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Isabelle sat on the small bed, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked out the window. She had expected to be treated differently being as she was a southern lady. But it seemed being southern was an excuse to treat her poorly. Her once pretty dress torn and her hair messed up. She looked up to see two soldiers leading Brian back into the room. Brian wrenched his arms free as he made his way into the room.
“ You’ve heard what you need. Leave us alone.” Brian said moving over to Isabelle.
“ Not completely. We must speak to the child for a short while.” They said grabbing Isabelle and making her come from the room. Brian tried to stop them but it seemed useless as they left the room, closing and locking the door as they left. Brian turned his eyes to the sky.
“ Dear lord protect her.” He whispered clutching his sliver cross. He had been assured that being a priest that he and his cousin would be unharmed. His thoughts where suddenly changed when he heard Isabelle scream.
“ NO! Leave her alone. She’s just a child.” Brian screamed slamming his hands on the door.


“ Step away from her sergeant.” The captain said. Isabelle lay on the floor, curled up in the fetal position, soft whimpers of pain and fear could be heard from her.
“ She wouldn’t tell us what we wanted her hear sir.”
“ I don’t care. Move away from my niece.”
“ You’re what sir?”
“ My niece. That is my little brother’s daughter.”
“ How can that be possible? She’s a southerner.”
“ As am I. Born and raised in Kentucky.” Jerold said looking at Isabelle.
“ But sir. She had slaves on her land.”
“ And at one time so did my father and so had I. That still means nothing for the way you’ve treated her. Bring Father Brian in here.”
“ Yes sir.” The sergeant said hurrying from the room.
“ Isabelle, honey it’s uncle Jarold.” Jarold said leaning down touching her arm. Isabelle shrieked and backed away, fear apparent in her deep blue green eyes.
“ Uncle?”
“ Yes honey. Come here.” Jarold said holding his hands out to her. She quickly moved into his embrace and began to sob.
“ I was so scared.”
“ I know. I am sorry for the way you’ve been treated. I received word that you where here.”
“ Uncle are you with this army?” Isabelle asked looking at him.
“ I’m afraid so. But they will never hurt you nor Brian again.”
“ Brian?” Isabelle said looking around. She jumped and hid in the corner when the two soldiers that had assaulted her entered the room. Brian moved away from them and hurried to his cousin’s side.
“ Shush now, everything will be all right.” Brian said soothing the frightened girl. Brian looked up when he heard a familiar voice tell the soldiers they could leave.
“ Jerold?” Brian said looking at his older cousin.
“ Yeah it’s me.” Jerold said walking over to them.
“ What in gods name is going on? I heard you were in the war I never expected it to be with the other side.”
“ I did this to protect my family.”
“ She’s your niece for gods sake. This isn’t protecting your family.” Brian shouted.
“ I didn’t know she was involved. Brian do you really think I would do anything that would endanger her life?”
“ No, but you have. Kevin will never forgive you for this.”
“ Sir, I hate to bother you but we’ve brought in some new prisoners.” A young soldier said
“ Brian stay here with Isabelle. Private Johns will be outside the room. It’s safer you remain in the room.” Jarold said heading out of the room. Brian sat down as the young soldier stepped outside the room and pulled the door closed. It opened for a moment as the young man peeked in.
“ I have this.” He said laying a fresh dress onto the table.
“ What for?” Brian asked looking at him.
“ She’s been hurt enough, I found this among some things and thought it might fit.” He said shyly.
“ Thank you that was very kind.” Brian said moving back over to Isabelle. “ Issy this is for you.” Brian said touching her cheek.
“ For me?” She asked taking the dress from him. “ It’s lovely.”
“ Yes. I am going to step just outside the room, so that you may change.”
“ Thank you.” Isabelle said watching Brian step from the room. Isabelle removed the torn dress she wore and quickly pulled the new dress over her head. She would need assistance buttoning it but the dress fit perfectly. Isabelle let a few stray tears roll down her cheeks.
“ Hey, what’s wrong?” Brian said coming back into the room. The young soldier closing the door behind him.
“ I miss father and seeing Uncle Jarold didn’t help that.”
“ I know. But we will see him again soon.” Brian said hugging her close.
“ Do you like the dress?”
“ I certainly do. Now how about I close up the back so it’s not so drafty.” Brian noted. Isabelle nodded and allowed Brian to close the back of the dress.
It had been several hours since they had seen Jarold and Brian was begging to wonder where his cousin had rushed off to. He looked over at Isabelle and saw that she had drifted off into a listless sleep. Brian jumped slightly when the door to the room finally opened.
“ Sorry.” Jarold said as he entered the room.
“ I was getting worried. Several of the soldiers don’t really like us here and has more than once hurt Issy. She’s terrified.”
“ I wasn’t here until this morning when I was told that two new prisoners had been brought in from the southern part of Kentucky. I wasn’t told they were my family.”
“ Jarold, this is bad. Isabelle has lost her mother; nearly a year has passed since her death. Kevin has gone to war, drafted. And her fiancee is even gone.” Brian said looking at his cousin.
“ What’s the boys name?”
“ Her fiancee?”
“ Yes. What’s his name.”
“ James Marston.”
“ Name sounds familiar I’ll have to check our prisoners.”
“ Jarold, this war has torn our families apart. Isabelle has lost everything that she holds dear. Please just let us return her to her home.”
“ She’s safer here.”
“ She’s frightened and alone. Please Jerold. For your family and Isabelle’s sanity let us return home. The men that worked her land where all free and received a moderate pay.”
“ Slaves are still slaves if they fear to leave.”
“ Father wasn’t like that. They stayed cause they chose to.” Isabelle said looking at her uncle.
“ You are to young to understand the things Kevin has done.”
“ I am eight teen years old uncle and I have seen what he’s done.” Isabelle shouted.
“ But still nothing more than a child. Isabelle you need to learn that nothing is as it seems.”
“ You treat my father as someone that has beaten his slaves and treated them poorly. Where were you all those years grandfather needed his son?”
“ In the Army.” Jerold said figuring that would justify the reason he was almost always gone.
“ My father is not a young man anymore. And yet was called to duty. Not by your army but by the confederate army. I lost my love and father in the same week. The only family that offered to even come and help me was Brian.”
“ Sir, a new regiment of troops have been brought in.”
“ Come with me.” Jerold said grabbing Isabelle’s arm and leading her from the room. Brian was about to protest but instead followed the duo as they made their way down the halls, Isabelle carried herself as a southern woman should and tried to wrench her arm free from her uncles seemingly not so gentle grasp.
“ Look at them Isabelle. Tell me that what your father is doing is right.” Jarold said making Isabelle look at the young soldiers that had just been brought in, most where younger than she was and several had already been injured. Isabelle broke free from her uncle’s grasp and moved down towards them.
“ How old are you?” She asked the first soldier she approached.
“ Seven teen ma’am.” He said looking at her. She touched his youthful face and felt pity for him.
“ Fine Uncle you’ve made your point. My father is on the worst side and that, young men will die on both sides to prove this point. But what do I do if I lose everything? My Fiancee My father my family.” Isabelle cried looking up towards him.
“ You haven’t lost your family.”
“ If father doesn’t return I have lost everything.” Isabelle said dropping to her knees sobbing. Jarold headed down the steps and gathered his niece into his arms. This wasn’t his intention. He wanted her to see the young soldiers but not to nearly break her heart.
“ I’m sorry. I’ll send my best men out to find and bring your father in.”
“ Uncle he won’t come willingly. He will fight them.”
“ Then I’ll go.”
“ I can’t ask that.” Isabelle said moving away from him. The young soldiers watched as she raced from the courtyard and from the camp.
“ Damn it.” Jarold said looking at the soldiers.
“ Do you wish us to get her sir?”
“ I’ll do it.” Jarold said mounting the horse. He spurred the horse on and took off after his niece. “ Great just great.” He muttered noticing that it was starting to rain.