Prologue

There she is. Hidden among the trees, Uncas observes the small war party, taking Alice through the woods. One of the braves grabs her arm roughly, as the young girl tries to keep the pace in the difficult terrain. He breaths relieved. He was so worried, fearing that she had been injured in any way. But she seems alright...at least for what he can see.

It's been a week since the last time he saw her, in a similar situation. She was leaving the Huron village as Magua's captive, after Sachem decided to free Cora and give Munro's little daughter to the Huron chief in order for her to become his wife. He tried to run after her alone, in a desperate attempt to rescue her, but his father prevented him from doing something so reckless. You will go to your death, my son. Be patient and wait for your brother. Together we will manage.

But they couldn't do it together. As soon as Nathaniel and Cora arrived to their spot, right after the British officer sacrificed himself in order to save the woman he loved, the three of them began to climb the Promontory. However, as the clever warrior he was, Magua had taken for granted that there would be some attempt to rescue the girl and had sent some of his men to stop the Mohicans along the way. Uncas, along with his father and brother, managed to kill the Huron warriors, but not before Nathaniel was severely injured on one leg. That had made them to lose Alice's trail, not being able to reach Magua and the rest of his men.

After that, Nathaniel was not in condition to walk the long way to the Huron lands and Chingachgook realized that he must stayed as well, in order to protect him and Cora in case any danger appeared. His white son couldn't fight in such a bad condition. That meant Uncas must try to find Alice alone. Everybody was worried about him, especially Chingachgook, but they know they couldn't do anything to stop him. He was determined to find her and was not willing to waste more time. After a last embrace with his father and brother and a promise to Cora that he will bring her sister back safe and sound, he left the group. They had found a safe cave to camp until Nathaniel's state improved and then they would go to Can-tuck-ee to stay with the Delaware, where they would wait for the couple to return.

Uncas' plan consisted on reaching the Huron lands and then, wait until night to sneaks into the camp and take Alice away from there, before anyone notice it. It was risky but he had to do it. He can't fight a whole village alone, so his only chance was to do it without being seen.

But he couldn't imagine he would find her in the middle of the woods, before reaching the Huron lands. Accompanied only by four warriors and Magua was not any of them. They must be taking her to another place, maybe to trade her to another tribe. He thanks Great Spirit for helping him to find her before she had been given to another chief, making his task of finding her even more difficult.

Uncas breaths deeply, waiting for the right moment to ambush them. I can handle four warriors. It will be a one to four combat but he knows he can do it. He is a good fighter and the image of Alice, safe in his arms again, gives him new strength. Slowly he prepares his rifle and points at the Huron on the lead. The right moment is now.

He pulls the trigger and the first warrior collapses on the ground, blood pouring from his chest. Totally confused at this unexpected attack, the remaining braves look in every direction until Uncas emerges from the trees, rifle in hand. He hits the next Huron with it right in the head, without giving him any chance to defend himself. Another one comes to him, tomahawk in hand, but Uncas manages to knock him as well in a quick motion. During those seconds, he repairs on Alice, observing the fight in total shock. The Huron released her as soon as he appeared, knowing that she wouldn't be a problem during the fight, and she seems frozen in place observing the brutal scene. The last warrior comes to Uncas and manages to make him dropping the rifle, but the Mohican dodges his knife attack and with a quick motion, grabs his tomahawk from his belt and slashes his neck.

With the four Huron dead, Uncas breaths heavily, observing the scene around him, until his eyes finally reach Alice. Beautiful sweet Alice. So pretty, despite the filthiness of her dress, the same one she wore when they left the fort. And he observes touched how she still wears the braid on her hair. He remembers the time when he braided it, hidden behind the waterfall. Right then, he had been so afraid to lose her...and now she is finally safe. We are finally safe...and together.

He knows the image of him with tomahawk in hand and his green bloodstained shirt might not be very appealing to her but she might be as happy to see him as he is...

"Alice" he says softly, dropping his tomahawk and running to her. He had imagined this moment so many times on his mind...how he will embrace her, telling her that she is safe and that he won't leave her again. He had imagined what would be her reaction as well but, among all the possibilities, he had never expected what happened the second he threw his arms around her.

He never expected for her to push him roughly, forcing him to let her go. And he never expected the terror in her face as she pronounces three words. A question that makes his heart break into thousand pieces.

"Who are you?".

Author's note: I'm back again! I was so eager to share my new story with all of you, but my life has been really busy for the last months, so it was impossible for me to sit in front of the computer to work on it. But finally I've found some time to write!

I hope you have enjoyed the prologue, I know it's a bit short but next chapters will be longer. The idea of this story has been on my mind since I was finishing my last story and I think it could be interesting to explore this kind of plot because no one has written about it before...at least not as far as I know.

Uncas has finally found Alice but it seems she doesn't remember who he is. What happened to her during her captivity? Next chapter we will travel to a few days ago and you will discover it...

Thank you for taking your time to reading!