Nan's Jewel

Nan's Jewel~ Chapter 62 <3 Zillah

AN: EEEEEEEP! LOLZ!

Chapter 62- Zillah

Living on the island was hard, even after we had been there for a year. It was amazing to watch the island flourish, and especially Rebeka, Tallon, Catherine, and Nichole, the children of the island. Rebeka was now two years old, and I had to keep a very careful eye on her. Her copper colored hair was past her shoulders, and was very thick so I had to pull it back during the day. She was up to my hips, which only added to the amount of stuff she could get into. Tallon was also getting very big at a year old. He was as tall as his older sister, and had shaggy black hair that annoyingly hung in his face. His grey eyes had flecks of blue, and shone brightly in the sunlight. Tallon was also the quiet one in the family. While Rebeka was out playing and I was gardening, Tallon would sit in the dirt beside me and play with my hair, or with his toys. Catherine was becoming a beauty at Edward spent most of his time making sure everything was in order. I only saw him at night for dinner, or in the early morning. My days did seem to blend together as I did mostly the same thing every day. I became close friends with Jane Richardson and with Cara Deci. It seemed everyone had grown more than physically in our year on Amana. Though there was still an unspoken, unseen line between Society and servants, everyone had grown closer together. We were all treated equal, and no one did less work than someone else. Most of the women tended gardens while the men handled the farming and building. There wasn't going to be much building now because the houses would be passed on from family to family, leaving only minor repairs needed. At night I would take the children down to the river to bathe and then put them back into the care of their parents, coming home in time to talk with Edward before going to bed. We had been lucky as there had been no outbreak of sickness or injuries, and for that I thanked God, but I had a feeling that it wasn't going to last. It was about January of our second year and I was out gardening with Cara and Jane when I heard frantic footsteps behind me. The three of us turned just as Gilbert Payne burst into the clearing.

"Zillah, Zillah, get Alex..."He panted.

"Go get him."I instructed Cara, who turned and ran after him.

"Gilbert, what happened?"I asked, trying to stay calm.

"It's Edward. He was climbing down from the-."Here Alex and Cara joined us and we all ran after Gilbert as he finished explaining. "From the look out and his foot caught and he fell hard."We approached an unmoving Edward, and I blinked back tears.

I knelt down beside my husband with Alex across from me.

"Gilbert, help me move him."Alex instructed. "Cara, take Zillah back and get her tea, and tell Chandler and Stephen to join us."

Cara started to lead me away but I stopped; I didn't want to leave my husband.

"Zillah, we can't lift him on our own. Please."With the look in Alex's eyes I knew it was bad, so I followed Cara back to my house where she left me to get the other men.

I walked slowly to my bed where I laid down and Rebeka instantly was at my side, a startled Jane behind her.

"Zillah, what happened?"She asked quietly.

"Edward- Edward fell, and he's..."I couldn't continue because sobs were wracking my body.

"Oh Zillah, I'm so sorry."Jane said, sliding onto the bed beside me. I just nodded my head.

"Here Zillah."Cara said, handing me a cup of tea.

"How is he?"I asked cautiously.

"I don't know Zillah, I just led the other men there, I wanted to make sure you were alright."Cara replied.