The speech has been copied from the transcript I have. I know there is apparently some debate over whether or not this happened but uh...*gestures to main characters*

March 23, 1775

"No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do, opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely, and without reserve." Patrick Henry began.

When her Father had arrived in Richmond, Virginia saw through his eyes that Patrick Henry was giving a speech. Virginia remembered the speech he had given in Congress and wanted to hear what he had to say now, and luckily, her father had nothing planned so Virginia took control of their body, despite Masschusettes, New York, and Rhode Island snickering about it.

Virginia hoped the speech wasn't long, as she hated being in her father's body. Everything was wrong. It was nice being able to feel, but being a women in a man's body was terrible. Being in the back was fine, but being in control was awful.

'You don't have to be at the reigns. Someone else can be in charge and you can watch from the back.' South Carolina chimed in, his voice...mournful almost.

Virginia shook her head slightly, just enough to send a message to her siblings, before he returned her focus to Patrick Henry, trying to take her mind off the wrongness of the body.

"This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment for this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery, and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country and of an act of disloyalty toward the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings."

'I'm glad we have an inability to shut up.' Massachusetts said, and Virginia could hear his grin.

'Well, if we aren't going to speak up for ourselves, who will?' Connecticut added

Virginia was glad that their people were speaking up. It would do them no good to be quiet, and as she had seen in Congress, Patrick Henry had a way with words.

While they waited for their grandfather's response, they needed to continue preparing for the worst. They had militias, weapon stockpiles, and everything we would need if the worst came to worse and they had to fight their grandfather's army.

'In a way, we already have, which has not ended well for us.' Pennsylvania remarked.

'We were unprepared then. We need to be prepared now.' New York said, his voice commanding.

Virginia hoped they won't have to, and she hope that her grandfather's people will not order his troops on them. But after everything that had happened, she wasn't sure if she could trust her grandfather anymore. Everything was just a mess.

"Mr. President, it is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it."

"I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House?"

Patrick Henry is right on that. Virginia thought, Examining the past is the only way you can figure out the future.

'That doesn't paint a pretty picture for us.' Delaware muttered

Their past is full of a lot of hardships. Virginia would gladly never speak about many of these hardships again. But even if she tried to ignore how much they affected her, she couldn't.

"Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with these war-like preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation, the last arguments to which kings resort."

Virginia scowled at this but knew Patrick Henry was right. As much as she wanted peace, her grandfather did seem to be preparing for war.

'We're doing the same.' Massashusetts pointed out

But they did it because their grandfather seemed to be preparing to wage war against them. Instead of hoping for peace, their granfather seemed ready to send his people to crush theirs. Virginia didn't want to fight a war against her grandfather.

'Why shouldn't we? We can't ignore the problem and hope it will disappear!' New Jersey chimed in.

If her people were to fight against her grandfather, Virginia would want to as well as well. Such is the sad nature of her existence.

Immortality and a purpose in exchange for a life that will forever be scarred by betrayal and war.

It made it hard to have attachments most of the time. Still, Virginia never would have thought her grandfather would do any of this, send his soldiers, and pass acts that harmed her and her people.

"I ask, gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy in this quarter of the world to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing."

That was another thing she didn't like: the fact that peace seemed to be failing. It seemed that violence would be the only solution. Virginia didn't want it to be the only solution.

'Well, what other choice do we have?' Rhode Island protested.

'If the British will not listen to us, we will have to resort to violence.' New York added

'That's if the British don't resort to violence first.' Massachusetts added.

Virginia sighed. Her brothers were, unfortunately, right. Their grandfather didn't need to bring so many troops here. Couldn't he see it was making things worse? All they were doing was making tensions worse! And Boston...well, it seemed like that city was under military occupation.

It seemed like one wrong move would lead to chaos and war. To an irreversible split between the Thirteen Colonies and their grandfather. They had all heard faint whispers that some thought they should be independent.

She hoped not. Virginia liked being a British subject, but if his grandfather kept ignoring them, something would happen whether he liked it or not. Whether Virginia liked it or not.

Something big would come out of everything that has happened. Virginia just hoped they were ready for it.

"We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable, but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done, to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament."

Virginia sighed. It seemed like they had done everything they possibly could to prevent more violence and disagreement with their grandfather. Now, it was up to him to decide where they go from here.

Virginia hoped he wanted peace just as much as they did. They had militias, but they cannot stand up to the might of their grandfather's army for long. They didn't have leaders, supplies, or training. Hell, Virginia did't even know if her people would side with them or her grandfather! They had next to nothing that would give them an advantage.

'Aside from knowing the land.' Georgia added.

'I'm so glad we know the land that'll be really helpful when thirty cannons are pointed at us.' New Hampshire snarked.

"Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne."

That was a familiar story. It wasn't just Parliament ignoring their people, but Virginia's grandfather ignoring her father. Her grandfather ignored what her father said and was convinced he knew what was best.

But they were her father's people. Her father would always know what they wanted more than her grandfather could ever hope to.

He knew that.

He still didn't listen.

'Probably because his head is stuck so far up his ass that-' Massachusetts said, being cut off by someone else, probably Northern Carolina

Virginia sighed Now wasn't the time to get angry with their grandfather. They had provoked him enough in recent years.

"In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope."

Virginia still wanted to believe that peace can be found. She still wants reconciliation. She want to be prepared if she is forced to fight, but she wants peace.

'But does the Britain want peace?' Pennsylvania asked, her voice soft.

'If violence, and, god forbid, war happens, I hope the British start that fight. We should not fight unless we are given no other choice. Not when we are outmatched as we are.' South Carolina said.

Patrick Henry may think it is an unrealistic goal at this point, but Virginia will still hold out hope that they can have peace and reconciliation. Virginia will have that hope until they have tried and failed to pursue peace in every way possible.

"If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending, if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!"

Virginia sighed. It seemed the hotheaded ones were always so willing to fight. Then again, they were young. They did not see how quickly fighting can destroy everything, even if it seems like the correct answer.

'If we fight....' Massachusetts began.

If they fight and lose, the punishment that will befall them and all their people will be worse than anything the Parliament and the soldiers have done so far. If fighting remains the only option, Virginia will do it gladly. She will never abandon he people.

'But if we can solve things without violence, we must.' Georgia said.

'If violence must come, it must be the British who start it.' North Carolina added.

"They tell us, sir, that we are weak, unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?"

'He has a point.' Delaware said, voice neutral.

They will never be stronger than their grandafther. Not while they're still under his rule. But if they're–no.

Virginia pushed those treasonous thoughts away. They were not stronger than their grandfather. A fight against him is a hopelessly outmatched one. They will fight him if they must, but it will not be easy or successful.

And yet...

"Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us."

But would all three million of their people fight the British? The thought was laughable. Too many were loyal, regardless of what the British did. Too many were children, women, and slaves. Too many would not fight.

Numbers sound nice. But realistically, three million people would not fight the British. Getting even 2000 to do so seems impossible. Unless the British can significantly anger their people enough, or something other than the promise of liberty can convince them to fight, not enough people will fight.

"Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable, and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come."

Many people seemed so sure war was coming.

'Are they wrong?' New Hampshire asked.

'It doesn't seem like the British want peace.' Rhode Island added.

Virginia wanted there to be peace so, so badly. She didn't want war. She wanted her people to be safe.

"It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace, but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" Patrick Henry finished with that last line that sending chills down her spine.

'And some people think the South isn't as intense as New England.' Connecticut said, his tone mocking.

'New England has more intensity, though.' Georgia argued

'That's because New England is full of condensed rage.' North Carolina snorted out.

Liberty or death—a bold claim and an ominous prediction of what could come. Virginia was hopeful that no actual violence would break out between the militias they had created and their grandfather's soldiers. She stood up from her seat and walked over to Patrick Henry.

"You're quite a speaker, Mr. Henry." Virginia said, approaching him, "I don't think anyone will be forgetting those final words."

"Thank you, Thirteen Colonies. I must say I am surprised to see you here." Patrick Henry said.

"I was in Georgia, trying to talk to people there about the benefits of joining the next session of Congress. I was returning to Boston when I was told about the speech you would be giving and decided to hear it myself." Virginia explained, rolling with the fact that Patrick Henry thought she was her father..

"You seem to spend a lot of time in Boston nowadays." Patrick Henry said.

'That's because everything happens in Boston nowadays.' Massachusetts said smugly.

'Not this speech.' Maryland pointed out.

'Or Congress.' Pennsylvania added.

"Everything seems to be happening in that city, and I don't want to miss a moment. Everything occurring now is important to my future and the fate of my people. I'd rather not miss anything important. Although I will confess, I am not excited for England to watch me." Virginia said. Patrick Henry frowned.

"I'd imagine that would get annoying." He said. Virginia nodded.

'Treating any country or colony like they are a child is annoying. Even if we have the appearance of such, we are much older than we appear. And we are never children. We aren't allowed a childhood. We are countries and colonies, not humans.' Massachusetts said, his voice sad.

"Father likes to think of me as a child, even though I am not much younger than him. It can get annoying, as he wishes to protect me and, in the process, prevent me from doing things to help my people. That and everything that has happened has strained our relationship greatly. I hope we can work things out for the good of you and the rest of my people." Virginia said, drawing on all the experience she had watching and listening to her Father's frustrations to give a believable answer.

Patrick Henry nodded.

'Hoping for peace seems so...out of reach somedays.' Maryland said.

"I hope so, too."

Give them all liberty, or give them all death.

Virginia hoped everything wouldn't lead to more deaths.