The after party was beautiful. The ballroom over was decorated with white curtains, gold centerpieces and lilac flowers, the food was mouth-watering and delicious, and the music was soft and cheery at the same time.  I tried to enjoy myself and join in the festivities, but everything reminded me of my own wedding which was coming all too soon. At least Charlie didn't insist on dancing; he was busy discussing battle tactics with the other soldiers, which was fine with me.

Joseph and Sophia never took their eyes off each other, and my heart throbbed with jealousy as they danced and talked the night away. Lila must've noticed my hurt because she pulled me aside as soon as food began to be served. "Look Rose, I know how you feel. I never wanted to marry Fredrick, and I still don't love him as much as I wished I could, but he's grown on me. Arranged marriages aren't fun; that's a known fact. But give Charlie a chance; he'll be gone a ton anyway so you'll rarely see him anyway." She comforted.

I mulled over what she said and felt my head clear and heart feel a bit lighter. Her words made sense; even though I wouldn't be giving Charlie a chance anytime soon, knowing that she didn't love her arranged marriage either made me feel a bit better. "Thank you Lila, you put a lot of things in perspective." I thanked her, and she gave me a wink before disappearing into crowd, calling "enjoy yourself!" over her shoulder.

And I really did try. For the rest of the after party I danced and talked with some of the people, chatted a bit with the King and Queen, and avoided my Father, Charlie, Joseph and Sophia for as long as I could. Not that I could try to talk to any of them; Father was busy drinking, Charlie was deep in strategy, and Joseph and Sophia wouldn't let anyone interrupt their romantic night.

Even though that bothered me, I tried to be as happy for them as possible. Joseph's dream had finally come true; he'd found the love of his life, and I hoped it would last, as long as he was happy. And with that internal statement I put on the familiar fake face and began to dance. And as I danced I realized that my ache for Virginia eased a bit; it was still there of course, but as I watched the glamour of the ballroom I was reminded on how much I took my wealth for granted, and I soaked it in, even enjoying myself.

For the rest of the night I actually had an okay time. There were plenty of toasts and speeches, including a very long one from the King himself, (which I mostly just tuned out) and times where everyone twirled and danced together.

Charlie even had the nerve to briefly dance with me during the couples dance before returning to his work, which was far more important than me. And the food was actually decent; a mix of delicious English cuisine, which was hard to get with the war going on nowadays. Overall, it wasn't unbearable.

When the night was over Joseph stayed over at Sophia's (they were married after all, and they'd be moving into a huge mansion by the castle tomorrow,) Mother and Father went home, and I decided to take a separate carriage and ride around Britain on one of the last warm nights of the season. I never really had the time to myself, what with pretending to be in love with Charlie and learning how to be a lady from Sophia and sneaking information to the Shadow Group I was always busy.

Now I had an opportunity to be by myself, and I was going to seize it.

I had the driver take me to the edge of the town, where a lush garden surrounded a statue of King George that flowed into a fountain. "Thank you," I told the driver, who tipped his hat and let me go. I ran into the garden and sat down, breathing in the fresh air, running my fingers down the cool limestone pf the statue and smelling the sweet flowers.

I held many memories in the garden, mostly from when I first arrived at England. I remembered how Sophia had first taken me here, and I was stunned by the beauty of it. The gorgeous flowers and the way the moonlight glistened through the trees was just so beautiful and reminded me so much of Virginia that for once I didn't mind living in Britain.

I then wandered past the garden where the dock was located, watching as the waves of the ocean lulled the massive ships in a soothing pattern, in out, in out. Even though it was cold and the water looked restless and dark, I hitched up my bridesmaid dress and sat on the edge of the dock. Then making sure no one was looking, I undid my hair and slipped off my heels, feeling like an American.

I breathed in the salty air, letting my feet dip into the cool water and listening the gulls sing above. The garden and dock were my favorite parts of Britain by far. Not even the castle or the market could compare to the beauty of the two landmarks, and I always felt closer to heaven when I was here.

In Virginia the families weren't huge on religion, but occasionally we would all go to church, and I remembered singing hymns and sitting quietly with my hands folded as the preacher spoke. And it was sort of nice, knowing that there was someone above you and watching over you. We'd never gone to church in England, and I realized that I wish we had.

I sat there at the dock for a while, staring out at the sea and lost in memories, until it grew so cold my teeth were chattering. With a content sigh I pulled on my heels, did up my hair one more, smoothed my dress and walked back to where the carriage was faithfully waiting for me. To my surprise the driver was Greg instead of the old man it had been. "Hello Greg!" I said cheerfully, and he tipped his hat at me, though I noticed he seemed sort of on edge.

I decided to ignore it and soaked in the night as we began to drive, taking notice of every building and enjoying the beauty of an England autumn night. I was closing my eyes and letting the breeze blow the loose curls at the noose of my neck when suddenly I heard a gunshot and the carriage was tipped over.

I let out a muffled scream as I was thrown onto the pavement, watching with wild eyes as the horses broke free from their reins and ran into the nearby woods and the carriage break and splinter around me. "HELP! HELP!" I called from my suffocating spot under the carriage, coughing as dust swirled around in my mouth. Right when a haze began to cover my eyes I felt the wood and debris around me be lifted, and watched Greg's figure pull me out of the mess and stuffed a cloth in my mouth.

"Rose if you wanna live act dumb and shut up!" Greg hissed at me, his eyes flashing wildly with fear. Then with that he scooped up my thrashing body in his arms and threw me around the corner, and I noticed a rope in his left hand. "Greg what's going on!?" I screamed, but it was muffled from the cloth and sounded more like "geg ats goin on" then what I meant. Instead I began to kick him to get his attention, when Greg slapped my cheek so hard it burned.

I looked up at him, shock almost overtaking the pain of my cheek. "Good that shut you up." He said, eyes still crazy as he began tying me to a near pole. Still in shock of the events that had just happened and sudden turn of the night I sat there stunned, deciding to trust Greg despite him hitting me, and shut up. Besides, I refused to believe that Greg, my good friend, would purposely hit and tie me up. A shaky reassurance that I didn't full believe calmed me slightly, and keeping quiet I turned my body so I faced the front of the pole to see four shady men surrounding Greg.

Greg was backed up on the butcher's shop wall, and the four men filtered around him so that he had no way out. I watched with wide eyes as Greg held up his hands, which were shaking, perspiration dripping down the sides. "Guys calm down alrigh'? Everything's under control." Greg said as the men drew closer, and I watched his eyes bulge as he licked his lips nervously. I Twisted my head to get a better view of the four men currently surrounding him, and I held in a gasp when I realized one of them was holding a gun pointed squarely at Greg's chest.

"Give it up, we know 'bout the group," the man with the gun barked, a look of madness in his eyes. Greg's face paled, and he looked around the men, trying to find a way out. The man next to gunman strode up to Greg and grabbed him by the shirt so that he was dangling from his clutches. "You promised us you had information on traitors we could give to the general. Do you have it?" He asked, eyes twitching manically as they bored into Greg's.

Greg, despite his fear, turned his head. "I can't tell you," He said in an attempt to be brave, but instead his voice came out weak and high-pitched, like a field mouse. The man holding Greg snapped his fingers and the third man pulled a knife out of his pocket and handed it to the fourth man, who held it to dangerously close to Greg's throat. "Give us the information." The knife man said, and when Greg didn't respond he brought it to Greg's throat, so that tiny droplets of Greg's blood dropped to the ground.

"Tell us the information, or else." The knife man said, and Greg watched the knife glitter in the moonlight for a second before pulling gently away from the knife. "The Shadow Group meets at the pub on 3rd street. The next meeting's on Monday in the back room. Call the British officials and you'll get a reward, I promise," Greg confessed, and I felt my mouth drop in horror.

The man dropped Greg and laughed. "Thank you Sir Greg," he rasped before dropping three bags full of coins next to him. He then gathered his men and left, but not before the gunman rapped Greg sharp on the head with the butt of his rifle, laughing as Greg sank to the floor.

When they had disappeared I began to wriggle around, desperately trying to get the cloth out of my mouth, knowing that I had to get to Fiona soon. "GREG!" I screamed, and Greg slowly got up and untied me and removed my cloth. "How could you!" I cried, tears streaming down my face. "Shame on you Greg... shame on your entire family."

Greg sank to his knees, a line of blood from the gun trickling down his head, which he bowed in shame. He looked at me with sadness, but I felt no sympathy. This wasn't the man I was fondly friends of, or the friend that I had trusted with my whole heart. No, this was a rat that had decided that he would trade women's lives for money. Greg grabbed my hands, his eyes wide, and I slapped them away. He ignored me and grabbed them again, this time not letting me let go.

"Rose, I'm sorry, I really am. I-I-I-I I was sick of driving all the rich people around, and decided that I wanted to be rich. So when those guys intercepted me at a bar and told me they'd pay me if I had any information they could give the general I.... I told them I had some. I know how selfish I am Rose, but I needed a way to get them money... I had to confess or they'd kill me! Please forgive me." He begged, but I was in no position to be empathetic.

A red haze was covering my eyes, and I felt my heart pound with indescribable anger. "I wish they would've killed you. It would've made it all that easier for me," I snarled, and Greg's eyes widened with hurt. I pushed away the ping of guilt that filled my insides and stared Greg as coldly as I could as I stood up.

"Leave Greg. And don't ever come back. The Shadow Group will shame you forever, and I hope you know that you've lost more than just your dignity tonight. You've lost a friend and possibly caused women death. I hope your money was worth it." I said, turning my head away from him in the universal sign of disgust, and watched as Greg's eyes filled with tears before he wordlessly left, leaving my head reeling.

Suddenly the night didn't seem so beautiful anymore; instead I saw British soldiers around every corner and huntsmen in every shadow, eager to slaughter me. But despite my fear and despair I knew one thing; I had to get to Fiona. But where did she live? Who would know? As I sat there thinking it suddenly clicked.

Lila.

I had to get to her. But how? All I knew was that she lived on Washington street, about thirty minutes on foot from the butcher's. I don't have that time, I thought and began to hyperventilate when I noticed that the carriage was still on the ground, and the spooked horses were in the woods nearby. Lucky for me, Joseph had secretly taught me how to ride bare back in Virginia. Careful not to spook the horses I gently walked over to the nearest one, a maple and white spotted female, and caressed her mane until she was calm and okay with me.

Then I jumped up and swung my leg over the mare's side and when I was gripping her mane I slapped her side, jolting forward as she neighed and charged forward. Wind whipping my now free hair, I expertly used her mane to steer towards Lila's nose, and ten minutes later I turned onto Lila's street, I slowed the mare down, had her stay on the street, and then rapped on Lila's door.

A few moments later Lila answered, standing in her Lila. "Rose! This is a surprise. What's going on?" She asked, inviting me in. But then she got a glance of my fly away hair, the rope burns on my arms and the horse in the street and her eyes widened in worry. "What's going on?" She repeated, this time more serious. "Greg... betrayed us... they know...have to get to Rose..." I said through deep breaths, and by the end of my brief explanation Lila already had her coat on and her mouth was in a thin line.

"Hold on one second." She said before disappearing into her house and coming back holding a large trunk. "I'll explain later," she said as she met my inquisitive gaze. She then turned around and cupped her hands around her mouth, forcing herself to seem cheerful. "Fredrick I forgot my best hat at Sophia's! I'll be back!" She called to her husband upstairs, and then ran outside before he could ask why she couldn't just do it tomorrow, holding the trunk in one hand and mine in the other.

She began to pull me back to the direction of the port, and I stopped, pulling her towards me. "Where are we going Lila? We have to get to Fiona!" I exclaimed. "I know what I'm doing Rose. I'll alert Fiona as soon as possible. But I have to explain something to you before I do, and we have to do it in private." She said, eyes flashing in the now complete darkness. "Okay but let's take the mare." I said, and Lila gazed at it hesitantly.

"What's wrong?" I asked, and despite our time crunch she blushed and let out a trail of ums. "Well, Rose I'm deathly afraid of horses." She said, and I grabbed her hand. "I'm experienced with them Lila. Trust me. And would you rather ride a horse or have certain death?" I asked, and Lila reluctantly allowed me to help her onto the horse. Then I climbed on, and with a slap of the mare's side we were off, Lila silently screaming as we cantered back to the port.

When we arrived I helped her get off, and I released the horse back into the same thicket of trees I'd grabbed it from. "Now was that so bad?" I asked, and Lila nodded. I chuckled, but then a gunshot was heard from the distance, and we crouched down, the seriousness of the situation back again. Lila, now recovered from her ride on the horse, placed the trunk beside her and looking me directly in the eyes.

"This is extremely important so listen to me carefully." She said, and I nodded to show her I was listening. She briefly closed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief before opening her eyes and focusing them on me again, this time full of an intense graveness.

"Rose, The Shadow Group is in grave danger right now, as you already know. Lucky for us, Fiona and I have gone over this scenario multiple times, and as paranoid as I sound right now, we couldn't have shared this plan with any of the other members, and I'm very glad we didn't share it with Greg. Now before I tell you what you have to do, I want to reassure you that in the events following you'll have to not worry about the Group at all.

Yes, we'll have to move everything and create a cover story and so many other things that I can't say right now to make sure everyone is safe, but you're main focus has to be yourself right now. Here's what you must do, if you really want to help us. Tomorrow you must grab a basket, fill it with as much food as possible, work clothes, bonnets and all essentials and take this trunk with you. It's full of supplies for the colonies.

Then get back to the port and sneak on the first ship to Virginia possible. You heard Fiona for the past few meetings; we need someone to go to one of the colonies and pass off supplies to Washington's army and to sneak information to us so we can be updated. And I hate to force you to do this Rose, but you're the only one who has a friend in the colonies who wouldn't mind having you.

And the colonies need us. This trunk has a secret weapon that Washington needs to see... and you have to give it. Go meet your friend Josie, explain to her what's going on and try to get the supplies where Washington is. Then write back to us as soon as you arrive under a pen name." Lila said, taking a deep breath. I watched as she searched my eyes desperately, hoping that I would agree to this plan. I knew that we were crunched for time, and still not fully understanding the consequences of this plan I looked at her bravely.

"I'll do it." I said, and Lila gave me a look full of relief. "But what will you do to cover up my disappearance?" I asked, and Lila sighed in frustration. "That's right... well I guess we'll have to pretend you were stolen by rebels in the night and your whereabouts are unknown. We'll take care of everything, don't worry. You can come back when we say so. When that will be... I don't know, but I hope so. And Rose? Please be safe." Lila said in a rush, tears filling her eyes as she pulled me in a hug.

When we broke apart we stood, and I watched as she looked into the distance, worry in her eyes. "How do you even know this plan?" I asked her, and she sniffed. "I don't, and that's the thing. I made it up, but it seems like the most reasonable thing to do, so we're doing it. Don't worry about us, but its vital you go extremely early in the morning. No goodbyes to family and friends, okay?" Lila instructed me, and I nodded, a tight knot in my stomach.

She then gave me a nod, and with one final goodbye and good luck Lila turned around and disappeared into the night, leaving me and my thoughts to spiral to ruins.