A Country Divided : Through Blood United

Emancipation Proclamation: Meeting Evan and my Family

Johnathan rolled his eyes. "Can you just stop interacting with the guy? I don't want him to hurt you again." His eyes were focused on my leg, and he glanced back up at me protectively.

"We'll be fine-" I said before being interrupted by an angry Johnathan.

"Jade and I can't go!" he snapped, Jade jumping in surprise once she heard her name. "What would your family think about us? They only think that people like us are dirt."

"Not my mother," I added, trying to lighten the mood in the attic. "She absolutely hates the idea of slavery. It's my father and my brother who you should watch out for."

I then opened the small door that opened into the apartment kitchen below and made my way down the ladder, forcing them to follow me. "Even if we do see my father and my brother, I'll protect you two."

"I don't need protecting," Jade rebutted, stepping onto the first rung of the white ladder.

***

I pushed the front door of the apartment building open, its squeak announcing my entrance onto the street. Johnathan and Jade both had giant straw hats planted onto their heads, covering their eyes. They also wore ripped, worn-out clothes, trying to not attract as much attention as possible.

I, on the other hand, was still wearing my Union army uniform, as it was the only outfit I had besides my pajamas. My outfit made a few city goers turn their heads, but they didn't seem to care about the Jones twins.

We marched through the dusty path roads in Atlanta, and we zig-zagged through the streets until we approached the outskirts of the city.

After a couple more minutes of walking along a winding path through the dense forest, the three of us finally arrived at a large brick house.

Like the apartment building that Jade and Johnathan "sort of" lived in, large marble pillars stretched from the bottom of the balcony on the second floor to the front porch. The porch was floored with many long pieces of wood, chairs, and tables peppered across the wooden surface.

Next to me, I could feel Johnathan and Jade's uneasiness, and I hurriedly knocked on the white front door. Instead of my father or brother answering the door, I saw my mother's kind face when she swung the door open.

"Evangeline?" She asked as she stepped outside and cradled my face in her hands, not paying attention to the Jones twins behind me. "My little angel, I have missed you so much!"

My mother wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a warm, motherly hug. My face was pushed into her long ringlets of curly hair, and I coughed, almost suffocating. My mother then pulled away, her hands still on my shoulders. "I have heard a lot about what you're doing in the war." She smiled. "You remind me so much of me, your grandmother, your great-grandmother, and your great-great-grandmother,"

"Okay, I get it, I smiled. "You miss me."

My voice trailed off as I noticed my mother glancing behind me at Johnathan and Jade, her eyes growing wide in awe. "Are these two, Johnathan and Jade Jones?"

Jade lifted her hat off of her head and nodded. "You're correct." She placed her hands on her hips proudly.

Johnathan rolled his eyes and sighed. "Showoff."

"Well, nice to meet you, Jones twins, I'm Chloe Freebourne." My mother held out a strong hand for them to shake.

After the three exchanged firm handshakes, my mother led the Jones twins and I into Evan's Georgian house.

***

Johnathan and Jade slipped their farmer's hats back onto their heads as we entered Evan's house. On the walls, I could still see some of the drawings Evan used to teach me in our drawing lessons in the forest. I could recognize a few forest scenes that I drew on the hallway walls, including the sketch of a tree that I attempted to shade in.

After passing a few more hallways, Jade, Johnathan, my mother, and I finally reached the kitchen and the dining table. Only four chairs were tucked into the table, Evan and my father sitting in two of them.

Once we approached the table, Evan glared at Johnathan and Jade. "They should stand."

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Evan was being the typical Evan. "Well, nice to meet you too, Evan. I'll go get them a chair since they should have the privilege to sit down."

I ran over to the living room next to the kitchen and grabbed a few cushy chairs. I easily stacked them on top of each other and carried them to the dining table. I set the more comfortable chairs next to the two chairs that my mother and I were supposed to sit in.

I gestured my hand toward the two chairs. There you go, you two."

Jade and Johnathan happily plopped into the seats, and before I could sit down, my mother gasped loudly. I turned my head toward her, and I could see her eyes and finger fearfully pointing at my left leg. It was normal for her to overreact to such things.

"Y-your leg!" She exclaimed as my father stood up out of his chair, his brow raising in confusion.

My father peeked over the table and at my leg, and he gasped just like my mother did. "What type of scum did this to you, dear? Once I know, I'll beat them to a pulp-"

"U-uh, I d-did it," Evan squeaked as he sunk into his chair.

My father then stopped as if his muscles froze completely solid. His eyes still remained wide open, though. His head turned around slowly, and my father's gaze met Evan's, my father's expression boasting both anger, confusion, and sadness altogether.

"What happened Evan?" my father asked, his tone becoming gentle and soft. "Why did you do this?"

"I-" Evan stuttered. "I-in the battle of Antietam, I got so caught up in fighting, and I was so angry at Evvie for not having the same opinions as me. I guess I just overreacted and shot her in her leg." He shrugged, knowing that he couldn't change the past.

Before my father could scold my brother, he decided to ask me a question. "Evangeline, did anyone help you recover?" He was probably hoping that Evan helped me recover after doing such a foolish act.

Instead of getting an expected Evan to respond, Johnathan removed his hat and stood up. "I helped your daughter recover, Mr. Freebourne."

My father stepped backward in a surprised manner, his hand at his chest. "J-Johnathan Jones? You helped my daughter?"

Johnathan rolled his eyes. "What do you think I would do? Would I just leave her there to die?"

Jade nodded, which was the first interaction she had with my family. "It's just the right thing to do. I mean, Evan should've helped his own twin sister, but at least there was someone who was human and unselfish enough to help someone else out."

"Well, she has a peg leg now, so I guess she won't be able to fight in the war anymore," Evan tried to add, changing the conversation subject.

Evan was beginning to get on my nerves. I clenched my fist and tried to calm myself down, my knuckles growing pallor. I then glared at my brother angrily.

"Do you seriously think that my peg would stop my ability to fight? It won't. Even with my peg, I will still be stronger than you will ever be, since I'm strong mentally and physically, while you're just strong physically. Without mental strength, you have no strength at all," I growled at my brother.

I tapped the twins' shoulders. "C'mon guys, let's go."

As I stormed out of Evan's house, I shouted. "I'll keep fighting, you'll see! I heard that there are troops needed in Pennsylvania, so I'm going to enlist right after I leave this household."

Before I shut the door, I glared at my brother who followed me as I ranted in his house's halls. "Evan, prepare for a real fight."