Chapter II



Piper was pleasantly surprised with the overall feel of this trip. For the last three days, even the fact that they had been sleeping in make shift tents, didn't bother her at all. However, she had to admit that her pleasure was due in the most part to Leo's presence. She had realized early on that the attraction she felt for him was mutual. Phoebe had not said a word to her about it, but she wasn't fooled. She had caught her cousin watching them many times in the last few days. What bothered her however, was the fact that Phoebe didn't seem nearly as interested in him as her reproachful stares would have implied. Maybe that was why she had given in to her attraction, and let herself dream that this could go further. However, she realized that the possibility of them really being together was thin at best. She was only Phoebe's poor cousin. Her family's less than stellar holdings would most certainly give him pause, even if he was considering seeing her after this trip. "No matter," she thought to herself, "if only for now, he's here and I will enjoy every moment." At first, she had felt guilty about it, but she soon forgot about the guilt, surprising herself, as she was usually a worrier, and she simply responded to his attentions. Nothing had happened that she should be ashamed of, at any rate. Just benign flirting… At the moment, she could feel his eyes on her, and it gave her a tingling sensation. She couldn't help looking back at him with a very inviting smile, and the expression on his face told her that very little would be needed for him to forget about the others in the coach.

Leo was a very confused man at the moment. He liked Phoebe very much; he liked her energy, her enthusiasm. She was also a very beautiful girl, who could have made any man happy. Yet, ever since he had caught sight of Piper, his feelings had been utterly mixed up. She was so sweet and obviously a loving person. Much more than pretty, to him, she was breathtaking. Every chance he got, he would try to get close to her, even though he felt guilty about it.

He knew that Phoebe wasn't nearly as interested as he had been in their budding relationship. Yet, he had felt that they were moving toward something more serious. That is, until he had met Piper. From that moment on, confusion had replaced certainty in him. It didn't help that he saw the looks of reproach coming from Phoebe as well. Even then, he couldn't help wanting to look at Piper and admire her in spite of his remorse. She was just responding to his stare with that beautiful smile and once more, he felt his heart melting. "What will I do," he asked himself for the umpteenth time in the last few days…

Paige was simply overjoyed with this trip. True, spending nights in the wild was a little more difficult than she had imagined. Yet, it had been an experience that she would remember all her life. The men who accompanied them on the trip had been falling all over themselves to help them. They were obviously smitten by their charges, and she loved the feeling. She wasn't used to so much attention, and it pleased her immensely. Besides that, they had already seen things that she had not even imagined in her wildest dreams. Animals she only knew by name now had shapes that she could recognize. She had a talent for painting and had used this trip to draw many sketches. She expected to have a lot to work on once they were back home. She was thinking of all the wonderful things that she had seen and barely noticed as the light dimmed in the coach when they entered the forest.

Phoebe looked back once more toward her companions and she realized that she was the only one who felt this dread. She chastised herself, thinking that her overactive imagination must have been at work. She looked out again and could see one of the riders by the window. He was so close, in the somewhat oppressing forest, she believed that she could have touched him or the horse, if she had fancied to. As she was observing them, she noticed that the horse suddenly recoiled. It had been a slight movement, but the rider noticed it too, as she saw him looking down toward the horse. He seemed irritated, but also puzzled. The horse recoiled again, just as he was watching it, and this time, he looked out toward the trees, his face showing a hint of apprehension. Phoebe then looked toward the forest as well. However, the thick canopy allowed only a limited view of the surroundings. She felt a wave of anxiety growing in her and she looked back and forth between her unsuspecting companions and the guard, who seemed to become more alert for every moment.

This time the horse actually reared off and the guard knew that something had to be amiss. He seemed about to warn the others when Phoebe watched in horror the arrow flying toward him and hitting him square in the chest. It had been so sudden that he hadn't even had time to utter a scream before he fell off the horse. She was so stunned that at first she didn't react. But then, noticing that the guard on the other side of the coach had also fallen out of sight, she finally screamed of fright.

Leo, Piper and Paige all turned toward her in total bewilderment. None of them had observed anything.

"Phoebe! What is it?" Leo exclaimed.

"Oh my god, I think that we're under attack." Phoebe replied. All the horrible stories had come back to her at once, and she was now trembling in fear. She wasn't used to feel so helpless and couldn't explain herself any further.

Leo put his head through the open window on his side of the coach and quickly removed it. The look on his face told them that Phoebe had been right on the mark.

"Get down!" He screamed anxiously.

The women didn't wait for more and went down toward the floor of the coach, hugging each other. A loud thump on the coach's roof told them that someone had jumped on it. Soon after this, they heard clamors outside, as the vehicle came to a halt. Leo picked up a gun from his baggage and prepared to defend the women the best he could, as it was becoming increasingly obvious that the guards had failed in protecting them…

Suddenly, a painted face appeared on Leo' side of the coach and this one tried to shoot him. The painted man didn't give Leo the chance however, and he rudely pulled Leo out of the coach through the opening, almost breaking the door doing so. Leo lost grip on the gun and fell hard on the ground. That is when Piper forgot about her terror, getting up to jump after him. Without thinking, she put herself between the Indian about to strike and Leo, who reacted to this:

"Piper, get away from him!"

But the girl wouldn't budge. The Indian looked at her curiously then, as if her reaction puzzled him. He kept his arm up, but a weird little smile formed on his lips as he called to his companions.

The others soon came and surrounded the coach; most of them seemingly amused by some joke that they were telling each other. Finally, the Indian who was threatening Piper and Leo simply lowered his arm and stood before them. His knife was still pointed at them however, as were many bows in the other ones' hands. Leo managed to get up and took Piper in his arms protectively. This seemed to cause even more amusement among the Indians. Phoebe and Paige had watched at first in horror, then almost with fascination what was happening. Finally the warriors came to them and pulled them out of the coach just as rudely, amused anew at what they probably considered a feeble attempt at resistance.

Until now, they all had been so stunned that it had seemed like something happening to someone else. However, the bonds that were now being put on their wrists brought them back to the awful reality, along with the sight of the guards' bodies that a few more Indians were bringing back with them. It was soon obvious that they were all dead. Not a single shot had been fired. They had been caught totally unaware. Phoebe's heart sunk, as she had already grown fond of these men, who had been so friendly to them. Now these brutal murderers had killed them all. She also, of course, worried about their fate in the light of this terrible tragedy. She shuddered anew at the thought. Her cousins and Leo were obviously thinking the same thing, as they cast fearful looks toward their captors. However, these didn't seem in any hurry to kill them, as they were simply pillaging the baggage at the moment. Leo thought of trying something, but he soon realized that they were watched closely in spite of the appearances. He had tried to move only a little ways and one of the Indians had immediately come to him, shoving him back toward the girls.

After a moment, Leo turned toward them with a contrite expression:

"I'm so sorry. I never thought that anything like this would happen…"

The girls were still too worried to answer. Piper and Paige were huddled together, visibly shaking. Phoebe, however, was beginning to calm down and the strange feeling of anticipation was coming back to her. She was very puzzled by the way she felt. By all account, she should have been just as terrorized as the others, yet she seemed to be awaiting something. However, that something didn't come…

Seeing that they would not answer, Leo came closer to Piper and whispered:

"I want to thank you for what you've done, even though I still think that you shouldn't have risked your life like this."

Piper turned to him, her expression still very serious but softening perceptibly:

"I couldn't let them hurt you. Besides, I'm afraid that our future is rather grim as we stand. What do you think that they'll do with us?"

Her anxious question pained him because he couldn't bring himself to tell her what he truly thought would happen. Some of the most awful stories about the Indians, told of white women taken by them, and kept for some ungodly purpose, which he didn't even want to imagine.

"Don't worry Piper, we'll find a way to escape," he answered instead, trying to sound confident.

She saw through it, but pretended that she believed him and nodded weakly in agreement.

The men on the coach were still looking at them mockingly and Phoebe would have given anything to understand what they were saying.

These were actually having an animated talk about their prisoners:

"What do you think of that? A man that hides behind a woman… Is he truly a man? Maybe we should look in his pants; we might find out that he's just a girl in disguise."

The others laughed even louder at this.

"What should we do with them? I have to admit that those girls are appetizing. But him?"

"Let's bring him home, if only for the other braves to see what we were talking about. Then let the elders decide. Who knows, he might make a good servant?"

Again, this provoked a burst of laughter, as they imagined him among the women performing some menial task.

Cole had stayed in the tree where he had been throughout the attack. After their unfortunate encounter with the trappers, the men had thought it better to have someone watching their back. He had killed the first guard with a precise arrow and seen the others fall quickly and silently. Their ambush had worked perfectly, and now the braves were enjoying their victory. However, when he had seen her, he had refrained from joining in the celebration. He couldn't believe it. The shock had been such that he had almost lost balance. She was there, real as could be. At first, he even imagined that he had another waking dream, as this was so improbable. In the end, however, he realized that it was not a dream, she was there and what's more, she was their prisoner.

He wanted only to go to her, touch her at last. Nevertheless, he feared that the reality of her presence might shatter his beautiful dream. Which is why, when one of the braves came to tell him that they were ready to go, he signaled to him that he would follow shortly.

Soon after, he could observe the braves rounding the prisoners, and he saw her trying to resist them. This simple fact made him proud. She was at least as spirited as he had imagined she would be. However, the men were not about to be outdone by a woman, no matter how courageous or energetic. They were on their way shortly, although some of them threw curious looks toward his hiding place, as if wondering what got into their brother. When they were out of sight, he finally came down and followed at a distance…

That night, the girls understood that their discomfort during the trip had been nothing compared to what they endured now. The Indians had built a make shift pen, or that was the only name they could give to it. There was barely enough space in it for them to lie down side by side.

A guard was watching them at all time, making the most basic of needs a torture. But even through their terror, none of them could even imagine relieving themselves in this place. So after a long and arduous set of hand signals, Paige managed to make the guard understand what she wanted. Again, he seemed amused when he understood what she was asking, but he still opened the pen and pulled her out. She signaled about the others as well, but for the time being, he simply ignored it.

They didn't go very far however, and the man gestured to her that it was there or nowhere else. Paige looked at him incredulously as the moonlight was so bright that she was certain everyone was observing her.

Still, after a lengthy hesitation, she knew that he would not agree to leave the other prisoners out of his sight, and she tried to be as discreet as she could. Her face was red with embarrassment as they were returning toward the pen, but that is when he grabbed her arm and stopped her. She didn't dare look back, uncertain about his intentions. She felt his filthy hand caressing her hair, and she started unpleasantly. He tightened his hold on her arm, and with his other hand, he pushed her hair back exposing her neck. She could feel his breath against it, but was so scared that it paralyzed her. The others had been averting their eyes to give her some privacy, and only now did they realize what was happening. Leo was about to protest vehemently, when a loud voice came from the darkness. The language was unknown, but the effect immediate. The Indian took a step back and pushed Paige toward the pen.

Phoebe had lifted her head suddenly at the voice. As odd as it seemed, the voice had sounded familiar. Paige entered the pen and threw herself in her sister's arms, now crying uncontrollably. Piper held her tight, trembling of fear and rage, herself. Only now did she really take the measure of what they were faced with.

The guard was shortly replaced by a new one, which, apparently instructed about their need, came to take them one by one. No other unpleasant incident occurred that night. However, they didn't really sleep much either… Phoebe wondered about the man who had prevented Paige from being molested. Who was he?

As soon as she had heard the voice, she had searched the darkness, but all she could see was a tall man, his back turned to them and quickly moving away. For a long time, as Paige was slowly calming down, she had been thinking about this. Finally, she concluded that he might just have been one who wanted to put a claim on Paige or them. Maybe those Indians also had some sort of hierarchy. The thought didn't reassure her in the least. That was when she returned her attention to her companions. Paige had fallen into an agitated sleep, but when she saw Piper and Leo huddling to each other, she became truly irate. How could she be doing this to her? She knew that their situation being what it was, she probably shouldn't have reacted in this manner, but she couldn't help it.

"What on earth are you two doing?"

Piper was startled by her cousin's comment.

"Phoebe I…"

Phoebe ignored her:

"Leo!' She exclaimed. "I thought that you were a trustworthy man. How could you betray me at the first chance you get?"

"Phoebe, I'm simply comforting your cousin. You have to believe this."

"What do you take me for," Phoebe exploded again, waking up Paige in the process, "I saw the way you've been looking at each other. Until now, I tried to ignore it, but this is too much. We are in the direst of situation and you two…"

She couldn't finish the sentence. Deep down, she knew that this was petty and stupid, but maybe it was her only way of dealing with the terrible circumstances. Anger kept the fear at bay.

Piper tried to intervene:

"I assure you Phoebe, nothing happened. You should not get angry with Leo, who has been nothing but wonderful with all of us."

Phoebe continued with the same unconcealed anger:

"Of course you would say that, you're all over him…"

Piper looked at her cousin in total disbelief. Of course, there was some guilt mixed in, as she truly had been happy to be in his arms. Yet, her cousin's reaction seemed so inappropriate.

"Phoebe, you're being unreasonable…" Leo tried again.

"Unreasonable? Who could be reasonable in our present situation? We are the prisoners of savages; we have no idea what they will do to us. And if that wasn't enough, you and my cousin have lost no time forgetting altogether about me. Was I ever anything to you?"

Leo couldn't answer, even if he truly wanted to, but there was nothing that came to him. He had been interested, yes. But he couldn't deny that Piper was on his mind all the time, even now. Not only that, but what had happened to Paige had made him realize that if Piper was touched in such a manner by another man, he would want to kill him. In short, he knew that he had fallen in love. He was no longer confused about it. His only problem now, was that this couldn't come between them and their freedom. He didn't want them to be divided at this point. They needed each other if they wanted to survive.

Therefore, he reluctantly let go of Piper, and turned resolutely toward Phoebe:

"If you believe anything Phoebe, believe this. I am your friend and will be forever. I won't do anything that might hurt you. I respect you too much for this."

Phoebe seemed to visibly deflate and she continued in a more reasonable tone of voice:

"I… I'm sorry; I guess that all of this is driving me crazy. Of course I believe in your friendship. I…I'm just sorry, alright?" She added, as she looked away.

Leo came closer and patted her hand softly. She was grateful for his encouragement, even though she secretly still felt left out. Phoebe was also ashamed at her own selfishness, now that the anger had receded. Calming down, she promised herself to make it up to Piper eventually.

Paige cast uncertain looks toward the people that shared her prison, but decided to avoid intruding on this discussion. Instead, she chose to try sleeping again. This, in spite of the nightmares that had already peopled her short nap…

Piper understood what Leo had meant to do without the need for an explanation. She liked him even more for it. If they ever got out of this predicament, they would have the chance to settle this matter. Now wasn't the time, she knew it.

Cole had been listening in on them, appalled at what he understood of their conversation. How could she be interested in this coward? A man, if one could call him that, whom hid behind a woman to save his own life.

He was angry and also recognized that he was jealous. He should have been the one for her, not that pale imitation of a man; one that apparently entertained another woman as well, and this angered him even more. Many times that night, he was tempted to go to her. He had imagined all the ways that he would teach her what a real man felt like. Yet, he knew deep down that she couldn't be taken. He wanted her so much that it hurt him, but he wouldn't force himself onto her. No more than he would allow the warriors to do this to the other women…

Contrary to the white man's assumptions, women were not molested by their tribe. Most who had stayed with the Kituhwa nation had done so willingly. They had either found themselves alone and afraid to leave, or simply had fancied one or another of the braves. His tribe had never taken one prisoner however. This was a first. He knew that the men were curious about them, and as soon as he was certain that the prisoners couldn't see him, he came to talk about it with the others.

The men protested against his instructions, but in the end, they had agreed with him, giving the shaman in training the respect they knew was his due. Cobena, one of the youngest among them, and the one who had tried to seduce Paige, still questioned:

"Why do you stay behind, Jolon? This looks weird to us."

Jolon faced him:

"I have my reasons, and I don't need to explain them to you. Just trust in my judgment. Who knows? Maybe the young girl is going to come to you of her own will? Let's not be as savage as the white man thinks us to be."

He then left them without another word, ignoring their puzzled expressions.

The night seemed interminable. Phoebe woke up many times from an agitated sleep. More than once, she thought that she had felt someone observing her but dismissed it as she realized that indeed, they most certainly were watching all of them. What really bothered her however, were the dreams. Considering where they were, she should have been having nightmares, yet, she was instead having the most arousing of dreams. Every time she woke up, she felt pearls of sweat on her forehead, and it had nothing to do with the ambient temperature, which was actually very low. Right now, she was the only one of their group awake, and she was grateful for this, as she was certain that they would have noticed her face all flushed, even in the dark… "How could she be so aroused by one of those savages, even in a dream," she thought with shame. Yet even the memory of his hands caressing her was enough to quicken her breath. In the end, she gave up on sleep altogether, refusing to give in to her weakness any longer.

The Indians forced them to travel over tortuous trails, barely visible. They fed them insipid meat, that they found difficult to chew on as it was as tough as leather. Throughout this, they had them on foot, and took care of the horses better than they. At night the temperature dropped drastically, and they thought that if the Indians didn't kill them, consumption would, most certainly.

On the third night of their captivity, one of the warriors had brought blankets to them. Although these were filthy and not at all what they were used to, they were still grateful for a little warmth. They didn't know who or what they owed this to, but they accepted it without questioning. By then they were mostly resigned to their fate. It was obvious that no one was coming to their rescue, at least in the immediate future. Leo had tried to encourage the girls however, as he was convinced that his failing to arrive at destination would soon raise red flags. He had even thought of leaving a trail behind. Using the now useless money that the Indians had not seen fit to take away from him, he threw them beside the trail at almost regular intervals.

What he didn't know, was that Cole had noticed the banknote and removed most of them, as he still followed at a distance.

"How could she love such an idiot." He had then reflected with undisguised anger.

For the umpteenth time, he told himself that he should simply get rid of this rival. But every time, he also reminded himself that this would be the coward way… Besides, he had no doubts that once the time had come for them to meet, she would forget all about the weak man. He had already decided to wait until he had a talk with his mentor before going to her. That didn't help him resisting his many impulses on the long nights of the trip, and only the meditative prayers that the Shaman had taught him kept him away from her. That is, until the last night…

Piper and Phoebe had barely said a word to each other for the last three days, and that didn't help in the least to alleviate their ordeal. Even if Phoebe felt petty because of it, she still couldn't bring herself to forgive Piper. More than once, she had showed an inordinate affection toward Leo, much more to annoy her cousin than because she felt like it.

"Maybe," she thought to herself as the braves were preparing to camp once more, "I'm also doing this to prove something to myself?"

The last three nights had been again agitated by dreams that she would never have repeated to anyone. She felt utterly ashamed and needed to reassure herself that she wasn't betraying her own by this.

Their discomfort seemed to have no end. The four of them were now filthy. The Indians had not thought once to offer them a chance to clean up, and now they were feeling horribly self-conscious about it. The worse of their fear was now behind them, at least for the moment, and Phoebe decided that she couldn't stand her state of being any longer. Cold or not, they needed to clean up and if possible, change clothes with those that the Indian had brought along in one of the trunks. That is why when the guard tried to push them inside the pen she stubbornly refused to move and turned to him with an almost defiant expression.

"I'm not going in there," Phoebe told him, even though she knew that he couldn't understand a word she said. "We need to clean up and to change in something warmer," she continued, encouraged because the brave just looked at her in puzzlement without trying to molest her. She held her skirt up to him, trying to make him understand about the dirt. The brave didn't seem to get her meaning still, so she made a daring move toward the waterhole. At first, he seemed about to catch her and pull her back, but then he apparently changed his mind and followed her instead. She went to the water and splashed some of it on herself.

The Indian obviously understood then, because he smiled widely showing the water and rubbing himself at the same time. Phoebe emphatically nodded in the affirmative. However, he simply stood there, as if he expected her to undress in front of him. She stood tall and faced him with all the courage that she could muster, indicating him to go further away. He said something that she couldn't understand, but his expression told her that he disagreed with her. She then insisted, emboldened by the fact that she had no intention of giving a spectacle to this savage. After a few minutes of this, the brave had to conclude that she wasn't going to be reasonable about it, and he took a few steps back, turning toward the others with a bow at the ready. Phoebe understood what it meant, but at least she was grateful for a modicum of privacy. The trunks that she had spotted were on the closest horse, and she moved toward them, pulling a garment that she used for riding. Then, reassured that the Indian was still looking away, she went behind a boulder, undressed rapidly and entered the water with an exclamation of surprise at the coldness of it.

No matter, it still felt good to be able to wash after these three days of forced march. She was so delighted at the improvised bath that for a moment she almost forgot about their predicament.

Cole had come closer to the camp that night. He knew that soon they would be home, and his impatience began to weigh heavily on him. This time, the meditations had not worked and he felt the need to at least look at her. From his point of view, he could see the pen without being seen, but became anxious when he couldn't find her with the others. Throwing caution to the wind, he was about to ask the guard about her, when as he approached, he noticed female clothing on a boulder nearby.

He went silently toward it, hiding behind a thick bush and caught his breath when he saw her. She seemed so much more relaxed than he had seen her in the last few days. Her eyes were closed and she looked to him like the angels that the missionary had described a long time ago. Through the clear water, he could see her breast full and firm. Her skin wasn't as white as he had thought. It was rather in between Noayak's brown skin and the pale one that he had expected. To him, she looked like perfection. He observed her for a long moment, unmoving, and then, without thinking, he took a step forward. He had been so distracted by what he was witnessing that he walked on a branch, provoking a loud cracking noise. This caught her attention and she put her hands up to her chest, looking in the direction of the bush fearfully. He had thrown himself back behind it rapidly, his heart racing.

Phoebe looked intensely toward the woods. At first, she thought that the guard was coming for her, but then she thought of all the wild animals, which lived in those mountains. What if one of them was observing her, ready to pounce, she thought fearfully. The peace that she had felt until then left her and she hurried out of the water, picking up her clothes and dressing up in a hurry.

While doing this, she cast many anxious looks toward the forest. She could see nor hear nothing anymore however, but she still hurried back toward the others. She told them that the guard was willing to let them take a bath, but warned them to be careful once there. Piper and Paige went out of the pen nervously, under the disapproving look of the guard, but he didn't do anything to stop them. Instead, he demonstrated in the same manner as he had for Phoebe, that if they tried to escape, their companions would pay the price. They understood without the need for any words and went on their way.

"You look much better," Leo told Phoebe with a smile.

"I do feel better."

"It was very brave of you…"

Phoebe couldn't help smiling:

"Not brave… reckless maybe? At any rate, I couldn't stand it anymore."

He took her hand gently and she felt warmer inside.

"You have to know that I respect you immensely. Very few women would have the courage that you demonstrated in the face of such adversity."

Phoebe almost blushed at the compliment. In that instant, she was attracted to him more than she ever was before. Or maybe, it was just that she needed to feel his friendship and respect, as she was tired to be simply an object that those men were taking god knew where. There was no way for them to know how much longer this trek would last, and this little moment of freedom had been like a miracle.

Cole had come back toward the pen and he was now observing them with a mix of lust for her and anger toward this man who, in spite of being their prisoner, could touch her and be closed to her, when he didn't even dare doing it. She smiled at the man the way he dreamt that she would for him and he felt it like a knife through his heart. Against his better judgment, he stayed there watching them long after the other girls had come back from their ablutions, and even after Leo had been gone and back. When they finally fell asleep, he couldn't help moving closer.

She was agitated, moaning in her sleep, and he wondered what she might be dreaming about. Unable to resist any longer, he signaled to the guard silently that he would stay. This one looked at him curiously, surprised that he finally was coming close to the prisoners. Yet, he left him and went to get some rest.

Cole still watched her for a long moment. Then she seemed to breathe faster, her breast rising invitingly. She moaned again and he almost stepped back, but his legs didn't obey. He could only look at her, feeling the desire mounting in him irrepressibly. In the end, he couldn't stop himself, and he silently opened the pen, bending toward her, breathing deeply in her scent. He dared brush her lips and she moaned again. Almost immediately, her lips parted, inviting him to probe further and his kiss became more passionate as she responded in her sleep.

The man was back, he was coming to her, kissing her, caressing her in only the manner of the most intimate lover. His mouth was soft and wanting at the same time on hers, and she only wanted to prolong this moment as much as she could. In her semi conscious state, she thought that this felt even more real than usual, but she didn't want to wake up, not just yet. Her hand came to rest on his chest and he shuddered at her touch. Suddenly, she became frightened by the realism of the dream and she pushed her imaginary lover away abruptly. He felt her pushing him away, and frustration almost got the best of him. He wanted her so much, and yet she now seemed almost afraid. He reluctantly let go of her lips and pulling away just as she was waking up. He then ran out of the pen, barely remembering to close the fence before going toward the trees.

Phoebe woke up with a start, certain that she had seen a shadow entering the bush just now. She lied immobile for a while, feeling her blood racing through her veins. Her lips seemed on fire and she wondered about this as well. Even the most intense of her dreams had never felt like this one, and for a long time she wondered if one of the Indians had not tried to take advantage of her. Unable to go back to sleep, she looked around the pen and was surprised to find no one there.

The other nights, there always had been a guard watching them…

She probed further in the semi-darkness, barely believing that they were alone. Finally she moved toward Leo, and shook him awake. As she had done, he looked around carefully but came to the same conclusion. The pen had never been meant as a prison per say, just a way to keep them in one place. He cautiously opened the fence and went toward the horses, which were simply grazing on the grass with no one in sight to watch them either.

Amazed at this stroke of luck, he took the horses by the reins and brought them back toward the pen. Phoebe had already risen Piper and Paige, but those two were still fearful of retaliations by the Indians, and they took some convincing before they agreed to go. Finally, Phoebe turned to Paige and reminded her of what she had almost endured a few days earlier. This sufficed to convince her, and in turn Piper.

They then walked the horses away from the camp as silently as they could and entered the forest…

Cole had run for a while, trying to calm down. He felt stupid at his own actions. How could he have imagined even for an instant, let alone these three days, that he would ever have a chance with her? He was certain that she had awakened, and seeing him there had pushed him away, as he should have expected her to react. "She probably was dreaming of the white man," he thought with rage in his heart.

He stopped and leaned heavily on a large tree, trying to catch his breath.

For a long time, he simply stood there, uncertain if he would ever dare face her again. He was angry and heartbroken at the same time. In the end, he made up his mind that he would try to forget about the girl. Noayak was waiting for him at the village; "I don't need her," he thought, trying to convince himself, but only with mitigated success.

Only the call of an owl, which he recognized for an alert by one of his brothers, pulled him out of his somber thoughts. Something had happened at the camp, so he reluctantly headed back.

The braves found the pen empty, and if that was a disappointment for them, they might not have gone after the fugitives. However, the fact that they had taken the horses along was a whole another matter. They didn't know how much distance they had on them, but the last one who had seen them said that he had left his post hours earlier… They started after the girls and Leo immediately, not waiting for Cole to join them…