Glory [ Robert. Gould. Shaw]

8

Robert

  The young Colonel of the 54th Massachusetts was worried. Very worried for his childhood best friend. He had not seen her ever since the encounter with Andrew Taylor. Honestly, Robert was furious, so furious that he wanted to punch something, anything, but he kept his cool. He was a Colonel after all and he could not lash out just because he felt like that.

  His insides were burning with fury and worry. He had not seen Elizabeth so worked up like that ever in his life; not even when she got visions. What made it worse was that there was guards around her tent, preventing anyone from getting in. He had tried, countless times but each with no avail.

  All that left him was his head in the clouds and not paying attention to the troops, which he felt a bit guilty for doing so. Watching them practice the usual drills, he noticed that there were more mess-ups than usual. Their minds were not in it. He wanted to yell at them, saying that they should focus on training; but it would be hypocritical of him to do so when his mind is somewhere else at that exact moment.

  Glancing to his right, he frowned upon seeing the empty spot where General Taylor usually stood. It did not feel right. Clenching his fist, he then glanced out to the biggest tent. The guard there made eye contact with him immediately and gave him an annoyed look. His eyes read; do not try it.

  Sighing to himself, he turned his gaze back to where it is supposed to be. Elizabeth. Elizabeth. Rosie. Tay-tay. Good lord, get out of my head! Why can I not stop thinking about her?!

  Suddenly, a loud crash jerked his thoughts to reality as he gaze up. Sharts had ran into soldier Trip. He sighed inwardly, knowing that Trip would be railed up. And what do you know, he was right.

  "Watch were you are going, nigga." Trip used the slur word, making Robert's frown deepen on his face. No matter how much he fought, he could not seem to get people to understand that everyone should be treated equally and that the color of their skin did not matter. It was not like they had control over it. Besides, imagine a world where everyone was only white. How boring would that be? No diversity whatsoever.

  "S-sorry. D-did n-not mean to." Private Sharts stuttered.

  "Oh you better be sorry, you good to nothing-" Robert decided this was the right time to step in. He walked over.

  "What is going on here?" He asked in a commanding tone. Everyone looked at him. He raised an eyebrow, a gesture to continue.

  "Well?" He asked. When no one replied, he continued. "General Taylor has a lot on her plate and I do not need to worry her more with countless child's play."

  At the mention of General Taylor, everyone gazed down at their feet, all suddenly quiet. "Sorry, Colonel." Trip mumbled. Then, grabbing Sharts by the wrist, they both headed back to their spot and continued training like nothing ever happened before.

  Robert stood before them, dumbstruck. Did that really just happen? Seems like he was not the only one worried about Elizabeth. That thought alone put a smile on his face, determined to give her a visit after training, no matter what it takes.

*****

  "Let me in! That is an order!" Robert said for what seemed like the hundredths time. Training had long been over and he went straight to Elizabeth's tent. He has been there for over ten minutes now, trying to get past the guards but they stubbornly held on.

  "Colonel, with all do respect, we are not in anyway or form committed to your orders. In fact, we have direct orders from President Lincoln to assist in everything General Taylor needs and wants, along with being her security." The guard, John, he thought it was, repeated, making Robert huff in annoyance.

  "And that means obeying her wishes, and one of them right now is to be left alone." The other..... Micheal? , stated roughly. Wow, they really were loyal to Elizabeth.

  Taking in a deep breath, Robert thought.... well, time for Operation Z. "ELIZABETH! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! I AM NOT LEAVING UNTIL YOU LET ME IN! I WILL DTAY HERE ALL NIGHT IF I HAVE TO!"

  The guards did not even flinch at his loud yelling. Glancing at each other, they were about to call for back-up security when a voice stopped them. "Let him in." Elizabeth's voice croaked from inside the tent, successfully gaining the attention of her body guards. They glanced over their shoulder in concern.

  "Are you sure, M'lady?" John... or Micheal, Robert could not tell which, asked.

  "Yes." She answered.

  "As you wish."

  And with that, Robert was let inside the tent. His heart clenched painfully when he saw Elizabeth. Her eyes were brimmed red from crying, her hair a mess, and she just looked so.... tired. Robert's heart ached for her. He wished that he could take the pain away. Why did she have to suffer? He would do anything. He would even take the option to take the pain for himself.

  "You are so stubbornly persistent." Elizabeth croaked, her voice scratchy from crying so much. Robert managed a weak smile.

  "I was worried." He murmured, walking over and sitting on bed, the spot next to her. Hesitantly, his arm reached out and rubbed her shoulder in comfort.

  "I am here if you need me." He said. "Everyone is worried. I am worried. Cabot is worried." Elizabeth said nothing, staring blankly into space. She was so still that Robert was not sure she heard him.

  Finally, Elizabeth decided to move her head and rest it on his shoulder. This gave him a sense of comfort that he was able to help her in a way. His hand started rubbing her shoulder soothingly. Elizabeth started to shake. Then the tears slowly leaked out from underneath her eyelashes.

  "Do not worry, it will be alright." He whispered in her ear over and over again. He did not know if it helped or not but he did not stop. Elizabeth cried harder, her hands gripping his uniform tightly as she sobbed into his chest. His uniform was getting soaked but he did not care. Robert pulled her into a hug, allowing her to cry for as long as she wanted to. He wanted to let her know that he was there for her no matter what happens. For a second, Robert got a sense of deja vu. This reminded him of the time when they were just six year old, and he was holding Elizabeth for comfort then. 17 years later, he was doing the same thing. He did not complain. He would hold onto her for a lifetime as long as she was willing to let him.

AUTHORS note

I'm suprised I got a chapter done today lol.

This is like last minute but oh well.

Hope yall enjoy.

PEACE ;)