Yoshi groaned, feeling the back of his head. His fingers came back bloody.
As he turned, he saw the blade part of a shovel flying towards his face and without second thought, he rolled to the side while Freedom screamed and cried, pleading for whoever the attacker was to stop.
"PLEASE!!" she cried out. "DON'T HURT HIM!! TAKE ME!! TAKE ME, FREDERICH!!"
Yoshi looked up at the handsome man with his glowing brown skin and neatly groomed hair and beard. He was shocked that the man was still alive! Had Junior actually had a heart and spared him?
Frederich lunged at the stunned Yoshi and as they struggled with each other, Yoshi's arm against Frederich's neck, a crash suddenly came from their side but the two men continued grappling, Yoshi trying to stop Frederich from killing him with the spade.
Freedom had just stood on the tips of her toes, still bound to the chair and she had tried to jump then let her weight fall with the chair, breaking a leg off. This allowed her enough room to wiggle her legs out of her binds. She then stood to her full height, carrying the chair on her back before jumping up and falling on her back, right onto the chair which shattered to pieces, freeing her.
Yoshi made the mistake of turning towards the sound only for Frederich to grab him and put the blade of a knife against his neck, cutting him deeply as Yoshi gasped.
In the blink of an eye, Freedom was up on her feet and as Yoshi felt the knife slicing through his skin, he saw her fly towards him and the next second, Frederich was gasping for air as Freedom stepped back in shock, eyes wide at what she had just done.
Yoshi fell, clutching his neck where Frederich had just cut him, blood running between his fingers as he tried to stop the bleeding. As he turned his head to the gasping Frederich, he suddenly realised what Freedom had done.
She had just impaled the man through the stomach with a piece of wood from the splintered chair. Frederich fell to his knees and a few seconds later, he fell flat, no more breath in his body.
"Yoshi..."Freedom whispered as she touched him with trembling hands, trying to stop the bleeding on his neck.
He gazed at her through blurry eyes, watching as two of her floated in front of his face. Frederich had cut him really deeply and he was not sure that he was going to make it.
"I love you," he whispered, clutching Freedom's hand as he felt her kissing the top of his head, her tears falling into his hair. "Do not trust my mother if anything happens to me, Freedom."
"Nothing is going to happen to you. I love you," she cried, cradling his head.
She had to stop the bleeding and the only way...she stood up, grabbed a piece of heavy cloth and rushed to the entertainment room, grabbing a hot poker from the fireplace before rushing back to Yoshi's side. He was drifting in and out of consciousness.
"I love you." She sat down and cradled his head again, exposing his neck. "I am sorry for what I am about to do."
With that, she placed the hot poker on the cut on his neck, burning the skin as it sizzled. Yoshi screamed and thrashed but she held him tightly, not wanting to hurt him more than she was right now.
She was cauterizing the wound, burning it so that it would close and stop his bleeding, hoping against hopes that the cut would close all the way without bleeding from inside. When she felt she had finished, she threw the poker away and placed a wet cloth over Yoshi's neck, tying it as he lay helplessly, his voice gone from screaming.
"I love you, Yoshi. I will marry you...we will run away. Just don't leave me. Please," she begged, trying to get him comfortable even though she knew he was hurting a lot.
"I do not want to die," he suddenly said in a hoarse voice, tears running down the side of his face. "I do not want to die, Freedom." He clutched her hand tightly as his eyelids suddenly felt heavy. He felt sleep beckoning to him. "My mother...she caused all of this...she lied to the townsfolk to get you into trouble. I am sorry...for...for failing you."
"I am he-Yoshi..." Freedom watched as his eyes closed and his hand lay limp inside hers. "Yoshi!" She shook him. "Yoshi," she wept, cradling his head tighter.
He was gone.
When the mob forced their way into the house, Freedom did not move at all as she clung to Yoshi's body, hugging him tightly.
"Get off him!!" someone yelled as they grabbed Freedom by the collar of her dress, dragging her back.
She took Yoshi with her, feeling numb as silent tears ran down her face, the salty tears biting and stinging her wounds. She continued clinging to Yoshi like a newborn baby clinging to its mother.
Someone slapped her because she seemed to have lost her mind but she did not feel a thing. All she wanted at this point was for someone to take her out of her misery and just kill her already. There was no reason for her to still be alive.
Yoshi's hand twitched and she stared at it. It twitched again. "Yoshi-"
Someone suddenly grabbed her from behind, causing her to drop the man. She yelled and called out to him as she was dragged away, reaching her hands out as if she to touch him.
"YOSHI!!"
Something cold clamped around her neck, wrists and legs.
"NOOO!!" she cried, still trying to reach out as she was dragged like a rag doll out of the house just as the mob gathered around Yoshi, blocking him entirely from her view as she wailed.
"I have to make sure that he is okay," she begged the sheriff as he bound her shackles on a rope.
He was going to make an example of her in town for causing people to murder each other. When Madame Fran had approached him earlier, she had warned him that something bad was going to happen at the Yves' manor and that Freedom Yves was the cause of it all. He had gathered Mulch and the men then they went and raided the Yves' party, turning the place upsidedown, looking for Freedom who was nowhere to be found.
By the time he realised that nothing was happening, Mulch and the gang had already hurt Lord Barley Yves, beating him to get where Freedom's whereabouts were. The sheriff realised a little too late that Mulch was now pushing his own agenda when the rich negro, Frederich Barnes walked in. The sheriff was not proud that he had allowed the Yves to be harassed because Frederich had given him a very generous wad of money to let him do as he pleased right there and then.
Yoshi Manley had come in and given himself over, claiming to know where the girl was and Frederich and the gang left with him, leaving the sheriff to his own devices.
For a couple of hours, there was peace until Madame Fran sent an errand boy to tell the sheriff that the negroes were about to attack and for him to get a mob ready to retaliate. The woman was wealthy and she had no reason to lie do the sheriff gathered the town and now...
Now the mobs both had lost several of their own and Junior had been captured. It had been a feat for the sheriff despite the heavy losses they incurred and he was going to take his anger out on the people who cause so much damage and suffering.
Freedom and Junior.
"Shut it!!" the sheriff hissed at the young crying woman that was pleading with him.
He mounted his horse and started riding, forcing Freedom to stumble alongside the horse, still chained. She kept mumbling to herself.
"There is going to be hell to pay," the sheriff said. "We are going to make an example of you to warn other negroes about what shall happen to them should they decide to start a mob like you."
Freedom looked at him as he marched her forward. "What are you talking about?" she mumbled.
The sheriff slapped the back of her head to shut her up. "We know that it was you that told that negro, Junior and his mates to attack our men. You and your scum of the earth, you massacred innocent men in Yoshi Manley's estate and oh boy..." the sheriff laughed cheerfully. "I am going to enjoy making you pay."
"How did you find out?" she asked nonchalantly, pretending she knew exactly what the sheriff was talking about even though she was in the dark.
"Madame Fran warned us," the sheriff revealed. He did not see the point in hiding that bit of information from Freedom when she was going to die anyway.
Freedom started laughing and once she started, she could not stop. She just continued laughing as she followed him. "Madame Fran, huh?"
Angry, the sheriff kicked the horse with the stirrups and it galloped forward, causing Freedom to stumble as she ran, trying to keep up.