Um, well, there are no authors notes. Except I would like to say that James is extremely
OOC, because the sweet, stupid guy he is doesn’t fit into this story at all.......But don’t
worry, all you diehard James fans, his sweet nature will emerge soon enough.

	Disclaimer:  I don’t own Jessie and James.....although owning James wouldn’t be
too much of a hardship......^_~

	Rating: PG13  

----------

	All Because Of You	
	By Silver V	
	Chapter 2 



	“Did you know that Mr. Holgins was cheating on his wife with, get this, none
other than Miss Dilly?” A high-pitched rather grating peal of giggles punctuated this
statement. “Of all the people! Shy, fat little Katrina Dilly! Oh my,” another burst of
giggles, and another round of verbal abuse on the Lady in question was about all Jessie
could take.
	“Well, Mrs. Kamison, I have to disagree. She may be a bit plump, but very nice to
get along with, once you take the time and effort to get to know her instead of slandering
her name in a quite boring gossip session, since everyone knows that the fact of Miss Dilly
involved in an affair is so very untrue. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll remove myself
from your presence.”  And with that, the very composed Jessica rose gracefully and with
her skirts swirling about, exited from the room.
	Mrs. Kamison, being the one who had talked of Miss Dilly, blinked at Jessie’s
disguised insults. It hadn’t really bothered her though, since everyone knew Jessica Faerell
was rather un-ordinary. Strange, some people even said. 
	Jessica had made a splashy come-out, instantly becoming a success, with her
refreshing attitude, being much more bold and daring than the usual simpering young
Ladies. That is, being much more of a success with the men than the women, since most
ladies don’t usually warm to other more gregarious women. With the exception of Katrina
Dilly. And of course Jessie’s good looks didn’t hurt at all. Though most people agreed
that Jessie was ‘pretty’ rather than ‘beautiful.’ With her ordinary almost upturned nose,
and tall slender body--which was the opposite of the curvy, pixie like bodies London
fashion called for right then--she was no striking beauty, but she had an aura about her of
complete self-confidence. Her mouth was too wide, with nothing special about her regular
sized lips. However Jessie’s long flame colored hair and stunningly dark blue eyes with the
thick fringe of black lashes made up for all her less-than-perfect features.
	Yes indeed, Jessica Rose-Elizabeth Faerell II was most definitely now a lady of the
ton. 

----------

	Jessie groaned, kicking off her elegant boots, and threw herself down into a nearby
chair.
	“I say, Devin, another one of those ridiculous tea parties in Mrs. Kamison’s
drawing room and I’ll go quite mad!” 
	Devin just laughed lightly, browsing on the shelf’s for another book to satisfy his
insatiable hunger for reading. “Well Jessie dear, after your last comment to Mrs. Kamison,
I doubt your going to be invited back. Aha! Here’s what I was looking for!” he
triumphantly triumphant pulled a book from the many on the tidy shelf, and proudly
brandished it to Jessie before plopping himself down onto a chair not far from hers.
	“The Rogue Of Hill Heights,” she read. “Really Devin, I did not know that you
would be so desperate as to start a romance novel!”
	“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” he murmured, already deeply
involved in the book. Jessie sighed with fond exasperation for her brother. When they
were children Jessie had scorned Devin, thinking him just a boring old boy who did
nothing but read, but now later on in their years, they had grown quite close.
	She studied the top of his fair head, bent over his novel. The thick unruly locks and
light blue eyes said ‘come-hither’ to very many young lasses, but as soon as they had one
conversation with his academic self, his attitude implied to ‘go-hither.’ She grinned,
remembering one very persistent young lady, and how hastily she had made her retreat
when she actually met Devin, having heard only about his fortune and handsome
face.
	“Where’s Mother and Father?” she inquired, hoping to start a conversation before
he was too absorbed in the book to pay her any mind.
	“At the Austin’s,” he muttered. “Some exclusive gossip party.”
	“Ah.” Exclusive meant that her and Devin weren’t invited. For all high-society and
rich, and powerful the Faerell’s were, the children were considered just too much of an
oddity to invite to an exclusive party.
	 For heaven’s sakes, all he does is read and all she does is indulge in activities
a young lady should never even think of indulging in! Jessie remembered the
overheard comment from one matron to another when she remarked how interesting the
Faerell children seemed. Jessie’s activities that she should never even think about indulging
in were of course her interest in fencing--some old habits die hard--horse back riding, and
other such physical activities.
	Glancing over at Devin engrossed in his book, she decided further conversation
was futile. Yawning, she weighed what to do next. Pick up a book and read along with
Devin, or go to bed early? Yawning again, she chose to go to bed early.
	“I think I’ll be off to bed now, you don’t mind do you?” she asked Devin.
	“Hmm?” was his only reply.
	Jessie just shook her head and rose slowly out of her comfortable chair, stretching
as she did so.
	“Happy reading!” she called to Devin as a good-night. She didn’t expect an answer
and never got one.
	Humming to herself, she climbed up the stairs, ready for a peaceful night in bed.
When she entered her room, she immediately stripped off her gown and slipped into her
night dress. She sat down at her dresser and braided her hair in one long braid for the
night. After very reluctantly accepting her fate of wearing dresses and attending hideously
boring evening tea’s there was only one thing Jessie refused to have, and that was a maid.
Jessie felt that a women was entitled her privacy and having someone constantly in
attendance was invading her privacy. So her mother complied to her wish and Jessie now
clothed herself and dealt with her hair by herself.
	Jessie sank onto the bed, pulled the covers up and snuggled down. Almost
instantly she was asleep, pleasantly warm and cozy in the large feather bed.

----------

	“Shoot!” A quiet hiss in the night broke the silence.
	“What?” Someone answered the hiss.
	“Forgot the rope.”
	“Forgot the--! You idiot, you forget the rope on your first robbery, not on your,
what is it now? Twenty- millionth? Jesus, man, go back and get it then!”	
	“Well, excuuuuuuuse me! But usually on your twenty-millionth robbery you aren’t
stupid enough to go on a job while desperately needing rest!”
	“I’ve told you before! We need to get out of this place by tomorrow or people will
start to suspect something!”
	“Won’t it also be suspicious if we go missing right after the jewels are stolen?”
	“If they can’t catch us, they can’t arrest us! Now go get the rope!”
	James glared at Ash’s retreating back while he stamped off to find the rope. It was
just like Ash to forget a very vital piece of equipment on a very vital job. James let his
tired legs give out underneath him, and he sank down onto the dewy grass. He glanced
over to his right and he could see the shadowy outline of the estate they were about to
rob. After a very tiring four days without sleep, they had finally gotten the layout of the
estate. Either these people were just stupid, or very very smart because they only had a
few guards, a couple dogs, and a wimpy lock on their safe. This was not going to be a
difficult hit for the two professional thieves.
	Ash returned holding the rope triumphantly aloft in one hand and James nodded. 
	“Well, that little delay put us behind at least 10 minutes,” he glared meaningfully at
Ash, who stared back, all innocent wide eyes. “So right about now the guards should be
switching posts. Let’s hurry and we can get across the lawn without being detected.”
	James and Ash slowly made there way to the side window, taking care not to be
out in the open for more than thirty seconds at a time. They reached the certain window
they had marked out to use because of the ideal advantage of having a tree growing right
next to it, and James quickly swung himself up into the tree.
	Climbing carefully up that old tree, James was hit with an unexpected wave of
memories. Him and Jessie sneaking out of the house by way of a tree. Him and Jessie
having a moonlight picnic by the creek. Him climbing up the tree by Jessie’s window one
last time before he left. And the terrible fight they had. James shook his head, finally
dragging himself out of the memories and continuing to climb until he sat by the window.
Slowly he eased up the window pane and slipped into the room. He waited a couple
seconds to let his eyes adjust to the dark before going on. He searched the near empty
room he was currently in and came up with little of value. Ash stuck his head in the
window and asked in a barely heard whisper, 
	“Find anything yet?”
	“Not yet. Come on, let’s go to the next room.”
	James and Ash methodically and thoroughly searched every room, coming up with
a few pieces of art work and pottery they could sell, but the real jackpot was the
mistress’s safe. A fairly simple one, James had it open in less than a quarter of an hour.
Reaching in, Ash held his breath almost reverently before pulling out a brilliant handful,
worth around a million dollars. Gorgeous necklaces of flashing emeralds and brilliant
diamonds glittered in Ash’s hand. Intricate bracelets encrusted with every gem you could
think of, and countless rings and earrings twinkled in the moonlight. 
	“Oh baby,” Ash breathed, “look at these dazzling pieces of work.” Ash lovingly
handled one particularly gaudy necklace and sighed in satisfaction. As James watched him
delicately pick through the jewellery, a small smile lit the corners of his mouth. Ash didn’t
need to steal, he could get whatever fortune he wanted from his more than well-off
parents. Ash considered himself a gentleman, he always spoke proper English and wore
only the finest tailor made clothing, even when stealing. The only reasons for him being
James’s partner was a rather strong dislike (hate, actually) for his parents, and his love of
jewels. Ash knew about every single gemstone there was to know about, and all of the
different combinations there was to make with them. He could name any shining rock you
showed him, and it was a rare moment indeed when they came across one Ash didn’t
know. So he stole with James (who robbed for the necessity of it) to add the gems to his
extensive collection he so haphazardly carried around with them. James didn’t know how
many times they had been attacked. Anyone who knew about Ash’s collection was always
trying to lighten them of a few ruby’s or sapphires, but rarely succeeded. James and Ash
knew how to fight, and they never held back when it was Ash’s Collection on the line.
	“All right Ash, take the best pieces and the ones you don’t have and let’s move
on,” James instructed Ash as he always did when they encountered the jewellery box. It
had become almost a ritual for them to go through these moments. Ash lingered for a few
moments--another part of the tradition--but finally selected two necklaces, two sets of
earrings to match them, three brooch’s, and a handful of rings and bracelets. Tucking them
into the bag at his side he followed James as they prepared to start on the rooms occupied
with sleeping inhabitants. They always left those ones to the end because they were the
hardest, and they knew exactly how much time they had left to spend on them. Lifting the
valuable possessions from a room with someone actually in it required strict motions and
extreme caution.  
	Everything was going smoothly, no one had woken up, no one had spotted them,
until they got to the third floor. On the third floor were all the guest rooms and James
knew for a fact that no one was supposed to be in them. Part of those tiring four days of
preparation was making sure of exactly how many people were in the house, and the
precise location of where each person slept. He knew the Caeterwalls--the count and
countess they were stealing from--weren’t supposed to have any guests for at least five
more days, but that notion was erased completely when James came upon the room with
an occupant snoring lightly on the bed. James noticed this before Ash did, and stopped
dead in his tracks, motioning for Ash to do the same. 
	Unfortunately, Ash’s gaze was riveted on the necklace hung around the bedpost of
the bed, and James groaned. He knew that when there was a piece of jewellery Ash
wanted, nothing short of knocking him out would stop him. James also knew what to do
when this situation arose. He padded lightly over to the sleeping person while fishing out
his knife. 
	Hmm, looks like a boy, James thought while preparing himself for if the
boy should wake up. He figured it was a boy by the rather indistinguishable shape in the
bed, Looks more straight than curvy, and by the fact that he was snoring. No
respectable Lady would ever allow herself to snore. 
	It was obvious the boy was a light sleeper by the way he jerked instantly awake at
the first sound of necklace clinking on bedpost. Ash froze while James swiftly moved to
position. He grabbed the lad’s hair, surprisingly long hair, and yanked his head back,
exposing the throat.
	“Make a sound and it will be your last,” he threatened, the knife held to the long
neck of the guest. 

----------

	Jessie lay as still as possible. One usually did when a knife was being held to there
throat and the person holding it would most definitely use it if the need arose.
	Well good job Jessica, she sarcastically congratulated herself, This
seems to be a nice fix you’ve landed yourself in. Without even trying this time, too! 
	She flinched backwards instinctively when the man tightened his hold on her hair,
and reflected upon the turn of events that had led her to being held hostage.
	Jessie and Devin were staying at there good friends, the Caterwalls, mansion as
there own was being renovated. The Marquis and Marquessa of Crassaden had decided to
have another wing built onto Crassaden, and of course they could not stay there while all
those workers and servants were milling about the place.  To stay would be breaching
horribly upon a rule of proper ton etiquette.
	Now Jessie was usually a very rational women, and had a sharp mind, but all in all
one usually--no matter how smart--would react badly to being threatened by a knife. 
Jessie could feel the panic slowly slipping through her system and desperately tried to
stave it off. Slowly the thought penetrated her almost hysterical mind that the man holding
her by the hair was starting to loosen his grip. She recognized her chance and took it.
Fighting off the panic, she quickly snapped her hand up and hit the arm that was holding
the knife. The robber swore in surprise and the knife skittered away from her throat for a
second. That second was all she needed, and Jessie gathered her courage to tear her hair
away from his iron grip. In doing so, she lost quite a good chunk but thought it was rather
necessary because now she was standing, her back pressed against the closed door. Jessie
would have turned and ran out, but in doing so she was leaving the robbers to take their
fill from the manor, and they might end up possibly harming another person in the
mansion. She couldn’t take that chance.
	“Holy Christ! It’s a girl!” the one left sitting dazedly on the bed, exclaimed.
	“Well of course I’m a girl!” Jessie snapped, irritated. She did not think
she looked like a boy--well, now at least--and many other men agreed with her. Her panic
deserted her, in its place there was now anger. For all her what were considered ‘manly’
habits like fencing and riding, she was still a woman and did not care to have the old
mistake of being taken for a boy happen again. She stared hard at them, trying to make
out there faces but the darkness of the room prevented them from being anything but hazy
shadows. How did they figure out my sex? Must be some uncanny robbers sense or
something. Jessie wasn’t aware that her white nightgown was quite visible in the dark,
and that it was also quite thin, so that even with her almost non-existent figure it was very
hard to think her a boy.
	The man that had been searching around for other valuables stopped short and
peered at Jessie. “Well, so it is!” he chuckled, “I’ll be darned! Sorry there, lassie, we
wouldn’t have threatened you if we had known you were a girl. There are plenty of other
more fun activities a woman is useful for, hey?” He winked lewdly at her and grinned at
his partner. The man with the knife shot the other an irritated glance. 
	“Cut the crap Ash, you probably would have given her back the necklace and then
bowed if you’d known right off she’s a girl.”
	“Yes, most likely I would have. But that’s me for ya. A lady’s man right to the
end,” he winked again and Jessie felt a corner of her mouth twitch. A lady’s man, my
Aunt Mabel’s monkey!
	“I don’t doubt it,” she said dryly before carefully adding, “but I do believe that it
was high time you got the hell out of here.”
	Ash--she believed that was what the other man had called him--shook his head
mockingly. “Tut tut, such language for a lady!” 
	“Yes well, this lady may use any language she likes when being threatened by two
highway men! And if you do not leave right this instant then I think I shall scream,” Jessie
snapped, thoroughly irritated at having let her composure slip.
	“You’ll do nothing of the sort and we’ll be leaving very shortly,” the man with the
knife paused dramatically, “With you coming along for the ride.”
	Jessie gasped, and her mouth fell open. She was speechless for a couple minutes
before her naturally quick temper took the place of her surprise, and her quickly falling
apart composure. “Come with you!? Why on the good God’s name would I want to come
with you!? You must be joking!”
	“We are not kidding with you, madam, you will have to come with us,” and this
time there was no grin from Ash. He knew what James meant. This lady had seen them,
talked to them, she knew what they looked like and what they sounded like. If they had
any hope of pulling off this robbery, it would be gone if they left the lady alone. She could
easily describe them to the authorities, and James and Ash weren’t very afraid of the
authorities but it got rather hard to keep on with one’s profession--stealing--when
everybody was keeping watch for you. James spoke up, breaking the short silence.
	“You be thankful that you are a lady, missus. Had you been a man you wouldn’t be
coming along, you’d be laying here in a pool of your own blood.”
	Now normally, any lady on having heard that last remark most likely would have
fainted dead away, or at least shrank away in fear, but you have to remember that Jessie
was not an ordinary lady. Instead of frightening her, the comment just added fuel to the
flames of her temper. “Then isn’t it a good thing I’m not a man,” she snapped out,
surprising the bandits with the venomous tone of her voice. “But I will not be coming with
you. You have my word that I will keep my mouth shut,” behind her back, Jessie crossed
her fingers before continuing, “but I will not go with you.”
	“We have no way of knowing if you’ll keep your word or not, so you are coming
with us. At least until we are safely out of this country, and then we’ll let you go.”
	“I have no way of knowing if you will keep your word or not,” she remarked
mockingly, using his own words on purpose,  “but short of hogtying me up, there is not a
snowball’s chance in hell that I am leaving with you.” 
	When Jessica Rose-Elizabeth Faerell II’s temper got as hot as it was now, she
didn’t give a thought as to what she was saying. Words came into her head and out her
mouth, before she realized exactly which words were flowing out of her wide mouth.
Jessie waited impatiently for the robbers to say or do something, and when they didn’t, she
hesitantly reflected back on what she had just said. Short of hogtying me up.....
Her hastily spoken comment rang back mockingly, and the grins that were slowly
spreading across there shadowed, un-recognizable faces, even though they didn’t say
anything, spoke volumes.
	“Shall we, James?” Ash glanced at the other man and he nodded. 
	“Grab the rope,” he instructed his partner.
	“Sure thing.” Ash tossed one end to the other man and they each held one end of
the rope, slowly advancing towards her.
	“Now just a minute here. I think you might want to reconsider doing this. I
wouldn’t be very easy to tie, you know. People have said I’m much to tall for a women.
Strong too.” Unfortunately the two men looked much taller and stronger. 
	Jessie immediately crouched down into a fighting stance while thanking God she
had bullied those defence lessons out of the head guard. “Try anything and I swear you’ll
regret it,” she threatened, and the one that she thought was called James--she hated that
name--let out a short bark of laughter.
	“We’re not going to be the ones regretting anything ma’am,” and with that, he
suddenly lunged toward her, clutching his end of the rope. Jessie sidestepped and started
to congratulate herself for fooling him, but felt her words squeak to a stop in her throat
when he sidestepped with her. She was shocked into stillness for a moment, but that
moment was long enough for James to get his arms around her and hold on. 
	“Aiiiiiieeeeeeee!!” she screeched, revolted at being in this thief’s arms but he
roughly shoved her face into his shoulder, effectively stifling her scream. 
	“Shutup! You want to wake up the whole frickin house? Hurry up and tie her feet
Ash!”
	He did so as quickly as Jessie’s thrashing feet would allow. 
	“Ouch!” he exclaimed, one flailing foot having caught his eye. “Jesus women, your
going to kill me!”
	“Good!” she shouted back as loudly as she could with her face muffled against
James’s shoulder. She hated being held like this, there was something eerily familiar about
his embrace. Ash finished sloppily, and swiftly jumped back muttering and rubbing his eye.
James had a hard time of turning the struggling wildly Jessie around, but he accomplished
it and held out her hands, ruthlessly overpowering her. 
	“Tie her hands now and be quick about it! I’m going to be covered in bruises
tomorrow.”
	“So will I!” Ash shot back, but tied up her hands. “Your carrying her James, I’m
not taking my chances with a wild beast like that. I’ll go grab our bags.”
	James glared at Ash’s back for a second before letting out a long-suffering sigh,
and mercilessly slinging her over his shoulder.
	Jessie grunted as her stomach came in contact with his hard shoulder, and started
to repeatedly whack her bound feet against his back. He wasn’t going to get away
unscathed from this encounter. He grabbed a fistful of her hair that was cascading down to
almost the ground and gave it a good tug..
	“Stop it women, I’m bruised enough as it is .” 
	She ignored him and kept on kicking. James gritted his teeth and yanked her head
back by the hair. He glared into her eyes before growling through his teeth. “Stop it this
instant or you’ll regret it.”
	Jessie glared right back, but she did stop. Her stomach was starting to hurt
tremendously and she wished he would hurry up so she could get off his damn shoulder. It
was like laying on rock. “Just hurry up,” she managed to wheeze out.
	“C’mon Ash, let’s get outta here,” James said, and walked quietly toward the
door. “Now don’t you dare say anything.” James instructed the girl on his shoulder and
just to be on the safe side he shoved some of her own hair into her mouth.
	“Gaaaahh!” she choked out. 
	“Shhhhh,” he hissed, motioning for Ash to follow him and they crept through the
winding hallways and steep stairs, finally emerging out of the mansion. 
	“That was a job very well done,” Ash commented once they were moderately far
enough away from the manor.
	
----------

So that was the reunion of Jessie and James. A thief robbing the house the Lady was
staying at. However, both of them did not realize just exactly who the other one was.
Neither did they care. The two young adults each wanted to get away from each others
company as soon as possible.....

----------

	“Would you two just shut-up for once in your life? I know you don’t like each
other, there’s certainly no need to prove it!” Ash glared balefully at James pushing along
the hand-tied Jessie.
	“It’s not exactly my fault this stupid woman doesn’t know how to keep her mouth
shut and just walk,” he muttered angrily.
	“Stupid woman? I’m not the stupid one here, buster...”
	Ash sighed mightily as he tuned out the words of the bickering couple. It had been
not even a half of an hour after they left the grounds of the Caterwall Estate, and the two
had been going at it as soon as it was safe. 
	“You have no idea how to treat a lady, you mangy cur!”
	“That’s right I don’t--”
	“James! Give me the girl!” Ash interrupted forcefully, finally tiring of the ringing in
his ears caused by the shouted words of the others. James gratefully shoved Jessie in Ash’s
direction. He swiftly caught her before she fell, and shot James a reproving look. “Just
because she’s our prisoner doesn’t mean that we have treat her shabbily.”
	“Exactly!” Jessie said triumphantly. “I’m glad someone understands me.” She
craned her head around, and smiled brilliantly at Ash. He grinned back, while James
looked on disgustedly.
	“What is your name, little lady?”
	Jessie started in surprise at the question. “Why do you care? I mean, your not
going to use me for ransom or anything will you?”
	Ash chuckled. “Don’t worry, your safe with us.” James glared at him, until he
added, “Well, at least with me. I’m a perfectly respectable gentleman.”
	Jessie decided to give him that; he was a gentlemen. Ash wore the fine
clothes of one, and his speech carried the traces of a proper upbringing. She wondered
why he was partners with Jim, and why he was out here like this; stealing and kidnapping
young woman. 
	Jessie was still a bit wary, but decided that there could be no harm in giving away
her first name. It wasn’t a very unique name, so they couldn’t possibly be able to trace it
back to her parents. “Well my name is Jessica.”

----------

	James heard the name and stopped dead in his tracks. He rubbed a clenched fist on
his chest, as if to help his breathing along.Just because her name is Jessica, and has a
temper to match my Jessie’s doesn’t mean a thing, he thought out as rationally as he
could. There must be a thousand Jessica’s in this country. And every single woman on
this planet has a temper when she is aggravated. It doesn’t mean a thing. Not a
thing. 
	James drew in a deep breath, feeling a little better after his reassurances to himself.
This Jessica Fate had handed him was just another female, and was not even a close match
for Jessie. And seeing what the morning sun would reveal Jessica to look like would
finalise the fact that Jessie was lost to him. Not even with a thousand Jessica’s in the same
country could one have as striking red hair as she did.
	James was snapped out of his worried thoughts by Jessica’s voice asking a
question.
	“And you two would be?” 
	“Well I’m Ash, as I think you already know, and my silent partner here is Ja-”
	“Jim!” he rudely cut in. “I’m Jim. Jim is my name.” He saw no reason to let her
know he was James, based on the wild, impossible assumption that she could be Jessie. He
didn’t have any problem being what he was; a thief, but he knew Jessie would have
laughed hysterically and then sneered down her nose at him if she ever found out.
	“Hmm.” was Jessie’s only response. She was sure she had heard Ash call his
partner James. Ah well, she had probably just heard it wrong.
	Although Ash was puzzled by James’s reluctance to reveal his true name, he let it
slide. He had learned long ago that his comrade had his own reasons for doing things, and
Ash knew that James didn’t like him to pry. When Ash had first met James, he was a
surprisingly sweet sixteen year old. Ash remembered sadly how kind and gentle he had
been, and what surprise he’d felt when he’d learnt that James was an orphan and had lived
a harsh life until he was eleven years old. Besides that, the only thing Ash ever found out
about James’s past was that he’d lived five years at a wealthy mansion, and it went no
deeper than that. Ash suspected that something--or someone--had happened to James in
those five years to soften him up and let his true self emerge. Ash remembered even more
sadly how after James had hooked up with Ash and lived twenty more years on the streets,
that his gentle nature had been buried under layers upon layers of rough and tough
exterior. People knew James now to be a dangerous man, a cynic who knew what his life
was, and how much he was worth. Which wasn’t much. And Ash knew that it would take
no less than a miracle to bring out that sweet and kind man again. 

----------

	“Where are we going? We’ve been walking for at least a million hours
now, can’t we get some rest?” Jessie couldn’t even feel her feet anymore, they were so
tired and sore that they had went numb.
	“Quit your whining, woman.” James snapped. “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you
a thousand times, we need to get as far away as possible!”
	“I know that! But aren’t we far enough!?”
	“Look! There’s an inn right ahead!” Ash exclaimed gratefully. “I do believe we can
stop there for tonight, hey Jame--I mean Jim?”
	“Fine,” was his curt reply.
	As they were nearing the scruffy looking inn, Jessie thought she spotted something
in the bushes. James scoffed at her, and Ash ignored them both until a voice was heard
from the bushes in which Jessie had seen something. 
	“Make a move and it’ll be your last,” said the dangerous sounding voice.
	Jessie groaned, and looked up at the sky dramatically. “What is it with people
attacking and threatening me tonight?” 
	“Shutup woman!” the voice barked.
	“He even calls me woman too!” she shouted up to the heavens.
	“Jessica, its time to be quiet now,” Ash warned her softly. She narrowed her eyes
at him, but didn’t say anything. 
	“Now, what can I do for you gentlemen?” Ash called out in the general direction
of the voice.
	“We’d like to claim Ash’s Collection.”
	Ash sighed, almost in relief. Just another fortune hunter who had heard about
Ash’s Collection. Nobody knew who Ash actually was, they just knew about the
Collection, and how rich they’d be if they possessed it. “Ah, I see. Your looking for an
easy way to get rich. Why don’t you try earning your own fortune?”
	“What’s th’ point? If we’s get all them loverly gems we wouldn’t need ta do no
work. Now if ya’d hand over them jewels, nobody will get hurt.”
	“I’m sorry, but I just don’t think I can do that.” Ash said it in such a polite tone of
voice that it took the robber a minute to realize he had been refused. 
	“Uh, um, well,” he stammered.
	“Oh shadup Curtis.”
	Jessie jumped as she heard the sound of another rough voice coming from
somewhere in the general direction of close behind her. 
	“Ya never could do anythin’ right. I told ya we shoulda just killed ‘em an’ snatched
the Collection.”
	“But I didn’t wanna jest kill em Jeff!” the robber who had spoken first whined
from the bushes in front of them.
	“Ah, yer useless,” robber #2 answered. “Hurry up an’ shoot ‘em!”
	“But Je-eff!”
	Jessie felt an absurd impulse to laugh over the rather sinister and strange
conversation happening from in front and behind them. That impulse to laugh faded quite
rapidly when she heard a fierce yell come from robber #2 that sounded suspiciously like a
war cry.  
	“Wahyayayayayaya!!”
	She whirled around just in time to spot the robber hurtling towards her with a knife
clutched in his upraised hand, and threw up her bound hands in a vain attempt to try and
protect her face. She was paralysed with shock and fear; so petrified that she didn’t even
have the presence of mind to duck out of the way. Jessie waited for what seemed like an
eternity for the knife to pierce her skin, but instead she felt a sweep of air rush by her as if
someone had just run quickly in front of her. She tentatively lowered her hands, and let
out a shriek of horror at what she saw. Jim was lying at her feet, unconscious, with a long
gash from the knife across his side. She glanced up and saw the robber also staring down
at Jim , except he was glancing from the knife to Jim and back again to the knife as if he
couldn’t believe that he had just slashed a man.
	Jessie’s infamous temper started to heat up. Jim had been hurt because of her, and
it had been this pathetic excuse for a robber who had hurt him. She glared fiercely at him
still standing there in what seemed like shock, then let out a war cry of her own.
	“Aiiiiieeeeeeee!!” 
	The last thing the robber saw before he was attacked was a red-haired angel flying
towards him, all claws out. Jessie tackled him, and in the scuffle that followed the knife
was dropped.
	Ash and robber #1 stared in awe at Jessie sitting upon the man and banging his
head on the ground. “You worthless!” bang “Horrible!” bang “Evil!” bang “Robber!!”
bang, and this time the man was finally knocked unconscious. She would have kept right
on beating him into the ground if Ash hadn’t pulled her off. 
	“Jessica! Calm down! There’s no need to kill the worthless bugger!”	
	“Yes there is! He hurt Jim!”
	“Yeah, he did, and I’d like to kill him myself for that, but I believe in rightful
justice and people do make mistakes. This man was almost as shocked and upset about
hurting Jame--darn it, I mean Jim as you are. I don’t think he had any intention of hurting
anybody, he just wanted the jewels. Now are you going to behave yourself or do I have to
keep restraining you?”
	Jessie was still spitting mad and glaring wrathful fire at the unconscious robber, but
she reluctantly agreed to behave.  
	“Good. Now I’ll deal with the other bad robber.” Ash turned around and squinted
out into the darkness, but it appeared as though the cowardly #1 had disappeared. “Well,
at least we don’t have to worry about him. We need to focus our attention upon
Jame-darn it, I mean Jim.”
	Jessie nodded her agreement and they set about finding out how bad James was
injured.
	“It doesn’t look very deep,” she commented.
	“No, it doesn’t. It’s more long.”
	A silence fell on the small group, each not knowing what to do next. Jessie finally
voiced what they were both thinking aloud, “So what do we do, now that we’ve
established that it’s only long and not very deep?”
	“Well, we uh, staunch the blood?” he guessed.
	“That’s what I would have said. And I think it’s the only thing we can really do
without getting help from someone who actually knows what they’re doing.”
	“Right. Tear me off a strip of your shift.”
	Jessie reached down and tore off a long ribbon of the soft cloth, then placed it into
Ash’s outstretched hand.
	“Thanks,” he murmured before ignoring her completely and focusing his mind on
tying the strip around James’s lean torso. “There.” He sat back and dusted off his hands.
“I think that should hold at least until we get to that inn just up ahead. Grab the bags
Jessica, and we’ll be on our way.”
	Jessie briskly rounded up the meagre possessions while Ash carefully gathered
James up in a fireman’s hold, and then they were walking as swiftly as possible towards
the inn without harming James even further.
	
----------

	James came to lying in a grubby bed, smelling like weeks-old rotten fish, and weak
as a babe.
	“Ugh.” Where was he, and what had happened? He didn’t even try opening his
eyes, he was just too darned weak even for that.
	“So yer awake now.”
	James stiffened at the sound of a husky, female voice coming from beside the bed
and immediately regretted the action. Moving even the slightest bit set his ribs on fire, and
he finally remembered what had happened. Remembered the look of petrified fear on
Jessica’s face as the robber flew towards her. Remembered the sudden urge to protect that
certain annoying female, and he remembered jumping in front of her and taking the knife
across his side for her. 
	Very stupid of me. Why couldn’t I just have let her have gotten hurt? He
thought grumpily. Now I’m suffering in agony while she probably ran back to her
wealthy parents, and all because of a misguided sense of chivalry!
	He cleared his throat, and decided to attempt to speak. “Who...” was all he could
managed to force out, and even that came out sounding scratchy and very un-James like. 
	“Who’m I? It doesn’t really matter, honey. I’m jest someone yer partner paid to
watch over ya, though the toff hasn’t given me what I asked fer yet.”
	“Jessica?” he asked weakly.
	“Who? Oh, that red-head who comed stormin’ in ‘ere demanding for help.” The
husky voice chuckled. “She’s somethin’ fierce, let me tell ya that, no matter that she can’t
tell a healin’ wort from a weed. Don’t you worry about her, she can hold ‘er own and
right now she’s sleepin’ in the room right next ta this one.”
	Ha, so she hadn’t managed to sneak away after all. Good. He cleared his throat,
prepared to venture a longer sentence. “Why, so tired? Weak. What happened?”
	“You had a wicked fever there, hon. Five days its lasted, and I’m sure glad it’s
over. You can bet yer ass I’ll be wantin’ a good payment.”
	James felt a corner of his mouth lift in a tiny smile. “Ask Ash,” he answered.
	“I’m plannin’ to. And now that yer feelin’ a might better, I think I’ll go ask ‘im
right now. You think yer well enough for me ta go for a bit?”
	James nodded very slightly, feeling his head protest at even that small movement. 
	“All right. If yer sure.”
	James listened to the soft footsteps pad out of the room, and wondered who the
devil that was. He was almost positive it was a female, no man could ever duplicate such a
throaty and sensuous voice as that. He guessed she was one of those overly curvy
barmaids who was looking for a bit of extra work. James idly wondered what her price for
looking after him was going to be, and wondered how much Ash was going to object. It
would prove interesting to watch or hear, if only he could stay awake. 
	James was sleeping peacefully in the first real slumber he had had in four long days
when the generously endowed female confronted Ash.

----------

	“Are you mad?”
	“Are you daft? Why can’t you jest accept what I’m sayin’!?”
	“Because it’s utterly and completely ridiculous! There is no way I will allow to join
us!”
	“Why not? You’ve bin tellin’ me that for the past hour, but ya won’t give
me a reason!”
	Ash glared at the spittingly mad woman in front of him. He had to glare down at
her, and he shouldn’t wonder if she was getting a crick in her neck from having to look
way up. She couldn’t have been taller than five feet and two inches, compared to his lanky
six feet.
	“Well? Are ya gonna give me a reason?” she demanded, in that infuriatingly
throaty voice of hers. “Or are ya jest gonna stand there ogling me?”
	“Ogling? Ogling? I’ll have you know I was not ogling you!” Ash heartily
rejected the idea of him ogling her, but he knew it to be true. The truth of the matter was,
this little woman was fascinating. She might have been rather short, but one would have to
be half blind to mistake her for a child. Her body was completely too rounded for his
tastes, although she looked as if she hadn’t had a proper meal in months. Her face was
thin, with a fiercely independent nature to it, and he noticed she had a smattering of
freckles across her nose. He couldn’t quite make out the color of her hair or eyes in the
dim light, but her hair was short and thick, just reaching the top of her ears and looked as
if she had cut it herself. All in all, she was a rather fetching little creature, albeit her
peasants speech and crude manner. 
	“All right buster, that’s it. You won’t give me no reasons, but ta make it even
worse, yer ogling me! I’m tired of being ogled! And from men who owe me something
too! You said I could have anythin’ I wanted ta have if I looked afta yer sick friend. I
looked afta ‘im, and now I want my payment. So if yous be a gentlemen at all, you’ll
gimme what I want. To come with you and your friends to wherever yous be going. I
picked you out cause you all seem friendly enough, and I thoughtyou was a
gentlemen! But maybe I thought wrong.”
	The little female with the messy cap of hair turned huffily around, and was starting
to march down the stairs when Ash called after her, “All right! All right, you’ve convinced
me. You can come, but on one condition. You have to cook for us.”
	She faced him again with a blinding smile, and he noted that she had all her teeth,
and they were clean and straight. No mean feet for a woman living as she did.
	“I jest knew you’d come through! Ya seemed like a gentlemen and you was!
Thankye kindly mister.” She graced him with another engaging grin, and turned around
yet again, ready to skip down the stairs. 
	“Wait!” he exclaimed, “I don’t even know your name!”
	She didn’t bother to stop, just threw over her shoulder, “Me names Misty, sir.”

----------

	There we go. The second chapter completed, and all the characters introduced.
Well, you’ll meet two more next chapter, but you’ll just have to wait. 
	It wasn’t my intentional plan to have Ash and Misty in this chapter, but they kind
of wormed there way in there. It’ll make it more interesting. And I do realize Ash and
Misty are kind of OOC too, but I like them much better this way. For Ash in the TV series
he never actually had a personality (besides his driving need to be the best), and I hated
the way people always made him out to be some dense, thick-headed loser. And Misty
was kind of like Jessie, a very strong-willed, quick to anger and sometimes violent girl. I
decided to give her a bit more depth, in her being the common barmaid. All in all, I like
each character better the way they are in my story, so if you have any comments or
suggestions, and yes even flames, just email me.


Byebye until chapter 3! (which could be in a while),
Silver V