Upon walking out of her family's cemetery, Adeline felt raindrops beginning to fall from the blackening sky and onto her skin. The storm is already upon us!
"Charlotte, we must hurry!" She leaped into the saddle, tapping her heels against the horse's side. Charlotte jumped forward, her hooves pounding against the earth as they raced through the meadow and into the thick underbrush of the forest. "Please!" She urged the horse forward, making herself flat against its' mane. Adeline heard the rain as it began to fall more heavily, its' water splashing against the leaves and blinding her eyes. "Ugh, Charlotte! We have to go faster if we are ever going to escape the rain!"
The horse's heavy breathing could clearly be heard as she tried to keep up with her rider's demands. Adeline could faintly hear in the distance the babbling of a brook. "Charlotte, we will be able to make it, wont we?" Charlotte merely snorted as her nostrils flared.
As the brook's sound became louder, Adeline tensed at the thought of jumping over a body of water. Of course brooks are not even that wide, nor that deep, don't be such a sissy. The two rounded a tree and carved through the forest floor was a rising body of water, its' water a bright, clear blue as it streamed through the underbrush. "Alright, Charlotte, this is it." She tightened her hands on the reins, leaning herself against Charlotte as she prepared herself to jump with the horse.
But the moment the horse got right next to the body of water, she stopped, stiff legged, throwing her head back into the air in utter dismay. Adeline, having been preparing herself for the jump, could not stop herself as she flew, head over heels, over Charlotte's head and into the brook. The water was pitch black underneath the surface and froze the scream inside of her as she flailed about, swimming towards the surface. The brook was barely above three feet, but even that slight amount of water still posed Adeline a threat due to the swift current. Her left arm hit the bottom of the brook with a crack as she felt the bone move an odd way, nausea making her head spin as more bubbles escaped from her mouth in a silent scream of pain.
"Charlotte," she gasped, "come here!" The horse slowly ambled over to her, cautious as to not get too close to the gurgling brook. "Oh!" Adeline cried in exasperation as she gripped Charlotte's reins and hoisted herself out of the water. Her left arm jolt with pain at the action but Adeline grit her teeth, trying ignoring it as it throbbed with each pump of her heart. Instantly, she began shaking from the downpour of rain that had begun. I need help, she thought as she rubbed her arms desperately to try and conserve body heat.
"Help!" She croaked, leaning against Charlotte's warm hide, fingering her wet mane between her frozen fingers. "Help!" She exclaimed, putting her hands up to her mouth as she blew on them for warmth. It was only then that she felt a searing pain in her left arm, a pain that centered around her wrist. Upon looking down at her arm, Adeline realized that her arms were covered with minute scratches from pestering branches that had slapped her on her way to the brook. Tree branches, she huffed, rubbing her hands along either arm. This was only met with more pain as her wrist began to throb uncontrollably as it began to swell slightly.
I am not going to be able to ride... A sickening feeling settled in the bottom of her stomach as she realized what horrible circumstances she had put herself in. Why God?! Adeline glared up at the heavens in utter protest, her only answer being several raindrops in the eye. I will just have to walk back then... in the rain. She sighed, taking Charlotte's reins in her right hand as she led her over to a nearby tree. Or I could wait out the storm, Adeline looked up at the blackened sky and felt the icy fingers of night already on her skin and knew that was not an option. Walking in the blasted rain it is!
"Hello? Who called for help?" Adeline froze, her hand gripping Charlotte's reins even tighter as she stepped on the other side of the horse, Charlotte's form blocking her from sight as well as the shrubbery that surrounded the tree's trunk.
"I heard someone call for help," the person paused, "I must have been mistaken..." The speaker stepped out from the underbrush, walking towards the brook. Adeline's heart nearly stopped beating at who she saw as she peeked over Charlotte's saddle. Walking towards the brook with his pail in his right hand, swinging beside him, was the boy her carriage had passed. The boy with the golden-brown eyes.
At that moment Charlotte decided to bend down and nibble at some grass, causing the boy to turn in her direction. Blast! Adeline thought as she ducked down beside Charlotte's flank, the shrub's branches making her arms even more irritable, as she heard the boy's footsteps get closer.
"Hello there, how are you?" He cooed to the horse. "Where's your rider?" Charlotte shook her head as Adeline held her breath, praying to God that he did not find her. Who knows what a man like him would do to a woman like me! "Who leaves one's horse unattended?" He began to walk around, making his way in front of Charlotte as he came upon her right side. Oh no!
Hurriedly she stood up, making herself look out of breath. "Have you been watching over my horse while I was gone?" The boy seemed stunned to see her there, it took him quite a few moments before he answered her.
"Yes..."
"Oh, why thank you, sir!" Adeline could clearly hear the false cheeriness in her voice as her nerves tied themselves in knots. The boy's lips formed a thin line as he put his hand on his hip, the pail swinging wildly beside him.
"Why did you leave your horse unattended?"
"I beg your pardon, sir."
He glared at her before replying. "I do not repeat myself, ma'am." Her brow furrowed at the mockery he was making of her manners. What a rude human being!
"And I asked you a question, the least you could do is answer it."
His lip pulled up at one end, as though battling with itself to smile or not. "You are quite stubborn."
"Your observation skills are impeccable." She shot back, taking Charlotte's reins in her hand and walking around the boy, heading towards home.
"Why thank you, that must be quite a compliment coming from you." Adeline whirled around, giving him her most ferocious glare before continuing on her way.
"I do not give compliments to rude people." She heard him chuckle as he came to walk along beside her.
"You are quite funny," he smiled at her but Adeline pretended to not have noticed, "I do believe we now owe one another a proper introduction." He wants to know my name?! His golden eyes glanced at her before beginning. "Well, I will start I suppose. I am eighteen years old, born and raised in Boahstin," he cleared his throat, his cheeks a flaming red, "what I meant to say was Bostin."
"Quite an accent you have, people in these parts will know for sure that you are not from here."
"Does that really matter?" The Bostoner asked, "I am not going to be here long anyway if the war starts."
"But how are you going to..." Adeline trailed off, her eyes glancing at the empty shirt sleeve on his left side.
His brow furrowed, his hand gripping the pail tighter. "I do not know about," he paused, "that, but I do know that one way or another I am going to join the Union Army. Can you hold this for a moment?"
"Um, no I don't think that's a good-" but he had already let the pail go as he leaned down to tighten his boot laces, her left arm just hanging by her side as she watched the pail fall to the ground, several of its' contents spilling out. "Oh my goodness, I am so sorry! I would have held it for you but you see-"
"Oh no, it's perfectly alright. I should have known that you were too proud of a person to hold a mere pail." He brushed her hand away and picked it up himself. Adeline's anger boiled at the underlining of his comment. He thinks I am weak!
"I am not weak!"
"Miss, I was never implying that." But his smirk told her otherwise. The rain had now subsided mildly, the droplets causing the boy's blonde hair to look like that of a sorry-looking dog. Although Adeline was almost positive that hers looked none the better.
"For your information, Mr. Boston, the reason why I was not able to pick up your pail is because I am injured."
"Oh," his face became a look of mock sympathy, "and where did the fragile flower hurt herself?"
"On my left wrist, you blithering fool!" Adeline thrust her left hand into his face. The boy gently took her hand in his and examined it as they continued on their way through the forest. The night's cold fingers already starting to entangle them in its' grasp as the rain became a weak drizzle.
"Blithering, am I?" She could see it took quite a bit of self control for him to not burst out laughing. "And yes, I am most sorry for my implications, but you are injured. You have broken your wrist and need a sling for it or a cast, though I do not have that at the moment."
"At the moment?"
"Yes, let us stop for a moment that way I can make you a sling for your wrist. Do not use your wrist for anything else today or for quite some time otherwise you might damage it further." He set his pail down, pulling out a long strip of cloth that he then wrapped around Adeline's right shoulder and her left arm.
"My family will be in quite a frenzy when we reach my home. They will not know what to think." Adeline told him as they once again continued on their way. By now the sun had almost disappeared from the horizon, the clouds not helping the weak light that was attempting to break through. A light breeze sent shivers down Adeline's spine as her damp clothes clung to her, shunning any body heat her body was making.
"Here, take my jacket." Without waiting for a reply, he unbuttoned his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
"Oh, thank you." Adeline tried to hide her blush but failed miserably.
"Don't mention it," he put his pail down and stuck out his hand, "Hugh."
"Adeline," she said, taking his right hand in hers.