A/N hey everyone! Just wanted to say a big thanks to all of the reviewers!
Sunrise19-What can I say, girl. You're awesome! Thanks soo much for all of the help, not just in this story, but in my others as well. Can't wait for your next update!
babyb26-Thank you so much for the review. This will be several chapters long. I hope you'll keep reading
EsmeAmeilia-Thanks so much for your kind comments! Hope you enjoy the chapter.
Annoymous-Thanks for the review and I hope you keep reading
tinks-belle85-Thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it and I hope you like this chapter. Can't wiat until you update your fic!
Gizmac-Thank you for the kind complimet! Hope you like the chapter!
Ok..im done..onto chapter 2. Enjoy!
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Nakoma lay in her hut, unable to sleep. The native woman tossed and turned for some time before finally just laying on her back and gazing up at the stars through the small hole in the top of her hut. So many of them. How long it must have taken the creator to form them. She smiled to herself. When she and Pocahontas were young, they had a practice of naming a star for every member of their families that were deceased. It had started when Pocahontas had lost her mother and continued even to this very day. And now one more name might be added to the heavens.
Nakoma flipped onto her stomach and buried her face in her hands. This was all her fault. If she had minded her own business and trusted her friend like she was asked, Kokoum wouldn't be dead and John would not be fighting for his life. When would she ever learn to keep her nose out of other people's lives. Now because of this, a war had almost begun, only to be stopped by Pocahontas's brave acts and then an attack on the chief that could cost John his life and Pocahontas the loss of yet another loved one.
Yes, she was in love. Nakoma knew it when she saw it. Pocahontas had been different the past couple of days. She seemed to have come out of the drear that had come over her since her father had promised her in marriage to Kokoum. The smile never left her face and several times she had caught her friend with a dreamy and far away look in her eyes while she was supposed to be helping Nakoma with chores around the village. In spite of her previous thoughts, a smile played on Nakoma's lips. Her friend had finally fallen and fallen hard. She had known it was only a matter of time.
Now that love could be in danger. She closed her eyes and sighed. John couldn't die. Not when Pocahontas had finally found happiness in her life. She must speak with him and apologize for her actions. As soon as he was conscious, she would make her visit.
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It was late when Thomas trudged back into the Jamestown settlement. The moon was full, casting it's light beams to the earth, almost lighting a path for the young settler. His feet seemed heavy as e lifted them with every step, his tired body screaming for rest. It had been a long evening. He had had no time to react when Ratcliffe had seized the rifle from him and took aim. He had stood stock still and dumbfounded as John hurled himself in front of the chief, only to take the bullet himself.
The next thing Thomas had known, his feet were carrying him up the side of the ledge and to his friend's side. The woman that had been with his in the glade was at his side and had moved so Thomas could assist. She had been crying hysterically, clinging to his hand, pleading with him not to leave her in this world without him. Honestly, it was al Thomas could do not to break down himself.
After several hours at the village, he had finally returned to the settlement. His cloths were blood-soaked and he was covered with sweat from the frantic rescue attempt. With the help of the tribe's chief and medicine man, they had been able to make John's condition stable. The question was, for how long. They had no doctor on the ship. They had not seen a need for one. Now Thomas wished with all his heart that he had. If a doctor had been on board, maybe the man would actually have a chance.
Ben and Lon saw the red-head approach and they ran to meet them, shouting questions at the top of their lungs. "Thomas! Thomas!" Ben shouted, his Scottish brogue evident, "How is he?" Thomas opened his mouth to answer, but a feeling of light-headed ness suddenly overcame him and he stumbled. Thankfully, the two men were there to assist him. "Easy, lad." Lon coaxed as he draped Thomas's arm over his shoulder while Lon took hold of the other. "We'll get ya down."
The two men helped Thomas to his tent, where he lay down, exhausted from the past several hours. When his breathing evened out, he attempted to answer their questions. "He's stable." he managed to get out. "But we don't know for how long. the wound is very deep." The other men removed their hats and held them respectively in front of them. "Bless his soul." Lon murmured quietly. The other's nodded in silent agreement and Thomas closed his eyes.
Ben's next question interrupted him. "Say," he said thoughtfully. "Who was that woman who just ran up out of the clear blue and threw herself over his head?" Thomas remained quiet while Lon only shrugged. "Got me," he said. "I never seen her before in my life. Thomas? What 'bout you, mate? You ever seen her?" Thomas swallowed hard. dare he reveal John's secret affair to them? Lord knows, they couldn't keep their mouths shut. Yet it he didn't say anything and then they found out that he knew about it later on and never told them, they'd have his head. And they were sure to find out about it sooner or later. Why keep them in suspense?
He nodded. "Yes." Two pairs of eyes turned to look at him and widened simultaneously. "Come again, mate?" Lon said. Thomas sighed and sat up. "Yes, I've seen her before." Eyes widened more. "Where." The man shook his head. What was he doing? He couldn't stop the story now. Defeated he complied. "In the glade with John the night he was kidnapped." Mouths dropped open. "She was part of the plan? Then why was she cryin' her eyes out when he got shot?"
Thomas rolled his eyes. Though these men were very friendly, they weren't the brightest people in the world. "She was never part of the plan. She was working with John to try to keep our people from fighting. I heard them talking as I approached." The nods came then. "So she was merely an ally the, the poor thing." Thomas looked at the ground. "She was more then that. I saw them kissing in the glade."
Both men sat straight up, jaws almost hitting the ground. "You're kidding right?" Ben finally asked. Thomas shook his head. "I saw it with my own eyes. He loves her. You could see it in their embrace." The men shook their heads. "Poor thing." they murmured again. "To young to lose a love, she is." Silence filled the tent for several moments before both men stood. "Thomas, you need some rest, lad. We'll be a prayin' for the lad, we will. Maybe the Good Lord will 'ave some mercy on 'im. Get some sleep, ya hear now?" Lon called as he followed Ben from the tent.
When they left, Thomas slumped down from sheer exhaustion. He too would be praying for his friend, and for Pocahontas. He believed that was what he had heard John call her. Both were going to need as much support as could be during this time. He hoped for both their sakes John made it through the night.
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The night was quiet as a lone figure crept through the shadows of the village. Pocahontas glanced behind her to make absolutely sure that she was not being followed, not that it would matter. The maiden had been tossing and turning for several hours, unable to surrender to the call of sleep. Hard as she had tried, images from the past several hours still haunted her. The only way to stop them was to be near him.
The young woman heard voices and she quickly and silently pressed herself up against one of the nearby huts. She wondered if they could hear her heart beating as loudly as she could. The voices soon quieted and Pocahontas, the skillful woman she was, quietly slinked back out of the shadows and toward the hut where her love was. She entered the hut and was not surprised to see him exactly as she had left him. His breathing was labored and he was still unconscious, but he was alive. That was the only thing that mattered.
Pocahontas walked over to where he lay. He looked so peaceful when he slept and she smiled as she pushed a stray piece of hair out of his face. Placing a soft kiss to his forehead, she took his hand and carefully lay down beside him, placing her head on his shoulder as she had done before. She knew the possibility of being caught, but suddenly the consequences didn't seem to matter. She needed to be with him right now. For her own sakes. "Goodnight, my love." she whispered in the darkness. "Please come back to me." She closed her eyes and with a contented sigh, fell asleep to the heartbeat of the man she loved.