Chapter 25: The Ties That Bind

Mother Nature had gifted them the perfect morning to follow the perfect evening. The next day dawned with a cyan tinted sky. Large white puffs of clouds decorated the blue canvas, slowly drifting by in a variety of different shapes and sizes. The children laid scattered across the glade on their backs, heads tilted up to the heavens, taking in the sights before them.

Ash and Elijah stood a ways away throwing their knives into an old wooden tree just past the tree line. Keeping a watchful eye on their sisters and cousins while the adults recuperated from the night before. At only a year apart the brothers both stood at a towering six feet. They had indeed inherited their father's height as well as almost all of his features. At fifteen and sixteen years old and with the handsome faces they had both been graced with, they certainly were well received by the ladies in town. Though Elijah more so then Ash. Elijah had the sweet and kind hearted demeanor of their father, always merry and serene. All the girls fawned over him, often times dropping their personal possessions right in front of him so that they might be able to share a few words of conversation with him after he had retrieved their scattered belongings.

Ash was inherently different. He had been graced with the prickly and sarcastic demeanor of the Poes. He was quick witted and determined by nature. If a girl would have casually dropped her handkerchief in front of him, he would simply have casually stepped over it and continued on his way. Elijah often mocked him, saying he would never find a women if he continued to refuse to play the ladies game. To which Ash always responded saying that it was nonsense as Uncle Nathaniel had found a women just fine. Elijah would laugh outwardly at him and counter with the notion that he was right, all he needed to do was inset himself in war of some kind and keep an open eye out for damsels in distress.

Elijah wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. "My lord it's hot!"

"It's summer." Ash replied not skipping a beat and throwing a near perfect shot to the center of the tree with his knife.

Elijah looked over towards the children. All the boys laid shirtless in the grass with their trousers rolled part way up their legs. The girls had decided to forgo their pretty dresses and wear only their shifts. The lighter sleeveless material giving them a small reprieve from the sweltering heat. "I think we should go swimming." Elijah turned to Ash, extending his arm out in the direction of the children. "Look at them they're already half dressed and appear to be slowly melting into the ground below them!"

Ash gave the children a once over, seeing that his brother was right. They were all laying there red faced and with their droopy limbs sprawled out across the grass. Ash shrugged his shoulders, agreeing in his way and said, "I'll go tell Mama."

Ash lightly jogged towards his family's cabin, pulling off his dark blue shirt along the way and tossing it neatly into the empty rocking chair on the porch. He took the steps two at time and blew through the already wide open cabin door. "Mama?" Ash called as he entered the room.

Prudence and Cora were at the table kneading dough between their fingers. Prudence glanced up at the sound of her sons voice. "Yes darling?"

"Me and Elijah are going to take the children to the lake to swim. They all look as though they may collapse from heat exposure." Ash crossed over next to his mother and draping his arm around her shoulders asked, "What are you making?"

"Biscuits."

"Any chance you already have some ready?" He asked as he did a quick scan of the kitchen with his eyes. Cora saw him scour the room in search of freshly baked biscuits. She could practically see the drool dripping from the corners of his mouth as his eyes continued their hunt.

Cora laughed outwardly at him and sent a warm biscuit flying through the air. "Catch!" Ash immediately caught the biscuit in his hand. Cora knew he would, as his reflexes were every bit as sharp as Nathaniel's.

"Well…thank you Auntie Cora!" Ash flashed her his adorable lopsided grin and gave his mother a quick peck on the cheek before dashing back out of the cabin to help his brother with the little ones.

Prudence crossed over to the open doorway and watched as Ash ran towards Elijah, who already had little Jonas seated atop his shoulders. The ten of them marching happily along together in the direction of the lake. Prudence pushed her already rolled up sleeves further up her arms, a small relief against the suns sizzling rays. As she continued watch the children move slowly along, a broad smile began dancing across her face as an idea formulated within her head.

She turned to face Cora, who was still kneading dough with her hands and said, "I think we should have a picnic down at the lake today. The children are already down there as well as Sampson and Chingachgook. The pair of them went fishing early this morning, no doubt to try and escape the heat themselves." She began walking back towards Cora. "What do you think?"

"The lake sounds wonderful. I'd do just about anything right now to escape this heat of this kitchen!", Cora answered blowing a loose strand of hair out of her face.

"Well then, I suppose it's time to wake those drunkards up!" Prudence began walking towards the small hallway leading towards the bedrooms.

"Have fun with that!" Cora hollered after her.

Prudence eyed her mischievously over her shoulder and continued heading for the bedrooms. After the bonfire the previous night Nathaniel had been heavily intoxicated and because of that Cora chose to split her family between Prudence and Alice's cabins. Prudence had sent Lydia and Iris up to sleep in the loft with Elijah and Ash, allowing Cora and Nathaniel to have the girls room and leaving Gideon to sleep with Jonas on the sofa. Rebekah and Robin had gone with Alice and Uncas to sleep at their cabin.

Prudence stopped mid way between bedrooms, deciding who to rouse first. Martin, Nathaniel and Uncas had all had their fair share to drink last night. After the stories had concluded and no one made to leave, the adults had began to par take in some well received liquor. Guzzling drink after drink until all the bottles were empty. The ladies new the night was over when the three of them began awkwardly singing, arms wrapped around each other and swaying back and forth in the grass. Prudence, Cora and Alice had each shouldered their husbands weight and helped guide them into the comfort of a soft bed where they would be able to sleep off the joy juice as the children called it.

Prudence opened the door to her and Martin's bedroom, seeing that Martin was in the exact same position she had left him in hours ago. She gently closed the door behind her and made her way over to the bed. Martin was laying naked on his side, legs stretched out to the very bottom of the bed and a strategically placed pillow atop his head. Blocking his eyes and ears from the new days light and sounds.

She smiled to herself at the sight of him. Martin was very rarely in this state of drunkenness. In fact, she may have never seen him this way before. Prudence drew closer to the bottom of the bed and began grazing her fingers across his ankles. She trailed the tips of her fingers upwards from his ankles towards his thighs. She heard a slight sigh comes from his lips and she smiled to herself with satisfaction that even in this state, her touch still undid him. Prudence drew her fingers past his thighs, watching as small goose bumps formed on his legs in the wake of her touch. She bit down on her lips as she drew her fingers up and around his bottom. He squirmed slightly under her touch, encouraging Prudence to draw little circle in his sweat covered skin. When finally she grabbed the fatty part of his bottom and pinched the skin tightly between her two fingers, causing Martin to yelp and fling himself forward in the bed, the pillow coming to a soft plop on the floor beneath them.

"Good morning my love." Prudence said and leaned in over his body giving him a sweet kiss on the lips.

Martin pinched his eyes shut to the brightness in the room and puckered his lips when he felt her soft mouth against his, reciprocating her kiss. "Morning my dear." Martin shifted his weight in the bed, letting his feet fall to the floor. "Perhaps next time my love, without the pinch." Martin stood up from the bed in search of his trousers, rubbing the now red spot on his bottom as he went.

Prudence smiled at her husband and said, "Ah, now it is Nathaniel's turn." She glided her hand across Martin's back as she headed out of the room, closing the door behind her. Prudence stood in the hallway contemplating whether or not to wake up her brother. When finally, she turned on her heels and headed back towards the kitchen.

Cora lifted her head as she saw Prudence enter from the hallway and said, "Did you get them both up?"

"If Nathaniel appears to be in anyway the state in which I found Martin, my eyes may burn out of their sockets at the sight of him. This is most definitely a chore for you!" Prudence crossed over towards Cora and began finishing the dough, nudging her along with her elbow.

"Ha!" Cora laughed and began walking towards their bedroom, wiping her hands on her apron along the way.

Cora walked into the completely dark bedroom and began immediately crossing the room to open the window. She pulled the latch hard, yanking the wooden covering wide open and letting in a blast of fresh air that was heavily mixed with the blinding mid morning light. Nathaniel quickly turned his naked body on his side, avoiding the bright light as much as possible. Cora laughed outwardly at his attempt to hide from the day.

"Ugh…how late is it?"

Cora walked over to the bed, plunking herself down next to his stretched out body. "Late." Cora said as she brushed his dark chestnut colored hair away from his face, pushing it far behind his back. Nathaniel reached up snaking his long arm around her waist and quite suddenly pulled her backwards onto the bed. He quickly wrapped his naked limbs around her, snuggling up close to her body and buried his face in the side of her neck. Cora, though tempted, laughed at his efforts and said,"Oh no you don't!" And began shoving his warm body off of her. Nathaniel grasped at her dress desperately trying to keep her next to him. Cora slide herself off the bed and tugged her skirt out of his clenched fists. She bent down retrieving Nathaniel's discarded clothes from the previous night off the floor and tossed them at over at him, watching as they floated threw the air and landed atop his head.

Nathaniel yanked his trousers off of his head and smiled mischievously at her. "Don't be sour with me…come back." He sat up reaching for his wife.

"Get dressed darling. We are going to the lake. Lord knows you could use some cool water splashed in your face." Cora quickly exited the bedroom before Nathaniel was able to persuade her to stay and walked back towards the common room.

Cora entered into the common room to see Alice and Prudence already filling baskets with food and blankets. Martin was seated at the table casually munching on a few biscuits and jam. She furrowed her brows and asked, "Where's Uncas?"

Alice lifted her head up from the basket in front of her smiling at her sister and pointed over towards the long sofa. Cora followed Alice's thin finger to see Uncas outstretched with legs extended and crossed at the ankles, baby Winnie rising and falling against his chest with each breath he took. Cora walked over towards him seeing that his eyes were closed, still recovering from night before. She gently pick Winnie up from his chest, cradling her little niece against her own. Winnie was the most perfect baby. She never cried or had an ill temper, always peaceful and serene. Winnie was truly different from any of their other children, even the most well behaved had their own bouts of unhappiness, though not Winnie, not yet anyhow. Cora always thought that Alice deserved to have this perfectly peaceful little girl after the wild ride that Matto had given her. Laughing silently to herself Cora shook herself from her thoughts and glanced back down to see Uncas had opened his eyes into snake like slits, just enough to bid Cora a silent good morning before letting them fall shut once again. Cora smirked and shook her head at him in a chiding fashion, before crossing over towards the table.

Nathaniel had just made his way to the common room, taking a seat next to Martin at the table and reaching for his own biscuit. He turned towards Martin his usual wry smile splayed across his face and asked, "How do you feel this fine summer morning?"

"Well, my ass cheeks hurts. Other than that I feel great!" Martin eyed his wife merrily and Prudence nearly keeled over laughing at his words.

Nathaniel glanced suspiciously between Martin and Prudence. Then deciding that he did not want to know, smacked his hand down on the table and said, "Well then, would you pass the jam?"

Alice mockingly rolled her eyes at them. Then realized that both Cora and Prudence's husbands were up and so should hers be. She put down the basket she was packing and walked over towards her husband. She stood by his feet smiling down at his relaxed form. Alice scanned his body with her eyes. His hair was hanging loose over his left shoulder, reaching far down towards the wooden floor almost begging to graze it. His stoic face serene as the bright light from the door shone upon it. He had interlaced his fingers and they laid neatly folded atop his chest. Alice thought about walking over to his face and brushing her soft lips against his, peacefully rosing him from his state of calm. Then wrinkled her nose at the idea and slide the nail of her thumb up and across his bare foot. Uncas chuckled outwardly and quickly pulled his long legs up into his chest, curling his feet away from any further assault. He opened his brown eyes to see who his assailant was and instantly saw the haloed effect the sun had on his wife's blonde hair. Uncas rose his eyebrows far into his raven hair line at her playful way of waking him.

Alice giggled at his reaction and said, "Time to wake up my love. We are heading to the lake for a picnic." She stated simply as she turned on her heel and headed back towards the table.

"As you wish." Uncas rolled his body easily off the sofa and rose to his feet, knowing that his wife was quite finished babying his formerly drunken state.

Cora had passed a sleepy Winnie into Nathaniel's firm grasp and the three women finished preparing the baskets for their surprise picnic, while their husbands took a final moment to shake off the previous night and prepared themselves to embrace the new day.

Elijah and Ash led the children down the worn path towards the lake. As soon as they crossed into the tree line, the children were instantly soothed by the cooler air of the forest. The bright green leaves overhead swaying back and forth around them, gently brushing their hair from side to side as they walked further along the dirt covered path.

Iris and Lydia walked hand in hand, swinging their arms as they went. Matto, Keme, Robin and Gideon walked together in a line, taking turns picking up stones of the ground and seeing how far they could each throw them, watching as they ricocheted off one tree to the next. Rebekah had looked as though she was about to collapse from the heat so Ash bent down low to the ground and had her climb up onto his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her crimson streaked cheeks against his back, already exhausted with the barely begun day.

When finally the lake came into view and the children all began running at a full sprint towards the water. Keme and Robin immediately dove head first into the sweet wetness, gracefully gliding under the its gently ripples. Their long hair flowing elegantly behind them. Elijah felt Lydia tap on his back gently. He turned towards her, and lightly placed Jonas down in the dirt a bit away from the lake. He hadn't quite learned how to swim yet, so Elijah would be taking the toddler in with him. Though first he had to handle the small matter of tradition and took hold of his little sisters hands, gripping them tightly he spun her in a fast circle, lifting her far off the ground. Elijah spun in several circles, before finally releasing her hands and letting her fly through the air. An excited expression splayed across her face as she made a nice splash where she connected with the water. Satisfied with himself, Elijah bent down retrieving Jonas from his place in the dirt and calmly entered the water, keeping the toddler carefully secured in his arms.

Ash swiveled Rebekah around in his arms and gently tossed her into the water. Watching carefully, as she was always the least strongest swimmer of them all, that she was patiently wading around in the shallows until he was able to get into the water with her. Ash turned his attention to Gideon, who was scaling the rocky side of the waterfall, along with Matto and Iris who were ahead of him. The site of these three little people crawling up the sharp and slippery terrain, left him completely unfazed. He himself had taught them all how to do it. In fact, his only true concern was Iris slipping on her shift as she climbed but he could see that she had neatly tied it up to her mid thigh. He watched as the three of them made it cleanly to the top and crossed into the center of the waterfall, preparing to jump. Gideon did not hesitate. He quickly hurled his body forwards, wrapping his arms around himself in a hugging fashion and sliced cleanly through the water. Ash could not help but nod his head in approval. He quickly turned his attention back to the top of the waterfall. Matto and Iris stood peacefully waiting. The two of them with their eyes shut and heads tilted towards the sky, letting Mother Nature kiss their skin with her sweet breeze. When Ash finally saw them clasp hands he knew they were preparing to jump. They tilted their heads forward, away from the sun and leapt at the same moment into the water below. Falling gracefully down and landing with a splash against the water. With all of the children safely in the lake, Ash jumped in himself allowing the coolness of the water to overtake his senses. He turned on his back, staring straight up into the brightness of the sweltering sun and let himself slowly float over towards Rebekah. Ash pushed his body along thinking that Elijah had been right, it was a good day for a swim.

Time passed as the sun began to move higher and higher in the vast blue sky. Chingachgook and Sampson had joined the children almost as soon as they got to the lake. The grandfathers had been fishing just further down the lake, enjoying the serenity of the morning. When they realized from the ruckus just up stream that they would no longer be catching any fish today, as the boisterous noise of their family had already scared away any future prospects. Putting away their well crafted fishing spears, the grandfathers decided to join their grandchildren for a swim.

Chingachgook had almost immediately taken little Jonas off Elijah's hands, leaving him free to swim and goof around with his cousins. Sampson had swam towards the shallows, where Ash was with Rebekah and Iris. Iris was a very good swimmer, completely unafraid of the water and the small creatures that dwelled inside it. She could swim for hours in the water never tiring, but not when Rebekah was in the water with her. Iris was always very hesitant to leave her cousin. They were less than a year apart and very close. The pair of them more like sisters than cousins. Iris knew Rebekah's fears and always tried to stay by her side and encourage her to step just a wee bit further into the water, until finally she would be able to feel the freedom the water truly had to offer.

"You can do it Rebekah!" Iris said as she held out her hands for cousin, wiggling her fingers in encouragement.

Rebekah reached a little further out, feeling her feet leave the sandy bottom below. Her eyes went wide with fear as she began vigorously waving her limbs around in the water, splashing coming from all sides of her. Though she may have felt like she was in real danger, she was not as little Iris, Sampson and Ash were all within an arms reach of her.

"You are doing it!" Iris smiled widely at her cousin. "Just a little further and you can grab my hands."

Rebekah pushed forward, focussing only on her cousins wide smile. How her little teeth were perfectly straight and white as the clouds above them. She extended her arm, stretching it far out and grasping the tips of Iris's small fingers. Iris curled her fingers around Rebekah's hands pulling her the rest of the way into her tight embrace. "You did it! Rebekah you did it!" Iris whispered into her ear.

A rumble of thunderous applause came from not just the water but the shore line as well. Iris shifted the their bodies in the water so Rebekah could see her mother, father and aunts and uncles all clapping wildly from the rocky terrain above.

"Mama, Papa…I did it!" Rebekah exclaimed from the water below. Her body still tightly wrapped around Iris.

"Well done darling!" Came Cora's happy voice.

Iris swam with Rebekah back the few feet until she could touch the bottom again and released her. Rebekah immediately went to the shore line where Nathaniel reached down and pulled her dripping wet body from the water. She was without a doubt Papa's little girl and he hugged her tightly, telling her over and over again how proud he was of her.

Slowly the rest of the family dragged their soaking wet bodies out of the water. Cora, Alice and Prudence had laid out several blankets for them all to lay upon while they partook in the delicious lunch that had been prepared. The family settled themselves widely across the blankets, eating and chatting as they let the summer sun dry their sun kissed skin.

Prudence sat enveloped in Martin's long arms, his fingers gently grazing across the skin of her forearms. The rhythmic feeling of his fingertips lulling her into almost a trance like state and between the heat and her full belly she could feel her body growing slacker and slacker within his strong arms, tiredness beginning to overtake her. She rested her head against his chest quietly observing the scene around her.

Prudence saw Chingachgook laying flat on his back, eyes closed with one arm wrapped around Keme and the other wrapped around Robin. He scooted both boys close to him as they rested peacefully, allowing their stomachs to settle before returning to the water. Sampson sat leaned up against a heavily shaded tree a bit further back from the group. His legs were outstretched in front of him, Elijah and Ash flanking both sides of him. The three engrossed in conversation. Prudence smiled at the site of both grandfathers always so engaged with their grandchildren.

She turned her attention towards Nathaniel and Cora, where Jonas laid curled up in Cora's lap. His mama running her fingers through his dark curly mop of hair, gently massaging his little scalp as she went. Rebekah and Lydia sat crosslegged at their feet, whispering secretively into each others ears, about what Prudence could only guess. She shifted her eyes to Nathaniel. Gideon was sitting in his lap, his father carefully instructing him on how to sharpen a small knife. Gideon holding a rock in his left and the small knife in his right. Nathaniel's hands carefully placed atop Gideon's small ones and was gently maneuvering the knife back and forth against the rock, much to Gideon's excitement. Prudence smiled to herself at the sight of her brother, with a beautiful wife and his children all around him. This was the way their lives were always supposed to go, together as one large family. She smiled to herself at the thought of how if Uncas had never been injured, the scene before her may not have ever come to be. She reached out and laid her palm on his shoulder, softly smiling up at him. Nathaniel turned towards her at the feel of her touch on his arm and stared back into her eyes, the same cerulean blue eyes as his own. Both siblings smiling widely at each other, before both giving a small wink at the very same moment. Brother and sister perfectly understanding each other thoughts. Prudence let out a small laugh and shifted her eyes away from him, letting them finally fell upon Iris and Matto. Both children laying on their backs in the mossy grass further away than any of the others, their little faces turned towards the others in conversation.

"Do you think you will ever leave the farm?" Iris asked Matto.

Matto scrunched up his forehead deep in thought over her question. "I love the farm, why would I ever leave." He eyed her quizzically and asked, "You want to leave one day?"

"I want to see the ocean that Aunt Cora and your Mama always talk about."

"Why?"

"It would be exciting. Will you come with me?" Iris poked him in his side, causing him to giggle and shift slightly further away from her.

Matto paused suddenly, realizing her question and asked, "You want me to come with you?"

Iris smiled at him and casually turned her face away from his. She stared up into the bright yellow sun deep in thought. She was always thinking, the wheels within her mind always churning and leading her in different directions. She let out a small sigh and steered the conversation in a different direction by saying, "I am looked upon as a freak because of my eyes. Other people hate when I look at them, like I might turn them to stone." Iris squinted her light colored eyes against the almost blinding sunlight.

"Your eyes are perfect because they are yours." Matto grabbed her hand in his, squeezing it lightly.

Iris softly smiled, wanting to believe his words. She squeezed his palm and turned her head back towards him. "We are the same Matto, different from the rest of the world. People will always see us as different. Always shy away from us. But if we are together…" Iris trailed off from her sentence.

Matto stared into her rainbow eyes, memorizing every tiny shade variation. How her blue eye was so bright just like her Mamas'. How her green eye had the slightest flickers of golden brown just around her black pupil. Matto reached up with their interlocked hands and touched her skin just below her green eye. His little fingertips brushing against her dark eyelashes. Matto felt something right then, something he could hardly describe. He abruptly sat up, pulling Iris with him and ran his free hand through her dirty blonde hair.

Prudence watched them from a distance, her eyes narrowed at the sight of her daughter and nephew. "What is he doing?" She said, not realizing she had spoken the question out loud.

Alice was sitting nestled in Uncas's lap, little Winnie suckling against her soft body. She adjusted the thin cloth she used to cover herself and the baby and turned her head in the direction that Prudence was peering into. She stared mouth agape at her son, bewilderment slowly taking hold of her expression. Alice tapped Uncas's knee gesturing for him to look in the direction of the children.

Uncas looked up at Matto and Iris. Suddenly struck with a conversation he had had with his son not days ago…

"Papa?"

"Yes Matto?"

"Why do you do that to Mama's hair?"

"I do it so she always remembers that we are forever bound together as one. One soul, one love, one life."

Uncas stared ruefully at his son, his emotions overwhelming all his senses at the sight before him and in almost a whisper answered, "He is braiding a strip of her hair." He watched as Matto carefully entwined Iris's dirty blonde hair, piece by piece until he made his way to the bottom and tied it together with the very same leather strip that had only moments ago held his own hair.

Uncas kept his stoic features focused on his young son as he wrapped his arms tightly around Alice's pensive shoulders, drawing both her and Winnie even closer into his embrace and reassuring his wife by softly kissing the top of her head. Husband and wife sat in silence watching the scene before them, their arms wrapped tightly around each other. No words needing to be passed between them…

Author's Note: I could have completed the story with the last chapter but something didn't feel right about it. I used this chapter as a kind of bridge into the future. At the very end, Uncas and Alice instantly understood what their son was feeling and thinking (even at his young age of seven years old) and they are uncertain of how they feel about the idea of what his actions could truly mean moving forward in life. I guess we will have to find out...as this is not the end. How can it be with so much more to be revealed! This journey may be over, but the whole story is not yet complete :)

Thank you to everyone who followed my story! To all of you who continued to comment/review and lend your amazing support, AsterLaurel, BrynnaRaven, ELY72, BlueSaffire, TithaJaime, Conbird, MohawkWoman, Eilan21, and my story's guests. All of your comments helped me analyze and grow and I am truly appreciative!

Thanks for reading :)