Hello All!
Guess who's back? ME! (You be the judge if that's a good thing or not)
Anyway- BUSY BUSY BUSY! I don't even remember what free time is. But I got the chapter typed- so you should be happy-
All standard disclaimers apply- as usual.

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Chapter 4

The weeks went on with Tai and Sora officially becoming a couple. Everything with the courtship was perfect, aside from the jealous brother. But Tai learnt to forget about Matt; Sora, he thought, was much more fun to concentrate on.
But in those weeks the tensions between the North and the South grew worse. The talk of civil war became increasingly a reality. Tai knew he had to leave soon; otherwise he'd be forced to fight for a side he did not believe in. He knew he had to go north.
And that day he and Sora had hoped would never come did. At dawn Taichi was leaving, secretly to join the Union army in the North. The tried to forget about that fact, and lived a perfect day together. Nothing could interrupt them.
"Sora… I just want you to know that I'll come back to you. No matter what. Please wait for me." Tai asked as he looked into her tear filled eyes.
"Tai." She cried, as she held tight to him.
"I have to go baby… we knew that it would happen eventually. And this way I'll be on the right side."
"I know… come back to me.. I love you," she sobbed into his shirt. She pulled back and took a note out of her pocket; she folded it into one of her lace handkerchiefs and handed it to him. "Here… when ever you get lonely read this."
"Thanks and this, this is fro you." He replied as he slipped a ring unto her finger. "When I come back, will you marry me?"
"Oh Tai! Of course!" She smiled through the flood of tears.
Tai had to leave. Dawn was breaking on the horizon; he and another friend were leaving together now. Sora stood close to his side as he double-checked his horse by the barn of her father's plantation.
"Wait for me." He whispered as he kissed her before he mounted.
"Forever." She breathed. He nodded his head towards Tilly and the others seeing him off. Sora ran to Tilly as he and his riding companion faded off in the distance. He was gone.
For several days Sora was quiet after his departure. But soon she received several pieces of mail from him. He assured her he was fine and training with a company of Union soldiers. Sora felt a little better knowing he was safe, and after a while she started to become her old self again.
Times were tough now with the war officially started. Word of victories and battle spread. But life, for the most part, went on life like normal. Until one day.
Sora had just returned home one day from town when she saw smoke coming from the plantation home. She forced her horse into a full gallop. By the time she reached the house the hole roof was a blaze, along with several of the slave quarters. The tried slaves tried frantically to suppress the flames, but little helped.
"Daddy?" Sora screamed as he was nowhere to be found. She was about to run into the house, but a large man stopped her.
"No Miss Sora.." He said as he held her as she cried and screamed. She couldn't take it; the smoke, the stress and the worry got to her. And soon she passed out.

When she came to the next morning, the fires were just smoldering ashes. Significant damage was done to the property. The workers had begun salvaging some of the valuables in the house and their quarters. But what they found saddened them more than losing their homes.
"Miss Sora.." Tilly said as she rocked the stunned girl in her arms like she had done with her as a child.
"Where's my father?"
"He's dead baby." Tilly said as she pulled her tighter. "They found him in the house… I'm so sorry baby.
"NO!" Sora screamed as she broke out of Tilly's embrace and ran.
It was late in the afternoon when she returned. The servants had made a temporary shelter for the night in the barns. The dead had been buried, including the body of Sora's father.
They did the best they could for the day and the next few. Sora once again returned to the silent shell she had been when Tai first left.
Several days later, early in the morning a group of confederate soldiers rode up to the plantation. To Sora's surprise Matt was among them. He was decked out in an officer's uniform and all.
The rode right up to where Sora knelt. Dismounting they approached her.
"Sora.. Is everything alright?" Matt asked as he stood behind her. Sora couldn't help but break down. Matt held her while she told him of her father's death.
"it's ok Sora, I'll take care of you… come live with me, ok? You'll have everything you ever wanted and you'll be safe with me. We'll be happy together." He whispered to her as he kissed her head.
Sora froze. 'We'll be happy together?' She thought confused. She pushed away from him so she could look at his face. "What are you saying?" she asked.
"I can provide fro you for the rest of your life- Sora… be my wife and you'll never worry ever again."
"But… what about Tai?" She said quietly as she fingered the ring Taichi had given her before he left.
"He left! He left you Sora to this! Don't you get it? You're alone! And you have no one to protect you now… look I'm sorry for your father's passing, but it couldn't be helped. You have to grow up… you can't always be carefree in life."
"Grow up?" Sora said with a touch of anger. "Who are you to tell me to grow up?" She fumed. "Look at yourself Matt! You haven't done a full days work in your life! It's you who need to grow up and open your eyes."
"I was hoping you'd reconsider, but I guess not. I won't be able to protect you then. If you insist on having such sentiments for slaves, you will only find pain and heart ache." With that he and his fellow officers left.
"Tilly… we have to go." Sora said suddenly after they were out of sight.
"What are you talking about child?"
"They'll be back and take you all away- they'll force you back into slavery. You decided to stay even after you all were freed, but now we all have to leave… we'll go north… I'm not forcing you to do anything. But if you want we can all help each other get there. And we'll start a new life there where we all can be free."

The rest of the day was spent salvaging and packing valuables. Sora divided up her remaining family money and items of value amongst everyone. That way they would all have something to start their new lives with.
When dawn came the next morning they were ready to take off. Sora said her last goodbyes to her father and her family home. Not knowing what the future would bring her. More than likely Matt was right. The future would be a mixture of pain and heartache. But she had to leave, or else she would be forced to betray Taichi, and she couldn't live wit herself if she did.
So they set off, a long journey ahead of them. A single white woman and group of blacks traveling north together.