Fantasy Another Life in Time w/ @Crayons

[iMeisaki]

The plastic wheels bumping and tugging at the gravely ground was the only sound the woman could pay attention to as she tugged and dragged her luggage bag from the taxi to the small bed and breakfast her and Josh would be staying in for a week. It’s been a trip the two have planned for a while, Middlesex County. The trip was more for her fiance, he wanted to reconnect with friends and family while doing things for his job, studying to be a professor. Everything was so quaint and quiet. Looking down at her hand wrapped around the carrier, she noticed her engagement ring brightly standing out in the crummy weather. The brunette’s eyes wandered back to the check-in area to already see her fiance talking it up with the elderly lady that she presumed to be the owner of the B&B.

“Ah, there she is. Renee, this is Mrs. Davies. My grandmother and her used to be childhood friends before she moved to the states.” Josh placed his hand around Renee’s shoulder and brought her closer.

“Lovely to meet you dear, you’re even more stunning in person than in the Christmas cards I’ve seen.” The older woman smiled in an angelic way.

A sudden warmth sprawled across her face as Renee sheepishly grinned, “Oh, thank you, you’re too kind,” Her attention went to the tall, blonde man next to her, “Josh, I’m a little tired from the trip, I think I’d like to settle in, if that’s okay.”

“Right, head on up and I’ll bring everything in a bit,” He kissed her forehead and handed her the keys to the room. Renee felt relieved, she was exhausted and as much as she wanted to socialize, she simply decided to do so later in the day. Heading up the creaky stairs, she heard Josh and Mrs. Davies converse some more, all of it relating to his side of the family, before retreating into the cozy, queen bedroom.

Taking her cell out of her pocket, she called her sister to tell her that they arrived, how things were, the usual catch up. Her sister, Carrie, was also six months pregnant. The girl was very excited and anxious to become an Aunt, so she always called her sister to make sure she was alright; The thought of becoming an aunt, or even a mother gave Renee butterflies in her stomach. After chatting on the phone for about thirty minutes or so, Josh entered the room with the luggage.

“Oh, I gotta go ‘Care, I’ll talk to you later, get some rest.” She hung up and looked to Josh, giving an appeasing smile, “Was there something you wanted to do while there’s still some light out?” She asked.

“I know there’s a library down the street, I wanted to look at some of the books about the past hundred years to study my ancestry, would you like to come with me?” He straightened his shirt out as he placed the room key on the dresser to the side of him.

Ugh, the library, how boring. “Sure, let’s go. I’m sure there will be something along the way that’ll occupy me,” She joked, “Let me change first.”

The girl wore a long beige skirt, with a black button up paired with flat shoes. She took her purse and pulled it up to her shoulder, taking Josh’s hand to be lead to the entrance of the B&B once again. They waved goodbye to the elder woman, and off they went to the library. The town was quiet, in a peaceful way, and not crowded where it felt claustrophobic. Maybe because of the weather, the time, and place that they were in was a good enough reason for it not to be busy. As her shoes clacked against the cement ground, she couldn’t help but notice the large circular plaque on the ground. It was only for a second that they passed it, but she felt entranced by it. She looked back at it, before being tugged by Josh to come along with her.

It wasn’t long before they reached the small, wooden building that looked like it was built ages ago. The building’s sign reading, ‘Tyburn Village Archives.’ By how old it looked, Renee could feel herself get tired quickly again. Josh was like a child in a candy store, he pulled out various books, journals, and documents he found and read through them. A book that caught Renee’s eyes was titled, ‘The Witch of Edmonton.’

Her gaze shifted to the small bookkeeper at his desk, “This isn’t actually real, right? Witches aren’t real, why would this be in the Archives?”

“Miss Sawyer was very real, and was hung at Tyburn’s tree down the street, dear. This is apart of Tyburn’s history!” He closed his book and looked out the window, as if there was a tree out there.

Renee glanced in the direction the man was looking at but saw nothing, she stayed silent and quietly nodded, thinking the elderly man wasn’t sane. “Josh, I’ll be looking around town, call me if you need me,” She announced, Josh simply nodding as his nose was further pressed into his book.

Walking down the sidewalks of Tyburn, she passed by multiple shops; Bakeries that were getting ready to close up, a men’s clothing store, a children’s toy store. It sparked a few thoughts of things to get for Carrie’s child. One store caught the woman’s attention, Spirit Cove. First the incense drew her attention, the faint smell of lilac and tea tree enticed her to enter. A young woman, “Welcome!” Exclaimed behind the counter, giving a light wave, “Are you a tourist? I’ve never seen you here before.” This girl was short and stout with long ginger hair. She had blue eyes and crooked teeth, her skin clear with freckles scattered over her cheeks.

“Ah, yeah, I’m visiting with my fiance. It’s very beautiful here, and I wanted to take a look at some of the local shops, this is the first one.” Her hands grazed against the tapestry fabrics against the walls.

“Aye’ This shop has been here for centuries, very popular among the witches of Tyburn,” She giggled.

“Oh yeah? Are there a lot of witches in the area?” Her brow furrowed in curiosity, thinking back to what the old man said before.

“You could say something like that… Would you like your fortune told miss?” She motioned her hands for Renee to get closer.

“How much is it?” She reached into her pocket to grab some change.

“Don’t worry miss, I’m bored and have nothing else to do.”

Renee approached the girl, holding out her palm. The clerk pulled on her hand rather hard, yanking it closer to her, “H-Hey!” Renne called out.

“Sorry miss, I just need a closer look.” She straightened her hand out, steadying it and easing her grip. Making multiple mm’s and ahh’s as she thought aloud. “I see that you live a very hard working life, even your hands are tense. I also see that you have a lover in your life!”

“Probably my fiance…” Renee rolled her eyes.

“...But… I see two lovers here, at the same time..? Miss, you’re very secretive, I think you should tell your fiance what’s going on.” Renee tried pulling her hand back but the girl wouldn’t let her, “Hold on! I’m almost done. Yes, hmm… You’re also living an adventure, but a quiet life also at the same time… Miss, you have a very confusing fortune.” She let go of her hand, staring at Renee in an unfazed manner.

The woman latched her hand back and held it to her chest, “That’s all I needed to hear, something completely crazy. Thank you, have a good day.” Being shaken up, she shifted her purse around her shoulder and left the shop in a rush. Going back to the Archives where her husband still resided in, she opened the door and called out, “Josh, can we go back to the Inn now?”

“We just got here!” His head shot up with an offended look on his face.

“I wanted to do something with you, though.. I’m tired.” She pressed her face against the frame of the door.

“Renee.. I’ll meet you back there honey, I’m sorry this is all just very interesting.” He waved her off before taking out other files and books on the shelf.

A look of displeasure came across her as she shut the door and turned around. She started walking back to the B&B in the same way that they left. Hearing her shoes clack on the plaque once again, she stopped this time to examine in. She knelt down as she heard soft whispers of women called her name and almost begging her to lead the way. In confusion, she placed her ear closer to the plaque, hearing the continuous whispers. Bringing her head back up in a fright, she stared at the plaque. Something was off, she noticed a carving into it as she stared. It looked like.. Her name; Her full name. Pushing her bag off her shoulder, she brought her hand over her name to wipe off any dirt on it, pressing her hands into the stone she felt the winds around her pick up. It was like everything came down on her, a huge weight flying into her as she was pushed back onto the ground.

Everything was pitch black.

Slowly, the world around her was calm again, and much more quiet than before. She woke up on flat, dirt ground rather than cement. Did she faint? Why was she somewhere else, why couldn’t she remember walking elsewhere? Placing her palm over her forehead to try and ease the oncoming headache, she let out a soft groan before sitting up. “Josh..?” She silently called out. Turning her head in the distance of the shop he’d been in, she opened her eyes to see nothing there. Just empty land with tall grass occupying the spot. She looked to the left to see a large pillar of wood next to her. It was some kind of stand, she couldn’t make it out in the darkness, but a foul smell soon followed her discovery. Picking herself up from the ground, she stepped back to take a look around. There were light poles on each side of the sidewalks, with buildings that looked much older than what she’d just seen. Except Spirit Cove.

Not a person was in sight, only the light posts lit up the road. She slowly tread toward the weird store to try to figure out what was wrong.

Crayons

 

[Crayons]

Young John Jasper, thief and jailbreaker, loved by many for his flagrant disregard for law and propeity both, notorious for his boasting, admired for his skill, hung limply from the rope. Only small pools of light from the oil-lamps illuminated Tyburn on this dark and cloudy night. The moon struggled to peep through the clouds, but cast only a faint glow, not much to see by. This suited the two men in their furtive act. Leyton and Pat, both dressed in black, crept up to the gallows, accompanied by the faint creak as the last body still left hanging swung to and fro.

Usually, the family would take the body down – should the executed criminal still have any relatives who wished to claim them. John Jasper had none, despite his many fairweather friends, and Pat had decided it was their duty, as fellow thieves, to cut John’s body down and get it buried. Leyton had argued. Stealing corpses was a crime, the night watch patrolled the city; it was unnecessary risk. It had nothing to do with them. But he saw Pat’s face screw itself into a contemptuous frown. Leyton knew what he would say: Him and John were both from the same cruel streets, Leyton couldn’t understand the brotherhood of the common urchin, too high-brow to know what it was like to grow up in puddles of piss, like he and John had. It seemed excessive to Leyton, but Pat was his partner. He would hardly let him go alone to do the deed.

So they slunk like foxes around the carrion. Soft-soled boots let them step up onto the scaffold silently. Pat held the weight of John Jasper’s slight body, while Leyton raised a blackened knife to the rope. He sawed through it, it was tough, this hanging rope. Nobody wanted it to snap, especially before the condemned was fully dead. The body slumped onto Pat’s shoulders, which sagged a little under the weight. Before they made a break for the shadows of the buildings, Leyton took one last glance around, checking for watchmen, and saw –

-- a woman fall from nowhere, onto the ground. He held up a hand to stop Pat moving. Both sets of eyes rested on the woman’s form, as she began to pick herself up from the ground. Leyton pressed himself against one of the “Three Legged-Mare’s” solid wooden supports. “Did she see us?” Pat’s rasping whisper was close to his ear. “Perhaps,” Leyton replied, his eyes on the woman. She was retreating, but not running. Who knew whether she had seen them or not? Or how long she had been there. Leyton knew he had seen her fall from “nowhere” but that hardly seemed likely. She was probably watching all along. “Take John to the horses, I’ll deal with her.”

Quick and quiet as a cat, Leyton scurried along the edge of the street. The woman hadn’t got far, she was walking slowly and cautiously it seemed. He caught up with her easily. From behind, a leather-gloved hand was clapped over the woman’s mouth, and something poked between her shoulder blades. The arm that clasped onto her was strong and wiry. A man’s voice was close by her ear. “Come quietly and you’ll live, Miss,” he said. The threat in his voice was very real, and as deadly as the weapon at her back.

iMeisaki

 

[iMeisaki]

Spirit Cove seemed to be the answer, if the building Josh residing in was seemingly missing, might as well ask what in the world was happening to the shop next door. Where the hell were her things? 'Shit,' She remembered leaving it next to her on the ground while investigating the insignia. Whilst remembering that she'd left her bag behind, she was just about to turn around to retrieve it before she was immediately stopped by a harsh and heavy hand with something almost jabbing at her back. A low gasp escaped her lips before her mouth was covered and she was instructed to do as this man said. There's been too many movies and real life instances Renee watched to make her compliant. When someone would make a scene in this type of instance, it always escalated the situation into something worse that made it regrettable. It was better to just follow orders, and Josh was in the area, he would be able to fix things... Right?

In seconds her heart rate spiked, all of the cliche questions filling in her head like an unexpected tsunami. Who is this man, why is he doing this, where is he going to take me, why isn't there anyone here to help me? Is anyone going to help me? The girl broke into a cold sweat, feeling the sharp object prod at her back and practically herd her like she was a sheep, she held her hands up in a surrender. A small nod of compliance was given to the unknown man as she slowly placed her arms at her side. Her eyes glanced over in a wide manner, it was fearfully dark out, only seeing dim light posts in the distance that only gave a foot of lighting around it. In the distance, all of thee buildings she remembered passing by, either looked different or ceased to exist. The only noticeable remark was the sound of their footsteps was the only noise in the area. Was everyone really asleep? Why did it seem like such a ghost town?

It was only a matter of time until the girl was escorted. The entire time they walked, Renee was silently panicking, she wanted to run, or scream, or fight back. The man's grip from before was a heavy reminder that she stood no chance with any of those options. Taking another look at the spot she'd woken up from, she spotted her purse just laying there. Upon further inspection, the area she landed in was frightening. Seeing the area where people were hung, such a sight was interesting and horrifying, but what shocked her was the lack of existence moments before. She gasped again at the discovery in terror, quietly hyperventilating. Nothing made sense, why was everything different? Placing her hand over her mouth, she pointed to her purse, "That's mine." If showing this man her purse was an option to let him leave her alone, then maybe a sacrifice like this was worth it.

Once she was taken to her bag, she yanked it from the ground and hugged it close to her chest, "Please, I'll give you whatever money you want, I just need my identity." She whispered, looking up at the masked man, "I have no idea where I am but if you help me, I'll forget about this and give you a reward a-and we can go on about our lives!" The girl was hopeful, peaking around the man to study the structure that resided in front of her, she kept her grip tight around the purse.

 

[Crayons]

The woman tensed beneath his hand, not daring to move. He could sense her fear. It wasn’t that he took pleasure from it, but more that it was a necessary evil. Fear kept her compliant, and therefore safe. He dragged her out of the road into the shadows of the buildings by the side of it. “I need to have your word, Miss. If I take my hand away you will not scream or run. My pistol is still at your back. Remember that.” Unbeknownst to his victim, the pistol was not loaded on this occasion, when their presence here demanded stealth above all, but it was a useful persuasion nevertheless.

Once she had nodded her assent, the leather gloved hand moved away from her mouth, and the barrel of the gun was removed from being pressed between her shoulder blades. “Come with me.” The man stepped in front of her, still cloaked by shadows. A three cornered hat was on his head, shading his face. He wore a high collared coat, and nothing but his eyes was visible on his face. In his hand, the flintlock pistol glinted in the lamplight as he brandished it. He took hold of her by the arm to lead her off. “That’s mine,” he heard her whisper, and he frowned, turning towards her, ready to remind her that she had promised silence. But his eyes were caught by the bag, lying in the street, something spilling out from it that seemed to catch the lamplight. Why leave that for some other thief?

Greed compelled him to take the risk, and the two went to retrieve the handbag in a flash before Leyton pulled the girl once again into the shadows. This time, he moved more quickly. The longer they stayed, the greater the risk. Into an alleyway, and back to Pat and their horses, then they would be away and neither watchman nor Bow Street Runner would catch them. The woman, however, seemed to want to keep talking. He stopped, looked her in the face. A pretty girl, young, he would say, maybe no more than twenty-one. Definitely no woman of the streets – a harsh life had not left a mark on her, yet the way she was dressed didn’t speak of nobility either. In fact, it was downright peculiar. “I’m afraid not, Miss. You won’t be giving; I will be taking, if it please you. Now stay quiet if you wish to ever speak again.”

He took hold of her again, reinforcing his request for silence with the pistol once more, as he prodded her down the darkened alleyways that ran, maze-like, through the city. It was a relief to see Pat and the horses, John Jasper’s body draped over one, while Pat held both the reins. “What are you doing?” Pat asked in a harsh whisper as Leyton approached with the woman. This man was smaller than the one who held her, dressed similarly in a three cornered hat and dark clothes, but he had pulled down the bandana in front of his face which was craggy and stubbled. His eyes were narrowed in suspicion under dark brows, and his mouth twisted in disgust as he looked Renee up and down. He grabbed for the handbag, wrenching it from Renee’s grip. “Let him take it,” Leyton suggested, “if there’s anything in there that’s worth nothing to us, you’ll have it returned to you, on my oath. But for now, hurry! Onto the horse!”

 

[iMeisaki]

Unfortunately, and obviously, the man didn't seem willing with her offer and instead would do as he pleased. Not another word would come out of her mouth due to his threat and weapon against her, instead a hard, painful gulp ran down her throat as she was herded down the familiarly unfamiliar alleys and streets. Her mind kept remembering some of the paths they took, as if she'd taken them before, but other areas where it seemed certain buildings were supposed to be were lacking. Being hopeless and useless weighed in on the woman, hating the idea of having to do as told in order to live. What a story this'll be when Josh finds her. Keeping her head down and her bag to her chest, she gave thought to her captor's appearance, his hat looked historical, the mask seemed old but she couldn't tell in the darkness. Was it some sort of costume he was wearing to conceal his identity? It wasn't a very good one, no one wears that type of outfit, he'll easily be identifiable! Part of her regained confidence, no one would just let some man in a giddy historical outfit just kidnap a woman in the middle of the night.

Trudging along the path, she gazed around the side walks. To her surprise, she realized that no cars or bikes were parked. The streets were empty, had something happened? Why wasn't there any vehicles, if everyone is sleeping, surely their cars would be parked outside...? The dry dirt on the path kicked up as her pace started picking up. In the distance she could see two horses, one occupied by a man and.. An unconscious body. As her own body stiffened up just like the one she approached, her thoughts were broken by the man's hoarse voice in front of her. Wide eyed she stared at the frightening man once he pulled his bandanna down. As he ripped the bag out of her hands, she was reluctant at first, practically almost stumbling forward once he managed to take it from her. Before she could open her mouth to object, the other man that'd be escorting her chimed in and practically reassured her that she'd receive her items back, if they didn't find any value in it.

Hopefully an iPhone X wouldn't strike their interests since a new one came out months ago, she tried to think of what important items could be valuable other than her phone and money. Giving a thought to it, she'd been interrupted to get on the man's horse. Having never ride a horse before, she gave the man a confused look before struggling to get on. It was an amusing sight, she looked like a child kicking her legs in the air as she pulled herself up on the horse. She was finally able to stabilize herself and sat uncomfortably, waiting for the other man to get on.

The trip was a blur, all she remembered was feeling nauseous from riding a horse for the first time and that this is how she's being taken- by horse. The girl closed her eyes for most of the trip to not get dizzy or throw up, only clenching on to the sides of the saddle as the horse galloped. Then, the horse came to a halt and she slowly opened her eyes in distress to await further instruction. Upon opening her eyes, it was even darker than before, the only lighting coming from the men's lanterns. 'Oh god they're going to kill me and bury me in the forest.' Her whole body was stiff as the dead one laying on the man's horse.

I'm next.

 

[Crayons]

When it seemed she was unable to get onto the horse herself, Leyton swung himself up into the saddle in an easy, practised motion, and scooped her up in front of him – more to save her further embarrassment than anything. “We are in a most particular hurry,” he said to her by way of an apology of sorts for manhandling her onto the horse. He took the reins and they were quickly off, galloping away from the city with its myriad lights and prying eyes. Leyton’s eyes were mainly on the road ahead, though sometimes he turned and looked behind, and very occasionally, he glanced at the girl. Her eyes were closed, not wide open in terror. Perhaps she thought this was all a dream. He caught the glint of gold at the apex of her collarbones, a small cross that would also be relieved from her once they were well away from London. Jesus would not be coming to her aid tonight - that was for sure.

The night darkened as they left the city behind them and rode up the rutted highway to Finchley Common. Leyton and Pat knew this place better than most, and especially by night, so the darkness was more of a relief than an impediment. They slowed the horses when they came to a wood, and slipped between the trees in the faint moonlight. Pat drew alongside and tossed the handbag back to Leyton. As he put the strap crosswise over his body Pat spoke up, “A lot of strange shit in there, Captain. Money too, though.” He gave Renee a suspicious glance.

A little bit further on, they halted. Pat began manhandling the corpse from his horse. “Do you know where we are?” Leyton asked the girl. He dismounted, then helped her down, holding onto her arm with a firm grip. “I wouldn’t advise running. Worse men than us skulk around these parts, and not to mention the wolves, maybe a bear or two. Stay close to me.” There hadn’t been wolves or bears in the wild for at least a hundred years, but it didn’t hurt to lay things on a bit thick for her own safety. He tied up the horses then took up the dead man’s feet, and the two robbers carried the corpse a little way to a hole in the ground that had a lantern beside it. He expected Renee to accompany him, although there was no expectation that she would need to participate. As they approached, some figures appeared out of the darkness – a skinny young woman, a tall spindly youth and a ragged child. They didn’t say anything, but when Leyton and Pat put the body to rest in the makeshift grave, and picked up shovels to cover it, they helped to pile on the earth with their bare hands. It seemed as though Pat was going to hold a small, unconsecrated funeral with these waifish relatives of the deceased.

Leyton did not know John Jasper, nor did he feel he needed to stay for the eulogy, and he skulked into the shadows of the trees, ushering his prisoner with him. She did not need to hear what Pat was saying either. “His death wasn’t our handiwork, if that’s what you thought,” he said, almost as if to reassure her, before changing tack quite suddenly, “What were you doing out there by the Three Legged Mare tonight?”

 

[iMeisaki]

Practically being dragged off of the horse and gripped, she leaned away from the mystery man. She turned her head to the side and stared at the ground, quickly shaking her head, "No, I don't know where we are." After being lectured that worse ends would meet her if she ran off, it convinced the woman to hope so heavily that it'd be better not to try and run away. Once his grip from her released, she only held onto the reins of the horse and leaned against it, not moving an inch from her spot. The flat shoes on her feet were getting muddy very quickly, it gave an unsettling feeling to her since she enjoyed the pair she had on. In the distance, she watched the two men bury the body that'd been on the other horse's back. It wasn't a pretty sight to see, even with the lights being so dim, the body being so stiff and lifeless was more than enough imagery for the girl to be unsettled. Once the two finished, she noticed others join this makeshift funeral, why did they bury the body here? Why not an actual graveyard? Being absolutely clueless as to what this person actually did made the girl wonder and question everything around her.

The thoughts of this funeral were stopped once she'd been pulled along by the mystery man once again to a different part of this forest. Her brow furrowed as he explained himself to her. Odd... A man who robs her and kidnaps her was explaining himself? She crossed her arms and looked back at the funeral taking place before glancing back at the man, his question directing toward her, "The Three- Legged What? I was at the Tyburn Tree memorial plaque," The girl could recall it so vividly, one moment she was kneeling at the ground touching the plaque, the next she'd been to the fowl smell of a decaying body. "Why are you asking? It doesn't seem important to know if you're kidnapping me." A scowl appearing upon her face, if they were going to kill her, then might as well act a bit comfortably instead of giving them the satisfaction of her feeling helpless and complaining the entire time.

The people apart of the funeral didn't seem to give a damn who this woman was, only focusing on the body buried in the ground. The threats from the mystery man were enough to make her worried, but partially happy for now that nothing worse has happened yet. Who knows, maybe after they rob her, they'll ditch her in the middle of nowhere. Keeping her arms crossed, she spoke up again, "I would ask why you were there, but it seems redundant now since you're burying it." She turned slightly to look at the partakers at the funeral all had their heads down, I guess that person was special, whoever they were.

"Will you be burying me alongside them as well?" A cautious whisper escaped her lips as she felt anger that she didn't know exactly what her fate was.

 

[Crayons]

The woman had no idea where they were. “Good,” he replied. The less she knew, the less she could tell anyone who came asking. If he was going to hang, he would rather it would be for something a little more glamorous than bodysnatching.

Once his part in the proceedings was finished and he was able to take the woman aside, her answer was not what he was expecting, if he had been expecting anything. “Aye, the Tyburn Tree – we call it the Three Legged Mare on account of it’s three wooden legs.” He had no idea about the memorial plaque. “Who would want to be memorialized at Tyburn?” he answered, a slight hint of humour in his voice. Once she asked her next question, Leyton thought for a moment before replying, “You’re not from around here, are you, Miss? If I’m not mistaken, that’s an American accent.” He paused for her to confirm or deny before continuing. “On the contrary, it’s important to know a great deal about a person one kidnaps. What they might have seen, what they might be worth, who they might be, how they might have appeared from thin air in the middle of the night at just the moment two gentleman were carrying out a delicate operation.”

That last part might have made him look insane, but he couldn’t deny what he thought he had seen. One moment there was nobody around, the next – this American woman, strangely clad and out of place. “I am aware that it is customary to introduce oneself first, but I am at this moment incognito,” he said, placing a gloved hand onto the bandana that covered his face. “What is your name?”

Leyton gave a short snort of a laugh, when the woman mentioned that she needn’t ask about his reasons to be sneaking around Tyburn in the middle of the night. “Very astute. A friend of my partner’s,” he said, following her gaze towards the funeral. The youth and the young woman crossed themselves.

“Now, if I were going to kill you, it really wouldn’t be worth asking you questions.” If he had had nay choice, he wouldn’t have taken her along to the funeral, but necessity made strange bedfellows. If he was honest with himself, his questions were as much out of curiosity as any practical matters. That, and treating her like a person rather than a baggage item would ideally calm her a little and make her more tractable on the way home.