Call to War

Chapter Three

Abigail was the first to make it to Margaret's room, a small knife that she always has near her wielded in her right hand. She crept into the room, only to find the same creep- only this time, he was bothering her younger sister- much to her displeasure. 

"Leave me alone!" Poor Margaret sobbed, desperate to get rid of him. She even had taken up throwing her prized notebooks at the fool- the thing is, Margaret had never been the athletic type. 

"Quit your blubbering, girl. Don't go waking up everybody- this'll be our little secret." The man said, before grabbing her arm. Margaret, out of pure instinct, scratched his face with her nails, only to be slapped in the face. 

Abigail's blood boiled. She had seen enough. She marched over to him, grabbed him by the collar, and threw him across the room, causing him to stumble. "YOU UNGRATEFUL BASTARD!" She screamed, punching him square in the nose once she got close. She then grabbed him by the ear, and pulled it close to her mouth. "You want to know what happens to men that mess with my sisters? Guess what- it's your lucky day. You're about to find out." She whispered, a dangerous tone in her voice. 

The man gulped. "You're not so pretty up close." He stammered, fear evident in his eyes. 

"Good observation" she snarled, before smashing his head against the wall, over and over again. If Margaret's screaming didn't wake up the others, that certainly did the trick. She could hear the troops outside stir at the commotion. 

Tallmadge and Mary found her when she was kicking him in the ribs. She stopped, picking up the now unconscious redcoat, and dragged him out of the room. "Watch your prisoners Tallmadge", she spat, before dumping the body outside, where American soldiers took him from her. She returned, slamming the door on the major and Mary, before wrapping her arms around Margaret. "Hey, shh, it's okay." She comforted, brushing hair out of Margaret's face. "You're safe now."

Margaret began to cry again, her sobs shaking her frail body. "That... that man, he tried to-" a particularly large sob cut her off.

 Abigail rubbed her back soothingly, and led her back to her bed. "I'll stay with you tonight- just like we did when we were younger, remember?" She picked up one of Margaret's many notebooks that were scattered across the floor. "You can read me one of your stories, I'll tell you one of mine." She suggested, handing her the notebook. 

Margaret nodded, before opening it up, leafing through the pages before finding the right one. "I found a short one- I think you'll like it." She began to read it out loud, sniffling every once and awhile. Abigail always enjoyed spending time with her younger sister- Mary always seemed to busy to spend time with Margaret, so it was Abigail that made sure that she didn't feel left out. 

"There was two horses- one of which was the fastest in all the land..." she spoke of how the horses would carry their riders into great battles, and accomplish great feats. It was rather interesting to Abigail- she always loved horses, especially her horse Flynn. Mary always called him 'Abigail's child'. 

Margaret's soft voice echoed throughout the bedroom, and soon the story came to an end. "That was wonderful", Abigail murmured, her chin resting on her hand. "You seriously need to consider getting some of these works published- I would want to read them all day."

Her sister blushed, placing the notebook down on the nightstand. "Well, I'm not very sure that anyone else would want to read them." 

The small clock chimed in the hallway. "Oh dear, we better go to bed if we want to wake up tomorrow morning", Margaret giggled, and pulled the heavy blankets over her small body. A small "goodnight" escaped her lips before she fell into a deep sleep. Abigail smiled, before blowing out the candle, copying her sister's actions. 

Abigail and Josie were up before the sun. The two ladies were hauling some apples, to give to the American soldiers as they packed up. As Abigail wiped her hands, Josie pulled her aside, rather roughly. "I heard about what happened last night. Is it true?" She asked, her dark eyes boring into Abigail's blue ones. 

"I would've continued, if I wasn't interrupted." Abigail hissed, glancing at the Major, who had just left the house. Her eyes narrowed slightly as he began talking to Mary, obviously discussing something important, seeing that Tallmadge wasn't talking above a whisper. 

"To be honest, I wish you had continued. That sorry excuse for a man doesn't deserve mercy." Josie wiped her face with a handkerchief, before noticing what had stole Abby's attention away. "The hell are they talking about?" 

"I'm wondering the same thing- here she comes now." Abby whispered in response, as the eldest Williams sister walked towards the two. 

"Abby, Josie. I have some news." She sighed, before continuing. "The major and I have been talking, and I have decided to become a nurse for the Continental Army." She announced. 

This left Josie and Abby speechless. Josie's eyes began to water uncontrollably, as she dabbed her eyes. "Well, we knew this day would come- Mary's leaving the nest. Right Abby?" Josie turned to look at her, only for Abby not to meet her gaze. 

Abby felt like crying too- but Josie was right. She had to expect that this day was going to happen. Just not like this. She didn't say anything to her sister, but marched past her to the house. 

Upon reaching her room, she dug through her chest of drawers, before pulling out the elegant hunting knife that once belonged to her grandfather. Wrapping it up in cloth, she raced back to her, and pressed it to her chest. 

"Take this", Abby told her, her voice wavering slightly. "If anyone tries to even touch you without your permission- no matter what side they're on- you gut them. Or leave them for me." She wiped her eyes, before walking back to the house, bumping into Caleb Brewster on the way. She grabbed his arm firmly. "Watch my sister for me- I'm afraid she can't defend herself the way I can." 

Caleb glanced at Mary, before nodding his head once, Abigail releasing her grasp on his bicep. Caleb soon left, mounting his horse to ride alongside Mary and Major Tallmadge. "Please come home." She whispered to herself, before tearing her gaze away from the retreating form of her older sister, walking back to Josie. She didn't want her sister to see her cry.