And just for an apology: Another chapter for today. ;) Enjoy.
The madness of a king
Shock. No other word could describe the feeling, when I hit the water and dived under. It felt as if every fibre of my body were immediately frozen by the icy coldness of the water. My muscles tensed, my breath was stuck in my throat and even my mind came to an halt for a moment, until there was only one thought: I can never do it.
The cold hurt and took away my energy although I had not started swimming yet. It felt like an eternity until my head reached the surface, I coughed and could vaguely see the beach, too far away. How should I make it there? I did some first clumsy attempts to swim. My arms felt stiff and my legs got tangled in my skirt. It wrapped around them and as much as I tried to move them, the fabric was like an iron chain, holding them together. I clenched my teeth and only tried to use my arms to get forward but it worked only twice until my lower body sank deeper and deeper and I didn't have the strength to keep my upper body straight. I swore, desperate and started to search my surroundings for someone who could help me. But the men swimming to shore were already way ahead and busy with themselves, which I could understand. The open sea wanted to prove that we were still in her grasp by demonstrating her power and duck my head under water, wave after wave, robbing me of my orientation. Eventually I forgot where to go back or forth and it felt like an eternity that I was now floating here and I slowly started to panic. Until my gaze fell upon the rocks, close to the beach.
If you concentrate, you will do it. If you have one strength, it is your iron will.
Ratonhnhaké:ton's words seemed to be so far away but still they stirred up the courage I had felt bevor I had jumped and had forgotten about. Damn it, I didn't want to drown! I wanted to make it to shore to wait for Ratonhnhaké:ton and drag him over the coals for this stupid idea. And I wanted to hug him, when we saw each other again. Much more than anything else.
So I gathered every little bit of courage I could find and dived underwater, to pully my legs up to my body and free them from my skirt. I pulled it up and pushed it into its waistband. Not quite the most appropriate way to wear a skirt but first, there was no one to see me and second, being able to move my legs freely was more important. When I broke the surface again, I had been driven away but I quickly found the rocks again and started swimming. It was difficult and more straining than I had ever thought, but I tried to simply concentrate on the rocks and on reaching them. That I had to reach them.
Arms. Legs. Arms. Legs. Arms. Legs.
A mantra I repeated all over again, helping me to concentrate on my movements. I swam slowly, my arms started to hurt, my strength vanished and although I first doubted it, the rocks came closer. I felt hope. Maybe I could actually do it. Maybe…
The bang of cannons made me stop and I was washed over by a wave as I wanted to look back. Coughing, I fought my way back to the surface and searched for the blockade on the horizon. Although my orientation fooled me at first, I found it and watched in horror, what happened.
The ships had opened fire on the quickly approaching Aquila, but they couldn't stop what Ratonhnhaké:ton had planned. Full speed, she hit the biggest of the ships and a deafening bang cut through the air, as powder barrels exploded and the sparks rained down on the other frigates, causing huge damage. The plan had worked. But I wasn't happy. My thoughts were with Faulkner and Ratonhnhaké:ton. Asking myself, if they had made it off the Aquila, or if they…
No! Don't think about it. Not now. It was hard to tell myself this. But I wasn't on shore yet and the longer I stopped, the colder I got. As hard as it was, I had to force my concerns back to concentrate on my task. On shore, there would be the other men and they could help me find Faulkner and Ratonhnhaké:ton. So I swam and as the rocks were close, I doubled my efforts until I could see the dark sand under water. I breathed a sigh of relief as I stopped and let my legs sink to the ground until my feet finally touched it. I had made it. I had actually swum the whole distance. Alone, without anyone helping me. With my own strength and with that, I had beaten my own doubts about myself. Under other circumstances, I would have been filled with pride, but I couldn't think about that now.
I pulled my skirt into place and waded out of the water. Never I would have believed it, but as I finally got dry ground under my feet, it felt as if it was colder than inside the water. It almost hurt. My body was shaking, my teeth clattered and I hardly had the strength to put one foot after another. Now that I didn't need it anymore, it seemed like it wanted to leave me, even though I wasn't even safe yet. On the beach, that now turned out to be just a grassless stripe of land, some men of the ship had gathered. As drenched and frozen as I was, but I couldn't believe it was all of them. I only saw a few familiar faces and only two I knew by name. There was Logan, sitting on the ground and holding his injured shoulder, the pain clearly written in his face. It was clear that swimming here hadn't done any good to him. Still I was glad he had made it. As well as Kanen'tó:kon who now hurried towards me.
"Lillian! Are you well?", he asked me before even reaching me. He sounded relieved and I nodded, shaking like a leaf.
"Did you see Ratonhnhaké:ton? Or Faulkner?" My eyes searched our surroundings to the water and the horizon. But they were nowhere to be seen and Kanen'tó:kon shook his head.
"If they came on shore, they did not here but somewhere further down there." He pointed down the muddy path leading into the city. But the way he emphasized the word "if" didn't escape my notice. I didn't even want to think that they couldn't make it. They had to.
"Let us walk towards them", I suggested and wanted to go, only to be held back by Kanen'tó:kon.
"It is too dangerous", he said calmly but with tension in his voice. "The explosion has drawn too much attention and the soldiers are on high alert. They will be here soon and when they see us, they will know that we have been on board of the Aquila. We should not draw too much attention and should leave for the rebels' camp immediately."
"And what about Ratonhnhaké:ton? Faulkner?", I asked and couldn't hide how angry I was about his suggestion. "I won't leave without knowing what happened to them." It was out of the question. Maybe they came on shore and were injured. Maybe they needed help. We couldn't get ourselves to safety without knowing, what happened to them and I could tell by Kanen'tó:kon's face that he basically thought the same. But it seemed like there was something holding him back.
His big hand rested on my shoulder and he gave me a serious look, asking for my understanding at the same time. "I know that their fate will not leave you in peace. But I think it would be better if we get you into safety first. As soon as you are safe, I will look for them. I promise it to you as I promised to Ratonhnhaké:ton that I would protect you, if necessary."
So this was what this was all about. I was supposed to be protected again while everyone else was in danger. Not that I was not grateful because I didn't succumb to the illusion I could survive on my own. But my reason didn't care until I didn't know what had happened during or after the collision of the ships. Was I once more supposed to sit and twiddle my thumbs, hoping for Kanen'tó:kon to return with good news or even better, a healthy Ratonhnhaké:ton and Bobby Faulkner? At the same time, I felt bad because of my reluctance, looking into the kind eyes of Kanen'tó:kon. Just as I, he wanted the best for Ratonhnhaké:ton. He was worried, too and I was sure, that he wouldn't rest, until he had found out what had happened. Could I not trust him in that?
I sighed quietly. "Where is this camp?"
A look of relief spread over Kanen'tó:kon's face and he pointed over my shoulder. There was flat ground spreading up to a palisade that seemed to be the city's borders. Behind it, on the horizon, was nothing else but forest. This was, were the camp was supposed to be?
"It is a short march from here but we should be there very soon. Some of us already left to avoid unwanted surprises."
Unwanted surprises? I wasn't sure what he meant by that but I guessed that he was talking about the bluecoats. A horde of wet people would rather draw their attention than several smaller groups. I looked to the other side, to the city itself and realized where we were. The houses nearby were hardly more than ruins. Burnt to the ground or collapsed. If I wasn't wrong, Washington hadn't caused it. It was the part of town that had been fallen victim to the great fire. I didn't know the city well enough but at least I had an idea of where we were. Of course I didn't know the pyramid we had seen from the ship. Now I realized how gigantic it actually was and Logan hadn't been exaggerating while saying that it was throwing shadows over the whole city. Its sight was grotesque but at the same time impressive. So impressive, that I just wanted to get out of its radius.
On Kanen'tó:kon's silent signal, I followed him down the path to the palisade. Logan and three other men joined us, but we didn't come far. Just after a few steps, Kanen'tó:kon stopped abruptly, so that I almost ran into him. I didn't need to ask what this was about. I just needed to hear the swearing of the men and follow Kanen'tó:kon's gaze that was directed to the city. Two small troupes of soldiers were heading right for us. One coming from the harbour on our left, the other from the road to Fort George on our right. It would remain their secret why they were coming here with such determination. But it was clear that they hadn't expected to see us here because I heard them shout: "They could belong to them!", before telling us to stop. They were only a few metres away and I wasn't the only one thinking about an escape.
"We need to leave!", one of the men swore and made an attempt to keep following our initial plan, but Kanen'tó:kon stopped them.
"We would only lead them to the camp. We have to split up, escape them and then we can leave. A fight would make no sense." It maybe would if the other men were as skilled in fighting as he was. But they were not and seemed to know it, too, because they nodded in agreement.
Within seconds, we had split into three groups of two and hurried into different directions, before the soldiers reached us. Luckily they were actually surprised at first, but then they followed us. I heard their angry voices, their heavy steps and the clattering of weapons, as I ran beside Kanen'tó:kon towards the burnt houses. I didn't dare to glance over my shoulder but only concentrated on keeping up with the Native. Thanks to my wet skirt, sticking to my legs, it was anything but easy. We ran through the narrow street of the burnt district, which was even more narrowed because of the rubble lying around. You constantly had to avoid obstacles and I unnecessarily felt angry, because no one in ten years had found it necessary to rebuild he district. I knew, that the pock had plied its dreadful trade here only a few years ago and so it was probably only inhabited by lepers. But as in Boston, there were no such people to be seen anywhere. Strictly speaking, there was no one else but the soldiers and us between these ruins. Despite the winding streets and the regular turns we took, they didn't seem to have any problems following us. In the contrary. I believed to hear them coming closer and it made my heart beat even faster. I gave a short look to Kanen'tó:kon, whose face had a grim expression. His lips pressed together, his brows furrowed and his eyes roaming our surroundings. But as they met mine, I realized that he was adjusting to my pace. Damn it.
"We will never shake them off like this", I breathed and dared to look over my shoulder. The soldiers just turned into the street we were in.
"Can you keep going for a bit longer?", Kanen'tó:kon asked me while we took another turn, to avoid the soldiers for now. I almost instinctively answered with "Of course", although my lungs were burning and my legs felt like they couldn't carry me any longer. But maybe I could make Kanen'tó:kon continue without me, with telling the truth. I wasn't really interested in falling into the blue coat's hands, but I disliked the thought that something could happen to Kanen'tó:kon, because I had the speed of a snail and the stamina of a ponderous wapiti.
My plan worked but not the way I had intended. When I shook my head, Kanen'tó:kon grabbed my wrist, pulled me into an alley before the soldiers could spot us and into a ruin. The roof and upper floor had collapsed and only the foundation walls were intact. Kanen'tó:kon pushed me behind a pile of rubble and looked straight into my eyes. "Stay here while I draw their attention. After I have shaken them off, I will come and get you. Do not move, unless you think you will get spotted."
Was this urgent, yet careful peremptory tone a Mohawk-thing? He really reminded me of Ratonhnhaké:ton, which made me nod hesitantly before I even realized what he was saying. But he had already run away before I could utter my "No, but…". I cursed quietly. This was not what I had intended. I didn't want him to play the bait. For my safety, fine enough, but did the men always have to play the heroes and sacrifice themselves? Would it be any different, if I could defend myself? Probably not. Ratonhnhaké:ton would still do everything to safe me from harm and since Kanen'tó:kon had given him his word to do the same, he would have acted like that, too. I had nothing left but to have faith and hope that nothing happened to either one of them.
I sank down on the pile behind me, wrapped my arms around my torso and let it sink against my knees. Now that I had come to a halt, I was so cold again and felt as if would never be able to stand up again. The swim had exhausted me, but the escape had drained my last energy. I just wanted to rest and couldn't. I listened to every sound in my surroundings, but there was nothing but the wind, rushing through the streets. The district was deserted and I was glad about it. What would people think, if they saw me in the condition I was in? Soaked and exhausted. The collision of the ships hadn't gone unnoticed after all and maybe they would bring it into connection. Maybe I could tell them, I had slipped and fallen into the water. This excuse had worked once and had also been connected to an explosion.
What an irony. The past seems to repeat itself recently.
I spent several minutes in my hideout. Minutes that felt like an eternity. I had still pricked my ears, so I winced a I finally heard steps nearby. Well, "finally" was the wrong word. I quickly realized that it weren't the steps of Kanen'tó:kon, Ratonhnhaké:ton or whoever. They were several men, coming closer to the house and I was sure, that they were bluecoats. The sound of heavy boots, weapons clattering against buckles and loud voices. The closer they came, the more I could understand their conversation and I hid inside a corner.
"I hope we don't have to search the whole town, too", one with an insecure, young voice said.
"Nah, stupid", another with an unpleasantly rough voice. "It's not necessary. As soon as they search the ships, it will turn out that everyone has died during the collision. They cannot seriously believe that anyone would be so stupid to swim over here in this cold. You should rather hope that we don't have to fish the bodies out of the water, like our comrades at the harbour. Disgusting."
I gulped. Hopefully these bodies didn't belong to us. Hopefully, Ratonhnhaké:ton and Faulkner weren't among them.
"Keith, stop griping about. If they give us this job, they do. Still better than being on patrol in this no man's land." Another male voice.
The one with the rough voice, obviously Keith, huffed and I froze, when the steps stopped right beside the house and I pressed myself further into my hideout. I couldn't see them, but it sounded like they were standing right beside me.
"I'm not griping about. It is what it is. You should be glad we don't have so much to do. And now halt. I need to piss."
"But not on the street. If someone notices…"
"Fuck it, shut up. I know."
Now there were the steps of only one man, coming straight for where I was. Why this house? Why couldn't he choose another one? I didn't dare to move or even breathe, when a bluecoat appeared right in front of my nose, stopping sideways from me near a wall. Obviously he didn't notice my hideout, only a few feet away. As calm as you like, he opened his belt, pushed his pants down a bit and started relieving himself. I squinched up my face as I reacted too late and directed my gaze onto his head. Really? There where things I didn't want to see and I would have liked to close my eyes, but then I wouldn't notice if he…Oh, damn it.
Whatever had made him looking up from his little comrade, he did and looked straight into my eyes. Totally taken by surprise, because his jaw dropped and his whole body…no. "Stiffened" appeared to be the wrong word in this situation. He didn't move and even his bladder had stopped emptying itself. Interesting, what a little scare could cause in one's body. I for my part, couldn't do anything else but to stand there and stare at him. He was the first to react. Unfortunately still with his pants down and holding his comrade.
Don't look. Just don't look.
"Miss, you are not supposed to be here. Stay where you are!"
Oh, no, I certainly wouldn't wait until he had put on his pants again and made a move to touch me. Not with these hands. Luckily I was finally able to get over my shock and move. I didn't want to give the soldier a chance to react and use his surprise. I stormed out of my hideout, past the shouting soldier and finally his three comrades, who didn't seem to know how to react and just stared after me. Lucky me. I just heard them following me, as I turned into the next street and was way ahead of them.
I ran as fast as I could and used every chance to take a turn and break the visual contact to my pursuers. But I wasn't really practiced and had no time to think about my next steps and look for a place to hide. My escape was totally uncoordinated and with my lack of sense of direction, it happened what had to happen: I left the district unintentionally and suddenly found myself on a busy main road. Passers-by crossed my way, giving me puzzled looks as I stormed past them and bumped into some. Much to my regret, I drew the bluecoats attention with that and as my actual pursuers shouted, someone should stop me, I was finally deep in the mire. Where should I go now? I could only keep on running, hoping to finally shake the soldiers off. But it turned out, that I didn't need any luck.
As I stumbled out of another alley, I suddenly found myself in a huge cluster of people. I ran for a few more metres and got some rude insults shouted after me, until I finally stopped, gasping for air and looking around. My breath was stuck in my throat after what I saw. Without noticing, I had run towards the pyramid and was now on a square of an enormous size, crowded with people. Women and men. Girls and boys. Old and young. They had gathered here and their voices were a single, loud buzzing sound. They had turned towards the strange building which was now, that I was standing right in front of it, even more terrifying. Washington must be mad and not only this. His power had gotten to his head, since he was showing it of like that. There was no other explanation for the giant statues lining the square and showing the self-proclaimed king. In proud posture, a crown on his head and a sceptre in his hand. Its top was replicating the Apple of Eden. I had no doubt about it. It was deviant but at the same time fascinating.
I had spent a while with staring and letting all these strange impressions sink in and had forgotten why I had come here in the first place. When I remembered, I hectically started looking around, but the mass of people was so dense, that I couldn't make out a sign of my pursuers. It was probably to my advantage, if they had the same problem. What had Ratonhnhaké:ton said in Boston? Your best cover, is the crowd.
I just had decided to slowly push my way through the people and find the edge of the square to get away, as everyone around me broke out into loud cheering. Arms were thrown into the air and eyes were turned at the pyramid. Even I forgot about my plans for a moment and looked into the same direction, only to feel a cold shiver running down my spine as I saw him. Washington.
He was up there on some kind of balcony and looked down at us. Just like his stone images, he wore a crown on his head, a wide, dark-blue coat over his uniform and the sceptre in his hand. The Apple of Eden shone golden in the sunlight. No, he was glowing and I felt sick about the sight of it. The man, who had ruled over our thoughts over the last couple of days and who was the key to Ratonhnhaké:ton's and my return. I felt desperate. Suddenly he was so close, but still so far away. Even from the distance, I could see the winning smile on Washington's lips, as he stretched out his arms and the people on the square grew silent immediately. An eerie silence spread, until Washington's voice rose above it. Unnaturally loud.
"My people! I know, what is troubling you. What brings you here in front of this palace. I myself, am deeply horrified by the recent attack on our great city. The attack on those, who protect us. The attack on our freedom. But be assured: Those responsible, these terrorists, calling themselves 'rebels' will be soon standing before us and pay for their actions!" The crowd cheered again until Washington continued with his speech. "People of the United States. I stand before you as a humble man. Looking upon this country, I see each one of you suffering. Yes, suffering! You are working hard for a better life, a better future. A better America. Each one of you is sacrificing themselves, making themselves slaves of this great country, of freedom. And I am honest with you: Your sacrifice inspires me. It shall not be in vain!"
More cheering and I just wanted to scream out, thinking of the people in the frontier. So their suffering was supposed to be a sacrifice? It was supposed to be fair and right? The death of so many innocent people? No. Washington had found his own reason for it, or rather: Had made it up.
"I know, this life is hard. The horrors of the war, the shortness of food, crime, the suffering by the hands of Jefferson's rebellious killers. But we, we have a higher goal, uniting us and rising us about these trivial problems. The extinction of these rebels, will only be a taste of our glorious future."
Cheering. Lies and hypocrisy. I was furious and angry tears rose into my eyes. Actually I didn't want to listen to this anymore, but then again, I wanted to know what other lies this man had made up. And so I stayed and listened to Washington's next words, like everyone else.
"My people, as I stand here before you, I can feel the heartbeat of all four million hearts of our nation in my chest. Today I will tell you about the big project of this nation. We will rise huge armies. We will create a mighty armada. And soon, we will march against our biggest enemy: England! We will attack their shores, will drench their fields in blood. English bones will be the grit in our mills and the English people will be our slaves! Each one of you will benefit from the sweat of their work. Our nation shall take its rightful place on the top: As the most sovereign kingdom – the United States of America!"
While I had believed, the cheering after Washington's appearance had been deafening, there was no word to describe the noise, the end of his speech had caused. While the self-proclaimed king left the balcony again, "his people" celebrated him with their affirmative screaming, cheering gestures and joyful faces. Amidst all this hustle and bustle, stood I and couldn't believe what I had just heard and what was happening right in front of my eyes. So Washington, in all his madness, had decided to attack England, my homeland? To conquer, extinguish and enslave it? And all these people were celebrating this barbaric decision? Logan had told us, they wouldn't know anything about Washington's cruelty in the frontier and I had believed, they would turn against their ruler, I they learned about it. But their current reaction made me seriously doubt it. Someone, who cheered about taking a nation's freedom and peace by violence, was heartless and it couldn't be excused with revenge for the War of Independence. England had retreated without conditions and had left the Americans with their freedom. There was peace. Why couldn't they live with it? Or were they so blinded? Could you be so blinded at all? Questions I couldn't answer and which just fuelled my disgust. I needed to leave. Now.
I just wanted to leave, my head down, as something was suddenly thrown over my shoulders. Wincing, my first intention was to flee, but someone already wrapped their arm around my waist and I was tightly pulled against and older man, who whispered without looking at me: "Stay quiet and nothing will happen to you." His voice was deep and actually sounded quite pleasant. For my ears especially, since his accent was definitely British. Still, I wanted to get away from him, but his hold on me was too strong.
"What do you want from me?", I hissed because I doubted that he belonged to the bluecoats.
"I just want to ask you some questions", I answered, totally relaxed and with a certain arrogance. "Starting with your pitiable condition and ending with this interesting piece of jewellery around your neck."
My gaze sank down to Ziios necklace and then onto the bracer on the arm he had wrapped around my waist. I paused. A hidden blade? Was he an assassin? Now curious, I tried to look him over as best as I could, while he easily led me through the crowd. He was just wearing some sort of cape over a blood—red vest, since he had put his heavy, grey coat over my shoulders. His hair was already grey and held together by red ribbon, partly covered by the tricorn on his head. I could only see his profile while he kept a watchful eye on our path. Suddenly he seemed familiar to me, although I had never seen him before.