Chyna ate her food slowly, trying her best to keep polite while silence fell down on them. Cotton talked happily with Huck and Cap made himself preoccupied with Jon.
Ronda cleared her throat and took a sip from her wine glass. "How are you liking it here so far Chyna?" She asked trying to fill the remaining silence.
Chyna gave her a small smile, her eyes darting towards a few of the other men and women at the table as all eyes fell on her. "Well, it-its lovely here." Chyna stammered. She tried her bst to shake the nervous tremble from her throat "Nice and homey...despite the large size. Folk seem....kind." Chyna managed.
Her heart raced and her palms started to sweat as she prayed no one could tell she was lying through her teeth.
A woman who greatly resembled Ronda narrowed her eyes and a scowl slowly spread across her face. The eyes of everyone glanced between Ronda and this woman.
"I don't think we met earlier, My names Ermagene." One woman called from across the long dinner table. She offered Chyna a bit of a smile and Chyna gladly returned it.
Meanwhile the woman next to Ronda gave a soft bitter hum. Ronda's gaze slid over to her slowly. "Roana, why don't you introduce yourself. After all you'll be neighbors your rooms only three doors down." Ronda said, making little attempt to hide the sharpness of her words.
"I don't see the point, they won't be here long." She said. "When they return, if they return. I'll gladly risk getting attached." Said Roana.
Chyna looked to Cap who shared the confusion on her face.
"Nevermind my sour sister." Ronda sighed.
Huck rolled his eyes and leaned over to Cotton "Miss Roana, she don't like nobody. Mean as a gator, only folk she like is Benny, Jon, and Ronda...sometimes I don't think she even like Ronda." He whispered, Cotton gave a nod and dug back into his green beans and potatoes.
Chyna listened to everyone talk as they eased back into groups of conversation, again she found herself alone. She couldn't mix well with what was being said. The men talked about political affairs, the management of the estate, and about Cap's fabled gunmanship - as told by all the papers.
While the women went on about the happenings of the city, gossip shared amongst themselves and about fashion they had heard about in town.
Chyna couldn't find a way into any conversation, she'd almost wished she had gone to sit with Huck and Cotton. Or even with the children ar a seperate small table.
Glancing at the children's table Chyna spotted a small child grimacing down at her plate. "Don't pay her any mind. That's Sable's child, Pearl. She is picky about vegetables." Ermagene called with a giggle.
"Stubborn as the clams pearls are found in. I guess it's my fault for naming her Pearl." Sable said.
Chyna smiled "Oh that's easy." She said gathering her plate she walked to the kids table.
"Might I sit with you?" She asked the children. They looked up at her cautiously and Chyna giggled. Leaning over she whispered "the adults are kinda stuffy and boring." She said.
One little girl with two braided pigtails grinned. "Yeah! They're always talking about work." She said giving the seat next to her a pat. "My name Norma, and that next to you is Pearl. She's six and I'm eight." Norma said.
A little boy across the table laughed "liar! Your seven." He said "Oh you know it all Samuel, I'm turning eight in five days." Norma said through puffed up cheeks.
Samuel chuckled "look how scary she is Lee" he said egging her on with the boy next to him. Lee crossed his arms and looked up at Chyna with a smart smirk. "My momma says you aren't any good for us." He said.
Chyna tried her best not to glare at the child. "Oh....and who's your momma?" She asked. "She said not to tell you. That its none of your buisness." He added.
"Stop being mean Lee. This is why nobody likes you - or your mom." Samuel sighed.
"Whats wrong with them greens miss Pearl?" Chyna asked turning to look at the small girl with concern. She shook her head, the tight curls of her four afro puffs bouncing about.
"I don't like them, and mommy makes me have them on my plate....they smell funny." She said.
Chyna chuckled "Oh I know they do smell kinda strange don't they?" She said. Plunging a fork into her own greens she held a bit of them up. "They taste alright though. Kinda like...you know hows syrup is all gooey. Sticky and the real good kind is all thick like ooze or somethin?" Chyna said. "It takes a great long time to come out the bottle!" Norma chimed in.
"And it looks like Oil." Samuel jumped in. Chyna giggled at the children. "Well the thick stuff, Molasses looks real funny and Maple syrup comes from inside trees, and they both taste awfully good." She said.
"If you try the greens you might like them. I bet your momma only makes you eat them cause she's never seen you try to." Chyna reasoned.
Pearl looked down at her greens and frowned. "Look Pearl, she's looking, she's looking. Hurry up and try some!" Norma called.
Pearl gathered some on her fork and hesitantly took a bite.
Sable, Ronda and Ermagene chattered quietly at the table watching the little girls reaction.
"Gross...it is not bad but it feels funny and its mushy." Pearl said. "Some don't care for it, true 'nough." Chyna said. "I like that it's mushy! And green, I pretend it's swamp slime and I'm a swamp monster!" Lee said with a gurgling roar as he took a big chimp of greens.
"Ew!" Pearl said scrunching up her nose. "I like them, they taste good and my daddy says that they'll make be big and strong." Norma said with pride.
"I don't want none ever again." Pearl said pouting. "I'm sure Sable won't make you eat no more." Chyna said. "Just be sure to eat the other vegetables." She added. Pearl gave a nod.
Cap watched Chyna from his spot st the table, she looked silly scrunched into a small chair. Looking like a giant at the equally small table, surrounded by children.
She also couldn't have looked anymore beautiful as she laughed right along with the giggling kids. He found it hard to look away.
Jon chuckled at the love sick look in Cap's eyes. "This man here? Supposed to be a murder? Looks like a sprung puppy." A sly looking man named Woody comment.
Cap cleared his throat and went back to focusing on his food while he found himself stuck in a string of Teasing from Woody and Jon. "Hey, not all you read in them papers is true." Cap said in his defence. "But that don't mean all lies told is wrong neither." He sighed.
After dinner Chyna offered to clean up with Cap. In the kitchens Chyna tied an apron around herself and Cap followed suit. "This place is enormous..." Cap murmured looking at the kitchens set up. "I bet this is what royalty lives like." Chyna sighed trying to ignore the room around her.
Cap chuckled "its not quite that large." He said.
Cotton entered the kitchen with the last of the dishes. "I like it here Chyna!" He cheered. Cap ruffled Cotton's hair "yeah?" He asked, to which Cotton nodded his head rapidly. "Hey Cotton Top! You coming?" Huck voice called from outside of the kitchen.
"Night Cap, Night Chyna! Huck and I are gonna catch some frogs before bed." Cotton said with a grin before running off.
"Well at least Cot is having fun." Cap chuckled.
Chyna sighed "yeah..."
Sticking her hands into the soapy water she scrubbed lightly. Cap took notice of the tiny frown on her face. "Somethin' wrong?" He asked drying the dishes she'd washed and stacking them.
"Benny should be here, I feel all strange an' outta place. These folk don't know us Cap and are probably wonderin' a lot of things." Chyna said.
She side glanced and exhaled "more than that. I miss home." She sighed. Cap chuckled "you haven't given here a chance yet." He said.
"I'm gon' try too, but it don't feel right here. It's so large. How can you tell who's a'comin and who's a'goin. And it's so easy to get lost - took me a whole hour to find the latrine." Chyna confessed.
Cap took Chyna's hand and held it tight "jus' give it a few days. If it still feels wrong. We'll decline the offer to stay here." Cap said.
This caused Chyna to frown "but...then Benny will have to marry and he don't much want to." She murmured. "Not really, he can still 'sell' us part of the estate....we just won't be livin' on it." Said Cap.
Chyna gave a nod. "Ok, a few days." She said. Cap kissed her hand and the two finished up cleaning the kitchen.
Back in their room Chyna laid next to Cap in the large bed she looked up at the cieling watching the shadows dance about in the dim light.
"They have the lighting light here cap..." She murmured. Cap lay at her side a bit of space between them, his eyes were focused on his law book he'd brought from home a large frown stuck on his face.
His eyes wandered over to Chyna for the fourth time and then to the space between them which was too big for his liking.
"Why's you all the way over thete?" He asked finally. Chyna shrugged her shoulders. "I was trying to make the bed feel even." She said.
Cap chuckled "yeah well, I can careless how the bed feels. Everything feels wrong when you are that far away." He said. Chyna smiled and scooted closer. She rested her head against him and peered at the book.
"Ronda says I can go to the gatherin' the chil'ren go to to learn to write and read letters." She said with a smile, Chyna looked up at Cap. "Maybe I'll write you something to read one day." She added.
Cap snickered "Oh yeah? That'd be nice, tell you what. You write me a love letter and I'll write you one too." He said.
Chyna found herself giggling and Cap blushed, ears and nose a soft pink. "Come on, I'm be'n serious." He said bashfully, which did little to calm down Chyna's laughter. "I know it." She giggled.
Cap gave a silly smile "well....hush up before you wake them all up." He warned. Chyna crossed her arms "please, this place so big, I bet nobody hears anybody." Chyna said looking to one of the walls.
_____________________________________
Chyna sat among the children, Ronda at her side and on her otherside Pearl. Pearls friends sat in a cluster around them.
The words were simple, so far the elderly woman doing the teaching, Lilith, had finished showing them the word Book. Thing like which letters it was comprised of, what sounds those letters could make and how to pronounce the word.
It wasn't ad hard as Chyna would have imagined.
"Then again no ones asked you to write none of it." She thought to herself but still very hopeful.
Ronda gave Chyna's shoulder a tap as she spotted Jon, Cap, Cotton and Huck leaving through the gates on mounted on horses.
"Where could they be off to so early?" She asked. "Cap wanted to see the town. I think he's excited to see what other places look like. Cotton wanted to go too cause Huck tol' him bout a fella who sells ships in a bottle." Chyna said. She remembered all to well Cotton rushing it their room talking a mile a minute about bottled ships.
Sounded odd to Chyna but then again it sounded like something that Cotton would grab a hold of.
Ronda smiled "Huck is always down at old man Jericho's knick knack shop browsing those ships. He has three already. Saves up for them." She said.
Chyna gave a nod "mayhaps Cotton will get himself one. He's been saving coin here an' there while waitin' for this trip."
Chyna's smile grew at the thought that Cotton may have made his very first friend who wasn't in the family. And better yet, one who knew he was different and didn't care.
Maybe this place could be good for them. She couldn't see the rest of the adult Hatfield fitting in, but she would hold on to hope. Maybe this place could work.
Meanwhile down in town Cap found himself browsing the general store, the shop keeper pointed him down the wall which contained various medicines.
Cap was sure most of it was snake oil, but this small town being so close to the bigger city it had to have something that was true to its promise.
Jon lingered behind Cap and watched him glance intently over various liquid medicines and creams all mentioned for one thing.
"Cap...your eye..." Jon spoke cautiously. Cap glanced back at Jon "its seein' less. I mean..." Cap let out a bit of a chuckle "not that it could see much before, mostly shadowy figures. Like lookin' through a sheet in the sunlight." He explained.
Cap pcked up a small brown bottle and examined it carefully. "Dr.Alfruth's Miracle Elixir"
It screamed of snake oil.
"But now, it's more shadows an' less figures. An' a whole lot less light. I don't mind much if the sight in it goes away eventually. I jus' can't let it go away yet. I'm not so sure on how well I could aim a gun - fast like, you know? If it was no worse." Cap said sliding the bottle back onto the shelf.
Jon gave a nod and walked up to the shelf. "Well I shall gladly lend you an eye or two. I have shopped here enough to tell the fools gold from the real thing." Jon offered.
Cap gave him a smile.
"Where you s'pose Cotton and Huck git off too?" Cap asked. Jon gave a soft chuckle "the ship shop as Huck calls it." Jon said.
"Poor Roana will be standing for ages in that dusty old knick knack parlor." He added.
"Look at this one Cotton Top, I got one like this one back home. It's a pirate ship. You know a lot of Pirates were like us, both of us. And nobody cared. They were black, white, brown, fat, skinny, geniuses and slow witted." Huck said while he and Cotton peered into a glass bottle in a dimly lite shop.
"They were all apart of the crew, and as long as they followed their captain, the rules and the sea everyone was near equal. There was freedom on the waters." Huck said.
"Wow," Cotton breathed. "But weren't they bad men?" Cotton asked. Huck chuckled "they did some bad things some of them sure, but that don't mean they were bad men. They did what they had to do to live on their own terms." Huck said.
"Sounds like Uncle Anse." Cotton murmured. "They called him Captain too." He added.
"Boys, I'm headed over to the Salon. I'll be back to get you in a while." Roana called as she came up two the two young men with her usual hypnotic and pious sway in her step.
Huck's smile fell as he eyed her carefully. "Now Jon told me to give you this." Roana said slipping two heavy rolled up dollars into Huck's coat pocket. "You two behave." She said with a fox like smile before leaving them alone.
"Something about that lady gives me the crawlies." Huck said with a dramatic shiver. Cotton smiled timidly "but...Miss Roana seems nice to me." He said to which Huck laughed. "You only been here a short while." Huck said.
From the window of the General Store, Jon spotted Roana headed towards the Salon which was located to the right of the Sherif's Office and jail house. She had said she came to town to see about getting her hair curled, and it was no lie the woman had the pride of a goddess when it came to her appearance.
Jon could already hear the boasting and fishing of compliments she'd be doing once they'd return home.
In the Knick Knack shop, Huck and Cotton talked and marveled at the bottled ships. When with a ruckus in came the deputy. "Hold there a minute young man!" He called. Cotton and Huck turned around with wide eyes. "empty your pockets, you was caught taking what doesn't belong to you." Said the deputy.
Cotton shook his head "no we aint, we ain't took nothing, mister." Cotton said. "Yeah. We were just looking. I'm always in here looking." Huck said with a scowl.
"Whoever told you they saw something lied." Huck added. "Check my pockets then!"
The Deputy walked to Huck and searched him. In his coat pocket he pulled out a tiny gold painted ships wheel. "And what is pretty thing?" The Deputy asked.
"Mine, it's from the Golden Swan ship I bought last month...only...its supposed to be on that ship...in the bottle." Huck said, his voice fading as his confusion grew.
"He ain't stole it," Cotton said. The deputy eyed Cotton and was quickly able to tell he was different. "Son, you shouldn't mix with the wrong crowd." He offered. Cotton frowned "I ain't. Huck's my friend." He said.
The deputy briefly rested the ship wheel down on a stand while he went to Huck and bound his hands.
Quiet as a church mouse, Cotton reached out and took the ships wheel tucking under the tight cuffs on his shirt sleeves.
"Come on, let's get you boys to the Sherif's." The Deputy said leading them out of the shop, Cotton exhaled a thankful sigh as it seem the Deputy had already forgotten about the wheel.
Cotton giggled inwardly, the Deputy trusting Cotton's innocent face too much had left him unbound. Nearing the Sherif's office, Cotton shook out his sleeve over the bushes, pretending to scratch an itch on his wrist.
"Hurry up boy!" The Deputy called.
Huck and Cotton watched as the bars of the small holding cell closed before them. Cotton watched the Deputy walk to his desk and take a seat. "We're gonna wait until Sherif Watson returns." He said.
Huck turned his back to the Deputy and sulked silently. He looked up only to find Cotton smiling down at him. "What're you smiling about?" Huck asked.
"Cause I did a thing Huck. Don't worry, it's all gonna be okie-dokie." Cotton said.
Huck arched a brow "a thing huh?" Huck asked.
Cap and Jon exited the General store to find Roana rushing up to them. "They got the boys!" She called in a huff and a flurry.
"Calm down Roana and breathe." Jon spoke calmly. Roana inhaled and exhaled.
"Now, what has happened?" Jon aske. "The deputy hauled Huck and Cotton out the store, I saw it from the Salon." Roana said.
Cap looked up towards the Sherif's and frowned. "Well shit..." he murmured. "It ain't good Jon..." Cap said. "It they recall his face...we need to get those boys out of there before the Sherif returns." Jon said quickly.
"Roana, go tell Ronda what has happened, tell her to send Marcus and Theodore, they know the sherif well, they'll be useful. But I'm sure this is a very small matter." Jon instructed.
Jon turned to look at Cap offering a hopeful smile "I am sure Cap and I can handle it, but for good measure." He said. Roana gave a nod and quickly headed off towards the wagon.
"You sure this'll be easy?" Cap asked. "We'll have the boys out before Marcus and Theodore can even arrive. I'm sure its a simple misunderstanding" Jon said leading the way to the Sherif's.
Jon pulled a simple eye patch from his pocket "though you might want to wear this." He offered, handing it over to Cap.
______________________________
Afternoon rolled around Chyna could hear heated talking from down the hall as she exited her room, from an unexpected nap.
"I told you people from where they are from didn't have any busy here. They are wild and they are already causing us grief." Roana's voice sounded off dripping in contempt.
Chyna pessed her back against the wall around the corner from the hall which the voices were coming.
"So this is the horse you're gonna ride on? You bitter old cow, Roana. Huck and Cotton are missing-"
The words that left Ronda's mouth made Chyna's jaw clamp shut, and she bolted into view.
"- we don't have time for this. We need to tell the guys so they can go help before Ch...." Ronda's words faded as she followed her sisters gaze and turned to face the new presence.
"Where is Cotton..." Chyna asked quickly hands balled up tightly around the side of her skirt.
"Easy, no need to worry. Huck gets himself lost sometimes that all I'm sure its-"
Chyna narrowed her eyes at Ronda "that's not what it sounded like jus' now. Yous was worried. Roana's mad. What happened. Where are they?" Chyna spoke slowly.
Roana took a step behind Ronda as the air seemed to change with the cold edge in Chyna's stare.
"In town, Cap and Jon are looking for them. That's all we know." Ronda spoke in a calm gentle tone. Trying her best to calm Chyna who stood still as if she'd been the air before a summer storm.
"Please, your unruly family drew in law men and the law men did their job. Now Jon's out there with that mountain thug, getting into all sorts of trouble." Roana raged.
Chyna's arms twitched as she tried her best not to reach for the woman' throat, instead she turned on her heel and ran for her room.
She flung times from Cap's travel satchel about ad she tried to find a spare weapon. A kife, a pistol, anything would do. Her heart beating heavily in her chest was distracting as she tried to keep her mind from thinking the worst.
This wasn't the Tug river valley. They had no kin here. If she was going to be all they had as a fighting force against those that hunted them, the least she could do was be armed.
"Damn it!" Chyna gaped tossing the now empty bad to the floor. Her eyes scanned the room "he wouldn't leave me alone with nothing..." She thought.
Getting down o to her belly, Chyna crawled under the bed, choking on a bit of dust she peered into the dark, nothing. Reaching her arm out she groped the floor and the underside of the bed, until at least her fingers brushed against cold metal.
Chyna pulled the pistol out and quickly stood up. She didn't know how to check it for rounds and could only hope Cap had left it loaded. She would worry about that when she got I to town...wherever town was.
Chyna ran from her room and up the halls, out of the large estate and down to the stables.
There in the chilly afternoon an eldly man stood tending the horses. "Mister, Mister please I need to borr'ra a horse." Chyna said. The elderly man glanced over that her, he pointed to a stall holding a slim bay horse and Chyna wasted little time.
She mounted it without a saddle, "mister, which way to town? Please, please it's important." She urged. "Up the road east a way once you pass the old apple orchards. Can't miss it." He said.
"Thank you, thank you kindly!" Chyna called kicking her heels against the horse's side, her hands lacked into its mane as she road off.