January 28th, 1774

It was a stupid idea, probably the most stupid idea she had ever had up until that point, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Any person in their right mind knew that it was ridiculous to try and walk into a heavily guarded fort for something as simple as food and a warm blanket, but Evelyn wasn't in her right mind. She was cold and starving and had no clue how to hunt or skin an animal. A fool, some people might call her, but she had made her bed and now she had to lie in it.

With her heart beating in her throat, the young woman peered to the small entrance to the fort from a patch of high bushes in which she was hiding. There was one guard—and he seemed to walk away every few minutes or so, to talk to another guard. She evaluated the situation once more.

'Fifteen seconds to get in and find a hiding spot. No weapons to defend myself. And that's only getting in. I can do this. It'll be a piece of cake.'

Just thinking it to herself already sounded fake, but she knew she needed the supplies. She waited until the guard turned away and disappeared around the corner, then got up and made a run for it. She sprinted towards the entrance, stopped right at the opening and peeked around the corner. There was nobody in sight except for the two guards who were loudly laughing about something. She quickly analysed her surroundings and spotted another patch of bushes—perfect for hiding. Quickly glancing at the guards again, she weighed her chances of making it and decided that it was now or never. She ran onto the British property and ducked into the bushes. She waited and listened for any signs that she had been discovered, but there came none. She had done it. Well—the first fraction of her plan at least.

'Now what?' she thought to herself as she took in her surroundings. She had no idea where all of their supplies even were, let alone how to get there without being seen. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all.

'It's not too late to turn back. I can try to catch some fish again before it gets dark and make a f-'

Evelyn almost leapt a meter in the air when someone grabbed her firmly by her shoulder and yanked her up.

''Well well, what do we have here? What's a young lady like yourself doing here all alone?'' a man in red smirked almost dangerously, sending an uncomfortable shiver down Evelyn's spine.

''I'm just lost…'' she said, blurting out the first thing that popped into her head.

''Lost, aye? Oi, Parkins! Look what I found lurking about.''

Evelyn tried to inconspicuously free her shoulder from the man's grasp, but he had a firm hold on her coat, and she knew she wasn't going to be able to simply make a run for it.

''Would you look at that, can't be older than twenty. Ne'er been touched neither, I reckon,'' another guard pondered out loud as he walked over.

''What's your name, love?'' he asked, grinning widely and planning his hands on his hips as he looked her over. Evelyn kept her mouth firmly shut as she simply glared at the man in front of her. She wasn't new to this kind of talk from men—she had heard things like that around Boston all the time, to her and every other woman more or less, but she had never gotten used to it. It made her skin crawl and it make her angry and it made her want to hurt him, badly.

''I said, what's your name,'' the guard known as Parkins repeated, the smirk off of his face now, and he grabbed her chin in an attempt to intimidate her. Evelyn immediately shoved the guard as hard as she could, it being more of a reflex than anything. The guard that had been holding her by the shoulder immediately grabbed her arms and held them behind her back. Parkins stumbled back a few steps, but all that the shove had really done was make him look furious.

''Bad idea, love,'' he grumbled under his breath as he reached to his belt to take out his gun. Evelyn never got to see what happened next, because by someone or something, she and the other guard were knocked to the ground. She felt his grip loosen and immediately took the chance to break free, scramble to her feet and run to the entrance as fast as she could. She didn't look back to see what had happened, neither did she really care. She ran until she didn't hear the sound of the bell anymore—which had started to ring after she had been able to make her escape.

She sunk to the snowy ground, not bothered by the snow dampening her trousers. She had never been that close to dying, and she wasn't planning on doing anything stupid like that again. She sat there until she felt like her heartbeat was under control again, before getting up and continuing her journey.

''Oh father. If you could see me now,'' she mumbled to herself, shaking her head lightly as she tracked through the snow. She kept walking until her feet were numb from the cold, and even then kept walking. She had to reach some kind of civilisation soon, or a farm, or even just a simple shack to take shelter in. Another night out in the cold would surely be her last night altogether.

As it started to get dark, Evelyn started to get desperate, and right when she was going to give in to her panic and allow herself to warm her cheeks with tears, she saw the tiniest flicker of light in the distance. The shape of a small house became clearer as she got closer, and her heart started to beat faster again, in excitement.

''Please, please let them be normal people,'' Evelyn pleaded silently as she approached the house. From the outside she couldn't see through the windows—there was too much condensation on them to see through—so she knocked on the door and hoped for the best.

A kind looking woman opened the door and seemed a little surprised by Evelyn's presence.

''Hi…I was wondering if I could maybe…spend the night here. I am far from home and don't have a place to stay…'' she said, wincing at how tactless she sounded. For someone who had been wandering around for a place to stay you'd think she would have prepared for the moment of truth better.

''Oh child, come inside,'' the woman said, gently ushering Evelyn inside and closing the door behind her. The warm air of the small house was such a nice change from the days in the cold that Evelyn almost burst into tears anyway. Sitting at the table were a man and three children, all looking at her, and Evelyn couldn't help but feel a little shy with all these eyes on her.

''Sit, sit. How long have you been out there?'' the woman asked as she walked to the fireplace. Evelyn sat down and smiled gratefully at the man of the house, who gave her a sympathetic nod.

''A few days… I came here from Boston with a horse, until she was stolen. I think I've been walking for three…no, four days now.''

The woman tutted disapprovingly as she walked over and put a steaming cup of warm milk and a piece of bread in front of her. ''Where are you headed?''

''I'm not really sure, actually. I am looking for someone. Hold on…'' Evelyn said, reaching in her pocket. She took a piece of paper out and smoothed it out on the table. ''I'm looking for the person who can tell me more about this symbol. I just don't know where to find that person.''

The woman and man both looked at the piece of paper.

''I've seen that symbol,'' the man said with a nod. ''Up at the Davenport Homestead, if I'm right. That's probably a good place to start and not far from here. Might find a room there as well.''

Evelyn was ashamed to admit to herself that in her enthusiasm, she had assumed that she had found a place to stay, but she had no idea whether they were even willing to.

''Unfortunately we don't have any spare place to sleep in for you—unless you'd make do with the floor—but I don't mind giving you a ride up the hill to the Homestead, if you'd like?'' the man offered.

''I would forever be in your debt,'' Evelyn smiled widely. For a second she thought about the possibility that she was dreaming, and if she was, she didn't want to wake up. How incredibly lucky she was to have stumbled upon this nice family.

''Go on, drink your milk and eat your bread, sweetheart. You'll need the warmth,'' the woman said. Evelyn drank the warm milk—which warmed her up so much that she could have fallen asleep right there at the table, and ate the bread, which truth be told only made her feel more hungry, and thanked the woman for her hospitality, before exiting the house again with the man.

''Hop on in,'' the man said, gesturing to the empty hay wagon in front of which a dark brown horse was ready to take her to her next destination. She climbed in the wagon and settled in, waving at the woman and children as the man commanded the horse to move. She had to fight sleep as the wagon gently rocked her back and forth, and after what she thought to be half an hour, the wagon stopped in front of a big land house.

''Here we are. Lights are on, so he's home. Good luck finding your symbol,'' the man said as Evelyn got off of the wagon.

''Thank you sir, truly. I don't know how to repay you,'' Evelyn said, ashamed that she had no way to pay him for the milk or ride.

''Don't worry about that, perhaps in the future you come upon us again and we can settle that debt,'' he said with a smile that Evelyn knew meant that he didn't even consider it a debt.

''Thank you, again!'' she called after the man when he went on his way back home. She turned to the house and admired the view for a second. It was bigger than any house she had been in, that she was sure of. She walked up the steps and knocked on the door. She suddenly realised that she was nervous and had an uneasy feeling in her stomach. Maybe this was it. Maybe this was what she was looking for.

The door opened and an old, slightly grumpy looking man greeted her in the form of silence.

''Good evening… I was directed here through this symbol…'' Evelyn said, holding out the piece of paper, hoping sincerely that the man recognized it. The man gritted his teeth and turned.

''Always that blasted symbol, leading young ones here for me to care of. Close that door will you, the warmth is escaping,'' he complained as he walked away, using a walking stick for support as he had a limp.

Evelyn quickly stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

''So you know the symbol?'' she said hopefully, following the man.

''Oh yes, I know it.''

''So what does it mean?''

The man sat down on a chair, letting out a long sigh and looked up at her.

''Just because I'm not going to let you freeze to death outside, doesn't mean I'm up for talking. I assume you need a place to stay for the night?''

Evelyn nodded—even though she desperately wanted to press on for answers, she didn't want to jeopardize a warm bed to sleep in.

''There is a spare room you can settle in for the night upstairs.''

''Thank you, mister…'' Evelyn said, again amazed that she had actually managed to find people that aided her like this.

''You may call me Achilles,'' the man said, and Evelyn nodded.

''I'm Evelyn. Do you live here alone?'' Evelyn replied.

''No.''

Evelyn expected something else to follow, but when it didn't she slowly nodded and put the piece of paper in her pocket.

''Goodnight,'' she told Achilles, who simply waved at her. Evelyn treaded upstairs, walking slow as to take in her surroundings. A few of the rooms were in use, so she took the first room that seemed uninhabited. She closed the door took her shoes, coat and trousers off. Thankfully the man kept the entire house warm by lighting all the fireplaces, including the one in this room, so sleeping in her undergarments wasn't going to be very cold. She crawled in bed and pulled up the sheets, in awe that she was in an actual bed. Maybe she was still dreaming?

She softly pinched herself, just to be sure. She was actually awake. And she was determined to find out what that symbol meant.