A/N: Sorry for the 2 week wait, but I have a lot of things to study for. Vet school is hard and I can't afford to fail the first year. But do know that I think about this fic all the time and I already have most of the story sketched out.
So he left dying Magua where he found him, reasoning he was a man with a twisted heart who didn't deserve to live after what he did to the Munro sisters.
Only to find himself walking back the next morning.
Upon waking up, Uncas had a clearer mind, a well rested judgement and was feeling calmer. Sleeping on the matter helped and he was able to assess the situation again.
What he really couldn't understand was why Magua was so far away from the Huron territory , where the cliff battle took place. Assuming he was wounded there, he could have gone home and would have been treated by the healers in his village. His injuries were obviously too great for him to handle on his own. So why not go home to his family? The distance was probably much shorter than the one he covered to get to the spot he was at now.
The cunning Huron was many things, but Uncas never pinpointed him for someone who doesn't value his life, especially since his current horrid state could have been avoided. But he must have had his reasons, he supposed.
His condition was grave. That was, if he was still alive. Only nighttime has passed since he left the unresponsive Huron there, but he could have easily died during the night. He already looked like a corpse, actually becoming one would be quick to follow. Perhaps he shouldn't have just walked away.
Uncas lightly shook his head from side to side. The man in question was their enemy. Deciding what to do should have been easy and clear. To finish him off. But the young Mohican was suddenly faced with a realization he never experienced before. Killing someone and holding somebody's life in your hands were two completely different things. Sure, he has killed people before and leaving Magua as he was would also result in his death. But despite the same outcome, it was one thing for Uncas to kill a tomahawk wielding opponent who was trying to do the same, and another to make up his mind to set death on someone who couldn't even move.
Uncas didn't feel comfortable making such decisions. Who was he, to have the right to rule over who lives and who dies? In his opinion, that was something better left to the gods.
On the contrary to his father and brother, he didn't loathe Magua for the injuries the man inflicted upon him. If he was being honest with himself, he was the one who came asking for it. For a good cause, but still. But the Huron's hate for the Munros and his attempt to harm Alice and Cora was the thing Uncas couldn't get over. When he saw Magua leading Alice away, he had to stop him. Who knew what he was going to do with her? With the hatred that filled him, he would be capable of simply shooting her or pushing her off the cliff the moment he was out of the Sachem's sight. It was that insecurity of Alice's fate and lack of insight into Magua's revenge crazed mind that burned hot and nauseating in the pit of his gut. It was that irrational obsession and cruel behaviour of Magua's that Uncas truly couldn't stomach.
He was aware that his discovery was not something he could just casually mention over tea, but the others had the right to know. He will have to find a way to let them in on it as gently as possible. Just thinking of the possible outrage that could erupt upon the news (he was certain that Nathaniel will try to find and kill the Huron immediately) made his head hurt. Just letting him die would be so much easier. But he was also aware that doing that would come to haunt and niggle at him in the middle of the night. And he always went to bed with a clear conscience.
He was especially worried how that would affect such a gentle creature as Alice. Knowing that her tormentor was alive and nearby will surely cause her a lot of stress. For now, the only decision he came to was to inform the others one by one. Telling all of them at once would only cause a greater outburst.
As was in his nature, he preferred to do things as soon as possible.
" Of course I still consider myself indebted to you, but I sincerely hope you have a reasonable favor to ask of me. Where are we going, sneaking away from the cabin in such a manner?" Cora complained, fighting her way through the thick bushes, still with less finesse than Uncas with his crutch.
Uncas hoped he could avoid directly answering Cora's questions until they arrived to their destination, so his answers were rare, short and lacking. He decided upon picking her to accompany him to the hidden branch den. She was a strong woman and would not completely lose it when unexpectedly faced with her enemy. He will probably have to endure her understandable wrath, yes, but at least she won't try to immediately plunge a knife into the man. At least he hoped so.
He also chose her because of her superior medical knowledge, as he wasn't sure his own would be enough. Magua was surely more skilled in field medicine and knew more tricks than him, but could not heal his wound. Therefore it would be useless for him to try heal it on his own. If this wound was beyond Magua's expertise, it was far beyond his. But Cora might just know what to do.
"We have been walking for so long, how much further are you taking me? Have you been going so far on your daily walks? As your doctor I must advise you against this. You are not ready to handle such strenuous physical activities."
Uncas nodded dutifully and assured her they were close. Sure enough, they layed eyes on the hidden branch den only minutes later. Cora was surprised at finding a man-made shelter so deep in the wilderness and couldn't help to admire the skill with which it was built. Her curious expression fell when Uncas pulled the branches out of the way.
Magua hasn't moved an inch and was still lying on the ground in the same position. There were a few moments of silence as Uncas watched Cora's eyes bulge out of her head, trying to register what she was seeing. He didn't know how to explain his decision to her, so he decided to let her speak first. She came around quicker than he thought she would.
"What…isn't that…is he dead? Because if not, we need to see to his death with our own hands. You have your knife with you?"
Uncas was slightly taken aback by her ruthless determination, but could understand where she was coming from. Despite her justifiable animosity, he couldn't let her do that. Cora sensed his reluctance to comply to her plan, as he didn't make a move to reach for his weapon. Her eyes narrowed and carefully searched his face. She was as perceptive as ever.
"Please don't tell me you already found this vile creature yesterday and for some insane reason didn't finish him off. You did, didn't you?" Uncas could only lower his gaze in affirmation. Cora's whole body practically bristled. "Give me your knife. Give me the knife! If you shan't do it, I will relieve the world of this demon with my own two hands. Don't think me uncapable of doing so. Hand me the knife!"
Uncas steeled himself, took a deep breath. " I can't. Please don't try to take it by force", he added as Cora circled him and tried to grab the weapon from his belt. His quiet and gentle tone of speaking had no calming effect on her.
" We are not sparing him, if that is what you are thinking. He came upon us like a curse and what he did is unforgivable. Unforgivable! He shall burn in the pits of hell!" All the situations Uncas has sever seen Cora in, she always maintained her polite and dignified countenance. There was no sign of the prim, proper and pious English lady now. But after coming this far, backing down was not an option for him. He spoke a little sterner.
"We won't kill him. You are shocked and upset right now, but you are not a cruel woman who can spill someone's blood with no remorse. You would regret it later, I know."
"You are wrong! You don't know the first thing about me!"
" Taking someone's life in this manner will haunt you. You are not a cruel woman, capable of killing in such cold blood. You will regret the rashness of your decision. I am sure of that." His words or the gentle, knowing tone in his voice seemed to give Cora a slight pause. She grimaced in thought, but continued.
"He hurt me. Look at yourself, he hurt you. He hurt Alice! Do you not care about that, or have you forgotten? He should die!"
Of course he hasn't forgotten. How could he? Alice's horror stricken features had burnt themselves into his memory on that fateful day. He couldn't help but partially agree with Cora, but he wasn't backing down. "Do you believe everyone who had ever hurt us should die?" He kept his voice flat and void of emotions.
Cora honestly looked like she was about to slap him. But then she pulled back from him and unclenched her fists, letting her arms dangle at her sides. "No one has ever hurt me or Alice in this way, to such an extent. But what is it that you even want from this, from keeping him alive? I sense you aren't backing down from your lunatic plan and I can only guess you brought me here to try and heal this deplorable man. You are going to waste my promised favour on this, and as I keep my promises, I will have to humor you in this madness. But what is the point of this? What is it that you want from this?"
That was a good question. One that he didn't have an answer to. "I don't know."
"You don't know."
Calming her fury, Cora was finally left with nothing else but to do what was asked of her. Her eyes were serious as she gave Uncas a piercing look. "You are a good man. I know that is why you are doing this. But your heart is too soft for your own good. Nothing good will come from this, let me warn you. Also, if his existence ever threatens Alice or anyone else in the slightest, I will kill him. Nothing will stop me."
Uncas could agree to that.
Cora approached her patient, not hiding her displeasure in the slightest. The source of Magua's grave condition could be easily located by the dark, crusted stains on the shawl covering his body. Uncas could swear he heard Cora mutter something about teaching Nathaniel to aim better and save her the troubles of having to worry about his loose ends.
The fabric of the shawl was glued to the wound with crusted blood, and Cora had some trouble with peeling it off. After trying to gently separate the fabric from the skin bore no fruit, she resorted to tugging at it with jerky movements. Finally succeeding, the infected wound was revealed. Cora and Uncas were both assaulted by a new wave of the foul, decaying smell. The hole blown into the torso was oozing and violently red, filled with yellowish pus. Cora scrunched up her nose and waved her hand through the air in front of her face. The unpleasant conditions, however, didn't distract her from analyzing the situation.
"Wow, this is nasty. It almost looks like he didn't tend to his wound at all." Of course, all the used bandages and medicinal brews strewn around the den spoke otherwise, so Cora settled on a different diagnosis. "Or, there is a foreign body still stuck in the wound and he couldn't take it out. A bullet most likely. If I remember correctly, Nathaniel fired his musket at him a couple of times. He got him good after all." She looked almost pleased before she sighed and sent her Mohican assistant to get some fresh water. While Uncas would be looking for it, she would get down to the dirty work. "Take your time, because this is going to get ugly."
It did get ugly. When he returned, Cora was digging into the wound with some sort of thin, long metal pliers. Her struggle with the pus was obvious. She couldn't see if her instrument was sinking into the wound at the right angle, so her prodding was being performed more on instinct than anything else. Uncas' respect for Cora grew immensely, as she looked nothing but irked by the troublesome job, not slightly nauseated like he himself was feeling. Not so long after, Cora retracted the medical pliers with a pleased hum. In the grip of the instrument was what Uncas suspected to be a bullet fragment, but couldn't really tell since the small object was covered in colourful body abscesses.
Cora used the water he brought to thoroughly clean the wound after scraping away as much pus and dried blood as possible. Despite now having a more monochrome look, the wound still looked horrible. Angry red and deadly. Magua was either incredibly resilient or incredibly lucky to not have succumbed yet. Probably both.
After wrapping everything up, Cora forced the remaining clean water down the Huron's dried up throat, stating that hydration was the most crucial at the moment. He was probably too weak to even drink in the last few days. She also pointed out that he could still die (and that she still considers that the most favourable outcome).
"When the others find out about this, I still won't support your decision to let him live. I simply cannot bring myself to vouch for the life of that man. But I promise I won't feed the flame of hatred in the others with my own. I shall not express my personal opinion on this", said Cora on their way back to the cabin. Uncas expected nothing more of her and thanked her for what she was willing to give. They once again covered Magua with the branches and cleaned any evidence of blood and pus from Cora's hands and dress. Any residues on her person would raise questions. Cora reluctantly agreed to keep the secret until it would be clear if Magua lives or dies.
Then they would tell.