*****
Gabriel thumped back and forth across his tent. The Martins and their militia had once again met up with the Continentals, in the valley across from King's Mountain near the North Carolina border. Fall was beginning to approach. A slight breeze befell upon the army during the day, and the nights began to shiver. The colors of landscape changed from victorious green to uncertain orange, yellow, and eventually brown.
His father had just received word from Kristina Warwick that there was a ball held at her estate, only ten miles south of where he stood. His father had given the men strict instructions not to attack while civilians were around. Nathaniel Greene and his men were supposedly coming from the north to join the Continentals. The British army lay just over King's Mountain, which was more like a ridge, about a mile away. Gabriel knew that Cornwallis would attend this party as soon as he left his headquarters at Fort Bridgewood. Rumor has it that he was going to lead the army straight at the Continentals.
Gabriel sighed. Benjamin was stressed beyond belief. No one knew what the Lord General had up his sleeves. They needed more information, but Miss Warwick only had said in her letter she'd TRY to get information. That wasn't good enough for Gabriel. What she'll do is get caught, he thought in his head. And that wouldn't be much good to the Continentals or his militia. They needed a plan.
Tapping his fingers against his side, he crinkled his forehead. His eyes narrowed. Could he possibly? Taking a quill and piece of parchment, he sat down and began to write. Perhaps if he went to this ball, disguised, he could find out the information the colonists needed. He would need Miss Warwick's help though, and he grumbled as he wrote. He can't let this girl mess up everything. She already messed his life up, and he wouldn't let her destroy everything that their cause stood for. He would go to this ball, and retrieve everything he could find.
******
She lay on her bed, tapping her quilts in frustration. It was well past midnight now. The only sounds to be heard were crickets singing their song of warning. She had thought about her plan of action over and over again. She watched from her bedroom window as the guards locked the door of her barn. In the process of closing the door, Gabriel had made one last attempt to escape by knocking the door open, which hit the guard in turn. The others were ready for this though, and one fat fellow hit Gabriel on the side of his face with the handle of his gun. Her fellow patriot went down, and stayed down. She gritted her teeth.
"The nerve of that boy sneaking here, thinking I couldn't do my job", she whispered. "I should leave him there. He almost gave me away!" She grumbled.
She got up from her soft bed, and went to her closet. In there she had hidden her knife, which she now connected to her corset. Why am I doing this? She thought. Because it's the right thing to do, and you know it, another voice inside explained. She put her hair back with a band. Suddenly the knob twisted on her door. She jumped into bed, covering her clothes with a quilt, and pretended to sleep. Footsteps slowly marched toward her, and her heart rate quickened. A hand gently shook her, and she acted as though she had been in a deep sleep, just waking up.
"Wha…who'se there?" Her eyes slowly opened, revealing a young man by her side.
"Evan?" she whispered, totally taken aback.
"Kristina. I- I wanted to apologize for my behavior. You were right about a great many deal. I can't sleep at all, knowing what you said. I don't want you to think of me as some bloody officer that thinks only of himself". In his hand was a candle, and it illuminated his truthful eyes. She did not know what to say.
"I don't mean to come into your bedroom so late at not, it is most indecent. If your father or Cornwallis saw this act of disgrace, I'd surely be kicked out of the army. I- I just needed to see you. Do you forgive me?"
She nodded slightly. This man was ever changing his mind, saying one thing, doing another. She wanted to trust him so bad. She needed someone to trust in. She knew he meant what he said. He was a lamb lost among wolves in England. Can he possibly help her now, if she told him?
"Kristina, I-I-" he was leaning closer and closer to her. She found herself leaning too. This is not the time, this is not the time, she thought. I can't. I shouldn't. Her thoughts evaporated as soon as his lips touched hers. Suddenly she didn't care who was on whose side. She didn't care where she was. His arms wrapped around her, and she took them willingly. All those nights they had talked, all the laughs they had shared for the past week, it just seemed right for once. This was the relief she needed. She had not felt this passion since-
Without realizing it, she was already unbuttoning his shirt. Then his hand started to pull off her quilt when she froze. He would discover she was fully dressed, armed at that, not in a nightgown. She was supposed to be saving Gabriel, son of a man she truly admired. She pulled away.
"What's wrong?" He asked with concern.
"I'm sorry, Evan. I- I just can't, not now. I'm not ready."
He was disappointed, but nodded. "Your right. I'm sorry. I'll see youin the morning then, aye?" He placed a kiss on her forehead, and slowly closed the door behind him. She sat in her bed, her breath loudly sighing in and out.
After fifteen minutes, which she was sure he had gotten back to his own room, she slightly opened the door. Peering about, she placed her left foot out into the open. It was now or never.
She flittered down to the kitchen, where Jane was waiting for her. She bombarded her friend with questions. Where had she been? What was taking so long? Kristina just waved her hand.
The front door was being guarded, the kitchen door was not. She stepped out into the grass, which itched against her ankles. Jane stealthily went over to the stables, where she would get the horses to leave with. Both girls had brought nothing with them. Kristina headed towards the barn, keeping to the bushes to avoid being seen. Three guards stood by, but the door was now open. The back was not being watched. Good, she thought. A few years ago she had digged a hole underneath the barn with one of her slave friends. Knowing her father would be furious, she never told him, but secretly swept the boy food from the kitchen every night. He had lived alone in the barn, until one day Captain Doyle saw fit to sell him. She hoped the hole was still there. She had covered it with grass. Sure enough, it was still there. She took away all the grass and peeked under, without going through. A desk blocked the way in, but she could still hear voices.
One she recognized as Cornwallis. "The Continentals are planning something, I can smell it. They wait at King's Mountain just south of our men. Tell me, what are their plans?"
She heard the sound of spit, and smiled in spite of herself. The boy has guts. Her smile faded when she heard Gabriel scream in pain as a whip sliced across his back. She could see her father holding the whip.
"Restrain that whip, Captain." Cornwallis demanded.
"But sir, he will not say anything."
"Then he will be hung as a traitor. But he will not be tortured, not by any civilized men here. I am going to bed. Bribe with whatever you like, Captain, but do NOT persecute him. I do not want these militia to make a martyr out of him." He stood erect, walking with precision as he triumphantly exited the barn, back inside the estate.
Her father turned back to his prisoner, smiling slightly. "Well now, its just you and me. And my Lord isn't here to stop me, so you had better fess up something." No reply came.
"Good, I like it this way." Through the crack she could see him kicking Gabriel over and over; in the chest, the ribs, the stomach. She heard a rib break. Her father nodded to a guard to put a cloth over his mouth, making his screams of agony useless.
She had to act, but she would surely be caught. Every moment Gabriel was hit, she cringed. She exposed her knife to her hand, grasping it hard. She was about to push the desk over when she heard her father sigh.
"Well, that will be enough for tonight. Think about what I said, aye chap?" He walked toward the front of the barn, then turned back. "Oh, by the way, I heard the story of Colonel Tavington burning that church and killing everyone along the Santi. Though Cornwallis never shared that spirit, I felt obligated to praise Tavington for a job well done. All you colonists are traitors to the crown, and deserve to die a traitor's death." With that he left, slamming the door behind him.
Kristina felt tears smear down her face. How could her own flesh and blood feel such hate? This was not the first time he had said those words. She hated him. She wanted to kill him.
Soon, her heart said. Soon.
Making sure the coast was clear, she gently started pushing the desk over and over, until her body could squeeze into the barn. Gabriel looked to see where the noise was coming from. When he saw Kristina, his heart raced. He was still gagged, but he tried to move. It hurt.
The first thing she did was untie the cloth over his mouth. He choked a bit, but calmed down. He said nothing as she unbound the ropes on his hands behind his back. When those were free, he tried getting up, but found it difficult.
"Gabriel-" she whispered. "I'm so sorry."
He turned away. "I don't think I can get up."
She winced, knowing this was going to hurt him. "You don't have to yet. Crawl to the hole in the barn. Horses will be waiting on the opposite side." he nodded, and began the painful creeping, trying to make as little noise as possible. She, meanwhile, went up the ladder and took the hidden musket. The bag right next to it contained only five bullets.
By the time she made her way back down, he was almost out. She got on all fours and followed him. When she reached the outside, she found Jane with two horses. One was Cornwallis' (Kristina laughed inwardly at that), the other was Kristina's. Jane smiled at the two. Both girls helped Gabriel to his feet. She knew he was screaming inside, but she needed to get him on her horse. Finally, he was on, and Kristina climbed on behind him. He still had a huge gash on his head, and his eyes were dilating. She knew he would be out soon. She kicked her horse forward, with Jane behind her. They were almost to the edge of the estate grounds when she saw two horses speeding towards them. One was a guard. The other was her father. They were now exposed. There was no going back.
"Kristina!!" She heard her father scream. Then the sound of a bullet grazed her shoulder, but not enough to make her fall. He was shooting at her!
"Jane, speed ahead. I'm going to fire back." There was barely any pain anymore.
"No! Lady Kris, we don't have time!"
Kristina groaned. She wanted vengeance on that man. Now might be her only shot. Gabriel was slowly slipping from the saddle as he slipped through unconsciousness. Stay the course, her mind told her.
She wrapped her arms firmly around him, making it impossible for him to fall, as she urged her horse forward. Lights were now on in all the house to see what was going on.
She didn't look back again. She couldn't.
******
She knew they couldn't reach the army by morning. Gabriel needed to be tended to, and her arm needed to stop bleeding. After 3 hours of hard riding, they stopped by a brush that easily cloaked them from harm. Gabriel was awake once more, and he screamed as they took him off the horse.
"Please be quiet" Kristina whispered as she bound her slight graze with a cloth.
Gabriel was still slightly woosy, but he sarcastically stated, "I'm sorry. I really want those redcoats to come in find us."
Her patience was thinning. She thought maybe they could start over, be friends.
Jane informed her that she would go keep watch for a couple hours. Kristina thanked her.
Gabriel stared at the girl before him. This was the second time she had saved him, and yet he still tried to annoy her. He didn't understand. His ribs hurt the most, but he dared not mention that.
He lay down on his back, breathing heavily. He looked up at the clear sky, where it seemed the whole galaxy came out tonight. "Thank you." He stated.
He looked over at her. It seems she didn't hear him. She was glancing up at the stars like him, only she was mesmerized. Her eyes were beginning to form tears. He continued to stare. Suddenly she caught on and looked away. "I only did it because I respect your father."
"Why is that, anyway? Your British. Why do you want to fight with us? You have no reason."
She angrily stared him down. "You and I are a lot alike, Gabriel Martin. But one thing distinguishes us."
"And what is that, Miss Warwick?"
"You fight for a family that loves you. I fight for my own accord."
He was confused, and he wanted to push farther. "You heard what Tavington did to my wife….my little brother. He murdered them. I fight for vengeance. You don't need to be involved in this war."
"How DARE you." Oops, wrong thing to say, he thought. "You think you know me? Let me set you straight, Mr. Martin. My name isn't Kristina Warwick. It's Kristina Doyle." His eyes shot wide. Captain Doyle was the one who had mercilessly kicked him over and over. He was, very much, like the man that had killed his wife. A cold, evil man.
"Why did you lie to us? To my father?"
"I didn't lie. I choose to not go by that name. I go by my mother's name. Surely you can understand my reasons for that."
Things were still unclear, but he was starting to think there was more hate in this girl than he thought. He didn't like her because he thought she was fake. That she didn't have a cause. That she shouldn't be trying to get herself killed, because that was what Anne did. What his position put her in. He didn't like Kristina because she had been the one to pull the trigger, she had spared his life, at the cost of his agony. She had refused him of his vengeance.
Now, though, he was thinking in a new perspective. He didn't know what to think. This girl still wasn't telling him everything.
"I know why you hate me Gabriel. I know why you hurt. But I had to kill him. I couldn't see him kill more patriots, more innocence. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself, knowing that I could have done something. I wasn't going to stand back and let history repeat itself, with me being on the sidelines! I'm sorry I kept you alive, I was only doing it for ME!" Her voice was getting louder and louder, tears flooding down her face.
Gabriel gulped. She really was killing herself inside. But not everything fit. He spoke softly. "I don't hate you. The only reason I ever insulted you was because I had just lost my wife. I was grieving, I was angry, and I took it out on you. I should be thanking you for giving me a second chance."
She just shook her head, her voice whimpering. She hated crying, especially in front of Him. He was making her relive her nightmares. Evan made her forget them.
She tried to make her voice level. Maybe she needed to tell him. He would understand. But that would make her remember.
"Get some rest." She stated, turning over on the ground. He could see her shoulders still jerking up and down, as she cried for the rest of the night.