General Lee POV
Where was Major Davis? I needed to find him because I had some urgent plans for him to deliver, and he was nowhere to be found. I gathered from the men at the mess hall that he had punched Major Thompson and then they walked outside. I checked their tent, and sure enough, they were there. Sleeping. During the day. Now, I don't usually get angry, but I had just found out that our next march had been changed, and now it was two times longer! The Army of Northern Virginia could barely take traveling for one week, let alone three, given the provisions they had. Most of the men shot their own game when we were on the march, wasting ammunition.
I shook Major Davis awake, and he must've been sleeping really deeply, because it took me a while. I do suppose it's good he had some rest, because I was about to send him off. He squinted, saw me, and scrambled up, saluting with a "Sir!" "William, I have some more news for you to deliver to our other units regarding our locations for these next few weeks." He noticed the urgency in my command and after I gave him the letters, he took off right away.
I wondered why he had been smiling when he was asleep and then thought back through the past couple of days and realized that he had been much more cheerful. At first I thought that our victory at Chancellorsville was the cause, but upon further examination I realized that Miss Shaw had been around for the same amount of time and that Major Davis was the one who brought her here to be protected in the first place. If that were the reason, which I was quite sure it was, then I pondered over if it would work out. They had opposite points of view on the war and on our country, but then again, love works in strange ways…
William POV
General Lee handed me the letters for the other units, and I left to get my horse and go. On my way out to the stables, I ran into Susannah, literally. I rounded the corner as she came from the opposite direction, and we knocked each other down. "Oh, Miss Shaw, I apologize; I wasn't watching where I was going! Let me help you up," I offered, holding out my hand after I had stood up.
"Thank you sir, it was as much my fault as yours," she replied kindly, taking my hand and accepting my help standing up. "If I may ask, where are you off to in such a hurry, Major?" "I, uh, have to go out to some other camps and inform them of some changes in our route." Her face fell and she muttered, "Oh." We stood there, looking at our shoes for a moment before I decided I should go. "I-I should leave now. Goodbye, Miss Shaw," I gave a nod in her direction and went to get my horse, but not before I could look at her face, and saw a faint smile.
I delivered all of the messages to the other units in record time. I stopped at a field to eat, and to give my horse some rest, and noticed that it was growing dark. I looked up and saw the first star twinkling in the sky. I'd always loved how the first stars came out before the light had totally faded away. The stars reminded me of the curious twinkle in Susannah's eyes. So lost was I in my reverie that I hadn't noticed that it actually did grow dark. I got up, mounted my horse and made a decision. Instead of turning right, towards camp, I veered left and rode North.
When I researched the name "William Davis," I stumbled upon at least two Confederate soldiers by that name, and at least one Union soldier. And when I searched "Joseph Thompson" I found a website with school projects on him- he was apparently a Union soldier (whoops on my part, but hey, I just made up the name, so I was happy that it was at least from the same time period).