July 22, 1587, The New World

I watched as the citizens filed out of the small boats, John White at the lead as the first steps onto the land filled my chest with pride. Even though I was not the first here, the simple fact that I finally arrived brought happiness to me. We were on a small island, the mainland visible in the distance. I laughed once in excitement before leaping out of the boat and running into the trees in the distance. On July the fourth of eighty-four, some expeditionaries had scouted this land and even returned with native peoples. When brought before me they had claimed that a child of my kind was seen roaming the forests of the mainland. They had told us the child was there for years, which gave me hope that I would find the entity of a population. As orders were being shouted, I walked through the forests taking in some of the details of the alien landscape. Surely they resembled what I had grown up with, but at the same time the trees were different. There were not any of the purple beeches, the oak trees were much taller and less dense, and I stumbled against several trees that had large waxy leaves and enormous white flowers. Then there were trees with no leaves whatsoever, but rather sharp needles and flowers made of wood. There were trees resembling this in Europe, but none with needles this intimidating.

I made sure not to wander too far so as to be unable to hear everyone else, but I could not help but wish that we had landed on the mainland instead. I was assured I would have plenty of time for that, but for now we were simply camping on the island, preparing ourselves for the excitement that tomorrow would hold.

Later that afternoon, once everything was done being set up, I sat outside of my tent and looked at the stars above. They seemed the same for the most part, which dissapointed me slightly. I hummed and distanced myself from the fire slightly. It was much more warm here than it had been in Plymouth when we departed, but we were much farther south. Not to mention, the months had progressed to midsummer.

The sound of boots on the sandy dirt brought my attention to see John Smith.

"Are you excited to see the mainland, sire?" he asked, grinning slightly. I nodded and flushed mildly, embarassed that it seemed that obvious.

"I cannot wait to claim land for myself here. It is a very beautiful place..." I glanced around and then set my gaze on the ship sitting on the water in the distance. When I reestablished eye contact with White, I gave him a soft smile. "Have you yet to name this colony?" He laughed through his nose and sat down, crossing his legs as he blocked the blinding light of the flames from me.

"The natives here often use the shells of the ocean creatures for currency... I was considering using one of the people's words for money. Of course, Sir Raleigh makes the decision, but I was considering Roanoke." I nodded as I pulled my legs to my chest. "What do you think of the name?"

"It's fitting and creative. I feared that 'New Plymouth' would have become of this colony otherwise." He snickered and fidgeted slightly, making me guilty that I was awake even though he was the one that volunteered to keep watch.

"So tell me, do you creatures not require sleep or...?" I laughed several times and leant against the barrel behind me.

"No, we need to rest as much as the humans, but the excitement we find in colonising is incredible... Although it may just be me. Portugal never told me of this feeling, so do not think it qualifies for all of us."

"So you are friends with the entities of other lands as well?" he asked earnestly. I noticed his arquebus was glinting in the fire's light, distracting me for a moment. I laughed hollowly several times before exhaling loudly. I was not sure how to answer that question accurately without disturbing the poor man slightly. I could tell him that most of Europe hated me, and the ones that did not were eccentric. I could tell him that I lost my purity in some small house near the ports of Lisbon, but then he would question to which woman. There was the option of simply saying that Portugal did in fact qualify as my friend, but that would not be truth either. A human's friends did not have intercourse with one another and invite their allies to join in with them. The kings and dukes did not sleep with one another every time a treaty was finalised or an agreement was made.

"I suppose so... We are complicated beings, but then again, as are humans..." His mouth twitched upwards at the corners as he pat my shoulders.

"So you witnessed the signing of the Magna Carta, the invasion of the Picts, the battles with the Normans-"

"Would you believe me if I told you I have met King Alfred?" I asked, glancing with a small smile to entertain the large grin that grew on him.

"That is incredible! So you are more than seven centuries old? You look no older than a man of sixteen years of age..." he said whilst squinting to examine my face.

"I believe I am seven-hundred and nine. Although that may be innacurate..." He boomed laughter for a moment, me just sitting somewhat uncomfortably. The warm air made sitting next to the fire and an explorer somewhat uncomfortable, but I sat there, feigning laughter alongside the man. It was not until we heard the rustling of the foliage nearby that White grabbed his weapon and stood up quickly. I stood as well, reaching for a nearby knife, and walked towards the trees. He prepared his loud weapon as I trodded carefully to the nearest shrub, the knife extended in front of me.

There was a final loud rustle followed by a noise I least expected to hear. It was the sound of a child's laughter. No longer worried, I darted to the bush and quickly pushed the branches upward.

Instead of finding a child, there was a single ear of maize, sitting there, with small nuts beside it. I picked up the food items and showed them to White. Lowering his weapon, he raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Those were just laying in the bush?" I nodded and poured them into his hand.

"I have a feeling that we were being followed by one that is neither a native nor a human..."

The next day, I woke before the rest of the colonists and ventured into the forests of the island, determined to discover what or whom it was that left the food from yesterday. Birdcalls that were alien and exciting kept me wide awake as I searched for the subtle little signs that only humans could leave. The air was warm and moist, fog hanging low and making the morning both eery and wonderfully exotic. I shivered when a bird sounded and stopped walking. I just breathed, enjoying a moment to simply look around and take in the simple fact that I was in the New World.

When I finally stopped staring into the misty trees, I stepped forward only to break a stick under my feet. A powerful gust of wind blew from behind me, as if breaking the twig was a signal for it to come. The trees around me stirred, the sound of the leaves rustling becoming rather loud. And then, through the wind and the leaves, I heard a sweet, somewhat familiar sound. A child's laughing sounded from my right, but as the wind spun in that one little area, it travelled. I quickly turned my head in multple directions, trying to locate the child making the laughter. I could not see very far however, the fog blanketing the distant forest.

"Hello there?" I said, loud enough to breach the cacophony. I received a single giggle. I stared into one area of the mist where the laughing was coming from. Straining my eyes, I saw a silhouette, grey and hard to make out, in the clouds. The leaves crunched as the child neared and a small foot made it close enough to me to be seen. I waited for the being to take one more step forward and make itself visible.

"Sire, are you fine?" I shouted a little, startled by the adress, and whipped my head backwards. One of the settlers was standing on one end of the clearing, an arquebus gleaming on his shoulder. The wind had stopped the moment he had called out for me.

"I- di- The child. D-did you see the child?" I asked, gesturing in the direction the silhouette had come from. The man shook his head, staring at me with mild worry.

"Was it a native?"

"Possibly... Although the single foot I saw was much too pale to be an Indian..." His face showed panic.

"I will return to the camp and make sure all the children are accounted for," he said, running off back towards the camp. I stood there, not worried for the same reason he was. That was definitely a nation that I had just encountered, one with the freedom of the wind. I snickered to myself at the ridiculous thought. Nations could not control their own weather, it was just another thing we were subject to. Just a coincidence, mayhaps. Or maybe even the child knew what was going to happen and took advantage of it. I think it was teasing me. It was making its existence known, but not revealing itself. It wanted me to chase it.

I was tempted to scoff and blow off the idea of pursuing some child starved for attention, but I did not for one simple fact. I was already doing that. By coming to the New World and searching for territories to claim as my own, I was chasing the child. That child was the entity of this colony, one that had only been formed a day ago.

"Well then... child of the wind... I will enjoy finding you and teaching you," I muttered amusedly.

As I walked back to the camp, I questioned what was causing me to be so poetic, but pushed the thought out of my mind. Perhaps I was nearing an age of increased culture, something easily brought about colonisation. I chuckled several times in excitement. There was much to be gained in these misty forests.

December 15, 1587

I walked through the forest of the islands, determined to find the child. I had searched every day since that one encounter, finding no evidence save for an occasional ear of maize magically appearing on the outskirts of camp. The settlers were growing hungry, their wooden homes only able to shelter and not feed the many hungry mouths. Since my populace was doing fine back in England, I did not suffer that much, and would often give huge portions of my food to the children of Roanoke.

I was frustrated though. Already White was speaking of a return voyage to get supplies and we had only been here for a few months. I was also annoyed that I could not find that child. I shivered once in the cold and pressed on.

I found a clearing, different from the one I had found the child in months ago, but still it loomed over me, commanding me to stay. So I did. I sat in the center of the clearing and inhaled the sweet, stinging air in through my nose. I began to think.

I felt sorry for a moment that I had not brought the flour ball with me here, but I knew that this in itself was a risky experiment, and would hate it if something happened to the creature. So I left it in my home in London, allowing it to roam with free will. I momentarily wished that someone was here to see me in my mild success and congratulate me. Portugal came to mind, but his face was pushed out by something else. A deep booming laugh took over my thoughts for a moment, at first making me question where I had heard these and then why was I thinking of them now.

The laughs became progressively more childlike, the pitches becoming more and more youth-filled. It was not until the sound of shuffling nearby broke my attention did I turn my ahead. And there I saw the child.

He was smiling, with golden hair on his head, his eyes too far for me to determine colour. I stood up and took a careful step towards him. I extended a hand.

"D-did you come to see me?" I asked warily. I did not want to scare him away. He brought his small fists up to his mouth, slightly flustered. As I neared him, he lowered his hands and clutched at his stomach, the noise of his innards alerting me to something rather scary. "You're hungry, are you not...?" I asked him. He was about to shake his head in denial, but ended up nodding. He stepped back from me, making me feel somewhat bad for the small boy. If he really was the entity of Roanoke, then he was most definitely starving. He must have been excruciatingly cold as well, seeing as he was naked, with cuts running up his arms and legs.

I reached into the satchel laying over my shoulder and carefully pulled out one of the maize shalks and held it out to the boy. He refused blatantly, his head shaking and his eyes in something akin to horror.

"You want your people to eat this, don't you..." I said, the realisation hitting me. I could not believe that he was acting the same way I had when my people were starving. He stepped back again, nodding. "Where do you find these?" There was no reply. I decided for a different approach. "Are you able to understand me?" The child grinned and laughed once as his head bobbed up and down.

"So tell me, do you just want me to call you Roanoke?" He shook his head.

"Then what?" No response. "Do you fear me?" I asked, the question somewhat painful to ask. The child's eyes upturned in worry and he fervently shook his head.

"Then why do you not near me or respond to my questions?" The child looked at me with wide eyes. I was still unable to determine their colour, I just knew that they were not brown.

He took a step backwards, into the forest. "W-wait!" He looked at me with wide eyes, somewhat scared. "I am returning to my homeland in a few days and I just want to know if I shall come across you again when I return to Roanoke." His face read only of uncertainty, and he made no indication for an answer that went either way. The child looked at the ground, unsure of what to do, so he looked up at me and just smiled. Before giving an answer, he darted back into the forest, his laughter bouncing through the trees as he disappeared into the foliage.

"Please appear again..." I muttered before making my way back to the camp.

August 18, 1590

White and I stepped across the shores of the island, worried for how late we were. Spain and his annoying armada had kept anyone from safely voyaging back to Roanoke, and thusly caused us to be two years late. I was scared that we were entirely too late to save the starving colony and the little boy that ran naked in the forests.

"Sire, the fort that was assembled is in shambles," one of the men shouted. White peered up from the driftwood on the beach at the man, anxiety plaguing his expression.

"What do you mean? Are they not managing it?" White asked, already darting across the beach. I followed after them. The other man looked over his shoulder and shook his head.

"You may wish to see for yourself, sire." All of the men began running down the shore, frightened looks on our faces. I was probably in fear the most.

The sight of the fort came into view, the posts that were freshly cut when we left were now worn by the salty air.

"Hello!" White shouted. There was no response save for a bird on one of the posts flying off. He swore under his breath and ran to where one of the posts was fallen. He scrambled over it and quickly into the walls of the fort. Everyone else followed after him, weapons drawn in case the colony had been occupied or was a place of ambush.

When I walked up to the tall posts, I looked around worridly. Surely they could not have simply disappeared. I decided to walk in and ask White of his opinion on the whole matter. The moment I made it in, I looked around in all directions and saw the homes empty, not a single sign of anything inhabiting the area. I peeked into a house and saw that it was empty, scaring me. The other houses were completely torn apart, however.

"W-what happened to them?" I whispered rhetorically, staring at the empty room within the home. When I turned around, I saw all the other men staring at one of the posts of the fort, near where we had entered. I trotted up to them curiously, my brows upturned in confusion. White glanced over to me as I walked up.

"Sire, do you have any idea what this means?" he asked, gesturing towards what everyone was staring at.

Carved into the post was a strange word, one which I questioned if there was any real meaning: Croatoan.

"Is that not one of the neighbouring tribes of natives?" I inquired, more than concerned now. White glanced at me, his eyes flashing hope for a moment.

"It is indeed. Maybe our fellow Englishmen evacuated to the island that they inhabit?" White grinned for a split second before running back to the boats. "Quickly, let us find out!" he shouted. Several of the men, myself included, followed after him. I was praying that my first colony was not gone yet.

I was sitting on a stump on the outskirts of the neighbouring island's forests, White somewhere within the trees. We had searched the island for nearly seven hours and found absolutely no sign of the colonists. White was determined that we had missed an area, and that he would eventually find his family. I sighed and began rubbing my temples.

My first colony was gone. My first attempt at making myself known in the new world had died off. As much as White and the other men were hurting for their missing families, I did not much care. My thoughts were more on the child and how he knew had trusted me with keeping him alive. I was praying that he was still in existence, that one colonist had survived, thus keeping him alive as well. I felt terrible.

The child was free and happy. Albeit, slightly distrusting, but unlike me, it was happy in its early stages of existance. I groaned quietly in guilt. My first experience in the New World had not been promising in the least.