Hellos.
Apologies for such a long time before an update, I've been busy. I wrote a short story which got shortlisted for a pretty major competition which came as a surprise. So, been working on that too. And uh...life. I must admit, I'm finding this story hard, for some reason. Anyway, on we go.

"What?" Alice asked, confused though Marie was clearly growing more and frantic, grasping at her neck, searching the ground.

"Miss Cora!" Chingachgook was trying to get her attention, trying to grab hold of her to look her over, considering he was, but wasn't, firing his musket at her.

Duncan was trying to calm her too but needless to say he was failing. Nathaniel was standing at a distance with an urgency about his person telling them all to keep calm.

Uncas stood still, watching it unfold.

Alice just kept hearing Marie call her name, telling her 'the thing' was gone.

It slowly sunk in, though and horror as plain as anything began to well in the pit of her stomach. Marie was grasping at her neck, but nothing was there.

She stopped suddenly, looking Alice dead in the eye in a crazed fashion. Alice's eyes widened,

"Don't!"

Too late. Marie spun on her heel and took off after their attackers in a blind frenzy.

"No wait!" Alice called, following after her. Then they were all moving.

Cora's were being called out from everyone. Alice was quickly overtaken by Nathaniel and he soon caught Marie with an iron hold wrapped around her arm, pulling her to a reluctant halt,

"The clock! He took my necklace! I need it!" she was saying, struggling against Nathaniel's hold but despite the very real urgency of it, she appeared to have gone temporarily insane in the eyes of the others.

"Calm down, Miss, it's just a necklace!" Nathaniel was stressing.

"We can get you another, Cora, I understand it's precious!" Duncan was trying to bribe the calm.

Chingachgook was muttering away in their mother-tongue, frustrated and utterly finished with the situation – he'd almost killed, she almost killed them, fair's fair. Uncas was looking on in breathless bewilderment, leaning towards Alice,

"Why is that thing more important than your life?"

Alice glanced at him, trying not to act as crazed as Marie but it sure was difficult, what caught in the irony of it actually being the key to their lives and all the rest. They'd have to get it back,

"I – will tell you sometime..." She answered meekly, "Cora."

Marie didn't answer, still struggling,

"Cora Marie!" she tried again, emphasising Marie's 'second' name. Marie stopped abruptly to look at Alice, eyes wide and shoulders heaving. Alice tried her best to keep her voice steady but feared some cracks gave way to her real emotions,

"Stop panicking. It'll be fine."

Marie gazed at Alice, the hysteria visibly retreating from her eyes, enough to have Nathaniel let go of her arm.

"Magua," she said bluntly, still looking at Alice, "The Scout, his name is Magua. He kept going on about 'Magua will kill the Grey Hair, cut out his heart.' 'Magua will put his seed to the knife.' Magua will do this and that."

Her shoulders sagged and it became certain that she'd run no more, having exhausted herself. The men glanced at each other wearily,

"Who's 'Grey Hair'?" Alice asked tentatively but Marie only shrugged as Duncan eased an arm about her shoulders which Marie accepted but wasn't entirely comfortable with.

Nathaniel seemed visibly irked by Duncan's audacity.

"Your father."

All eyes went to Chingachgook who, in the throes of chaos, had gently pieced the puzzle together.

"He was dragging you away, his war party came to kill you both. Why kill strangers while talking about killing somebody else' 'seed'? He has followed you. And he will continue to follow you. We must be careful."

Logic, but it made it no less terrifying a thought.

Alice turned a terrified gaze to Marie who had recomposed herself with an assertive decisiveness. Shrugging Duncan's arm from off her shoulder,

"Well to hell with that."

Nathaniel snorted and looked impressed by her spirit, smirking at Duncan. Alice admired it herself. Marie, with her dark skin and powerful personality, was a force to be reckoned with when crossed. Alice wondered, albeit briefly, whether Magua actually stood a chance against her. But the thought was crushed by the memory of how a good a chance he had only moments ago, foiled only by Chingachgook's impressive aim. Then again, only because Marie had not expected it, was she thrown. Then again, then again, then again. Theories were countless and futile. Marie was Marie. Alice was Alice.

"To hell with that, indeed," Nathaniel agreed, "Let's get on. We'll head North a while, throw the tracks, put a little distance between us and them then push on in the afternoon."

"Now?" Duncan exclaimed, it's dusk, we won't be able to see a thing soon."

Nathaniel looked him over evenly, his smirk gone,

"You're a hard man to please. Just last night you were saying how we should have gone a-running in the night."

"Different circumstances, Sir, call for different plans of action," He answered coldly.

Nathaniel narrowed his eyes but said nothing, stepping aside with a small bow,

"After you, Miss."

Marie gave a tentative glance to Duncan before moving past Nathaniel to follow Chingachgook who had already started up ahead of them. Nathaniel followed shortly after, making sure his expression conveyed how much of an idiot he thought Duncan to be.

Duncan stalked after him moments later, his fists shaking.

Alice found herself alone in the quiet of the growing darkness. The soft sounds of the day changing in accordance with the transition from dusk to night. Different mimes for different times. Unthreatening. Silent. Beautiful. The terror ceased.

"Are you alright?"

Alice jumped at the sound of Uncas' sturdy voice behind her, having completely forgotten he was there.

"I- well, yes. Sorry, I didn't realise you were here."

In shadow, she saw him cock his head and she imagined him frowning in puzzlement. Yes, why would he have left her?

"I suppose we should...go," she muttered awkwardly. As usual, he waited for her to get started before bringing up the rear.

The wilderness was soon engulfed by the darkness as they trekked away from the path. They trekked half a life time, it seemed, until Chingachgook deemed it safe to stop.

They settled in a small incline, hidden from the view of anyone looking across.

Alice just about collapsed from exhaustion but her mind raced on. All her thoughts dwelling on the lost trinket. Nathaniel had somehow managed to calm Marie's nerves and now they lay close to each other, murmuring amongst themselves.

Duncan had resigned himself to a small amount of self-induced isolation. Infuriated by Nathaniel and neglected by Marie. A man-child that led an army; Alice made a mental note to talk to Marie about it.

Chingachgook lay himself down with his back to them all. His breathing even but still noticeably awake.

Uncas, having decidedly taken first watch, sat near Alice with his back to tree, arms folded over his musket, legs outstretched and crossed at the ankle. As a shadow, one could almost mistake him for sleeping too comfortably.

His shoulders gave him away, rigid and as still as a millpond. His keen eyes pierced the night and sent shivers down Alice's spine every time she sensed him looking at her.

His glances were growing more and more frequent, she had noticed. But so were her own.

The knowledge of that safe in mind, Alice had devised a plan.

She waited until the murmuring had quietened down and all breathing had deepened and evened to a steady in and out.

The hush of the woods in the night-time was entirely alien to Alice but enthralling. There was a certain magic that seemed to come with the silence.

But her time was now.

Alice sat up and looked over to Uncas. Not entirely surprised to find him already eyeing her up and down, she shimmied over to him,

"Hope you don't mind."

"Why are you still awake, Miss? Try get some sleep. We've had a long day, tomorrow will be no different."

"I know," she answered sheepishly, "It's...I can't. I'm afraid the –"

"Wild doesn't suit you," He sounded amused, recalling their previous conversation, "No. But you look pretty in it anyhow."

Alice wasn't sure how to respond.

"Try to sleep, Miss." He urged her.

She took a deep breath. Steadying her voice, she mustered enough courage to sound forceful,

"I need to get that necklace back."

Uncas sighed,

"Let it go, Miss."

"No," she answered defiantly, "We have too!"

"Is it more important than your life?"

She felt his eyes bore into her, daring her to tell him 'yes'. But Alice was on a defiant roll, fearless,

"Just as."

He paused, gauging her response,

"No."

She slumped. Not that she actually wanted a sparring competition but she had expected more than that.

She geared herself up again.

"Fine," she countered stubbornly, standing abruptly, "Then I'll go alone. Just come and get me when things go awry."

"Miss?" He whispered after her as Alice marched away, hoping to high heaven that he'd agree to come if only to protect her from her own foolishness. And she was being foolish, she knew that, "Alice?"

Alice felt an iron hold wrap itself around her arm making her wheel around into the arms of the Mohican,

"You're a stubborn one, aren't you…"

She yanked her arm free of his grip, scowling at him. They'd landed in a spot where the moonlight managed to peep through the canopy. It cast Uncas' high face in an angelic hue, his eyes dancing in a playful amusement which Alice did not expect.

"Not unlike your sister...who would have thought?" He mused.

Alice took a step back, becoming flustered with the proximity.

"Quite the contrary. I'm nothing like her but this is important."

He said nothing. Alice shifted impatiently,

"Are you going to help me or not?"

The young chief's glanced back over his shoulder at their sleeping companions before returning his gaze to her,

"Alright," He nodded, Alice's heart simultaneously soaring and beginning to pump itself out of her chest, "But you do everything I say."

Alice nodded obediently. In return, Uncas nodded at her and gestured for her to follow him, readying his musket and lowering his stance. He bent his knees and put his head down and began to stalk through the forest. Alice followed, though with less slight of foot and more like the hunted than the hunter.

Uncas was more alert than Alice had ever seen him. He moved lightly through the trees like a ghost. In a sly trick of the light, Uncas glanced back at her just so and she swore he was grinning.

He's enjoying this! She thought incredulously, following his every move, shaking in my boots, I've asked for help from a masochist!

But it could have been the light for no sooner had she decided upon it being a grin, he turned away. The ghost of joy or whatever it was, evidently gone and leaving no trace.

They reached the outskirts of a firelight camp, their main man Magua looking out at them over the fire, only without seeing them as the braves chatted amongst themselves, passing around what Alice assumed to be a whiskey bottle. Magua looked glazed, starry eyed and angry but near collapse. Uncas peered through the bushes at them, sniffing, like an animal and taking in every little detail before turning to her,

"Do you see it?"

Alice scanned the group, the ground, the packs, Magua but couldn't see it. She shook her head,

"No."

Uncas hmm'd to himself before taking her hand and guiding her around the camp to take a look from the other side.

"Now?"

Alice scanned the vicinity again. She almost clapped when she finally did see it, hanging loosely from Magua's belt.

"There," she pointed, "On his waist!"

Uncas looked put out by the revelation but nodded, his eyes resting on certain points more so than on others. Silent. Alice began to tremble, fear catching up with her.

"I'll go down when they've passed out and try to get it back. Shouldn't be long."

He settled down to wait, clearing a small part of a bush for him to peer through without standing up. Alice looked down at him, perturbed,

"Not now?"

"No, Alice, not now. Wait for them to sleep."

"We could be here for hours!"

Uncas shook his head,

"Don't think so. They've drank a lot."

"So just go in and take it if they're that drunk."

She sat down beside him, shivering and her eyes wild with worry. Uncas, recognising her fear, smiled reassuringly at her,

"You're smarter than that. Calm your fears, Miss," He leant forward, "We'll be alright. Besides, it was your idea."

Alice managed to scowl at him through her worry but it only amused him.

Soon, one by one, the braves began dropping off to sleep, slumping this way and that as the drink finally got the best of them. Magua was the last one to go, managing to arrange himself comfortably but clumsily before sleep finally took him.

Uncas waited another moment before he made his move, bringing himself to his feet quietly.

"Stay here." He told Alice quietly without looking at her, gently pulling his hand, which she didn't realise she'd taken hold of, from out her rigid grasp.

She watched with bated breath as the young man crept down into full view of the firelight, the light throwing his shadow long and lithe across the bodies of the sleeping Huron.

He knelt slowly to Magua's belt, fondling the trinket gently as he tried to loosen it but Alice could see he was struggling. Unsure of how to get it loose, he abandoned it and darted from the camp back to Alice. He slumped beside her breathlessly.

"I couldn't undo it." He looked at Alice who was gazing back at him with wide eyes, "I don't know what to do."

Alice continue to stare at him. Fearful, unwilling to leave as Uncas might suggest, unwilling to stay as Uncas might protest.

"I'll go, then," she said suddenly, unable to believe the words falling from her mouth, stronger than she had anticipated, "I can be quick."

Uncas looked reluctant. He glanced down to the camp, up at the sky then back at Alice before finally conceding,

"I'll come to the edge of the camp with you. If anything happens, fall to the ground."

"Then what?"

By way of answer, Uncas got to his feet and raised his musket, urging Alice forward.

They scuttled down to the outskirts where Alice stalled. She looked back to him for reassurance to find him having crouched and already aiming at Magua. He caught her eye and lowered his musket instantly upon seeing her bewilderment.

He didn't say anything, he merely cocked his head (as he so often did) and gave her an endearing smile. Waiting patiently for her to try her luck.

There was a small comfort in the knowledge that the moment she turned her back, Uncas would raise his musket with a keen eye for blood shed the moment it became necessary. So she did.

She took a cautious step out into the open, taking the smallest steps towards the sleeping man before kneeling to his belt.

It seemed easy enough, it was a screw on. All she had to do was unscrew the latch and slide it out from the belt. She set to work, her fingers unusually clumsy as she undid it. She just about had it when Magua's hand flew out of nowhere and caught hold of her wrist, the iron bar fingers tightening on her skin, twisting the flesh. Alice let out a yelp of fearful surprise and no small amount of pain as her skin twisted, pressing a startled palm to her mouth to stifle the noise.

Magua sat bolt upright, looking her in the eye. His own eyes were clouded, deep, black pools that harboured many a painful story that resulted in a very big pile of hate. He'd kill her in an instant! Panicked, Alice suddenly remembered what Uncas had told her to do but was crushed upon realising that Magua was still on the ground, what good would it do?

Oh fuck!

But Magua did no more than look at her in a daze, the alertness slowly fading. No one else woke up. A few stirred in their drunken dreams but nothing else.

Alice looked to Uncas for help, unsure of what was happening but he, too, seemed befuddled. Having already taken one agitated step towards her, he was focused on Magua's grip.

Alice returned her attention to the Huron, trying desperately to work out what was to happen next.

To her surprise, Magua's death hold slackened and he began to sink back down to the ground. Eyes drooping as he descended, the last of his vision fading with Alice looking down at him in terror.

Moments passed, her wrist free of his hand - but not of the angry, red marks they left - and Magua's breathing seeming to have deepened; Alice bolted.

She shot past Uncas, clutching the necklace tightly with tears of dread and relief seeping down her chilled, rosy cheeks.

She stopped, what felt like, miles away. Dropping to her knees to sob. Never had she been so terrified. Behind her, Uncas' footsteps came up carefully. Having followed her into the dark.

He knelt beside her, draping a comforting arm around her shoulders and pulling her to him.

She calmed easily with his chin atop her head and her ear pressed to his chest, listening to the sound of his heart like a steady beating drum.

0000oooo00o0o0o0o0o0o

When they returned to their little camp, nothing seemed amiss, like no one had woken up.

Well, why should they have? Alice asked herself, trying to reassure herself but truth be told, she'd be more surprised if no one had indeed not woken up. Because Chingachgook, that's why.

The man, in Alice's books, had come to gain a reputation of being aware of everything. Eyes at the back of his head and what not.

Uncas waited for Alice to settle before waking his father to do the second watch.

Words were exchanged in whispers and a low husky chuckle erupted and then was silenced. Alice felt Uncas settle down beside her, perhaps a little too close for her overbearing sense of propriety.

Moments later, she felt his breath in her ear, sending shivers down her spine,

"My father knows," He told her, making Alice freeze, "He says we were brave. Stupid and foolish...but brave."

Alice turned her head to look at the young Mohican, his eyes flashing the familiar amusement without showing it on his lips.

A sudden giggle bubbled up and Alice felt her body spasm with its momentary freedom. She ran a hand over her face before focusing on him again.

She squeezed his arm by way of thanks and turned back around.

Blow her down, if he didn't shift ever so slightly closer to her.

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BYE!