[...]
Odd sounds could be heard in the depth of the forest: somewhere high in the North West, West of the James Bay. Unpredictable Eagle stood at Lentcha’s side and kissed the top of her head. His kiss on her dark black hair was almost indiscernible to her.
“Stay behind, I will get closer to these sounds and find out what it’s all about,”
“How come you leave me behind – alone – out here ?” Lentcha turned Unpredictable Eagle’s bravery into derision unwilling to be abandoned, once again, by her male mate.
Her words came almost automatically. Even if wilderness appeared more and more as a home to her then. Even if Lentcha had become more of the solitary kind and grown apart from Unpredictable Eagle, she still felt a sort of attachment to the sole man in her existence.
“We have to know what it is that happens in the woods. It is for our good. We have to know what these invaders plan for this land,” Unpredictable Eagle’s words rang clearly “Accompany me if you wish to but we have to be aware of those changes,” Unpredictable Eagle took Lentcha by the hand and they disappeared in the wilderness.
As they approached Fort Williams settlers’ voices echoed louder and louder through the air. Red lights were visible in the sky from far away. The Fort gloomed like a red ash – like the Devil – in the black of the night.
“All my people, let’s share some fun, let’s laugh together, let us share our happiness,” Sir O’Neill’s words were destined to appease the atmosphere and reassure the new inhabitants. Under the soldiers' survey, settlers were somehow forced to have fun, thus rendering the atmosphere less cheerful than it could have been.
The morning sun eventually set in and Sir O’Neill appeared on top of a wooden stage. All the people surrounded the stage while he cleared his throat and began:
“The very reason, dear everyone,” he bent towards the villagers in search of a trusting eye, trying to cope with these persons he scarcely knew at all. “The reason for our reunion on this lovely day is to announce our strategy. I want you, every one of you, to join the army of the Crown, our King and Sovereign. I want every woman or child to support or help our soldiers get hold of this land. No matter how hard we will have to fight, I want you to sacrifice everything, I want you to be committed to this country as if it were your own family!” The tone and strength in his voice conveyed an even deeper aspect of the situation and after a short pause, Sir O’Neill proceeded:
“The issue is even bigger than everything you may have imagined the day you embarked to cross the sea and meet the New World. Dimensions are extremely big and motivations are very high. There is a lot of potential in this country, first of all a potential for you but behind you and your families there is also an outcome for the English Kingdom. Always remember this: through every step you’ll make there would be the imprint of the Crown on the ground, and we need to take possession of this land ere other powers move over, such as the French or the Dutch or whatever other kingdom.”
When the leader had left the stage and disappeared somewhere in the lodges of the Fort, the inhabitants stood there insensible and stoned by the speech. All their pictures and fancies about the New World had suddenly disappeared. These people had tried to escape from some sort of archaic chain that strangled them in England. They had been full of hopes when they crossed the great sea. They had seen a lot of opportunities and participated in building the village, in the construction of the Fort, in nurturing and gathering.
Some of these men and women were looking forward to establish relationships with the inhabitants of this land but that was not the average. Most of the people were still very afraid of the unknown and thus deliberately joined the army and seeked for protection. And yet there were some of them who wanted to defend themselves and who were very unwilling to serve the English Crown. Opportunities were plenty, and thanks to the distance to the Old World and to a weakness in the guards’ control they would try to build a resistance. Yet they had not much of a choice but to ply in front of Sir O’Neill’s ambitions. Sir O’Neill had control over all the forces of the Americas, chief commander of the naval forces he had no equivalent on land forces, so he took the opportunity to expand his control.
Nearby in the wilderness Unpredictable Eagle and Lentcha came closer and closer to the Fort. They pushed bushes and branches away to make their way. More and more distant from one another, their paths divided in order to meet again at the ramparts of the Fort. But what they had aimed to do would eventually never come true...
Lentcha advanced very meticulously taking care to avoid the least sound. Suddenly a white face appeared in front of her. She could not move as somebody put his hands on her elbows. She could not scream to warn Unpredictable Eagle as this somebody also pressed his hand hard against her mouth.
Lentcha was taken away to the Fort by force. The man hunt had begun. She could see as the death squad left Fort Williams, heavily armed and with a dreadful design. [...]
© 2016 Matt Oehler
No comments:
Post a Comment