Home Free ~open~

[Jezbel Fioren]

This post is COMPLETE.

The clatter of hooves on hard packed dirt was the only sound Jezbel could hear for miles. The plains were not known to be a friendly place to those that didn’t know their way. Jezbel could see why as she stared at the scenery that never seemed to change. No matter how many miles she travelled. Clack clack clack. Macbeth’s hooves continued on at a steady pace without any direction from her; they’d been doing this long enough that they pretty much knew what the other was thinking. Her dog Oscar trotted along at their side, making not a sound upon the travel worn ground. Clack clack clack. If not for the stars above her she would question her bearing, worry over her path, perhaps even give in to the secret fears that she was really passing the same rock again. But like many things in Jezbel’s past the study of the stars had been prominent and something her grandfather, heaven bless him, had thoughts she might need to know one day. If not for his eccentricities she might be dead now. Clack clack clack.

Jezbel’s mind grew fuzzier as the nights quiet lulled her into a false sense of security. The gentle rocking of her horses body movements only helped to blur the edges between reality and the dream world. The occasional cricket made its appearance in the night’s quiet symphony; letting its quiet chirp echo through the silence. Chirp chirp chirp. What was she doing out here again? Oh yes, Cameron, right. She was on her way to take up the mantle of Dama Fortuna and join up with the woman she’d come to respect. Cameron from the beginning had been the kind of person Jezbel wanted to be. Strong, fierce, in charge. A woman that knew exactly who she was and wasn’t ashamed of any of it. It had taken Jezbel nearly two years to get to that point in her life. Chirp chirp chirp. Although she wouldn’t take up the mantle of leading the growing population of women that joined Dama Suerte unless forced. Or if there was no other choice. Jezbel liked the idea of being second-in-command; she even had someone else to share the responsibility with if the pressure got to be too much. But Jezbel doubted it would, it took more than your average cowboy to shake her nerves. Chirp chirp chirp.

Nodding off in her saddle, body slumped forward over the horn a gunshot as loud as thunder boomed through the silence. Jolting upright Jezbel quickly corrected herself and leaned forward over her horn again as she kicked Macbeth into a headlong gallop. Until she could figure out where the sound came from the best she could do was move forward and pray they could see as little as she could. Oscar stretched out in a full ground eating sprint at her side did his best to keep up with the black stallion. Macbeth’s hooves dug deeply into the ground, the travel packed earth could not withstand the force of his momentum. If any traveled here during the day they would be able to see the marks of her passing. Even an amateur tracker would be able to follow her tracks at this rate. Although the easy pace they had set thus far was paying off now in this midnight chase.

She could hear them now; her ears so attuned to the silence could not help but hear the echoing hoof beats that chased her. Opposite her own horse’s rolling pace it meant that they were evenly matched for now. If the sound picked up, or fell out of beat she’d have to pay more attention. It would mean that either they were gaining on her or she was losing them. Jezbel preferred the later. A challenging grin split her features as she drew her mind away from her opponents mount and focused solely on her own. Letting her reins hang loosely around Macbeth’s neck she grabbed on to her horn and prepared to lead the stallion with leg commands. Having a firm grip on her saddle would prevent any of the sudden movement she was planning from unseating her. One could only trust balance so far and sometimes it took pure muscle to hang on to the back of a spinning horse. And spin they did. Pressing into Macbeth’s side with her knees, he knew what it meant she released the reins. Macbeth pivoted like a champion reining horse and dived onto a small path to their right. Having anticipated his actions there was little for Jezbel to do at the moment. She knew that would change once they entered the more forested area.

Jump, left, stumble, left, lunge right, jump, dodge tree, dodge rocks, pivot all the way right. Farther and farther they went moving as one. Still heading in the general direction Jezbel wished she heard exactly what she wished to hear. The beat of the other horse’s hooves had fallen behind her own; their patterns no longer remained opposite to one another. As it was, in fact, becoming harder to hear the faint clatters that tried in vain to match themselves to her. Slowing Macbeth to a quiet canter, Jezbel looked down to her left to see Oscar. As silently as before trotting at her side. Perhaps he was breathing heavier, as were they all, but still the wolf hound managed to make no noise. Jezbel could be envious of that, there was no shame in wanting to be as silent as a running wolf on a half-moon night. And like a stalking wolf in this midnight light did her long haired mutt truly look. Many people refused to walk on the same side of the street as her with Oscar at her side. It never bothered Jezbel and usually saved her the trouble of breaking too many fingers. One toothy grin from her companion sent most bothersome men on their way. What woman would need a man when she could have a loyal companion like a good dog?

With the threat of her mysterious follower gone the quiet of the night crept back into her senses. The deep breaths of her dog ceased. The quivering muscles of her horse stopped. The racing of her own heart beat stopped. Chirp chirp chrip. The wayward cricket continued. Or perhaps it had never stopped? Everything seemed to be as it was. Except she was closer to Cameron. Closer to the new life she would embark on with the Dama Suerte, the new places she would see, the new risks she would take, perhaps even the new friends she would make. A novel thought, friendship. Chirp chirp chirp. But despite all her learning it was something that had eluded her even to this day. She had a passible friendship with the taciturn boss of Dama Suerte but nothing compared to what she’d read in her books. A deep bond- one that required no personal gain, no personal sacrifice, and everything that it did require was given not taken. The air Jezbel had been holding in her lungs slipped out on a quiet sigh. Only to mingle with the night’s continuing symphony, chirp chirp chirp.

The night grew lighter while the air turned colder and neither did anything to abate the drowsiness creeping back. Her heavy eyes drooped slightly too obscure blurry blue eyes as the weight of her desire to sleep dragged at her. Clack clack clack. She focused in one the beats of her stallion’s hooves again. The rhythmic sounds did little to help her remain alert. She’d known she should have stopped long before now and she would have truthfully stopped before her mysterious visitor. Before her midnight chase under the half-moon with adrenaline and lungs heaving as fast as the other. She was nowhere near that state now as the drug of her adrenaline had worn off long ago. Clack clack clack. Jezbel forced her tired eyes open; there was no way she was getting caught unaware twice in one night. Only think of how disappointed her grandfather would be that she had died in such a manner. Died before ever truly living; maybe that what he’d feared the most. Perhaps that was why he’d taken pity on the offspring of his disowned daughter and her out of work husband. Wait, out of work was probably to tame of a way to put it. What was it that her grandmother had always said? A no good Mexican that thought he was better than he should have been. Well that wasn’t nearly acidic enough but it would have to do in her nearly inebriated state. Shaking her head violently Jezbel focused her eyes and scouted for an area to make camp. The sun wasn’t rising fast enough this time and she’d been separated from her stalker long enough that making a camp a ways off the main road wasn’t a stupid idea. At this point continuing was a stupid idea and sleep was finally within her grasp. Clack clack clack.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Words: 1,513
Tagged: open
Notes: on her way to see cameron
”Jezbel Talking”, Jezbel’s Thoughts