::BATTLE FIELD::
It was a vicious battle, people were going down on both sides but neither showed any signs of giving up. "So, who's winning?" Henri asked.
"Well, it looks like the British are fighting pretty good, but the Americans aren't ready to go back without winning this one!" James replied.
"Jeez how can people do this? Its so gruesome, I LIKE IT!" enthused Ronnie, as he watched the Battle.
"How can you be so disgusting?" asked Sarah, as she looked at the battle in horror. "People are dying out there and you say that you like it!!...How would you like to have a brother or you father be killed out there? Have somebody come to you door to tell you that you have lost a loved one.?"
"Geez, lighten up, Sarah, he was joking," James said, rolling his eyes. "Oh no!" he suddenly gasped, glancing through his spy glass again. The British had just called in reinforcements. "The Americans are panicking! They're going to get destroyed if they don't retreat properly!"
"Just great, this just what we need..." stated Sarah, as she buries her head in her face.
"Oh don't panic we aren't going to loose...I think" replied Ronnie, as he looked out into the field.
"Wait, can I see your spy glass?" Henri asked. He took it and looking onto the battlefield. "Look! It's Gilbert! He's trying to calm the men!"
"Let me see!" James demanded, taking the spyglass back. "Hey, you're right! It looks like this might turn out better than the LAST TIME the Americans panicked. And Lafayette calmed them then too."
"This is so interesting, that I would want to join the battle!" exclaimed Ronnie, as he watched Lafayette and the Americans.
"No, you're way too young to fight in these battles," James insisted. "Hey, they're actually getting away together! Let's go back to camp and write up our stories. I'm going to ask General Washington how many men each side lost." With that, they got up and went back to camp.
"What can I do to help?" asked Ronnie as he went back to the camp with them.
"Find some soldiers and interview them on the war, Henri, you try and pry what happened out of Lafayette, Sarah, can you get some information on our next move?"
"Right, I'll do that, I just hope no one tells me that girls shouldn't be involved with the war." sighs Sarah, as she walks over to the General's tent.
"I'll go ask some soldiers about the battle that just happened that is if they can speak." replied Ronnie as he goes off to find someone.
One particular soldier stood out from the others. He was about 18 years old with ebony hair and blue eyes. He was about 5'10" and looked like he was well trained for combat. But one thing about him bugged Ronnie, his dark skin told him "Indian".
"Hey, Mister? I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?" asked Ronnie as he walked up to the Indian.
"Who me?" the Indian blinked. "If you wish. My given name among my people is Wildfire, but the Americans call me Ryo."
"ok...Ryo, I was wondering how old you are? Where are you from and what you rank here is in the army?" started Ronnie, as he waited to respond so he could write this stuff down.
"I am 18 years old, I'm from the Shawnee tribe, my village is not far from here, and my rank is...well...I'm just a soldier..." Ryo said.
"Ok.now questions about the war...Do you like the cause of the war or not? If so what is it that you like or dislike about the cause?" questioned Ronnie as he wrote down what Ryo had just said.
"I, personally, agree with the Americans and their cause, but my people do not. My father has shunned me for joining the army, he says that the English would give us many good things if they won, but I know that is only a lie the English say to get us to join their side. I like the cause of liberty because it would mean freedom for all men, and I may be a 'red man', as you white men call me, but I am a man none the less, and I deserve freedom just as much as anyone else."
"Off the Record, what does your mother think of this? I mean what your father has done to you?" asked Ronnie, he thought that it was unbelievable of what he was hearing. "Do you have any siblings who are in the army with you?"
"I do not know what my mother thinks of what my father did. I left immediately after my father found out about me joining the American army and haven't seen my family since. I do have one brother, but he does not fight for our army, he fights for the British in hopes of proving me wrong. His name is Rodney Daniel Sanada."
"How would you feel if you came up against him and had to make a choice of either killing him or letting him go?"
"I would let him go. We may be fighting on different sides, but he is still my brother. We have the same blood running through our veins and killing him would be like killing a part of myself."
"Gee, I would hate it if my brother in a position like you are in."
"I have four younger brothers and four younger sisters. I am the oldest in my family, and I am the only one who will dare defy my father."
"I have two older brothers, one younger brother, three older sisters, and three younger sisters. I'm kinda the middle child, but I'm kinda spoiled. My mother didn't want me to come on this little outing, but my father changed her mind. Anyway back to asking questions, What is it like being a soldier?"
"Would you like the honest answer or the glorious answer? I've heard soldiers tell both."
"Both I guess would be fine, whatever one you would like to tell."
"I will give you the honest answer. When you are a soldier, there is no glory. You fight and kill other men, usually ones that are like you. The food is horrible, you barely sleep, and you lose almost all free will. That is what it's like being a soldier."
"Man, that has to be the worst thing I have ever heard! Have you ever been scared before killing a man?"
"Of course, we all have. Wouldn't you be afraid? You're being shot at in a battlefield with no way out of it but to shoot and pray to the gods that you shall live. But then you realize that you're shooting at boys and men who are probably thinking the same thing. All they want to do is get through this war alive."
"Yeah I would be pretty, scared! What keeps you going throughout the war?"
"Knowing that in the end, if we win, we gave something to the people that will help build a better country. That and my service requirement of 6 months."
"Where will you go after the war? I'm guessing that you can't go home since your father has shunned you."
"Well, I'll probably explore farther west, find another tribe to live in, and spread the idea of liberty and freedom for all. Then I'll probably go to a white school and learn your culture."
"Ryo!" cried a female voice, as she came over to him.
"Red Falcon, Reichal, what are you doing here?" Ryo asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "Rodney's all ready giving me enough hell from the other side of the battle field."
"Father, has been miserable since you have been gone. Plus I hated not being able to see you again, after Father shunned you. He has been so angry with him self for what he did. But he is afraid of what you will say, if he were to apologize. He doesn't know how to tell you that he is wrong, I ran away to come find you to tell you my self." replied Reichal Leah Sanada, was 17, was about 5'6 in height. Everybody called her Rei for short or Red Falcon. Rei looked like she could take on anybody who came her way. She had raven black hair and amethyst eyes; she was very pretty for an Indian.
"Well, thanks for telling me, but unfortunately I could care less," Ryo responded coldly. "I don't care about what my father thinks, and besides, if he really is sorry, I won't believe it until he comes down here and says it to my face."
"You don't care about any of us, now do you? All you care about is this cause we are fighting for."
"If I didn't care about any of you, I wouldn't be fighting for all of you to be free, sister..."
"I do believe you, It's just that I want you to come home. When the war is done and over with."
"You have to understand I cannot go home unless father says I can, and even then I wouldn't. I cannot live in a village in which I am the only one who does not agree with the elders' whims. I have a heart and soul, and I'm fighting so that we can all live on our own terms and not by what some old man in a fur cloak says!"
"You know that I believe in the things that you say, so I hate to say this but I'm coming with you! I'm not living under father's rules, you know that he despises me already."
"Father does not despise you, Rei, at least not as much as me. I do not wish to leave the village, but it is his will. You must stay in the village to learn to be a good Shawnee. If father finds you left, he will hunt us down and someone might get hurt. You need to stay where you are safe, if not after the war then at least while the war is still raging. The battleground is no place for a woman!"
"Ryo, I can't go back! I want to stay here with you, if I go back there will marry me off to Blue Sky! I don't want to be married to Blue Sky, you and I both know that if I do then it would be like killing myself. If you make me go back, I'll just runaway again."
"Do what you wish, then, but stay away from the battle! This is no place for you to play runaway bride!"
"You just like father you know, I hope now that I never see you again!" storms off in the direction that she came, but as Ryo cried after her. She had disappeared behind one of the tents, obviously hurt by Ryo's actions.
"Nice one, Looks like you are going to be hated by the one who looks up to you. From what I saw it looked like she did, what are you going to do now?" replied Ronnie, as he flipped closed his notepad.
"Continue with the war. It's meaningless to worry about petty arguments when there's a whole war, and a country, at stake..." he trailed off and suddenly stood at attention as Lafayette approached, Henri not far behind. "Good evening, General Lafayette!" he said.
"Good evening, Ryo, have you recovered your arm from the battle this morning?" Lafayette asked.
"Yes, it's healing quite nicely," Ryo said.
"Yeah the arm is healing, but not his family." stated Ronnie as he walked off to find James.
"What does he mean?" Lafayette asked.
"Don't ask, sir..." Ryo sighed.
Henri, meanwhile, ran to catch up with Ronnie. "Do you zink it was wise to but into his family's business?" he asked.
"Maybe not, but he need to hear it from someone." replied Ronnie as he walked up to James.
"Hey guys, the good news is that we only lost 10 people, the bad news is...we lost 10 people..." James said.
"How enthusiastic! You really need to get more experience in the department of enthusiasm." stated Ronnie, as he looked at James with confusion.
"Ok.this is what I got, we are planning a attack on the British soldiers in a few days or less. Now we need to write this article before Moses prints the next issue." states Sarah as she walks up to the group, discussing what she found out.
"Gilbert said zat everyzing was going perfectly fine until the Red Coats brought in reinforcements. Zen everyzing went all wrong," Henri said. "He said zat everyone was panicking zat zey were going to die and it took until zey drove ze Red Coat troops back a bit for them to stop panicking and retreat in an 'orderly fashion'."
"Right, so are we going to write this article or are we going to have tea and cookie." replied Sarah, ash she could tell nobody was making an effort to get started to write the article.
"Why don't you go write the article Sarah? That way Henri and I can go explore." suggested Ronnie, as he and Henri were sneaking out.
"That will be the day that I would let Henri go with out helping and You too." replied Sarah, as she grabbed them both before they could leave.
"Aw..." Henri complained. "But Gilbert promised zat he would show me some of his art..."
"HENRI...do you want to become a journalist or a bus boy artist?" replied Sarah as she looked at him sternly.
"Well, zat depends...which guaranties me to live with Gilbert?" Henri grinned.
"The soldier boy," stated Sarah.
"I can't be a soldier," Henri giggled.
"No, but you ARE going to help Sarah with that while I go report on the current meeting between the generals..." James stated.
"Aww..." Henri complained.
"Haha, I'm going to go see the Indian Soldier," replied Ronnie as he left.
Ryo was busying himself with carving designs into a stick with his army knife.
"So have you seen your sister?" asked Ronnie as he walked over to Ryo.
Ryo shrugged, "Nope..."
"You obviously don't care," stated Ronnie.
"If I didn't care I wouldn't have sent her home..."
"You must be at least worried about her?"
"If she's home, there's nothing to worry about. Us Shawnees keep our own business and so does everyone else..."
"Right, I get the picture you don't want to talk about it...understood. One question, what would you do if she were say flirting with a young white man?"
"As long as he's nice, I could care less..."
"Say a Red Coat?"
"As I said, as long as he's nice..."
"Just curious...Do you like anybody back home?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like do you have some lady friend that you like back home?"
"None that I can name, but...you see, our chief has this son..."
"Oh, I see."
"Is that all you wish to ask or must I sit until my butt falls asleep?"
"Oh sorry, You can leave if you'd like."
"Thank you," Ryo said, standing up.
"I hope that things work out between you and your sister during this war or even after it," Ronnie smiled, standing up as well.
"I would like to say that I do as well, but I very much know that things will not, no matter the outcome of the war," Ryo said cynically.
"If you wanted it to happen that badly, I believe it would."
"I want it but know better than to hope," Ryo said walking away.
"Believe what you want to believe," Ronnie muttered under his breath.
"Hey!" James called, running up. Sarah and Henri were right behind him. "We just got a special assignment from General Washington himself!"
"And.what would that be?" Ronnie asked. "Going out onto the battle field and fighting?"
"No way, we're too young!" James said, making a face. "General Washington asked us to go to New York and meet a contact. Then we have to deliver a message from General Washington to him and then bring back a response. He said while we were there we could find some people to interview about the war because he isn't in a hurry to get the response."
"Talk about being too young, you're the one too young to go to New York, James!" Sarah giggled.
"Come on, I've been to New York before," James frowned.
"I zink she was making fun of you, James," Henri said.
"I know that, I'm not stupid!" James declared. The other three stared at him. "What? I'm not!"
"Sure you're not, James," Sarah said, patting him on the back. "You just keep telling yourself that and try and think of five reasons why we'd think you're stupid on the way to New York."
"Ha, I could think of 10 by the time we get to New York!" James declared proudly, marching away.
"Should I tell him?" Henri asked, snickering to Sarah.
"No, let's see how long it takes him to figure out that isn't a good thing," Sarah responded, giggling.
::On The Way To New York::
Henri couldn't resist, "So, how many reasons have you come up wiz that we'd zink you were stupid?"
"Um.hey, wait a minute," James said.
"Took you long enough," Moses smirked.
::IN New York::
After delivering the message, the four decided to explore New York. Sarah wandered off to find some rich dudes to interview. A VERY rich looking young man was walking the streets just screaming 'INTERVIEW!'
"Excuse me Sir I was wondering if I could have a few moments of your time? I would like to ask you a few questions about your opinion on the war." Sarah asked as she walked up to the man who screamed 'INTERVIEW!'
The man looked at her and took off his hat. "Of course," he said, black curls cascading down his back. His green eyes flashed, as he looked her up and down. "And you are a reporter?" he asked. He had a Romanian accent.
"Yes in a way I am," Sarah said flashing a sweet smile at him. "I'm Sarah Phillips."
"My name is Lazlo, zat's all you need to know about my name," the man announced. "Vhat do you vant to know?"
"Are you a Loyalist or a Patriot?" Sarah asked taking out her notebook.
"I'm not particular," Lazlo said, looking at his nails, which were painted black. "Whoever vins, eizer vay, I'm staying here in ze Colonies."
"Right," Sarah agreed as she wrote it down and moved a piece of her reddish hair out of her face that had fallen when she was looking down at the pad. "What do you think about what has happened so far with the war? Do you agree on the moves that the British made on the Americans to accomplish their goal and vise versa? If so then why is it that you agree with them? Do you have any suggestions on what one side should do to the other when battling?"
Lazlo raised an eyebrow at the questions. "Vell." he took a deep breath, ".I zink zat ze Americans have a better chance to vin now zat zey have French support zough ze British still have ze best chance to vin because of zeir superior forces and support from ze Hessians. I zink zat ze British need to concentrate more on zeir defenses zan zeir offenses or zey vill get zeir butts kicked. I zink ze Americans need to vork harder on recruiting men in zeir teens instead of older men because ze men zat are older can't learn as quickly how to fight in var. I don't agree wiz a lot of ze tactics zat eizer side has been vorking on, and I have many suggestions but no one in either army will listen to a mere Romanian. Any more questions?"
Sarah had been writing this down as he explained it, "That should about do it, unless you have anything else to add to your explanation. I'm glad that you allowed me to interview you about the war. Not many people of your status allow me to interview them."
"It's my pleasure, Ms. Phillips; my only hope is zat zis var vill end soon. I despise vars," Lazlo said.
"I do also, I hate to see the world suffer in turmoil over taxes done by my people." Sarah agreed as she put her pad away and then looked up at Lazlo.
"Are you sure you can accurately call zem 'your people'?" Lazlo asked. "I'm a Romanian, but I von't call all Romanians 'my people'. Zere is a lot of people who don't refer to zemselves as where zey come from."
"Ok then let me rephrase what I said, I hate to see the world in Turmoil from the taxes the BRITISH have put on the Americans." Sarah corrected herself to Lazlo. "Is that better in the reference that I was referring to?"
"Much," Lazlo smiled, piling his hair on top of his head and placing the hat back on to hold all of his hair there. "I must go now, my sister gets irritated when I'm late for home." He then bowed and turned around, starting to walk away.
"Bye nice meeting you," Sarah replied as she watched him leave, then saw a young girl with blonde hair walked into the hotel they were staying at. Sarah ran into the hotel think that she might get another interview with this girl. Sarah saw the girl make her way to through the lobby, as she ran after her. Sarah finally caught up with the girl as she ran to the elevator. "Excuse me Miss, Can I get have a moment to ask you a few questions about the war that is going on today?"
"If you like," the girl replied with a British accent. "I'm Serena Tsukino."
"I'm Sarah Phillips, I'm interviewing people about the war," Sarah replied. "I see you lived in England, as I did."
"Why yes, my family moved here to get away from the king," Serena explained. Serena and Sarah spent their time in the lobby talking about the war.
"Speak for yourself," came a voice behind them. A boy with light brown hair and blue eyes stood behind them. "I'm Sai Tsukino, I'm her twin brother. I know more about our family and our history than she does. I actually came to America because I wanted to move on to other places like our ancestors. Our ancestors were Japanese who moved west to explore, and I wanted to continue that legacy! Even though we don't look Japanese, you can tell because of our last name."
"Don't mind Sai, we all did come to America to explore, plus we were tired of living in England." Serena replied as she glared at Sai. "Why did you come to live in America?"
"I wanted to learn how to be a journalist, my mother is still in England and my father is fighting for our country." Sarah explained.
"I'd fight, but I'm not old enough, I have to wait for my birthday," Sai sighed. "You have to be 18 to join the army, and I don't turn it until June 30. If you want to interview a true Loyalist, look up the name Aino, Seiji Aino to be exact. He's a soldier for the British army."
"Will do it was nice meeting you guys, I hope to see you around sometime," Sarah replied as she got up from the couch and said good bye to them.
It was a vicious battle, people were going down on both sides but neither showed any signs of giving up. "So, who's winning?" Henri asked.
"Well, it looks like the British are fighting pretty good, but the Americans aren't ready to go back without winning this one!" James replied.
"Jeez how can people do this? Its so gruesome, I LIKE IT!" enthused Ronnie, as he watched the Battle.
"How can you be so disgusting?" asked Sarah, as she looked at the battle in horror. "People are dying out there and you say that you like it!!...How would you like to have a brother or you father be killed out there? Have somebody come to you door to tell you that you have lost a loved one.?"
"Geez, lighten up, Sarah, he was joking," James said, rolling his eyes. "Oh no!" he suddenly gasped, glancing through his spy glass again. The British had just called in reinforcements. "The Americans are panicking! They're going to get destroyed if they don't retreat properly!"
"Just great, this just what we need..." stated Sarah, as she buries her head in her face.
"Oh don't panic we aren't going to loose...I think" replied Ronnie, as he looked out into the field.
"Wait, can I see your spy glass?" Henri asked. He took it and looking onto the battlefield. "Look! It's Gilbert! He's trying to calm the men!"
"Let me see!" James demanded, taking the spyglass back. "Hey, you're right! It looks like this might turn out better than the LAST TIME the Americans panicked. And Lafayette calmed them then too."
"This is so interesting, that I would want to join the battle!" exclaimed Ronnie, as he watched Lafayette and the Americans.
"No, you're way too young to fight in these battles," James insisted. "Hey, they're actually getting away together! Let's go back to camp and write up our stories. I'm going to ask General Washington how many men each side lost." With that, they got up and went back to camp.
"What can I do to help?" asked Ronnie as he went back to the camp with them.
"Find some soldiers and interview them on the war, Henri, you try and pry what happened out of Lafayette, Sarah, can you get some information on our next move?"
"Right, I'll do that, I just hope no one tells me that girls shouldn't be involved with the war." sighs Sarah, as she walks over to the General's tent.
"I'll go ask some soldiers about the battle that just happened that is if they can speak." replied Ronnie as he goes off to find someone.
One particular soldier stood out from the others. He was about 18 years old with ebony hair and blue eyes. He was about 5'10" and looked like he was well trained for combat. But one thing about him bugged Ronnie, his dark skin told him "Indian".
"Hey, Mister? I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?" asked Ronnie as he walked up to the Indian.
"Who me?" the Indian blinked. "If you wish. My given name among my people is Wildfire, but the Americans call me Ryo."
"ok...Ryo, I was wondering how old you are? Where are you from and what you rank here is in the army?" started Ronnie, as he waited to respond so he could write this stuff down.
"I am 18 years old, I'm from the Shawnee tribe, my village is not far from here, and my rank is...well...I'm just a soldier..." Ryo said.
"Ok.now questions about the war...Do you like the cause of the war or not? If so what is it that you like or dislike about the cause?" questioned Ronnie as he wrote down what Ryo had just said.
"I, personally, agree with the Americans and their cause, but my people do not. My father has shunned me for joining the army, he says that the English would give us many good things if they won, but I know that is only a lie the English say to get us to join their side. I like the cause of liberty because it would mean freedom for all men, and I may be a 'red man', as you white men call me, but I am a man none the less, and I deserve freedom just as much as anyone else."
"Off the Record, what does your mother think of this? I mean what your father has done to you?" asked Ronnie, he thought that it was unbelievable of what he was hearing. "Do you have any siblings who are in the army with you?"
"I do not know what my mother thinks of what my father did. I left immediately after my father found out about me joining the American army and haven't seen my family since. I do have one brother, but he does not fight for our army, he fights for the British in hopes of proving me wrong. His name is Rodney Daniel Sanada."
"How would you feel if you came up against him and had to make a choice of either killing him or letting him go?"
"I would let him go. We may be fighting on different sides, but he is still my brother. We have the same blood running through our veins and killing him would be like killing a part of myself."
"Gee, I would hate it if my brother in a position like you are in."
"I have four younger brothers and four younger sisters. I am the oldest in my family, and I am the only one who will dare defy my father."
"I have two older brothers, one younger brother, three older sisters, and three younger sisters. I'm kinda the middle child, but I'm kinda spoiled. My mother didn't want me to come on this little outing, but my father changed her mind. Anyway back to asking questions, What is it like being a soldier?"
"Would you like the honest answer or the glorious answer? I've heard soldiers tell both."
"Both I guess would be fine, whatever one you would like to tell."
"I will give you the honest answer. When you are a soldier, there is no glory. You fight and kill other men, usually ones that are like you. The food is horrible, you barely sleep, and you lose almost all free will. That is what it's like being a soldier."
"Man, that has to be the worst thing I have ever heard! Have you ever been scared before killing a man?"
"Of course, we all have. Wouldn't you be afraid? You're being shot at in a battlefield with no way out of it but to shoot and pray to the gods that you shall live. But then you realize that you're shooting at boys and men who are probably thinking the same thing. All they want to do is get through this war alive."
"Yeah I would be pretty, scared! What keeps you going throughout the war?"
"Knowing that in the end, if we win, we gave something to the people that will help build a better country. That and my service requirement of 6 months."
"Where will you go after the war? I'm guessing that you can't go home since your father has shunned you."
"Well, I'll probably explore farther west, find another tribe to live in, and spread the idea of liberty and freedom for all. Then I'll probably go to a white school and learn your culture."
"Ryo!" cried a female voice, as she came over to him.
"Red Falcon, Reichal, what are you doing here?" Ryo asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "Rodney's all ready giving me enough hell from the other side of the battle field."
"Father, has been miserable since you have been gone. Plus I hated not being able to see you again, after Father shunned you. He has been so angry with him self for what he did. But he is afraid of what you will say, if he were to apologize. He doesn't know how to tell you that he is wrong, I ran away to come find you to tell you my self." replied Reichal Leah Sanada, was 17, was about 5'6 in height. Everybody called her Rei for short or Red Falcon. Rei looked like she could take on anybody who came her way. She had raven black hair and amethyst eyes; she was very pretty for an Indian.
"Well, thanks for telling me, but unfortunately I could care less," Ryo responded coldly. "I don't care about what my father thinks, and besides, if he really is sorry, I won't believe it until he comes down here and says it to my face."
"You don't care about any of us, now do you? All you care about is this cause we are fighting for."
"If I didn't care about any of you, I wouldn't be fighting for all of you to be free, sister..."
"I do believe you, It's just that I want you to come home. When the war is done and over with."
"You have to understand I cannot go home unless father says I can, and even then I wouldn't. I cannot live in a village in which I am the only one who does not agree with the elders' whims. I have a heart and soul, and I'm fighting so that we can all live on our own terms and not by what some old man in a fur cloak says!"
"You know that I believe in the things that you say, so I hate to say this but I'm coming with you! I'm not living under father's rules, you know that he despises me already."
"Father does not despise you, Rei, at least not as much as me. I do not wish to leave the village, but it is his will. You must stay in the village to learn to be a good Shawnee. If father finds you left, he will hunt us down and someone might get hurt. You need to stay where you are safe, if not after the war then at least while the war is still raging. The battleground is no place for a woman!"
"Ryo, I can't go back! I want to stay here with you, if I go back there will marry me off to Blue Sky! I don't want to be married to Blue Sky, you and I both know that if I do then it would be like killing myself. If you make me go back, I'll just runaway again."
"Do what you wish, then, but stay away from the battle! This is no place for you to play runaway bride!"
"You just like father you know, I hope now that I never see you again!" storms off in the direction that she came, but as Ryo cried after her. She had disappeared behind one of the tents, obviously hurt by Ryo's actions.
"Nice one, Looks like you are going to be hated by the one who looks up to you. From what I saw it looked like she did, what are you going to do now?" replied Ronnie, as he flipped closed his notepad.
"Continue with the war. It's meaningless to worry about petty arguments when there's a whole war, and a country, at stake..." he trailed off and suddenly stood at attention as Lafayette approached, Henri not far behind. "Good evening, General Lafayette!" he said.
"Good evening, Ryo, have you recovered your arm from the battle this morning?" Lafayette asked.
"Yes, it's healing quite nicely," Ryo said.
"Yeah the arm is healing, but not his family." stated Ronnie as he walked off to find James.
"What does he mean?" Lafayette asked.
"Don't ask, sir..." Ryo sighed.
Henri, meanwhile, ran to catch up with Ronnie. "Do you zink it was wise to but into his family's business?" he asked.
"Maybe not, but he need to hear it from someone." replied Ronnie as he walked up to James.
"Hey guys, the good news is that we only lost 10 people, the bad news is...we lost 10 people..." James said.
"How enthusiastic! You really need to get more experience in the department of enthusiasm." stated Ronnie, as he looked at James with confusion.
"Ok.this is what I got, we are planning a attack on the British soldiers in a few days or less. Now we need to write this article before Moses prints the next issue." states Sarah as she walks up to the group, discussing what she found out.
"Gilbert said zat everyzing was going perfectly fine until the Red Coats brought in reinforcements. Zen everyzing went all wrong," Henri said. "He said zat everyone was panicking zat zey were going to die and it took until zey drove ze Red Coat troops back a bit for them to stop panicking and retreat in an 'orderly fashion'."
"Right, so are we going to write this article or are we going to have tea and cookie." replied Sarah, ash she could tell nobody was making an effort to get started to write the article.
"Why don't you go write the article Sarah? That way Henri and I can go explore." suggested Ronnie, as he and Henri were sneaking out.
"That will be the day that I would let Henri go with out helping and You too." replied Sarah, as she grabbed them both before they could leave.
"Aw..." Henri complained. "But Gilbert promised zat he would show me some of his art..."
"HENRI...do you want to become a journalist or a bus boy artist?" replied Sarah as she looked at him sternly.
"Well, zat depends...which guaranties me to live with Gilbert?" Henri grinned.
"The soldier boy," stated Sarah.
"I can't be a soldier," Henri giggled.
"No, but you ARE going to help Sarah with that while I go report on the current meeting between the generals..." James stated.
"Aww..." Henri complained.
"Haha, I'm going to go see the Indian Soldier," replied Ronnie as he left.
Ryo was busying himself with carving designs into a stick with his army knife.
"So have you seen your sister?" asked Ronnie as he walked over to Ryo.
Ryo shrugged, "Nope..."
"You obviously don't care," stated Ronnie.
"If I didn't care I wouldn't have sent her home..."
"You must be at least worried about her?"
"If she's home, there's nothing to worry about. Us Shawnees keep our own business and so does everyone else..."
"Right, I get the picture you don't want to talk about it...understood. One question, what would you do if she were say flirting with a young white man?"
"As long as he's nice, I could care less..."
"Say a Red Coat?"
"As I said, as long as he's nice..."
"Just curious...Do you like anybody back home?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like do you have some lady friend that you like back home?"
"None that I can name, but...you see, our chief has this son..."
"Oh, I see."
"Is that all you wish to ask or must I sit until my butt falls asleep?"
"Oh sorry, You can leave if you'd like."
"Thank you," Ryo said, standing up.
"I hope that things work out between you and your sister during this war or even after it," Ronnie smiled, standing up as well.
"I would like to say that I do as well, but I very much know that things will not, no matter the outcome of the war," Ryo said cynically.
"If you wanted it to happen that badly, I believe it would."
"I want it but know better than to hope," Ryo said walking away.
"Believe what you want to believe," Ronnie muttered under his breath.
"Hey!" James called, running up. Sarah and Henri were right behind him. "We just got a special assignment from General Washington himself!"
"And.what would that be?" Ronnie asked. "Going out onto the battle field and fighting?"
"No way, we're too young!" James said, making a face. "General Washington asked us to go to New York and meet a contact. Then we have to deliver a message from General Washington to him and then bring back a response. He said while we were there we could find some people to interview about the war because he isn't in a hurry to get the response."
"Talk about being too young, you're the one too young to go to New York, James!" Sarah giggled.
"Come on, I've been to New York before," James frowned.
"I zink she was making fun of you, James," Henri said.
"I know that, I'm not stupid!" James declared. The other three stared at him. "What? I'm not!"
"Sure you're not, James," Sarah said, patting him on the back. "You just keep telling yourself that and try and think of five reasons why we'd think you're stupid on the way to New York."
"Ha, I could think of 10 by the time we get to New York!" James declared proudly, marching away.
"Should I tell him?" Henri asked, snickering to Sarah.
"No, let's see how long it takes him to figure out that isn't a good thing," Sarah responded, giggling.
::On The Way To New York::
Henri couldn't resist, "So, how many reasons have you come up wiz that we'd zink you were stupid?"
"Um.hey, wait a minute," James said.
"Took you long enough," Moses smirked.
::IN New York::
After delivering the message, the four decided to explore New York. Sarah wandered off to find some rich dudes to interview. A VERY rich looking young man was walking the streets just screaming 'INTERVIEW!'
"Excuse me Sir I was wondering if I could have a few moments of your time? I would like to ask you a few questions about your opinion on the war." Sarah asked as she walked up to the man who screamed 'INTERVIEW!'
The man looked at her and took off his hat. "Of course," he said, black curls cascading down his back. His green eyes flashed, as he looked her up and down. "And you are a reporter?" he asked. He had a Romanian accent.
"Yes in a way I am," Sarah said flashing a sweet smile at him. "I'm Sarah Phillips."
"My name is Lazlo, zat's all you need to know about my name," the man announced. "Vhat do you vant to know?"
"Are you a Loyalist or a Patriot?" Sarah asked taking out her notebook.
"I'm not particular," Lazlo said, looking at his nails, which were painted black. "Whoever vins, eizer vay, I'm staying here in ze Colonies."
"Right," Sarah agreed as she wrote it down and moved a piece of her reddish hair out of her face that had fallen when she was looking down at the pad. "What do you think about what has happened so far with the war? Do you agree on the moves that the British made on the Americans to accomplish their goal and vise versa? If so then why is it that you agree with them? Do you have any suggestions on what one side should do to the other when battling?"
Lazlo raised an eyebrow at the questions. "Vell." he took a deep breath, ".I zink zat ze Americans have a better chance to vin now zat zey have French support zough ze British still have ze best chance to vin because of zeir superior forces and support from ze Hessians. I zink zat ze British need to concentrate more on zeir defenses zan zeir offenses or zey vill get zeir butts kicked. I zink ze Americans need to vork harder on recruiting men in zeir teens instead of older men because ze men zat are older can't learn as quickly how to fight in var. I don't agree wiz a lot of ze tactics zat eizer side has been vorking on, and I have many suggestions but no one in either army will listen to a mere Romanian. Any more questions?"
Sarah had been writing this down as he explained it, "That should about do it, unless you have anything else to add to your explanation. I'm glad that you allowed me to interview you about the war. Not many people of your status allow me to interview them."
"It's my pleasure, Ms. Phillips; my only hope is zat zis var vill end soon. I despise vars," Lazlo said.
"I do also, I hate to see the world suffer in turmoil over taxes done by my people." Sarah agreed as she put her pad away and then looked up at Lazlo.
"Are you sure you can accurately call zem 'your people'?" Lazlo asked. "I'm a Romanian, but I von't call all Romanians 'my people'. Zere is a lot of people who don't refer to zemselves as where zey come from."
"Ok then let me rephrase what I said, I hate to see the world in Turmoil from the taxes the BRITISH have put on the Americans." Sarah corrected herself to Lazlo. "Is that better in the reference that I was referring to?"
"Much," Lazlo smiled, piling his hair on top of his head and placing the hat back on to hold all of his hair there. "I must go now, my sister gets irritated when I'm late for home." He then bowed and turned around, starting to walk away.
"Bye nice meeting you," Sarah replied as she watched him leave, then saw a young girl with blonde hair walked into the hotel they were staying at. Sarah ran into the hotel think that she might get another interview with this girl. Sarah saw the girl make her way to through the lobby, as she ran after her. Sarah finally caught up with the girl as she ran to the elevator. "Excuse me Miss, Can I get have a moment to ask you a few questions about the war that is going on today?"
"If you like," the girl replied with a British accent. "I'm Serena Tsukino."
"I'm Sarah Phillips, I'm interviewing people about the war," Sarah replied. "I see you lived in England, as I did."
"Why yes, my family moved here to get away from the king," Serena explained. Serena and Sarah spent their time in the lobby talking about the war.
"Speak for yourself," came a voice behind them. A boy with light brown hair and blue eyes stood behind them. "I'm Sai Tsukino, I'm her twin brother. I know more about our family and our history than she does. I actually came to America because I wanted to move on to other places like our ancestors. Our ancestors were Japanese who moved west to explore, and I wanted to continue that legacy! Even though we don't look Japanese, you can tell because of our last name."
"Don't mind Sai, we all did come to America to explore, plus we were tired of living in England." Serena replied as she glared at Sai. "Why did you come to live in America?"
"I wanted to learn how to be a journalist, my mother is still in England and my father is fighting for our country." Sarah explained.
"I'd fight, but I'm not old enough, I have to wait for my birthday," Sai sighed. "You have to be 18 to join the army, and I don't turn it until June 30. If you want to interview a true Loyalist, look up the name Aino, Seiji Aino to be exact. He's a soldier for the British army."
"Will do it was nice meeting you guys, I hope to see you around sometime," Sarah replied as she got up from the couch and said good bye to them.