Title: Dark Horse: Chapter Eighteen, Reasons
Rating: PG-13 [language]

Summary: Sitara is back at her father's house... which no one understands at all. But she has reasons...





Though surprised by the fact his daughter was standing up to him, Geoff did not falter. He ignored Sitara’s question, grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the exit. Glaring at the back of his head, the young woman planted her feet and tugged her wrist free from his grasp. Spinning with fire in his eyes, Geoff reached for her once again. Before his fingers were able to circle her wrist again, George stepped between the two. Though generally known as the quiet, peaceful Beatle, the intensity in George’s dark eyes made Geoff pause, but only briefly.

“Move aside,” Geoff grumbled.

“I will not. And you will not lay a hand on her again. Ever,” George seethed.

“You have no say in the matter.”

“As the man in love with her, I think I do,” he argued, not standing down. “As the one who is going to take care of her for the rest of her life, I know I do.”

“George…” Sita muttered, touching his shoulder gently.

His eyes remained on her father, though he reached backwards and held her hand, “Sitara is coming with me, no matter what you say.”

“Do you really think you will get out of the country with her? I can have a dozen policemen here within—”

“Do you really think they will help you hold her as prisoner? You are—”

“Stop,” Sitara interrupted, stepping out from behind George.

Her father instantly reached for her, but she evaded his grasp and turned to face the songwriter. Her green eyes met his and she pressed up on her toes, gently kissing his soft mouth. Seeing her decision in her eyes, his lips opened to protest, but she kissed him again.

“I will go home with my father,” she declared, glancing briefly at him. “For now.”

“Sita, please,” he muttered softly.

“We have not thought this through, George. I cannot leave the country without the proper paperwork, not even with a Beatle,” her eyes remained locked with his. “In order for me to get out of here and not be returned instantly back, we have to do this right.”

He sighed, “But Sita, he’ll…”

“No,” her lips brushed his, “he will not. You will not allow it.”

“But how…?”

“I’ll explain more later. Let me go with him and smooth everything over,” she declared.

“But, Sita—”

“Trust me,” she kissed him again.

“Sita…”

“Trust me,” she repeated before turning back to her father.

Holding her head high and her shoulders straight, Sitara headed towards the door. Her gaze did not even flick in his direction. Continuing out of the hotel, she noticed Kanti and Donovan arriving. Before her father stepped out, she waved them aside, hoping to not wrap others in the drama. Confused, the Scotsman continued on, but Kanti quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him into the shadows. A moment later Geoff stepped out and ushered Sitara into a conveniently waiting car.

“Sitara, you have—”

“No,” she interrupted, though she did not look at him. “Do not mistake the fact I am here with you now as compliance.”

A bit taken back by the fact she spoken to him in that matter, Geoff took a moment to reply, “If you think for a moment that—”

“No,” she boldly glanced his way. “Things are different now, Father.”

“I don’t think—”

“I will not be marrying my uncle nor anyone of your choosing. This is the twentieth century, not the eighteenth. I will not be subjected to any sort of doctor, who will claim I am no longer a virgin, all the while violating me. And you will not lay a hand on me again,” she declared, her voice wavering slightly.

“You have no—”

“If you do any of these, I will see that not only your tea empire crumbles, but also any chance of us having a relationship will be severed,” she stated softly, barely maintaining eye contact.

Not sure how to respond, Geoff remained silent. He did not know where this new-found strength came from and it scared him. Whatever that foreigner had done to his daughter had changed her — and he did not like the changes at all. Remaining silent, he shifted back in his seat and glanced out the window, giving her no confirmation that he would keep to her terms. He quickly turned his options over in his mind before deciding to accept her declaration of semi-independence as it were, for the time being. He was certain he could reign her back in, return her to the respectable Indian daughter he raised. It would just take a little time.



“You’re bloody joking,” Donovan remarked before taking a drag on his cigarette. “She just went with him?”

George set down his glass, “Yes. She did.”

The Scotsman sighed, “But I thought you convinced her to leave with us. Kanti and I hauled those bags all the way here.”

“She seemed to carry them back herself just fine,” Pattie pointed out.

Donovan ignored her slight, “What are we going to do now?”

Picking up his glass again, George finished off the whiskey, “Wait for her to come to us.”

“And if she never comes?” Donovan asked.

He sighed, “She’ll come.”

Pattie reached over and touched her husband’s hand softly, “You might have to let this one go, George.”

“No. She needs our help. I am not—”

“You might have to let this one go,” she repeated.

“How can you say that, Pattie? You know what he’s doing to her. You know that—”

“George,” she interrupted, “it really isn’t our place to dictate what is or isn’t right. Sita made her choice. We need to respect that.”

“But—”

“We need to respect that,” she repeated.

Donovan got to his feet, “Bloody hell. I’m not staying here and sitting on my hands.”

George stood as well, “I’ll go with you.”

“George,” Pattie warned, making her husband stop, “sit back down.”

“But—”

“George.”

He stared at her for a long moment, weighing his options. Saying nothing, he turned and followed Donovan out of the hotel suite. A few steps away from the closed door, Donovan paused to light a cigarette, handing it over to George. The guitarist took a deep drag before returning it to Donovan.

“So… we’re still going to take Sita away, right?”

“Of course we are. No doubt about it at all.”




Stalking into Sitara’s bedroom, Kanti dropped the two bags unceremoniously on the floor, not caring if anything broke inside. She glared at her best friend as she approached her. Hearing her, Sitara raised her hand, silencing Kanti before she even spoke. The younger Indian dancing girl slowly turned to face her best friend.

“Before you say anything, I have my reasons.”

“Fuck your reasons, Sita. This was your chance, our chance, to get out of this fucking cage. And you just turned around and came back? Are you out of your bloody mind?”

“Kanti, I have my reasons,” she repeated.

The older girl folded her arms across her chest, “I’m waiting.”

“As I saw him standing in that hotel, I realized that I cannot be a coward and sneak out in the middle of the night. If I am going to leave behind this life, leave behind the only family I have ever known, I will do so with my head held high. I will do so publicly.”

Kanti blinked, surprised at what Sitara was saying.

“While it’s mostly for me, I also want other girls… other women to know they are not property, not chattel, of either their fathers or husbands,” she declared.

“Well I’ll be…”

“Hmmmm?”

“Welcome to the 1960s, Sita,” she grinned.

The dancing girl flushed slightly, “I was just thinking…”

“What’s next? Can we go shopping for some mod clothes?” Kanti perked up.

“One step at a time, Kanti,” Sitara cautioned.

“Well okay,” she plopped down on the ornate bed. “So what’s the next step?”

“I’m not sure,” she slowly approached her best friend and sat down. “I should probably explain this to George and Don. They went through all that work to sneak us out…”

“Which means they’re likely climbing over the fence right now,” Kanti stated.

Her eyes widened, “They can’t. That would ruin everything.”

“Then we better go stop them,” she declared, getting up.

Sitara shook her head, “You stay here. It will be less of a scene if it’s just me.”

“But—”

“Please.”

Sighing, she sat back down, “Fine. But if you’re gone for more than thirty minutes, I’m coming out there.”

Nodding, Sitara turned and quickly slipped out of her room. With a sigh, Kanti picked up the discarded bags and set to unpacking. She was pleasantly surprised with Sitara’s reasoning; she only hoped the men would agree to it as well.

Quickly weaving through the shadows of the night, Sitara made her way back to the tree that reached over the back wall. Reaching its trunk, her fingers reached up for the first branch, just as she noticed the tree tremble. The men were already on their way over.

Instead of flinging herself up to intersect them amongst the leaves, she stepped back, waiting for them to drop to the ground. George was the first to land. Without pause, his arms circled her and he quickly kissed her. Sitara did not resist, but did not return the kiss either.

“Sita,” he spoke softly, “we’ve come to convince you to—”

“I know why you’re here,” she responded eyes on Donovan as he dropped out of the tree and cursed as he stumbled. “I’m not going with you. Not yet.”

“Why not?” the Scotsman asked as he straightened back up.

“Because as I looked at my father in that hotel, sneaking around for whatever reason, I realized I cannot do that.”

“Do what..?”

Her eyes flicked back to George, “I will not sneak out in the middle of the night. I will not hide what I’m doing. That is cowardly. I do not want to be that.”

Both of the men stared at her, unable to speak.

“I don’t know what my father was or is hiding. I don’t know if I actually care,” she paused. “I just know that I don’t want to sneak out in the middle of the night like I’m ashamed of taking control of my life, of doing what I want, not what he says. I don’t want to always be looking over my shoulder, worried that he’s going to find me and drag me back here. And… I want to be a role model to other girls in my situation. So… I will not be sneaking away with you tonight or ever.”

George’s face fell, “But you don’t belong here, Sita.”

Her green eyes held his, “I agree. But when I leave, it will be in the middle of the day, in front of everyone. I will not steal away in the middle of the night.”

“He won’t let me see you. How will you—”

“It might take some time, George, but I can assure you he will let me see you, during the day. He will not be keeping me locked up any more. I will be entertaining guests and I will be leaving the house,” she declared.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because,” she touched his cheek, “it is how it has to be.”

He sighed, “I don’t like this.”

“Me neither,” Donovan chimed in, making certain both knew of his presence.

Her eyes turned to him, “Would you have me forever scared I was going to be pulled back here and locked up again?”

“Well no, of course not, but there is no assurance he will do as you say now. He never has before.”

“I have never had this kind of resolve before,” she pointed out. “This is going to work, Don, George. It has to.”

“And if it doesn’t?” Donovan asked.

“Then you have my permission to whisk me away in the middle of the night.”

“Deal,” he winked.

Her eyes went to George, “Will you accept this?”

“Are you giving me a choice?”

“No.”

“Then yes, I accept this. But I will not wait long if it does not progress.”

“It will, George. It will.”