It seemed we had been waiting hours, for my uncle and cousins to return. Meg was being very helpful with the younger ones, keeping them occupied.

I sighed wistfully, watching the sun start to set. Soon, it would be time to take them to our aunt's plantation. I hope it wouldn't come to that.

"When is Papa coming back?" William asked, while continuing to draw in the sand.

I ruffled his hair, "any minute now sweety," it least that's what I was hoping.

Just as I was getting ready to tell the children we would have to leave, I could see them finally approaching in the distance.

"William look," I bent down where he was playing and pointed. A huge smile washed over his face, and his siblings as they raced towards their family.

Joining them, I smiled in relief at my uncle and especially Gabriel who was now safe. "I was so worried," my uncle hugged me tightly, a weight it least partially lifted from his shoulders.

By now it was almost completely dark, but before we left for our aunt's, we had one more task to undertake.

After we said our goodbyes to Thomas, we were finally on our way. It was taking a little longer to get there, since the little one's were exhausted and we were staying off the main roads incase the British should happen upon us.

Finally late in the night, we reached our Aunt Charlottes. She was delighted to see us, but apprehension was set in her eyes. She knew something terrible must have happened, for her family to appear on her doorstep at such an un godly hour.

The next several days, Uncle Ben had rounded up some men to join his militia. He didn't want any part fighting in this war, but when it came to his family, there were no exceptions.

Everyone was gathered on the front porch telling them good bye. We were all worried, but prayed for there safe return. "The children look up to you, and I know I can count on you to do a good job," Uncle Ben said while hugging me tightly, as a few tears escaped.

Everything seemed to go on normally after they left that day. We helped around our aunt's plantation just like we did at our old one. It was very different though, with three people missing. I knew Thomas would never return, and that was pretty hard. He was to young to die. Having his whole life ahead of him cut short, was just one of the cold realities of war.

The house was very quiet that night as I lay in bed trying to sleep. Sounds of crickets and other nightly critters could be heard distinctly. Finally, after alot of tossing and turning, I somehow managed to get in some much needed rest.

It seemed as if I had only been asleep a few moments when someone was trying to wake me up. As my eyes started to focus I could see the frantic look in my aunt's eyes.

Startled I jumped out of bed thinking something had happened to one of the children. "The dragoons are here, we must get the children and hide quickly," she said in a rushed tone as we both went and woke the children in their rooms.

I held onto Susan's hand as she clutched her doll tightly. Her sister was holding on to William, while Nathan and Samuel followed quickly behind.

"Here, we can hide in the kitchen," Aunt Charlotte whispered urgently. We were crouching down as we saw the dragoons outside the window.

My breathing was shallow as I tried not to make a sound. I looked around at my cousins, all huddled together. Wait where was Nathan. He must still be in the dining room. I got up quickly, and started crawling on the floor. I looked under the table since I didn't see him in any of the corners of the room. His eyes as wide as saucers thinking the British had captured him, were relieved when he realized who it was.

We were going to crawl back into the kitchen where everyone was waiting, when someone started to walk into the room.

Oh no. They were going to find us. I held tightly onto my cousin, holding my breath, as someone walked slowly by the table. Any minute now he would lift the table sheet and find us. They stopped, listening for any sound that might give us away. Turning around, the person finally left, much to our relief.

Nathan then hurried to the kitchen, while I started to make my way out under the table. All of a sudden, a pair of strong hands grabbed me roughly from behind. Whirling me around, I looked up and gasped.

AN: Sorry for the delay, I have been very busy this past week. This chapter is a bit on the short side, because I wanted to end it there, and the next one will be much longer. Also, I couldn't remember which one of the Martin Children was hiding under the table, so I just used Nathan:) If I'm wrong let me know and I'll go back and edit it. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!