NOTE: I do not own any of the characters in this story, they are all the property of their respective owners. I receive no money for this story so please don't sue me. The Story will have the same basic plot as the movie, with all the settings and story progression the same. It will however have added scenes and focus specifically on the relationship between Uncas and Alice. There will be some Cora/ Hawkeye interaction but the focus of the story will not be on them. I should also mention that this story will end differently than the movie though I won't spoil it for you by telling how here. I hope this Fic will be enjoyed and reviews are welcome, just keep them polite because i will not answer nasty comments
The Last Of The Mohicans
"What Lies Between"
The first sound of gun fire spooked her horse, causing it to lay it's ears back and dart nervously from side to side. Alice Munro grabbed the reins, trying to still the snorting animal without loosing her footing and falling off. Her sister, Cora, was glancing this way and that, trying to find the location of the noise. Another round of gun fire sounded and both girls cried out in alarm.
"Alice," Cora cried as her sisters spooked horse tried to buck. Cora reached out for the reins on Alice's horse as Duncan started to call orders. In the din and confusion, Alice could see very little of what was happening. It was obvious they were under attack but she couldn't see anyone nearby who could be doing the attacking. The gun fire was ear shattering and the whooping of many voices terrifying when she couldn't find their source.
With very little warning, the horse reared up and threw Alice to the ground. She rolled to one side to avoid the stamping hooves and looked up. What met her eyes was utter chaos. In the glade ahead there was indeed an attack taking place, and the source of the whooping noise was apparant. The glade as filled with writhing bodies, a sea of red coats and dark skin and gun smoke. Alice saw men wearing little more than thin strips of cloth attacking the entourage with little axes. Before her eyes, A soldier was grabbed by the hair and lifted up, the small axe was brought down onto his head and his hair was ripped off. The red man with the axe held the hair above him, yelling a war cry and Alice screamed.
Her sister was next to her in moments, pressing Alice's face into her stomach. Cora was trying to protect her from the sights and smell of the battlefield but the image of the dark man holding the scalp above his head was engraved into her eyes and she knew it would haunt her the rest of her life. Duncan was still shouting orders to his soldiers.
" Form company, left face! March! "
Her sister pressed her in tighter, making it hard for Alice to breath. She twisted in Cora's arms until she was more upright and turned her head in Duncans direction. His horse was dead, shot before she had managed to turn around. Duncan had lost his sword and was left with only a small musket, which he was desperatly trying to fill with gun powder. Another war cry rent the air and Alice swung her eyes around to see an Indian running at them. Duncan saw it too and tried to work quickly but his hands fumbled, he wasn't going to make it.
A gun shot sounded from nearby and the red man fell to the forest floor. Both Alice and Cora looked to the left and saw a long-haired man with a long rifle. He was American in appearance but dressed in soft brown leather and moccasins. His hair was brown and quite long, curling slightly down his back and held away from his face with a thing piece of leather. Why he was protecting them, Alice didn't know and for the moment she didn't care. She felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude to the stranger, whoever he was.
The strangers attention moved away from them to some brush farther ahead. Alice glanced the in the same direction and saw another indian pointing a gun in them, specifically at Cora. Then the red mans eyes swung to the oddly dressed american and turning, he fired. The American effectively dodged but in that time the red man was gone, lost to the smoke and brush of the glade. Two other red men passed to their right, one of them older and chasing another indian. Duncan swung his musket in their direction, ready to fire when Cora cried out.
"Duncan, No!"
The musket was pulled from his fingers with a jerk as the american threw it to the ground.
"I guess your aim ain't any better than your judgement," He said dryly as he turned away.
Cora was helping Alice to her feet when the younger girl realized everything was suddenly quiet. The gun fire and whooping of voices was gone, in the far distance she thought she could hear birds. Two other men approached the american from opposite sides of the glade, both indians. Alice pulled her sister close in fear but oddly enough, the men paid them little attention. Some words were said in a language Alice couldn't begin to understand and a young Indian man stalked toward them. For a moment Alice thought he was coming at them, Cora must have thought the same for she backed up holding tightly to Alice. The man moved past them and went instead at the horses, yelling and sending them running into the forest.
"Stop it! we need them to get out!" Alice shouted, breaking away from Cora and attempting to run past him, going after the fleeing horses.
The Indian grabbed her gently to restrain her and she swung around ready to strike him for daring to touch her. That was before she looked up into his face. Warm brown eyes stared into her blue ones and she immediately forgot what she had been about to do. Brown eyes had never been striking to her; She always thought it a mundane color, completely unexciting. She realized that she had been wrong. In his eyes she saw nature, everything wild and free. She was lost in those eyes. It felt to Alice that time slowed as she and the Indian man stared at one another, the world vanished and left them behind.
His skin was a soft brown, smooth and unbroken. His hair, much like the americans was pulled back with soft leather. Unlike the american his was black and straight, falling to his waist. Alice found him beautiful and knew it must show in her face. From the expression of surprise on his face, he was was just as surprised by her as she was by him. Who knows how long they would have stayed as they were if Cora had not laid her hand upon her sister shoulder and broken the trance. She gently pulled her sister away from the indian, though their eyes stayed locked a moment longer. The sound of Duncan's voice suddenly caught the young man's attention and he pulled his eyes away from her eyes. Duncan was asking the american why the indian man had sent the horses away, the american was busy helping an older Indian grab weapons.
"Why not ask him yourself," He answered, not looking up.
The young Indian moved away from the women, back toward the others.
"Too easy to track," He answered simply. He had a deep voice that was as warm as his eyes. That voice made Alice shiver. Cora took the shiver for cold and wrapped am arm around her sisters shoulders.
"They could be heard for miles, find yourself a musket." The young man continued, talking to Duncan as he searched the ground. The american stood and surveyed the glade for a moment before turning back to Duncan.
"Your wounded should try heading back to Albany. They'll never make a passage north." He said matter-of-factly.
"We were headed to Fort William Henry." Duncan explained, his voice slightly dull. He sounded as if he had forgotten why they were out here in the first place.
The older Indian man spoke to the american in that strange language and they carried on a brief conversation. When it was over he turned back to Duncan with an odd half smile on his face.
"We'll take you as far as the fort," He said and threw a musket to him. "But if we're going to take you we need to move fast." This last was said with a brief glance at the women, as if he didn't expect them to be able to keep up. Cora stiffened indignantly next to her sister but Alice barely noted the insult. Her eyes were still focused on other man. When nobody moved the american crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Or we could just wait for the next Huron war party to come by."
That got everyone's feet moving. The two women stepped lightly over the bodies littering the glade but Cora did stop briefly to slip a musket into her skirts. Alice saw this but said nothing, she only hoped that Cora wouldn't have a chance to use it.