November 22, 1779 - Morning
Lillian didn't think she could sleep that night, but just before dawn approached, Simara flew to her window and tapped on the glass from the outside, alerting her mistress that morning had come. Opening her eyes, Lillian sat up at once, throwing the blankets off quickly and placing her feet on the floor to stand up and get dressed. She wrapped her cape around her shoulders to protect herself against the chilled morning air, then headed out the door.
Finding her way through the Western Woods with little to no trouble that foggy morning, Lillian came to the riverbank of the Hudson River and sat down on a fallen log as she waited for the Hessian to arrive. She could still smell the smoke from yesterday's battle, but Lillian wasn't about to let something as horrible as the war ruin her day. The Hessian promised he would come see her that morning, and that was all she cared about.
Lillian never felt this way about a man before, but there was something about the Hessian that she admired. Whenever he looked at her, her heart became all aflutter and her eyes twinkled like stars. His appearance was enough to frighten the faintest of hearts, but Lillian was not afraid of him. To her, he was a strong and powerful warrior, a well-educated man with a noble background, and no doubt had a well-developed layer of muscle residing underneath his heavy, intricate black armor and dark clothing. Lillian silently berated herself for thinking these impure thoughts about someone who was against her own people, but she couldn't deny the feelings she was carrying for the Hessian, the deepest desire of her heart. With his fierce strength and unbeatable skills in combat, the Hessian was not someone to be taken too lightly. Lillian saw no reason why she should be afraid of him. He swore to protect her and never harm her. For that reason alone, she believed him. No matter how terrible his sins were, no matter how many countless souls he claimed, Lillian still loved him.
It wasn't long before Lillian heard hoofbeats approaching and turned her head, seeing a dark rider come riding out of the woods, sitting high upon a black horse and smiling at her.
"The lady of the forest has returned", said the Hessian.
Lillian smiled back at him and stood up and went to over to the Hessian, who pulled on the reins and dismounted from his horse, stroking Daredevil's mane before focusing his attention on Lillian.
"Good morning, Hessian", Lillian greeted him. "How are you?"
"I'm fine", said the Hessian. "I trust you feel better this morning?"
"I do, now that you're here", said Lillian. She looked past the Hessian and went over to greet Daredevil, but the minute her hand touched the side of the horse's head, a flash of white appeared before her eyes, showing Lillian a vision of the magnificent black horse lying in a puddle of his own blood, surrounded by a field of snow. Another flashed appeared, snapping Lillian out of her trance before she could see anymore.
Lillian gasped and removed her hand from Daredevil, stepping away from him. The Hessian was nowhere to be seen in the vision when she saw the horse lying dead in the snow, which made her heart feel sick.
"Is something wrong?" The Hessian asked her.
Lillian turned around and looked at the Hessian, but didn't answer him. The vision of seeing his horse die frightened her and she was afraid of revealing to him what she just saw. She wasn't supposed to tell anybody about her premonitions, but she felt he needed to know the truth. Casting her eyes down, Lillian stepped forward and took hold of the Hessian's hand, hoping that doing so would show her how to help change course of the future.
Lillian soon wished she hadn't done that and flinched as though she heard a gunshot, which she did. She saw the snowy field again, this time with at least a dozen dead bodies on the ground.
"Are you all right?" The Hessian questioned, noticing the strange look in her eyes. "Lillian?"
Lillian didn't respond and remained locked in a trance, flinching again as the vision continued showing her more of what was to come. She saw the Hessian riding his horse hard into battle, until another gunshot was heard, which caused the black horse to fall and land on his side. The Hessian was not hurt, but as he sat up and looked down at his horse, he was saddened to see that Daredevil had been shot, blood from the horse's mouth showing evidence that the poor animal was in pain and would soon die from his wound. Another gunshot was heard and the Hessian gasped as he turned his head, seeing six Continental soldiers were in hot pursuit.
"It's not safe", Lillian whispered under her breath.
The Hessian furrowed his brows and inched his face closer to hers. "What are you talking about?"
Lillian said nothing and continued watching the Hessian in her vision. He had no other choice but to abandon his horse and went to hide in the Western Woods. The Continental soldiers continued to pursue him, and just as the Hessian looked back to make sure he had lost them, he turned around and found himself in the presence of another human being. Lillian tried to see who it was, but a flash of white prevented her from seeing the person's face. Instead, she saw the Hessian wielding his sword and battle axe, claiming three of the soldier's heads before one of them plunged a sword into his side, causing him to cry out in pain and fall to the ground, gasping.
The vision ended with another flash, to which Lillian released her hand from the Hessian's grip and collapsed down on the ground, feeling tears starting to prick at the corners of her eyes as she started to cry.
The Hessian quickly became concerned and knelt down beside her. "Lillian, what happened? Are you all right?"
"Oh, my God!" Lillian sobbed, lowering her face into her hands as tears began to fall down her cheeks, feeling scared for what she just witnessed in one of the worst visions she ever had.
The Hessian tried putting a hand on her shoulder, but Lillian jerked herself away from him, not wanting him to touch her. The German soldier didn't know what was wrong with her or what he should do. He turned his head and rose up as he went over to retrieve something from his saddlebag, then went back over to Lillian, kneeling beside her again to offer her a metal canteen.
"Here", said the Hessian. "Drink this, it'll help."
Lillian looked at him and shook her head when saw what was in his head. "No, please", she begged him. "Alcohol only makes me sick."
"It's not alcohol, it's water."
With that in mind, Lillian took it from him and swallowed a sip of water before cupping a hand under the mouth of the canteen and applied some water onto her face, which felt warm despite the rest of her feeling cold.
"What happened?" The Hessian asked her. "You act as if you've just seen a ghost."
Lillian looked at him with wide eyes and rose up immediately, turning around and walking a few feet away from him. "I can't tell you", she said. "I'm sorry, but I just can't."
"Why not?" The Hessian demanded, standing up and walking over to her. "Lillian, either you tell me what's going on right this minute or-"
Throwing the canteen on the ground, Lillian turned around to face the Hessian and yelled at him, "Because I can't! Even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me! You would think I was a madwoman!"
"What are you talking about?" The Hessian questioned.
Lillian thought for a minute, knowing she would be condemning herself if she revealed her powers, but at the risk of being ridiculed or, at the very least, killed, she decided to swallow her pride and confess to the Hessian.
"Ever since I was a child, I've been able to predict things that may or may not come to pass in the future", Lillian explained. "My mother always knew of my ability, but told me to never tell anyone about it. She was afraid I would be thought of as a witch. When she died, I promised her I would continue to keep my predictions a secret. Today, I have broken that promise. What I have just seen, you would not believe. You would rather kill me."
The Hessian stared at her, silent and in disbelief. "These are ramblings", he said.
"They're not ramblings, they're visions!" Lillian told him, raising her voice again. Lowering her tone, she continued to explain. "Not all of them are bad, but lately, most of them have been. Ever since that terrible night, my visions have been getting worse. I've been trying to figure out what they mean, but I have no answer. Whenever a vision comes, I can't find a way out of it until after it stops. They don't last long, but I fear them every time one occurs."
The Hessian turned from Lillian, placing his hands behind his back as he stepped forward with a look of deep contemplation. "Eine Prophetin", he muttered in his native tongue. It's not unheard of, he thought to himself.
"You have some questions for me?" Lillian asked him.
"I do", the Hessian answered. He turned around to look at her again and asked, "How is it you came by these premonitions? Where did you acquire them?"
"I was born with them, I suppose. I've had them for as long as I can remember. Hessian, you must believe me-"
"I did not say I did not believe you. I'm just curious to know how you came to possess such a unique gift."
Lillian blinked and looked at him with anger in her eyes, feeling insulted. "Gift? How dare you think to call my premonitions a gift? Whenever I have one, I see things I don't wish to see. Whenever I see them, I suffer terrible headaches. I see them in my dreams and watch as they turn themselves into nightmares! When I wake up, I sometimes forget who I am and where I am. Sometimes both! I've seen people die and disasters take place in other countries, some which have not come to civilization yet! You think it is a gift? My visions are but a curse to me, and I despise them with every living breath of my existence! Call it what you will, but this is far from a gift as much as you could possible imagine or understand!"
The Hessian was taken aback by Lillian's rant, his mouth slightly parted and showing two rows of sharp, pointed teeth.
Lillian turned from him and wrapped herself into her cape, wishing it were magic so that she could disappear and not be near him right now.
"I can see that I've angered you", said the Hessian. "Forgive me, Lillian. It was not my intention to offend you. I only meant to compliment your ability to look beyond the present. Clearly, I made a mistake."
Lillian turned back to the German soldier and looked at him with a less anger in her eyes, though they had lost their warmth and looked just as cold as the Hessian's.
"If what you have told me is true, then I believe you must have been born with this curse of yours for a reason", said the Hessian. "Do you doubt the power which has been bestowed upon you in the name of God?"
"Of course not", said Lillian. "And don't you dare accuse me of being angry with Him for giving me these visions. It's no one's fault, not even His. I think you're saying that just to annoy me."
"I'm not. I'm simply trying to understand these visions of yours and your attitude towards them."
"I don't see how you can possibly understand them when even I can't understand them half the time myself. If I can't interpret what they mean, neither can you."
"But you failed to answer my question."
"And what question is that?"
"What is it you saw that frightened you so much?" The Hessian asked.
Lillian shook her head. "Hessian, please don't", she begged him.
Placing his hands on her shoulders, the Hessian looked her in the eyes and said to her, "Lillian, just tell me. No matter how much it grieves you. Tell me what it is that you saw."
Lillian lowered her gaze, not wanting to look the Hessian in the face, as she prepared to tell him the bad news. "I saw you riding your horse out on the battlefield", she said. "There was snow on the ground. I heard a gunshot fire and saw your horse falter. You weren't hurt, but Daredevil was. He was dying. In his last moment, you comforted him before being pursued by six Continental soldiers. You ran into the Western Woods to hide, but somehow, they found you. You killed three of them before one of them plunged their sword into you. That was the end of it."
The Hessian was silent for a minute, stepping back to look at the young prophetess. "You foresaw my...death?"
Lillian gazed up at him and said in fearful voice, "I hope not!"
"Does anyone else know about these visions of yours? Or what you have just foretold me?"
"No. My people are very superstitious. If anyone in my village ever found out what you have just discovered, they would stone me or hang me until dead."
"Is everyone in your village infatuated with superstition?"
"Yes."
"And you swear to me that nobody else knows about your premonitions?"
"I swear it. But now that you know, you must never mention this to anyone. Not a soul. Promise me, Hessian."
"I give you my word", the Hessian vowed. "I will not tell anyone about the power you possess. I will take it to my grave."
"That's just what frightens me", said Lillian. Reaching her hands behind her neck, she untied the strand of thread and took off her father's silver cross, offering it to the Hessian as she placed the necklace into his gloved hand.
The Hessian looked down at the trinket, furrowing his brow in confusion, then looked at Lillian.
"My father gave it to my mother, who passed it down onto me just before she died", Lillian explained. "I want you to have it. It will protect you."
"Your generosity is appreciated, Lillian, but I'm afraid I cannot accept this", said the Hessian. Holding the necklace up, he fastened the thread around the young woman's neck, returning it to its rightful owner. "I'm sorry."
Lillian looked down at the silver cross, then looked up at the Hessian and wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling him slowly wrap his arms around her body, returning the gesture. She refused to let him go, afraid this would be the last time she would ever see him alive again.
"I wish things weren't so complicated", said Lillian. "I wish everything could go back to the way it was before the war started, before all this nonsense ruined everything. I wish we didn't have to hide anything, especially our love."
The Hessian was silent, thinking about what she just said. In some small way, he agreed with Lillian, but wouldn't admit it, "Maybe when this war is over, things will be different. Maybe they'll change for the better."
Lillian sighed deeply, closing her eyes and holding him tighter. "If only I could believe that", she said.