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"Whoa..."

Robin nearly tripped over his own feet as he descended from the hissing train car; the sudden change from the car's dark cabin to the bright September sun forced him to squint as his vision adjusted to the summer day.

A slight summer breeze wove its way through Robin's dark curls as he readjusted his leather travel bag in his hands. The low lull of the bells lazily filled the summer air as the new hour struck, the noise floating down from a large spire emerging from the grandiose courthouse beyond the train station.

As the train began to scream behind him, announcing its departure, Robin took a deep breath to steady his nerves and savor the fresh summer air of the small town as he hurriedly pushed through the creaky wooden gate of the nearly abandoned station. Pausing on the other side to admire the craftsmanship of the ornate courthouse that he had glimpsed from afar. The captivating building setting the small town of Adel apart from the other farming towns he had visited in the Great Plains.

Eight muddy red-tiled spires starkly contrasted with the building's white exterior walls, with a thick bell tower that rose toward the sky, its center adorned with a shining golden clock. 

The town hall stood protectively over the weather-worn town around it, as if it were a king's palace, and not just this small town's courthouse. The view reminded Robin of the old castles from his homeland of Kingsbury, causing a warm ache to rise in his chest at the familiar sight.

The rest of the small downtown consisted of smaller, flat-roofed buildings, which, despite their colorful, lively appearance, looked dingy compared to the proud courthouse at the town's center.

Just as Robin crossed the red-bricked streets to get a closer look at the courthouse, the sound of laughter and light piano music wafted toward him on the wind. 

His gaze quickly snapped toward the small alley nearby, where the words "Deadwood Saloon " in large, swirling letters decorated the faded brick siding of a downtown shop. A chipped red arrow pointed down the alley to a hidden tavern beyond.

A smirk crept up Robin's face. Now that was the type of establishment he was looking for.

Quickening his pace, Robin followed the arrow down the dusty alleyway, finding at its end an outdated wooden building with the name "Deadwood Saloon" in flaking red letters written across its front.

Despite being hidden, the old saloon appeared bustling with customers, with a few drunkards already tumbling down its front steps, blinking quizzically at the late afternoon sun.

Carefully holding his leather suitcase to his chest, Robin hurried down the alley, casting uncertain glances at the drunken men that littered his path.

Once Robin pushed past the tall wooden swing doors, his eyes were forced to readjust once again to the low lighting of the shady bar. The saloon's interior was larger than it seemed from the outside, with high ceilings and dark cast-iron chandeliers hanging from the rafters. The floor of the saloon was littered with cracked, old wooden tables filled with groups of old farmers and day workers.

 At the back of the room sat a well-kept bar, its shelves stocked and clean, the large mirror behind them reflecting Deadwood's interior, giving the saloon a false appearance of grandeur in the dim light.

Robin slowly lowered himself onto one of the cracked wooden stools at the bar, the old seat groaning under his weight.  Shooting a warning glance at the dirty old farmer beside him, he quickly placed his leather bag protectively between his legs.

The drunken older man raised a brow in amusement and offered a welcoming nod at the younger man's suspicion.

Years of living in Kingsberry's largest city had taught Robin to be overly wary of besmirched strangers, yet weeks in small towns of the Great Plains had taught him not to judge others too quickly. Those whom he would hurry past in the streets of his home city of London had become perfect sources of information in the rural areas of the Great Plains.

Robin felt heat rise to his chest in embarrassment as he returned a quick, polite nod in response before hesitantly loosening the grip on his bag.

Still, not wanting to stay in the strange saloon any longer than necessary, Robin turned to search for the barmaid, leaning forward to call out for a shot of whiskey, only to have his request quickly interrupted by a different patron down the bar.

Robin clicked his tongue and let out an irritated breath, eager to be on his way once he got the information he needed from the saloon's hostess, whom he had overheard the other men call "Miss Jackie".

This "Miss Jackie" was a muscular, older woman with dark skin and tightly curled hair, which she had carefully pulled back in a bright white bandana. Her bandana was almost a piece of art itself. The headpiece seemed handmade, intricately embroidered with multicolored beads that sparkled in the low light as she waltzed around the saloon. Necklaces, bracelets, and most noticeably, rings, adorned almost every inch of her exposed skin. 

The sound of her ring collection as it tapped against the glasses and mugs seemed to be an underlying accompaniment to the saloon's jolly piano.

As Robin's eyes followed the older woman straying from the bar to check on patrons seated throughout the saloon, he anxiously fiddled with the depleting bag of coins at his belt. His simmering anxiety to gain information on Adel's 'Sunshine Acres' was increasing by the second.

Fortunately for Robin, the bar's hostess didn't linger with the rowdy group of farmers too long,  leaving them in a roar of laughter as she grabbed a few dishes from a nearby empty table and stepped behind the bar once more, this time heading in Robin's direction.

"Excuse me, Miss," Robin hurriedly called once the woman was finally within earshot. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure thing, Sweetie!" Miss Jackie shouted over the din, lifting her head to smirk at Robin as she poured a few shots of whiskey, scooting one to him with a large, warm smile. "Go ahead,"

The old woman's teeth were an impossible shade of white for her age, and her smile seemed to light up her face in a way that made Robin feel as if he were in the safest place in the world, not a rundown bar in the middle of nowhere. Robin had seen the hostess give this same smile to the farmers as she made her rounds earlier, and having it directed at him, Robin realized that Miss Jackie's smile was likely the real appeal of the otherwise rundown bar.

Robin gratefully took the whiskey, trying his best to return the natural friendliness of her smile with the polished politeness of his own.

"I'm looking for a sorceress."

"HA!"

The woman let out a shocked laugh as soon as the words left Robin's mouth, accidentally dropping the glass of whiskey in her hand, and causing the small glass to shatter against the counter with a loud crash. 

Fortunately, the sudden noise seemed barely overpowered by the roar of the drunken men around them, so that no farmer's head turned their direction at the sudden commotion.

Miss Jackie let out a string of curses as she quickly wiped her hands on her apron, scowling at the sudden mess in irritation.

"Might as well admit you're lookin' for trouble, boy," 

Miss Jackie shook her head as she picked up the small pieces of broken glass from the old wooden bar.

Robin's smile faltered. 

"Oh, well...I'm so sorry to have startled you, Miss. I didn't mean to cause alarm..." Robin stammered, trying to find a way to remedy the conversation. "Um...How about I... C-Can I fix that for you?" Robin offered, holding out his hand for the broken glass.

Miss Jackie snorted and cocked her head at this offer, raising a thin, penciled eyebrow as the suspicion in her eyes deepened. "So, you can fix a broken glass," she replied, sounding impressed, yet her eyes searched him with worried curiosity. "And are you a sorcerer, too, then?"

"Oh no, Miss. Just a magician. I have a bit of magic that allows me to fix things. That's all," Robin explained as he took the glass pieces from her, carefully placing the cracked edges together until the glass appeared as if it had never been broken.

"Ah," Miss Jackie mused, with a weak laugh, her shoulders relaxing slightly. "Just another magician, huh? Well...that's nice...."

Miss Jackie's thoughts trailed off as she carefully inspected the whiskey glass, and without another word, she slowly turned from Robin and pushed past the wooden swing doors behind the bar.

Robin shifted in his seat, suddenly worried that he might have scared the kind lady away by inquiring about the sorceress first, rather than his desire to find Sunshine Acers.

A moment later, Miss Jackie returned, stealing another suspicious glance at Robin as she began filling up shot glasses with whiskey again.

"I'm sorry, Miss, if I startled you... But what did you mean by..." Robin began, lowering his voice, "Looking for trouble?"

Miss Jackie shook her head, holding up a wrinkled hand to silence Robin as she turned to deliver a tray of whiskey shots to the farmers at the end of the bar.

As she returned, the old woman carefully leaned on the bar across from Robin, her pinched brows giving him her full attention.

"I just mean," she replied, leaning even further over the counter as her deep, dark eyes searched his quizzically, "that you don't seem like the normal type that seeks her out, is all."

Miss Jackie chuckled at her own statement as she tilted her head, scanning Robin's face cautiously, as if staring at him long enough would tell her all she needed to know.

Robin sat in silence, squeamish under her intense gaze, unsure of how to respond.

"Tell me. Why on earth are you looking for our Miss Ivy?" Miss Jackie finally asked, leaning back from the bar to cross her arms over her chest. Whatever this woman had read from Robin's face wasn't enough to answer all her questions, it seemed. "You talk like someone from Kingsbury. What are you doing all the way over here, in the Great Plains?"

"Well..." Robin began, perplexed about how to answer. "I'm technically not looking for a sorceress... I'm looking for a place called Sunshine Acres. A rancher from a different Sunshine Acres told me the quickest way to find the Sunshine Acres here, in Adel, is to ask about a 'jewelry sorceress.'"

"Uh-huh," Miss Jackie hummed, narrowing her eyes, as if he had dodged her question on purpose. "And what might you be wanting with Sunshine Acres?"

"Ah. Right. Well... you see, you were correct about the accent. I am a doctor from Kingsbury. I am traveling the Great Plains to find my brother, Otto, who wrote me and told me to meet him at 'Sunshine Acres'. Although he didn't specify which Sunshine Acers... so, I am forced to check each in an attempt to find him," Robin explained with an awkward and slightly bitter laugh. "The previous Sunshine Acres I visited was the last one on my list, so I had almost given up hope, but the rancher told me to look into a 'Sunshine Acres' in this town, even though it's not an 'official' Sunshine Acres on any maps. So, I am here for one final attempt to find my brother before giving up, heading home, and sending him an invoice for all the money I wasted," Robin clarified, ending his rambling with a dejected chuckle.

Miss Jackie gave him a weary look at his reply.

"And this brother of yours, does he work for the government?" Miss Jackie murmured, leaning forward and lowering her voice as she glanced toward a drunk man snoozing near Robin.

"What?!" Robin let out a snort at her question, "No. I mean... not... that I know of?" Robin added, feeling more unsure as to why the hostess was asking such a question than how he should answer it.

Miss Jackie hummed in thought, fiddling with the many rings on her knobby fingers as her thoughtful gaze landed beyond the wooden swing door of the saloon.

As the older woman seemed to debate whether or not to give Robin the information he needed, and Robin couldn't help but hold his breath, anxiously clutching the coin pouch at his hip, telling himself to wait until she turned him down before offering her what little funds he had left as a bribe.

"Well... like I said," Miss Jackie finally muttered, "you don't seem like the normal type to be asking after Miss Ivy, so I'll give you the directions to Sunshine Acres. However, I'll just let you know," Miss Jackie said, her voice dropping to a whisper as she leaned back over the counter, her nearly black eyes piercing into Robin with a warning glare as her face drew dangerously close to his, "this Miss Ivy is a woman capable of many things. So don't you, or your brother, go around underestimating her. Do you understand me?"

Suddenly, a flash of gold shimmered through Miss Jackie's aggressively protective glare. The gold stripe disappearing as quickly as it had appeared, the only reminder of its presence being a sudden chill that ran up Robin's body.

"Oh. Um... I won't," Robin said, his words more of a promise to himself than to the strange woman before him.

"And," Miss Jackie continued, pulling herself off the counter and dusting off her cowhide skirt, "if you're looking to get to Sunshine Acres, take the tram and jump off at two and a half minutes past the third stop. That will land you on the path to the jewelry sorceress, or Miss Ivy's, Sunshine Acres," Miss Jackie finished, grabbing some additional whiskey glasses from below the counter before pointing out the door. "The tram stop is on the other side of the courthouse. It runs every half hour."

Robin turned and looked at the large wooden clock hanging above the saloon door. It showed that it was twenty minutes past four in the afternoon. He would have to hurry to catch the tram Miss Jackie spoke of.

He quickly thanked Miss Jackie and shot down his whiskey, leaving two gold coins as a token of appreciation for her helpfulness.

Robin carefully repeated the steps Miss Jackie had told him as he walked over to the town hall, her warnings following him like a double shadow.

His fingers fiddled with the leather handle of his bag as he stood before the courthouse, the trolley slowly creeping into view as Robin anxiously mulled over the instructions to his stop—or instead, his jump—to Sunshine Acres.

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Author's Note:

The Town of Adel in this story is based on the real town of Adel, Iowa, USA.

I drove through the town once and thought it was the perfect setting for a novel.

Here is the picture of the real courthouse: