After realizing how many similarities Blair and Chuck have to Scarlett and Rhett of Gone With The Wind, I decided I should write a story about C & B during the Civil War. This story won't follow GWTW's plot, but I'm borrowing a few quotes and characters. Anyway, on with the story!

Chapter 1 – Yankees At Red Ridge

Blair Waldorf rested her chin on her gloved hands, clasped over the fence post in front of her. It didn't even matter if she wore the old tattered pair of gloves anymore, it wasn't as if she was called upon or had dances to attend. She just wanted to hang on to a small part of the life she lead before the war began tearing it apart. All Blair had now were the lonely days of sitting atop the ridge from which the Waldorf plantation – Red Ridge – had been named after, waiting for her father's return. A person could see for miles from Blair's location, so she visited the spot nearly every day, hoping to see her father making his way along the road below.

When the war started in 1861, Harold Waldorf, a wealthy cotton planter, had joined the Confederate Army to fight for his precious Georgian land and everything it represented. Blair remembered how she had been angry and confused over his decision to join the cause of the South and the words he had spoken before he left.

"Blair, you may not understand now…but I hope someday you will…this land is the only thing in the world worth working for, worth fighting for, worth dying for, because it's the only thing that lasts." Harold said gently to Blair, before kissing her cheek and boarding the train.

It was now August of 1864, nearly four years later. Blair was now eighteen years old and hadn't seen her father since the day she watched the train pull away from the station. The occasional letter would arrive from Harold in the early days of the war, but the withering confidence of the Confederacy and Sherman's campaign against Atlanta had severed even those ties. The last letter had come in the spring and Harold's words had reassured Blair of his health and the expectant closure to the war…but that was months ago.

Blair wanted to believe the letter, but as she looked out across Georgia's countryside she could still see the smoldering remnants of General Sherman's path of destruction in the distance. Every day she could hear the roar of the cannons and every day she prayed that the miles between Red Ridge and the armies would be enough. The only people left on the plantation were Blair, Mammy, and a few of house slaves that hadn't run away yet, since Eleanor Waldorf had died of typhoid earlier in the year. Blair knew the remaining residents of Red Ridge were looking to her for guidance, but she was just as lost and scared as they were.

A tear slipped over Blair's cheek as she thought about the helplessness of the situation. If the Yankees decided to invade Red Ridge for supplies, she didn't know what she would do. Just thinking about the very real possibility made her sick to her stomach and she began to sob, burying her face in her hands.

Blair didn't know how long she had been crying, but when she lifted her bloodshot eyes after hearing faint noises, the sight of dust rising over the road made her head reel. There was a band of men about a mile up the road heading straight to the house. Blair couldn't make out the color of their uniforms, but it could be Confederates, it could be Yankees, or it could be her father for all she knew. She didn't give herself the time to decide, she just began to run as fast as she could back to the house.

As Blair and the soldiers both drew nearer to the house, Blair could plainly see the color of their uniforms. Blue. Dark blue. She felt as if the breath had been knocked from her body. She tried to run faster, but the combination of tight stays and Yankees marching up the road had her close to fainting. When she reached the yard, Mammy was throwing corn on the grass for the few chickens they had left.

"Mammy! Put those…chickens in the cellar!" Blair gasped, hardly able to speak.

"Miss Blair, ya look like ya done seen a ghost!" Mammy grumbled in her low voice, continuing to toss corn from the front of her apron.

"Mammy!" Blair yelled to get the woman's attention, "Listen to me…there are Yankees coming up the road!" Mammy's eyes became wide at Blair's statement.

"Hide those chickens…stay in the yard and ask them what they want. I'm going to get Pa's gun." Blair gasped again, holding her hand against her still heaving chest.

"Miss Blair, you-,"

"Just do as I say!" Blair interrupted, as she raced up the porch steps. Mammy remained in the yard with her eyes trained on the bend in the gravel drive where the Yankees were soon going to emerge.

Blair fumbled in her dress pocket for the key to her father's gun cabinet; when she had found it she could hardly undo the lock with her shaking hands. Once the locked clicked open Blair grabbed the gun and started making her way back down the stairs, not really sure of what she was about to do next. She rounded the corner to the half open front door, but quickly stepped back against the adjacent wall when she heard Mammy's rough voice arguing with the Yankees. Blair tipped her head forward to see what was happening just in time to see one of the Yankees raise his pistol and shoot Mammy in the head.

Blair bit into her trembling lower lip so hard to keep from screaming that she could taste blood. She could see Mammy's lifeless body lying at the men's feet and a million thoughts began to race through her mind. She spun around, forced her shaky legs to carry her up the stairs and made her way into her parents' bedroom, locking the door behind her. Slumping against the door, she started to think of a safe way to escape as quickly as she could in her shocked and frightened state.

*****

Chuck Bass had been traveling through the woods when he stumbled upon a large plantation that was seemingly untouched by the war. He had entered the property from the backside, so he was able to see the rear of the house and the cookhouse in the backyard. Just as he was about to approach someone to ask for food and water, he heard a woman's voice in front of the house yelling franticly about Yankees coming up the road. At first, he had thought of running back to his horse and galloping as far away as he could, but something about the desperation in the unknown woman's voice had kept him rooted to his spot in the forest.

After hearing a single gunshot, Chuck knew that he could not turn his back on the situation. He could hear the creak of wagon wheels, a sure sign that these Yankees had come to pillage whatever this family had left. Chuck carefully watched the windows of the house and finally saw the face of a young woman peeking over an opened window's sill. She was safe it seemed, but Chuck couldn't be sure of how long the soldiers would remain unaware of her presence. Chuck's eyes scanned the yard, and once it was clear he sprinted to the house and hastily climbed the lattice up to the window.

*****

Blair was sitting beneath the window of her parents' bedroom, hoping by some miracle that the Yankees would just leave, but she knew they would eventually find her and what would happen to her after that, she didn't know. Suddenly, she heard the front door bang against the wall, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps on the woods floors. The vein at her temple was near bursting when she heard someone making their way up the stairs. Blair slowly stood up and walked a few paces toward the door, holding the gun out in front of her; if she was going to have to escape she needed to be able to take action quickly.

The footsteps completed the staircase and started down the hallway. Blair's heart was beating wildly against her ribs and she held the gun tighter as the man opened the door across the hall. After a few moments the man came back out into the hallway and she could see the shadow of his boots underneath the door.

Blair heard the doorknob rattle as the man tried to enter the room, and just as she thought she might not be able to keep herself from screaming any longer, someone grabbed the gun from behind, wrapped their arm around her waist and clamped a large hand over her mouth. Blair automatically bit into one of the fingers covering her mouth and heard the man behind her hiss in pain, but then he roughly pulled her head back against his chest, slamming his hand into her nose.

Tears stung her eyes from the blow and she stopped struggling – this was the end – the Yankees had found her. Blair could hear the man holding her breathing heavily, his face was next to hers and he seemed to be watching the door, but he wasn't moving. That's when she remembered the Yankee that had been outside the door and if she listened she could hear him rummaged through drawers in another room. After a few moments, the sounds created by the other man were interrupted when the stranger behind her cocked the pistol he was holding.

*****

Chuck felt awful as he cocked the pistol at his side and felt lips quivering beneath his hand and warm tears falling onto his fingers. The poor woman in his arms most likely thought he was about to do something monstrous to her. Chuck was willing the soldier outside the door to go back downstairs, and when he heard another man call him away, he let his breath out in relief.

Chuck had to get them out of the house soon, because he knew the soldiers would eventually come back for anything of value and one locked door would not stand in their way. Keeping his hand over the woman's mouth, he slowly turned her body to face him. She was beautiful and Chuck suddenly felt guilty because she looked so frightened. Her eyes wildly searched his form and noticed the uniform, which was not blue, but gray, and her confused eyes locked with his.

"Shh…I'm going to take my hand away." Chuck whispered, bringing his fingers to his lips in a gesture of silence. When he lifted his hand, he winced. The inside of his hand was covered in blood, but he had winced because of the blood still seeping from her nostrils and falling over her full lips. He hadn't meant to hurt her; he had just needed her to stay quiet.

"Please…I'll give you anyth -," Blair gasped out until Chuck interrupted her. He went to raise his finger to his lips again, but stopped short when Blair squeezed her eyes shut, thinking he was going to strike her.

"No, it's alright…" Chuck whispered, trying to reassure her, "I have a horse tied up in the forest, if we can get to it, we'll be safe."

Blair didn't respond to his promise of safety. She continued searching his brown eyes, confused as to what was happening and trying to detect any form of deceit.

"You don't have to believe me, but they'll be coming back soon and we can't be here when they do." Chuck said, trying to get her to respond.

"How can I trust you?" Blair asked in a quiet voice.

"I wouldn't have risked my own life against a band of Yankees if I hadn't planned on keeping you safe." Chuck responded back, trying to make her believe him so he could get them out of the house.

Blair's heart was racing, but she decided she would rather be with this man than left to the Yankees…and something in the man's eyes seemed genuine.

"How do we get out?" Blair whispered, with a questioning look.

"Out the window, but you have to take your skirts and petticoats off first." Chuck told her. Blair tried to step out of Chuck's embrace, thinking he was trying to trick her.

"You can't very well ride a horse in them can you?" Chuck hissed. He realized her fears, but they were running out of time. He spun her around and pulled a knife from his belt, quickly slicing through the laces on the back of her dress.

Blair pushed against his arm, desperately trying to free herself from his grasp, but he was too strong. "No…let go of me!"

Suddenly, their struggle stopped when they heard the front door open again. Blair looked to Chuck, who quickly pulled her skirts down, lifted her out of them, and tugged her toward the window.

"I'll climb down first, I'll be right behind you…you won't fall." Chuck told her and then disappeared out the window.

Blair swung her leg over the window sill, blushing furiously at this stranger seeing her in her pantalets and corset, climbing from a window no less. She was still a few feet from the ground, when Chuck grasped her hips and set her on the ground. He motioned with his arm and they ran as fast as they could across the yard and into the forest. They ran until they reached the horse, which Chuck rapidly untied.

"Get on!" Chuck shouted at Blair.

"I can't breathe…" Blair wheezed against her corset.

Chuck was becoming frustrated, the two were only about a quarter of a mile from the house, and he knew it wasn't enough. Gripping Blair's hips again, he easily lifted her into the saddle and jumped up behind her. He kicked his boots into the horse's sides and startled it into a fast gallop. Blair's body lurched forward at the suddenness of the movement and she grabbed at the horse's mane, trying to regain her balance.

Chuck's arm went around her waist and pulled her back against his strong chest. "I won't let you fall off the horse either." Chuck whispered in her ear, and then laughed, spurring on the horse. Blair was still in shock over the whole situation, but she was sure this wasn't a time for teasing and laughter.

Hope you all enjoyed it! Please review...thanks! :)