I don't own The Patriot.
Guest: Hello! Thank you so much for the lovely review! You found the quote! Anna went all Simba there for a second. Hmm, we'll see if Anna and Gabriel come into contact with any Brits. True about Catherine however there is someone that she can turn to, but as you stated, he is a little mad at her now. Enjoy the chapter :D
"Are we there yet?" Anna asked in a monotone voice, which seemed to Gabriel for the umpteenth time. An hour after they left from Shanty Town, Anna constantly asked the same question every thirty minutes.
Gabriel heaved a sigh and whispered, "almost." Ever since they had started to ride, Gabriel felt the horse's footsteps becoming slower as it walked. He looked ahead of him and noticed a flowing creek with water. Seeing that the tortured animal needed a time to rest, he pulled onto the reins and the horse halted.
"Why are we stopping?" Anna asked when Gabriel's feet landed to the ground. He reached towards the horse's bit and pulled it over to the creek where it bent down it's head and drank the cool water. "Oh good idea," Anna said and she jumped off her horse and ran to the creek. Taking off her shoes, she dipped her feet onto the cold water and felt a cool calmness wash over her. She felt the end of her dress dissolving in the creek's moisture but she could care less about her outfit.
Gabriel's lips formed a malicious smirk and he slowly approached Anna. He softly placed his hands on her shoulders and gave her push. Anna screamed and fell into the cold water. Water made it's way into her mouth and nose as she sat up straight and sputtered the water out of her mouth. She glared when she noticed Gabriel laughing at what had happened to her. "Gabriel Martin I am going to kill you!" she yelled and sprang to her feet.
Gabriel continued to laugh as Anna chased after him with her bare feet and wet dress. He ran deep into the forest and turned his head only to see that Anna was gaining speed. "Okay, okay," he held up his hands and sank to his knees in surrender when she cornered him to a tree, "I was just trying to have some fun!"
Anna grabbed a handful of her dress and wrung it over Gabriel's head. Droplets of water escaped from the fabric and onto his golden locks. Anna unruffled her dress and gave him a satisfied smirk, "and that was me having fun," she said. Then her smile disappeared, "do you always like to pull these sort of jokes on others?"
"I did them to my brother all the time," Gabriel smiled at the mention of Thomas and the jokes that they pulled onto each other. Then his smile faltered when he realized that he had pulled a joke on Anne. "Even on Anne. When we were eleven, I poured black ink in her tea and it turned her teeth black for a month." He bowed his head and secretly smiled at the mention of the joke. It was a little amusing during that time, especially when Anne screamed at the sight of her colored teeth.
Anna let out a scoff. "You do that me and you won't have any teeth left," she said in a warning tone of voice and wiped her dirty hands on her dress. "Now, I think the horse is well rested, shall we go and give the flag to your father?"
Gabriel held out his hand towards her but Anna only looked at it. "No, after that last joke I am not going to grab your hand and expect you to throw me over your shoulder and to the ground," Anna said and crossed her arms over her chest.
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't planning on doing that," he told her and helped himself off the ground. He walked ahead of Anna and she followed him out of the forest. Gabriel suddenly held out his arm and stopped her from walking. Anna looked up at him and then at what he was staring at. Her eyes widened when she noticed a group of Green Dragoons circling around Gabriel's frightened horse.
"Get behind me," Gabriel whispered and Anna immediately obeyed. She craned her neck and peeked over Gabriel's shoulder to see what was happening.
Tavington reached over to the saddle bag and held it in his grip. He turned the bag upside down and the contents fell to the ground. One object in particular fell straight into the creek and absorbed the moisture. Tavington raised an eyebrow and held up the wet American flag into his hands. His lips titled into a smirk and looked at the others surrounding him, "scan the forest," he ordered, "some militiamen might be lurking about." He extended his arm towards a Green Dragoon and handed him the flag. He gave him a cold stare and ordered, "burn it."
"Oh hell no," Anna whispered under her breath. She took a step forward but Gabriel immediately blocked her from walking any further. "Gabriel," she hissed under her breath when he stopped her, "they are going to burn the flag! We can't let them do that!"
"Sir," another Dragoon called the Colonel's attention and Gabriel and Anna immediately turned their heads, "what should we do with the horse?"
"Save it for the Dragoons," Tavington told him. "The rest of you search around the forest if there are any of Martin's militiamen." Under his order, the Dragoons rode into the different parts of the forest. One of them started to come directly at Gabriel and Anna.
"Damn it," Gabriel cursed under his breath. He pushed Anna ahead of him and urgently yelled, "go! We need to hide!"
Anna ran as quickly as her feet could carry her. Without looking back, she ran deeper into the forest until she found a large rock that stood in the middle of two trees. She flew towards the rock and hid in there. "Gabriel," she breathed, "we made it." No answer. "Gabriel?" she looked around her but Gabriel was nowhere to be found. Cautiously, she craned her neck and looked over the rock but he was not there.
Oh please let him be alright she thought. Letting out a gasp, she hid behind the rock when she heard a horse's footsteps coming towards her. Anna placed a hand over her mouth to block her panting and tried to remain as quiet as she could. I wish I had a gun with me! she mentally yelled not that I would use it. When there was no sound, she slowly craned her neck to check but he was still there. Damn it just leave already! she wanted to yell, these twigs are killing my feet!
Then, she felt something crawling on her feet. Anna let out a loud gasp and shook her leg in the air to get rid of whatever was crawling on her foot. She pulled her leg closer but found nothing there. "And who might you be?" a voice asked. Anna slowly looked at the shadow on the ground and then at the person standing over her with a pistol pointed at her head.
Oh damn she thought but tried not to show any fear, even though she was terrified on the inside. She slowly stood on her feet and clenched one hand into a fist, "none of your concern," she said through clenched teeth. Her eyes bounced over to the pistol and then at the Dragoon. Her hand lashed out and grabbed the pistol.
His grip tightened on the pistol and she tried to pull it off him. "Stop! Stop!" he ordered but she continued to thrash around. He held out his arm and gave her a strong push.
Oof!" Anna grunted and fell to the ground on her side. She scrunched her eyes and glared at him, "now is your chance," she said through gritted teeth, "shoot."
However, he lowered his pistol and stood over her. "I could never do that," he said, "especially to someone's sister."
Anna's eyes widened at the sudden realization at who this Dragoon was. Her eyebrows knitted together and clenched her teeth. "It's you!" she spoke and dug her nails deeper into the Earth. She slowly stood up on her feet and stared at him, "the one who burned the church!" she yelled.
Wilkins placed his hand on her mouth and pushed her over to a tree. Anna staggered back and moaned when her back made contact with the wood. She held out her hands and dug them into his arm but he didn't remove his gloved hand from her mouth. "Stay quiet," he harshly whispered to her, "if they hear you out here, they will kill you!"
Anna looked at his straight in the eyes. He slowly removed his hand from her mouth and she gasped, "why are you telling me this? Aren't you one of them?"
Am I? he thought. "You have to get out of this forest," Wilkins ignored her question, "the others are not too far behind."
"Where do you expect me to go? On a tree?" Anna asked and flung her arm to a tree behind him.
"I will give you my horse," Wilkins told her, "but you need to get out of here!"
Anna was surprised at his unexpected offer. Didn't the Loyalists hate the colonists? "How do I know that you won't report this to that blue-eyed Colonel of yours?" she asked.
He wished that she would stop asking questions and just leave. The more she stalled for time, the more vulnerable she became for the Dragoons. "I just need you to trust me," he told her, "I have done enough damage to your sister and-"
"My sister?" Anna gasped, "what has happened to her?"
"She's fine," he assured her.
"Are you sure?" Anna asked.
"I will always make sure of that," he told her, "now go, they're coming!" he snapped and pushed her towards his horse. Anna staggered forward and looked at the horse. "I'll help you," he offered but Anna held her hand in the air.
"I don't need your help," she said and placed her foot on the stirrup and lifted herself onto the horse. "Great," she whispered under her breath and held the reins in her hands, "if I fall off, I am coming after you," she threatened Wilkins and pulled the horse's reins. "Haaaa," Anna shuddered when the horse stood on it's hind legs and ran into the forest.
Wilkins's watched Anna disappear into the distance. He gasped when he heard another thundering footsteps running towards him. At that moment, Wilkins took his pistol, pointed it on his shoulder, and pulled the trigger.
Gabriel's head turned to the left when he heard the sound of the pistol. Oh God, please don't let that be Anna he thought and pulled his own pistol for protection. He slowly walked away from a tree that he was hiding in and pointed his pistol in front of him but no one was there. He slowly proceeded into the depths of the forest but quickly hid behind a tree when he heard footsteps running towards him.
"Whoa boy," a female voice was heard and Gabriel peeked out from behind the tree. His eyes widened in surprise when he noticed Anna sitting on a horse's saddle. Anna noticed Gabriel's golden hair and looked at him with a smile. "I got us a horse," she said and held up the reins.
Gabriel slowly walked out from behind the tree and approached her. "How?" he asked.
"I'll explain on the way," Anna told him, "but look," she reached into Wilkins's saddle bag and held the soaked American flag in her hands, "safe, wet and sound."
Gabriel slowly shook his head, "I-I-I don't know what to say," he answered as he placed his foot on the stirrup and sat in front of Anna. "Now we can go to father."
"Yes," Anna agreed, "and hopefully we won't have any of those Dragoons stopping us," she said and they continued to their destination.