Back with the next chapter (: I hope you all enjoy!
August 1760
|One Week Later|
"Tessa! Tessa! Wake up!" Were the first words I heard that morning as my body landed on the wooden floor with a loud thump. Alice in her excitement had pushed me off of her bed.
Groaning, I rubbed my arm, which I'd landed on. After several apologies on Alice's part, I yawned and rubbed my eyes.
"Why are we awake so early, Alice?" I asked, remembering our late mornings from the week prior.
"We start our lessons today!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down on her bed. Her red hair was a tangled mess, but it seemed she could care less.
I felt the excitement bubble within me, so I joined Alice in jumping on her bed. It didn't take more than a few moments for Ms. Marie to notice that we were awake.
"Come now, girls." She'd said, laughing at our antics and hugging the both of us. "It's time that the both of you get ready for your lessons this morning."
After we dressed, our hair tamed, and our hands cleaned, Ms. Marie led us down the stairs and into the family's rather large sitting room. In the room sat Peter, Jonathan, and a taller, much older man. He had withered brown eyes and scraggly white hair on his head and beard. He smiled when we entered the room.
"Have a seat, children. I am your new instructor, Mr. Thomas Brassfield." He said, his voice slow but soothing and kind. He had the same accent as my father, which made me smile. Alice took a seat next to Jonathan on one side of the table, and I sat on the other side, next to Peter.
I soon realized after the lessons began, that I loved learning. I clung to every word that Mr. Brassfield spoke, eager to learn more. That morning, he announced to Alice and I that he would be teaching us how to read and write. According to Alice, Peter and Jonathan had begun learning last year, so they were a bit ahead of us. Along with reading and writing, he would also teach us mathematics, history, and geography.
"Now girls, skills such as these aren't common among women in our world." Mr. Brassfield commented. I raised my eyebrows in confusion.
"Why not?" I'd asked. Mr. Brassfield simply sighed and shook his head.
"It is hard to explain now, dear. Perhaps you'll understand when you are older." He said, giving me a smile.
During our lessons that day, Mr. Brassfield began to teach Alice and me the letters of the alphabet. He explained to us that several letters, when combined, would make a word. Alice seemed a little overwhelmed, but I understood the concept well enough.
Mr. Brassfield also began to teach us mathematics (which I disliked), history, and geography. The first place he mentioned besides our home was London. I could hardly contain my excitement. I was eager to learn about the city where my father had grown up. But before Mr. Brassfield could continue about England, he announced that our instruction had concluded for the day.
Time seemed to pass so quickly that I didn't even notice is was a few hours past midday. As a reward for being so well-behaved during our lessons, Ms. Marie allowed Alice and I to play outside. Although lessons for the day were over for us, we soon found the opposite to be true for Peter and Jonathan.
As Alice and I stepped outside, we heard the unfamiliar clang of wood against wood. Peering around the corner, we saw Mr. John instructing the two boys on how to stand during a sword fight. I was immediately transfixed and walked around the corner with Alice in tow.
"Stand with your feet apart now, boys. If your feet are too close, your opponent can throw you off balance." I heard Mr. John comment. Both of the boys widened their steps and stared intently at each other.
"Are they going to teach us that?" I asked Alice, sitting on my knees in the soft grass. She joined me and played with the hem of her dress. I tore my eyes away from the boys when Alice giggled.
"Of course not, silly. Ladies do not use weapons." She said, seeming rather unconcerned. I was severely disappointed and confused.
"But why not? What if someone attacked us?" I asked. It seemed that I was growing more confused with every day I spent in New York. The way of life here was so different than my village.
"That's why we have the soldiers. They're here to protect us." She said, beginning to watch the boys swing the wooden swords. I thought back to several days ago when Peter and Jonathan had rescued me from that other boy. I wondered if they would grow up to be soldiers and protect us.
"But what if they aren't around? What if there is no one to help?" I asked, remembering the older boy who'd bullied me. I wouldn't have used a weapon on them, but it would've been useful if I knew how to stand up for myself. Alice appeared to be genuinely perplexed. I don't think she'd ever considered that possibility before.
Alice and I watched the boys practice through the afternoon, watching with rapt attention. We'd both agreed that we would learn how to fight, just in case we were ever in trouble. Alice had told me that her father would not teach us because we were girls. So we were forced to learn everything we could from Mr. John's instructions with the boys.
Later that night, I lay awake next to Alice and became lost in my own thoughts. I missed Father terribly. It had only been one week but it felt like years. I was enjoying my time here with Alice, but I missed Father's embraces and voice.
For most of the day, I'd wondered if Father would teach me to use weapons. He was almost always carrying his own weapons, so I knew that he must know how to use them.
I sighed and wondered if he would also believe that girls should not use weapons. The women in my village used weapons for hunting, and I'm sure they knew how to defend themselves.
'My village…' I thought, my mind drifting slowly to my mother's face. When I closed my eyes I saw her smiling face, inviting my brother and me into her arms. But all I could hear were that man's harsh words.
"You are worthless to her." He'd said. Every memory rushed through my mind, and soon my eyes filled with tears.
'How could Alice and her family love me for who I was, but my own mother could not?' I thought, as I covered my mouth to quiet my sobs.
I cried myself to sleep that night, the memory of my mother and brother haunting my dreams.
|One Week Later|
It was a quiet afternoon, and Alice and I were once again watching the boys practice their sword skills. Today, they continued to practice the skills they'd learned the week prior, so we didn't pay much attention to them.
We laid on our backs in the shade of Alice's home and watched the clouds pass over New York. We entertained ourselves by imagining pictures within the shapes of the clouds.
I picked my head up from the grass when I heard footsteps approaching us. Squinting in the sunlight, I saw that it was Ms. Marie. She had a large smile on her face and was looking right at me.
"Tessa daring, I think you'll be happy to know that someone important has just arrived home from Boston." She laughed. A smile immediately took over my features.
"Is he back at Fort George? Why didn't he come to get me?" I asked, looking around to see if he'd followed her here.
"Hush now, child. The ship he arrived on is in port, but he hasn't arrived at Fort George just yet. I'll take you to him." She held out her hand. I took it with a smile and looked back at Alice. She laughed and waved as Ms. Marie guided me away.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Tessa!" She yelled.
I could barely contain my excitement as Ms. Marie led me through the streets of New York towards the ports.
We finally came to a stop in front of a beautiful ship. It was dark gray and red, with enormous red sails. At the forefront of the ship was a carved wooden wolf. I found it intimidating.
Then I heard the voice I'd been severely missing for two weeks. I looked up and saw Father speaking to a man who stood at the wheel of the ship. I squeezed Ms. Marie's hand as I waited for him to notice that we'd arrived here.
As they continued to converse, the other man looked over his shoulder and gave us a curious look. Noticing this, Father turned to follow his gaze and looked at us. I gave him an overjoyed smile and he returned it with a chuckle.
He spoke his parting words to the man and started towards us.
I stood at the base of the ramp leading off the ship and bounced impatiently, waiting for Father to step off. As soon as he did, I ran towards him. He dropped to one knee and welcomed me with open arms.
"I take it that you missed me?" He asked with a laugh.
"Of course I missed you!" I said, hugging him tighter.
After a few moments, I released him and looked towards Ms. Marie. She smiled brightly. "I'll leave you two be. Will I see you tomorrow for your lessons, Tessa?" She asked, clasping her hands in front of her.
I nodded and looked towards Father.
"Thank you for watching over her Marie. I hope you'll extend my gratitude to John as well." He said politely. Ms. Marie smiled. "Of course." And with that, she walked back the way she came.
"I've brought you something from Boston." Father said, reaching into his coat pocket. I clapped my hands excitedly and awaited my surprise.
In one hand, Father held a small doll with a beautifully crafted dress. And in the other hand, he held a small book.
"Now I know that you've only just begun your lessons on how to read, but when you become more skilled, then perhaps it will have more use to you." Father said, handing me the small book. I handed him the doll and took the book eagerly.
I felt the softness of the book's cover and immediately opened it to the first page. It was there that a drawing of a tall church awaited me. I ran my fingers over the picture and looked up at Father.
With a smile, he copied my action. "This book is about Boston. I remember how eager you were to accompany me there, so until you're old enough to travel with me you can learn about the city with this."
My smile stretched from ear to ear. I was excited to be able to read my new book. Taking the doll back from Father, I hugged both of my gifts tightly to my chest. Father chuckled and stood up straight.
"Come on, then. It seems that I have another surprise for you."
Author's Note: Sorry for the late update! Now before I go into the next chapter let's point out a few things! 1)The man Haytham was talking to on the ship was Shay (: And he will be making an appearance later on. 2) So next chapter, something is going to happen that's slightly more AU. I know that according to Forsaken, Haytham had a mansion in Virginia, but that's not the case for this story so keep that in mind! (: Review if you'd like (: