Alanna

I was about to make another dress, when I realized that I ran out of fabric. I grabbed some money and my bag, I put the money in the bag. Great, now I gotta ask Sarah if I can leave. I made my way downstairs. I see Sarah sitting on the couch, reading a book.

"Hey Mom." I walked over to her, she looked up from her book. "So I ran out of fabric and I was wondering if I could go to the store.....you know, to buy more." Please say yes.

Sarah though for a second. "Sure." She looked back at her book.

Hey, that wasn't so hard.

"But take one of your brothers with you." She added.

Damn, it's whatever.

I smiled. "Thanks Mom." I gave her a quick hug then pulled away.

"Do you have money?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, thanks again Mom." I started to walk away.

"Bye Anna, be safe." Sarah yelled after me.

Anna is my nickname. I made it upstairs and went to go look for Jason because Marcus is busy.

Zarah

"Are we out of Pennsylvania yet?" Eliana asked.

"Yeah, for a while now. We're in Virgina." Thomas answered.

"Cool." Eliana said, grinning.

I'm glad Eliana's not sad right now. She looks happy, believe me, if we weren't traveling right now, I'd be grieving over Adele.

"Can't we take a break, we haven't gotten a chance to eat lunch yet?" Eliana asked.

"What a great idea." I heard the sarcasm in Trevor's voice. He stopped his horse, got off it, and tied it to a tree. "Lunch/ Potty break!"

Thomas smiled. He got off his horse and tied it to a tree.

I glared at him for his immaturity. Maybe this was his way of distracting himself from thinking about Adele. Eliana got off her horse and tied it too a tree.

"What?" Trevor asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Just guard the horses." I told him, getting off my horse and I tied it to a tree.

I took Eliana and we relieved ourselves in the bushes. I heard some noises, it sounded like people. Now I wished I brought my pistol. We walked back to Thomas and Trevor.

Trevor smiled. "Now it's your turn to guard the horses." He told me.

"No, I'm just going to take Eliana and meet you guys in Texas." I said, voice full of sarcasm and rolled my eyes.

Thomas laughed. "You guys really are brothers and sisters, always fighting." He shook his head, looking between Trevor and I.

I smiled. "You see what I have to deal with everyday, Thomas? Handle my light work." I joked.

"I'll try." He joked along.

"We'll be back, don't go anywhere." Trevor said, leaving and Thomas followed him.

I was still smiling, I grabbed my pistol. For safety, just in case something happens.

Alanna

I ran into Jason as he left his room. Jason has brown hair and blue eyes just like me.

"Hey Alanna." Jason said.

"Hey Jason, you doing anything?"

"No, why?"

I told him that I ran out of fabric and mom wanted one of my brothers to come along with me to buy more. So I choose him because Marcus is busy. He agreed to come along. We headed to the stables.

"Quick question," Jason said. "Do you remember how to ride a horse?"

"Yep. I may not ride horses as much a you do. But I've been on them many times."

Jason nodded, then asked. "Henry, can you get my horse and Alanna's horse out their stables, please?"

Henry nodded, then he left, soon he came back with my horse and Jason's horse both saddle up. Henry handed us the reins.

Jason thanked Henry. Henry went back to brushing the horses. Henry is a stable boy, he takes care of the horses we have. He also took care of the guest horses until they leave. Henry isn't the only stable boy we have here, we have a few others.

I got on my horse and Jason got on his, then we left, heading towards town.

Thomas

Trevor and I heard some people yelling and hollering.

"Sounds like a party." I joked, pulling out my pistol.

Trevor did the same. "Maybe it is. Wanna go check it out?"

"Let's split up and search." I said agreeing.

I went one way, Trevor went the other way. It didn't take long to find the source of the noise. There was a small group of men, four men. They looked in their early thirties and they all had shotguns in their reach. They all sat on logs and they were in the front yard of their house. Next to the house was a barn. I looked to my right to see Trevor.

I accidentally stepped on a branch, all four men looked at us. Shit!

"Who are they?" One man asked, grabbing his shotgun. The other three did the same.

"I don't care who they are, they need to get off our property!" Another man said.

We had to go, or we weren't going to get far. I took off in a sprint with Trevor on my heels.

"Do you have a plan?" I asked Trevor, slowing down a little so that I was next to him.

"Here, let's go this way." Trevor made a sharp left turn. "We can't let them find Eliana and Zarah."

I heard gunshots go off. I ducked a little as I ran. We didn't lose them and they were on our tail.

"We have to kill them." Trevor said. It was true, these men would die protecting their property.

"Yeah, I figured."

We found a fallen tree and got behind it, we used the tree to cover us. I took my gun off safety and Trevor did too. The four men found us. I took this chance to shoot at them. I aimed my gun at one and pulled the trigger. One man fell to the ground. Trevor got another. I got another one and Trevor got the last one.

Trevor looked over at me and smiled. "Not bad Thomas, not bad."

I smiled. "Thanks, you're really good too."

"Let's steal their guns." Trevor said walking over to the dead men.

I followed him. "We shall." We took all their guns. Each man had a shotgun and a pistol. We walked back to Zarah and Eliana.

Zarah

Eliana and I heard some gunshots earlier, then they stopped and it got hella quiet. A bunch of scenario's wondered through my head. What if they were killed?

I looked around. "They should've showed up by now." I leaned against a tree and crossed my arms.

The tree looked like it's been here for a while. It's giant and tall. I remember the days when I use to climb trees. Ah, those were fun days.

Eliana was eating some bread. "I know right, I mean-how long does it take to use the bathroom?" She shook her head and snickered. "Their probably taking a shit.

I glared at her, then semi-yelled. "Did you not hear those gunshots earlier?!"

"Yeah, but we don't know what happened. I doubt anything bad happened to Thomas and Trevor." Eliana reassured me.

"How are you not worried?!" I yelled at her again.

"Relax Zarah, we're right here." I knew that voice, it was Trevor's.

I looked to my right to see Trevor and Thomas standing there. They had guns in there arms and hands. Trevor dropped the guns on the ground purposely. They didn't look harmed at all. Thank god, I ran to my brother and hugged him. Eliana joined the hug. I looked at Thomas, he gave me a smile.

"We'll tell you all about it later. Let's keep moving." Trevor said.

Trevor distributed the newly found weapons to us. He handed me two pistols and a shotgun, Eliana received two pistols, Thomas received two shotguns and Trevor kept a shotgun for himself. I walked back to my horse and grabbed some food out of my bag. I put the two shotgun in my bag and one remain in the holster. I got on my horse, once everyone was on their horse, we rode. I stayed in the back, Eliana was in the middle and Trevor was in the front with Thomas.

Alanna

We made it to the store, I slowed my horse down and got off it.

"I'll stay out here and guard the horses." Jason suggested.

"Thanks, I'll be back."

I found the fabric that I was looking for, I paid for it and left the store. I got back on my horse and rode back home. Once we got home, I thanked Jason. I ran inside the house and up to my room. I prepared my next dress. I opened my sketchbook and started sewing. I definitely won't be needing more fabric anytime soon.

My stomach rumbled, I guess that traveling made me hungry.

I called for my maid and told her that I wanted a sandwich and some apple juice. I few minutes later I received my Apple juice and my sandwich.

Zarah

We found a place to settle down and had a fire going. We had our horses tied to a tree, fed and watered.

We had our blankets and pillows out and were eating dinner.

It was quiet until I spoke. "Tell us what happened earlier." I suggested. Either the food was really good or no one really wanted to talk.

"After we used the bathroom we heard some hollering and yelling. Thomas thought it was a party, I did too. Or at least we hope it was. We went to go check it out. They didn't see us at first until Thomas stepped on a branch." Trevor said.

"It was an accident." Thomas interrupted.

Eliana and I laughed.

"Anyways," Trevor continued. "Turns our we were on their property and they wanted us off it. They way that they resolve problems is by letting their guns do the talking."

"We're they outlaws?" Eliana asked.

"Hell if I know?" Trevor answered. "Please save all your questions till the end. Thank you. So Thomas and I took off in a sprint. We found a fallen tree and used it for cover. We killed them. I got two and Thomas got the other two. Then we stole their guns and found you guys."

"Great story!" Eliana said.

"Were you guys scared?" I asked.

"Hell yeah." Thomas said.

"Who wouldn't be. They were going to shoot us if we gave them the chance." Trevor said.

"Well it's a good thing you guys didn't." Eliana smiled.

"When I heard the gunshots, I was worried." I told them.

"I wasn't." Eliana said, smiling. "I knew you guys were going to make to back to us."

"Thanks?" Trevor said, confused.

I smiled. Eliana's funny. After dinner we put the fire out and went to sleep.

I was eight, I ran out of my room and into the kitchen. I found my Mom preparing to cook something.

"Watcha doing?" I asked Adele.

She smiled at me. "I'm about to make some cake, want to help?"

I grinned. "What kind of cake?"

"Lemon flavored, your favorite."

"I'd love to help." I giggled.

"Okay Zarah, go wash your hands." I did as told then joined mom back in the kitchen.

The supplies were already out thanks to Adele. She guided me through the instructions. I poured flour into the bowl, then a teaspoon on lemon zest, a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon on baking soda, some butter, I cracked eggs and put the yolk into the bowl, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, and a cup of low fat-butter milk. All of that was in the bowl. We stirred it for a while. Then we poured it into a clear pan and Adele put it into the oven for fifteen minutes.

Adele said that a clear pan gets the job done faster then a metal pan, I believed her. After the cake cooked, we added frosting. Adele handed me a stick and I dipped it in the frosting. Then I spread the frosting all over the yellow square cake.

"Wow, you're a pro." Adele complimented and flashed me a smile.

She had a lovely smile, that would make anyone warm.

I smiled back. "I learned from you."

Adele has taught me a lot of things.

"That's right."

I finished spreading the frosting on the cake and Adele cut me a piece and put it on a plate.

"Thank you." I grabbed a fork and tried it. "This is yummy."

Adele cut herself a piece and tried some too. "Delicious."

Ten year old Trevor came into he kitchen and asked. "Can I have some?" He must of smelled the cake from upstairs or something.

Adele grabbed a plate and a fork, then cut him a piece. "You have to help next time." She told him.

"Yeah, right." Trevor replied, taking a bite from his piece of cake.

Adele shot him a look.

"Fine, I'll help."

"You better." Adele said sternly, then smiled and laughed.

Marcus

On my plate there's beef, pot roast with chopped steak, green beans, white rice, and mashed potatoes. I love dinner, every meal is a feast for us. Grape juice is my drink. Grape juice is the bomb.

"Did you get the fabric, Anna?" Sarah asked.

She nodded.

"Who went with you?" She asked.

Jason raised his hand. "I did."

"How come you didn't ask me?" I said offended.

"Because you were busy, duh!" Alanna answered.

"Oh, right." She's right. I'm always busy. I started eating my beef pot roast. "This food is great."

Alanna smiled. "Be sure to thank the house slaves for this food."

I nodded.

"Did you go back into the forest, Jason?" Sarah asked.

Jason shook his head. "No, but I will tomorrow."

"What do you do in forest anyways?" Sarah asked.

"It's where I train myself. I think there too, plus I find it fun hanging in the forest all day alone." Jason said.

"Can you train me?" Alanna asked.

"Yeah, sure." Jason said. "Let me know when."

Alanna nodded. "I will."

"I have some very good news for you, Marcus." Allen said.

"What?" I asked.

"After training you for months, I finally feel like you're ready." Allen said.

What is he talking about? I'm confused. "Ready for what?"

"The plantation is yours," I smiled. "You can sign some documents tomorrow to make it official." Allen said. 

I'm excited, it would be an honor to run the plantation. "Thanks dad." I wanted to say more, but I contained my feelings.

He smiled at me. "No problem son, you deserve it."

💜Dominique💜