Chapter Text
It was another long day on the trail, and America knew that they should take a break for the evening. He gathered the people that he was guiding out west and they all came to the same agreement that it would probably be best to do so.
He could hear the children running around playing in the large fields, but not straying too far away while the women were busy washing themselves or clothes down by the river. Some of the men, he knew went out to gather firewood for nighttime while others went to scout ahead to make sure it was safe.
However, America was not really thinking about that for the most part. His mind kept wondering off, thinking about how sad Alice had been for the past couple of weeks. Her bright green eyes had dimmed with each pasting day, she hardly ever smiled or laughed and it truly bothered the young cowboy.
It had all started when she got that letter when they had stopped at the last town to restock their supplies. He often wondered what was in that letter to cause the poor young woman to become so depressed, but he knew it was none of his business to know. He did know however that he wanted to make her happy again.
Later that night, everyone had gathered around the campfire. Some sang and dance, while others ate or watched. The rest and the happiness in the air was welcoming to the group after traveling for so long. America sat next to Alice; she still seemed down despite the cheer.
“Hey, Alice?” America tried to get her attention.
“Yes Alfred? Do you need something?” Alice looked up; she had not spoken to the young cowboy since their last stop at a town. She missed speaking to him, but lately she did not have the energy to do so.
Nodding his head, America grabbed her hand gently. “Yeah, I wanted to show you something.” standing up, America helped the woman up onto her feet. He began walking away from the group with Alice in tow, never letting go of her hand.
“Alfred, where are we going? We shouldn’t go off to far on our own.” There was concern in Alice’s voice as she asked him her question. She trusted Alfred, really she did, but for him to lead her away from the rest of the group was not something he would normally do, and it worried her.
“I found something real neat that I reckon you might like.” He said with a smile, hoping to ease her fears, he wanted to make her happy, not scare her. He took them quite the distance away before stopping. There was a cool breeze in the warm air, while bright shining stars filled the night sky, the moon lighting their path.
“Okay, wait right here now, I’ll be right back.” He told her, after she nodded her head, America ran to a near by large rock. Reaching under it, he grabbed something. He hoped this would make the young woman happy. Getting back to Alice, he took her hands and placed something wrapped up in cloth in them. “Go on Alice, it’s for you, open it.” He told her.
Alice looked at America then at the cloth, it seemed to be of fine silk material, she had never seen such cloth before, and it felt so soft to touch. She slowly and carefully unfolded the soft cloth, revealing a small silver necklace. Her green eyes widen with surprise as she let out a small gasp.
America smiled, though he was nervous. He couldn’t tell if she was happy or not, though he hoped she was, he couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing her smiling face, or her bright green eyes shine with happiness again.
“A-Alfred? Where on earth did you get this?” Alice questioned, taking her eyes off the necklace to look at the young cowboy. It was such a beautiful necklace, it reminded her of the ones she use to hear about in stories of pirates and the stole treasures they would have on their grand ships when she was still a young child. But to find one out in the wild like this?
America rubbed the back of his head, smiling a bit sheepishly at her question. “Well, you can just say someone who was important to me when I was younger gave it to me.” He told her. England had given him many small treasures when he was growing up back then, ranging from dried pressed flowers in books to small jewels or coins.
Alice looked at him, she felt so grateful that Alfred did something so kind as to give her a piece of his childhood, something that Alfred treasured; he gave her something that she knew she could never have, could never treasure as much as he. She clutched the necklace in her hands, tears beginning to fill her eyes, a soft noise escaping her lips.
America blinked, that was not supposed to happen. When he heard the sound she made, he quickly drew her into a hug, holding her gently. He could hear her trying hard not cry and it broke his heart.
“Please Alice, please don’t cry.” He said softly, trying to calm the distress young woman. “I’m sorry, I really am, and I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“I-It’s not you Alfred dear, you didn’t make me cry.” Alice wiped her eyes with her free hand, while a hiccup left her lips; she pushed back and mostly left the comfortable hug she was in, though she let him have his arms around her.
“However I can’t accept your gift.” She looked at those blue eyes of his, that reminded her so much of the clear sky on a summer afternoon.
“Why not, don’t you like it?”
Alice bit her bottom lip and nodded. “I do, but it would be wrong of me to take such a precious thing from you like this, I wouldn‘t feel right.”
America stared at her with confusion; he saw no problem with her having the necklace. “What do you mean Alice?” He asked
In the past couple of weeks, Alice had been deciding her fate ever since she gotten that letter from her family, which was why she hadn’t been more sociable with the rest of her traveling companions like she use too. She too much to think about, and time was running out on her.
“Alfred, if I told you that I was going back to England, what would you say or do?” Alice asked timidly.
“I dunno, I guess I would be really sad if you did.” America answered, not liking where this was going. He was starting to get a clue to what had been on her mind. Alice wrapped her arms around Alfred and buried her face against his chest. She felt Alfred tighten his arms around, holding her tightly as if to say she could never leave. They stayed like this for a while, each in their own thoughts
Two days later, America guided the wagon train to a new town. They needed to restock their supplies and some of the traveling people wanted to send letters to their loved ones back east. While they did this, America went with Alice to find a wagon train headed back east. He wasn’t about to leave her to someone who would lead her to danger; he rather get shot then her getting hurt or worse.
When they found a wagon train, and they agreed to take Alice with them, America had to try to keep himself from crying, he had to be strong for her. After making sure she had enough supplies, America helped placed them on her small wagon.
It wouldn’t be for another day before she would be heading back to the east coast, so she wanted to spend some more time with the cowboy one last time. She moved and grabbed his hand, feeling how big and warm it was against her smaller one. They walked side by side, looking through the shops one last time. The sun had already begun set by the time the two of them began to tire out.
Alice was sitting down on a blanket while Alfred dozed off with his head lying down on her lap. She hummed the tunes of the songs she learned while petting the American’s hair, currently amusing herself with the cowlick that refused to stay down, no matter how many times she flatten it.
It was times like these that she wished Alfred could come back with her. At first, she was confused when he told why he couldn’t come when she had first asked him. However, the more that she thought about it, the more it made sense.
This place was where he was from, where he worked and played, made memories, may they be good or bad. This was his home, where the field stretched as far as the eyes could see, where he helped those getting across the mighty untamed wilderness. This place needed him, and he needed it.
Alice smiled down at the brave, young man. He had stolen her heart during their travels; she would always treasure the memories of him for as long as she lived. Leaning down, Alice placed a quick kiss on his forehead. She watched as he smiled in his sleep, which made her heart flutter with joy.
She placed her hand on the necklace he gave her a few days ago. He had convinced her to keep it, he had told her that she needed to have it, and so that way she would always have something to remember him by. He didn’t want her to forget about or her time spent with him. The silly cowboy, she knew no one could ever forget such a sweet man, even if they tried.