Mia Wallace's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Mia Wallace watched a tax wagon carry away the last sacks of grain. Children stood beside the empty fields. Their parents kept their eyes down. Mia wanted the colonialists driven from her homeland, but hungry people would not risk their lives for speeches. She led the farmers through the tavern and shut them inside its hidden backroom. Worn boards pressed close around them. A single glowcap mushroom lit their faces blue-white. “I am asking you to fight,” Mia said. “First, I will make sure you eat.” A farmer held up both empty hands. “Fine words do not fill a pot.” Others muttered agreement. Mia had no food to offer. Then Benjamin Franklin entered through the rear door, her ally and the man who always looked at her as if she had said something worth hearing. He set down a paper ledger and adjusted his round glasses. “The tax men counted every local cart,” Benjamin said. “They did not count their own trade wagon.” Mia studied the ledger. The wagon would leave at dawn, loaded with flour, dried beans, salt, and cloth seized from the farmers. Benjamin had marked its guard shift and its route. Taking it would feed the village. It would also tell the colonialists someone had struck back. Mia pointed at the list. “We take back what they stole. No killing unless they force it.” The room stayed quiet. Then the farmer with empty hands nodded once. Others took up tools from beneath their coats. Mia saw fear in their faces. She also saw them stand straighter. Before dawn, they blocked the wagon with fallen rails. When the two guards reached for their weapons, Mia stepped from the dark with a pistol aimed low. “Walk away,” she said. “The food stays here.” One guard ran. The other dropped his gun. The farmers pulled open the crates. Flour dust rose around their hands. Someone laughed, then sobbed. They carried the food home before sunrise. Mia had won them a meal and a first victory. By noon, a notice hung outside the tavern: the colonial government had named Mia Wallace a thief and ordered her arrest. The farmers had food. Now they had to choose whether to hide her or fight beside her.