Unexpected meetings
Lillian
This was one of the situations when I hated being myself. When I wished I was able to fight and could stand by Ratonhnhaké:ton's side. Although I had already feared for his return uncountable times, this time was much worse. I was terrified by the thought of being alone in this weird world where I had nothing and nobody else left. But the imagination of what the soldiers could do to Ratonhnhaké:ton, if they caught him, was also terrifying. They would kill him of course. But how? Various images appeared in front of my inner eye, showing Ratonhnhaké:ton horribly disfigured or mutilated. I thought these men were capable of anything and this connected with my fear in this pitch-black environment was igniting my far too vivid imagination. An agonized sound escaped my lips as I clawed my fingers into my hair and bedded my forehead on my bent knees. Don't think about it, I thought. Just don't think about it.
No matter how hard it was, I needed to stay calm. I had to concentrate and listen for anyone coming closer to the church. I wanted to, because it helped me distracting myself from everything else. I must be sitting in this abandoned church for hours now. Wrapped into one of the furs and huddled to keep myself as warm as possible. The cold wind kept rushing through the glassless windows from time to time and even in the corner of the chancel I wasn't entirely protected from it. I wished I could start a fire to warm myself and have some light. The night was so dark that I even couldn't see my hand in front of my eyes. But a fire would probably lure figures here who I didn't want to have near me and so I had to remain in darkness. I listened for every sound in my environment. Every rustling in the trees and bushes and I winced over and over again when Ori:te' moved and I could hear the quiet scraping of her hooves or her snorting. Then my hands twitched to the pistol on my right and the knife on my left side. Ratonhnhaké:ton had given me the pistol and its ammunition. He had said it could be more useful to me and I had got the feeling that he hadn't talked only about tonight. He was prepared for probably not returning to me. But I knew he would do everything to return. I hoped so.
Shaking I breathed out when I was freezing again and wrapped the fur tighter around myself. My head leaned against the cold stone wall behind me. I was so tired. Last night had already been almost sleepless for me. I had constantly startled by nightmares and hadn't been able to catch up some sleep on horseback, no matter how hard I had tried. Now that I wasn't allowed to fall asleep, I would love to do nothing else. But to sleep could be my certain death. I needed to be prepared for anything, also for leaving alone and I hated this idea. I shortly glanced through one of the windows, searching for light on the horizon, announcing the nearing morning. But it was still pitch-dark and I was somehow relieved. There was still enough time. He had still enough time.
Sighing quietly, I pulled my legs closer to my body and leaned my forehead against my knees. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on the warmth under the fur. I imagined I could make it flow through my body and banish the cold. These mind games actually helped a little but tired me at the same time. I wanted to sleep so badly...I felt my mind getting slower. The tiredness making me slip into sleep. But then I heard a shot.
I winced so hard that the fur slipped off of my shoulders and I turned my head to the window on my left like a scared deer. The shot had come from this direction and the fort was there, too. My heartbeat was rushing in my chest while I didn't move an inch. I was like frozen to the spot and saw the images of my fears in front of my inner eye again. Another shot. Much closer this time and this time, nothing could hold me on my place. I leaped onto my feet, balled the fur up and tied it to Ori:te's saddle with trembling fingers. It took several tries until I had fastened it and I kept glancing behind me to the opposite windows. I didn't know who was approaching me, but I doubted it was Ratonhnhaké:ton. He had no pistol with him and I didn't want to rely on the possibility that he had stolen one. Every fibre inside of me was screaming for escape. I wanted to get away from here and only return when the morning dawned and I could hopefully wait for Ratonhnhaké:ton. At least this was my plan.
I had just pocketed the knife and the pistol when I looked to the windows again. The blood froze in my veins as I saw the flickering of lanterns, quickly disappearing in the distance. I heard the sounds of horses and the distant voices of men, shouting orders. They had to be soldiers. They had caught Ratonhnhaké:ton. Either they were chasing him now or...they had him and were now searching for me because they had somehow learned about me. Both options made me panic. Hastily I loosened the reins and led Ori:te' to the church's door. My steps were hesitant at first because I was torn between two voices in my head. One telling me that I would be a coward if I just left without knowing what was going on and abandon Ratonhnhaké:ton. The other one sounded like him and told me to safe myself and don't worry about him. I thought that both were right.
"Damn it", I murmured when I stopped and buried my face in Ori:te's warm neck. I hadn't enough time to make a decision, but was there a choice anyway? I could do nothing against the soldiers with my little knife and the pistol. I was no trained fighter who could do it. But I didn't want to leave Ratonhnhaké:ton behind if he had been able to escape and was on his way back here. But the choice was taken from me.
At first I heard the muffled noise of hooves on the forest's floor, saw the flickering of a lantern between the trees and then heard another dull noise as if something heavy hit the ground. Then an unknown voice. "I will get her. Help the others." The horse moved away, as well as the lantern. Twigs cracked and I hesitated no longer. Full of panic, I leaped into Ori:te's saddle as a single shadow rose from the darkness. I only saw that he was of strong build and had something on his back that looked like a bow, but I didn't take the time to look closer at him. He wanted to get me? Then he had to catch me first.
I shove my heels into the grey mare's side and let her storm from the clearing.
"Stop!", I heard the man shout when Ori:te' already broke through the thicket. I tried to steer her through the forest but soon had to realize that it wasn't as easy as Ratonhnhaké:ton made it look like. I just didn't see enough and so I couldn't let the horse run as fast as I wanted to. I could only rely on her instinct when Ori:te' found her own way through the difficult terrain. I kept my head close to her neck, fearing that low branches threw me out of the saddle and still I felt twigs running through my hair and tearing at it. My heart was beating so fast that it almost hurt. I was still in panic but hardly dared to have a look around. Did this man follow me? Could he? How far had we come by now?
I glanced over my shoulder, a big mistake. In the very moment when I didn't pay attention, Ori:te' approached a tree that was blocking the way, but instead of evading it, she did the easiest thing to do: She jumped over it. I wasn't prepared and uttered an appalled scream as I was seized by a strong jolt and thrown backwards. It seemed like I had more luck than expected when I didn't fell onto the tree itself but into the bushes around it. Still the impact took my breath away and I felt the twigs scratching my arms and face. Totally numb and paralyzed by the fall, I lay on the ground. For a moment, I had forgotten the panic that had driven me into this headless flight. But only until I heard steps behind me and suddenly a shadow leaped over the tree and stood in front of me. It was the stranger and he looked down at me. Hectically I began to search the ground for a weapon without looking away from the threatening shadow. According to what I was able to see, he didn't look like a soldier, but I didn't care in my helplessness and fear. He slowly kneeled down in front of me, raising both hands.
"Calm down", he said. "I do not want to hurt you."
He could tell that to someone else. As expected, it had been his voice that had said they wanted to get "her". To get me.
"I don't believe you", I replied and my voice was shaking like my whole body. A dull pain spread from my back. Could I escape again?
The stranger kneeled in front of me, his hands still raised, but I saw him glancing into the direction where we had come from and from where you could still hear occasional voices and shots.
"Lillian, listen", he started and I froze when he said my name. How...?
"I am a friend of Ratonhnhaké:ton. My comrades and I were at Benedict Arnold's fort like him. We escaped together. He and the others are distracting the soldiers and lead them into different directions but he asked me to get you."
"Why didn't he come himself?" The question broke out of me before I even thought about it. Something in the man's voice told me he said the truth, but I didn't understand why Ratonhnhaké:ton had sent somebody for me while the situation was anything but safe. He should have known that I wouldn't trust this man. Except he trusted him and knew that I would find something that made me trust him, too. I hesitated as I tried to look the man over again. Arrows and bow, long hair, the shape of his clothing reminded me of Ratonhnhaké:ton's.
"You said you are a friend of him. How do you know each other?"
"Ratonhnhaké:ton and I grew up together."
So he was Mohawk? I bit my bottom lip. Was that enough? Another Mohawk from Ratonhnhaké:ton's village? He wouldn't work for the bluecoats and make the effort to wrap me around his finger...wouldn't he?
"What's his mother's name?"
"Kaniehtí:io."
"The clan-mother?"
"Oiá:ner."
Once again I was confused. I was still afraid but felt like I could trust him. I wanted to.
"Where is Ratonhnhaké:ton? I mean, where are you supposed to bring me?"
"I will bring you to our meeting point. He will be there as soon as the bluecoats are not following him and the others anymore. Do you trust me?"
Did I have a choice? I simply nodded and it seemed to be enough. He moved closer to me and this time I could see more of him. He hadn't only long hair but wore it in two braids, decorated and reaching down to his waist. He really carried a bow on his back and I saw a tomahawk at his belt. I had only seen this weapon on Ratonhnhaké:ton before.
"Are you hurt?", he asked me and I tried to sit up. My back hurt but not so much that I couldn't move. I could move the rest of my body as well. It only felt unpleasant because of all the scratches I had got.
"Just scratched open", I answered and grabbed the hand he reached out to me to help me getting up. Only now I saw Ori:te' standing calmly a few feet away. She had just stopped after my fall. We went to her, he leaped onto her back and pulled be behind himself. Then he drove Ori:te' on but steered her slowly through the darkness, obviously choosing paths through the thicket I would have never thought of because they were so overgrown and actually impassable. But he seemed to be confident in what he was doing and knew where to go. Like Ratonhnhaké:ton.
With the thought of him, I tried to have a look around in our environment but couldn't see anything. I just heard the voices of the soldiers and the noises of horses but they were very distant and still moving away. Sometimes I saw lights between the trees while we were riding through total darkness. Probably it was diversionary tactic of my companion's comrades. The obvious lured the soldiers and distracted them from us. Maybe I would only be an obstacle for the stranger if we met soldiers.
We rode quite a bit until he stopped Ori:te' on a crossroad, overgrown by grasses and bushes. Tensely I peeked over his shoulder and saw the silhouettes of two horses and their riders and another man standing beside one of the horses. My companion dismounted Ori:te' and led her closer to them. "Did everything go well?"
"Yes. We confused them."
"And where are the others?"
"They should extinguish the lanterns soon and come here. They still had the bluecoats after them."
"Good."
It was silent after this short conversation and uneasily I slipped back and forth on Ori:te's back. I had moved into the saddle and clung to the reins. I was still prepared to flee if it turned out that Ratonhnhaké:ton's "friend" had lied to me after all. Although his comrades wouldn't talk about the bluecoats this way, but I could only feel safe if Ratonhnhaké:ton came out of the forest.
If...
My gaze roamed over the closer surroundings and once again I listened for any sound until I noticed one if the riders steering his horse to me. Immediately I tightened my grip on the reins, especially when the man held an object towards me. I cursed the darkness because I could only see his silhouette but no face. So I didn't dare to reach out of the object which at least didn't seem to be a pistol. I saw the man cocking his head.
"I am sorry", he said in a strangely slow voice. "You do not need to be afraid." He emphasized every single word as if he thought I couldn't understand him. Or was he just feeble-minded?
"It's fine", I replied hesitantly. He steered his horse closer to Ori:te' until it stood right beside her.
"It seems like I have to apologize again", he said, this time in a normal pace. "When they talked about a woman, I thought you were Mohawk and probably don't speak English. But obviously you do."
He pointed at his comrades only a few feet away and lowered his voice as he said: "I am sorry that nobody pays attention to you. We all had a tough night and still don't expect it to end. They will only remember their politeness when the bluecoats aren't after us anymore."
"Oh, I don't mind. Really. I'm actually just hoping for some peace and quiet, too." My gaze moved to the forest around us again. Still there was no sign of Ratonhnhaké:ton and the other men.
"They will come", the man beside me said as if he had read my mind. "Only Jerry, Olaf and your husband are left. Jerry and Olaf are the most skilled men in our group and as have seen your husband so far, I can say the same thing about him."
"But skill is not a solution for everything and especially no protection against bullets."
"Probably. But it opens doors." Again he reached out to me and this time I recognized the shape of a flask. "I guess you're cold. This will warm you from the inside."
I looked at the flask and shook my head. Right now, I didn't feel the cold. I was still too excited so that I didn't care for anything else. Even the pain in my back and scratched arms.
"No, thank you", I said and he took the flask away. It became silent until he cleared his throat.
"And again I have to apologize. I was talking about politeness and forget my own. My name is Ezra. Ezra Montgomery."
This time he reached out his flat hand and I took it. "Lillian...Jarvis."
"I'm glad to meet you, Lillian."
I simply nodded and smiled which he probably couldn't see. But I was relieved that he was giving me the feeling that I didn't need to feel uncomfortable. Until now, the bluecoats really hadn't made the impression that they would introduce them to me. When Ezra let go of my hand he turned his gaze into the same direction as his comrades and I also heard the noises of other horses. I almost believed that my heart stopped when three more horses came out of the darkness, approached us and one of the riders dismounted his horse as soon as he had stopped it. I could barely see him at first, but his silhouette was enough to make me take a sigh of relief and leap off Ori:te's back without paying any more attention to Ezra and the others.
"Thank God. I feared that something happened to you", I whispered when I could take Ratonhnhaké:ton into my arms.
"I was lucky. They already had me but then I got unexpected help."
"Are you hurt?", I asked and pulled away from him to look him over. He stood upright, hadn't seemed to be tensed but when I carefully ran my hands over his chest, my fingers stopped on a bloody cut in the fabric of his shirt on the right side underneath his collarbone. Ratonhnhaké:ton winced slightly and grabbed my hands.
"It is only a small cut. Not really bad. I will treat it as soon as we are safer and have enough light. Are you well?"
"Only a few scratches and maybe bruises." I gave a forced smile.
"How did it happen?" Ratonhnhaké:ton's voice sounded worried. Certainly he had rather expected an answer concerning my emotional condition. He had expected me to be safe inside the church. I just wanted to answer him, when his friend stepped to us and did it for me.
"It was my fault. I was a bit too rash when I approached her. She fled on horseback."
"And fell", I added. "But it was my own fault. It wasn't the smartest thing to do."
"But right", Ratonhnhaké:ton's friend said. "I could have been an enemy."
Ratonhnhaké:ton turned to him but kept an arm around me. I frowned when I felt him tensing up and even his voice suddenly had a strange undertone. He was hesitant in talking. As if he didn't know what to say.
"Thank you", he said. "Everything would not have end so well without you, Kanen'tó:kon."
When I heard this name, I froze like I had done when he had introduced his mother to me. This was another meeting I could never have. I should have known because I had met Kaniehtí:io. Ratonhnhaké:ton had always talked about just one friend he had grown up with. Kanen'tó:kon had been like a brother to him until the day when he had attacked him because a terrible misunderstanding had made him think that Ratonhnhaké:ton was a traitor. Ratonhnhaké:ton had been forced to kill him in self defence and had never forgiven himself.
Now this man was standing in front of us, totally unaware of his friend's memories and shortly touching Ratonhnhaké:ton's shoulder.
"It is fine, brother. I am just glad that we were there in time. You have to tell us exactly what happened. But for now we should leave. They could send patrols and until then, we should be gone. The camp is not far from here and from there, we will head for Boston soon." He paused. "I mean, if you want to join our cause."
I frowned and forgot my confusion for a moment. "Your cause?"
Kanen'tó:kon's gaze met mine and he vaguely pointed at his comrades before answering.
"We are part of the rebellion."
