Baylor's Choice

Well, here is the first part to my story for the challenge!

Baylor is soldier with a hard choice ahead of him--will he fight against what he believes, or against the family he loves?

 

 Let me guess; is it Hope's story back cover idea? ;P   
 It's like a prologue... I know, short stories aren't really long enough to have prologues, but I wanted to do this, so, thus, it has a prologue...

1852
    The morning sun crept lazily over the horizon, casting deep shadows across the ground.  Two young boys stole stealthily across the lawn towards the stables, excited for their secret morning ride.  Two feisty horses had been purchased the day before, and the boys were itching to prove to each other that they could ride them. 
    “Come on, Henry, hurry up!”  Baylor whispered, grasping the other boy’s hand and pulling him along.
    “I’m coming, I’m coming!”  Henry replied in the same tone, scurrying to keep up with the overly excited boy’s pace.
    The boys reached the stables and silently slid the door open, watching cautiously behind them to make sure they were not seen.
    “Do you want the paint or the buckskin?”  Henry asked as they stood before the stalls that confined the snorting horses.
    “The paint.”  Baylor said decisively, reaching to unlatch the stall door.
    “Careful,”  Henry warned in a low voice.  Baylor slowed his movements and began talking in a soft, soothing voice to the nervous paint.  Henry soon followed suit with the buckskin. 
    After some diligent coaxing, the boys managed to get the horses out into the corral and over to the fence where their short legs could make use of the rails to mount.  Amazingly, the horses cooperated long enough for them both to swing astride.  Henry and Baylor grinned at each other and let out exuberant whoops.  Then all grins were quickly lost when both horses began to buck ferociously.  The boys held on with surprising strength for ten year olds, and lasted several seconds before they were thrown mercilessly to the hard packed soil.  The paint and buckskin snorted and galloped to the other side of the corral while the Henry and Baylor picked themselves up from the ground, wincing and grinning stupidly at the same time.
    “Well, we did it!”  Baylor cried exultantly.
    “Yeah, we shore did!”  Henry’s sweaty face gleamed with pride. 
    Their reverie was broken when a voice yelled from the house.
    “Henry!  Come on boy, da run’s rising and it be high time you’s had the fire goin’ in da summer kitchen!”
    The sun was indeed rising, and it’s light shed color on the world, revealing the stark contrast of Henry’s dark skin and Baylor’s pale toned skin.  Henry straightened his grin and quickly ran off to his mother’s bidding, leaving Baylor standing behind.