The Scent Of Roses

Chapter Twenty-One - Roanoke Colony: 1586

Roanoke Colony,

1586

            A child’s cries awoke me. I sat up slowly, still groggy with sleep. I looked across the room to where a young mother sat with a baby in her arms.

            Virginia, the first child born in the New World. Well, the first English child born in this wild land. The little girl was only two months old.

            “Here let me take the child,” I offered, holding my arms out for the newborn.

            “Thank you, Isabelle. What about the savages though?” the young woman asked.

            “It not the savages I worry about,” I muttered to myself, “Do not worry, I will keep Virginia safe.” She smiled at me and held the carefully wrapped child out to me. I could tell she worried about the child, but she also needed to rest. When Virginia was brought into the world she almost died along with her mother, it was only with the help of another woman, who many now believe to be a witch, that both of them survived.

            I held the child to my chest. She immediately quieted when I shushed her. I looked up at her mother and smiled, “I promise I will not venture far, it will do good for her to breathe in fresh air.”

            With that I exited the cabin. Nothing had yet to attack the colony, but I knew it was only a matter of time. They want us to wait until we no longer fear the wild, when we become more comfortable in our new environment. I did not know when they would attack, but I had to be prepared.

            The owl hooted while the crickets chirped their song, a perfect night.  The colony slept under the blanket of night, the belief of safety. Even though this was the time where great armies destroyed their enemies. There is no one to attack them or at least that’s what they want to believe.

            I looked down at the baby girl in my arms. She was studying me; I knew she could somehow sense what I was. Babies have a keen sense. Maybe that is what made her quiet earlier, the fear. I hoped though that she quieted because she felt safe in my arms.

            I walked to the edge of the forest, where I could view the colony, but where no one could see me. Even though I didn’t believe the natives were as hostile as the colonist said I didn’t want to take the risk with little Virginia in my arms. I turned my back to the colony and looked to the forest.

            Suddenly an odor reached my nostrils. Wood was being burned, a fire. I knew the natives used fire to conduct their rituals, but something inside me knew that wasn’t what it was. Especially when all the animals stopped singing, if this was usual they wouldn’t have all stopped making their noise.

            I looked down at Virginia as her eyes widened. I didn’t need any more confirmation. The attack was already starting and whoever planned it knew what I was. They knew that I could easily kill thirty humans, which made them even more dangerous. My only hope was that they didn’t know about Charles.

            He would fight with me, wouldn’t he? I sprinted, as fast as I dared with Virginia in my arms. The last thing I wanted to do was trip and draw attention to myself. I stopped with what I saw though.

            Charles stood in the middle of the clearing. Fire reflected in his eyes. A human was in his arms and I could feel how terrified they were. Virginia whimpered and I shushed her, returning my eyes back to the ghastly sight. A cabin behind him was bathed in flames, another five also burned. Six cabins were burning and four more remained, each cabin held around ten people each.

            The cabin that I shared with Charles and Virginia’s family was also set aflame. There were others still in the cabin; I could hear their cries. I didn’t personally know everyone, but I had spoken once or twice with them to know they were good people.

            I wondered where everyone else was, did they escape or were they now burning with their family and friends? I stared on for a minute then took off into a sprint into the forest.

            If I was lucky, which I wasn’t so sure I was at the moment, I would be able to find a close by Native American village. Luckily an elder woman was out gathering herbs, for a ritual that required moon bathed flowers

            She led me back to the village; thankfully she and a handful of other natives knew English from trading with settlers. They took Virginia so I could return to the colony.

            When I returned to Roanoke the damage had already been done. The cabins had been burned to empty shells. Charles looked out to the forest in my direction and I took a step back behind a tree. He took a knife from his waistband. I watched as he carved the legendary word on the tree.

            When the sun had risen I returned to the village. The elders welcomed me, even if they were hesitant. Virginia was enough to persuade them to take me in.

            I left a few months later, after I saw that the natives would keep Virginia safe. I had made a promise that night to her mother. I was right, the natives were not savages and they were not as dangerous as the colonists made them out to be.