The Fire Within a Ninjago Soldier

Chapter 15: Letters from Soldiers

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

At this point, a few weeks have passed since the last chapter...

Chapter 15 - Letters from Soldiers

Over three weeks had passed since Company C of the 5th Ninjago Volunteer Cavalry Regiment left Ninjago Town. The temperature on this particular morning in late June was already turning hot. Four ladies were starting to perspire as they tended to the garden next to the main house of Garmadon Ranch.

To be more accurate, three ladies were tending the garden, and one was sitting at the base of an oak tree, resting in the shade near the two panting Australian Shepherd dogs, Flash and Blaze. Brooke had awakened that morning feeling a bit poorly, and she had not felt like eating much of her breakfast. Miss Gayle had suggested she go back to her bed with a cup of weak tea and toast, but Brooke had insisted on participating in the activities with her companions, certain that her queasy condition would pass as the day wore on.

So far, however, it had not passed, but the wife of the black-haired cowboy was not ready to retire to her bed just yet.

They heard a horse approaching the house. Mr. Wu was returning from his ride to Ninjago Town, which he was now making daily in order to learn the latest war news. He looked tired. The responsibility of tending to the cattle with the help of only one assistant, in addition to the other responsibilities of running the ranch, was beginning to take a toll on him.

"Howdy, ladies!" the ranch owner called as he guided his steed toward them. "I brought back something from town that you'll be interested in."

Brooke rose from her seat at the base of the shady oak tree, while Sam, Nya, and Miss Gayle brushed dirt off their hands and skirts. They approached Mr. Wu as he dug into his saddlebag and pulled out several envelopes.

"Letters from your favorite soldiers!" he announced, holding up the packet of papers. He looked at each one to see who it belonged to. "Here's one for Brooke," he said as he handed it to her. "One for Nya. One for Sam. And four for Miss Gayle."

They had recently received a photograph from Camp Goldland featuring the four handsome Garmadon Ranch soldiers wearing their new uniforms, but they had not received individual letters until today.

"I hope they got the package we sent them!" Sam grinned. She silently wondered why Mr. Wu remained mounted on his horse.

Miss Gayle examined the envelopes he had handed to her. "These be addressed to ye, too, Mr. Wu."

"I know, but you can read them first," Mr. Wu replied. "I'm going back out to the range, so I'll be back at suppertime, and you ladies can tell me what your cowboys wrote."

The ladies bid him farewell as he urged along his horse and departed.

"Well, lassies, shall we be restin' now?" the housekeeper asked, glancing up at the sky and noting that the sun was directly above. "It be time to eat anyway."

"Let's eat, and then I want to read my letter afterward," Nya declared.

"I think I'll save my letter till later this afternoon," Sam announced.

"Oh, I can't wait. I want to read mine now," Brooke said. She hoped that a word from Cole would make her feel better.

"Go and sit then, lassie," Miss Gayle urged her. "We be takin' care of fixin' the meal." The housekeeper thought it would be best if Brooke refrained from preparing food, just in case the malady from which she was currently suffering was contagious. Miss Gayle, however, suspected that Brooke's ailment was due to a certain reason that was not related to diseases.

Brooke went back to sit under the oak tree once again, while Sam, Nya, and Miss Gayle washed up at the water pump and then went inside the house. Despite her queasiness, the new Mrs. Hence ripped open the envelope with enthusiasm and read the words her new husband had penned.

Cole's letter began with a light tone, thanking them for their package of supplies and food, but then he wrote that the 5th Cavalry was going to be among the first troops in the Yellow Army to be sent down to Jamanakai Village to confront the Purples, who were entrenching themselves in the hamlet they overtook nearly a month ago. Brooke felt even more sick than she did already when Cole ended his letter by saying that he loved her and that if something happened to him, he hoped she would marry again.

Brooke put the letter down on the ground, crawled around to the far side of the oak tree - the side away from the house - and vomited at the base of the tree.

Sam, who was setting out plates and drinking glasses on the picnic table, heard Brooke. She put down the objects and rushed over.

"You all right, Brooke?" the blonde asked the brunette, rubbing her back.

Brooke remained still on her hands and knees for a moment, making sure she was done, before she rose to her feet and started sobbing.

"I d-d-don't feel w-well. I n-n-need to lie d-down," she cried.

Sam put an arm around her and led her into the house. "All right, honey, I'll take you up to the room," she said, trying to comfort her friend. She took Brooke through the kitchen.

"Brooke wants to lie down," she informed Miss Gayle and Nya as they passed through. "She just vomited."

Miss Gayle reached for a loaf of bread in the food cupboard. "I be makin' her some toast, then, and tea."

"I'll start the kettle," Nya offered.

Brooke continued to sob, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand as Sam escorted her up the stairway. "C-C-Cole wants m-me to m-m-marry again if he d-dies!"

The somber message alarmed Sam, but she kept her emotions to herself as she helped her roommate prepare to spend the rest of the day in bed.

Miss Gayle soon appeared at the door of their bedroom, carrying a tray.

"Here ye be, lassie," the housekeeper said as she deftly balanced the tray on one arm while using the other arm to remove two doilies from the tray and place them on the sick young woman's bedside table. She placed a plate of lightly toasted bread from the tray on one doily and a cup of hot light brown liquid on the other doily. "A little toast and tea'll be makin' ye feel better in no time," she added soothingly.

"Th-thank you, Miss G-Gayle," Brooke replied. At this point she was sitting up in her bed, propped up by pillows with the bedcovers over her lap.

Sam dabbed Brooke's forehead with a cloth dampened from the wash basin in their shared room. "Would you like some company while you eat?" she asked.

"N-no, thank y-you," the patient answered.

"All right, then. Get some rest now," Sam told her, patting her shoulder before she and Miss Gayle exited the room. Sam closed the door behind them and they remained silent until they returned to the kitchen.

When they entered the room, they found Nya sitting at the small table in the kitchen. Her letter from Jay was open and her face was white.