Chapter Text
Prologue
Fairview, Takodana.
Wednesday, 6th of April 1886
It must have been around noon.
The sun was high, and the sky was bright blue. It was pleasantly warm, although colder than usual for the time of year.
Spring was just around the corner, bright green buds and early bloomers bringing color to what had been a very long, cold and gray winter. The promise of something that could only be described as hope hung in the air.
Obi had been standing on the front porch drinking his coffee when he had seen the young man ride in.
When the youngster had descended, and tethered his horse to the nearby fence, his attention had immediately been drawn to the big black stallion that was separated from the others.
It was a wild Mustang, one that had accidentally arrived on Heaven’s Peak property. From the looks of it, it was still a young animal. After finding it trapped in barbed wire, Obi and his men also discovered it had a very nasty wound on it’s flank. It had taken quite the effort to untangle the horse, but eventually they had gotten it freed from the wire. So far, they hadn’t been able to go near it enough to treat it, but Obi refused to put the horse down just yet. Too much potential.
While Obi had stepped out onto the porch steps, the young man had approached the fence.
Obi watched silently.
The young man did nothing spectacular. He merely approached the fence and stood still. His mouth seemed to move but otherwise nothing.
The horse stopped running around and turned to look at him.
It reared on its hind legs and whinnied, pawed the ground and snorted.
But after about a minute or two, the animal seemed to calm down.
A few snorts, a few soft whinnies and a heaving chest, but otherwise a docile horse. It even walked up to the fence and pushed his nose in the young man’s hand.
Obi was stunned.
In all the years he had been a rancher, he’d never seen anything like it.
The young man must be something special. At the very least, he had a way with horses.
He turned and walked in the direction of the house.
The stallion remained where he was.
As the young man approached the house, Obi came down to stand halfway up the steps.
“Goodafternoon Sir.” The man nodded politely and took his hat off. “I’m looking for the owner of this ranch.”
Obi watched him closely and after a moment’s silence said: “That would be me. Name’s Ben Kenobi. Friends call me Obi.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mr Kenobi. My name is Ben Solo.” He said sheepishly as he nodded.
“I was wondering…” The young man seemed embarrassed.
“You wouldn’t happen to be hiring, Sir?” he asked. There was a strange mixture of hope and apprehension in the youngster’s eyes.
Obi’s guess was that the boy had already been greeted with no’s left and right.
It had been a rough winter. Most people had lost a lot of their stock. Cattle dead, crops destroyed, even some houses had been crushed by the ongoing snowstorms.
The silence continued, but the young man waited patiently.
Obi studied him some more.
He was young, probably about twenty years old. He was broad through the shoulders, but not from working hard. Soft hands, but with obvious strength in them. Sharp whiskey colored eyes that missed nothing, intelligence radiating from them. A handsome face and a commanding physique. Good manners. But still…
There was an edge to him, the type of determination and grit that could get someone wherever and whatever they wanted.
His guess was that the kid was a runaway, trying to escape expectations and finding his own way in the world.
“Nope.” Obi simply said, taking a sip from his mug.
Defeat shone in the young man’s eyes.
Ben smiled a little ruefully, nodded and said: “Very well, Sir. Thank you for your time.”
The kid put his hat back on his head and started to turn when Obi’s rusty voice rang.
“What’s wrong with my horse?”
Ben turned back and looked at him.
“Excuse me, Sir?”
The youngster looked confused.
“I asked you what’s wrong with my horse?”
He watched as the young man swallowed hard.
“Nothin’, Sir. Just scared and in a lotta pain. He knows he’s safe now, though.”
“Hmm”, Obi harrumphed. He cocked his head and studied the man.
“Where you from, son?”
He saw Ben’s face grow tight, his mouth taking on a grim line for a second or two.
“I’m originally from back east, but I’ve been around.”
That made Obi smile. Cityslickers weren’t that uncommon around these parts. In fact, they could be found in any town around. Blame it on the gold rush. Most of them didn’t stick around though. They often had this romanticized vision of the Wild West and life in the open.
Most of them however, discovered very quickly that life on the land was rough. Ranching was difficult, farming was tough and life was harsh for most. Mining for silver and gold and copper was difficult enough, but Obi had never relied on such a fickle trade. One day you got lucky, and most days you didn’t. He understood the appeal, but it wasn’t good for raising a family and living a decent life. Besides, too many cityslickers were too soft for this kind of lifestyle.
This kid however, seemed to be made of sterner stuff.
“Fair enough, Mr Solo.” Obi nodded.
“I believe you have travelled a long way.” His eyes narrowed at the young man. “Perhaps you would care to stay for a while and enjoy a meal with me and my daughter before continuing your journey?”
Surprise marred Ben’s face. Quickly followed by eagerness, pride and caution.
When Obi was almost certain he was going to refuse, the kid surprised him.
“Thank you, Sir. I would be honored.”
Obi once again nodded.
“Very well.” He took a last sip of his coffee, put the mug on the wide porch rail and stepped down the rest of the steps.
“Come along, Mr Solo. I’ll introduce you to my daughter and then we can discuss business over some refreshments.”
“Yes, Sir.” Ben said and fell into step with the rancher.
Things seemed to be looking up for the first time in a long time…