Bride to Be

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Gwen discovers love in the mountains.
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I

Gwen's feet hurt, her whole body ached, and there was a monstrous rip in the hem of her travelling clothes. She grasped the edge of the rock and found a foothold, pushing farther away from home. On all sides there was nothing more than tall trees which blocked the sun. The gentle light which filtered through the treetops gave the rocky mountain a magical look. It was almost as if Gwen might wake up in her bed. She raised her head. It was time to move further on, and find out what was on the other side. She managed to climb onto the uneven rock, stopping to take a breather, and listen.

There was nothing. Not even the sound of the wind, or the chirping of a bird. No remote sounds of voices, horses or the squeaking creak of carriages. Gwen looked towards the slanting hill above. It wasn't as steep as the one she'd just conquered. There was always the possibility that she could go back down the mountain, but there wasn't any way to be certain that those awful men wouldn't be waiting for her.

She inhaled deeply and gathered her strength. In her short life, she'd seen quite a lot. She'd been orphaned at an early age, left in the care of an orphanage, went to school and survived loneliness ... but she'd never seen anyone be killed before. She'd never expected to witness anyone to die so violently. That stagecoach driver had been shot even after he'd stopped moving. The other passenger had his head blown off with a large gun.

They would have eventually killed her too ...The bandits were probably saving her for amusement later on. The nuns at the orphanage had warned her that men would want to ravish her. The bandits hadn't considered her as a threat; they were too busy breaking open the boxes strapped to the roof. She'd taken advantage of their interest in the strongbox carrying the miners' payroll to make an escape. Gwen turned and ran into the woods. She hoped they wouldn't risk following her.

They didn't follow her, but her situation hadn't improved greatly.

She took two steps forward and quickly tripped. She fell facedown against the pine needles which carpeted the ground beneath her. Her hair mattered her face, golden curls which were usually well primed were now curling wildly and adorned with a number of pine needles. Right now, she'd trade her virginity for a pair of men's boots and a blanket.

"C'mon Gwen!" she said audibly. "Let's show these people what you're made of!"

Those bastards had taken off her boots to prevent her from running. It seemed they hadn't counted on her stubbornness to survive. Ripping her dress she quickly made herself some shoes made of cloth. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. She took yet another deep breath before getting up and moving on.

Gwen suddenly felt a surge of energy and courage. Her will alone propelled her up the mountain. Each step rise, every foot she took, every rock she climbed, became a conquest, a triumph, a step toward a new life.

She saw smoke rising first and the view of a rooftop took her by surprise. Gwen saw a cabin and crept carefully forward. Lying down, and with her face barely off the ground, she studied the sight. It was a large log cabin, firmly built at the top of the mountain. The area around the cabin was cleared.

Would it be dangerous to ask the owner of that cabin for help? Surely they wouldn't reject a woman alone on top of the mountain. Would they greet her with violence? Would they try to rape her? Were they like the men who had robbed the stagecoach and murdered those people?

As she pondered, the door burst open. A woman wearing men's clothing stormed out of the cabin, and at the sight of her Gwen held her breath. She was huge, tall and broad, with suntanned skin, black hair pulled back in a ponytail which hung past her shoulders.

What sort of woman was she? Not the type she was accustomed to seeing, anyhow. She appeared to be utterly uncivilized, messy, and as untamed as the wild animals which certainly roamed these mountain. A savage, she thought with fear.

She walked away from the cabin, unaware of Gwen's presence, and continued walking until she vanished over the rise on the other side of the lodging. Gwen remained immobile on the ground for awhile longer. Her chances of finding help on this mountain were slim, if not impossible. Perhaps she was harmless and there was a chance of getting help. Living on this mountain didn't mean she had to be a savage ...

She crept from the woods, watching the now empty rise over which the woman had vanished. Desperate as she was for help and food, she wasn't yet so desperate that she'd chance an encounter with that woman.

The door was slightly ajar, and swung inwardly as Gwen knocked.

"Hello?" she called as her voice was a near whisper. "Is anyone here?"

The door opened onto a kitchen. "Hello?" she called a little louder this time. Her voice echoed through the silent cabin. In the centre of the warm kitchen there was a table with bread and cheese on it. There was a steaming bowl of stew cooking. The fragrance was divine, and Gwen stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. She was ravenous, and hadn't realised it until this moment, as the smell tempted her: meat, spices and potatoes. A part of her knew she was stealing but her hunger overrode her moral dilemmas.

Her stomach grumbled, and Gwen packed in eating.

II

For ten years Alex had lived alone and hated people around her. Alex liked her solitude, needed it in the way she needed air to breathe. Her father was a miner who'd come to these mountains to make his fortune. Instead he dug his own grave when the mine accidentally collapsed, killing him instantly.

Ever since then Alex pretty much stayed on the mountains. She hunted what she needed to eat, occasionally trading furs for other goods. It was a good life, but lately she'd found herself wanting.

She flung open the door, allowing it to crash into the wall and swing back shut behind her.

Alex tossed off her heavy coat and let it drop on the kitchen floor. She loved her life and her mountain just the way it was. From time to time she'd have to chase intruders from her mountain, but winter had finally arrived. With the first snow of the season there'd be no strangers to bother her until the spring.

Her stew was getting cold, and she was famished. Suddenly to her shock Alex glanced down at a tiny woman who'd been wolfing down her food. They stared first at the bowl which Gwen had been eating from and then at each other.

Alex's nostrils flared. She looked angry, so very angry. She was not angry that this girl was eating her food, but that she'd slipped passed her undetected. Stealing her food was only adding insult to injury!

"Who the fuck are you!?" She snarled viciously at Gwen.

"I – I – got robbed," Gwen said as she lifted her spoon. A droplet of saucy stew ran down the side.

"And that gives you the right to rob me?!"

"I ..." She stopped as soon as Alex glared at her.

That glare, Gwen concluded, would make the hairs of a bear stand on end, it was ferocious. Her size alone was threatening enough, full six feet tall and wide broad shoulders. Alex walked to the table and lifted the bowl, stared into it briefly, and then returned her stare to Gwen.

For some reason or another rather than shrinking away as most would've done, and it was probably what she should've done, she found herself standing her ground. She didn't survive near death and probable rape just to get bullied by a savage.

Alex fumed furiously, her eyes narrowing acidly and her lips curling together. "This is my mountain! My cabin! My food!" She seethed, balling her hands into fists as if to strike Gwen down. "Thief!"

It took Alex two quick steps to reach her. When she did, Gwen leaned backward a little, but it was enough to make her lose her balance. She toppled to the chair and broke it. She fell to the floor and landed in a very indelicate position on her bottom. She groaned as she added a sore derriere to her list of ailments.

"Ow! I'm not a thief," she protested. "I only ate the food because I was hungry ..."

Alex growled a low warning from deep in her throat and glared at Gwen, daring her to continue. Gwen looked back timidly, swallowed dryly and rose to face her accuser; she needed to crane her neck up to do that.

"I'm no thief," she repeated and placed her hands on her hips, a habit she'd acquired from watching the nuns at the orphanage. "I'll pay you back as soon as I have some money."

Alex blinked surprised and involuntarily took a step backwards. She was impressed as well as amused by her pose of defiance. She was at a loss for words by this little runt's courage. Alex had been in knife fights before and killed men who outweighed and outsized her.

"How did you get here?" She glanced out the window. "Are you alone?"

"Well ... yes!" She spoke uncertainly. "I was robbed by bandits. I ran away barefoot too, you see!" She raised her foot to show she wore no shoes. "I didn't expect them to follow me. I must admit that Sister Mary Roberts would've been very proud of me for running away like that."

"Christ, you're a nun!?" Alex said nearly horrified.

"Oh no," she flicked a lock of golden hair behind her ear. "The nuns helped raise me at the orphanage and ..."

"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much," she declared, her gaze closed on her face. "You fill my ears with your babble."

"I'm trying to explain." She folded her arms only feeling slightly offended. "I understand that you're upset by my presence. I'm certain that once you escort me down the mountain we can come to an arrangement ..."

Alex listened, motionless before this small woman, her expression softened slightly. She continued to talk, but Alex wasn't paying any attention to what she was saying. A surprising grin split her face, and she was able to overlook this woman's intrusion. There was such innocence and youthfulness in her appearance.

"Are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Gwen had her hands on her hips again.

"You enter my cabin, eat my food and ..." an amused smile curled her mouth, "now I'm to risk my life to 'escort' you through a snow storm. You're a demanding little thing."

Her laughter filled the cabin, bouncing off the walls and echoing loudly in Gwen's ears. It was an enjoyable laugh, full of real and genuine humour.

"Snow?" Gwen smiled nervously. "What do you mean?"

Gwen ran to the window and watched the snow fall hard, and it was only the beginning of what promised to be a very long cold storm. She'd never seen snow before, and if circumstances had been different would have felt merry, but not now. Gwen shivered, and it had nothing to do with the cold wind or the snow.

Gwen didn't look as though she'd accept defeat so easily. Her blue eyes settled on Alex as if expecting to receive the good news any moment.

Alex was suddenly captivated by Gwen's eyes. A fire burned in her heart as she realised that providence had brought this delightful little creature to her cabin for a reason. An opportunity like this didn't present itself twice.

There was no way that she was going to let this blessing of a gift get away, snow or no snow. Alex loved solitude, but wouldn't it be so nice to have a ... WIFE!

Alex glanced to the horizon, into a fast darkening night. "I'm afraid that neither of us is going anywhere tonight."

"Ah!" New hope dawned on Gwen. "Of course! We could leave when the snow's cleared, right?"

Alex smiled at her, and leaned in until her face was only inches away from Gwen's. "Wrong."

"What?"

"You're new to this country, I'm sure you don't understand how lucky you were to find me or this cabin. It's been unseasonably warm this time of year."

"Warm?" Gwen nearly laughed out loud. This was the coldest weather she'd been in her entire life.

Alex nodded. "It might snow for a couple of days or a couple of weeks. It doesn't matter. We can't go up or down this mountain until it melts."

"When will that happen?" She tried not to sound so alarmed, but her voice squeaked a little.

"A month, maybe more."

Surprisingly, it seemed to Gwen that Alex didn't seem at all unsatisfied at the prospect of her being forced to live in a cabin for a whole month!

"I understand," Gwen replied softly.

"It seems you're stuck here with me." There was too much cheeriness in her voice, and her smile was quite out of place. "Naturally, you'll have to live with me."

Alex's casual suggestion caught Gwen by surprise. "Excuse me?"

"Can you cook?" She asked.

"Of course I can."

"Excellent. You'll do the cooking, cleaning, and mending. I'm not good at that stuff ... in exchange for my hospitality you can have a bed, food, all the whisky you can drink."

"Listen," Gwen spoke softly. "While I'm grateful for your hospitality, I must make a point that I'm not your maid."

Not maid, Alex felt like saying. Wife!

"Do you wish to brave the storm and walk barefoot in the snow? I'm offering you a way to pay for my hospitality. This arrangement makes perfect sense."

She sounded so haughty, so convinced of herself! Naturally, her suggestion made perfect sense, but there was something that didn't add up right.

"Very well," she agreed grudgingly. "But only until the snow melts."

"Good!"

"I don't even know your name."

"Alexandra Smith, but you can call me Alex."

"Gwen Myers."

"Then it's settled."

III

There was only one bedroom and as she entered it she remembered she'd never had a room all to herself. The bedcovers were of animal skins and other furs. Gwen went to the window and opened the windowpane just an inch. Cold air crept in, over her hands and up her arms, and she closed it again quickly. Was it actually getting colder?

In spite of the fire burning in the kitchen it was getting colder. People didn't usually make Gwen uneasy, but there was something about Alex that made her spirited.

"You're freezing!" Alex grabbed her hand. "C'mon let's get you into bed."

"T-t-together?" Gwen's teeth chattered and her lips were turning blue. "There's n-n-no n-need. I-I can sleep by the fire."

"You're not used to this weather." Alex said gently. "I guess I need to explain. It's cold and it'll get colder. If we huddle together we can keep warm."

Alex looked her in the eye, unwavering, and Gwen couldn't see deception there.

"I suppose if we have to, we have to." She was too cold to argue.

Cold air sneaked in the tiny cracks that opened up in the corners of the cabin. She couldn't imagine living in a place so cold! It would be good to return to civilisation soon.

Only in the name of keeping warm, would Gwen allow herself to lie next to Alex. Besides, she told herself they were both women.

Alex placed her body over Gwen's. For a woman Alex had an unusually broad chest, a result of years of working hard in the mines. Alex soon wrapped her long arms and legs around Gwen so gently – that she dwarfed her completely. Gwen was lost in Alex's arms, lost in the tenderness that enveloped her instantaneously.

It would have made perfect sense for her to feel intimidated, even frightened, but this wasn't the case. She'd never felt so at peace or more protected, than she did at this moment, wrapped in the arms of a woman she hardly knew. Not even as a child in the orphanage had she felt so safe. None of it made any sense; she buried her face against Alex's chest, no sense at all.

"It's been a long day," she yawned. "I'm sure you'll be happy to be rid of me come spring."

"Not really." Her voice was gentle, but Gwen didn't hear her.

How was she able to fall asleep so quickly and effortlessly? Alex glanced down at the package huddled in her arms and frowned. Gwen murmured in her sleep, and rubbed her face against her chest with satisfaction.

Alex felt an urgent need to protect her. She belonged to the mountain and in not some sleazy town. The nearby towns were too wild and dangerous for girls like Gwen. Why was she so pig-headed to leave?

Still sleeping, she snaked one arm around Alex's waist, then another followed. They were warm in this bed as a body could be on a night like this.

Alex wouldn't mind having a wench around the cabin to cook and tend for her. It would be great to have friendly arms at the end of the day, a warm agreeable body in her bed at night; to have someone to hold when the nights were cold.

IV Alex sat quietly in the corner of the cabin mulling over her future life. Gwen, a bit of a snowstorm herself, although a beautiful one, was cheerfully cleaning the dishes. Gwen was a great cook, or at least Alex seemed pleased. Most days Alex would just listen and let Gwen do all the talking.

Although Alex enjoyed having sex with men, she much preferred giving her feelings and interests, to women. In these parts it was so difficult to find willing women to become her bed mates.

Alex kept thinking of Gwen and it was only with great effort that she didn't possess the girl. It was becoming increasingly harder to resist her urges and needs. When it came to seducing most women, a passionate look or a scorching kiss, would suffice to reel in the net.

It hadn't turned out that way with Gwen. Alex had whispered seductively in her ear, kissed her decidedly, and waited for Gwen to react. She hadn't reacted and she even looked vaguely confused.

Maybe Gwen didn't like girls, Alex concluded with a broken heart. It was difficult to remain amiably neutral about these things. Alex had kissed her and had expressed sincere interest in her. She had chosen to ignore it or at least pretend to be ignorant.

"I bet it tastes like donkey urine!"

Alex sighed and looked up from her slump. Gwen stood looking down at her, her blond good looks lit by a glorious radiance which radiated entirely from the woman herself.

"I drink only the best donkey piss," Alex answered in a slightly drunken pronunciation. "Have some!" She handed her the bottle.

Alex was a heavy drinker, which Gwen soon discovered. She would drink a whole bottle of whiskey through the day.

"I don't think I'm allowed ..." Gwen looked at the bottle.

"You're not in the orphanage!" She offered the bottle. "This stuff will keep you warm at night."

"Well," she took the bottle. "I suppose in small quantities it's alright."

"It's medicinal!"

Gwen took a small swallow and handed it back. Alex took a larger swallow. They stopped to stare at each other and burst out laughing.

"Wuss!" Alex said through a toothy grin. "You didn't even wet your lips."

"Give me that!" Gwen snatched the bottle and swung it up so that she had to either gulp down or drown in the liquid. She came up gasping, her eyes watering and her throat on fire.

"Careful," warned Alex.

"Who's the wuss now," she said raspy, taking a full swallow from the bottle.

Alex threw back her head laughing at her reply and then took the bottle and raised it in salute to her.

"I think I got the hang of it," Gwen seemed a bit flushed.

"Oh really," Alex's steps shuffled as she grabbed to glasses from the cupboard. "Let's see then!"

Alex had been drinking longer, but was still sober. She poured them equal measure of liquid into the glasses. Gwen, watching Alex over the rim of her glass, saluted and swallowed her whisky until the glass was empty, as did Alex. It was a ludicrous contest, but fun nonetheless.

They drank gaily and Gwen even sung a tune or two and began dancing as the urge struck them. They began to spin and leap and were completely drunk. Alex caught Gwen by the arm and pulled her to her chest.

"I am Sheba, your queen!" Gwen declared between her fits of helpless giggles. "I'm the fairest maiden all the kingdom!

"Right your majesty," Alex dragged her to the bed. "You've had a bit too much to drink."

"I'm not stupid Alex," Gwen suddenly put her arms around her neck.

12