The Chains Of Liberty

Fever

A dull ache spread throughout my limbs. Or perhaps they had always ached and I was just noticing. I opened my eyes, and saw mother sitting on a chair beside me. Her face was pinched, anger hardening in her features, even as worry creased her forehead.

"Josephine," she said, her face softening. She pressed a kiss to my forehead. "How could you be so foolish?"

"I had to," I tried to look stern. "What time is it?"

A shooting pain shot through my head as I pushed myself up, and a hissed escaped my lips.

"You've slept for almost a whole day, it is five in the afternoon," she said.

A figure standing in the doorway caught my eye. It was father. Once he saw that I had noticed him, he walked over to me, and crouched beside my bed.

"What am I going to do you with you?" he asked. "You could contracted malaria in the fields, or been bitten by a venomous snake..."

He pressed a hand to my cheek as his words trailed off, and his eyes flickered shut. 

"You must get rid of the rebellious slave girl," Mother said, lowering her voice, as if it would keep me from hearing her. "She has been the cause of all this trouble."

A muscle in father's jaw twitched, and he opened his eyes, annoyance flashing in them.  

"Mother, Ada tried to make me come home, she told me it was not my place." I shook my head, then grimaced as pain shot up my neck.

"Take her to the market tomorrow, I don't care how much she fetches," Mother said, her voice resolute.  "She must be gone, and perhaps the hysteria our daughter has been experiencing will also be gone."

I looked at father, silently pleading with him. He glanced away, regret pooling in his eyes. It was evident he did not want to disobey mother, or hurt me.

"Perhaps you are right," father said, standing, his shoulders hunched in defeat.

 I fought the heaviness that pressed upon my eyelids, but darkness began to seep over me again. No, no, no.

****

My eyes shot open. There was only darkness to greet them. I pushed myself up, ignoring the dizziness it caused. Father was going to take Ada to the slave market. I limped towards the window. The moon shone brightly in the sky. I would not allow Ada to be taken.

Crossing the room, I opened my wardrobe. I pulled out the first dress that caught my eyes. I tried to pull the laces of my corset tight, but my arms were too weak. This would have to do. The sea coloured gown slipped easily over my head.

Once dressed, I pressed my ear to the door. There was silence. The clock downstairs chimed one. My mind whirled, whether from excitement or from fever, I could not tell. No one would be up. I opened the door and tiptoed down the stairs. Quite the sight greeted me. A large metal bar had been laid across the front door, hanging from hooks. It would be far too heavy for me to lift. My parents had expected me to try something? They must have thought that locking me in the house would prevent my "hysteria".

I stumbled towards the kitchen, and opened the slave's door. As I stepped outside, an owl hooted in the forest, and a shiver ran down my aching spine. I turned towards the plantation and began to run. The moonlight illuminated my path. My feet hitting the ground jarred me, but I forced myself forwards.