This next chapter is from Stella's perspective, but still in third person view is there's any confusion.
Stella galloped home on her horse letting her hair flow freely in the wind. Her eyes grew watery from the cold and rushing wind, but she didn't care. She got a six-thousand dollar reward for turning in a weirdo she ever even heard of. Stella came upon the path that led to her little brick and wooden cottage. Behind her cottage, there was another path to the small town of Ducklingville. It was in a deep part of the forest where not a lot of people go because of the amount of nettle weeds. Luckily, garden shears and plant poison is something Stella has ahold of.
"Good morning Ms. Stella! Did you have a good time at the palace?" Asked an old lady named Merida. "Everyone in the town is talking about you. Did you spend the night there? Your brother was worried when you didn't come home."
Stella came to a slow trot down the not so steep hill. "I didn't have a ton of fun. Being at the palace is strange nowadays. I got my payment though! Yes I did spend the night there because the queen insisted." Sella replied forgetting about her little brother Jack.
"Thats nice. You might want to get back to Jackie. He's in the shop. Have a sublime day!" Merida waved talking louder than she needed to. The old woman must have been going deaf.
Stella came up to speed again shortly reaching the tiny town and she parked her horse, Cisco, right outside her shop. The garden shop. "Jackie? You here, bud?"
There was a couple shuffling sounds and a small thud. "Owww. Grr..... I'm here." Jackie's small head popped up from behind the counter, slapping a few paper bags with seeds inside on the counter. "Why didn't you come back to the cottage?"
"Hey, so sorry. If you heard, I turned in a thug and got a few heavy stacks of money out of it. I might have seen his flyer somewhere, but they never draw his nose right, so I didn't notice it was him right away. It wasn't my intention to just leave you here. The queen wanted to connect with me again and try to convince me to become a parole officer again. She tried to convince me to keep eyes on this Flynn Rider dude I just turned in," Stella rambled as she went to the counter, slapped the flyer of Rider on it, then took off her cloak in slight disgust.
"How much money? Oh, and Joseph invited me over for dinner yesterday because I hung out with him after school and told him you never came back to the cottage so you might have been off somewhere important," Jackie rambled and after that took a nice long deep breath. He was only thirteen and he was in a phase where he would either be moody and unsocial, or extremely talkative and happy. Teenagers....
"Mkay, chatty!" Stella laughed. "It's seven thousand. I'm going to donate some to each of the shops."
"Cool! Can I see? Also, why do you always give to everyone?" Jack asked.
Stella tossed him a medium sized brown sack. She started to put her hair up. "I want to be as helpful as I can. I love Ducklingville," she took a short pause. "I don't really know I guess. You get to know everyone in a small town with a population of thirty or so people."
Jack giggled. "Did you bring back my donkey? I saw your note on his pen."
Stella stopped dead in the middle of tying her hair up. "Oh dear."
Jack stopped fiddling around with the money and shot her the most serious look he could make. He tried too hard and it looked like he ate a lemon. "You left my donkey at the palace?! Your like, seventeen! Even I'm responsible enough not to forget a donkey!"
"Hey, I'm eighteen! Ah, sorry! I'll head back and grab him." Stella hastily sputtered, and quickly tied up the rest of her hair. Coming to think of it, Stella thought, we never gave the donkey a name. He's always just been...donkey.
Stella waved bye and said she would be back soon. She ran out to Cisco and leaped on his back. "Go go!"
They trotted through a small portion of the town to get back up the isolated pathway on the hill that lead to the cottage. They came to a darting gallop as they reached the end of the town limits. Stella started muttering to herself things like "I'm so stupid," and so on. Voices started to grow from around a bend in the path. Stella came down to a trot again. As she turned the corner, she spots Flynn Rider conversing with a former friend of Stella's.
"...And yeah! I know you'll..." Flynn trailed off as he spotted Stella. He purposely smirked. "Hello there. I know you."
Stella scoffed and rolled her eyes. She felt like screaming. "Hey there, Rhodes. How did you get stuck with this one?" Stella knew Hunter Rhodes from working at the palace she recalled, ignoring Flynn's annoying smirk.
"Morning, Dane. We're having fun so far. Flynn here isn't so bad!" Emphasized Rhodes as he patted Flynn on the back. Flynn kept his smug smile going, but this time, added his annoyingly bright teeth along with it.
"Why are you going this way?" Stella questioned. "Nobody ever visits Ducklingville mostly because of all the stinging nettle."
"I told Hunter here about the Snuggly Duckling. I've been there once before and it was pretty awesome!" Flynn said speaking with his eyebrows for most of it.
"Ah I see. Don't run into any stinging nettle. I don't want to pull you guys out!" She said trying to hide the fact that she was dangerously angry. How in the world, did that criminal get on parole! I didn't think the king and queen would go through with it once they met Flynn, Stella thought through smiling teeth. She waved bye and started to walk past them on the narrow road.
"Hey, you said the Snuggly Duckling is on the way to Ducklingville, right? Didn't you say you used to live there? Aren't we staying at your mothers old house?" Flynn asked Rhodes, but he spoke it really loudly making sure Stella heard him.
Before she heard Rhodes answered, Stella broke into a sudden gallop. Her eyes filled up with tears but not from the wind this time. The person she despised the most, and yet she's only known him for not even twenty-four hours, was going to live in her town. Hunter's mother used to live in a small family cottage until she passed, but nobody ever moved in. Tears fell in large groups down her red cheeks. Was he just out to get her? Why can't she just live in peace again?
—-
Stella arrived at the bridge and came down to a trot once again. Her nose and cheeks were still red, but it wasn't enough to tell she had cried though. She rode through the downtown to the spot she tied up her brothers donkey. Sure enough, the dumb thing was just sitting there munching on an apple that a small boy was feeding it. The boy had another one in his hand.
"Hi there, mister!" Stella called to the boy as she got off her horse. "Thanks for taking care of my donkey!"
The boy looked up at her and scrambled to his feet. He did his best to smile politely with his hands placed at his side. "You're welcome, ma'am." The boy had dark brown hair and his body and clothes were dirty. He looked no older than six or seven.
Stella went to untie the donkey and she heard the boys stomach grumble. "What's your name, sir?" She asked.
"My name is Gabe. I'm at your service. I like your donkey, ma'am." He replied firmly. He tried so hard to be polite and it was more precious and cute than the donkey itself.
"Well, Gabe," Stella started. "Here is a few coins for your service. Why aren't you eating your apple?" She asked placing five coins in his hand.
"I'm at other peoples... or donkeys...service. Others come before myself, miss. That's what my momma told me." He said optimistically and nodding his head.
"Well, I've got food all ready for this guy back at home. Why don't you take that apple for yourself. You deserve a treat for being such a kind hearted man." She said softly getting down on her knee to talk to him.
He gave Stella a huge toothy smile and shook her hand. "What is your donkey's name? I want to say goodbye."
"He actually doesn't have a name. Why don't you give him one?" Stella responded, then got up to tie him to her horse.
"Jaquilsis!" Gabe shouted. "It's a great name! I'm going to go home now because my mom works at a shop. I help in the shop. Thank you miss!"
Stella laughed aloud and called back to him while he ran away. "Bye mister Gabe!"
Stella hopped back up onto her horse feeling accomplished, and wondering where the heck that child thought of the name, Jaquilsis. She felt a ton happier than she did a few minutes earlier. Why can't Flynn just be as kindhearted as Gabe? Stella pondered as she trotted through the town yet again. Her mood started to bust slowly again. Maybe I can just try to suck it up and ignore Rider. Happy words....happy words.....
