I do not own the Patriot. I only own Cori, Brandon, Anna, and their grandparents.
Story Start
The horse was running as fast as it could, but she still felt nervous that Colonel Tavington would appear behind her like an ominous shadow ready to take away her soul. He might actually kill her this time and her soul truly would be gone from this world. Images of her grandparents and her brother flashed through her mind as she gripped the reigns tighter in her hand.
Yells from soldiers sounded behind her along with the sound of horses chasing her. Dread filled her but she would not give up the chase just because of the soldiers trying to stop her out of control horse, or so they thought. She urged the horse to go a little faster, but the animal could not force itself anymore. She just prayed that the horse kept up this pace as long as it could.
"Miss Cori, hang on, we'll save you as soon as we can," a soldier shouted still veiled by the trees behind her.
"I don't need to be saved," she thought with a scowl on her face before she knew her options were beginning to slim. The soldiers' horses were not as tired as her horse was, and she knew they would eventually catch her. She could jump off the horse and try to escape by foot, but her last attempt was not too great for her. She could just jump onto a tree limb and hang there until the soldiers found her so she could act like the scared young woman who had just been on an out of control horse. Her options were becoming slimmer as the sound of the soldiers drew nearer.
"Time to put on my acting skills again," she thought and waited until she was close to a tree limb, which hung low enough for her to jump up and catch it. The horse ran forward as if she had not left its saddle as she hung with a scared expression on her face. The soldiers arrived in her line of sight soon enough and she quickly cried out for one of them to help her after she saw that the Colonel was not amongst them.
"Miss Cori, are you all right? Are you injured?" the soldier, who helped her down from the tree branch and onto the saddle of the horse he was riding, asked.
"I'm fine, just shaken," she whispered as she kept up her act and clung to his waist because she was sitting behind him. She was lucky that this group of soldiers was not the group that tracked her down from Charlotte's house the other night.
"We need to get her back to the fort, General Cornwallis will worry," another soldier said as the group turned their horses around to face the direction of the fort. A few soldiers from the group left to go find the runaway horse.
Cori felt her hope slip away as she was taken back to the fort. She was surprised to see the men from the log cage being released, and they were leaving with the man from earlier with the dogs. He gave her another smile and nod of his head before he and the men disappeared. Of course, the next person she saw was the dear sweet annoying and aggravating Colonel Tavington, who immediately eyed her with suspicion.
"Taking a ride with his majesty's soldiers?" Tavington asked with an underlying tone of assumption.
"No sir, she was riding a horse here in the fort until it lost control and took her through the forest. We tracked her down and thankfully the beast had not hurt her," the soldier, who she was riding the horse with, informed his commanding officer.
"I see, are you feeling ill Miss Cori?" he questioned her when he approached the horse to help her down.
"No Colonel, just shaken," she said trying to keep up the act even though she wanted to punch him again in the face or in the throat for the assumption he was making of her character.
"I hope the soldiers were kind to you," he whispered in her ear as he helped her down and kept his hands on her waist. She looked out of the corner of her eye to see him smirking at her.
She was seething inside as she stomped down on his shoe as hard as she could in her heels. A slight hiss from him made her smirk as she leaned towards him to whisper in his ear. "If you want me to stop hurting you and taking away your pride, then maybe you should quit questioning my status as a maiden," she whispered with an undertone that promised pain worse than she has dealt him before.
"Miss Cori, we should get you inside where you can rest and recover from your traumatic experience," a soldier said in a comforting voice as she moved away from a glaring Colonel.
"Yes, you're right, a rest sounds nice," she said as she took the offered arm by the soldier, and the two walked towards the house in the fort.
"Miss Cori," Colonel Tavington's shout made the pair stop even though Cori wanted to rush into the house for some time to think of another escape plan.
"I apologize for my actions. Would you grace me with your presence during the ball tonight in the gardens?" Tavington said in a more courteous tone as he approached Cori and the soldier.
She eyed him with suspicion now even though he kept up a cordial facial expression. He was waiting still for her answer as she looked around her, and she saw most of the men in the fort eyeing the two of them. It seemed as if everybody was waiting for her answer to the Colonel's question.
"Well since you are the first to ask me to the ball, then yes, I will go to the ball with you," she said loud enough for the other people in the fort to hear her. However, she moved closer to Tavington to tell him something else. "But do not think that all is forgiven, you did slap me, tackle me, and assume I was a whore," she hissed in his ear and she went to move away, but he put a hand on her waist with a tight hold.
"And don't forget that you have kicked, punched, and humiliated me in front of my commanding officer," he whispered in her own ear before moving back. "I will see you at the ball," he said in a more cordial tone before walking towards some of his men.
"I want to find the most pointed heels or boots I can find," she thought as the soldier led her into the house and up the stairs. Anna was at the door of her room waiting for her to enter her quarters. She dismissed the soldier with a thank you and a small curtsey. He left and soon Anna was already fussing over her about the ball. She was not excited about the ball because she knew she was going to deal with many materialistic and political women at this party. Materialism and politics are not topics she enjoys discussing.
Dancing or even talking with the Colonel would test her nerves with the man, but she was going to act civil until he stopped acting civil to her. She would then drag him deeper into the garden and finally have the fight she has been wanting to have with him. A few hours passed as Anna made her take a small nap, bathe, eat dinner, and get ready for the ball. The entire time she would have rather just read a book or slept the whole time. However, she was quickly learning that there was no arguing with Anna.
The time of the ball was now upon the fort. Anna had dressed her in a cream colored gown with gold colored embellishments. Gold leaves and vines were stitched on the skirt and bodice of the dress. The corset was not too tight, but tight enough to show off her form. She was not the most womanly form because of all of her training, but she did have some curves. Heels matching her dress were slipped on her feet. The pain would soon reach her soles and she was not happy about the footwear. She would kick them off as soon as she could whether the Colonel or anybody else liked it or not. If her feet were hurting, then she would not force herself to deal with the pain long.
Anna led her out of the room and she was told to wait at the top of the staircase. Anna hid by the wall so she could watch the Colonel retrieve Cori, even though Cori wanted just to walk down by herself. Anna had once again been insistent, and Cori waited only because she could see the excitement on Anna's face. She was becoming a friend to Cori in this time, and Cori wanted to be a good friend in return.
"My dear, you look beautiful, Colonel Tavington is a lucky man," the grandfatherly soldier from the breakfast the other day told her from the bottom of the staircase.
"Thank you, sir," she said and gave a small curtsey. When she rose, she saw that now Colonel Tavington was standing at the bottom of the staircase.
"Be good to this one, Colonel," the old soldier said giving Tavington a pat on the shoulder before he went outside of the house to go to the garden.
