DISCLAIMER: Okay, you know the drill. No, they don’t belong to me. No profit will be made by using these characters or their likenesses, in any time or universe. And last but not least, no infringement is intended.
ADULT CONTENT: If the idea of two women loving eachother bothers you, then this is not what you want to read.
VIOLENCE: A few good battles, but nothing too gross.
I’m a first timer, so any feedback will be welcome. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you enjoy it! Oh yeah, this is a work in progress.
The Past Tense of Love
Part 1
Sarah Willmot plodded along through the sand, only vaguely aware of her surroundings. She’d been wandering around for hours, but being on autopilot, she wasn’t really aware of that either. It just didn’t matter.
Not a lot did matter to her these days. Not since Melissa had gone, taking with her the very core of Sarah’s existence- her heart. She had passed away more than four months before, and each new day brought with its dawn the knowledge that Sarah would never see her beloved again, never touch her soft skin, never hear her name on those sweet lips again.
She sighed heavily, fighting back the next wave of tears that threatened to spill down her pale cheeks. She chided herself for being so weak that in the past few weeks she’d lost everything that hadn’t gone with Melissa. Her job, her home, and with the sudden cease in income, her car was next.
"What does it matter?" she mumbled. "She’s gone."
She changed direction, a slight breeze blowing wisps of raven hair into her face. She shielded her green eyes from the sun as she looked around for the first time in hours. Grimacing, she noted that she was nowhere near where she’d parked her car. Her surroundings were as familiar to her as the outer reaches of the universe.
She laughed mirthlessly as she scanned the sky for the buzzards she was certain would be hovering nearby, waiting for her to fall prey to the harsh extremities of the desert floor she walked upon.
A movement out of the corner of her eye led her to believe that the buzzards were to the east of her. On closer inspection, it wasn’t the carcass hungry birds, but a swirl of dust that made its way toward the sky. Sarah squinted, her sharp eyes bringing into focus the outline of two riders on the horizon.
‘Great,’ she thought to herself. ‘A couple of cowpokes come to see the crazy woman wandering around.’
It didn’t surprise her to see the two riders, as this was range land and it was common to see a rider here and there in search of their cattle before the fall roundup. Unsure as she was of her surroundings, she decided that they had most likely come from the direction she needed to go if she were to find her car.
Cutting sharply to the north, she used the towering limbs of the sagebrush surrounding her to give her cover to double back and follow the trail the riders left as they unknowingly passed her by.
She made her way slowly through the brambles, careful not to make any noise, all the while keeping her eyes on the riders looming before her. As they got closer, another movement drew Sarah’s attention to the direction they had just come from- more riders.
From what she could see through the dust this new bunch kicked up, there had to be at least fifteen of them, all riding as hard as their horses would carry them. They were still far enough away that the riders nearest Sarah couldn’t hear their approach, and she shifted her gaze back to the pair. They appeared engaged in some conversation, and as the wind shifted uncomfortably about their voices became discernible. Women.
Sarah looked back to the cloud of dust on the horizon. To her it looked like trouble, and she wondered why they hadn’t heard the thundering of the horses coming their way. She stopped suddenly, her jaw clenching. The two women drew nearer to her and she noticed for the first time their strange dress and the broadsword that was slung behind the larger woman’s back.
"What the-" Sarah started, blinking to clear her vision. ‘No one carries around a sword these days!’ she thought to herself.
The woman bearing the sword reined her horse in to a stop, the smaller one following suit. "What is it?" she heard the smaller woman ask.
The larger, dark haired woman held up her hand to silence the other, then seemed to look directly at Sarah through the sage.
"We’ve got company. Leave your horse and make your way through those bushes," she said pointing a finger in my direction. "Double back several times so they can’t find your trail. I’ll be back for you as soon as I can."
With that, the sword bearing woman turned her horse and ran it in the opposite direction.
"Gods, will she ever realize that I can protect myself?" Sarah heard the youthful voice ask in exasperation as she ground tethered her horse and made her way for the cover the sagebrush had to offer.
Sarah, who had completely forgotten about Melissa, was enrapt with the situation unfolding in front of her. The young woman was heading right towards her, and, Sarah observed, was not doing as instructed. After heading straight into the cover of the sage, she planted herself firmly in the dirt as she watched her friend lead the others away.
Sarah’s eyes went back and forth between the two women, her curiosity piqued. She could feel an electricity in the air, an impending sense of… what? Something was about to happen here, she could feel it in her bones. Deciding she wanted a front row seat, she inched her way quietly toward the woman who was intently watching the scene in front of them.
Several feet away from the young woman in front of her, Sarah absently wondered at her strange dress. Or lack thereof. Scantily clad, a green sports bra of sorts covered her chest and what could only be called a miniskirt barely reached her thighs.
Her eyes traced the seductive curve of the girl’s hips as they made their way under the skirt and she shook her head at the pain accompanying the thought of Melissa. What would she think of this?
Before her mind had time to process the thought she was interrupted by a bloodcurdling scream and the clang of metal on metal. Raising her eyes to where the young woman’s friend was, she watched as prisms of light from swords threatened to blind her.
Her attention was suddenly diverted back to the youth in front of her, whose sharp intake of breath warned her that trouble was near. To her horror, Sarah watched as one of the men rode straight towards them.