1794 (A Frazel AU)

Tristan's Funeral (Part two)

Hazel, Frank and Marie ran through the woods the get to the other slaves. Nico went to warn them but all of them might not listen, as he is the son of the master.

Hazel didn't trust Frank one bit, but she trusted Nico, and Frank said he was working with him so she took him on his word.

But what if he's lying, she thought. She stopped abruptly and thought hard. Marie realized and turned back to her daughter, causing Frank to stop too.

"'Azel", Marie warned. "Time is of the essence. We need to go warn everyone"

Hazel turned to Frank. "What do you have to gain from all of this?"

Frank gave her a confused look. "I don't understand."

"Why are you helping us?"

Frank stayed silent for a long time before answering. "I hate the concept of slavery. My father gave me a choice. He said I would live with him for three years and choose whether I want the plantation life or to go back to Canada to live with my mother. I'm gonna go there right after this three year contract is up."

"Why, wouldn't you like the money?"

"My mother works for the underground railroad. She helps slaves reach freedom. When I return, I'll be old enough to help her. While the money is great, I won't be able to obtain it with a good conscience."

Hazel looked in his eyes to see if he was lying, only later realising that that was stupid. One, he wasn't lying and two, she could have been flogged for that. However, she saw a sweet innocence in his eyes, and she knew he would never do anything to hurt anyone. Even a slave. Then she grew a little trust for Frank. A little.

"Where do we go from here", asked Frank.

"To the edge of the property, that's where the funeral is", said Marie.

The trio ran as fast as they can to warn others of what's to come. Hazel tripped and stumbled several times and Frank fell flat at one point.

"Are you alright?", inquired Marie.

"Just keep going", Frank commanded.

Hazel helped him up and continued on. Finally they made it to the funeral. Like Hazel thought, many slaves refused to listen to Nico. As much as the boy pleaded and prodded, they stood their ground, not wanting to leave.

"You all need to leave, my father is coming soon. He's aware of the funeral taking place. He whip all of you."

"Liar, go home", one shouted.

"Why should we listen to you?", asked another.

"Nico, leave now. Let me bury my father", Piper begged.

"Afar!", Marie yelled. It was the Ethiopian word for peace. Everyone quieted down to let her speak. "Mr Nico has no reason to lie to us. Massa Pluto is coming."

"Right now", Frank pointed out, motioning to the house. Bianca's signal was going off like rapid fire.

Shots began to fire. "Scatter!", yelled Piper.

The next few moments were chaos. The negros were screaming and running around like their pants were on fire. Frank grabbed Hazel's and her mother's arm and dragged them away from the madness. Just as they got to the safety of the bushes, there was more gunfire, and several slaves fell. One of those slaves were Piper.

"Piper!", shouted Hazel. "Piper!"

Frank covered her mouth and continued dragging her into the bush. "Quiet down or you'll get us caught", he scolded.

More slaves were shot down. Many were captured by Pluto or Mars. Nico was no where in sight. Pluto was targeting slaves, killing them for fun. He noticed Piper on the ground and shot her a second time. Hazel screamed in Frank's hand; he boy had to hold her down before she did something crazy.

Once some of the slaves were rounded up, Pluto made them dig a large pit in the ground with their bare hands. Then, he tossed Piper's body into it and commanded everyone else throw the others in. Eventually, all the dead was in the hole, and the slaves had to cover the earth over them.

"This is what happens when there is disobedience", Pluto warned. He turned to Mars, "How many are dead?"

"Ten sir, and twelve found", Mars announced.

"Exactly", Pluto turned back to the slaves. "Now you see why I said no funeral. Look at what happened. Almost half of your friends dead, including a sweet little girl. Now, go to the barn. I'll meet you there in the morning."

The slaves headed to the barn as the master ordered. Once the coast is clear, Frank released Hazel. She and her mother was crying softly, Piper, Tristan and many more dead, including Johnny.

The trio was headed back when someone came out the bushes, "Nico!", whisper-yelled Hazel as she hugged her half brother. "You're alright."

"Yeah, I'm fine", he assured. He then turned to Frank. "Good job. You managed to talk some sense into my stubborn sister."

"Whatever", Hazel huffed.

"'Azel, we need to leave", Marie reminded her. Hazel nodded and curstied to Frank.

"Thank you, for your help", she said.

"Please", Frank took her hand and kissed it. "It was a pleasure."

Hazel smiled, them ran off into the brush with her mother. Nico raised an eyebrow.

"You're quite peculiar, you know that?", he asked.

"Gee thanks", Frank mumbled.