My Prince- Dutch Vander Linde Love Story

Dutch Vander Linde

"And they all lived happily ever after."  I whispered to my sister.  She had fallen asleep listening to another story I had to make up.  She was laying on the cot in our tent under a numerous amount of blankets.  Even though she had fallen asleep at the beginning of the story I felt the need to finish it.  Colm was waiting outside.  He promised to let me put my sister to sleep, then when the story was over I was to meet him outside. 

I got up and peaked out of the canvas of the tent.  He was standing right outside, his cigarette hanging out of his mouth.  He held his arm out for me and I took it.  It was freezing outside and the wind whipped around my dress.  Colm had robbed a house and stole some clothes for my sister and I.  We were north now, farther north than I had ever been.  The only reason I knew that was because of the amount of snow we constantly saw.  The past week or so has had the most snow.  So much snow that we were stuck in an old mine.  Colm decided to sit and wait for better weather.  Then we would head back down the mountain. 

In a more open area of the mine was the main campfire. Around most of the tents were pitched.  The men all looked at us as we arrived.  Most of their faces were new, it seemed like every week new members joined the gang.  Keiran was not there this time.

"Well boys, a couple more days and we should be out of this." Colm said as he sat on a log and pulled me down next to him.  "Couple more days and the storm will pass."    

    The other men all cheered, as if Colm was the one in charge of changing the weather.  While they chatted I looked around.  It was very late and very dark outside.  I could make out some very small buildings in the background.  Colm used his hand to turn my face back toward the fire. 

"Do you think those boys are done at the house?  Strange they haven't come back yet." One of the men asked from across the fire. 

Colm started to laugh.  I finally was able to smell the liquor coming off him.  This was to my advantage.  Whenever he drank he usually fell asleep quickly.  "Tomorrow a couple of you boys are coming with me.  We need to spot another place for camp.  The rest will stay here.  To protect this lovely lady"  Colm slurred and started to run a hand up my thigh.  The group around us cheered.  I stayed quiet.

    As the hours passed, it was hard for me to stay awake.  Between the cold and the dark or the calming warmth of the fire my eyes drifted.  The group of men kept waking me up.  One by one they either went to bed or fell asleep there right in the snow.  I was worried they would freeze to death but Colm was not worried.

"You're lucky.  You Know?"  He asked, I just kept looking into the fire.  "You're about to be a very rich woman."

"Why, Colm?" I humared him.  He obviously wanted me to act excited.  The truth was, I was once rich.  Yet, everything was taken from me by him.

"I'm going to rob a very rich man. On top of that, the boys found a nice little ranch a few miles north.  Tomorrow you and I are going up there."  He laughed.  He roughly grabbed my chin and turned in toward me.  He kissed me roughly.  His lips were chapped and he tasted like cigarette smoke and liquor. " I Have been very patient with you.  When we get to that cabin tomorrow.  You'll do as I say.  I would hate to see your sister suffer." 

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    Tattianna and I said in one of the broken down buildings.  Colm and his men were packing up camp.  I hated to think of where we were going and what he was going to do.  We watched as they packed the rest of our tent up and put in on a wagon with the others.  The weather had started to clear up. So we were thankful to be in the broken building.  It provided some shelter from the wind.

"Colm! Colm!"  A young man came running over to where Colm stood in the middle.  "Van Der Lindes' boys got us, at the house.  They burnt it down. "  He huffed, gasping for breath.