The Course of True Love - Book l

Guarma - A Kind and Benevolent Despot

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away

The other night dear, as I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you in my arms
But when I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
So I hung my head and I cried.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away

Minnie hummed the heartfelt tune as she stared at the ceiling of her cell, tapping her fingertips against her stomach as she lay on her back, crossing her feet at her ankles. Looking over at the wall, she had been counting the days by etching a slight mark into the structure, a mark so faint but so obscene that only she could recognize. "Two weeks?" She scoffed to herself as she found it hard to believe. Hearing commotion, she turned her head to the right, her gaze slowly looking towards the iron bars, seeing Andrew Milton standing before her, plastering a smug grin on his face as he seemed to be more than pleased to see her on the other side of bars.

"Minnie Barlow," He chuckled. "'Bout time we got you where you belong."

"It wasn't easy, that's for sure," She scoffed. "How many times have you tried to catch me again?"

"That doesn't matter. What does matter is you're right where you belong. Now that seeing you have nowhere else to go, you might as well talk. Fess up, have the chance of feeling relieved that you can be honest for once."

She smirked in disbelief before sitting up on her cot, swinging her legs over the iron frame as her bare feet met the cold stone floor as she walked to face Milton with only the iron bars keeping them separated. "I don't got anything to say."

"Where's Van der Linde?"

"How am I supposed to know? Ain't that your job?"

"Minnie, I'm not in the mood for your smart mouth," He warned with a heaved sigh. "Where is he?"

"I don't know. It's obvious that we haven't been in contact for a couple weeks."

"They escaped Saint Denis-"

"No shit."

"-And we believe they got on a boat and fled to South America."

"Okay?" She raised a brow. "I don't care about your speculations."

"That so? Well, let's just bring in some extra motivation for you to talk." Milton nodded at her before motioning his head to the right. Minnie glanced across the hall at John, who had been standing at his iron bars, his knuckles white as he had seen who had been escorted down the hall by two guards - Ryder and Sob.

"You son of a bitch." John grumbled at Milton, shaking his head.

"That may be, boy, but I'm just doing my job. When I can't do something, I call my reinforcements," He opened his arms as he watched the guard unlock Minnie's cell, pleased at how white her face became at the sight of being cornered by two of her former gang members. Sob licked his lips as he rubbed his hands together, eager to get his hands on her in revenge for the embarrassment she had left him. "Last chance, Barlow, you can easily tell me now or tell me after my friends here make you."

She held a sharp gaze upon him, mocking him almost, letting him know that no matter how much he had threatened her and sent people to beat her and possibly kill her, he wasn't intimidating her at all. She reminded him of a raging bull who stood in the pasture like a show calf but turned into an untamed monster once a threat entered the pasture. Keeping his intense stare into hers, he gave the command for Ryder and Sob to enter her cell and proceed to the task he had assigned them. Sob grunted as he gripped Minnie harshly by the back of the head, her hair tangling between his thick fingers as his other hand gripped both of her wrists, pressing them hard against the small of her back as he pushed her into the iron bars, pinning her. "I ain't waitin' no more." Sob whispered against her head as he referred to the comment she had made to him when they had fought in the mess hall. She groaned as he thudded her head against the iron bars, pleased at her pants of pain as her temple had immediately turned red. "Where's Van der Linde?" Milton continued to question.