The annoying sun shined its magnificent rays onto my eyelids, ushering for me to wake up. I shook my head in defiance and turned a bit to the side. Even though the sun's rays weren't directly onto my eyes, the light was still too bright for me to handle. I groaned in frustration, rolled back to my original position, and closed my eyelids tighter in an attempt to drown out the sun's light.
"Why do you do this to me?" I growled, still tired.
As if the sun heard my remark, it shone brighter, and I was soon not able to fall back asleep. I succumbed to the sun's orders and rolled out of bed and onto the floor. I then rose and made my way to the bathroom to rinse out my hair. Somehow, whenever my hair was wet, it seemed to coiled into clusters of tight, shiny ringlets that eventually faded away by evening.
Today was the day I started my business of being a spy for the Northern troops.
***.
After being kicked out of the Northern army, I haven't been able to see Milo or the triplets much. They barely sent me letters, which pained me a bit. One side of me understood that they barely had time to write letters, but another side of my conscience told me that they had intermissions between drills, which was plenty of time to write me even a small letter.
I wonder how Asher, Arthur, and Atlas felt after my "gender reveal". I hope that they'll still be friends with me if we ever see each other again.
***
Once I finished changing the texture of my hair, I made my way toward my closet to change into my clothes for the day.
I admired my new closet, only 2 outfits folded inside its drawers. I pulled out the top drawer and reached for my signature purple cardigan. I hesitated and drew my hand back, knowing that I couldn't wear it today.
I had an outfit that I made just for doing my "work", A long-sleeved black dress that puffed out into a large, irresistible skirt. I had to make sure that the men in the army felt comfortable in my presence, so I can listen in on their conversations.
I didn't usually choose to wear a dress on a casual day, but when it involved helping my nation, I was willing to wear whatever.
I slipped into the slightly uncomfortable dress and made my way outside my new apartment that I shared with my two friends who were also spies in the Civil War.
Before leaving my room, I added a black eyepatch to my white eye. If anyone was able to see my two different-colored eyes, they'd easily know that it was me, Evangeline Freebourne. After putting on my small eyepatch, I combed a part of my hair over it, making it seem like I didn't even wear an eyepatch at all.
I leaned over to the nightstand to my left and opened the small drawer. What was inside was a small golden pendant with an eagle engraved in the middle, its wings spread out magnificently. It represented my obvious bravery in any situation, and how I'd risk my life for even a stranger whom I've never met.
I headed down the small staircase and turned into the front foyer, where my friends stood.
Naomi stood on the left, her jet-black hair elegantly tied into a perfect dutch braid that ran from the top of her hairline to the ends of her hair. She sported a small, athletic frame, and she was ruthless. For years, she held a bad reputation. She was wanted in nearly all of the Southern states since she murdered wealthy plantation owners. For our little spy nicknames, she called herself Infamous.
Amber, who stood next to Naomi, always putting her curly, blonde hair into a high ponytail, making her hair look like a cute little poof on the back of her head. She wore a puffy beige dress with lace around her chest, at the end of her medium-length sleeves, and the bottom of her long, puffy skirt. The waist of her dress was tied corset-style, as was Naomi's. Her face and body were long and slim, giving her a gentle, soft appearance, and she earned the nickname of Patience. The only feature about her that didn't appear gentle was her eyes. They were a sharp, icy blue that showed pure madness.
My black dress swayed from side to side as I approached my friends, my curly hair bouncing up and down and the white collar of my dress doing the same.
"Hey, Dauntless," Naomi chuckled. "Ready for the day?"
"Yeah," I replied without turning my head toward her. I opened the front door to our small, three-story apartment. "As long as you never call me that again. We only say our nicknames outside of the apartment."
Naomi rolled her eyes as she and Amber followed behind me into the Mapleville streets. "Alright, alright, you weirdo."
We quickly zig-zagged through the streets of the small town of Mapleville, Maryland, anxiously waiting for one of the armies to march past. We all held buckets of cold water and crackers that weren't filled with worms for the soldiers to feast upon.
After a long wait, the army finally came. Their navy-blue wool uniforms told me that they were on the Northern side, and they all marched together in complete uniform. It awed me, knowing that just a few months back before I was kicked out that the Northern army struggled to wake up at the same time.
Naomi, Amber, and I-or Infamous, Patience, and I-handed buckets of water and food to the soldiers all while cheering happily. While we cheered, we listened in on the soldier's side conversations to see if any rumors were being passed around. I knew that listening in on the Northern army wasn't necessarily the best idea, but it was good to see what was the talk of the town.
"Hey, have you heard of Evangeline Freebourne?" One of the soldiers whispered to another, causing me to step back, obviously caught off-guard.
The other soldier nodded his head. " You mean the one that abandoned her family to save one slave?"
My face then fell cement solid with no emotion as I continued listening on their short conversation as they passed me. I could not let them know that they were talking about me.
"She disguised herself as a boy and enlisted in the army," the first soldier said as he scanned the troops with his head. "She could be any one of us."
I couldn't hear their last sentences because they finally passed me and my friends. After several minutes of marching, the last row of the Northern militia finally passed, and Naomi, Amber, and I began to head back to our apartment.
As we steadily weaved through the city streets. I noticed a familiar face pass by in the corner of my eye. Once I saw those bright golden eyes, I turned around, the wind blowing my hair to the side revealing my eyepatch.
"Milo?" I called out to the man, sure that he wasn't my long lost friend that had a crush on me. "Is that you?'
The man turned around, and I quickly noticed it really was Milo. He didn't change a bit, and his cheerful smile was plastered onto his face, showing me that he was excited to see if it was me. I could tell that he recognized my voice, even though it matured a bit.
"Evangeline?" he shouted back in my direction. I loved the way he said my name. With his British accent, he made my real name sound more graceful that it should be.
I ran over to him, my arms outstretched and ready for a hug. Milo then started to sprint over to me, and we both crashed into a tight hug, none of us showing no signs of letting go anytime soon
Milo and I both then crashed onto the town road, my dress becoming red from the dust. I didn't seem to mind, as I finally reunited with one of my best friends after not seeing him for a month.
After laughing happily for about a minute, Milo and I finally stood up, both of us examining each other.
"You haven't changed a bit!" I exclaimed cheerfully, still scanning Milo's face and body.
Milo's smile then turned into a frown, his brows furrowing in the process. His eyes were on mine. "Why do you have an eyepatch? Were you hurt or something? Did someone do this to you?"
I rolled my eyes and shook my head at Milo's reaction, and I could hear Naomi and Amber snickering behind me. "Milo, it's a little something called a disguise. I don't want anyone to know that it's me because I fear that I'll be punished. It's a dangerous business, Milo." I slipped off my eyepatch to reveal my white eye, which was perfectly okay.
Milo placed his hand onto his chin and scratched it in thought. "So, you're a spy?" He predicted.
I nodded my head. "Yep. I work with Infamous and Patience to gain information on the Rebel's movements." I held out my hand for him to shake. "I'm Dauntless."
Milo's eyes fluttered and he shook my hand. "Dauntless? I like that name." He cracked a small grin.
My small smile then turned into a stern, serious expression. "Only use that name when you talk about me, unless you're talking about my past. I don't want my real identity to be revealed."
I slid the eyepatch back onto my eye, obstructing half of my view. I turned around and began to walk in the other direction to join Naomi and Amber. Milo reached out and spun me around with his hand and our gazes met.
"Meet me at the Mapleville hotel in a week, okay?" he implored. "I'll be out of town until then, and I have an idea I'm gonna propose to you."
Before I could ask him why Milo quickly turned around and disappeared behind the street corner. Confused, I made my way back to Naomi and Amber, where we headed to our apartment.
***
The next morning, my friends and I gathered at the dinner table to discuss the information we gathered on the first day of our new jobs.
"What information did you guys get?" I asked first.
Naomi scrunched her face in thought, which was a typical thing for her to do. "Well, did you two listen in on the conversations the Northern soldiers had?"
"Depends on which soldier we were listening in on," Amber replied in her usual soft tone. "We could've been hearing three different conversations."
"Okay," I said while nodding. "Did you guys overhear the conversation about me joining in the Northern militia?"
Naomi raised her hand. "I did, yeah." She chuckled and rolled her eyes. "They were probably jealous that a strong woman like you was able to earn a higher status than those losers."
I laughed. "That is true..."
"I heard another story," Amber piped up. "From one of the soldiers, I heard that you have a twin." she pointed toward me, and my face flushed a bright red in embarrassment. "Why didn't you tell us, Evangeline?"
"I-uh," I stammered, my mouth and throat going dry. "I was going to tell you this, but it's a little personal for me."
Naomi rolled her eyes. "Just tell us!" She ushered me. "We won't tell a soul."
"I know you won't tell anyone," I paused and inhaled, trying to relieve the anxiety. "But it's just-you know-very emotional."
Amber smiled reassuringly. "Talking about it will help, and try to find a way to say it where you won't cry." She rubbed her neck in embarrassment at her loss for words.
I nodded, not knowing how stupid my next sentence would sound. Gathering my courage, I finally said, "He supports slavery."
"That's it?" Naomi exclaimed in disbelief. "He just has different views than you? Is that what gets you all teary-eyed?"
Amber held Naomi back as I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. Naomi clearly didn't realize that it was much, much deeper than that.
"No," I said quietly, a twinge of anger in my tone. "It's much deeper than that. I-I found out he supported slavery after he beat my best friend at the time, who was a slave. Up until then, I knew that we were inseparable and that we'd probably live our whole lives together. I guess I was wrong."
"Oh," Naomi responded as she realized her mistake. "I'm sorry about that, really."
I sighed and smiled back at Naomi. "It's fine, you just responded too early I guess." I then paused and smiled more, trying to make the mood more upbeat. "What should we do with all of this information?"
"I'm not sure," Amber said. "We should probably contact an army official or something, and they'll help us."
"Good idea," Naomi and I replied in unison.
An awkward silence then grew in the room, and we said nothing for about a minutes.
I finally broke the ice. "What should we do tomorrow, guys?"
Amber's eyes lit up in excitement. "I heard that lots of information-gaining events are occurring tomorrow, but we're going to have to split up to get all of the information."
"I'm good with that," I added. "Just tell me where I need to go."
Amber then suspiciously glanced around our small kitchen, wondering if anyone was listening in on our conversation. "I heard a rumor that a group of Southern troops are traveling north." Her blue eyes darted around the room again, and then she kept on with her little speech. "I also heard that they're having black recruits."
"I'll go there then," I answered. "Do I need to wear my dress?"
Naomi joined in on the conversation. "Probably not, since you're going to be sneaking around for information."
I nodded, my eyes sweeping from the left side of the kitchen to the right in thought. "I'll get ready to go, and you two should write down what we've got."
I quickly turned away and headed for my room to wear my "sneaky" clothes, so I'd blend into the forest around me while I spied on the black Southern soldiers that made their way to the North. My "sneaky" clothes consisted of a beige shirt and pants, that almost made me blend into the forest. I dabbed some brown and green powder onto my cheeks to help me blend in more, and I wore my eyepatch, except on my purple eye instead of my white.
I quietly exited our small apartment and sprinted toward the north end of Mapleville, ready to find the Southern troop recruits that were close to the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland.