See chapter one for disclaimer, summary, etc.

Chapter Four

A/N:

Ah well ... I apologize. At the last minute I decided to enter NaNoWriMo. I did 53,000 words in 2 weeks and then my muse walked out on me. I mean, the nerve of her. So anyway, all pointless excuses aside, I finally was able to produce 2,000 words of this fic. And it took me TWO nights! Can you believe that? For NaNo I was doing 5,000 words per night! Argh. Something is wrong here, is it not? Haha.

If any don't already know and would like to know what the heck I'm doing when I'm not updating, I usually post to my LiveJournal (or GreatestJournal) almost daily. My name there (in both places) is TrinTheSheDevil. (Also feel free to join my new Graphics community! SheDevilGraphix - so far it's full of Lost icons, as well as LotR, Hidalgo, Desperate Housewives, and others.)

One last thing! Haha, how unfair was the last episode of Lost?! Ergh. Not saying anything more lest I spoil it for someone who hasn't seen it. Still ... arrgh.

This has only been read over quickly by me - so all errors are MINE! Mine I say, preciousss. ;) Also - I keep hearing that is jerking the formatting around and linking words together. So if it does that and I miss any I apologize.

Frank shuddered from where he stood, not completely aware of the world around him. After they had gotten out of the river, the rope around his neck had been attached to one of the horses and he had been forced to walk. The other horse that had been swept downstream hadn't made it; it was killed in the waterfall further downstream and left to the wolves. Blood streamed down his neck in an almost steady flow, thanks to the rope that was pulled painfully tight. He had only complained once, telling the men who held him that he couldn't walk, and earned himself a cracked rib for it. After that he just walked as much as he could, being dragged across the muddy, harsh ground when his legs would no longer support him. It continued like that throughout the night, as now the sun just was glinting on the horizon. He was thankful for that fact - the sun meant warmth.

He knew there was something wrong with his back; he wasn't sure what exactly, but there was. A harsh throbbing that only got worse when he moved pulsed middle ways of his spine, taking his breath away. Not to mention his wrist that he was almost positive was broken. That had happened when he had tried to break his fall and instead landed on his wrist, not being able to see well in the dark. He was also sure that he was coming down with something. His chest was clenched almost painfully, rough coughs shaking his already battered frame. All in all, he was a mess.

Blinking the world into focus, Frank finally realized the men had stopped and were planning on resting for a while. He dropped to his knees, slumping sideways, grateful for the reprieve. It still rained lightly, but he didn't care. He was far too cold now to feel anything properly anyway. His hands were numb from being tied (in front of him, at least) and his fingers had turned an alarming shade of purple. Coughing and wincing as pain lanced through his midsection, Frank felt he would give anything at the moment to be back home, with Grey Wolf and his mother. The rest of the tribe may not have fully accepted him, yet after getting over childhood squabbles, they long ago gave up physically hurting him.

'I shouldn't have left.' Frank winced, imagining the look on the Chief's face when he realized Frank was yet again in trouble because of white skins. Yet this trouble was a little more ... dangerous ... than his previous encounters. The other tribe warriors, no matter how much they disliked him, would demand blood in payment for this crime just because Frank was of his mother's line. Although Frank did not wish malicious thoughts on someone else, right now he didn't care what happened to the white men provided he could just go home to warmth and comfort.

"Hey Red," Bradley said quietly, "maybe we should let the injun' off the rope. He don't look like he can go anywhere anyway."

Red snorted from where he was tying up a small tent on a rocky outcropping, where the water hadn't risen yet. "Bradley, let me tell ya somethin'. That injun' isn't as hurt as he tries to make us think. He's just fakin' it to try and make us feel bad for him, hopin' we'll cut'em loose. That ain't gonna happen, ya hear?" Red turned, looking his cousin in the eye.

"Yes Red." Bradley nodded. "Can I feed him and bandage his neck though? We wouldn't want him bleedin' or starvin' to death."

Red sighed. "Fine. That's it though and I want you in this tent in ten minutes, asleep. We have to get a move on, no tellin' if that injun' has friends around."

Bradley rushed off to his pack, grabbing a few biscuits and an old shirt, as well as some of the whiskey he had brought on the trip. He walked over to where Frank sat, half asleep.

"Hey, injun'." Bradley called out softly, watching as Frank startled awake and watched him with wary eyes.

"I'm not here to hurt you. I figured you could use somethin' to eat and that neck bandaged up." Bradley waited for Frank to nod before moving forward, setting his items down in his hat. He looked at Frank's hands, frowning.

"That's too tight. I don't know why Rick likes to cause as much hurt to people as he can." He shook his head. "Here, this will help at little bit."

Frank winced when Bradley loosened the knots on his hands. It did, however, help. The feeling was now coming back into his hands, slowly and painfully.

"Th-thank you." Frank whispered, coughing.

"Lean up some." Bradley loosened the rope around his neck also, enough to clean the wounds with the whiskey and bandage the raw and bleeding cuts with strips from the shirt. Frank clenched his eyes shut against the pain, refusing to groan out loud. He inwardly sighed in relief when Bradley tied the bandage off and tightened up the rope. It wasn't too tight now - Frank was sure if he moved just right he could slip out of it. Bradley handed him the biscuits, quiet for a moment.

"I'm sorry." He said, refusing to look Frank in the eyes, and walked off. Frank wondered at Bradley's actions, nibbling on the biscuits the young man had left with him. Truthfully he wasn't very hungry, but he doubted he would get much food in the days to come. It was better to eat now than starve later. He would also need as much strength as he could get, knowing in the traveling ahead he would be walking again.

As he finished the small amount of food and his eyes began to slide shut, Frank wondered where Hidalgo was and how the horse was faring. No doubt he had went back to the tribe to fetch help, or Gods forbid had gotten Grey Wolf. Frank loved the man like a brother, but at times Grey Wolf could be compared to ... well an angry, ruffled mother hen. He snorted quietly, knowing his friend wouldn't exactly like that comparison.

As he drifted off to sleep - or what could be called sleep, he knew sleep didn't involve this much discomfort or pain - Frank couldn't help but be reminded of when he had first seen Hidalgo. It was another one of his life threatening escapades and one he would always remember. It was also the beginning of a very strong friendship between he and the horse, one that he was thankful for.

Flashback

Blue Child grunted, being thrown into the dirt once more by the mustang he was trying to tame. He glared at the animal, shaking his head. The horse in question snorted and stamped, turning his rump to the man on the ground.

"Blasted, stubborn horse." Blue Child picked himself up once more, wincing. He was thoroughly sore from being bucked off the horse's back, and quite tired of losing this battle. "You love your freedom too much." He sighed.

"Once more then. After that, you can go." He grabbed the blanket, throwing it over the horse's back. The young man could have sworn he saw a mischievous glint in the animal's eyes, one that promised pain and humiliation. Shrugging to himself, he hopped on the beast's back, hanging on.

In a split second the horse came alive, bucking and twisting to try and remove the man clinging onto his sides. Blue Child grunted when he was finally sent flying into the dirt again.

"Alright, I get the point. Come here, boy." Blue Child removed the bridle, rubbing the horse. "You can go." Word's came back to him now, wise words of the Chief. 'If an animal clings so strongly to freedom, let him have it. Forcing one away from freedom will cause only hatred.'

He took these words to heart, rubbing the horse once more. Though it still pained him to let the animal go. It was a magnificent creature; flawless, the essence of strength.

"See you around." Blue Child grinned, happy to at least have seen this beauty. He started off, back towards his tribe. It was getting late and the sun was almost gone from the horizon. Already he could spot several bright stars above him; he didn't really need light though, he knew this land by heart.

Half an hour later, he realized he may have made a mistake in choosing the steep trail directly down the mountain, rather than taking the longer, safe horse path around it. The rains the day before had washed out several of the larger rocks, causing the entire trail to be unstable. There was no way he could go back up - he had already fallen a good ways and banged his arm up badly, landing on an outcropping that had saved his life. He would just have to be more careful in choosing where he placed his feet.

'I'm beginning to loathe these types of situations.' Blue Child thought darkly, maneuvering around a large wobbly boulder. 'Am I some kind of cosmic kicking ball? The Gods must have a laugh at my expense, putting me in all of these life threatening places.' He grumbled to himself. 'What else can possibly happen tonight?!'

That was obviously the wrong thing to think, he found out moments later. The large rock that had appeared stable under his feet suddenly gave way, sending him crashing down the mountain again. At least this time he was closer to the bottom. His fall did, however, trigger a small rockslide, sending large, heavy boulders down after him. Blue Child screamed as he felt his leg snap, landing on the hard earth below. The boulders thankfully missed him, only smaller pebbles raining down on him after his descent.

'That was graceful.' Blue Child groaned, blinking away the tears of pain. His left leg was a mess; looking down, he could see the bone sticking through the bloodied skin, causing his stomach to do flip flops. Blood trickled down the side of his face, drying slowly in the cool breeze. There was no way he would be able to stand, let alone make it back to his tribe. Blue Child sighed, leaning back on the ground and willing the world to stop spinning. If he stayed here though, he was definitely condemning himself to certain death. He could see no way out of this ...

During his musings, he failed to notice a soft sound, getting louder by the second. A "clop clop clop", that stopped just a few feet away from him. Blue Child blinked, looking over. It was the same horse he had tried to tame earlier; the animal had apparently decided to follow him home.

"Hey boy." He smiled slightly, reaching a shaking hand up to the horse. The animal huffed, looking as if saying 'how did you get into THIS situation?!'. Nevertheless, to Blue Child's astonishment, the horse slowly maneuvered himself down on the ground, his intent quite obvious. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth (Blue Child laughed to himself at the pun) he painfully inched his way onto the broad back, clinging weakly onto the mane.

"You know what this means?" Blue Child asked quietly when the horse finally stood up. "You need a name."

The animal turned his head, nickering. Laughing, the man thought for a moment. "How about, Sure Foot? You seem sure of your place in life ... "

The horse twisted around, glaring. "Okay, okay, not that." Blue Child paused. "Hidalgo. Do you like Hidalgo?"

Nodding, the horse whinnied excitedly. "Alright, Hidalgo it is. Now, how about we get back home? I don't know about you but I've had enough pain this day."

End Flashback

Grey Wolf shuddered from the cold, having just crossed the river with White Wing and Hidalgo. Further downstream he could hear the growls and snarls of a pack of wolves; his mount seemed to sense what they were fighting over, looking towards the sounds with pitiful eyes. He patted her neck gently, urging them away from the swiftly flowing waters. It was all that they could do to just cross the water, and now the three of them were exhausted. The horses, however, nudged Grey Wolf firmly, intending on continuing before the others got too far ahead.

"Fine, we will go on." Grey Wolf shook his head. "I need to keep Frank's stubborn trait from you two, it's going to cost me my health."

Hidalgo snorted indignantly.

Pulling himself back onto White Wing, they renewed their hunt for Frank and the men that had taken him. Grey Wolf used the time to lightly doze, trusting Hidalgo to know which way his master had gone. He had the feeling he would need every inch of strength he could scrap together.

It was a few hours later that the horses abruptly stopped, jarring Grey Wolf into awareness. Far ahead, he just hear the sounds of men and horses. Sliding from White Wing, he headed into the dense trees, sneaking around them from behind. Peering through the bushes, he could make out the forms of four men, three inside tents and the other on guard. On the other side of the small camp, Frank lay on his side, a rope around his neck that was tied to a strong tree, and his hands bound in front of him. The rain had stopped earlier, allowing the blood on his face to dry, so much that Grey Wolf couldn't tell how bad his friend was truly hurt.

His heart clenched. Four to one were very bad odds, even for him. How was he going to get Frank free?

Reviews -

leggylover03 - LOL! Well okay I may end up working on Opposites soon, I dunno. I have ideas for it ... hmm. It depends on if my COWRITER shows up. ::g::
Erindi - Yeah. It really isn't Frank's day. Ouch! A solid wall?! Poor you! ::Sends Frank over for a nice massage:: Haha. Can't say that I've ever really had a bad time on a horse ... unless one counts the time the horse I was riding in the mountains decided he wanted to go down the mountain - directly down the steep drop off. Dratted animal, I think he was trying to give me a taste of what I put my poor characters through! Hehehe.
Elwen the Insane Elf - LOL! Lazy. ::g:: Kidding. And hey! It wouldn't have been another month if I hadn't joined NaNoWriMo at the last moment! :P I did my 50k though! Go me. Hehehe.
westernrider - Aww!!! Thank you so much. :) I wouldn't call it a gift though. 'Curse' sounds more accurate. Especially when my muse insists on writing when I really don't have the time to! Haha. I've never been to South Dakota, the farthest west I've been is Tennessee. However my mom used to spend her summers in Nebraska; her cousins are real cowboys there. :) Sadly I've never been, though I would love to go. Glad you like the fic so far!
AM - Thank you, I am glad you like it. :) Oh, thanks! I missed that, haha. I'll have to go back and correct it whenever gets it's head out of it's arse. I'm scared if I try to edit something the whole chapter will mess up. Haha.
viggomaniac - Thank you, and that's okay! I love even the smallest review, they keep me going! :)
nightbug08 - Haha! Yes I suppose Hidalgo and Frank are rather impatient with me, I think they want to get over this whole ordeal. Poor them! Hehehe. Thanks for reviewing!
fan33 - Thank you! :) Will do, hehe.
Lancey - Hahahahaha! You're just full of love aren't you?? ::g:: I hope you love this one as well! :) Oodles of thanks!
Hiei-Rulez - Yeah ... I think everyone wants to hurt those guys. Except Bradley, of course. He's still ... uh ... kind of innocent. Haha. Eerr ... however I don't think this chapter will make you like them any more. ::eg:: Don't worry, end the end they will ... ::trails off:: ... ::veg::
Kathira - Thank you! Very very happy to see you like it. :)
fan33mj - LOL rest in the knowledge that it is your review that kick started my muse back into action! I got the alert and said, "Hey wait just a minute, how long has it been since I updated?!" ::g:: Thanks BUNCHES for that. My muse is back - grumpy and ruffled from the 5k a night from NaNoWriMo - but in working condition. Hehehehehe! Thanks again!

So, what'd you all think?? I plan on - sometime sooner or later - expanding on the scene where Frank and Hidalgo meet. I think I will put it into a little two or three chapter fic, whenever I get time. However at the moment this other LotR plot bunny is nipping at my heels relentlessly. Egh. Good thing I can escape it by finishing my new LotR LJ Mood theme. (But too bad I don't have a LJ paid account, so I can't actually use it on LJ! Hahaha!)

Reviews welcome. :-)