Chapter 7: rescue in the night
The chronicles of grounding continues! I'm trying to make this chapter a little more intense than what was in the show. The issue of slavery is a dark one, and you can't really go halfway on it. Style and tone are also very important, so I'm using a reoccurring symbol. The first person to guess it correctly gets their name in the next chapter.
If I owned liberty's kids, the much rumored civil war squeal would be out by now, along with another one taking place in the roaring twenties/great depression/WWII (one of my favorite time periods)
March 1775
Sarah pov
After three days of nonstop travel, they had finally made it to Richmond. Moses didn't even wait for the wagon to stop before he took off running. The archangel plantation was on the outskirts of town, and he wanted to make it there by sundown. James had suggested the perfect cover story for them: they were traveling journalist sent to report on the closing of the house of burguose. It was close enough to the truth to believable, and Sarah was happy that she didn't have to lie. After all these months in the colonies, lying still left a bad taste in her month. James climbed out of the wagon first, and offered Sarah his hand. She took the hand absent mindedly, but on her way to James, she spotted something wrong.
"James! Hold on! Moses' letter! It's back here!" Sarah cries caused James to pause and look into the wagon. He picked up the still slightly muddy papers, and handed half to Sarah.
"Without this letter, he can be captured and branded a runaway! Henri, you're the faster, follow Moses, and if he gets into any trouble, show who's ever doing it this letter." James orders. Henri saluted and ran off in the same direction Moses was going. Sarah knew she would go mad without something to do, so she grabbed her pen.
"What are you doing Sarah?" James questioned
"I'm going along with you. Two heads are better than one, and you can't expect me to just sit here doing nothing while you incorrectly turn loyal citizens against the crown." Sarah made up this argument on the spot. In reality, she didn't want to be alone. Not giving James to the time to react, she pushed her way into the crowded church, and found a pew somewhat in the middle. James sat down next to her quietly, but they didn't have time for conversation before the oration began.
What a speech it was! Even though it argued for total rejection of the just government, she had to say that Patrick henry was a gifted orator. At the end the speech, Sarah was tempted to join the rest of the crowd in celebration, but her loyalty to the crown kept her sedentary.
"Well, that was exciting. Moses and Henri will probably be a few hours more, so how about we get lunch? I overheard that most of the important delegates will be eating over at the fallen tree tavern, and we might over hear something." James suggested
"You just want excuse to spy and fill your belly, is that right?" Sarah joked
"Hey, your belly is pretty empty too!" James teased. Sarah opened her month to protest, but her treacherous stomach betrayed her.
Lunch was nice. Sarah wasn't allowed to be alone around James most of the time (the dreaded "inappropriate behavior" argument kept getting in the way), so having a time to get to know her fiancée was a treated, especially without the prying eyes of Moses and Henri around.
After lunch, James and Sarah waited for Henri and Moses by the wagon, talking about this and that. They reviewed notes and discussed personal preferences. A few hours passed, and they were about to give up hope, when Henri came running.
"James! Sarah! They captured Moses! I tried to show the letter, but they called me a Mulatto and told me that they would sell me too if I didn't go!" Henri seemed like he was about to go into hysterics. James turned, and freed the horse from the wagon. He placed the weeping Henri in the wagon and took the letter from him.
"Don't move from that spot, Henri. Moses is going to be okay. "James both ordered and reassured.
"What are you doing? We need to go help Moses!" Sarah was outraged! How could James do wagon work while their friend was being forced into a life of bondage yet again?
"I know." James reached out his hand for Sarah to take as he said this in a grave voice. His words struck Sarah dumb. James was usually so uplifting and comical. His face, so often in a lighthearted smile, was now stony and solemn. She wasn't sure whether she should be frightened or impressed. Sarah accepted his hand dubiously, and he pulled her on the horse. She encircled his chest, and felt him stiffen at her touch. She now understood was James was doing.
"Remember Henri, don't move from that spot. Hya!" the horse took off the moment James was done talking. The race against the clock had begun. The victor would receive freedom, but the loser would only have bondage. For the sake of herself and her friends, Sarah hoped they would be triumphant. As they set off on the muddy road, the rain, which had almost seemed to vanish, poured down upon them with a vengeance, almost as though it didn't want them to advance on their mission.
James pov
James mind rushed as he fought against time. He had to free Moses, no matter what. The rain had started again, and the road was muddy with caused the horse, Caesar to slip and slide. Sarah wrapped her arms tighter around James and buried her head in his shoulder, as Caesar reared. Despite the danger of the situation, James heart speed up and his stomach reeled. This time, he was lucky Sarah was behind him. She couldn't see his blush.
Shaking his head, James tried to remain focused on the task at hand. On and on through the day turned night, James and Sarah rode at breakneck speed. He was afraid that the horse was going to run itself to death, when finally, they reached the plantation. Running up the main walk and stairs, the two banged on the door, until finally, the man they recognized as the one who bid at the auction, Harold Saxon, answered.
"Yes, yes, what is it? If you're here for shelter, there's barn off the main house you two can use." The odious man instructed. He almost closed the door, but James stopped it with his foot.
"Sir, I believe you have a friend of ours. His name is Moses, and he is a free man." James hoped his man could be reasoned with.
"I remember you! You're that little snot who disrupted the auction. People in the north may tolerate abolitionist talk, but here in the south, we have a rope reserved for the peddlers of such filth. Besides, your 'friend' has a brand on him for the Miranda plantation, and first thing in the morning, I plan on returning him." Harold Saxon was even more loathsome in person than he was at the auction.
"Please, you can't return him to there! He is a free man! If you take him-"James started, before a stout man with a time worn face came down the stairs. He was dressed in a simple nightshirt and cap, and he looked like he was still halfheartedly battling slumber.
"What's all this commotion about? Harold, why are you out of bed, and who are they?" the older gentleman's nasally voice ordered. Even if he was a comical figure, he commanded authority like he was born to (which probably was the case).
"Sir, my name is Sarah Phillips, and this is James hiller. We're reporters from the Pennsylvania gazette. We believe you have a friend of ours here, Moses, a Negro man. We have a letter here, from our mutual employer, Dr. Benjamin franklin." Sarah stepped into the play as James was still trying to figure out how to answer the pricing interrogations the older gentleman accused.
"What use does a pair of reporters from a middle colony newspaper need with a southern cotton worker?" Harold Saxon argued, but James could see that he had already lost the battle
"He is a skilled mechanic, and serves as a care taker and chaperone for myself and my associates. Dr. Franklin trusts this man with his life, and if you were to take him, you can be assured that he would file suit within the month. This letter explains the situation better." James informed as he hopped in the quarrel. Handing the letter to the older gentleman, both he and Sarah waited breathlessly as the fleshly man perused the letter. After some time, he looked up and turned to his employee.
"Harold, please take these good people to the quarters where their friend is being kept. I apologize for the trouble my associate has cause. After you're done showing them, please go back to bed, Harold. If you cause any more trouble, I'm revoking your rights to the women." Harold grumbled as he begrudgingly showed James and Sarah to the slave quarters. Once there, he commanded them to stay outside while he went in. after a minute or two, he returned, dragging Moses in tow.
"There, here's your 'friend'. Now get off this plantation, and don't come back." Harold spat. James and Sarah needed not further warning. Moses, half beaten to death, was spread over the horse, with Sarah's cloak covering him. James took the reins in one hand as he began to walk his horse towards the long road to Richmond. The rain had finally let up, and although the path was muddy, the way was clear.
"Well, I doubt we'll be welcome in Richmond again." He joked after a few miles in silence.
"James, if it wasn't for you, Moses would be stuck in a life of bondage. What you did was probably the noblest thing I've ever seen." Sarah said as she grabbed his hand. While his eyes were fixed on their joined hands, Sarah stole a kiss on his check.
The trek to Richmond didn't seem so long after that
end
D'aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw! That last part was so cute! I have a new drinking game, Every time James blushes or Sarah kisses him on the check, take a shot. You'll be waste by the end of chapter 5. I'm sorry for my repetition, but it's just so cute! For those of you wanting a more heated relationship between Sarah and James, keep your shirt on. James and Sarah will have plenty of time to get on each other's nerves before they do (or don't) get married. I really can't resist making James and Sarah fluffy, but I promise that James and Sarah will be at each other's throats later on.
Yes, the branding thing and the "rights to the women" thing were really did happen in the slave trade. Moses and Kato would have probably been branded at the holding pens before they middle passage, since they were captured in Africa, and depending on the owner, they would have been branded again once they'd been sold. Most brands were on the check, wrist, and/or chest. I'm guessing that Kato also had another brand somewhere on his body marking him as a runaway, but I'm leaving out for the sake of plot connivance and logic (hurry semi lazy writing!).
The term Mulatto is a Spanish one, referring to someone of mixed slave/African and whit origins. Most mulattoes in the American colonies were the children of their owners or their owners' overseers, but in other places, such as Europe, Africa and Latin America. While I'm not sure whether or not Henri mulatto (which is certainly a possibility, considering the French being, well, the French) I've always guessed that Henri was mixed because of his darker complexion and facial features. Whether this is logical or me being weird, it's just my personal guess (fun fact: one of my favorite authors, Alexandre Dumas, was mulatto on his father's side. The French were a lot more accepting of mixed race people than the English or Spanish were).
I'm not sure if the term 'abolitionist' was around in the 1770s but it's easier to use it than some other obscure word. Aren't you glad that the open slave trade days are over, and the only thing we had to deal with now is human trafficking of illegal aliens?
Okay, I'll get off the soap box. Please comment and fav if you like it, and even if you don't, please tell me what I'm doing wrong. I'm sorry for all the grammatical errors, but I'm a bit dyslexic, and word doesn't always catch everything. Please tell me when I make an error, and I'll try to fix it as soon as possible.