Chapter 7 – A/N – yes people still here, and we're just getting to the juicy bits :D stay tuned and review, more reviews, more chapters !
Robin groggily stirred from her alcohol induced slumber many hours later, head dizzy with disorientation and dull throbbing pain. She was like a new born fawn, her movements sluggish and weak. Her head swam with remnants of intoxication. She didn't even have to capability to register her surrounding, or the bed of pelts she laid on, like a succulent offering. Kindling crackled nearby as the fire roared. It was barely morning, still dark out, though there were already sounds of movement from outside. Young men patrolled as guards the outskirts of the settlement whilst the older wiser warriors began their prayers and chanting, greeting the day as they usually went about doing. The world was waking with her. Magua's coarse voice coaxed her attention.
He was sat by the fire, but within arm's reach. "Little Bird…" He cradled her cheek in his meaty paw, nudging her slightly with such care; it was as if he feared she would break. She blinked a few times; her eyes were still glassy and unfocused from the alcohol. The glow of the flames eerily reflected in her teal eyed gaze.
"Magua…" the word was barely audible. For it a moment it seemed she doubted he was even there. Did her visions haunt her yet again? He did not reply
He only watched in silence, like a spectre of the shadows, fixated by the creature before him. The light of the fire blinded her sensitive eyes, his hulky frame and defined features were all but a blurry haze. Exasperated she slumped back onto the pelts, throwing her arm over to cover her eyes. Only then did she hear the distractive chime of metal. A chain and shackle, made of what one could only assume was fine silver, was locked around her dainty wrist tethering her to a nearby support post, with only enough length for her to move about the pelts. It took a moment for Robin to realise; she had well and truly been caged, like a fine bird of an oriental tale. Plucked from the wild to kept and domesticated by a master.
She then drunkenly looked at him like a sulky child. "You…chained me" the accusation had no lasting impact of mortification. The drunkenness had still left her voice almost breathless. Where had he even gotten such a trinket? From the French, no doubt. It was no ordinary chain; there was too much detail in the craftsmanship. It was a pet chain, for the exotic prizes of the aristocratic. Perhaps a lover's shackle, to bind beloved flesh to another, so neither could escape the other. Magua held the chain in his grasp, tracing the delicate metal work in between his fingers, slowly inching to the base shackled on Robin's wrist. He gingerly brought her hand his lips, inches from actual contact before she jerked away, rather abruptly.
"You need to be chained, or else you would fly". He watched again as she repeatedly tugged and thrashed, testing the silver's strength. It would hold, for now. The firewater still lingered in her veins. She would be docile, for a while at least. Long enough for him to speak without fighting for her to listen. He had much he wished to discuss with her.
He moved beside the fire again, pouring a cup of the watery brew he had prepared whilst she slept. Looking at her once more in full view Magua' heart swelled with what he could only call pride. His woman, lying amongst the furs he had accumulated from his hunters. All fine and fit for the war chief he had now become. Her white skin glowed like the moon in spring. Once he found such a colouration distasteful. Now he wouldn't settle for anything else. His little bird, his little robin, now chained to him, as it should be. Steeling him-self from these thoughts Magua composed him-self, hardening his tone to speak. "Magua should punish you for your last flight...but today he is merciful…"
Lazily she blinked at him, looking as though she would fall asleep again. "Why?"
"There is good medicine in the air. Lenape sachem believes it comes with your return. He fears punishing you will bring bad fortune. You are spared, this time" Shifting her body so she rest propped up in his lap he offered her the warm drew with stern insistences. She grumbled at first, but ultimately relaxed and drank it. It tasted like some sort of earthy tea, no doubt made from some plant or tree bark.
Magua took advantage of her rare docility and shifted to lay down beside her, side by side, her head resting affectionately on his shoulder. He held her with seasoned expertise. One hand stroked her cheek whilst the other held cupped her nape, tilting her head back so that she would look at him, even as her eyes battled to stay open. "The French say absence makes the heart grow fonder…time without you Little Bird was almost unbearable". The nights her spirit visited him were utter torment. Those eyes, staring at him in silent challenge set fire to his blood while her voice still rang out in his ears. Attentively he combed his fingers through her still short curls, engrossed by the moderate softness. He couldn't help but envision what she would look like if she allowed her hair her grow out like his tribeswomen.
Disgusted with his himself, but reluctant to act otherwise he continued. "Magua cannot break this spell of yours; witch…so Magua will no longer fight it. If he cannot fight you, he will be master you instead. Your medicine will make me strong" the more he spoke of his intentions the more it seemed right in his heart. Excitement laced his words. "When Greyhair's offspring are dead with him, we will join in celebration, as husband and wife"
"Join…?" Robin finally began to stir, shaking the haze from her thoughts. "Greyhair…" she mumbled, trying to recall why the name sounded so familiar. Realisation then struck like a bitter slap. "Wait…Colonel Munro! Alice and Cora! No!" she jerked from his touch, thrashing as she had done before. Sluggishness jarred her movements.
She hissed like a wounded feral cat. "You've drugged me…"
Magua reasoning seemed unaffected by the action, his tone calm and tranquil. As if nothing outside the wigwam mattered. "To keep you tame…"
After a moment of futile thrashing and frustrated curses she stilled, panting in defeated desperation. "Magua, please. Spare them" she looked to him beseeching. The pools of oceanic blue were pulling him in like quick sand. But he would not let his heart sway so easily, even for the one who made it beat so feverishly. Instead Magua shuffled to her side once more pulling her and the furs to him in contented embrace. It was as if they were already joined.
"Why do you hate us? Why do you hate me?" she squirmed in his hold, but he would not relent.
"Magua could never hate one so fair. Though he did try" His answer did not satisfy her. She pressed for another response, hoping to keep him distracted, and allow her time to regain her senses."Why do you hate Alice and Cora? What did Colonel Munro do to earn your fury?"
His composure snapped. He retched her up to face him. His iron grip crushing her shoulders with bruising force. "Munro killed Magua's children! With those Mohawk dogs, they captured Magua as his village burned!" Rage consumed the Huron's features. His face twisted in untold emotional agony. Panting from his outburst, Magua spoke again, reigning in control of his emotions. The inferno still burned, just not so close to surface. "When Magua regained his freedom, many years later, he finds his wife had married another. Magua was an outcast, stoned out of the village by his own people. Unworthy to return. Until now…"
With that they both fell silent. His usual stoic mask returned, his heaving chest slowly regulating back to normal. But Robin continued to saw, wide eyed and stunned. In that brief moment, he bared his soul to her. His quest for vengeance now seemed all the more clear, though she did not condone such action. In his world she knew honour meant everything, and any blight or offense was often quickly reckoned with, either through payment of compensation, or through blood. For many young virile warriors, violence often seemed more appeasing. Robin understood why Magua now went after Colonel Munro, but did he truly intend to go after Cora and Alice as well, who were completely innocent of any crime? Did he intend to kill them as well? She paled at the thought. And yet another peaked her interest. Magua had a wife, at some point in the past. She never even considered it, but he was an experienced warrior. It would be even peculiar if he had not taken a wife by now. Or a new one, even now? Had vengeance taken such a toll on his heart he had not opened it to another?
Quietly, in a small tone she finally asked, "Did you love her?" she looked at him expectantly. Surely they married for love?
Magua paused for a moment, considering his response. In a neutral tone he replied, "She was good wife. She cooked well and gave me strong children. What more can a warrior ask for?"
"And you will expect this from me? I will fight you…" she scowled, edging back at inch from him. Did he truly intend to marry her? He was much older than her, more than ten years her senior. She hadn't even considered marriage yet, though girls of her tribe would now start looking for young handsome suitors to show some attention.
He reached for her, dragging her back into his bear like embrace "You will learn, Little Bird…Behave and Magua will treat you well" It began with a soft kiss on her forehead. A gesture of comfort at first. He then kissed her cheek, the addiction whetting his appetite. Without warning his lips sealed over hers, stealing her breath away in one foul swoop. The arms that encircled around her tightened, her muffled cries vocalizing her displeasure. She hadn't even kissed a boy until now and suddenly it seemed this alpha like male intended to bed her right then and there. She kicked at him before Magua was suddenly rolled on top of her, his weight pinning her down beneath him. Despite her sobering state of mind, Robin struggled. "Quiet, Little Bird…Do not fear Le Renard Subtil. Love him…let him love you." he laid a kiss on her swan like neck, feeling her skin tremble beneath his lips. Many women would whimper and quietly submit. Robin, though frightened, would not yet relent. Her hips bucked, her head thrashed, she did what she could to deter him. Magua finally had to pin her wrists down on either side of her head to keep her from scratching out his eyes in her defence. Looking down at her he could see she was blushing in embarrassment. She was unfamiliar in the ways of men and women. Her chest heaving with exhausting from her struggles, Magua grudgingly withdrew from his carnal pursuit. Had she been a whore, much like the ones seen lingering at French encampments, he wouldn't have restrained him-self. But no, he easily recognised she was still an innocent maiden, unschooled and unprepared. If he truly intended to take her as his wife, he would treat her with the respect accordingly.
With a grudging sigh, he placed one last lingering kiss on her forehead "You are still young…you will learn" Reluctantly he withdrew, releasing her from his grasp so she could scurry away. "Magua will be good to you…he will protect you. He will feed you. You will soon be grateful" the Huron went back to the fire, illustrating his point by placing freshly skinned rabbits to roast on the open fire. He then reached into his medicine pouch and produced a familiar velvet bag. He threw them into her lap, as a sign of good faith.
"My cards…" bewildered she snatched them up, checking their condition before hugging them into her chest. She then blinked at Magua, looking perplexed. "You kept them…"
He dismissively shrugged at first, though displeasure laced his tone. "Magua wished to burn them, but could not. Your sorcery runs deep…when you left, you greatly shamed me…"
"You kept me tied, locked away like an animal…I only thought to run" she brandished her shackled wrist as further evidence.
"What does Little Bird suggest then?" he looked at her expectantly before turning the rabbits on the skewer.
Robin took a risky gamble, biting her lip before countering, "Do Hurons keep their wives bound all day? If I am to be your wife…unshackle me…let me walk outside"
Magua cocked his eyebrow at her, taken back by her gutsy remark. He looked like he was actually considering it, before again dismissing her with a sceptical huff. "So you can run again?"
"I won't…" she said almost too quickly, and too hopefully.
"Prove it then" he approached her, crouching on the balls of his feet in front her. Uncharacteristically, he grasped her chin and cockily smiled, as if challenging her. "Magua will trade you. Key, for a kiss"
Robin sucked in a sharp breath, pouting slightly at the clever fox's ploy. Kiss him, and be freed from her pet chain, or refuse, and stay cooped up inside the wigwam for god knows how many hours. Huffing, and mumbling a small curse of irritation Robin leaned forward. Magua expected her to be more shy and timid, lips barely to graze his own. But she truly kissed her, lips meeting his, with amateurish charm and skill. She lingered longer than she intended. It was only when Magua cupped the back of her head did she retreat, gasping slightly at her bashful actions. None the less Magua looked pleased with him-self.
A man of his word he fished a small dainty key out from his medicine bundle, unlocking the shackle on her wrist and freeing her from confinement. But by no means did he intend to set her loose around the camp. "You will have guard to follow you. Ongewa's son. Help women with their chores. Learn your duties, until I return…" he took her hand in a childish manner, pulling her outside now that the sun had slowly started to rise. Women were already hard at work, collecting water, setting up their stations of work and fussing over their children to keep them busy. Few glanced at Robin as she pulled along, led only a few wigwams down where Ongewa and an adolescent boy stood waiting. Ongewa regarded her haughtily, smiling like the coyote that he was.
"Where are you going?" She eyed the other Huron curiously, spotting more already making their way into the wilderness beyond the settlement border.
"Hunting…" was Magua's only reply, in his usual forceful grunt like tone. He was in the presence of his peers and fellow warriors now; he had to act according to tradition and status. As did Robin.
"For what? For who?" she then grew worried. Was he leaving to hunt down the Munro sisters?
"You have no need to know…" He turned his back to her, speaking to the boy beside Ongewa in his native tongue, clearly assigning him some task that concerned Robin, as he gestured over to her, once or twice. He then left with Ongewa, without so much as a farewell glance, much to Robin's chagrin "Magua! Please, spare them!" her plea fell on deaf ears. Within seconds the Hurons vanished into the thick vegetation of the forest, joining their brothers up ahead, ready to hunt.
Robin now found her-self awkwardly alone, standing out in the open without much standing. She glanced around, looking for some direction before finally her teal eyes settled on the young man who had stayed behind. Cautiously she asked, "You are Ongewa's son? Do you speak English?"
He regarded her briefly for a moment, looking up and down at her as if she was some spectacle to gawk at. "Some. But wife of Magua should learn the tongue of her husband. French would serve too"
So Magua was already telling people he intended to take her as his wife. Robin suddenly felt very self-conscious. What must the village think? An esteemed war chief, taking a young white gypsy wife? Trying to distract her-self she asked, "What is your name?"
The boy took a moment to choose his words "Anue. The bear" seemed to be the best response he could manage in English.
"Anue is a good name…" she smiled at him, attempting to be friendly, as she had done with Koda in the Mohawk village. The two boys were oddly similar. It was a shame they were enemies, else they could have been good friends.
Like a typical man he dismissed her compliment and gestured to a nearby group of women. "Help the women with chores. A lazy woman is no good as a wife". It seemed the Lipan taught their boys the way of male thinking quite early on. The thought caused Robin to chuckle, earning her a curious look from the boy before he gestured again to the women.
The women paid little attention to her though. Once they had shown her what to do, they left her to get on with it, momentarily checking up on her to approve her work. Anue never strayed too far. They were in the process of tanning hides collected from previous hunts. It took a lot of hard work, skinning them hides, shaving them down, stretching and drying them out. Unlike the civilised society of the English and French, the native women worked hard. From dawn till dusk they cooked, they cleaned, they cared for their children and relatives, often sat gossiping in groups, practicing their needle work and craftsmanship skills. Robin was impressed with their productivity. Nothing was wasted. Even the bladder of the elk was used to often the leather layer a ball the children used to kick about. While it was hard work, Robin was interested enough to labour without complaint, earning her some silent admiration from her older female companions. Everyone did their part in the tribe. No one was left hungry or without. A respectful quality, Robin thought. But it also meant everyone worked. While men hunted and guarded the settlement from possible attack, old men acted as scouts, stationed all around the surrounding area. Children practiced their future roles through games and exercise. Boys re-enacted battles with miniature weapons, and girls stayed close to their mothers, playing with handmade dolls and styling their hair so that in future they may be suitable for a husband.
Just as the midday sun rolled in Robin exhaustedly edged towards the nearby stream. None of the women seemed to mind so she continued within any trouble. Just as she was about to take a drink Anue galloped over to her, flustered by her absence. It seemed he had cheekily fallen asleep on duty, only to awake and find Robin gone. "Where are you going?" he crossed his arms angrily over his chest, in some sort of masculine display of power.
Robin however bared her bloody cut hands at him, without much reaction "To wash my hands".
They were swollen, cut and blistered from all the constant hard work. Anue empathetically relented, nodding his head to the stream whilst he waited by a nearby tree. As Robin knelt by stream, washing her cuts clean in the water she spotted a reflection further downstream. The hunting party had returned, and they brought with them prisoners.
"Alice! Cora!" Robin shot to her feet, troubled by their appearance. Alice and Cora, bounded at the hands, looked exhausted. Their clothes wet and soggy, but otherwise they seemed unharmed. Unlike poor Heyward, who was being dragged by a rope around his neck like a conquered enemy. He bore ugly bruises and whelps on his face and exposed arms. Clearly he had put up some sort of a fight. And lost. "Major Heyward!" Robin dashed up stream to meet with the party, just before they entered the village.
"Robert?" Alice stared at her blankly for a moment, recognising the familiar face "You're alive!" The commotion caught Heyward's attention, who with a swollen eye, peered to have a look. "Rob? Good God you can speak!"
Cora however took one look at Robin and exclaimed the obvious "Good God, you're a girl!" to which Robin could only respond to with a shy apologetic smile. The reunion was short lived. The captives were forced forward by the Hurons. Magua was seen trailing behind the party on the incline of the landscape. He spotted Robin and angrily shouted at Anue, who quickly grabbed a hold of Robin to take her back to the village, away from where her English companions would likely be kept.
She did not resist, but she verbally protested, beseeching the youth to answer her worries. "Anue, please. What's going to happen to them?"
He seemed reluctant to answer, already in trouble with Magua for letting her wandering out to meet her friends. "The Sachem will decide…". With that he placed her outside Magua's wigwam, sitting within a couple of feet so there was no way she could sneak off. Robin could only sit there and fidget with a rag of unfinished bead work. She was told to practice her needlework by one of women, though she found it as distasteful as did back at the fort with the civilised English women. It looked bored, and it was bored. The number of times she pricked her finger were as numerous as the children that came up to her to stare. Anue would eventually shoo them off with some threat or another, but for now they were doing no harm.
Feeling so depressed and alone, in a foreign land, with her companions' fate in the balance she did what she could in such desperate times to lift her woes. She sang out in remorse. Her voice carried out in the afternoon air. All in the village paused to listen, bewitched by her vocal melody. Even the elderly sachem wandered out of his home to hear her. None truly knew why she sang. Some assumed she sang to the sun, bidding it greeting and thanks for its presence. Even Anue peered at her in silent interest, bewitched by the type of singing he had never heard of before. The moment however was short lived. Magua appeared, walking back from the heart of the settlement, looking at displeased as always.
He came up to her, roughly seizing her back the scruff of her neck and forcing her inside the wigwam once more, dismissing Anue with a wave of his hand. "Your voice belongs to me, Little Bird, only I may hear it" he soundly oddly possessive. Perhaps it was the lustful and appreciative stares he had seen thrown her way by his fellow warriors. Robin was not his wife yet, and any one of them could easily challenge him for ownership.
"I sing when I please" seeing her companions alive again had renewed her boldness. Instead of submitting and cowering like any woman receiving a scolding, she stood her ground; fists clench, shoulder back and head high, staring him right in the eyes with her outburst.
Magua didn't like it would bit, and quickly sought to end it. "Cease with your defiance, it will change nothing." As they spoke the Lipan council were discussing the fate of Magua's captives. All of them. He would soon be called to give his input before anything else proceeded.
"We wouldn't know unless I tried…" she smartly remarked, starting to pace in the length of the wigwam whilst eyeing the entrance flap him. Surely she wasn't thinking of another escape attempt. Magua would be forced to throttle her for such foolishness.
"What will it take to tame you?" he stepped forward, cornering her further back into the wigwam "The fineness furs, the sweetest of oils? all this I would give you, for your surrender" He attempted to bargain with her, gain the same ground they had exchanged earlier that day. But Robin stubbornly refused. "I want none of it…"
Magua, growing angrier with the thought of losing Robin, bellowed "Then what do you want!?"
Robin's hostile posture changed to one of defeat and pleas. "Release them…Release me" tears threatened to fall. She feared for the lives of her companions. She feared for her freedom. Whatever fantasy Magua had she didn't want to be a part of it, not if it caused harm to others.
Sensing her slight surrender, Magua calmly stated, "This I cannot give…" he finally had the Munro sisters. Vengeance was within his reach once again.
Frowning Robin turned away from him, shaking her head in unfairness. "Then you have no right to ask anything from me."
"This is war; little bird…none can be spared" he approached her again, locking her in his embrace before her mood changed and once more she became a wildcat.
Staring at the blank cover of the wigwam, she solemnly vowed "If you hurt them Magua…I will never forgive you. If they die, I will see to it I follow"
"Why?" His heart clenched in anguish at the very thought of losing her. What made it even worse was that he was sure she would be crazy enough to do it. This crazy girl who's heart ruled over her mind. "What are they to you…you are…different. I see this. These are not your people. Why cling to their existence?" he needed to draw her away from them, separate and crush this feeling of loyalty and sense of obligation she seemed to have so strongly.
She twisted in his grasp to try and face him, her eyes so wide and watery with unshed tears, it stabbed at his heart. "Because they are all I have…Major Heyward taught me to fire a rifle…Alice gave me sweets when no one was looking…Cora used to read to me. They don't deserve to die" she started to struggle again, desperate to escape his hold, though Magua turned her to face him completely, cupping his face in his hands so she forced to stare at him right in the eyes. His expression was tight with an unidentifiable emotion. Agony and resentment shone in his eyes.
"Your heart bleeds these people…why can't it bleed for me? Is my pain not worth your sympathy too?"
She opened her mouth to response, but no words seemed right to use. She sympathised with his pain, but not his actions, he was a villain, but not a monster. How could she rebuff him? He didn't give her a chance. Forcefully he kissed her, desperate to end this moment of unwelcome emotion and debate. In his mind he cursed her with every name under and the sun and she did the same. Their mutual inner turmoil was bouncing off each other, stoking the inferno that was fast becoming their twisted version of love, even if neither one would openly admit or acknowledge it. For now this was attraction of friction. A moment of heated passion brought on by two indestructible forces of nature. A man's insatiable hunger and a woman's unrivalled resolve.
"Magua…the council is ready" Ongewa's interruption ended the moment. He was stood outside the wigwam waiting.
Magua and Robin pushed away from each other, stunned for a moment by one another's reactions. Magua however regained his composure first. "It is time…" he took a length of nearby rope and bound Robin's wrist once again. All captives had to be present, so their each of their fates could be decided. As much as Magua wanted to keep Robin away in the wigwan he could not. He took her arm and dragged her out so that they could make their way to the heart of the settlement, where the other captives were already being presented. Robin prayed to the gods for some sort of miracle to save them.
"A Mohican!"
A/N- dun dun dun ! and guess what, Robin dies ! hahahaha no that doesn't really happen. But stay tuned and find out what does ! review and rate please !