AN: OH MY GODS THIS TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE! I AM SOOOOOO SORRY FOR THE WAIT! ANyway, this chapter is just kind of a summary of the more boring events happening as the time passes.
ENJOY! :)
Madison sat, posture near perfect, as she easily pushed the oar forward through the murky waters.
She sat, rigid, accompanied by Dan Scott and the ever so kind Joshua.
She admired the way Gabriel's friend sat casually as though nothing of importance was happening, despite the fact that they were about to secretly board a British ship, line it with explosives, and flee in a valiant effort at naval hit and run.
It had been several weeks since her bout with Gabriel over taking his boots (even though she was almost positive he had no real problem with it), and this course of attack had only just been considered the day before.
Granted, being one of the less experienced soldiers, she didn't have to do much during this mission other than pass the explosive materials up to the men planning to go aboard. But nonetheless, it was always nerve-wracking.
The mission was successful, however, despite the butterflies in the teenager's stomach.
Come to think of it, the missions were almost always successful lately.
It gave Madison a renewed hope that maybe things didn't have to end as grimly as she'd witnessed in the film.
But nearly every time she started to trick herself into some form of false hope, she would see another comrad die, or another successful British attack, and her optimism would dissipate completely.
That had not happened in a while, though.
Still, the girl was very careful with things of this sort, and always managed to keep her arrogance of victory in check, reminding herself that they were, in fact, still the underdogs in this war.
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Madison barely noticed as Gabriel trotted up beside her on his coach.
She felt nervousness pool in her gut at the idea of what was to come.
For these men around her, it was of the most happy occassions in months, but for her, it was simply dreadful.
The young blonde smiled at her dazed form.
"They are going to love you." he grinned.
"I don't know. I still think these guys might have a problem with me. I mean... they have never met me... nor do they have any clue as to where I'm from..." she sighed heavily. "I just... I want these people to like me."
Gabriel's bright expression never ceased, only grew in magnitude at his friend's bashful words.
"They will, I assure you."
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She saw the corporal jog up to a small house in the center of the town, and decided it best not to bother him.
He needed all the time he could get with his Anne before...
"No, don't think of that. Do NOT dwell on future things you have no power to change." she chided herself.
So, for the entire two days spent in Gabriel's hometown, Madison had absolutely no contact with him. Instead, she spent her time exploring the small settlement and, at night, sleeping at the soldier's camps.
It was for this reason that she was surprised to see Gabriel trotting up to her, less than an hour before their departure.
"Madison!" he'd called.
And with that, she had been introduced to Anne and Mr. and Mrs. Howard.
They were lovely, truly, but the whole thing set alight a fir of guilt in the back of her mind.
Because they were going to die soon.
They were going to die.
And no amount of pleasantries or exchanged compliments would change that.
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It was to her relief that they finally exited the quaint little village.
And it was in the moment that she witnessed Gabriel and Anne's heartfelt goodbye that she swore on her life to change their fate.
This story would not be a tragedy. It would have a happy ending if she had to die to achieve it.
The movie be damned, Madison was not going to let anything happen to Anne.
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In the months to come, progress was continuously made.
Madison's hand-to-hand combat skills were beginning to rival even Jean's, and there wasn't much left that he could teach her. Her skills with a rifle were nothing short of perfect, her being about to hit any target from a hundred-foot distance.
As for the rest of her comrads, they held their own fairly well against any redcoats they happened to encounter, setting up trail-blocks for british cargo wagons and succeeding in regular hit and run missions.
All together, things were good.
Too good.
But Madison had seen the movie, and she knew that the worst was yet to come.
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It was autumn when her serenity was broken.
During an interception of a British wagon train, William Tavington and his Green Dragoons attacked, causing the rebel party to scatter.
Some men, among which were Gabriel and the Colonel, were able to escape back to their homemade base.
Others were not so lucky.
As Madison had aimed her hand pistol to fire at one of the royal soldiers, a bullet from the crossifre caught her directly in the forearm, knocking the weapon out of her grasp.
It hurt like hell, like nothing she'd ever felt, and it didn't take long for her to figure out that it had been shot from close range.
Her vision became spotted, blackness threatening to take over, as she stumbled blindly. She could feel her legs growing weak beneath her body, and it seemed as though she couldn't think clearly enough to hold herself upright.
The searing agony stretched all the way up to her shoulder joint, tearing into her nerves until there was nothing but pain in her mind.
She was no longer focused on the battle, as she frantically dropped to her knees and then her bottom and eventually in a lying position in the leaves.
The last thing she saw before blacking out was blood flowing from the marred flesh and exposed bone and one Colonel Tavington's smirking face as he approached her still form.
AN: So, like I said, this is probably the shortest chapter yet. BUT STAY CALM! I'll update soon, I promise!
Btw, how'd you guys like the cliffie? ;)
REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT TO HAPPEN!