𝑀𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑡 | 𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑙 𝑇𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑡𝑜𝑛

4

After last night I have been up tending for the sick and wounded, I can't say I despise it, but I am certainly exhausted.

Mostly ever soldier was thankful to my father and I, even the Red Coats who kept thanking us for our kindness, I was taken aback by how thankful they were but eventually got used to it.

As I went inside to check on the kids I bumped into a male figure making him hiss in pain.

"Gabriel! I am so sorry."

"No no, it's okay, thank you Kit." He said while holding my shoulders for support.

As I went to go wake the kids I got lost in thought. I kept thinking about what we were going to do with all these soldiers.

***
My siblings seemed to be lost in thought as I was caring for a soldier and noticed them looking around at everyone confused.

Just then I noticed Red Coats advancing onto our plantation. I prepared myself for whatever was going to come as an officer stepped forward towards my father.

"Thank you for the care of his majesties soldiers."

However before my father could reply more Red Coats rode up to our property, about 30 men all on their own individual horse.

However I was more focused on the man leading them, he looked familiar, he lifted his hand up signaling for his soldiers to stop, before the officer from before shuffled down towards him and lifting his hat in respect.

"Lieutenant, take our wounded back to our surgeons in Winnsboro."

"Yes sir."

Just then he looked at me and smirked.

"Fire the house and barns, let it be known that if you harbor the enemy you will lose your home." He said while smirking.

I quickly ran up to him

"You can't do that!" I say nearly yelling.

"Oh my dear I believe I can."

"I'll do anything, please."

"Alright then, come with me." He says while having a goofy smirk plastered on his face.

"Absolutely not!"

"Alright then."

He turned away towards our workers.

"By standing order of his majesty King George, all slaves of the american colonies who fight for the crown will be granted their freedom with our victory."

One of the men took his hat off.

"Sir, we're not slaves, we work this land as freed men"

"Well then your freed men will have the opportunity and the privilege of fighting in the King army aren't you." The Colonel spoke in a harsh tone.

I looked up at my father, he looked defeated, completely defeated.

Just then one of the soldiers carried one of Gabriel's dispatches to the Colonel.

"Who carried this?" He questioned as everyone looked at each other, not wanting to sell Gabriel out.

"WHO CARRIED THIS?" He asked again, much more angry.

"I did sir." Gabriel steps foward.

"I was wounded and these people gave me care, they have nothing to do with the dispatches." Gabriel says trying to reason with the Colonel.

"Take this one to camp, he's a spy, hang him and put his body on display." Tavington says with a smirk making me want to smack the daylight out of him.

"He's a dispatch rider, that's a marked case." My father steps forward.

I couldn't quite here what they were saying at this point but I could tell it was nothing good.

"Colonel this is a uniformed dispatch rider carrying a marked case, he cannot be held as a spy." My father says while walking towards Tavington.

"Oh we're not going to hold him, we're going to hang him."

I watched as Thomas stepped forward out of panic.

"Colonel-" My father tried to continue before Gabriel cuts in.

"Father." He says quietly.

"Oh I see, he's your son." Tavington spoke while looking at Gabriel then turning his eyes to me.

"Perhaps you should have taught him something of loyalty."

"Colonel please I beg you to reconsider, by the rules on war-"

"Rules of war, would you like a lesson sir on the rules of war?" He mocked my father while pulling out his pistol just as he did to me a few days prior.

"Or perhaps your children would." He says while pointing his gun at my siblings making my blood boil immensely.

"No lesson is necessary." My father while holding his arms in front of my siblings with a look of pure horror on his face.

"Sir what of the rebel wounded?" The Lieutenant from before asks.

"Kill them." He says blankly.

Just then they started carrying Gabriel away, making Thomas panic and ask my father to do something.

Thomas began to charge at Gabriel making me freeze in shock and horror.

He began to fight the soldiers that were holding Gabriel.

"THOMAS!" I scream while running towards him as the Colonel pulls his pistol out.

"WAIT!" My father screams while running towards us.

I quickly run to Thomas and tackle him to the ground making the Colonel's bullet miss us and hit one of his own soldiers.

"Kit, Kitty, why?" Thomas asks me in disbelief.

"I had to protect my little brother I say while smiling at him trying to diffuse the tension.

"Ah Kitty is it, well I will offer you this, if you come with me I will not harm your family." Tavington spoke over us.

I looked around at my family who all looked like they were about to cry, then I looked at small Susan who just looked at me and shook her head with tears welting in her eyes.

"I'm sorry." I say quiet enough to be a whisper, while turning to face the Colonel.

"Ah you have finally come to your senses I see." He smirks at me.

I made my way over to him and stood beside his horse, he quickly got off and helped me get on.

I gave one last look to my family as they all looked at me crying, and I could tell my father was trying so hard to fight tears.

Then I looked over to the very house I grew up in, the very house my mother died in, burning to the ground all because of the man that I willingly allowed to take me.

I felt horrible.

Tavington quickly mounted on his horse with me in front of him. I did everything in my power for us not to touch, I kept squirming around. I could tell that he was annoyed but I didn't care.

He is a monster.