Child of the Cross

Last Goodbyes

Catherine sat against James' shoulder as they listen to the sounds of Rose cries of pain. Over the sound of the muffled cries was the ticking noise of the grandfather clock that hung on the wall. Each tick reminded Catherine that her mother was slipping away with each second. She could only sit there and blame herself. Catherine blamed herself, she couldn't believe she had caused this, it was all her fault...she didn't know her mother would make it, or not. Doctor Lyle White was a well-known doctor through these parts and from what James told her, he was the best doctor to treat Rose.

An hour passed since they came into the clinic with Rose, but there was no word of her condition yet. Chances were high for infection, but James tried his best to comfort Catherine. He was holding her in his arms as they slouched against the wall. Her face was expressionless as they sat there and waited for news.

James had peeked outside once in a while to keep an eye out for any British soldiers; It turns out that all of Boston was out looking for Catherine and the native boy. He had left for a few minutes to see if the chaos had calm down, but Boston was still in an uproar. James was on edge, British troops could storm the small clinic and arrest Catherine. He had so many questions about what had conspired, he never saw her slip away from him. It looked really bad for her, but he knew that Catherine would never cause an event that would result in the deaths of innocent people.

Dr. White finally emerged from the office, but his face was grim with bad news. "The wound is infected; there is not much else I can do."

Catherine's mouth went dry and her heart stopped, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. In an instance, everything fell apart.

"isn't there anything you can do?" James asked

Dr. White shook his head no, "She may only have hours left...She is requesting for you." His eyes wander to the young girl.

"Cathy, go ahead, I'll talk about price with Dr. White."

The doctor shook his head, "No charge, I wasn't able to do my job of saving her life." His face looked grim.

Catherine's mind raced a million miles a second, she didn't know how to feel in this exact moment. The young was trying brace herself as she walked into the room, like the last leaf on a tree during the autumn season before the tree limbs became sickly with death.

she wasn't ready to lose her mother.

Rose was laying in the bed with a layer of sweat, her skin was pale as the sheets. Her vibrant red hair was even dull, but her eyes didn't lose the shine of love when she saw her only daughter. "Love....shut the door." Her voice was above a weak whisper.

Catherine glanced over next to Rose's bed; there on the nightstand in a metal bowel sat two musket balls that gave her mother the death sentence. "Mama, I am so sorry." Her voice broke as she quickly crossed the room over to the bed.

This was all her fault: she should have listened to her mother.

Rose reached over to grab her hand, "Do-don't blame yourself for this."

The teenager was so afraid that she might break her mother if she touched her, "I should have never gone. Ma, please be okay, I need you to be okay. I need your help." She sobbed on the edge of the bed before dropping to her knees. The girl placed her weeping head onto her mother's lap where Rose gently, but weakly rubbed the girl's head. The mother lifted the young girl's head to look into her mother's eyes.

Catherine would have given anything in that moment for her mother to scream and shout at her, call her a stupid girl, but it surprised her when Rose places a hand on her cheek. "...there is so much I need to tell you, but I don't have time." She groaned in pain when she tried to sit up. "In the cellar, there is a chest, filled with your father belongings...there is where you will find answers."

"What do you mean? Is there something you're not telling me?" It soon dawned on the girl like a strike of lighting,"You know what happened tonight. You saw Master. Kenway in the crowd, you know who he is... "

"Not him," Rose breathed heavily, sweat slid down her forehead.

A loud crash heard outside the clinic that made Catherine jump. "Open in the name of the King!"

Hearing the loud crash, Catherine felt frightened by what was taking place. She needed more time with her mother, she wasn't ready to say goodbye yet.

"Find Achilles Davenport, he will tell you more." She was wheezing, "Don't let your Father know what you are doing..."

"Mama? What does da have to do with this?" She whispered.

Her breath was fading, "I love you....I-I will always be with you my little one. N-now run, don't look back," Rose beckons towards the window giving her one last push of effort.

Catherine didn't want to leave her mother, but the British soldiers that are calling for her arrest were getting louder. The door open with a loud slam, troops came piling into the room. Catherine had only seconds to make up her mind.

Never in her life had she ran from anything, she always stood for what she believed in, but this was different. She was in a fight, or flight situation, if she were to stay, she risked arrest, or even death, just to say goodbye to her mother. It killed Catherine on the inside.

It only took her seconds to make a descion before she fled.