Chapter 7: Spin The Bottle
Summer 1745
"Martin...Martin!"
Martin laid sprawled out along the sofa while his father read aloud after supper, legs extended outward and feet crossed casually at the ankles, with his head pillowed by the sofa's short arm. The humid summer air wafting gently in into the cabin, its breeze offering a delicate balmy swirl of pine as he breathed in softly through his nose. He laid with his shirt and trousers both rolled up to his elbows and knees, allowing his skin some much needed relief from the moistness in the air. Months and months had passed, a whole winter season, without hearing his name spoken in such a saccharine way. Martin pinched his tighter shut for a moment, wondering if perhaps he was dreaming. It was not until he heard it a second time that that he was truly aware that this was not a false reality and then instantly became aware of the rhythmic thumping of his heart within his chest. The quickening sensation in his chest sending his body into a state of momentary immobility. Martin had no idea how long he laid there stagnant upon the sofa. Each precious second seeming like hours. Not until his father rose to his feet and made his way to the door, passing in front of his eye line and smacking at his crossed ankles was Martin able to shatter the frozen stiffness of his body. He flung his legs over the side of the couch, his bare feet connecting with a heavy thud against the hard wooden floor and quickly made his way to the cabin door about to follow his father outside, though no sooner than he had turned into the entryway was he assaulted by a body colliding forcefully into his own.
In the blur of the moment he had not seen the person's face, but as his body pressed closer, he knew. He could feel her all around him. The slightly scratchy feel of her calloused hands pinching at the bottom of his neck in an almost painful grip. He could feel the small mounds of her blooming body pushing against his chest as she leaned further into their shared embrace and unknowingly driving his body to sensations he had never known before. How the tiny wisps of her hair brushed across his cheeks, his lips, and his chin, each thin strand caressing him in its own way as he moved them gently with his breath. Martin smiled against the top of her head as his hands carefully drifted up and down her thin back. His fingers weaving delicately into her thick singular braid of dark chestnut brown hair. When finally unable to hold it in any longer, he closed his eyes and breathed with contentment into her hair, "I missed you."
Pru clutched harder to his neck. Shifting her palms and dipping them slightly beneath his shirt collar as she began unconsciously trailing the skin at the base of his neck with her thumbs. She rested her head against his shoulder and smiled to herself when she felt a patch of goosebumps spread out across his skin there. Then instinctively began rubbing her fingers against them. Stifling a giggle, she pulled her head up and away from his body, angling slightly backwards to better acclimate to his new height and with her lips almost touching his ear, whispered, " I missed you too keesog."
"Keesog?"
"Hmm..." She murmured, slowly pulling further away from him when she heard the shuffle of footfalls coming up the cabin's steps.
Martin, still holding her at a distance lightly around her waist whispered, " You're not going to tell me are you?" Pru merely smiled softly up at him under her dark eyelashes and let her arms fall from around his neck as she took two small steps backwards, slowly, softly separating her body completely from his own.
Nathaniel smirked as he entered the cabin seeing his sister and Martin caught in a simple yet telling embrace, telling to him at the very least. After his experience with Tanda in the spring, he knew all too well the quiet stages of a still undefined love. He touched Pru's shoulder as he passed, giving her a little sideways glance before making his way over to his oldest friend. "How are you Martin?" Nathaniel happily asked as they both briefly embraced, each smacking hard against the others back.
"Well!" Martin said as he reached out to embrace the newly appeared Uncas, who must have snuck in quietly behind his brother. "How about you all?" He asked, shifting his gaze between the three of them.
"Ohh...we have so much to tell you!" Uncas excitedly said and began rambling out this and that. Though as hard as Martin tried to focus on Uncas's words, he could not help but keep sneaking little glances towards Pru as she and Nathaniel went out onto the porch to say hello to Sampson, who was greeting Chingachgook and helping to unload the various furs and supplies that they had brought with them to the farm.
Martin craned his neck slightly, peering through the cabin's wide open door to where Pru stood locked in a sweet embrace with his father. Her thin arms wrapped tightly around Sampson's middle as she buried her head in his chest. She looked older, less like a little girl but not quite as mature as a woman, like she was momentarily caught in some unfair battle between adolescents and womanhood. Her hips were curvier then he remembered and her chest was fuller and more visible through her shirt, his shirt he noticed. Martin gulped as the observation made his stomach suddenly flip in a series of wicked circles. He started taking in his shirt's ragged appearance. It was worn at the elbows and cuffs, the maroon fabric there so thin and faded it appeared more light pink than the rich maroon color it was when he gave it to her in the fall. A realization that could only mean that she must have worn it often. She wore his shirt often, he thought. Swallowing hard as he could feel his body beginning to betray him once more, he refocused his attention away from his shirt and the body it covered and up to her face. Her skin was clear and smooth and slightly tinted with a rosy gloss in her cheeks. A splash of coloring that he could only assume came from a combination of the summer heat and the long endured exercise of walking through the forest. She looked so beautifully alive, so different then that first day he had meet her all those moths ago. His eyes continued their silent roam of her face, until he was caught when Pru's bright blue eyes suddenly filtered up into his. Martin sucked in a sharp breath as he began nervously wondering if she had noticed his lengthy examination of her body and quickly set his eyes on a spot on the floor, silently chiding himself for his inappropriate ocular roaming. But something inside him had been triggered and as much as he wanted to keep his eyes downcast in shame, he could not and so slowly drifted them back up towards the stare he knew was awaiting him. When next his eyes connected with hers, the world seemed too slow. Uncas's voice became almost inaudible, the shuffling of feet against the wooden floor ceased as just about every sound in the cabin and beyond had been replaced by his own low whispered breaths. Martin watched as her eyelashes lazily fluttered up and down over top her cerulean blue eyes, each graceful movement drawing him further in. He watched as the little lines notched into the corners of her eyes crinkled up into several tiny squiggles as they wrote their own tale of happiness upon her face. He knew she was smiling, but all he could see were her eyes. Eyes bluer then a cloudless sky in summer. Eyes whose stare made his legs weak as they twinkled back him...back at him. It was in that moment with her eyes gazing back at him that Martin knew. He knew what he felt was not some deep seeded chivalrous need to be her knight in shinning armor. This tugging inside his chest was something far greater, something far more powerful. What he felt right now overwhelmed him. The whirling in his head stilled and the world around him quieted till only the rhythmic thumping of his fourteen year old heart could be heard within his chest. Martin's face lifted into a goofy grin as the true understanding of what was happening hit him harder than the hardest, most challenging work day in the cornfields. He knew now, without a shadow of a doubt, that the strange feelings he had been grappling with for months were not just those of protectiveness, but rather that of the all encompassing love that protectiveness spawns from. Martin's eyes burned into hers, watching as she must have felt the heat of his stare and began gently stroking her right cheek. Her thin fingers dragging lower across her sun kissed skin until they fell gracefully off her chin. He wanted to reach out and grasp her fingers in his hand and place them atop his chest so she could feel what she was unwittingly doing to him. So she might know that she is his sunrise and his sunset, that she is his blanket of warmth and light and how wherever he was, he carried her with him. Because in this moment, in this world, all that seemed to exist for him was Prudence Poe.
"What is taking them so long?" Nathaniel huffed, arms crossed, leaning his right shoulder against the thick trunk of an old Oak tree.
"Patience brother. They have to find it first." Pru said, Nibbling her thumb in nervous anticipation.
"Martin has lived in this cabin his entire life...you'd think he would know where to find it." Nathaniel quipped shifting his legs.
Pru swiveled her head to face him, a knowing smile playing across her lips, "Oooh! Is our fearless Natty a wee bit worried that we will be caught by our father?" Pru teased, holding up her thumb and forefinger in front of her eyes and peering at him through the small crack between them. Nathaniel set his brows on a deep V, his face red with annoyance and yanked a bit of brown bark from the tree. He twirled it between his fingers for a moment before flinging it at her and hitting smack across the cheek. Pru gasped in fake shock at his actions and stuck out her tongue, wagging it back and forth at him. Nathaniel huffed and began effortlessly peeling a larger piece bark away from the tree when he was distracted by a loud whistle that shot out from the cabin. Both Pru and Nathaniel turned their heads in its direction and watched as Uncas took the cabin steps two at time in a quick downward succession, until he landed flat upon the ground and ran at a break neck pace towards them.
"Where's Martin?" Pru said, straightening her shoulders and pushing herself higher off the ground by her tip toes as though it would somehow make her see the vastness of the farm better.
"There." Nathaniel said pointing past the blur that was Uncas heading towards them.
Martin came barreling out of the cabin with both fists tightly gripped around a bottle neck, the brown liquid inside sloshing back and forth from within its glass confines. He leapt into the air from the top step, soaring nimbly forward until his feet collided with the ground below. Then without any hesitation or need to get his bearings, began swiftly sprinting in their direction. Martin breached the tree line in mere seconds and tossed a bottle towards Nathaniel, who dropping the bark he was toying with, caught the bottle with both hands like he was cradling a crying baby.
"Come on!" Uncas yelled as he tore past them disappearing deeper into the forest.
Martin dashed past Nathaniel grabbing Pru's hand, spinning her around in a half circle and yanking her along after him. She laughed loudly, her feet stumbling beneath her legs as she struggled to keep pace with Martin. Pru peered over her shoulder and called out to Nathaniel, "Are you coming?"
Nathaniel looked up at Pru stunned that he had managed to even catch the bottle and after watching as the three of them grow smaller in the distance, gathered his bearings and took off behind them. A full bottle of stolen whisky dangling from his clasped palm.
Nathaniel dipped his head back, angling his face towards the sun and gulping down several long swigs of whisky before passing the bottle across to Martin. "Where did you end up finding the bottles anyway?" Nathaniel asked, peering over at Martin.
Martin smiled slyly, raising the bottle high in Nathaniel's direction and said, "Wouldn't you like to know!" He put the bottle to his lips swallowing down a large gulp of golden brown liquid. A tiny bit seeping out of the corner of his mouth and gliding down his chin. Pru reached over, without even realizing what she was doing, wiping the dribble away from his chin and neck with her fingers and nearly striking down the smitten Martin straight into the dirt beneath him. The tingling effect of her touch promptly sending him into a massive coughing fit and only furthering Pru's lingering touch as she quickly began rubbing his back in small soothing circles.
Nathaniel lifted his brows far into his forehead at his friends stunned reaction to his sister's touch and said, "Well then! Maybe it's time you passed that bottle over to Pru, huh Martin?"
Pru took quick note of her brother's wicked tone and twisted her head to face him with one brow lifted high in question and asked, "What? What's going?" She shifted her eyes accusingly between them. Finally, scrunching up her nose at them, she hastily grabbed the bottle out of Martin's hand and took a long sip. The stinging brown liquid setting her mouth and throat ablaze. Pru threw her right hand down on Martin's thigh, gripping his trousers in her balled up fist. Her eyes began to water and before she was able to stop it, spat out her entire mouthful whisky directly into Nathaniel and Uncas's faces.
"Ew, Pru! Couldn't you have just turned your head?" Nathaniel bellowed as his began wiping his face.
"Oooh Uncas! I'm so sorry!" Pru said, leaning over and wiping his face with the hem of her dress.
Nathaniel's mouth hung completely agape. "'I'm sorry, Uncas.' Are you serious? You got way more on me! You are clearly showing favorites," He whined as he watched her continue to clean off their little brother's face. While he was left a sticky mess.
"My turn!" Uncas said reaching for the bottle, once Pru was finished wiping him he clean.
"Are you sure?" Pru asked staring at him with furrowed brows. "This stuff is REALLY strong."
"Yeah…hand it over!" Uncas excitedly said reaching out his hand a wiggling his fingers at the bottle.
All three sets of their eyes stared at Uncas as he first took the bottle to his nose, sniffing it, then carefully placed it against his lips and then without hesitation threw back his head, the bottle along with it and took a long swig. All three of their mouths fell agape as after Uncas removed the bottle from his lips, wiped his mouth with his sleeve and casually passed it back towards Nathaniel. "That's good." He said with bright smile in his face.
"What...how...how is that even possible? You are only eleven years old!" Pru stammered.
Nathaniel slapped Uncas on the back and said, "To my little brother...and his wild tolerance to the nasty taste of Sampson's once well hidden whisky!" He raised the bottle high towards Uncas and after giving him an exaggerated wink, threw the bottle against his lips and guzzled down some more of the foul tasting amber liquid.
Nathaniel and Uncas sat cross legged with arms drape around each other's shoulders and swaying merrily back and forth to the sweet tune of birds singing overhead. As they intermittently interjected nature's chorus with a few haphazard song lyrics they had once upon a time heard in Reverend Wheelock's school from when they attended there several years ago. Martin was laughing at them in a violent fashion, his right hand gripping tightly to his stomach and his left spread out behind him, palm face down in the dirt supporting his weight. Pru laid beside him on her belly, her bare feet and exposed legs wagging carelessly back and forth up in the air. She had her hand resting on the empty bottle of whisky spinning it round and round in the dirt and watching at the sun's brilliant light jumped and danced across the glass. With the first bottle completely drained and the second bottle halfway gone, Pru rolled onto her back, her head by Martin's feet and smacked him on the leg. "I'm bored...let's play a game!" She declared, suddenly popping up into a seated position and spinning herself around to face Nathaniel and Uncas.
Nathaniel and Uncas began slowly bringing their bodies to a slightly off balance stop, Nathaniel drunkenly leaning into Uncas and taking another long swig from the second bottle of whisky. Then with one eyebrow up and one down asked, "What kind of game?"
Pru shifted her weight, tucking her bare legs beneath her and said, "How about someone spins the bottle and whoever it points to when it stops they get to ask that person a question...any question they want." She eyed each one of them slowly, enunciating her words with her eyes. Martin stared back at her dreamy eyed, which thankfully for him also looked very similar to drunk and nodded his head lazily up and down without saying a word, fearful in that moment that he might give himself away by telling her how pretty her skin and hair looked all sweaty and tangled from the combination of the hot summer sun and whisky. Pru smiled widely at him and turned back to her brothers. "Uncas..." she began, placing the empty bottle in his lap, "You are the youngest and so you will go first. Spin it brother!"
Uncas picked up the bottle and placed it in the small space of dirt that separated them. He took one quick look up at Pru and spun the bottle. In his drunken state he used too much force and the bottle went flying into Martin's bare feet, the force ricocheted it from Martin's crossed ankles, into the air across the dirt and landed it directly into Nathaniel's lap.
"I guess that's you!" Pru said excitedly. "Go ahead Uncas, ask him whatever you want!"
Nathaniel placed the bottle off of his lap and back into the dirt and leaned back on both palms. Drunkenly swiveling his head in Uncas's direction. "Go on," he said with a wry smile curled upon his lips.
"Hmmm...what to ask?" Uncas wrapped against his chin with his fingers in indecisiveness. "Ooooh I know! Where do honestly prefer to live...the farm or the Delaware camp?" Uncas leaned further into Nathaniel and slurred, "Oooh chiiild of two worlllds!"
Nathaniel placed his palm atop Uncas's head and lightly pushed his face away from him, before once more leaning back and arching his head towards the sun. "Hmmm...," he began. Nathaniel knew, even in his drunken state, that this was a tricky question. Especially as he sat with his little brother, Indian by blood, and his best friend with skin as white as his own, whose home he currently occupied.
"Tick, Tock!" An eager Uncas chirped from beside him.
Nathaniel lifted his head when he felt a light touch against his knee. His eyes meeting Pru's as soon as he leveled his head. He could hear her words echoing throughout his mind without her ever needing to speak. It is always right…when you are honest. Nathaniel smiled over at her and said, "When I am at the Delaware camp, I am home and when I am at the farm I am home. Wherever my family is…is where I prefer to be." He turned his head to Uncas, who was nodding his own in happy agreement. "My turn." Nathaniel said, spinning the bottle in the dirt and watching as it rotated in circle after circle until it slowed and stopped, its neck pointing directly at Pru. "Well little sister…it would appear that it is your turn," Nathaniel snickered. Pru sat up straighter, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. Nathaniel's eyes flickered mischievously between her and Martin. While it seemed Pru was oblivious to the potential question she was about to be asked, Martin on the other hand knew then that Nathaniel was completely wise to his feelings for his sister and stared imploringly at him to please be kind in that moment.
Pru followed her brother's eyes seeing how they connected with Martin's and reached out, pressing a pointer finger from each hand into both Nathaniel and Martin's sweat covered cheeks and said, "What is this that you two are doing? Staring helplessly into each others eyes? Are you two in love?" She pronounced in a low husky draw.
Nathaniel burst out laughing, grabbing his chest in exaggeration and said, "If only you knew!" Martin bore his eyes down hard upon Nathaniel, silently conveying to him that he was at the very least going to receive a broken finger if this continued for even one more second. Nathaniel took several deep breaths, helping his laughter to fade once he fully realized the depth of Martin's angst and simply said in return of his friends wicked gaze, "Ooookay."
"Okay what?" Pru asked. She leaned in, wobbling a bit on her knees and let her hand slip from Martin's cheek to his shoulder as she was losing her own battle with balance. Just as she thought she might completely topple over, Pru felt the sturdy grip of Martin's palm take hold of her elbow, steadying her immediately. Pru smiled widely at him and said, "Thank you dear sir."
Nathaniel snickered as he glanced between them, watching with keen interest how they both peered innocently into the others eyes and deciding to have just a wee bit of fun with them asked Pru, "What is it you like the most about Martin's appearance?"
Without turning her head to acknowledge her brother's words, Pru took both of Martin's cheeks in her palms, tugging down the skin under his eyes with her thumbs and softly answered, "His eyes. I love his eyes. They remind me of the forest in springtime. The vibrant green of the leaves mixing with the rich brown of the trees bark…," she pulled herself onto her knees and pressed her forehead against Martins', and peered directly into his eyes, "And speckled ever so subtly with the sun's golden rays throughout. They are beautiful." She finished, gently sliding her hands from his face and moving back into a seated position.
Martin gulped as hard and as softly as could be achieved in one breath. His heart was racing and his pores began spouting streams of sweat all along his forehead and neck. Pru had always been affectionate. Her mannerism were always warm and if she cared for you, she showed it. But this moment, this was a completely unguarded expression of how she was feeling. It couldn't just be him feeling this way...could it? This was something different and he knew it right to his very bones.
"Need a cloth?" Nathaniel said laughing at Martin's physical reaction to Pru's touch. Martin narrowed his eyes him, grabbing a handful of dead leaves from the beneath the tree that shaded them and tossed them casually into Nathaniel's face. Nathaniel quickly dodged his friends assault and said, "Pru, it's your turn to spin."
Pru grabbed the bottle and quickly sent it into a violent swivel having underestimated her own strength in her drunken condition and watched as it slowed to a stop in front of Uncas, who leaned forward eagerly awaiting her question, while he took another long swig of the second, half empty bottle of whisky. Pru crawled slightly towards him, hovering over his bottle clad hands and furrowing her brows asked in a very serious manner, "Who is your favorite sibling?" As soon as the words left her lips, an eruption of laughter could be heard from each of the boys. Pru smiled mischievously and laughed along with them, inching her way closer to Uncas and in a playfully deep voice said, "Answer the question Uncas!"
Uncas laughed heartily, little tears sprouting from his eyes, until Pru was nose to nose with him. He took a deep breath composing himself and after clearing his throat said, "Hmmm…I am sorry sister…I don't play favorites. I love you both equally!"
"Ahhh!" Pru said in the same deep voice before mussing his long silken hair and returning to her spot next to Martin. "Always so diplomatic dear brother!"
"You're up Uncas." Martin said pointing to the bottle in the dirt and reaching for the whisky still clutched in Uncas's hand.
Uncas passed him the whisky bottle and took to spinning the empty. He leaned his body back against the tree just behind him and took a few deep breaths as he watched the slow twirl of the bottle. Was it slow? Or was he feeling slow, he wondered. Between the drink, the sun and the laughter, his body had begun to feel weighted, like he did after he walked for endless hours in the forest shouldering his heavily stuffed travel pack. He stretched out his legs and folded his arms across his chest, waiting silently as the bottle's slow twirl came to a stop on Martin. With his mood having suddenly shifted from that of wild laughter to a somber silence, Uncas furrowed his brows and asked, "What is your greatest wish?"
"Wow Uncas. That 's deep." Nathaniel quipped as he took the whisky bottle from Martin.
Martin leaned back on his palms, he knew his deepest wish without needing even a moment to think about it. "I would wish that you would all live on the farm permanently," He sighed and added, "So I would never be lonely again." His admission of truth suddenly sending the three Mohican's into action as Nathaniel instantly reached out his leg and kicked Martin's ankles, uncrossing them. While Uncas scooted his body across the ground, settling himself beside him and Pru wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest. Martin blinked rapidly between them, and leaned up wrapping his left arm around Pru as he placed his right palm on Uncas's shoulder. He smiled softly and said, "Don't worry about me. I'm a big boy. This is a game of truth and so that is what I gave you." Martin looked down into Pru's sad eyes and said, "Please...I am fine really. I love my father and our farm. I suppose it just feels more like home when you are all here."
"Martin..." Pru began but was quickly cut off by Nathaniel.
"It's your turn." Nathaniel said, deciding to deflect the conversation away from his friend, who he knew would become more uncomfortable with this topic the longer they lingered on it and nudged Martin's bare feet with his own. Martin patted Pru's back as she withdrew herself from his frame and reached out with his right hand towards the bottle. He spun it in the air and the four of them watched as it seemed to gently float down to the forest floor, its neck pointing straight at Nathaniel. Martin raised his eyes, meeting his friend's head on and asked, "Who is the girl?"
Nathaniel smiled widely, just as he had figured out Martin's secret, so had his oldest friend figured his own out. "Her name is Tanda," his words immediately perking the interest of Pru and Uncas. "And she…she is special to me."
"How special?" Martin questioned.
"Special."
"Where did you two come from that last night before we began preparing to leave the camp? Chaska and I looked everywhere for you at one point," Pru said.
"Chaska?" Martin inquired at the new name and somehow knowing that it was not a girls name, felt an unwarranted anxiety plague him. Pru had said it so casually, whoever this person was Pru was spending quite a bit of time with them.
"Our friend from the camp," Pru answered, not taking her eyes off of Nathaniel's. "Well brother?"
"Boy? Girl?" Martin persisted.
"Boy," Uncas interjected, seeing that neither of his siblings were going to answer him.
Martin inwardly cringed, outwardly though he never missed a beat. "Ahhh...," he said, making a mental note to interrogate Nathaniel later on the subject.
Nathaniel silently shook his head. He knew Pru was drunk and would not normally be pestering him for the details of his relationship with Tanda. And while he found this line of questioning annoying, he found it even more annoying when she reached over and started drumming her palms on his thigh in her tell me right now way. He thought about his answer for a moment. Did he want them to know? How would Tanda feel about them knowing? He glanced around at them and thought that one way or another he would end up telling them anyway and no matter what their current state of drunkenness was he knew they would never tell another soul. He took a deep breath and said, "We…well we…"
Pru sat straight up, covering her mouth with her hands and speaking between her parted fingers said, "You did...didn't you?" Nathaniel held her stare as she let her palms slip from her mouth. "What was it like?"
Now it was Uncas's turn to cover his mouth, his embarrassment over Pru's question evident in his ruby red cheeks. "Pru!" Uncas yelped through his palms. "You can't ask him about that!"
Pru stared stunned at Uncas then quickly back at Nathaniel. "Too much brother?" She asked, raising her eyebrows high into her hair line.
"You can always ask me anything, and certainly always in the company of Uncas and Martin. I'm just not ready to talk about it yet…want to just keep her to myself for a little bit longer. Okay?" He said, running his hand through his long dark brown hair.
"Okay,"Pru said, and quickly added, "I'm sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry about," Nathaniel said with a soft smile and quickly changing the subject. "Now I believe it's my turn," He said spinning the bottle and leaning back on his palms. He made subtle eye contact with Martin, who he new was inwardly driving himself nuts over who Chaska was and why he had not been mentioned before now. Nathaniel laughed as the bottle stopped on Martin, almost as though it was reading his mind. "Ah, Martin. What's your favorite color?" He shot out, deciding to try and shed a little more light on Martin and Pru, especially after Martin threw the "Who's the girl?" question at him.
"Cerulean blue." He replied without hesitation.
"That's kinda funny. Your favorite color is the exact same color as mine and Pru's eyes."
"My turn." Martin said reaching out for the bottle.
"I mean you don't have a crush on me do you, Martin?" Nathaniel said fluttering his long eyelashes at him.
Martin completely ignored him and spun the bottle, its glassy surface and quick movement kicking up a small dust cloud until the bottle pointed its stout neck at Uncas. "What is your greatest fear?" Martin asked leaning back again on his palms. He figured since the game had already taken a wide turn towards seriousness he would just keep up with that pace.
Uncas took a deep breath and began fiddling nervously with the blue beads adorned around the lining of his breechclout. He could feel the heat beating down on his face pushing the sweat from his pours and down the sides of his cheeks and neck, until it pooled in the small indents of his collarbone. His head had started to hurt with a rhythmic pounding that echoed through his cranium like the beat of a distant war drum. Was it from the liquor or the question, he wondered to himself. He peered up through his fuzzy eyes and said, "I fear that I am not enough. I fear that I will always dwell in the shadows, unseen and unheard."
"What?" Nathaniel said, reaching out and placing a sturdy palm on Uncas's shoulder. "Why would you fear that?"
Uncas tilted his head, resting his chubby cheek drunkenly against the back of Nathaniel's palm. "I am younger, weaker, less skilled than you big brother. I look at you and see a great warrior. A great man. I worry that that will never be me. That I will never compare…to you."
"Uncas…you are eleven years old and look at you already. You are much faster than me, much more agile and already you have killed your first buck. And at a much younger age than I was at thirteen. You see brother, you have nothing to worry about. You have already surpassed me!" Nathaniel said with a proud smile beaming across his face. He slid his hand away from Uncas's shoulder and wrapped it around his neck bringing him into a sweet brotherly head lock and kissings him all across the top his silky raven colored hair.
Pru reached out, grabbing a hold of Uncas's bare foot and tickling it until she forced a smile across his sad little face. "Ahh..." Pru said as he wiggled out of her grasp and gently nudged her hands away with his feet.
Uncas wrapped his arms around Nathaniel's waist, squeezing him tightly before playfully pushing himself out the headlock and swiftly grabbing the bottle. He spun it hard, watching as it spun in and endless circle, round and round, until finally stopping on Pru. Uncas stared across at her, roaming his eyes along her milky white skin, all clean and shinny and glowing radiantly under the afternoon sun. Very unlike the first day he met her when their father had brought her back to their camp covered in dirt and blood and pain, and before he was able to stop the words from exiting his young mouth Uncas asked, "What happened that night in the forest?"
Author's Note: So once more I timed jumped and we are back at the farm and with my mention of Martin's fourteen year old heart and that Uncas is eleven, well they have all gained another year! Making Pru fourteen as well and Nathaniel sixteen.
The beginning kicks off with Martin fully realizing the scope of his feelings. He knows now, with certainty, that he is in love with Pru and when he finally embraces it he feels an overwhelming sense of relief that he at least finally understands the feelings he has been grappling with for months. It didn't seem unreasonable with his age that he would fall in love, I know I had crushes at that age! But of course this is no crush...this is a very real, very deep love that will only bloom more intense as they get older.
I wanted to create a situation where they would all be together, and away from their fathers eyes and ears. Giving them a chance to talk freely with one another. It was tough getting the serious conversations started so I leaned on the game, where they would be able to ask each other whatever they wanted and the other would have to answer. With that we saw Martin's feelings for Pru semi exposed through Nathaniel's questioning and in turn Martin surmising similar thoughts about Nathaniel and asking rather pointedly about his yet to be named girl. We also see Uncas's deep insecurities about himself. And finally the looming question he drunkenly asked Pru. Poor kid is only eleven years old and utterly drunk, and his mouth took the lead from his mind and just went there. I saved everyone's reaction for the next chapter!
The stealing of the whisky seemed like a perfect thing for them to do at that age! That situation will be addressed in the next chapter! Those little darlings certainly have another thing coming to them ;)
**If I ever don't leave a translation for a word in my note's it's because I simply am not ready to yet reveal its meaning!
A huge thank you to everyone who viewed/reviewed especially BrynnaRaven, AsterLaurel, ELY72, BlueSaffire, MowhawkWoman...your support is incredible! Thank you a thousand times!
Thanks for reading ;)
