Frontier: Love Thy Enemy

Prologue

Anya Benton was the daughter of the ruthless and murderous Lord Benton. They were both enjoying their afternoon meal when a soldier by the name of Chesterfield approached with a letter. Anya was disgusted by this man. Not only is she arranged to be married to him but she despises him. He has no form of back bone. If her father told him to get on his hands and knees and bark he would. The Bentons listened as he read the letter stating that a man by the name of Declan Harp had murdered and stolen HBC property. Apparently the men were skinned and disemboweled alive. Anya’s stomach churned slightly at the graphic details but kept her composure. 

She stole a glance at her father who’s knuckles were turning white around the silverware. When Anya was younger her father would talk highly of Declan Harp. he was a natural hunter which benefited him in the fur trade. He often referred to Harp as the son he always wanted. Her father even had plans to marry her off to him. She remembered receiving a letter stating that the marriage was off because Declan had found someone and gotten married and had a child. 

Anya wasn't upset by this, in fact she was happy that he had found his own happiness. Grateful to Declan for taking up all of her father's time she was able to go out and do the things she wanted and not have to live up to her father's ridiculous standard. It did shock her however when her father returned home without a word. He was different from when he had left. When he left he had some happiness but now he was just cold and cruel. It wasn't long until Anya started to hear rumours that Declan and his family were killed and everything clicked in her head. Her father was bitter that he had found someone else that he had him killed.

Thats when the real rift between her and her father began. She didn't agree with his reaction. He didn't own Declan. He had every right to make a life for himself and besides Declan and herself never met. there was no proof that the marriage would even work. 

Anya got pulled from her thoughts when her father ordered for a boat to be prepped to go to the new world. She didn't know if she was allowed to go or if her father was going to ask her to join but she had made up her mind and she was gonna go whether her father wanted her to or not. She didn't know why she had such an urge to go with him. Maybe it was the excitement of seeing a new land and to get out of england or maybe just the chance to apologize for what her father had done not that it would matter. but something was telling her to go.
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Fort James, its a small dirty little town “protected” by red coats and infested with thugs and creeps who’ve had one to many drinks at the ale house. Grace Emberly was the woman in charge of the Ale house. She was a strong willed scottish woman who not only served drink but gathered information. The woman that worked for her knew to gather any information and report it to herself but none of them knew that the important information went to none other than the wanted man himself, Declan Harp.

Harp visited Fort James on occasion, usually in the middle of the night to reduce the risk of being exposed. But on one particular night he got more than he had bargained for.