Rebecca Archer was eight years old when she and her parents moved down to South Carolina from Connecticut. She hadn't been too happy about the move. They moved away from a lovely house in a small town to a plantation. Though the land was pretty and spacious, she could not wrap her young mind around the idea of being a country girl. Yet, she never complained to her parents. Her mother had a weak constitution and her father had believed the country air and a little bit of work would do her a lot of good. Her father hired colored help, having acquired assistance from their neighbor Benjamin Martin whom her father held in high regard for a reason beyond her comprehension. The first time she laid eyes on Benjamin Martin was when he and his two eldest children had visited. She had been sitting in a tree while her father was out in the fields. Her mother was having one of her bad days and was resting in bed. Rebecca spotted the three Martins walking up the path. Turning around on her branch, she spotted her father a few yards away and shouted to him.

"Papa! Visitors!"

Her father looked up and out down the path. She watched as he hurriedly wiped his brow and made his way to the front of the house. He arrived as the visitors did. Rebecca examined the group from her hiding place. Benjamin Martin had brown hair and a very stern expression. Though, he didn't interest Rebecca as much as the two boys trailing behind him. The two were playfully pushing each other and laughing. The tallest, and obviously the eldest, of the two boys had somewhat curly blonde hair tied back with a blue ribbon. He had an appealing appearance. She didn't think he ever stopped smiling. The other boy had sleek brown hair, not yet long enough to tie back. He seemed more serious than his elder brother, which was a funny reversal of the typical stereotype about the older sibling being serious while the younger was goofier. Her father, Daniel Archer, shook Benjamin Martin's hand as they finally crossed paths.

"Benjamin Martin, how nice of you to visit my home! Welcome, welcome. My, these are quite strapping young lads. Yours I presume?"

Mr. Martin smiled and put a hand on the eldest's shoulder and his other hand on his younger boy's head.

"You would be correct. This is my eldest child Gabriel and my second son Thomas. I have two more boys and my daughter at home. My wife is taking care of our newest son who was born only last week."

My father gave Mr. Martin clap on the shoulder.

"Congratulations, sir, to you and your wife. It's nice to see you have such a large, healthy family. Ah, my dear Hannah…if only she were able to bear more. She'd been so sickly for years and she wanted to have at least three children. Alas…we were only meant to have our dear Rebecca. But, she is the world to us and we thank the Lord for her. Do come inside, Benjamin, so you can tell me the reason for your visit. Your boys can stay here in the yard and get to know Rebecca. She is up in that tree over yonder. Been listening to the conversation, my sneaky little darling."

Everyone looked up at Rebecca, who bunched up her skirts so no one could see underneath it. Gabriel smirked up at her while his younger brother, Thomas, looked confused. He wasn't used to seeing females in trees. Benjamin Martin smiled up at her and waved before following her father into the house. The boys moved over to the tree and looked up at her from below.

"What are you doing up there?" Thomas asked," Isn't it rather masculine to climb trees?"

Rebecca looked down at him and swung her legs back and forth.

"I can do whatever I please. It is my tree after all."

"It's your father's tree."

"And he lets me climb it."

Gabriel ruffled his brother's hair.

"Leave her alone, Thomas. I'm impressed you got up there in a dress. How did you manage that?"

She smiled down at him.

"Practice."

"Is that all you do all day? Climb trees?"

She shook her head.

"No. I sometimes go exploring in the woods and hunt down rabbits and birds. I also catch bugs in the fields for fun."

Thomas looked over at his brother.

"She's like a boy!"

Gabriel glared at his brother.

"Don't be rude. She's the coolest girl I've ever met. Miss, I'm Gabriel Martin and this is my brother Thomas."

Thomas grumbled about being able to introduce himself which made me giggle.

"I'm Rebecca Archer. It is nice to meet you, Gabriel…Thomas…"

"Mind if we come up?" Gabriel asked.

"Feel free."

The two boys scrambled up the tree and sat on the branches. They talked from their spots in the tree until it was time for the boys to go home. Gabriel was very friendly and by the end of the visit, Rebecca knew she liked him very much. Despite him being four years older than her, they easily became good friends. Thomas had been rather quiet, but he wasn't at all antisocial. He seemed rather wary of Rebecca's tomboyish behavior and attitude. That wasn't to say he didn't like her, he just didn't know what to think. In the following years, the three spent much of their childhood spending time together. Rebecca even went to the Martin Household where she was homeschooled with the rest of the children. In 1773, both her mother and the Martin children's mother died of illness. She helped take care of the children with the housekeeper, Abigail, but her tomboyish behavior only increased as she only had a father figure to look up to. In the same year, her father had an injury out in the field, making it so that he could not work anymore and was unable to keep workers to farm the land. They slipped into debt and they got poorer and poorer. By the end of 1774, Rebecca barely had time to see her friends Gabriel and Thomas and they grew apart. It was only until 1776 that their friendship would be renewed in a very strange and sad turn of events.