Chapter 3

“Knock, knock. Where’d ya get to last night?” It is Lawson arriving way too early in the morning. “Hey! Who’s the little girl?”

Sorbo unsteadily gets to his feet and says, “What little girl?”

“That one,” says Lawson, pointing at Dakota who is still sitting on the cot wrapped in the blankets waiting for Sorbo to wake up.

Sorbo looks at her and tries to blink her away, but she won’t go. “Shit, I thought that was a dream. Uh, I guess I found her wondering around in the storm and felt sorry for her. I’m sorry, little lady, what is your name again?”

“Dakota.”

“Oh, like the mighty woodlands.”

“Yes, I was named after them, I guess.”

“Well, hello, little lady, my name be Lawson.”

“Hi.”

“Be you lost, lassie? Is your family around here somewhere?” Then she starts crying; shaking her head no.

And then it all comes flooding back to Sorbo. “Hey, Lawson, let’s talk outside for a moment. It’s okay, Dakota. I’ll be right back in.”

“Okay,” she says in a small voice tinged with horror.

When they walk outside Sorbo turns to Lawson and asks, “Have you heard anything this morning?”

“About what?”

“I heard last night that the royal family was killed. Probably at that party you were telling me about.”

Lawson’s eyes go big as he ponders, “No, I haven’t, but a friend of mine, you be knowing Peter, he is supposed to be leaving from the capitol today and he’ll probably be here within a week I’m sure. If anything is happening I’m sure he would have heard about it and I’ll let you know.”

“Alright, buddy, let me know as soon as you can.”

“Hey, Sorbo?”

“Yeah.”

“What are you going to do with a little girl?”

He looks back towards the cottage and says, “I have no idea.”

“Do you even have any food?”

“No. I was supposed to go hunt a deer today. Hey do you know if Brako wants us to still do that job for him?”

“Uh, I would stay away from him for a few days, and then we can check later.”

“What’s his problem?”

“You tried to crawl up his sister dress while she was playing the harp.”

“He did!” says Dakota, from the doorframe.

“You just never mind, young lady. Oh well, he’ll get over it in a few days and everything will go back to normal.”

“Back to normal! Sorbo, you have a little girl to take care of.”

“Oh, I’m sure the lady that brought her to me will be back for her any time now.”

“Nope.” They both turn towards Dakota who is walking out of the cottage in Sorbo’s royal blue long sleeve pullover shirt looking adorable.

“What do you mean that lady isn’t coming back for you?”

“She isn’t a lady, she is a goddess, Andromeda to be exact, and she has given me to you. I’m yours now. Or at least until I grow up and fulfill the prophecy.”

“What! What Prophecy? Hey wait a minute I can’t even take care of myself. You got to be kidding and there is no way in hell that pretty lady was a goddess.”

“Yep, she is.”

“Get away from me.” Sorbo says, harshly to Dakota. With tears in her eyes she goes back into the cottage.

“Sorbo, she’s just a little girl. Listen if Andromeda herself is getting involved with human affairs something big must be up. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open and I’ll let you know.”

“How the hell am I supposed to take care of a little girl? I told you about what happened the last time I was put in charge of another human beings well being.”

“Is that what this is about? How I heard the story, that wasn’t your fault. Look she just be a little girl who obviously has been through something bad, so be nice. Look, you two come over for dinner tonight and we’ll go from there.”

Sorbo looks at him and then the cottage and then back and forth several times before finally sighing and saying, “Alright, old timer, we’ll be there.”

Sorbo is standing there in the growing light of mid-morning until finally his grumbling stomach reminds him that he hasn’t eaten for a while. He stands there not knowing what to do and then he is hit with a wave of nausea from his hangover. He remembers back to last night when Dakota told him he smelled. He smells himself and pulls away real fast.

“Oh, man, she was right.” He walks over to the nearby stream and turns around and falls into it letting the cold water refresh his cold soul.

As he is floating there letting the current drain away his agitation and uncertainty, Dakota comes over and says, “Having fun?”

Sorbo looks over quickly at her, but doesn’t say anything at first. The little girl sighs and starts walking back towards the cottage. “You hungry?”

Dakota turns around and faces him while saying, “Very.”

“Yeah, me, too. Let me wash a few more weeks off of me and then I will go get us a rabbit or something for breakfast.”

“It’s closer to lunch.”

“Okay, Princess, then lunch.” She smiles prettily and Sorbo sighs as he watches her walk back into the cottage wearing a uniform that once meant so very much to him.

It takes Sorbo about an hour to find and kill a rabbit. By the time he makes it back to the cottage Dakota has it half way cleaned up and is putting the second blanket back away in the footlocker.

“You just stay the hell away from there!”

Dakota jumps at the sudden intrusion and stands up real quick while putting her hands behind her back with fear in her eyes.

“What do you have in your hands?”

“Nothing,” she says, in that same small voice.

“Princess, what do you have in your hands?”

She slowly brings them around and in her hands she has a service cross of royal blue and silver. “I’m sorry. I was just putting away the blanket and saw this. What is it? It is pretty.”

Sorbo walks over to her and grabs the service cross out of her hands none-to-gently and throws it back into the footlocker. “You just stay out of this.”

“I’m sorry,” she says, with a shiver and big eyes.

Sorbo is towering above her and as he is looking down at her he sighs and says, “It’s okay. Just stay out of this one thing, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Looks like you have been busy, young lady.”

“I hope you don’t mind.”

“It’s no matter. I don’t think this cottage has been this clean in a decade.” Dakota smiles warmly. “Well, I got us a rabbit for now, but my friend Lawson has invited us over for dinner tonight and he always makes good food.”

“He seemed nice.”

“He has his moments. Any chance you can start a fire while I prepare the rabbit?”

“I can try.” Of course Sorbo doesn’t really think she can do it, for starting a fire from nothing is never a sure thing. Plus beside left over bark strips and broken furniture pieces he is out of wood.

“I guess I’ll have to get us some more wood, too.”

“Probably a good idea, but it won’t do much good with the door lying outside on the ground.”

Sorbo looks back down at her and since he is trying to fight a smile she thinks he is annoyed again as he says, “So you’re a smart little thing aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t you ever be sorry for speaking the truth and seeing things as they are.” As he walks by her to go outside and clean the rabbit he tussles her hair. He doesn’t turn back around so he doesn’t see the beaming pretty little girl with a divine smile on her face with skin so pale that you can see her veins.

By the time he is finished with the rabbit he brings in the cut up pieces and is amazed to see a roaring fire in the fireplace. He is impressed. Then his shadowed mind falters back to a time when he was proud of another princess and he has to force his legs to move to take the rabbit over to the pot Dakota has ready to boil the rabbit in. He gives her a weak smile, but he can’t force himself to make continued eye contact.