked up my dress and ran over to the barn. I got out Jade, our horse, and jumped on her back. I took off after Rain and Peter. They kept going and going, and I suddenly got a brilliant idea...I would go and tell John of their runaway! It was not exactly likely that he would thank me or anything, but at least I would be able to talk to him!
“John!” I yelled as I rode up to his home. He turned quickly and frowned when he saw me, “What do you want, Emma?” he asked as he looked away. I jumped off my horse, tied it to a tree, and ran over to him. “Do you know where Rain is?” I asked. He sighed, “No, obviously not since I’m out here looking for her.”
“I know where she is.” I replied. He turned to stare at me. “What? You do? Where is she?!” he said. I smiled. Yes! I had his attention, and the longer I could keep it, the better. “I...uh...I saw her when I was sitting on my porch swing. I was just sitting there, watching people walk along the path and thinking,”
“Yes, yes! And?”
“And...I...uh...I saw Peter coming up on his horse, he was going very fast,”
“AND?!”
“And...Rain was on the back of the horse, with her hands around his waste,” I finished, disappointed that my time with him was coming to an end. “Bring me to her,” he said as he looked past me, down the path. I looked up at him, “What?”
“Bring me to her. I’ll go get my horse from the barn and you can show me where they went.”
“Oh...um...ok. Fine. Good.”
“Good,” he replied as he walked over to his barn. I untied my horse and jumped on its back, and I watched as John came out of his barn on his horse. My, he was handsome. “Let’s go then,” he said. I nodded my head and started trotting down the path. “What are you doing?!” he asked as he rode up next to me. “I...I’m bringing you to them...”
“Well hurry up before they’re out of reach!”
“Oh...yes. Right. I’ll hurry.”
So we took off down the path, trying to catch up with Peter and Rain. It felt good to ride next to John with my hair in the wind, like we used to do. Except now we were on separate horses. I sighed. I knew that by now Rain and Peter would be far from my view, and it would take a very long time to catch up to them...or so I thought. Before long, I saw them sitting by a tree in the distance. I didn’t want my time with John to end. I thought about leading him on a wrong path, but it was too late. “There they are!” he yelled as he kicked his horse and ran faster toward them. I sighed and took off after him.
(Hermia/Rain)
“I see...John and Emma. They’re coming,” Peter said, his smile disappearing. “WHAT?!” I yelled. “Oh! Oh no! Quickly, we have to get out of here!”
“Why? He is your husband, right?”
“How did you know that?”
“You told me about ten minutes ago.”
“Oh. Right.”
“So why do we have to leave?”
“Peter...” I said as I turned to stare at him. I put my hand on his shoulders and his eyes widened. “You want to protect me, right?”
“Um...ya.”
“Then let’s go,” I said simply. Peter jumped up onto Rain Dance and pulled me up onto her with me. We took off onto a side path that encircled and went right back to the beginning of the main path. Rain Dance went even faster than she had before, but so did John horse, Gillia. Gillia was a really fast horse, the son of a race horse. “Gillia is fast...” I said. “Rain Dance is faster,” Peter replied. He kicked Rain Dance for the first time and she took off like a bullet. I buried my face into Peter’s back and squeezed him tighter, extremely frightened that I would fall off. I was expecting Peter to take us back to his home and lock the doors or something similar to that, but instead he took off through the woods, taking us farther and farther from any marked path. “Peter...where are we going?” I asked. “I don’t know!” he yelled with a laugh. I turned my head to look behind us...John was nowhere in sight. “Peter, John’s gone!” I yelled, trying to convince him to turn back. He simply laughed, “Yes, but we’re not!” he yelled.
To be continued...
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