America: 50☆Stars (Vol. 3)

Episode 17: Don't take a Green Mountain Boy for Granted

For a long time, the Province of New Hampshire had a complicated relationship with Massachusetts whom they followed, cooperated, argued, separated, and repeat until the 1740s. New Hampshire was then granted a governor of his own to follow, meaning he wouldn't have to rely on the authority and protection of Massachusetts anymore. That also meant he could finally pursue his own interests—more land and more wealth for himself. Unfortunately, he couldn't expand east or south toward Massachusetts, nor could he expand north where Quebec lived. The only plausible direction he could go was west of the Connecticut River—toward New York's domain.

'Is this considered trespassing?' He questioned his decision as he plodded through deep snow, traversing the winter landscape surrounding the township of Bennington. Despite his territorial claims, he wasn't confident expanding without notifying New York on the matter. Granted, New York did little to develop the region, nor did he seem to show any interest in it. Nonetheless, there was a strong possibility he could get in trouble for invasion at worst. For sure, it wasn't fair being a smaller colony. He bemoaned, "Maybe I should leave this place alone." He looked back in the direction he came from.

"Vweeeeeeeeeeee!"

"Hm?" New Hampshire caught a high-pitched scream in the air, looking up to witness a little blond boy on a long piece of tree bark get launched off a snowy cliff. He was too awestruck to notice he was standing in the sled's path. The realization struck him a few seconds too late. His attempt to flee allowed him to turn around and take a couple of steps. After that, he felt the bottom edge of the sled smack the back of his head, planting his face into the snow. His vision soon darkened from unconsciousness.

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"Ugh..." New Hampshire slowly regained consciousness upon hearing the soft cries of someone close by. He wondered groggily, 'Why is my face cold...? Why am I lying in the snow...?' The pain at the back of his head banged his brain enough times to help him remember what happened earlier. Carefully, he rolled onto his back, checking to see if the little blond boy was okay. Aside from the tears in his eyes and the snot spewing from his rosy nose, the boy showed no signs of bodily trauma. He breathed a sigh of relief. "You're not hurt, are you?" he asked to be sure.

The little blond boy shook his head and sobbed some more, making New Hampshire sit up and fluster. "H-Hey! It's okay! I'm okay! Don't feel bad. I know it's an accident. I know you didn't intend to hit me on purpose." It seemed nothing sweet he said could soothe the little boy from crying his eyes out. At a loss, he grimaced, 'If only England or Virginia were here, they could probably calm him down in a heartbeat.' He tried to think about what they would do in this kind of situation.

"U-Um..." New Hampshire awkwardly put his arms around the little boy. "Twinkle, twinkle, little star~ How I wonder what you are~" He sang stiffly to the end of the lullaby. By then, the little boy no longer shed tears of guilt, completely hypnotized by the tall yet gentle teenager's warmth. He blew another sigh of relief. "Good. I've managed to calm you down." He released the little boy from his embrace.

Seeing the orange sky above the mountains, New Hampshire determined it would soon become too dark for exploration That was fine by him. He didn't want to stick around the region for too long and risk getting caught by New York.

He crouched down to the little boy and told him, "It's going to dark soon. It's time we head back home. Farewell, little fellow." He stood up and started making his way back to his house, foolishly assuming the kid would have no trouble doing the same. He honestly didn't expect the little boy to follow him to his home until he turned around out of curiosity. The little boy was following his snowshoe footprints in the snow, shyly blushing with an innocent smile on his face. He frowned, "You need to head back to your house. You shouldn't follow me."