OMG, this update took so long. I am sorry, but there was so much going on recently that I didn't feel like translating at all. I am a dog-mum again, by the way. But yeah...I will try to work a bit faster, but I can't promise anything.
HonestTrickster: Thank you for your reviews. Evan Rachel Woods doesn't look like I am picturing Lillian at all, but that's the good thing about storys and why I don't use to give exact but only basic discriptions of my characters: Everyone can use their own fantasy and imagine the looks of each of them. :)
Swimming hell
Lillian
"Jesus, Lillian. Sit down, you're driving me crazy with your running."
I stopped abruptly, only a few centimetres away from the opposite wall, took a deep breath, turned on my heel and back to Ezra and Logan, who sat on the ground, their backs comfortably leaned against the wall. The latter had spoken to me and looked at me with a mixture of amusement and worry. Ezra's face was once more hidden under his hood but I was sure that he also kept an eye on me. I sighed quietly and dug my fingers into the sleeves of my folded arms.
"Sorry", I murmured and my eyes roamed aimlessly through the storage room we were currently in. Strictly speaking, it was the upper gun deck which was also the storage and crew quarters. Canons on both sides, narrow passage behind them on each side and stacked barrels and crates occupied the remaining space in the middle. A strict order which was only interrupted by the hammocks which were rolled up and hanging on the whole deck. Some of them directly over the canons, others in the narrow gap between stacked freight and even more in the remaining space. In the middle of it all were stairs leading down to the lower gun deck and up to the main deck. The latter was hidden behind a closed hatch and I looked at it longingly. I didn't know how much time had passed since we had come down these stairs and had retreated into this back corner of the Aquila. Especially for my safety, that was what Faulkner had emphasized.
Faulkner...how happy I had been to see him. When he had sneaked through the harbour I hadn't noticed immediately that we had been approaching the Aquila. So Faulkner's presence had surprised me and I was sure he thought I was mentally ill because I had simply stared at him as if he was some kind of miracle. He didn't know me in this reality after all and this realization had made me feel homesick again. But still I was glad that he was here. With him and the Aquila, our escape could only be successful. At least I tried to tell me this while being down here with my "protectors" and waiting for something to happen. Especially for Ratonhnhaké:ton and Kanen'tó:kon to return. It drove me more than nervous to be entirely unaware of the happenings around me. I could never get used to it and honestly, I didn't want to anyway.
Another sigh escaped my lips and I was tempted to suppress my nervousness with running up and down again, like I had done over the last couple of minutes. But I stopped myself from doing so and sat on a barrel instead.
"How...is your shoulder?", I asked Logan, hoping that a conversation would bring me my desired distraction.
"Reasonably fine. Hurts quite a bit but I'll be fine." Logan grinned and nodded at his bag beside him. "I still have a bottle of water in there. If you want..."
I shook my head. Right now I could take nothing in, even if it was a little bit of water. "But thank you."
And with that, we became silent and I tried to occupy my mind somehow. With counting the wood-planks for example, which were panelling the inside of the ship. But when my gaze slipped for the fourth time and I lost count, I gave up with a frustrated huff and gained at least one confused and questioning look. Probably I was on the best way to reveal myself as mentally damaged to two more people. But you could only lose your mind with all this waiting. What the hell were they doing out there? As much as I tried, I couldn't hear a sound from the main deck, except of eventual steps when probably another group of rebels entered the ship. Every time, my gaze flitted back to the hatch, hoping that Ratonhnhaké:ton and Kanen'tó:kon were finally on board, too. But the hatch stayed closed the whole time.
Eventually I was certain that I lost my mind or was at least kicking a hole into my seat because I was treating it with so much force of my heels. In this case, I would have at least learned what was inside the barrel and it would have distracted me for a few seconds. I sighed inwardly. Right now, everything that could distract me would excite and occupy me. Like a child that even enjoyed regarding a grass stalk for a long time, but fate finally meant well for my restless soul. Or for the poor barrel. An hour or so had passed since we had come down here as the hatch finally opened. I was on my feet in an instant and took some hopeful steps to the steps and the four men who climbed them down. None of them was a Mohawk and the fact that Faulkner was among them couldn't comfort me. But still I tried to hide my disappointment and the resulting concern as I looked the man over who had come down between Faulkner and the other men. He was an elder man with sparse, brown hair, a pair of glasses on his nose and clothes that showed me that he came from a wealthy background. This alone made him stick out from the other persons present. I just wanted to ask politely who this gentleman was, as Logan gave me the answer. At least a part of it.
"What is this skunk doing here?", he asked furiously, leaping up to his feet and crossing the distance to the "skunk" with a few, wide steps. "I thought the boys wanted to kill him." His eyes blazed in anger and when I looked into the faces of the other rebels, I could read a similar refusal in them. That was when I slowly realized who was standing in front of me and looked as if he had stepped into fresh horse dung.
"I beg your pardon, Sir. Whatever you think about me, we should keep up a certain amount of politeness. Especially when a lady is around." And with that, the gaze of his watery blue eyes behind the glasses slid to me. It seemed like he wanted to indulge in this politeness with bowing his head and the attempt to keep talking, probably to introduce himself, but he couldn't. Logan had taken a last big step towards him and grabbed him by his collar whereupon the other man's eyes widened in fear.
"Better shut the fuck up before I plug it, Franklin. You don't deserve politeness but a blade right into your heart and if nobody gave it to you until now, I will gladly make good for it."
"I would wait with it, if I were you." Faulkner intervened and freed Franklin from his very unfortunate situation with making Logan let go of the old man and taking a step back. "Our two Native friends think that he could be a help for us. Maybe we should wait for them before passing a judgement on anyone."
"So they are fine?", I asked and didn't care what happened to Franklin for now. I was relieved when Franklin nodded. "They are on the pier and make sure it's safe for us to set sail. Franklin told them about frigates anchoring in front of the harbour, ordered to shoot at every ship that leaves without permission. When they detect us on shore, they will light a signal."
The reaction on this news was a dumbfounded silence. No one had expected that it would be easy to escape and since everything had been too easy until now, this turn was bitter irony. Why should anything be easy? But no one had expected that the danger was coming from sea. At least not now and the imagination of big ships, ready for combat, which could easily bring the Aquila down...
"Do we have a chance to escape unnoticed at all?", I asked hesitantly and was annoyed by the fearful tremble in my voice which made Faulkner give me a reassuring smile.
"I'm sure of it and even if we they see us, the Aquila is far stronger in battle than you give her credit for." He stretched proudly and made me smile inwardly. This was the Faulkner I knew. "You don't need to worry, lass. But you should stay here. Like you two." His gaze brushed Logan and Ezra. "To keep an eye on him." And with that, he meant Franklin who had adjusted his collar by now and mumbled something like. "As if I was a simple prisoner."
But I guessed this was exactly what he was and it seemed like he began to realize as one of the rebels behind him gave him a push between his shoulder blades and told him to keep going. To where Logan, Ezra and I had spent our whole time on board. Franklin obeyed with quiet grumbling and made a detour to avoid Logan who was still staring at him as if he wanted to go for his throat. Ezra, who had just risen from the ground in the meantime, received a sceptical look before Franklin sank onto the barrel which had just served as my seat.
"Good", Franklin mumbled, never turning his eyes away from the old man and looking at everyone else now. "You stay here until we can tell you something else."
We nodded and Faulkner turned away and returned to the deck with the other rebels. As they closed the hatch, I felt like they had taken my freedom. I just hoped that the hatch wasn't the literal lid of my coffin if the Aquila got under attack.
And after this thought, being down here feels a lot better. I inwardly rolled my eyes. Probably there was no person who was better in making my fears become worse than me.
I forced my eyes away from the hatch and returned to the back of the deck. Ezra had sunk back to the ground, Benjamin Franklin sat on the barrel and Logan leaned against the wall in front of him, never turning his eyes away. I for my part took a seat next to Ezra, leaned my head against the wall and tried to resist the urge to scrutinize Benjamin Franklin curiously. I didn't know anything about him except that Washington had chosen him to watch over Boston and in this position, he had been as reckless as Benedict Arnold or the self-selected king himself. What kind of man was he that he had thrown every sense of moral over board but was now helping his enemies? Was this sense of moral a double standard in the end? Did his loyalties change as often as he adjusted his glasses? All the time? Maybe Logan should have punched his nose. Probably his glasses would stay in place with an additional bump.
Another opening of the hatch tore me out of my thoughts but unlike the last time, I kept sitting and watched with wide eyes how a whole group of men, rebels and crew members, came down the stairs and started working on the canons. Powder barrels and crates with heavy canon-balls were brought in and they only whispered to each other while taking care of the canons in groups of three. They always needed two men to pull one canon into its final position so that the third man could load it. Everything happened in a calm precision as I noticed with fascination. I knew from Ratonhnhaké:ton and Faulkner that the Aquila had a considerable amount of canons for a brig. Fourteen on the upper deck and a number of canons on each of the lower decks. All these canons were already impressive when unused but I had never seen them being prepared and used and I slowly realized that this was the case now. The sound of heavy canon balls being pushed into the barrels gave me the shivers and I didn't dare to imagine how it was going to sound when they were fired. Probably I should feel safe with the thought that the Aquila could defend herself and had already done it in the past, but right now my fear and the wish to leave the ship were much stronger. Only shortly afterwards I learned that it was already too late for that.
Until this point, the preparation of the Aquila had been totally silent and you couldn't hear anything else but quiet, hectic steps on all three decks and the loading of the canons. On the side of the harbour, everything seemed quiet, as if we could actually set off without getting caught. But then the silence was interrupted by a loud bang on the upper deck and it made everyone wince. Then it was silent again. Deathly silent, until suddenly a sailor came down from the upper deck and shouted: "Hurry! We're busted! They try to stop the soldiers from lighting the signal but we need to set sail."
And then it appeared like I was watching an anthill. In a hurry, the last preparations were done, crates of ammunition and powder barrels provided and I heard the hurried steps of the men on the upper deck and Faulkner's barked orders. After fear had only been an uneasy feeling in my stomach, it was now spreading in my body, ice cold and paralyzing. We were close to getting attacked? I sat there like frozen and watched the chaos around me while I saw the Aquila sink in front my inner eye. I felt helpless, surrendered and I found no comfort and safety in looking at Ezra, Logan and even Benjamin Franklin. All of them were tensed, the latter obviously more afraid than me. And then my fears threatened to become true.
At first it was only a distant thunder. Like a thunderstorm coming from the sea but it was too polyphonic and irregular. I wasn't able to ask myself where it came from since a deafening and polyphonic bang sounded. Wood splintered, men screamed and the Aquila shook.
"Return fire!", Faulkner shouted on the upper deck and shortly afterwards, the Aquila shook again and the thunder I had heard in the distance before, sounded from the ship itself when every canon that was ready was fired. It was so loud that I couldn't even protect my ears with pressing my hands on them. It felt like a nightmare. As if hell itself had opened its gate. My heart raced, I trembled and felt cold sweat forming on my forehead as I huddled up, clenching my teeth and pressing my head against my knees. But even with my eyes closed and my ears kept shut, I couldn't escape from what was happening. Still I heard the opposing canons' fire, the splintering of wood and splashing of water when the canon-balls hit or missed, before the Aquila returned the fire. I felt every jolt, every quake running through the ship and making me fear that we were sinking. I didn't care when Ezra kneeled down next to me and tried to comfort me. I hardly heard it through the noises and as caring as Logan probably meant it, I didn't help me when he eventually put his coat over my shoulders. Its warmth couldn't stop the shiver that had seized my body, just like this panic fear. Right from the start, I hadn't felt safe here and it certainly wasn't the first time I feared for my life. But apart from the fact that I couldn't get used to it, this time was entirely different. I couldn't do anything to fight my fear. I couldn't flee, hide or even defend myself. I was stuck in here and my life depended on the Aquila's ability to escape the other ship or harm it before it destroyed her and killed us all. It made me helpless and hit me unexpected because it seemed like everything was happening at once and I couldn't do anything else but to huddle up and hope that everything was over soon and we were going to survive.
I tried to cling to this hope and to think of nothing else but I couldn't until a pair of cold and wet hands wrapped around mine which I had still pressed against my ears. I slowly raised my head and looked into familiar brown eyes. My fear was lessened in an instant and a sound of relief escaped my lips as I pulled away from my cowering position and wrapped my arms around Ratonhnhaké:ton's neck. I didn't care that he really was soaked through and ice cold and that some water-drops ran into my collar as he put a hand on the back of my head and caressed my hair through the bonnet I was still wearing and which didn't stay dry either. I was so happy to see him. To see that he was alive and hadn't been harmed in this nightmare. That he returned some kind of safety to me which I couldn't have found in this situation.
"Do not be afraid", Ratonhnhaké:ton murmured into my ear after pulling me close to his chest. "We set sail and will be out of their radius soon. It is almost over and nothing can happen anymore."
"I just didn't expect them to fire", I whispered and clung to him as the Aquila's canons fired again and this time I couldn't protect my ears from the noise. "I never experienced that canons are fired in warlike intention. It's scary to make your life depend on accuracy in firing."
"I know. But trust me, everything is fine. The worst is over."
Although I could still hear the fire of the other ship, I believed him. It was distant and instead of the splintering when the canon-balls hit the Aquila, I could only hear the splashing of water. Had we really escaped them? Shaking I heard the Aquila firing again but then it stayed silent. Entirely silent. Even when everyone was hit by the realization that we had actually escaped from Boston, no one uttered a sound of joy. As I peeked over Ratonhnhaké:ton's shoulder, I only saw some men patting each other's backs. A hesitant compliment on a victory that actually was none.
Slowly I loosened my clinging grip around Ratonhnhaké:ton's neck and pulled away from him to look him over. His black hair stuck to his face like his clothes to his body. He felt cold and I clearly saw him trying to suppress the shaking that still seized his body. Kanen'tó:kon was standing behind him in a similar condition but he had taken a blanket from somewhere and had wrapped it around his shoulders. As well as the other men who had come down onto this deck and had obviously come on board the same way the two of them had.
"You had to hurry to get your passage, didn't you?", I asked with a faint smile and a shaking voice. I took Logan's coat off my shoulders and wrapped it around Ratonhnhaké:ton instead, who mumbled his thanks and lightly smirked about my words.
"It was close, yes." His gaze slid over the others and stopped upon Franklin when he asked no one in particular: "Was everything fine so far?"
It was Ezra who nodded and Ratonhnhaké:ton frowned as he looked around the deck. "Where are Adams, Corrine and Oliver? Were they not supposed to come with you?"
"Corrine and Olli wanted to go to Concord", I explained to him. "Adams wanted to accompany and support them. They took a few men as escort."
"Sam is confident that we are enough support for our men in New York", Logan added and pointed at Franklin, not hiding his disapproval for him. "But I would like to know why you let him live. The information about the frigates was nice but we can hardly trust him."
Ratonhnhaké:ton looked at him and carefully pulled away from me to stand up and go to Benjamin Franklin, who was still sitting on the barrel and straightened his back. In his eyes lay an expression of pretended arrogance, combined with the fear he must feel because of all the men around him who wanted to see him dead.
"Tell us what Washington did to you. Why you did follow his orders and why you want to help us now." Ratonhnhaké:ton's voice was calm but everyone could hear the consistency behind his words. Franklin had no other choice but to do as he was told and it seemed like he knew it, too. He had stood up from the barrel by now and the eyes behind the glasses flitted nervously around. Some of the men, who had been on this deck the whole time, had stepped to us and so he was surrounded by people who expected answers and certainly wouldn't accept any kind of resistance. Franklin's Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped and when he opened his mouth, no word left his lips at first until he cleared his throat and squared his shoulders, as if he had suddenly found the rest of his courage.
"Washington clouded my mind", he started and this sentence alone brought him a bunch of derogatory reactions he didn't care about. "It may be hard to believe and to understand, but I am not his first victim. I don't know how and why but he has a power that makes it possible for him to invade another person's mind. It feels like he's settling in, controls every thought and uses it for his purposes. I didn't know what I was doing or thinking. I couldn't control myself. But now I came to my senses and I want to help you to overthrow Washington. He is dangerous, no one knows it better than I."
"Except of those who died by his order."
Agreement from several voices when Logan uttered this cold remark. I silently agreed, too. Neither I could believe Franklin's words, nor his allegedly chastened soul. Although something about his claim that Washington had controlled him was not so odd since I knew about the power of the Pieces of Eden. If what he said was true, Washington was far more dangerous than we thought. Who knew what else he could do with the Apple?
"How do you want to help us?"
My attention switched back to Ratonhnhaké:ton, who had shown no reaction to Franklin's words or the interruptions of the men. He had crossed his arms in front of chest, his head tilted to the side while his eyes didn't turn away from Franklin who seemed to become more and more nervous under this gaze.
"Well, I...", he started stammering and readjusted his glasses with shaking hands although it had sat on his nose as straight as ever and was now getting crooked. "I can't tell yet. But I am sure I can give you important information when you need it. I already did, didn't I?"His arms gestured vaguely towards our surroundings and were probably supposed to include the ship which had actually been saved by his information. But if he hoped to receive gratitude, he wasn't doing a favour to himself. None of the men present reacted on his gaze, as if he was looking for applause. As a former ally of Washington, this had been the least thing he could have done to stay alive. No one here owed him anything and this was what the cold and hateful gazes on him were saying. I was sure that it was basically Ratonhnhaké:ton's credit that they hadn't killed Franklin already.
The Mohawk had turned away from him and looked around the crowd that had gathered around us. Faulkner and some members of his crew had come down, too to see what was becoming of Franklin.
"Whatever you want to do to him, I will not stop you if it is really what you all want. But please consider that Franklin could be a better help than anyone else and we should wait and see what happens. There is nothing he could do now to harm us and if he should turn against us, we can still kill him. Maybe we should wait until tomorrow before we come to a final decision. I think we all need some rest for now."
His short speech had been calm but determined, like he always was. I didn't need to ask him if he believed Franklin's story about his corrupted mind. Otherwise he would have been more sceptical or had already killed Franklin instead of bringing him here. I for my part wasn't sure yet. But I trusted Ratonhnhaké:ton and as I looked into the other men's faces, they seemed to be sceptical but didn't contradict. For a while, no one said a word until Logan stepped to Ratonhnhaké:ton and looked around the men. "If we are going to wait with our decision, I suggest to lock him up somewhere. Just to make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid."
This suggestion was accepted by several approving voices and Ratonhnhaké:ton nodded, too. Benjamin Franklin, for the other part, seemed to be appalled. Understandably.
"Lock me up? Me? I am not your prisoner!"
"But you aren't our friend either." Logan looked at Faulkner. "Where can we lock him up?"
"Nowhere, but we can find a quiet corner where we can tie him up and where we can have an eye on him."
Logan nodded with satisfaction and before Franklin could defend himself, he was grabbed by one of the sailors and lead towards the other end of the canon-deck, Faulkner accompanying them. This gathering was ended and dissolved. Ratonhnhaké:ton, Ezra, Kanen'tó:kon, Logan and I remained. The sturdy medical man had followed Franklin with his grim gaze and now turned his attention back to the two Mohawk. He didn't look pleased at all.
"Do you really want to tell me that you're believing in his fairytales? Mind control! Nonsense. He's just searching for excuses so that doesn't end under the sea." He huffed scornfully but didn't bother Ratonhnhaké:ton at all. He just frowned and folded his hands instead of completely shutting up towards the other man's displeasure.
"I believe him, yes", he simply said. "For ages, our people know about powers beyond the human imagination. I am sure that Washington got into possession of such a power."
"So you believe in the fairytales about his sceptre? That he can kill and do who knows what with it?"
"They are no fairytales. At least not all of them." I rose from my seat on the ground and gave Logan a serious look which he returned with scepticism. "I also know that such power exists. I saw it. Maybe Franklin's lying but it's also possible that he doesn't."
The longer I thought about it, the more sure I was. But I couldn't tell him what I had seen and experienced if I didn't want to make Ratonhnhaké:ton's and my story, about how we had got to know each other in this reality, sound less believable. Logan looked me over and also Ezra had turned his head to me, even though I couldn't see his eyes. Unlike Logan, he hadn't said anything and somehow I didn't believe that he would. Logan turned his eyes to Kanen'tó:kon.
"You believe it, too?"
He hesitated for a moment, glancing at Ratonhnhaké:ton but then Kanen'tó:kon nodded. "I have not witnessed such power yet, but Ratonhnhaké:ton is right. There are many legends that do not say that it is not possible. It would answer a lot of questions about Washington's reign."
Now Logan's gaze wandered to Logan. "And you?"
Ezra shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't say that something like it isn't possible. We should wait and see what happens tomorrow."
And at this point, Logan seemed have the same opinion, although his scepticism never leaved his face after this conversation was ended.
