Daughter of Liberty

Eleanor

Eleanor's hands dug into the wood, but she could not bring her feet to follow her sister as she ran towards the ships. Stupid, stupid girl.

She watched as someone stepped on to the docks behind Lane. She wasn't paying attention. Eleanor could not tell. She was frozen to the spot.

Then her sister was thrown into the cold water. Eleanor was moving. "She cannot swim," she yelled out as she ran onto the docks. "Someone help! My sister is drowning! Lane is drowning!" She fell to her knees where her sister had fallen in. She watched desperately. The water was black and choppy. There was no light to illuminate Lane.

"Lane is in that water?" a voice asked behind her.

Eleanor nodded her head and released a sob. She should have been firm with Lane. They never should have left their home.

The man belonging to the voice jumped into the freezing cold ocean dock water. The water splashed on Eleanor, but she did not care.

After a few moments which felt like hours, the man resurfaced. He was holding Lane in one arm. Eleanor desperately grabbed her sister and pulled her on to the dock. Her skin was pale and she wasn't responding.

"She is going to freeze to death," Eleanor cried.

The man scooped Lane up. "Hurry, I know a place." They left the docks and the rebel riot behind. The young man entered the more alive part of Boston. The bars were still lit and noise poured from the taverns. He took them farther until he stopped at the door of a small thatched roof home.

"Knock on it," he ordered her. Eleanor threw both her fists at the door and it was opened promptly.

A middle aged pregnant woman opened the door. She looked back and forth between them, "What happened, Henry?" She addressed the young man as she opened the door wider.

Henry moved quickly inside, "These two followed us to the docks and she- Lane fell in." He layed her down on a bed in the corner of the room.

The woman nodded. "Go fetch Mrs. Averstin, Henry."

Henry left. "Alright, you know how to boil water?" The woman turned to Eleanor. Eleanor nodded, staring at her sister spread on the bed. In truth, Eleanor had only witnessed her maids heat water, but she was sure she could do it. Thankfully, the fire was already lit.

Eleanor's shaking hands grabbed the pot and hoisted it up. The well wouldn't be in the house. She stumbled out the front door as the woman began to pull Lane's freezing soaked clothes off of her.

The well was shared by all the houses. Eleanor dumped the bucket and began to pump the water. She leaned her whole body weight into it until the water gushed forth. When it was full to where she could still carry it, she dragged it inside.

The woman had Lane in front of the fire. Her clothing was discarded on the floor and she had a big nightgown on and blankets piled high. Lane turned her head slightly, "Eleanor?" Her voice croaked weakly. Her gaze went straight through Eleanor.

"Heat the water, darling" the woman said surprisingly gently. Eleanor lugged the pot onto the stove and let her arms rest for a moment.

The boy came back with a much older woman. She had a bag with her. "Tell me what happened," she asked.

"Lane made me follow them," Eleanor found herself interrupting. "She wouldn't stay back and watch either. On the dock, she was pushed into the water." Eleanor put a hand over her mouth. She never spoke like this to an adult.

The old lady nodded, "very well. Keep the water heated." She moved to the table and spilled the contents of her bag.

"The tea..." Lane mumbled. "What a waste of tea." Eleanor hovered over the woman to see what she was making. She looked back at her.

"Henry, accompany this young lady for a breath of fresh air," she spoke without looking up from the herbs she was crushing.

Eleanor did not protest though she certainly wanted to. A young lady did not argue. She followed Henry to the front door where he sat on the steps. "You can sit down."

"I don't believe a proper lady sits on the ground," Eleanor pointed out. Henry stood up, walked inside, and momentarily returned with a rough picnic blanket.

He sat it down on the steps, "Is this pleasing, your highness?"

Eleanor glared at him before sitting down. Her legs did ache after all. "I will never understand my sister's fascination with all of this," she sighed, leaning her elbows against her knees and plopping her face in hand.

"Me neither," Henry whispered.

Eleanor turned her head, "Aren't you a revolutionist?"

He shook his head, his red curls shaking with. "I don't believe war is the answer. I'm a pacifist. Maybe if people put their weapons down and found other ways to go about this, a revolution wouldn't be on our hands."

Eleanor was going to say something in the silence he had left, when she looked over at him. Though red hair was rather a boon in society, he wore it well. He he had a small spray of freckles across his crooked nose. "Are you not freezing," she asked.

Henry shook his head, "I was able to change clothes at Mrs. Averstin." That explained why his shirt was slightly too big on his sharp form.

Eleanor looked over at him again and then burst into tears. The hot tears rolled down her cheeks before she could stop them. "Oh, I am sorry," she got out, trying to wipe them away furiously with the back of her hand.

Henry reached over and took her hand from her face, "You are allowed to cry, Miss Carrington. You've had an awful night." Eleanor let out a sob and then another. The tears seemed to have no end and so she cried on the doorstep of a random home like she was six years old again. Lost and afraid.

"Don't let her cry," a soft voice said from the inside. Eleanor stopped and turned to see Linnea looking over at her. She feebly brought her hand out and Eleanor quickly came over to her.

She grabbed her sisters hand, "How are you feeling?"

"The world is on fire," Linnea answered. "But I finally have the answers. Oh, Eleanor I'm going to be on the front lines."

The pregnant woman placed a hand on Eleanor's shoulder, "She is delirious, child. She cannot leave in this delicate place. Mrs. Averstine and Henry will take you home."

And so they did. She silently marched away from her sister and found her way back to her home. They left her at the servant entrance and she found her way back to her room. She had completely forgotten she was in her nightgown. But it was too dirty now.

Eleanor replaced it and laid down. Her eyes trained on the door that led to Linnea's room. She could not fall asleep.