Anne's POV

Anne woke up to the sound of a horse chewing. She opened her eyes. Where was she? Her heart beat fast as she sat up and looked around. 

Several children lay around her sleeping. Had they been sleeping here all day? The last thing she could remember was Andrew coming back with the rest of the children. Then, he laid down in the middle of the stable, placing his body between them and the door.

Anne stood and saw that he wasn't there any more. Did he leave them? If he did, she wouldn't blame him. The children weren't his responsibility, they were hers. Why should he care? 

But she would never leave the children. She didn't want them to feel like she had when she was younger. Alone and afraid.

Anne stretched and looked around. She had to find food and water for the children. 

Did no one notice they were here all day, or did the owner of  the stable know they were here?

Anne started counting the sleeping children. Forty-seven. Where were the other five children?

Her heart began to pound. Did someone kidnap them? Did Arthur find them? But then why would he only take five?

Jack sat up and rubbed his eyes. "What's wrong, Anne?"

"Five children are missing."

"What? How many did you count?"

"Forty-seven."

Relief spread over Jack's face. "The other five are with Mrs. Wilson. Remember? The woman from the bakery."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Do you need anything?"

"No, you can go back to sleep."

She could do this. She could take care of these children. She didn't need Andrew. She didn't need anyone. She never had and she never will. She had become too dependent on Andrew, and now he was gone. It was a good lesson for her. She was foolish to think he would stay. She-

"Is anyone hungry? We brought some bread and cheese."

A woman stood at the entrance of the stable holding a basket full of bread. Behind her stood five more women.

They came in and started handing out food to the children who were awake. Coming in behind them was a man carrying a large basket.

Andrew.

The air rushed into her lungs. Andrew didn't leave them!

Anne stood back and watched the children get the food. 

"Anne." Andrew motioned  to her to come to him. 

She moved through the sea of children and made her way to Andrew.

"Anne, these are friends of Mrs. Wilson. They want to help us by taking in some of the children."

"Oh." Anne nodded and smiled as they introduced themselves to her. 

Andrew pulled he to the side. "Do you know which children are orphans? One of the women wants to adopt a few of them."'

"I'll ask Jack and Rose."

She found Jack.

"Jack, do you know which of the children are orphans?"

"Why?"

"There is a woman here who wants to adopt some of them, but we won't let her take them if they don't want to go."

"Okay."

"Which ones are the orphans?"

"This is Ian. That is Hailey. Over there is Chris. This is Gabby and Garrett, they're brother and sister. And that is Toby, Lainey, and Taylor. Over there is Justin."

"That's it? Only nine?"

"I'm also an orphan." Jack crossed his arms over his chest.

"And Rose?"

"Her mother lives near the orphanage."

"I would like to take all of the orphans," Anne heart the woman say to Andrew.

Andrew's gaze met hers.

"I have a large house." The woman's eyes pleaded. 

Jack talked to each of the children, asking them if they wanted to go with the woman. The children all agreed to go and they all started walking out of the stable. Jack watched them go.

"You are going with her too, Jack," Andrew said.

The woman turned and looked at Jack.

"Go on, Jack." Anne motioned for him to go.

"I don't want to go."

"Why not?"

"She doesn't want me. I'm too old. People only want young children and babies."

"That's not true! And you're not that old. You have to go or... you will hurt her feelings."

"Come on." The woman's expression was gentle and inviting. "It's Jack, right? You can be my helper. Come on Jack. If you don't like our home, you can come back."

"Yes, Jack! Come on!" Some of the younger children began to say.

Jack started walking to them.

Rose was staring after him now. Jack turned and saw her. He ran back to her and they threw their arms around each other. They whispered something to each other, then Jack followed the rest of the children out of the stable.

After all of the other women left, it was just Anne, Andrew, Mrs. Wilson, and six children left in the stable. Mrs. Wilson agreed to take the rest back to her house.

"What are you going to do now?" Mrs. Wilson asked Andrew.

"I'm going to buy a horse and ride to Dawnridge and get some help from my father. Then, I'll go back to Pinecrest and arrest Arthur and anyone else who was involved in his scheme."

"When?" Mrs. Wilson asked.

"Right now if you will sell me a horse." He gave her a smile, but there was something strange about Andrew's appearance. His cheeks were flushed, but the rest of his face was pale. 

"I'll let you borrow a horse." 

"I want to pay for the horse. I don't know if I will be able to bring it back to you."

"Okay."

"I'm going too." Anne took a step forward.

"No, you're staying here to help look after the children."

"You can't ride for two or three days when you've barely had any sleep."

"I slept today."

"For how long?"

"For a few hours."

"Probably less than three."

Mrs. Wilson spoke up. "It won't do the children any good if you fall off and break your neck. You need to sleep before you go."

"You two are worse than my mother."

Mrs. Wilson put her hands on her hips. "I raised three boys and I know how stubborn you all are. If you really think about it, you'll see we're right."

"She's right," Anne said. "It's smart to sleep first, and also smart to take me in case you have any trouble."

"No." Andrew shook his head. "You are not coming with me."

"Why not? You need me in case something happens to you."

"What could happen to me?"

"You could get attacked by robbers. Or you can fall in a ditch. Or your horse can break a leg."

"It's true," Mrs. Wilson added. "You can't help it if your horse steps in a hole and breaks its keg. It happened to my brother-in-law. He had to walk for days."

"You also need to let a doctor look at your wounds."

"He has wounds?"

"Yes. On his arm and chest."

"I'll take him to the doctor right now. And-"

"I'm okay. I don't need a doctor."

"Nonsense. It can't hurt to let her look at you. Come on."

"Fine. But we are wasting time."

Mrs. Wilson looked at Anne. "I'll be back soon for the children." She pulled Andrew out of the stable.

Anne sat on the floor with the children who were left. They talked with Anne as they ate the rest of their food. They also seemed less afraid. They even smiled. Anne felt better too, but they weren't out of danger yet. Arthur was still out there looking for them.

She didn't want to scare the children, so she put a smile on her face.

After about an hour, Andrew appeared in the doorway with Mrs. Wilson. Anne quickly read their faces. Andrew's face was smiling, but Mrs. Wilson's was frowning. 

"It's a good thing you mention Andrew's wounds, Anne," Mrs. Wilson said. "The doctor saw the beginning of infection in his arm, and possibly on his chest. But don't worry, the doctor is making some ointment. She said it would be ready by the time it gets dark. He'll be okay."

"Should he stay more than one night? So he could rest and heal?"

Andrew folded his arms across his chest. "You are making too much of a fuss. I can ride in the morning."

Mrs. Wilson shrugged her shoulders. "He won't listen." She turned to the children. "Come on. You help me make some dessert."

The children all followed after Mrs. Wilson. 

Anne and Andrew were left alone in the stable. the first time they'd been alone in days. Andrew turned and sat down on a bale of hay. 

After a couple of minutes of silence, Anne asked, "Why do you not want me to go with you?"

"So you can look after the children."

"You already found women to look after them. Obviously you don't want me to go with you. Why?"

"It's going to be difficult, Annie."

"I know that. I still want to come."

"Why?"

She looked away and shrugged. "I want to make sure you get to Dawnridge. And with the two of us, it's more likely we'll arrive without being stopped by Arthur's men or... robbers."

She looked back at Andrew. He was silent for a moment. "I guess I should buy you a horse then."

Was he agreeing?

"I met a horse seller earlier. I will be back in half an hour."

Before she could reply, he was out the door.

Why did he call her Annie a couple minutes ago? And then, the way he looked at her when she said she wanted to go with him. It felt so... close, as if he was feeling the same feeling she was. 

Her heart fluttered, but this time in fear that Andrew might think she loved him. She didn't love him. Did she? She hoped not. He couldn't possibly... How could it work out if...? Where would they live? What would they do to support themselves?

She was being silly. Of course he didn't love her. Maybe she should let him go alone to Dawnridge and put some distance between the,. But her argument had been true. Anything could happen. And the two of them would more likely reach Dawnridge if they traveled together  than I'd he went alone. Fear filled her stomach.

She cared for him, and it was terrifying.

A/N: This chapter took the longest time for me to write. When I first started writing it, I was over an hour and a half in, over a thousand words, and I pressed something that deleted the whole thing.

Lesson learned. Write on docs or something so your draft saves.

I finally finished it three days after the incident. It's not the same as the original chapter, personally I think the first chapter was better and longer than this, but it'll have to do. I hope you enjoyed it!

Also, what do you think about Andrew calling Anne 'Annie'?

And... what do you think is going to happen next?