Alice felt Uncas' burning gaze searing through the rain, through to her.
Her feet instinctively moved - towards him, to him.
She didn't feel the rain beating down on her. All she saw was him.
Uncas watched warily as Alice hovered at the cave entrance before stumbling out dazedly into the rain.
She slipped in her crude makeshift shoes and Uncas lunged to steady her by her arms.
"You came back."
Her voice was so soft and wobbly that he could barely make out what she said, but he did. Uncas studied her bent head and sighed inwardly. He gave her arms a brief squeeze before murmuring reassuringly, " Let's go back in." He propelled her backward into the cave and guided her into the alcove. Swiping the cloak off the ground, he passed it to her, "Dry yourself." She did so obediently as he wiped down with a hide. He grabbed another shirt from his pack and turned his back to her. Wriggling out of his wet shirt, he changed into the fresh one. He could feel Alice's eyes on him.
"How did you get hurt?" she squeaked, her eyes darting away as she chewed her lip nervously. Uncas wondered whether to tell her the truth now since she would eventually find out later. "Magua. Three months ago." he replied shortly, omitting the fact that he had been in coma until two months ago. Alice's gaze skittered up to his face, her eyes wide, "You went after me?" Uncas paused in mid-motion of strapping a knife on his belt. "Promised I'll come for you." The sentence hung heavily in the following silence before he ensued bleakly, " But I got to you too late." Alice did not know to respond to that last statement - so she did not.
After the evening meal, Alice and Uncas returned to their alcove to rest. Alice bunkered down in one corner, swathed in a blanket, staring out beyond the edge. Uncas knew she would not sleep from night to morning and tried to imagine how awful she must feel, not being able to do anything as time slowly trickled by. It was time for him to change his dressing, a task he dreaded since it hurt like hell each time. Gnashing his teeth, he removed the drenched bandages and plucked fresh ones from his pack.
Just as he was dressing his arm, Alice whispered, "Let me help." Uncas wanted to refuse but she had already planted herself in front of him, and reaching for the bandage. He watched as she cautiously coiled the cloth round his arm, her hands unsure. "Is it broken?" she queried, noting the slight odd angle of his elbow. "Fractured." he supplied and that was the last word said between them over the next few minutes.
Alice's fingers dug into the cloth as she took in his wounds up-close. There were just so many. How had he traversed the vast frontier to find her? How had he carried her in from the forest earlier? The puncture in his left looked so nasty that that Alice closed her eyes momentarily. Magua had done this to Uncas because of her.
So jumbled were her emotions that her hands rushed over him in anxiety. Uncas gathered both her wrists loosely with one hand to still her rapid movements, "Let me." "No." came her hushed, stubborn reply, so he released her without another word. When she came to the wound on his upper thigh, her hand froze, inches away from his breechcloth. She willed herself to remain clinical but images from the Huron camp assailed her. Some unnamed, faceless warrior standing threateningly over her prone form, crouching beside her, his breechcloth brushing her side as he dragged one finger down her cheek. Alice rolled herself into a tight ball and prayed fervently for a supernatural intervention...
Alice jumped when she felt Uncas' warm hand cover hers in the present. He calmly placed her hand on her lap and dressed the wound himself. His expression gave away nothing but Alice knew that he knew what she had been thinking about - or at least he had made an educated guess. Horrified, she spun away from him but his fingers snaked around her wrist, his touch maddeningly light but firm. "Have to treat the wounds on your back." he stated staunchly. She shook her head wildly but he remained undeterred. He implored, "Let me..." His voice was rough with emotion, as he ran his thumb over her knuckles.
The subtle expression of tenderness tugged at her heartstrings - his incredible gentleness was such a contrast to his formidable warrior persona. Alice swallowed audibly and gave a barely perceptible nod. She wordlessly unbuttoned her dress and let it bunch at her waist. She slipped the straps of her shift down her arms and shivered slightly in the chilly air. "You can turn around now." Alice croaked. A blanket was pressed into her tightly crossed arms at her chest. "Don't catch a cold." he said, his voice a velvety rumble.
Uncas dipped his fingers into the salve, his eyes never strayed from her snowy white back with the angry red lashes. At his first touch, she flinched. Uncas waited for a few seconds before touching her again. He started spreading the thick ointment over her welted flesh. He was infinitely glad that she was not facing him- his composure was hanging by a thread at the evidence of what she had gone through, or partially gone through. When he was done with the lashes, he extracted another salve for her burn wounds.
Alice could feel Uncas' slow, even breathing behind her as his hands soothed the salve into her wounds. There was a pause and she heard him rummaging through his pack. "Gonna sting." he warned quietly. Alice bobbed her head in acknowledgment. Uncas applied the salve directly on the wound on her back and winced when he caught her swift intake of breath. "All right?" he probed rigidly. She did not answer.
The wound on her arm was deeper and Uncas knew it was going to be excruciating. His jaw set, he applied the salve on the wound on her arm. Alice jerked and gasped softly. Uncas knew she was fighting not to double over in pain and felt like he was getting repeatedly socked in the gut with a boulder. He could not hold her because of the salve on her back so he settled for wrapping a forearm around her waist, willing his strength to transfuse into her.
Alice was dizzy with the scorching agony running through her being when she felt Uncas' strong arm engulf her waist solidly. Like an anchor in a tempestuous storm. Her eyelids burned with unshed tears but she refused to shed even one. She bit her lip and hung in there. Furthermore, she did not want to worry Uncas. She knew he was worried - she felt it in the tenseness in his arm around her. After a couple of minutes, the pain subsided to a dull ache and she exhaled sharply in relief.
When Uncas felt Alice's body go slack against his arm, he knew the worst had passed. Careful to keep her front covered with the blanket, he wheeled her around slowly. Tilting her chin with one finger, he searched her face anxiously. Her bottom lip was bleeding slightly - she must have gnawed on it to counter the pain. Her eyes sparkled with a watery sheen but her cheeks were dry. She had not cried. More likely she had refused to succumb to tears - tears were a sign of weakness and she had probably learnt that the hard way as a captive. Uncas' heart squeezed painfully.
Alice stared into his fathomless eyes which were blazing with fierce protectiveness. One of his hands crept up to cup her cheek. "So brave." he praised in a strangled whisper. Alice blinked at his unexpected compliment. His other hand came up to enfold her other cheek. "So brave." he reiterated huskily, his eyes glittering with tender pride.
Uncas was proud of her. Alice felt a warm tear escape from her eye and dribble down her cheek. He dabbed it away with his thumb, which then drifted to her bottom lip. He dashed the blood away, "So brave." Alice's throat clogged up with thick tears at the grave awe she saw in his eyes. Oh God, he was completely annihilating her. She swayed on her feet and Uncas immediately coaxed her into a sitting position, her back supported by the cave wall. After tucking the blanket around her, he got to his feet and headed to a spot on the far end of the alcove. Alice arched her head back to stare at the rocky ceiling desolately. He was so close yet so far.
They were an hour away from the Delaware camp. Alice was suddenly overcome with trepidation. How would Cora react? How would Nathaniel react? Uncas had informed her of their recent marriage and for some unexplainable reason, Alice felt like an intruder, a stranger upon hearing the news. Cora had found love in the wilderness and would no doubt settle down in America. Where did that leave her? She halted abruptly in her tracks and Elki, who was in front of her, threw a questioning look over his shoulder. She heard Uncas, who was guarding the rear, mutter briefly in Mohican (or was he speaking in Delaware? Alice could not tell the difference). Elki shrugged and jogged ahead to join his uncle.
Uncas came abreast with Alice, pausing next to her still, stiff figure. She still communicated and interacted little with him, even less with his father and cousin. It was as if she was in her own dark, lonely world where no one could enter. Even after the incident in the cave, she barely looked him in the eye and stuttered whenever she tried to speak more than two sentences to him. He could tell she tried not to flinch or scoot away every time he attempted to touch her even if it was simply patting her shoulder to get her attention. Thus, he refrained from touching her as much as possible. However, he noticed her gazing at him a few instances when she thought he was unaware of her scrutiny, the yearning apparent in her wounded grey eyes. He wanted to go to her, but he could not since she was not yet ready to let anyone near her. Uncas was at a loss. He sensed she would slip away further if he did not do something.
"All right?" he posed, kicking at the dirt on the ground with his moccasin. "Everyone at the camp would know what happened to me." she uttered frigidly. It was more a conclusion than a question. Uncas shifted his weight, which caused him to lean a little closer to her, "Nothing is your fault." Alice let out a bitter laugh, "Then whose fault is it?" Uncas stepped around to face her square on, "Mine." Alice's lips parted as if to reply him, but Uncas did not give her a chance. "You're right. I am a liar. I wasn't there when you finished counting to ten. Again, and again." he admitted grimly, his jaw clenched with self-reproach. Alice tried to answer again but he was already urging her forward, "Better to reach the camp before dusk." Alice gave up and started walking.
"Alice!" Cora cried in happy relief, running towards the tired group that had just ventured into the camp. Her younger sister twisted in the direction of her voice and to Cora's astonishment, the younger woman took a defensive step backwards, bumping into Uncas who was standing behind her. Cora saw the Mohican warrior dip his head to murmur something into Alice's ear and her sister shuffled forward reluctantly. Cora met her halfway and threw her arms around her sister, tears spilling down her face. Alice's arms came around her older sister hesitantly, tentatively returning the embrace.
Cora ushered Alice to the nearest wigwam, "I have got hot water waiting for you. Let us get you cleaned up first." Alice let Cora drag her towards the wigwam but whipped her head around to search frantically for Uncas. Strange. She felt safe only when he was around. What if someone abducted her from the wigwam while she was washing up? Her fraught eyes locked on to his enigmatic gaze. "Don't worry." His eyes assured her. Alice's nerves settled instantly and she ducked quickly into wigwam after Cora.
She was afraid of being taken from the wigwam. Uncas drew a harsh breath. She must had been seized by the Ottawa from the Huron camp. Uncas was somewhat mollified and grateful Alice found security, if not comfort, in him despite what happened three months ago. Nathaniel came up to him, still on crutches, and slung an arm around his shoulders, "Is she all right?" Uncas sighed in frustration, "Don't think so. She hasn't said much." Nathaniel scrunched up his nose, "She doesn't say much in the first place." Uncas grimaced, "That's the problem." Nathaniel grunted, "She'll talk to Cora." Uncas recalled the way Alice had retreated from her older sister just a few minutes ago - he was not sure whether Nathaniel was right.
Cora has been very worried about you. At Uncas' whispered prodding, Alice had gone to Cora. Now she was sitting in the middle of the wigwam, having her wet hair brushed out by Cora. She had her first hot bath in months. According to Cora, Nathaniel had got the Delaware men to build a wooden barrel-like tub, just big enough for a woman to sit down in, and Cora had later boiled water to fill it up. "How did you know I was coming back today?" Alice asked curiously. "Uncas promised he would get you back within a week. I just kept on boiling water everyday, waiting for you to return." "Thank you." Alice responded woodenly. Cora detangled the last knot of Alice's mane, dusted her hands and stood up. "You must be famished. Let us eat." Alice was not hungry but she rose to her feet compliantly.
Uncas looked up at the sound of Cora's voice. Alice was trailing behind her, her blond hair washed damp. She was wearing a buckskin skirt and a white cotton top, and her feet were shod in moccasins. Nathaniel intercepted the women and Uncas saw his brother guiding Alice to the cauldron of soup in the middle of the communal area. He noticed the Delaware people staring openly at her and cringed.
Cora scurried over to Uncas, her brown eyes filled with anxiety. Uncas knew what was coming. "Oh God, did you see her wounds? I had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming out loud." Cora babbled, obviously still in shock. "Her physical wounds will heal." he answered, gulping down a bowl of soup. "She has not said anything to me." Cora said, twirling a lock of hair agitatedly. "Give her some time." Uncas advised as he watched Alice scoop soup into a bowl, Nathaniel standing next to her protectively. "You know my aunt, Chumani? Uncas inquired. When Cora nodded, he continued, "She's good with medicinal things. Get something from her to make Alice sleep." Cora balked, "You mean to sedate her?" "She can't sleep at night. She thinks...people will visit her." he explained as delicately as possible. Cora turned pale - she knew what Uncas was inferring to and her heart plummeted to her toes.
"Drink this, dear. It will make you feel warm." Cora handed Alice a mug of tea, laced with a sedative. It was almost time for bed and the women were sharing a wigwam. Alice drank it down without protest, though she kept her eyes trained on the flap. She heard Uncas' unmistakable baritone outside and relaxed. He was going to guard the wigwam - she was safe.
"It is not his fault that we took so long to find you." Cora's voice interrupted Alice's thoughts. "Who?" Alice replied distractedly, rubbing her sore ankle. "Uncas." Cora said, piling deerskin for them to sleep on. "He was badly injured by Magua. I saw the wounds." Alice mumbled, tugging her top awkwardly. Cora cocked her head and looked at Alice oddly, "Was that what he said? Was that all he said?" Alice glanced at her suspiciously, "You mean there is more?"
Cora cleared her throat uncomfortably, figuring Uncas had his reasons for withholding the full story from Alice. However, she genuinely felt Alice should know the whole truth. "Is there more?" Alice rapped out urgently. Cora looked at her guiltily before blurting, "Uncas almost died three months ago. He went after you and fought with Magua. By the time we reached him, he was bleeding from everywhere. We brought him back here...and he was unconscious for nearly a month."
The world tilted around Alice as she grappled with the knowledge that Uncas had nearly lost his life trying to rescue her - and had been in a coma until two months ago. Why had he kept that from her? The thought of Uncas dying was so unthinkable and revolting that Alice felt like throwing up. He was always so unshakeable and consumed with powerful strength that it never crossed her mind that he too could be fatally injured. Not Uncas.
As if on cue, Uncas stepped through the flap. He noticed Alice's distressed expression immediately, "Something bothering you?" Alice's eyes flickered up to meet his, looking lost and tragic.
"You."
