A Royal Rebellion

Chapter nineteen

The snow came down on us like an avalanche, coating the world in a haze of white. I stroked my horse's side, shivering in the cold as we trotted along through the endless storm. Washington was leading the way, sitting on his steed with his army (some on horses some on foot) behind us. I glanced at Josie on my right and Oliver on my left, and felt a little warmth erupt inside of me when Oliver caught my eye, giving me a shadow of a smile.

I returned it and wiped the snowflakes off my eyelashes, shaking my head to rid the snow that covered me like a cloth. How long do we have to keep going? I wondered, looking around at the mass of soldiers on horseback surrounding me. I longed for the warmth of the tent from yesterday, where I dreamt of Oliver and (guiltily) forgot all about Josie.

Speaking of my two companions, this morning was even more awkward than usual. We woke up to Washington standing over us, repeatedly talking about our jobs and handing us ice cold biscuits for breakfast. We then got dressed for the day, and after that we sat in our tent, the silence that hung in the air saying a thousand words.

Even Josie--who was clueless to everything last night-- finally caught onto the tension. She ate quietly, eyes on her plate, fading into the background. I worried (and shamefully hoped) that he had broken up with her and that was why she was so quiet, but I knew that wasn't the case for she still held Oliver's hand when we all got on our horses and started riding to the Delaware River.

Meanwhile Oliver kept glancing at me, eyes full of a softness I've never known before, and as he helped me onto my horse he squeezed my hand, filling my insides with love. I wanted to hold onto his hand forever, wanted to let the electricity that ran through my veins when our fingers brushed run free, wanted to run away with him and let the world fade behind us. But that was impossible, and I had to channel my want into concentration.

Now as I sat on my horse, tired and exhausted, I felt my concentration slip with every passing moment. I glanced down at my horse--a male with velvety red fur and a black mane--and saw my fingers raw and pink as they clutched the horse's mane, snow coating my hair and simple black dress I picked out for today. (The color would help me with my job later.)

A cold wind suddenly blew in from the North, and I saw Josie shiver uncontrollably, and I let out a gasp as the soldier next to me fell off his horse and into the snow, never getting back up again. Trembling, I clutched my poor horse's mane tighter, afraid the same thing might happen to me.

We continued to march/ride for another two hours, and by then my feet were blocks of ice and my fingers were blue with frost bite. Even though we had left at nine am, it had been six hours of riding and the sun was already sinking into the sky, the dark gray clouds above us slightly tinted with the purple of night. I craned my sore neck to look over the mass of soldiers walking in front of and behind me to see Washington picking up the pace, and I knew he noticed nightfall's approach too.

I looked at Josie, her doe-eyes full of snow, and she smiled at me despite the shiver that ran through her body. I felt my heart warm and contract with guilt and I turned away, trying not to move.  The numbing pain of the cold and the whipping weather continued for another thirty minutes until the howling of the wind was replaced with the sound of rushing water, and I knew we had finally arrived at our destination: the Delaware River.

We rounded a corner and the pine trees and snow-covered path we'd been following disappeared to be replaced by a vast river that went on for miles and miles. I looked in awe at the body of water, fear sparking inside of me at the foaming waves and ice that coated the majority of it. But as I saw Washington get off his horse and his men calmly get off their horses or follow him I swallowed down my fear and followed too, thinking that if they could be strong so could I.