Thread: Mills and Mafia (LuanaXVictorian)

Perhaps driving handy been the best of ideas. She could hardly see and was more tired than she ever remembered being. Her posture while driving was one of inexperience. Both hands at the tops of the wheel, leaning forward. It didn't help that she barely cleared the wheel and the pedals were hard to reach. Her eyes were heavy and her head buzzed uncomfortably. Still she was determined. Briefly she glanced over at Jimmy who had fallen asleep with the gun in his lap. Sound asleep he looked gentle, almost boyish, despite the weapon he held. He had to be far more exhausted. Then everything went wrong at once. The road was smaller and the turns sharper. It was so difficult to see. She was struggling to hang onto consciousness when a turn appeared she didn't see. She tried to break but wasn't nearly fast enough. The car came to a jarring halt thanks to an old pine tree. Jimmy came awake suddenly. She apologized fervently but he was likely too tired to be overly angry with her. He pulled out a map to try and figure out their location. With no signs or landmarks it was nearly impossible. Soon enough sleep overcame her again. Morning light filtered in through the late summer greenery of the woods. Maeve blinked and gave a small groan. She ached in places she didn't know she could ache. Her hair in a wild, tangled state she slowly sat up, running her fingers through the curls. She was in terrible need of a comb. The blanket fell off her. She had been laid on one blanket and another pulled over her. They were over in the woods, the car barely visible through the trees. Looking around she saw Jimmy, shotgun in hand and sound asleep against a rock. The events of the night came back to her as she pressed a hand to her forehead in remembered embarrassment. For a little she watched him sleep. Her appreciation for the man only grew. Maybe she had been wrong about him. Just a little. He had done his utmost to take care of her. His own life now in just as much danger. Maybe it was just how sweet he looked while asleep but she suddenly felt terrible for any of the things she'd said to him in a temper. Somewhere, deep down, he was actually a gentleman. Quietly she got up and folded the blankets, shaking the leaf litter off them. Crouched down by him she gently shook his shoulder. Jiiiimmyyy, she cooed quietly. Time to wake up Prince Charming. Luckily she had a small idea of where they were. Not on the map, she had never really looked at one before. Not for direction anyways. But this winding dirt road was a long one and had few turns. It would eventually lead them to a small town by the name of Carlsbad. From that town she remembered the route to the cottage. Carlsbad was indeed a small town. The surrounding area was chiefly farmland. It had an old, rickety bar, a gas station, a surprisingly large farm market and what they called their convienant store. The area wasn't wealthy but the store carried basic necessities. If someone wanted something else they had a massive catalogue that one could order almost anything from ice boxes to clothing. From Carlsbad it was roughly another hour to their destination. Maeve surprised herself at remembering the way, but it seemed that little changed in the are. West from town then a right at the dairy farm, then a left at a rather large orchard. Then a long stretch of road and finally a left down an almost invisible drive. Overcrowded with weeds she nearly missed it but for the carving in a poplar. A swirling design her father hard carved as a young man to mark where to turn. The drive was fairly long and they had to go slow for nature had tried to reclaim the area. Then they broke into a massive clearing. The lake wasn't large by any means, a determined person could swim across, stopping at the very tiny island that sat placidly in the middle with its single willow tree. The cottage stood pristinely close to the lake. It's white washed, daub and wattle walls were dulled a little but had held up through the years. The forest canopy seemed to have done well in protecting it and its thatched roof. The well groomed flower garden in front had grown wild over the years but the stone path was still intact. The cottage itself was bigger than your usual Irish home. Leave it to Columb McTierany to still build bigger and better. Thick layers of dust covered every surface on the inside. The small kitchen was rife with cobwebs but with a little cleaning would gleam as if new. A sitting room with a fire place made up the majority of the space when they first entered, the kitchen barely quartered off with a counter. Three rooms jutted off from the main area. One for her parents, one for her and one for Liam. Maeve waved a few dust motes away from her face. The windows were dust and a little grimy but once cleaned up they would let in a great deal of light. Father would be proud it held up so well. I haven't been here in years. Not since- she drifted off a moment and shook her head. Best kept family secret. Da built it for Ma a while back. She missed nature, held up in the city. No loans, mostly built by him and Liam. Few of the other staff even knew about it. No one would think to come all the way out here to find us.