"I'll always be with you, forever." His voice echoed in my head. I squeezed my eyes shut and his face appeared. His sholder length, golden hair layed around his head on the makeshift streacher. His face was momentarily contorted with pain. I quickly opened my eyes. I didn't want to remember him like that. I stood up, taking one last look at the horizon that John had dissapeared into and the sea that caried him away. He could no longer be seen, so with a heavy heart, I made my way back to my father's camp. I didn't have the usual spring in my step. I couldn't hear the birds singing. I couldn't hear the spirit of the wind whisper his guidence in my ear. Instead, he carried me along, showing my way back home. The leaves swirled around my feet as he encouraged me to keep moving. "Just a few more steps." He promised.
"Pocahontas!" I heard someone call from the village. I looked towards the source of the voice to find Nakoma, my best friend, jogging toward me. SHe caught me in her arms.
"How are you feeling?" She asked.
"He's gone. I'll never see him agian."
"Come, I'll take you to your father and you can lay down for awhile." She said sympatheticly. She wrapped her arm around my waist and guided me through the village. All eyes were on me. I could hear them all whisper.
"Poor Girl. The little princess lost her first love, so tragic at such a young age." Were some of the nicer comments. Others made me burn red with furry. Some young, cocky, ignorant warriors said things like, "This is a sign that the white demons are nothing but trouble. Look at what they have done to her! I say we gather a war party and attack!" Thoes kind of comments were followed by cheered and sounds of approval from other braves. All talk. Father would never let them attack the settlers.
We came to the hill leading up to my father's lodge. "Nakoma, I can take her from here." A man said as he walked out of his lodge at the foot of the hill. "Thank you, Kocoum." Nakoma said gratefully. She handed me over to him. He swept me up in his bug, strong arms. I felt safe and sheltered there. I layed my head on his chest and closed my eyes. The warmth of his skin and the steady drumming of his heart were soothing. I was taken back to a time when the great beating of his heart was almost silenced.
A great cry rang through the trees, interrupting my own personal heaven. John's hands dropped from my waist and our lips left eachother. A blur ran past me and knocked John to the ground. I spun around to realize the blur was Kocoum, the man my father arranged for me to marry.
"Kocoum, no!" I sceamed. He brought his tomohawk down to John's head. He blocked the fatal blow with a stick, which let him flip Kocoum on his back. That gave John enough time to jump to his feet and Kocoum enough time to pull his knife from his belt, leaving the forgotten tomohawk in the dirt. He ran towards John, ready to stab him. John caught him by his wrists and held him back.
"Kocoum!" I pleaded. They managed to wrestle eachother to the ground agian. Kocoum was back ontop of John, the John quickly flipped over so he was on top. They rolled agian. This time, Kocoum stayed ontop. I saw my opportunity.
"Leave him alone." I cried and wrapped my arms around Kocoum. I pulled as hard as I could, but my attempts to pull him off John were failed as he knocked me off with the flick of an arm. I landed on the ground with a slight thud. I looked back at Kocoum, forcing the knife nearer and nearer to John's throat. I couldn't let him kill him. I got back up and tried agian to pull Kocoum off. A shot rang out then.
We all stopped what we were doing and looked up to see another whiteman holding a smoking gun. He wasn't really a man, more of a boy. A piece of bark flew off a tree that was dangerously close to me and Kocoum. The boy was shaking, terrified. Our heads all jerked toward the distance, where more war crys echoed.
"Thomas, get out of here!" John barked at the boy. We could hear multipule feet running towards us. The boy named Thomas took a few unsure steps toward the trees.
"Get out of here!" John comanded agian, louder this time. The boy obeyed this time. He managed to vanish from sight just as the invisible war party showed theirselves to us. They immediatly seezed John and dragged him back toward the village. They dissapeared throught the trees.
"Kocoum! Why did you do that?" I yelled.
"Pocahontas he's a white man! He has no heart! He's a demon!"
"How can you say that? You've never even met any of them!"
"I don't need to, do you not remember the little white man that almost shot us? He could've killed you, Pocahontas! And what did your 'lover' do? He let him get away with it! He doesn't really love you he only wants you in his lodge!"I slapped his face hard.
"Don't you dare speak about John that way! I love him!" I screamed. Shock was plastered across his threatened to excape from my eyes. I turned my back to him so he couldn't see me cry. Sobs rocked my body to my dismay. I felt a huge hand place itself gently between my sholder blades. I looked through blurry eyes at Kocoum.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize how much you cared about him. I'll understand if you don't forgive me and I'll tell your father that I dont want to marry you because I've already fallen in love with someone else."
"But you don't love someone else."
"I'll find someone, if it will make you happy." He said as he looked over my head into the distance, his face turning to the usual stone.
"Thank you." I whispered in disbelief. I couldn't believe he would do that for me.
"Only because I love you." He said, still not looking at me, his voice and face still stone. He kept his hand on my back as he led me back to the village.
"Pocahontas! Thank you so much, Kocoum. Lay her down right here." Father said as Kocoum carried me inside my father's lodge. Father led Kocoum to my bed roll. He layed me down on the soft furs and Father covered me with a bear skin.
"Do you think, she'll be okay?" Kocoum asked. Even with my eyes closed, I could tell he was truely concerned.
"Yes, she just needs some rest. She's had a rough couple of weeks. How is Wikimak?" Father asked.
"She is fine. Busy preparing for the wedding." Kocoum said, his voice turning emotionless as he spoke of his bride to be.
"That is good to hear." My father said as he and Kocoum walked outside to talk and leave me in peace. I slowly drifted off to sleep.
A shot rang through the new peaceful scene. John screamed, "NO!" He dove toward my father, knocking him out of the way, thus getting hit with the bullet instead. He fell to the ground, his light blue shirt now stained red. "Pocahontas. Help me. I love you." He gasped as he slipped into death.
I shot straight up. I was gasping for air and sweat was running down my body. I looked around. It was all just a nightmare. It was now dark and my father was asleep on the otherside of the room. I flipped the heavy bearskin off of me and walked out into the cool, clear night. I made my way down to the river and splashed the cold wather on my face. I could see a reflection dancing on the surface of the moonlit water. I turned around. Kocoum was standing by a tree.
"I saw you walking down the hill." he said.
"Are you still spying on me? You don't have to worry, there are no more evil white men lurking in the shadows to seduce me." I snapped.
"No, actually, I was sharpening some of my knives and arrows before I go hunting for the wedding feast." he said as he sat down on the bank beside me.
"Oh. Sorry." I said, embarrased.
"It's alright. I deserved that." he looked up somberly at the full moon and idly picked apart a piece of grass inbetween his fingers.
I was instantly filled with guilt. "You don't have to marry Wikimak, you know."
"Yes I do. If I don't, your father will make us get married. I know you don't love me like that."
I looked at his hard face, pale in the shining moon. I could only remember his strong arms around me and the rocking motion of his body as he carried me. His hand on my back. Collapsing into his arms as they treated John in the Medical Lodge. His sweet voice whispering in my ear that everything would be all right. The spark in his eyes and the smile on his face as he watched me play in the woods. The soft smile on his face when he held his sister's new born baby in his big arms. The rythm of his heart beat like a drum that made me want to dance. In that moment, I wasn't so sure I didn't.
Author's Note: I own NOTHING! All character's belong to Disney! :)