Stars

Chapter Twenty One

(Author's note: this chapter jumps around from different point of views a lot)

As the sun set on the third night that Ben was gone, Isabella began to worry. Though he wouldn't admit it, Caleb was worried too.

"Ben's tough, he can take care of himself." Caleb said, trying to reassure Isabella and himself.

The two sat around a dead fire along with Lafayette and Hamilton. Isabella came to talk to her friends after a confrontation with her uncle

~~~

"Uncle, he was supposed to be back in one day. It's been three. Isn't there something we can do?" She pleaded with her uncle.

"Isabella, sending a search party out for him would most certainly bring danger for the soldiers and Ben. If British officers were to see the search party, they would know immediately that a continental officer was missing." General Washington explained with a sigh.

"Who knows what he could be going through right now. He could be suffering, alone in the woods. He could-" she was cut off by her Uncle's glare.

"Isabella. We are not sending anybody to look for him. He is a Major and he can take care of himself." He snapped. He immediately felt bad... he didn't mean to snap at his beloved niece, there were just too many things on his mind.

Her face fell and she turned to leave with her head hung low.

"Bella, wait." She stopped but refused to look at him. "Give it a few days, I'm sure he just got caught up a bit. I have faith in Major Tallmadge, he is strong and he will do whatever it takes to come back." Washington explained.

She only nodded and continued to walk out of the tent.

~~~

"Mon Ami, you need not worry about him. He will be back safely in no time." Lafayette offered, wrapping an arm around Isabella's shoulders.

"I guess you guys are right... Thank you." She said goodbye to her friends and got up to return to her tent.

~~~

Somewhere deep within the woods, somewhere in New Jersey, Ben lay motionless on a bed in a cabin. As he drifted in and out of consciousness, he could feel a deep, burning pain in his side. It only got worse until all at once, it stopped. That pain was quickly replaced with a prickling feeling.

The next day, when Ben would regain consciousness, he would find that a brave woman had taken him in, removed the bullet from his side, and stitched him up. He would be eternally grateful to this woman. Sarah Livingston...

~~~

"Caleb, Ben has been gone for over a week." She whisper-yelled to him as they argued. After a week of worrying about Ben, Isabella was finally fed up.

"Your Uncle gave us specific orders not to have anybody look for him." He tried to reason.

"Caleb, when have you ever listened to my uncle?" She bit back at him.

"Seeing as he snapped at you when you brought it up, I don't think he wants anybody looking for Ben." He responded.

"Do you not care about your friend? Does his life mean nothing to you?"

"Of course it does, but I do see Washington's point. Going out there," he gestured to the woods where Ben went. "Might be even more dangerous for more people than it would be for just him."

"Suit yourself then." Isabella turned on her heel and marched back to her tent, an idea brewing in her head.

"If I sneak out of camp tonight, nobody will notice. Then, I'll go in the same direction Ben said he was going. Surely, I'll find him along the way!" She thought to herself as she packed food, water, and blankets into a bag. "Then if I come across anybody, I'll tell them I'm looking for my little sister's puppy. Brilliant!"