For once, Esther wasn’t cold when she awoke. She enjoyed the warmth for a few moments, not opening her eyes. Her head was fuzzy. Then, something sighed, and a weight moved onto Esther’s chest.
She sat up with a start, and the large, tan dog yelped, and jumped back. Esther stared at it, shocked, and it looked back at her. It almost looked like it was smiling, its mouth hanging open. Esther hadn’t had much experience with dogs. Her father always hated them.
“You’re finally awake then. We were getting worried,” Esther started again at the voice. She looked over at the man who spoke. He sat across from her, putting another log into the fire. Another dog lay by him, this one with its ears perked up.
“Who are you?” She demanded. “Where’s my stuff? And my guns?” She tried to keep the fear out of her voice. She hurt all over, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to defend herself against this man and his dogs.
He stood up, and handed her her two guns. “It wouldn't have been very smart to leave two loaded guns with an unconscious person, now would it? That’s an accident waiting to happen.”
Esther checked them. They were still loaded. She looked at the man again. He was greying, with scraggly hair that nearly touched his shoulders. His face was clean shaven though, and his clothes were somewhat clean.
It was likely better than Esther looked. She kept clean, but she didn’t have a hairbrush anymore. Her dark hair was wavy, and would have been almost curly if she kept it short, but Esther’s mother had always favored longer hair, so she kept it that way. It was tangled now though, but Esther couldn't bring herself to cut it off with the knife she had. She did her best to keep her clothes clean, but it was sometimes hard.
She didn’t put her guns away immediately. “I could kill you, you know. I’ve killed two men already,” Esther did her best to be intimidating, but it didn’t work.
The man smiled. “Sure, sure. How about you put the guns away, and we can eat this rabbit that I caught?” He gave her a plate, and tried to draw the dogs away by giving them their own food.
Esther put one of her guns away, but slipped the other under the blanket when the man turned his back. She could grab it easily. She adjusted herself so that she faced the man from across the campfire, and picked at her food.
“What happened to my bike?” She asked. Barely a month, and she had already ruined what took Jacob years to fix. She wondered how he would feel if she paid someone to leave it at the gates into Maine.
“Well, your front tire is bent. You have no headlight. Other damage I couldn’t see, but I’m guessing that branch didn’t hold back,” He told her, and her stomach sank. “Can’t imagine what you were doing out there last night.”
Esther saw that it was still raining, from the intact windows in the house. It wasn’t as dark now, and it didn’t seem to be a storm any longer. She didn’t want to tell him that she had been picky about her quarters when she had nearly died. Her head throbbed, and she reached up to touch it, and felt bandages.
“Thank you,” It felt overdue. “I’m Esther, by the way. Esther Sainz.”
He furrowed his brow. “You’re from Maine aren’t you? You got the right accent.”
She nodded. He didn’t offer his name yet, or where he came from, but seemed to be thinking while he ate.
The dogs came back over, and the tan one came to beg from Esther, looking at her with amber eyes. He was a skinny thing, with long legs. Esther knew the man probably fed the dogs well, but still she obliged, and gave it a few scraps. The dog was gentle, and the man snorted when he saw.
“Arlo’s never going to leave you alone now. He’s slept by your side since we brought you back,” He joked.
“I heard dogs last night,” Esther told him, petting the dog, who had laid his head down on Esther’s knees. “Was that these two?”
“It was this one. Arlo doesn’t have the brains that Pippa does, and she’s the one who led me to you,” He scratched the dog behind her ears.
Esther wondered about how smart dogs really could be, and then remembered the dogs she often heard howling at night. It didn’t seem to her like these two could make all the noise the others did, but maybe the man had more dogs outside. She decided to ask.
He shook his head. “Those things have been loose since the world turned over. Lots of them mutated over the years, and don’t trust humans. It’s sad really. They were housepets, in generations before. But now, you’re lucky you never ran into them.”
She didn’t tell him about the doe she had left for them. Likely that had brought them closer to her.
“You’re related to the governor of Maine aren’t you? Sainz is the family name I remember,” He finally asked.
Esther nodded, and debated how much to tell him. He was nice enough, it seemed. He had given her loaded guns back, fed her, and likely saved her life. “My dad is the governor currently.”
He looked shocked. “What the hell are you doing out here? Even if you're a courier, you should stick to the patrolled roads. It’s dangerous. If people recognize you, or you tell the wrong person who you are, your dad’s in for a large ransom.”
Another internal debate. It wouldn’t hurt to tell him, and if he did now decide to turn against her and ransom her to Mordecai, it was worth telling him that he wouldn’t likely get anything.
“Remember how I said I’ve killed someone? It was an accident, but the judge in Augusta ruled against me, and my sentence was exile. Ten years because they at least took into account that I didn’t mean to kill him,” It seemed too simple of a way to put the ordeal, but Esther’s head still felt fuzzy, and she didn’t feel like telling him the whole story. “You haven’t told me where you're from, or your name even,” She reminded him. She wondered how he knew about the States well enough to place her accent.
“Well, I hope you won’t hold it against me. I left a long time ago, after a border fight with Maine and New Hampshire. Phillip Cormac, formerly of Vermont. The current governor is my brother.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
So that explained the dogs, and his knowledge of her home. She didn’t reply, not immediately.
In years past, Vermont had pushed its borders further and further, frequently fighting with the other States that Remain. They were a powerful state, having an actual military force, and required service. They bred and trained dogs to bolster their forces, and it was almost impressive. People in other states paid large amounts to have a dog from Vermont. Esther had a sinking feeling she knew of the fight Phillip spoke of. Her grandfather had died in such a fight, and the governor of Vermont had been the one to kill him. That governor had since past, but his brother was currently in power, and was seemingly just as ruthless. It was no secret that they had been the ones to attack Delaware, but so far, no state had brought the charges against them.
“I know of your brother,” She said slowly. She had never introduced herself to them, on her father’s advice. “And I know your nephew as well. He’s kind of an asshole.”
“Like father, like son. There’s a reason I left. And my brother, my mother, and everyone else who agrees with them is why,” Phillip explained. “I never had a chance to gain the seat of governor, or I would have changed things there.”
“You could have evoked your power for supplanting,” Esther argued. It wasn’t often used, but would call into question the chosen succession to be called into question, and popular support would determine the next governor. “I’m sure you could have gained enough support. One of my friends in Maine escaped from Vermont, and he told me how much people hate those in power.”
“It wouldn’t have worked. My brother would have never given me the chance for a fair match. He would have intimidated or killed his way into power, and no one could have stopped him.”
He looked sad, and Esther lost the strength to continue arguing. She only knew what she saw, and what Victor had told her. Who knows what internal struggles the Cormac family had.
Phillip shook his head. “Well, who is it you know? I likely don’t know them, unless they’re around my age, but I likely know their family.”
“His name is Victor Blake. Taller than me, his hair’s sandy blonde. He’s my age, but he said his family’s been breeding dogs for generations.”
“Yeah, I know the Blakes. Good people, they mostly kept to themselves. They breed hunting dogs too, not attack dogs. Kept to themselves, mostly, and had a farm well out of the way of Montpelier. How’d he get out?”
That was another story Esther didn’t feel like telling. She gave him the condensed version. “His family was forced to start training their dogs for attack, and it was almost time for Victor to begin his service. So his family sent him away one night, while on a hunting trip. He made it to Maine, but they sent dogs after him. Luckily, my cousin and I found him before they could tear him into pieces. He has a few scars though,” Esther didn’t want to brag, but they had saved his life that day. And Esther had fought for him to stay in Maine, when her father wanted to send him on his way. He was a good addition to Augusta though, and a good friend.
Phillip scoffed. “Lucky him. Most people wouldn’t have been able to make it.”
Esther wanted to ask how he made it out, but didn’t push him. It was quite, aside from the rain. She still had a lot of questions, but they both seemed to be talked out. Phillip spoke first.
“I put your bike under the overhang, next to my truck if you want to take a look at it,” he mentioned. He didn’t get up with her, or say anything when she put the gun from under the blanket in her holster. It hurt to stand, and Esther got up slowly. Brushing herself off, she went to the door, Arlo trotting by her side.
The truck was nice, or as nice as an ancient machine could be. Esther wondered how well it ran, and how Phillip got a hold of it. She groaned when she went around it, and saw the bike. She wouldn’t even know where to start with it. She had helped Jacob find and buy the parts, but had no real knowledge of its inner workings. She should have paid more attention, or found a manual or guide somewhere. Esther only knew how to recharge the thing, and did so by recharging the batteries all day in the sun while she gathered food.
“Well Arlo, I think I’m screwed,” the dog was sniffing the air, not paying attention. Esther sighed, and thought about her next moves. Her body hurt so much, she couldn’t see herself walking very far, not between the rain and pushing the bike. And she couldn’t leave the thing for someone else to find and scrap. Jacob would be crushed to see it next spring on some trader’s wagon.She crouched down to get a better look at the bike.
The door opened, and Esther saw Pippa joining Arlo in the rain. They chased after one another, falling into a play fight. Phillip came around the truck.
“You’d have to be some sort of mechanical prodigy to fix that thing up. And have good luck to scrap the parts you’ll need,” He told her.
Esther rose. She realized she was almost as tall as he was. She could see him better outside, and saw his eyes were red.
“Well Jacob- that’s my cousin, he gave me the thing- was. I never paid much attention to it though, I was always wrapped up in other things,” Esther explained.
Phillip was silent, and turned to look at the dogs. Esther checked the pouches on her bike, making sure nothing had fallen out. Everything seemed to be there, and if it wasn’t, well, then it wasn’t important enough for her to notice.
“I don’t really know how to thank you,” she said. “I haven’t got a lot of money, and I’m afraid that I don’t have anything of value, really,” aside from her guns, that was. But she would have to be dead before he took those from her.
Phillip looked surprised. “I don’t want you to pay me for fixing you up,” he answered. “ It was the right thing to do, and besides,” he smiled. “You didn’t shoot or rob me when I handed you your guns back. That’s thanks enough.”
Esther had to laugh a little. Her smile died when she looked back down at her bike. Phillip followed her eyes, and clapped her on the shoulder. She flinched, from pain and surprise.
“Sorry. Should’ve remembered,” he apologized. “But I was thinking of an idea that could benefit you and me both.”
She furrowed her brows, and waited for him to explain.
“Arlo and Pippa trust you, and I put a lot of faith into those dogs. I’ve raised them since they were pups, and I raised Pippa’s father too. I trust them better than I trust people. So if they think you’re a decent person, then I do as well,” he explained. Esther tried not to laugh. “ And you said you’re exiled for ten years. You have a lot of time that you have to survive out here, and while I hate to admit it, it’s easier if you're not alone.”
Esther already had started seeing the effects of life on her own, and Phillip had pretty much admitted he saw his dogs as people. She nodded.
“So I think it’d be smart for you and I to work together. You grew up in Maine, and I’m guessing you know how to use those guns pretty well,” he didn’t wait for an answer. “I’ve done bounty hunting for years now, decades even. It’s good money, and I’ve gotten to travel all over the land doing it.”
Esther had heard of the bounty hunters before. Her father had even hired one when a ranch hand had made off with a valuable horse. The horse was returned, and the man was dead within the week. She could see where he was going with this.
“Now, if you want to, you can work with me. We’d have to travel down to Virginia, not much work to be done here, if you're not allowed in the states,” Virginia was the start of the States that Are, states that aren’t a part of the Alliance, and chose to live differently. Esther had never been to any of them. “But we could make a good living, get you used to life out here. And I know a lot of people. Maybe we could find someone to help with your bike.”
It was smart, and the best course of action, and Esther didn’t have to think long about it. It was even a bit like the apprenticeship she would’ve taken, had she stayed in Maine. Of course, then she would have officially studied under her father, and been named the next in line. But this seemed optimal for where she was.
She held out her hand, and they shook on it.