The Albrecht LegacyAn Amish Legacy Challenge

Chapter 1

Welcome to the Albrecht Legacy. Last time, Noah and Abigail Albrecht’s nephew Elijah came to their house suddenly with bad news of his parent’s passing away in a tragic accident. They took him in and soon he learned the farming trade from his Uncle. Unfortunately, his Aunt and Uncle died one month apart, leaving Elijah alone on the farm. Elijah discovered a letter that his Uncle left him instructing him to start a legacy to build the family up again, and when the tenth generation was born, they could come and claim Elijah’s Uncle’s farm.

*The picture above is an Amish farm located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Later that afternoon, Elijah reached the large plot of land that his Uncle left to him.“So, this is Albrecht Farm. Not much to it. Not even a tree in sight.” He sighed as he looked around the empty land. It had alot of potential, he realized. It just needed a lot of work and determination.

Once the rain stopped, Elijah immediately asked the brothers of the village to help him build his home. When they were finished, he thanked them generously and sent them on their way. The new house was small, with only one room and a small bathing area, but he was content with that. He was also able to get hired on part time at the local feed store so that he could have enough money to feed himself.

He even had enough money left over to purchase a couple of horses from town, and to start a small garden plot. Unfortunately, he couldn’t afford to complete the indoor plumbing, so he was stuck with an outhouse for now. As he began to plant his first crop, rain started to pour in buckets, turning the soft soil into mush.“My goodness, I should hurry before the rain gets worse,” Elijah said aloud to the horses that were watching him with interest.

Just as he finished planting the tomato seeds, some of his neighbors came by to welcome him to town.“Afternoon, brother. You must be brother Noah’s nephew.”“Yes…I am. How did you know?”“Oh, we saw you around the old Albrecht farm a few times when you were younger. My condolences for your aunt and uncle.”“Thank you.”“Please forgive me for my rudeness. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Henry Christner, and this sister here is Lauren Keim. And she,” he said pointing behind him, “is Hannah Brenneman.”“It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”Elijah felt relieved that he wouldn’t be all alone in this part of town. The nearest neighbors were about 10 minutes away walking, and he didn’t feel comfortable being so isolated.

Elijah wasn’t much of a cook, so he prepared a humble meal of tomatoes and cheese for his guests. They didn’t seem to mind, and Lauren was actually impressed by his gentle hospitality.“So, brother Elijah, I assume you will be looking for a wife soon?”He blushed deeply and looked away. “Yes, sister I will be. I am in no hurry though. The farm doesn’t even have proper plumbing yet.”“Ah, don’t you fret about that. Most young brothers starting out on their own have hardly a dime to their name. But that shouldn’t stop you from getting married. I am sure you will make a fine husband.”“Thank you.” He smiled and thought about the idea of marriage. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a woman outside that looked like she was amongst the English. And she was alone.“Excuse me, sister,” he said as he rose from his seat.*Amish consider outsiders as “The English”

“Afternoon, ma’am, how can I help you?” He said, looking at her with curiosity. He had never met a person from amongst the English before. Her peculiar dress and hairstyle puzzled him greatly.“Yes, I hope you can. I’m lost. I came here with a sightseeing group but I was left at one of the nearby farms. You haven’t seen a group of people walking around have you?”“No, I’m afraid I haven’t sorry.”The woman looked worried, thinking she would be stuck in the country for quite some time. Elijah noticed her expression as she looked around his farm.“Ma’am, it’s raining out here. Would you care to come inside and get warm? I have just prepared some lunch if you are hungry.”She smiled. “Yes, thank you! I am so hungry I could eat a horse!” Her metaphor got him slightly worried about his own livestock.

After she came inside, Elijah handed her a small towel to dry off with and sat a plate of tomatoes and cheese on the table.“Thanks so much for the meal. I haven’t eaten since this morning.”As she dug into the food, Elijah found himself staring at her. He looked away and looked at the floor. You mustn't look at her like that, she may think you are some sort of predator. He looked back at her and smiled.“May I ask what your name is, ma’am?”“Oh! I am so sorry. I shoulda told you. My name is Allison. Allison Byall.”“Elijah Albrecht. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”“Same here, Elijah.”

Allison told him about the city she lived in, Downtown, and about all of the clubs and museums that she visited. Elijah was fascinated with the conversation, only asking questions here and there. He even told her about the ways of the Amish and how they kept their lifestyle simple and uncomplicated. Soon, the sun began to set,and the house was getting dark.“I apologize for cutting this visit short, Elijah, but it is getting evening and perhaps I should be getting home. Would you mind calling a taxi for me?”“Taxi?” Elijah thought for awhile. “Oh of course. I will do that for you. Miss Byall, I would be pleased if you came back to visit me. Can you do that?”Allison blushed. She thought Elijah was quite handsome, but didn’t think she would ever have a chance with him.“Of course. I will try my best to come often.”

An hour later, the taxi arrived, the driver beeping impatiently. Allison rose to leave, but Elijah stepped in her path.“You promise to come back, Miss Byall? You are quite charming and perhaps we could become very good friends.”Allison swooned a little bit, getting butterflies in her stomach from him being so close to her.“Yes, I promise. Maybe I can teach you how to make more dishes, and you can show me around your town.”“Perfect. See you soon then,” he said as he planted a small kiss on her hand.

That night, he went to sleep with a smile on his face. He dreamed about what his future was going to be like, and if he would really succeed in bringing the Albrecht family name back to the village of Myerstown. He prayed for success and prosperity as he sank deeper into sleep.

Weeks went by, and the crops began to flourish under Elijah’s trained hand. He was pleased that the crops were doing well despite the fact that he couldn’t afford the proper fertilizer. He prayed that the crops would fetch a good price at the general store later on that year.

Later that day, Allison came over for a visit. They had been courting each other for some time now. Allison came by every weekend to spend time with Elijah, and she hoped that their relationship would go to the next step soon.“Ah, Allison, its so good to see you. How was your trip?”“It was ok. The bus was kind of crowded this time around though. I wish your town had a train station instead of the Simhound bus station. It would make things so much easier.”“Yea, it would be, but this town is too small for a passenger train route, unfortunately. Not too many people come here. Enough about that though, lets go inside. I have something to talk to you about.”

Once inside, Elijah fixed supper for the both of them. He was studying up a little bit on cooking, just enough so he wouldn’t burn the house down, and managed to make spaghetti without any tragic accidents.

“Well,” Elijah said, breaking the silence, “I thought perhaps you could spend the night here so you could relax. Unless…well you would rather….”“I like that idea! I was going to ask you the same thing. I do not look forward to taking the bus back home so soon. Ever since we met, I looked forward to the weekend so that I could come and see you. But I hate the fact that I am here only a few hours before I have to catch the last bus of the day.”“Then it is settled. It would be nice to have you here longer.” He smiled at Allison as they finished their meal.

The next morning, after Elijah tended to the crops, he pulled Allison to the side and got down on one knee. He just hoped he was doing it right.“Miss Allison Byall, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife? I love you dearly and I cannot imagine living life without you by my side.”

Allison squealed, taking the small, plain ring out of his hand. “Of course! I never thought you would ask!”Elijah felt relieved, and hugged her tightly. “Wow, I can’t believe I am actually going to get married!” She said, admiring the ring.“I am glad you said yes. But now, there is one other thing we must do.”“What is that?”Elijah got up from the floor and looked her square in the eye.

As the sun set, they exchanged vows alone. Even though this wasn’t the traditional Amish wedding, Elijah didn’t care at that point. He just wanted to marry his true love and live the rest of his life with her. This was the first time he had beenhappy for such a long time, and he hoped he could leave his tragic past behind him.

After the small ceremony, Elijah instructed Allison to go to the dressing area and put on the new clothes that his neighbor’s wife had sewn as a wedding present. When she came back down, Elijah gasped at the sight of his new wife.“Allison…..you look beautiful. Absolutely perfect.”“Thanks. It’s going to take some getting used to though…this new way of life.”“Yes, but it will be easy I promise. Just visit the other sisters regularly and get lessons on keeping the home.”Deep inside, Allison felt a little naked without her makeup and fancy clothes, but she was sure she would settle in to the simple way of life soon.“I bought you a sewing machine also, so that you can get some practice in. I hope you like it.”“Oh yes! It’s lovely. Thank you.” She kissed her new husband, making him blush deeply.

After kissing some more, they found themselves in their new marriage bed, cuddling. Elijah began to feel nervous as he held Allison close. He honestly didn’t know how to begin.“What’s the matter Elijah?” She said, concerned.“Well…you see…” He looked at her. “I’m new at all of this, you know…I just hope I make you happy.”“It’s ok, dear. Just do what you feel is right.”And with that, he followed his heart and consummated the marriage.

Allison took a bit longer to fall asleep. She was nervous about meeting the other sisters, and joining the Church. She hoped the other women would accept them into her circles. Finally, she drifted off to sleep as she thought of how her life was going to be.

A couple of weeks later, Allison began to feel ill. I wonder what is making me so sick……was it that leftover soup? Or….what if I’m pregnant?Just then, she felt her stomach do backflips and she headed out to the outhouse in a hurry.

She frequented the outhouse quite a bit hat day. Fortunately, Elijah was working at the feed store, otherwise he would have confined her to the bed and called the doctor.

A week later, She found out why she was getting so sick. She rose up from her sewing project just in time to see her stomach pop out.“Wow! I’m actually pregnant! Wait until Elijah finds out!”She was hoping she was pregnant and not sick with food poisoning. Allison wondered what kind of mother she would be. Since she was family-oriented and had a pretty even tempered demeanor*, she would be a good mother.

*Allison’s stats are 6-3-6-4-6*

When Elijah arrived home, however, he went to the horses to check on the new colt, which was very healthy and grey. He decided to name him Stormy, because of his colour.

Allison’s pregnancy was rough on her, keeping her exhausted and hungry. She slept constantly, and as the time for the baby to be born, Elijah took time off of work to help around the house and tend to the crops.

One hot summer evening, Allison wandered into the kitchen for a snack, but looked down when she realized her legs were wet with water. Soon, contractions rippled through her body and she began to scream.“Elijjjaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!! Oh, goodness, THE BABY IS COMIIIIIIIIIIINNNGGG!!!”

Elijah slowly rose out of bed. He thought he heard his wife screaming, but he wasn’t so sure.Elijah!!! Come quick! The baby is coming!!!!!!!“Oh goodness I wasn’t dreaming after all. I’m coming Allison!”He ran down the stairs quickly.

“ELIJAAAAAAAAHHHH!!! I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!”“Just breathe dear, I need to get the midwife…”“No time for that! It’s coming now!!”He carried her up to the bed so that she could deliver the baby more comfortably, even though she was screaming and spitting insults the whole way there.

Three hours later, Allison gave birth to a lovely daughter that they named Mary Ruth Albrecht. Mary had her father’s hazel eyes, and her mother’s brown hair and skintone.

She also gave birth to another daughter, named Rebecca Ann Albrecht. She had her father’s eyes and skintone, and her mother’s brown hair.

Unexpectedly, she then gave birth to a son, and heir, named Noah Steven Albrecht. Noah was named after Elijah’s uncle, and had all of Elijah’s colouring. Noah was a very happy baby, and fell asleep soon after he was washed and fed.Allison also went to sleep, exhausted from giving birth to triplets. Their house was suddenly filled with babies, and the road ahead was sure to be a tough one.

Stay tuned and look out for the next chapter! Thanks to the CC creators out there from All About Style, MTS2, TSR, and more.---->

And here is a funny picture for you all to enjoy. I thought it was cool that Elijah jumped up and put the fire out.