I don't own The Patriot

The cold breeze blew through Anna's hair as she sat by the shore and looked out at the waves that crashed within one another. Ever since her arrival back to Shanty Town, she had never felt peaceful as she did before. After witnessing the horrors that she had seen back at camp and that house being burned to the ground, she was glad that she was finally away from such terrible sights. Though that did not mean that she didn't silently suffer through it all. She tried to remain strong through it all, for herself as well as for her sisters, but there was so much that she could do. If she was being honest with herself, Anna thought that she was the toughest out of the two. Alice, of course, was young and was vulnerable but Catherine was simply a mild-mannered mouse who only said 'yes' and 'thank you' to whatever she was present in, debating on what that situation was of course. As for Anna, she didn't always keep her tongue in check and that was bound to get her into trouble. She had nearly encountered that when they were with the Dragoons though that didn't mean that she hadn't feared for her life.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, but the effect was futile. Pulling a shawl around her shoulders, Anna leaned against the trunk of a tree and continued to look out into the horizon. How much war was there going to be? How much of their land was going to be left through all of those fires and dead bodies that were being thrown about? Anna shuddered at the thought of what she had witnessed. That family that she had passed by with Gabriel, she couldn't imagine the horror that they had gone through until it was all over with just a single bullet piercing through their flesh. Had the mother put up a fight or had she given up? To Anna, maintaining a tough demeanor was part of her defense mechanism. Her older sister thought of her as a fool for having it but how else was Anna supposed to defend herself when she needed to? Was it better to obey orders in a situation where she felt uncomfortable or fight for it? Whatever the answer to that question was, Anna felt that she was always going to be at a loss. Nobody wanted someone who was impetuous as she was, not that Anna really cared for it...or did she?

She placed her thumb against the corner of her eye when a tear caused it to sting. Great Anna thought to herself before letting out a scoff of light laughter. Here I am by myself by the shoreline and crying when I should actually be sleeping. Such nonsense. "Ahem..." she forcefully cleared her throat and sunk her hand into the sand, trying to distract herself from any emotions that were willing to overtake her.

"You're awake," a voice said behind her, causing Anna to flinch. She turned her head around and saw Gabriel Martin standing right behind her.

Anna responded to him with a nod of her head. She didn't think that she would be able to sleep at all. Too much on her mind after what she had seen through their journey and even the well being of Alice. "It's difficult to sleep when you have the ocean nearby," she lied and turned around to look at the waves that were counting to hit against one another. "Care to join me?" she asked him.

Gabriel hadn't expected such a question from her especially through the silent treatment that she had given him throughout the journey. Nevertheless, he happily sat down next to her. It was a beautiful night, with the full moon centered between the sky and the ocean.

"It's hard to predict how many beautiful nights we will see in the future," Anna suddenly broke the silence between them. "So many lives lost through all of this."

Ever since Gabriel had joined, he had been living with Death through it all. Those men that he knew and those whom he didn't had died and it had given him a whole new perspective. There were moments when he felt that he should have listened to his father about joining, but he was motivated to fighting for his country. How else was he going to show his patriotism and standing against the unfairness that they were fighting for? However, that did mean that there would be consequences that came along with it. It had never crossed his mind that his family would suffer through it. His brother was dead, Anne and her family were dead, they had no home, and he had almost died. Would things had been different if he hadn't joined? There were moments were he felt that he had been responsible for it all, even though that was not the case but the past couldn't be changed, no matter how much he wished.

Anna took notice of Gabriel's hesitation to reply to her comment, but she didn't prod on any longer about it. Though she felt that her comment still stood. Anything could happen through the past couple of days. There was a saying that her mother always said to her and her sisters whenever they were unhappy:

'Enjoy what you already have, my darlings.'

At this point, it was debatable. Everything that she had was gone in Pembroke and she felt that there was nothing to enjoy anymore. What she did know was that she was already surrounded by strangers who were kind enough to take her and Alice under their wing. She had established friendships with the Martin children and she felt grateful that Charlotte had been kind enough to care for Alice. She turned her head and looked over at Gabriel who was busying himself with running his finger through the sand. She leaned towards him and placed her head over his shoulder.

That was something that Gabriel had not expected at all, but he didn't question her actions.

"Thank you," she finally said to him.

"For what?" he asked her.

"For looking out for us," Anna answered and slowly, she felt her eyes beginning to close.

Perhaps she was going to get some sleep after all.