Ryuugazaki: I'm almost at Chapter Ten! =D

Chapter Nine: Achilles' Errand
(Monday, 5 March 1770 – Davenport Homestead, Essex County, Massachusetts, British America)

Last night, Achilles had told me that he was going to take me on an errand with him. Jeannot, Adé, and Madame Esperanza are staying behind to manage the homestead. I have written letters to Mother and I am still waiting for another reply from her. I walked out of the manor and closed the front door. Achilles was sitting at a horse-drawn carriage.

"Good morning."

"To you as well." I stayed and shuffled my feet. "What is the purpose of today's errand?" Achilles smiled.

"I have decided to do something about the house, and you're going to help me. Get in." He knocked his cane against the door of the carriage. I did as he asked and looked around as we rode into the city. There was still icy snow on the road and it was somewhat chilly.

"What city are we going to?" I got no response to my question. I suppose that I will find out when I get there.

-Memory: Fast Forward-
(Monday, 5 March 1770 – Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, British America)

We arrived in the city. There were stone houses and it was loud and it had a peculiar smell. There were three women in a gaggle, conversing and walking past. They're all very pretty, but they look so different from Mother, Adé, and Madame Esperanza. This is what white women look like? These are the people of my paternal family? Achilles hit me in the shin with his cane. He whispered, "Don't stare."

"Sorry." I kept my eyes to the ground and followed him. He led me to a gathering place. I hurried up to him. "This place is incredible. The people, sounds, and smells are oh so interesting. I could walk these streets for days and know not a fraction of what lies beneath them." He chuckled and searched his coat.

"Once upon a time, I thought the same as you. But that was long ago and now I much prefer the quiet catharsis of the countryside."

"But there's so much life here! So many opportunities!" Achilles sighed.

"These opportunities exist for a few." He took a paper out of the inside pocket of his coat. "There is a store close to here. You are to buy the items on this list. Tell them where the carriage is and they'll see that it is loaded. Understood?" I nodded. "Any questions?"

"Yes. I have one." Achilles waited for me to speak. "Where do I tell them that the carriage is?" He told me what I needed to say to the person at the counter. I started to go.

"Before you go, you are going to need a new name. Your skin is fair enough that you may pass for one with Spanish or Italian blood. It is better to be thought a Spaniard than a Native, and both are better still than I." He cast his eyes down.

"That is not true!"

"What is true by lamplight is not always true by sunlight." He looked at me. "Connor. Yes, that will be your name." He smiled. "Alright then, Connor. Off you go." He lightly jabbed me in the rib. The same rib that I was hit in by the men that were trying to take Achilles' house. I winced but walked it off.

I heard citizens whisper amongst themselves, but there was one man who was extremely vocal. His voice was booming and very overwhelming. After I turned the corner, I stopped to listen to him. "I grow tired of this! It seems every day a new tax is levied - a new rule enforced - without our consent!" He spat on the ground near a man in a red coat. "The Revenue Act. The Indemnity Act. The Commissioners of Customs Act." He took a breath. "Oh, Chancellor Townshend must have thought himself so clever when he papered these thefts and made them law. But the Constitution says we've a right to refuse! That there will be no taxation without representation!" His voice grew louder. "Tell me - who represented us in Parliament? Spoke on our behalf? Signed in our stead? Give me a name! Only you can't! And do you know why? You can't tell me who represented us because nobody did!" He took out a handkerchief and dabbed his forehead with it.

I started to walk again. Soon I found the general store. I walked in and took out the list Achilles' gave me. Where would wood and pitch be in this store?

"You lost?" I was startled by the shopkeeper's voice. I couldn't say anything. "Are you lost?"

I walked over to the counter. "I need the items on this list." I gave him the list with my two hands.

"Will you be paying with coin or trade?" He smirked. I reached inside of my shirt and took out the bag of coins that Achilles gave me. I placed it on the counter for the man to see. My hands are shaking. Oh Maker, am I doing this right? The shopkeeper's eyes lit up.

"Some of these things I have. Some I don't. Lumber is hard to come by now since my supplier up and vanished. I have the tools, pitch, and nails, though." He took out nails from behind the desk. "Where do you want this delivered?"

"Our wagon is near the statehouse." The shopkeeper took the coin needed for what was purchased and put the rest back in the pouch. I took the pouch and list and put it back in my clothes. Even though I was very nervous, I think I handled that very well. As I walked back to Achilles, I noticed several skirmishes between citizens and soldiers.

A spectator started to say, "Who stands in Parliament for Boston? For New York? For Virginia? No one! But Old Sarum is represented. And Newport and Newtown. Seaford and Saltash. The list goes on. Rotten boroughs one and all. What is become of the rights of Englishmen? Are we not entitled to have a say in our governance? Who are they to silence our voices? To insist we be represented by strangers?" He spat and turned to a soldier. "Have you forgotten the Stamp Act and how we responded? We spoke up! We resisted! So they stood down! We were heard and it was repealed!" He then stepped on to a soapbox to stand over those fighting. "But now... Now too many are silent. Or worse - they excuse it! The taxes are not so high, they say. The money is put to good use, they say. Fie, I say! Fie we should ALL say! Though the taxes may be small, they were enacted and enforced without our consent. As to their use? They pay governors and judges! And if it is Britain pays them, it's Britain whom they are beholden, not us! Do none see the danger here?" He cheered on those fighting the soldiers with ice balls and bottles.

I continued to walk, lest I be caught up in the fighting. I returned to Achilles. "What has happened? Everyone I have walked past is fighting!"

"That is what we're going to find out. Follow." I followed Achilles through the crowd. We left the carriage and walked to King Street.