I do not own the Patriot. I only own Cori, Brandon, and their grandparents.
Story Start
The dress turned out to be a light grey color with dark blue stitched vines around the bodice and bottom of the skirt. It was beautiful, but the corset underneath the dress was something that Cori wanted to rip into shreds and burn. Breathing was no longer an easy past time with this monstrosity around her.
"Oh that fits you so well," Charlotte said when Cori entered the dining area where Charlotte and all of the children from earlier were sitting. Samuel gave her a small tentative smile while his siblings stared at her curiously.
"Thanks again for helping me," Cori said taking a seat at the table by a young girl holding a doll.
"I'm sorry for throwing rocks at you," Samuel quickly piped into the conversation.
"It's fine, I would have done the same thing if I was you," Cori said assuring the boy that all was forgiven.
"Aunt Charlotte, when will father be here? You said he might come here soon," one of the children questioned with a sad frown on her face.
"He'll be here soon, don't worry Margaret," Charlotte answered her niece before a look of surprise crossed her face. "Oh dear, we haven't introduced everybody," she said to Cori, who just gave a shrug. "This is Margaret and her younger sister is Susan, and the boys are Nathan, Samuel, and William," she introduced the children, who gave nods or small smiles. However, the young girl Susan just clung tighter to the doll in her arms.
"Nice to meet all of you, I'm Cori," Cori introduced herself to be polite. "So is your father fighting in the war?" she asked wondering if it would be all right for conversation. By the deathly quiet atmosphere, she wished she had kept her mouth shut. "Sorry, forget I asked that," she started to apologize, but Samuel cut her off.
"My dad is a rebel and he's fighting against the redcoats. He'll defeat all of them," the young boy said confidently as a fire entered his eyes.
"What side are you on in this war?" Nathan asked staring down Cori with a serious look.
"Neutral, I don't like fights," Cori answered with a shrug before shivering from the once again tense atmosphere.
"Redcoats won't take that for an answer," Nathan snapped back before a look from his aunt silenced him.
"I can leave if there is a problem. I've appreciated all of the hospitality, but I do not want to cause any problems," Cori said about to stand up from the table. The evening light shone through the window on her face. She flinched a bit from the fading sunlight before the night took its rightful place in the sky.
"Nonsense, you are no burden, sit, eat," Charlotte said rising from her chair as well. The woman seemed as if she had not had any good company for too long. Cori slowly sat down and Charlotte gave a sigh of relief taking her seat as well. "Now boys, this is the dinner table, how many times must I remind you about manners?" the woman continued giving the boys a little scolding.
"We're sorry, Aunt Charlotte," the boys said softly before the meal began.
Cori still felt a bit awkward sitting at the table with so many strangers, but she would not be rude. She ate her meal, but she kept her eyes on the window. The sun slowly set and the sky darkened. The beautiful mix of orange, pink, and some purple filled the sky before the night swept it away. She was not even aware that the meal was over until somebody gently touched her shoulder.
"Dinner is over, time to rest," Charlotte said softly as the moonlight from the window made her blonde curls glow.
"Sorry," Cori whispered noticing that all of the children were missing from the room, probably already in their beds and sleep clothes. She stood from her seat giving a sheepish grin to Charlotte before the woman motioned her towards the room from earlier. Cori was about to follow the woman to the room, but a loud knock at a door made her jump.
"Wait here, quiet," Charlotte said before rushing towards the front window near the door. A gasp left the woman as she spotted British soldiers standing in front of her house. "Quick, get the children, we must leave,' the woman whispered as loud as she dared to Cori and the servant, who had stepped beside Cori moments ago.
The servant rushed off and so did Cori. The servant woke the girls while Cori ended up in the boys' room. She woke all of them and surprisingly none of them freaked out when she told them to meet their Aunt downstairs as fast as they could. She followed after them to make sure none of the children fell and hurt themselves since some were still half asleep. Their aunt was already outside in the backyard with some of the girls motioning for everyone else to join her in the forest.
The boys and the servant rushed to the woman, but Cori kept feeling that something was wrong. She scanned the girls by Charlotte before noticing the youngest girl was not there. She raced back upstairs and found Susan sleeping in her bed. She had the pillows and covers bunched around her, so she blended in as if she were not there.
Cori scooped the young girl into her arms, which caused Susan to stir awake frightened a bit. "It's ok, I'll get you to your aunt," she whispered to the young girl as they reached the bottom floor of the house. A few bangs on the door made her freeze. She had to think fast, but some of her time was taken from her when a few soldiers stormed into the house. She had just enough time to dive under the dining table with the girl still in her arms.
Susan was shaking with fear as she clutched the doll in her arms as tight as she could. Cori tried to give the young girl a comforting smile, but the child looked ready to cry. Cori wiped away some of the tears before hugging the child close so she could whisper, "Stay quiet and do no move unless I tell you to, I will get you out of this safely." Susan stared up at her worried before giving a shaky nod.
Leather boots stomped quickly through the house as the yells of men sounded as well. "Nobody is here," "The ghost's children aren't here," "Burn the place," "Shoot anybody you find," were some of the yells that Cori and Susan heard as they stayed hidden under the table.
Cori cursed the fact that she was still in her dress and the corset. She would pay big money right now if she could wear her workout clothes. She made sure her dress was all under the table before footsteps entered the dining area. The little girl clung to her side as they watched a pair of boots attached to a soldier's feet march into the room slowly.
"Nothing in here either," the soldier growled and Cori took her chance. She knew she would not have another. She kicked her feet out and swept the man's feet out from under him. She slid out from under the table, punched the man in the face, the gut, and then she hit some of his pressure points to knock him unconscious. His fall had made a bit of a commotion, but it was a risk anyways.
"Now, run to the forest to your aunt," Cori whispered pulling Susan out from under the table and running out into the backyard with the young girl. She pushed Susan towards Charlotte and the other children. She would have joined the group, but she heard yells of being spotted so she ran in the other direction to distract the soldiers from Susan and the others.
"A woman, don't shoot, just catch her," a soldier ordered even though some bullets had already been shot. She was lucky not to be hit by them. The corset and her leg wound made running difficult, but she was not going to give up because of pain. "I said do not shoot," the soldier yelled angrily but his voice was not as loud as she ran deeper into the forest.
Branches and rocks were catching on the skirt of her dress as she ran. A curse left her a few times when her skirt also hid tree roots below her from view and she stumbled. Her ankle twisted one time during a stumble, but she kept running to the best of her ability. She was surprised none of the soldiers had caught her yet, but of course, the sounds of horses catching up to her were there instead of soldiers on foot.
"Stop running," a soldier yelled in a commanding tone, but nobody in his or her right mind is going to voluntarily stop.
"Daft woman," another soldier snapped behind her, but she just pulled up her skirt and ran faster.