We are going to go to the future in Ebony’s story. Now she’s very old, and is telling her great niece about the story of her life:

I’ve had a long life. I do not keep track of my age anymore. I have no successor, but I know I will live longer. When I was youngI went to boarding school, dressed up as a boy so I could continue my passions. I tried many jobs, including being on the council of elders of my town and working in a law firm. All of them I got kicked out of because I was a girl. I wanted to create a community where girls could do the same things as boys could. So I spent all of my savings and came on The Crown to the new world. I was young, carefree, when I became the governor of Rockwood. The king probably chose me the way he always does, with the sealed box you can’t open until you reach the new land. I was the only one on the boat with experience. We docked in the morning. I knew the land where we had docked was the perfect place to live, it was in a big field. There was forest, an overflowing pond, and mountains. When we got to work, I felt I had to work too. Leaders like his highness, never lifted a finger to help build their empire, but I wanted to be different. So I l went to work, and I made friends, more than I ever had in England. I met a doctor, named Eshal. I met a school teacher and priest, Silvia. But the work was hard. I saw barely any woman chopping down trees or sawing the hardwood. It made me sad. After awhile the work turned from hard too easy. We were going faster. I remember when Eshal showed me to my house, a giant room atop the meeting house. But work was stopped when there was a horrid blizzard. It tore a hole in our colony, not just the buildings and people, but in our souls too. I lost some of my element of being carefree, but in my diary, in my heart, I still was me. A few months passed, and our colony was on the ball again. We made our charter, a beautiful thing. We hung it up in the meetinghouse. I look at it till this day, smiling whenever I go by it. We had a big party. That night I looked over our colony. My second stage of life was done.

But there was more to do. Now that we had completed the colony, we needed to find a better way to get the stuff we needed. We didn’t have enough grain, or starch. I reached out to the colony of New Foursten. We started to trade. I met their governor, Bella, and her successor, Emma. I am good friends with them, up until this day. Then it happened. The quartering act. English troops stormed into the houses of colonists took their food and water. They said they were here to protect us from the natives. They would stay in their houses, sleep in their beds, and make them wash his coat. Then the Stamp act happened, that whole thing. That led to the Boston massacre, tarring and feathering and that. I remember one night I was visiting Boston, to drop off some fish. Suddenly, I heard shouting. I stopped. I looked over at the harbor. There were hundreds of rowboats heading in the direction of a few British tea ships. There was a woman standing at the harbor. I asked her what was going on. She said the people in the rowboats were going to dump the tea of of the ships. She also said she was a daughter of liberty, and she let me into her boat to go see it happen. They did it so quickly, they even swept the decks after. They called it the Boston tea party. But Parlament got mad, and created the intolerable acts. Everyone got really ticked off and started to riot. This was bad. But I couldn’t do anything. This made me angry. My people, getting babysitted, taxed and having to give up their homes, and I couldn’t do anything! Also, Silvia was accused of stealing bread, then went to jail with no trial. Did you hear that? No trial. The British didn’t tell me. Instead, they told Eshal, my second in command. I couldn’t  believe it. Then the war broke out, the declaration of independence was made. I watched over the war for many years. There has only been a few fights in Rockwood. I can’t say much, the thought of bloodshed makes me shiver. Soon the war came to an end. America had won. Now I am an old lady, but still me. Now YOU, little one have to choose where you want to go, and who you want to be.

So, who wants to take a peek into the daily life of Ebony Stark? (This is the part where you say me) Okay here it is:

I wake up in the morning. Great, I slept in. The sun is already up. I run down the stairs and I burst out of the meeting house doors. I jog down the dusty road and I check the time on my pocket watch. It was almost 9:00 am. I had to see if the trades were ready. We are trading with New Foursten. I run to Alexander’s house. He’s our trader. I slow to a walk and find him fishing in the pond. “Hey,” I call, “please tell me it’s ready”

“It’s by the front door,” he yells.

“Thanks”

I grab a heavy box from the front door and walk away. The box is very heavy, and I struggle with it. I see my friend, Silvia, and she says, “Hey do you want me to help you?”

“Yeah, that would be nice.” She takes one side of the box and we carry it down the path, We chat on my way back to the meeting house, and then we depart. I load it up the stairs and drop it on the floor. I open it carefully. Inside the box, there is fur and packs of blubber. I cringe at the packets as I count them. 16, 17, 18. I take a sheet of paper and write “18 – blubber” on it. I move on to the fur. “10 – badger fur, 28 – deer skin, 19 – fox fur”. I fold up the piece of paper, put it in my pocket and open the cabinet. I take out some cornbread and eat it at my desk. I take the piece of paper out of my pocket and do my best sewing it into the box. After that I repack the box and put it on the table. I realize I have some time to spare so I write in my diary. But my work is interrupted by a empty jar of ink. So I run down the stairs and bolt to Eshal’s house. She lets me in and I borrow some of her ink. Trust me, she has a lot of ink. I jog back into the meeting house and run up the stairs. Once i’m in my room I finish my entry and flop down on the bed. I close my eyes. Today I’m hosting Scott, Arrow leader, and Bella, New fourstens leader. I set the table and I make tea, cornbread, salad and some other things. I wait for them to arrive. I hear a horn. Great, they are here. They come in, we talk, we eat. Bella introduces me to Scott. We talk more. Bella looks inside the box and is delighted. I wonder why she didn’t bring Emma, her apprentice. She is a charming little girl. She would like it up here. Bella took the box with her when she went back.

I took a nap after they left. It was around 30 minutes. I woke up and washed the dishes. I really have nothing to do. I go outside and use the outhouse. After I was done, I took a rag from the counter and I scrub the seats of the meetinghouse. It was the only thing I could do. You might think being the governor of a colony is very exciting, but all you do is sit there and wait. Sometimes you will hold a meeting or go somewhere. But that is once in a blue moon. Today was the most exciting day I had in a long time. I don’t know what to do. I walk up and down the rows of seats in the meetinghouse. I jump over them as if they were hurdles. Hop hop hop BUMP! I hit my leg on the side of the chair. OW. It stings. But still, I keep going, I NEED exercise. Hop hop hop bump hop hop hop hop hop hop bump hop hop.

I walk out of the meeting house and in to the tavern. I watch as a few colonists gamble over sweets. I sit down and watch. I order myself coffee and peer over one of their shoulders. One says, “I can’t tell is that a one or a seven.” The other one says, “You are right Sam, the stupid stamp is covering it!” they get more and more angry. The Sam guy asks if they knew what tax collector gave him the stamp. The other guy replied, I couldn’t hear what he said, but they charge out of the tavern yelling curses and beating their fists against their palms. Of course I hated the king, but I felt it was wrong to beat up an innocent person that came across the ocean to hand out stamps just to feed their wives and kids. I finish my coffee and I take a few coins out of my pocket. I slap them down on the table and walk out of the bar. I go back to my house and I open the cabinet.

I take out my bowie knife and I feel the metal in my palm. Then I hear “BANG BANG BANG”. I rush to the window to see what it is. There’s a British general at the door. He’s old, and doesn’t look like he just came here for money. “Open up ‘n there or I’ll shoot!” He yells. Ugh, everyday these soldiers try to find homes, the younger ones find the nicest families, but people like this general go look for the richest people, and the meetinghouse is VERY big. I take some fox fur and drape it on me so he wouldn’t recognize me. I went downstairs and opened the door. I still had my knife with me. “Um, hello sir.” I say with a British accent. “You live here, don’t you?” he snarls. “No” I say, “I was only scrubbing the chairs, it’s the meeting house.” He slaps me on the cheek hard. It stings so bad. “Puny woman, what’s up there?’ He points to the stairwell. “That’s, that’s where we keep important files.” I lie. He walks away. I run up the stairs and throw the fur to the floor. I sit on the bed and look at my knife. I hold my cheek as I take dinner out of the cupboard. It was nothing but leftover salad. I walk around my tiny room. I come to the half empty bookshelf. The dusty books remind me of my house back in England. I take one book out and open it. It turns out to be the diary of one of my many brothers. I read it cover to cover. It has lots of interesting things, like deep dark secrets and dreams. Too bad he passed away. I put the book away and I curl up on the bed. Then, I was asleep, with only the company of the stars.