Chapter 7: The past always comes back
"I want you to tell me, right now, what is going on here, Asha." Cornwallis crossed his arms and looked at her.
Asha looked to Krieger who was shaking his head ever so slightly. She looked back to Cornwallis "I need a moment alone with my friend please."
"No, you don't, you need to talk. General O'Hara is in the infirmary with a concussion. I know you pushed him out of the way to save him, but it still doesn't change anything."
"Asha is right, I need to talk to her for a moment. It's not negotiable, My Lord," said Krieger stepping forward.
"You are under my roof and what I say goes here."
Krieger nodded "Then perhaps I'll take her outside to talk. Won't be under your roof then, now would we?"
Cornwallis took a step closer "Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Stop! Please!" Asha stood up then looked to her Uncle "Just let me talk to him. Please."
Cornwallis sighed "Fine. You have Five minutes," he said then left the room.
Asha looked to Krieger "What? Why were you shaking your head at me?"
"You can't tell them who or what you are, Asha."
"Why the hell not? They are going to find out anyway. Krieger, two men in two days have tried to kill my Uncle and now the General and me. What the hell am I supposed to tell them? That this was all a fluke? That someone just happens to target them, the minute I show up? I mean, it doesn't exactly look good for me either."
Krieger ran his hand through his hair as Asha sat down on the bed "I don't know. I know you have to tell him something, but it can't be the truth right now. If you tell them that you're an assassin and I was once your boss, we are probably in for a world of trouble."
"Krieger, this isn't about you and I anymore. This is about everyone. They aren't just targeting my Uncle anymore, they are targetting anyone, which means, bloody hell, if this turns out that way-"
"What way?"
Asha looked up at him, face filled with worry "What if, Sean and his band of morons, join the ghost? The Ghost, whoever he or she may be, will have assassins as well. We need to recruit more people somehow. Don't we have ally assassins some place?"
"I think in North Carolina. I can send word to them. Maybe they'll come."
Asha nodded "Good. Do it." She looked towards the door as her Uncle came in. "It's been five minutes," he said. "Now, tell me what I want to know."
"Uncle, would it have killed you to knock?"
Cornwallis knocked on the door "There. I knocked, now tell me what I want to know."
"You should tell him, Mother," said Alex walking in behind Cornwallis "Or I will."
"Alex, this is grown up conversation."
Cornwallis looked down at the young boy then to his niece. "Hmm, talking to the boy may be even better," he thought.
"Mother, it's all right. I know it's hard for you to talk about it." He turned to Cornwallis "Recently, Mother found out that someone was trying to hurt you. Or rather kill you, so she took measures to come here and try to warn you, but wasn't sure on how to go about it."
Asha and Krieger both exchanged looks then looked back to Alex.
"The information was passed down from a friend of my Father, a loyal friend to the family, that Stephen, Asha's Step Father was looking to cause you harm, for reasons unknown, but he had a lot of men under his employ and looking to hurt you and damage your reputation, your life, and the cause you fight for."
"Your Father seemed to have good friends. Can you tell me the name of the man that gave you this information?"
"I cannot, My Lord. He's no longer among the living."
Cornwallis sighed "Thank you for letting me know, lad. I hadn't realized Stephen was that way."
"You should have. He killed your sister, my mother."
"Oh not that again, Asha."
Asha stood up, ignoring the pain from her wounds "You ignored me back then, naturally you would ignore me now. She didn't kill herself, Uncle! She never would have done that to me! I was the light of her life and there was no way that she could hang herself from the beam she was hanging from. It was too far from the bed."
"You were a child, Asha. Many children imagine things as a child. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to discuss."
Asha shook her head as he left the room and let out a frustrated sigh "And he really wonders why I didn't wait to go live with him. He never listened to me. Never believed me." She looked back to her son "And you, young man," she knelt down in front of him and smiled "Well, done."
Alex shrugged "No problem." He noticed that his mother's facial expression changed "Are you upset with me?"
"No, Alex. Of course not. You're eleven years old, you shouldn't have to lie to protect me."
"Well, to be fair, I'm really protecting all of us. You're too stubborn to ask for help, so I chose to help on my own."
Asha chuckled then looked up at Krieger "I wonder who he heard that from."
"I'm completely innocent in this."
"Mmm hmm," she chuckled. "Well, I think breakfast is being served pretty soon, let's get changed and head down."
"Sounds good. I'm starving," said Krieger.
"You're always starving."
/
"So, that's two men in two days that have tried to kill someone here at Fort Carolina. First Lord Cornwallis was a target and today, General O'Hara. Any one of us could be next, so I want all of you men to keep a look out for anyone suspicious," said Tavington.
"So, anyone who doesn't look like us?" laughed Ban.
"Oh, I don't know, I find you pretty suspicious," said Bordon taking a drink.
"You're not too bad yourself," winked Ban laughing, receiving an eyeroll from Bordon and a shaking of the head from Tavington.
"How the hell did I get cursed with you lot?"
"Just lucky, Tav. You're just lucky."
"Well, if that's luck, I hate to see what bad luck looks like."
Ban let out a belch "So, the woman I keep hearing so much about, is she going to be at breakfast this morning?"
"As far as I know, yes." Tavington looked at Ban "Why do you ask?"
"I am curious to see this woman. I heard that she took down a man single handed at the victory tent yesterday."
"Aye, that's true," said Tavington. "Well, let's head on in."
/
Asha was seated next to her Uncle at the table with her son next to her and Krieger next to him. General O'Hara was on the other side of Cornwallis. Tavington, Bordon, Ban, and Wilkins came in and began to sit down. Asha walked through the door way after using the bathroom and stopped as she saw Wilkins.
"Ah, Gentlemen, I don't believe you've all formerly met my niece. This is Asha Ravenwood. Asha, this is Colonel Tavington, Major Bordon, Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, and Captain Wilkins."
Wilkins had jerked to the side and quickly stood up "Asha? Is it really you? I thought...I thought when I heard your name, that it was you, but I didn't think it was possible."
"It's me." She smiled "Hello James."
Wilkins laughed then stepped over to her and hugged her tight, which he quickly regretted after she groaned in pain "Oh my goodness, I'm sorry. I forgot about your wounds."
"It's all right." She smiled then walked over and sat down in her chair. She looked over to O'Hara "How's your head?"
O'Hara nodded "It's fine. At least it was the only wound I sustained...thanks to you. You saved my life and I thank you for that."
Asha gave a nod "You're welcome."
"So, who were those men that have tried to kill someone these past couple of days?" asked Tavington.
"Bugger that," said Ban leaning forward "I want to hear how she killed the man at the victory tent," he laughed.
Asha cracked a smile as she looked down at her plate "There really isn't much to tell, um...Banastre."
"Oh, please love, call me Ban," he winked.
"Ban," she smiled then cleared her throat.
Cornwallis looked to Krieger "So...Krieger is it? How do you know my niece?"
"Here comes the get to know you session. Fuck my life," Krieger thought then cleared his throat. "Well, I've known Asha since she was a teenager. We met at a tavern. The moment I saw her, I knew there was something special about her. A strength, if you will."
Asha smiled and chuckled "You are so full of shit."
Krieger laughed "No, no, no, it's true."
"What about her attracted you to her?" asked Tavington.
"Well, first, she was unlike any woman I had ever seen. Hair cropped short, highly uncommon for women, but it was the way she carried herself. She was with three...friends who were with her. She protected them and they protected her. There was a barmaid there," he took a drink of his milk "that uh...she was being harassed by some disgusting folk and Asha here, took the pitcher that was sitting on a near by table and busted it over this poor son of a bitches head. Then of course a fight broke out and it was...probably the best bar fight I was ever in," he laughed.
"I remember that night, you walked away with a broken rib and a dark eye," she chuckled.
"Aye, but the fight was amazing. Ever since then, I made sure I was associated with this woman."
Wilkins looked over to Asha "What um...what happened to you? When we were children?"
Asha looked over at Wilkins then sighed as she looked back to her plate "I prefer not to talk about it."
"Well, I'd like to know and I'm sure...Lord Cornwallis would like to know as well. You disappeared after your Mother's funeral. Never a word. I thought you were dead."
"Leave it alone, James. It was a long time ago."
"My Lord, aren't you curious as to where she's been all this time? And who is this boy of yours? Where's his Father?"
"Leave my Mother alone," said Alex.
"Alex, it's all right," Asha said patting her son's leg. She looked to Wilkins "What happened to me and where I went is none of your concern. And it isn't yours either," she said looking to Cornwallis. It was in past. Let the past die."
"The past never dies," said Cornwallis.
"Alex, why don't you and I go to the market? I think we need to get some provisions."
"But I want to stay with Mother."
"It's all right, Alex, Krieger is right. It'll be good to get away for awhile. Be careful," she said looking at Krieger.
"You too. Come on, Alex."
Alex gave his mother a kiss on the cheek "I can stay."
"No, sweetheart, get out of here for awhile. Maybe you'll make some friends out there. You'll be fine." She waved at her son as he followed Krieger out the door. She sighed with frustration as she looked over at Wilkins "If you ever question my son, on anything ever again, I'll kick your ass up so high, you'll look like a hunchback."
Tavington had to hold back his laughter by hiding behind his drink. He was going to burst. She obviously knew this man since she was a child and even she couldn't apparently stand him at points.
She looked to her Uncle "But you're right, Uncle. The Past doesn't die. It always comes back. One way or another especially when people like you bring it up. I overheard what you said to Colonel Tavington here." This made him look at Asha "What did she hear?" She shook her head at her Uncle "You know nothing of people's pasts, but yet you feel like you should try to exploit something you don't understand, either by choice or ignorance." She sat her napking down "If you'll excuse me, Gentlemen, I don't feel well. The air has gotten stale." She stood up, looked at her Uncle then walked out of the room.
Cornwallis shook his head "As stubborn as her Mother."
Asha sat out in the gardens a good half hour after she left the table. She inhaled the crisp air, trying to cool down from talking with her uncle. She stood up as she heard footsteps behind her and saw it was Tavington. She wasn't sure what he was doing out here, but he surprised her by grabbing her arm rather harshly "Ow, what the hell are you doing?"
"What did you overhear?"
"Colonel, you're hurting me," she said looking up at him in shock.
Tavington sighed and released his grip a little "I'm sorry. I just um...what did you overhear?"
"Just that you never lost a battle and how my uncle scorned you for your methods then brought up...something about your family."
Tavington clenched his jaw as it made him angry at the reminder of what was said. He nodded "I see."
"I meant no offense, Colonel. My Uncle can bring up rather dark memories."
Tavington sighed as he looked around "Look, it's um...we still have plenty of daylight left and I have awhile before I have to go on patrol, would you like...to accompany me into the woods?"
Asha looked at him strangely. He closed his eyes and chuckled "I promise that sounded a lot less creepy in my head. You know the land around here, so maybe you can show me around so I don't have to rely on Wilkins. It'd be nice to get away from him for awhile."
"What about your men?"
"They'll stay here at the fort. Bordon and Ban will handle my meeting with the dragoons."
Asha scoffed "You're going to skip one of your dragoon meetings just for me to show you around?"
"You look like a woman who can get in and out of places unseen, which means you probably know different roads that the Militia could possibly use. So, even if your Uncle says anything, you're helping the cause."
Asha smiled and nodded "All right. I prefer my own horse."
"I have just the one," he said as they walked to the stables. He brought Asha to a beautiful black horse "I think this one will do."
"What's her name?"
"She still needs one actually. She's been broken in a little, but she needs the right rider, I think."
Asha petted the horses head then touched her head to the horse "Shadow. Her name will be Shadow."
"I'll have a horse for your son soon as well if he wishes one."
"I appreciate it, Colonel," she smiled. She climbed up on her horse who tried to move too quickly at first, acted scared she had a rider, but quickly calmed down. Colonel Tavington climbed on his horse and looked to Asha "Lead the way, Miss Ravenwood."
She turned to him "Call me Asha." She smiled as she looked out the gate "Hyaa!"
Tavington smiled slyly as he watched her leave. He looked to Cornwallis' window, he wasn't in there, but the best revenge he'd have is making his niece falling in love with him. He shook his head at the thought of possibly loving her, but he knew it could be possible, but he would have to stop himself from feeling such feelings. "Hyaa!"
