Chapter 2 (and last at the moment) from FunnieFriend

Bailey woke up warm, safe, and comfortable. Am I in Heaven? She thought. Then she smelled the scent of hot bacon and eggs coming from the doorway. Yes, I'm definitely in Heaven, she decided. She got out of the bed, and put on her boots, for they had been removed during the night. Then she made the bed, and she walked hesitantly to the doorway. The small cabin was surprisingly neat and comfortable. The main living area was composed of a living and dining area. There was a small kitchen at one end of the room, featuring many gleaming cooking pots and pans. It was separated from the rest of the house by a long bench. There was a table, next to a fireplace, surrounded by comfortable chairs. There was even a small vase of flowers on the mantle. That was nice. There was another door off of the main room, aside from the one that Bailey was just exiting. Bryn was also different than she had been expecting. He was rather short, only a couple inches taller than her five feet, but well-muscled, especially in the arms. He had dark hair, and grey eyes that matched the sparse flecks in his beard and hair. Bryn sensed, rather than heard the girl at the doorway to the other room. He gave the bacon one last stir, then added his secret mix of spices to the eggs. He turned around, and then dished out a healthy serving for her. "Eat," he said to the girl standing in the doorway. She walked to the simple wood table and sat down on the edge of one of the chairs. She didn't touch the food, even though it was making her stomach growl. Bryn noticed this. She has all the makings of a perfect Lancer, he thought, except for her gender. Maybe the council… "Here." He took a bite of eggs off her plate and a piece of bacon. "Satisfied?" Bailey waited for him to fall to the floor, gasping and turning blue. When he didn't, she dug in with a vigor that surprised even her. When she finished the first plate, she asked nervously, "Sir? If it's not too much trouble, sir, and if there's enough, could I maybe have a little more, please?" Bryn eyed her incredulously. Well, I do believe that the pigs are still alive and the chickens are still laying eggs. Amber looked confused. "So…Is that…a yes?" Bryn sighed. "Do I have to write you out an invitation?" She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry." She served herself a huge scoop of eggs and selected four slices of bacon. "Hungry, are we?" Bryn observed dryly. She didn't even look up. "Girl, slow down! I can't have you getting sick on me." She paused. "Do you have anything to drink?" Bryn slid a full mug of coffee over to her. She drained it, and then continued eating. When she was finished, she picked her plate and cup, and carried them over to the counter. "Where do you do the dishes?" She asked. Bryn replied "In the river. But don't worry about that now, first I want to ask you some questions, and I want some honest answers." Bailey looked nervous. Bryn said gently, "Girl, if I was going to hurt you, I would have done so by now. I just need to know." She hesitated, then nodded. "Good," said Bryn. "Now first thing, how old are you? And who cared for you as a baby? I've been wondering that for the last two days." "Wait," said Bailey. "Two days? Wasn't I only asleep for the night?" Bryn gave her a flat stare. "You've been asleep in bed for the past two days. Satisfied?" She nodded. "Now are you going to answer my question or not?" Asked Bryn. "Oh, yes!" she exclaimed. "Sorry. "I'm almost fifteen. And until I was…I think, four years old, a woman named Edwana cared for me. She was old, too old for children of her own. She fed me with goat's milk. Then, when I was four, she died. I just took care of myself after that. "Until I turned eight, I sold fruit off of trees. It was just barely enough to give me the bare essentials for living. I think that I made holiday wreaths during the winter months. I really can't remember. But then, when I turned eight, I realized that no one wants to buy from a big kid. It's cute when you're small, but…" She shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "Then what did you do? How did you earn money?" Bryn asked. "And all this time, where did you live?" Bailey sighed, and continued on with her tale. "When I was eight, nine, and ten, I sort of worked for a baker's wife who had bought apples from me for years. She said that she would have taken me in, but I guess the baker, Mr. Donnelly, I guess he hates kids. Anyway, Mrs. Donnelly, she would send me to the miller's with some money, and tell me to get stuff like a five-pound bag of flour. She always gave me too much, though, and she always let me keep the extra. Also, Mrs. Donnelly also gave me two cast-off snares of her husband's, and she taught me how to skin rabbits. I didn't like it, though, so I just kept doing the same thing as I had been doing for years." Bryn, who had been listening impassively to her tale for some time now asked "And what was that?" She replied "Buying a half-pound of meat, each week, from Jerome the butcher. I would eat it cold, on bread. Sometimes I would even have a little cheese. Oh, I would also have fresh fruit every day, too. "Then," she continued in a sadder voice, "On the day I turned eleven, The Donnelly's had to go away. I guess Mr. Donnelly's mother was sick and in desperate need of care. So they packed up almost all of their things and moved away. The older woman had pneumonia, and I guess it was contagious, and I guess Mrs Donnelly and the old woman both died. Now the baker lives a couple towns away. Mrs. Donnelly, before she died, she gave me an outdoor oven. You dig a hole, and then put the oven over the hole, and then you put a fire in the hole. It beaks pretty good bread, too. "After that, I just lived in the stand of trees in the back of her house. I built sort of a shelter out of tree branches and-" She stopped with a guilty look on her face. "What?" asked Bryn. "I stole blankets out of her house. I didn't want to, but it was cold! And another thing, I-" She was cut off as Bryn clapped a hand over her mouth. "Girl," he said in a calm, clear tone, "I understand your reasons. Now, when you're ready to stop shouting, let me know, so we can continue with our conversation." Bailey took some slow, deep breaths, and then she nodded. "Better?" he said, at the same time releasing her. "Yes," she confirmed. "Okay. Then tell me, how did you meet the three who were chasing you in the woods the other day?" Her face went dark. "First I met Beth. She seemed nice, and then when I was twelve, I showed her where I lived. Live. Then she introduced me to Sara and Marge. Soon they were bringing me things like blankets and some really good food. "But then, they wanted to initiate me into their 'group'. So they asked me to destroy something of Mrs. Donnelly's friend's. I said no, because Mrs. Clifford had always been nice to me, even though she never wanted kids around the house when they would bake. They said that they respected me, but…but then they came into my shelter and then they wrecked all of my stuff. It took me a week to get all of my things back together. Then they kept coming back really randomly, so I would never know when they were coming. "Then, a year ago, when I turned fourteen, they started hitting me. So I started running. I got fast too. But…so did they." Now she looked miserable. Tears were streaming down her face, and her frail shoulders were shaking. But she wasn't finished. "And then they started making me go into deep water. They would hold me underwater and they wouldn't let me go until I screamed." She paused to take several deep lungfuls of air. She looked calmer after that, but still miserable. "All I want," she began in a choked voice "Is someone who will love me and care for me and who won't die or go away right after I meet them." And then she was sobbing so forcibly and uncontrollably. She was barely conscious of Bryn pulling her off of the chair and leading her to the bedroom, where she fell into a deep, comforting sleep.

Ps....Sorry about how the entire thing is mushed together...I tried to fix it but it won't go.
You guys are just going to have to work with it. Thanks

Echo

~That was the second chapter that FunnieFriend sent to me. Enjoy