Episode 11- The New World

In which Francois Bonnefoy and Arthur Kirkland each marry an Indian maiden and raise a family.

It was around 1605. Queen Elizabeth I had died just two years earlier, the Guy Fawkes Gunpowder Plot had failed, and two brothers, Francois Bonnefoy and Arthur Kirkland, were about to set sail for the New World.

Now, the two young blond men looked similar, but they were very different. Francois Bonnefoy had deep-blue eyes, was 26 years old in appearance, and wore blue clothes. Arthur Kirkland had green eyes, was 23 years old in appearance, and wore red clothes. Francois still bore the scars received from Arthur during the Hundred Years' War, but after Queen Elizabeth's death, the two had reconciled each other and they were friends again.

"So, Arthur," said Francois to Arthur. "Are you ready for the trip to the New World?"

Arthur replied, "Ready as I'll ever be." And the brothers stepped onto the ship which would take them to America, that great, beautiful new land that had been explored by Europeans for over a century now.

However, this is not to say that the voyage was all sunshine and flowers. In fact, it would take many weeks for a good-sized ship to sail to the Americas. As the weeks dragged on, the ship would rock with the rolling waves. Francois had to sleep on a straw bed on the floor, while Arthur got violently seasick. But, the captain of the ship always had faith in her, and Francois and Arthur had faith in their God. They were both willing to take the risks to live new lives in a New World.

Now, long before the Europeans came to the New World, there were already a million people living there. In their spare time, they would hunt buffalo, bears, and other wild animals. The buffalo was an especially useful animal for them because it provided them meat for food, hides for clothes, ligaments for bowstrings, and bones for arrowheads.

But one day, two Native American girls saw a ship sailing across the ocean. So they went to their mother, Native America, and called her, "Mother, Mother!"

"What is it, daughters?" asked Native America.

"We just saw on the Great Sea a boat that is greater than ours!" said the older daughter.

"Yeah," added the younger daughter. "It's, like, full of white men!"

"What do you mean by 'white men'?" asked Native America.

"They're skin is all white," said the older.

"And there are, like, two handsome blond guys amongst the white men!" swooned the younger, who seemed to have a fetish for handsome blonds.

"Come to think of it, I do have a particular attraction to that blond guy with the blue eyes," said the older.

"Well," said the girls' mother. "All right. You can go look at the white men when I tell you to, okay?"

"Got it, Mother," the girls replied.

Meanwhile, for two months, Francois Bonnefoy and Arthur Kirkland, along with all of the other white men, had been suffering a particularly harsh winter. They had run out of food and a lot of the settlers had died either from cold or starvation. Meanwhile, Francois and Arthur were emaciated from lack of food. They were freezing too, wrapping around them some pitiful excuses for blankets.

"Well," said Francois to his little half-brother. "This is it. We are at the end of our rope."

"Yes. Do you regret anything, Francois?" said Arthur lazily.

Sadly, Francois replied, "I regret not being able to raise a family in this wilderness. How about you?"

Arthur sobbed, "I regret stabbing you in the back, shooting you in the side, and killing your Maid of Orleans." And Francois embraced the sobbing Englishman.

As the two daughters of Native America saw this touching scene, they were moved with compassion. So they came up to the white settlers and said to them, "Hello, white men. Our people welcome you to our land."

Francois and Arthur raised their heads as much as they were able and saw two Indian maidens. Now, Native Americans were called "Indians" by the Europeans because back in 1492, when Columbus first set foot on the New World, he thought that he had set foot on India or the Indies and so called the natives "Indians", and the name just stuck.

Francois and Arthur felt some warmth when they saw the Indian maidens. They were sisters, but personality wise, they were different. The older maiden was 23 years old and a capable, mature young lady. She also had a fetish for blue-eyed Frenchmen, even though she refused to admit it. The younger was 19 years old and a sucker for English blonds. She was also more childlike than her older sister.

"Would you like to see our mother?" said the older sister.

"Ah, oui," replied Francois. "I would love to."

"Yes, quite," Arthur agreed.

And thus began a double romance, each between the white man and the Indian maiden, with an early 17th century backdrop.

Finally, the two Indian girls took Francois and Arthur into Native America's tent.

"Mother," said the older girl. "This is the blue-eyed French settler I was talking about."

Native America looked at Francois. Indeed, he was handsome, but he was so thin from hunger. "Well, nothing a little venison can't handle," she said to her older daughter.

"Mother, this is the Englishman I have a longing for," said the younger daughter to her mother.

"Well, dear," said Native America. "If you feed him some turkey, he'll be fine."

So the older maiden caught a deer, while the younger maiden caught a turkey. When she took it home to Arthur, the Englishman was horrified to see it chasing him angrily. And he ran to Francois.

"Francois," he panted in fear. "That animal is an unholy demon."

But Francois assured his English brother, "Calm down, mon petit lapin. I was the Lord God who sent the turkey to us, so that we can eat and be healthy again."

And so it was, after that lovely meal of venison and turkey, that Francois and Arthur did indeed become strong and healthy again.

"So, you two," said Native America to the Europeans. "Tell us more about yourselves."

Francois then narrated, "Bien, je m'appelle Francois Bonnefoy. It means 'Frenchman in good faith'. I am a soldat, but I am also a lover. However, I also believe that family comes first. Whenever I fall in love, it is a deep and profound love. I believe that by having a son, I will have someone to succeed me in the fighting business. So, will you marry me?"

His 23-year-old Indian maiden was touched by his story and said, "I do, Monsieur Bonnefoy."

Francois replied, "Just call me Francois."

Arthur, in turn, told the younger maiden, "My name is Arthur Kirkland. I have fought many wars with the French, the Scots, the Irish, and the Spanish. I might not be worthy of your kindness, but I believe that by marrying you, I will have a son who shall inherit my empire. Do you want to marry me?"

To that, the 19-year-old Indian maiden declared, "I do! Let's give it a fling!"

And so it was that in the early 1600's, the time was right for America as we know him to be born. It had taken the Native Americans nearly 10,000 years to set the stage.

Now, in the early 17th century, three great nations were born. On February 4, 1607, Eric Charles Kirkland (who would later be called the Confederacy) was born to Arthur Kirkland and his Indian bride, whom he had baptized as "Rose Kirkland". On July 4, 1621, Alfred Fitzgerald Kirkland (who would later be called the United States of America) was born to that same couple.

But on July 1, 1608, in Francois Bonnefoy's household, Francois was feeling a little worried. You see, his own Indian bride, whom he had baptized as "Catherine Bonnefoy", was having a really painful childbirth. Francois paced nervously back and forth in the parlor room. Sweat was pouring down his face. He was just worried sick over Catherine, fearing that the birthing process would kill her.

Finally, after several hours, he heard the cry of a baby. In a flash, he opened the door.

"Catherine!" shouted the French settler. "Are you feeling alright?!"

There, in the bedroom, he saw his beloved Indian bride suckling a healthy baby boy. The boy looked just like his father, only he had violet eyes and a long, loopy curl on the top of his head. Meanwhile, Catherine herself was doing fine. At that sight, all of Francois' fears vanished and were replaced with happiness.

"C'est un fils. I am a father," he thought as tears of joy came to his eyes.

"What shall we name him?" asked Catherine to her French husband.

Francois replied, "Mathieu. Il s'appelle Mathieu Bonnefoy."

So, Mathieu Bonnefoy (who would later be called Canada) was born. And in baby Mathieu, he saw Joan of Arc, a girl whom he loved and lost back in the Hundred Years' War. Francois was determined that he could not lose his baby boy.

"Catherine," he said to his Indian wife. "We must protect our little Mathieu at all costs."

Catherine replied, "Don't worry, Francois. He'll be just fine."

And with that, Francois dropped his worries. His wife then said to him, "Come, I would like to show you something."

And so, Catherine took her French husband and their baby boy outside and the family walked to a nearby ravine. "Look, Francois," she said to him.

Well, Francois was amazed at the sight. It was a beautiful sunset. There were plains, forests, rivers, and, yes, mountains. "What a beautiful sight," he gasped.

"Yes," said his Indian wife. "All this will be our son Mathieu's territory when he grows up."

With that thought in his mind, Francois was deeply moved and thought, "My baby boy will grow up to become a strong nation like me someday."

Coming up next, Francois takes his young son Mathieu to Paris to see King Louis XIV.