Basics: I can't believe this took me so long. o_x My laptop's been down and I just haven't ever gotten around to writing it again. 8[ I'm sorry, you guys. Forgive me?
Pairings: Trail!Alfred and Indian!Kai. :3 Potentially more!
Summary: While on the Oregon Trail, Alfred encounters an exotic Indian woman-- countless times. Who is she? And why does she infuriate him so much? AlfredxOC
Chapter Seven: Je T'aime, Mon Ami
-Kai-
That poor boy. She regretted hitting him; but then that other girl had come along, and said she would take care of him. Kai's lips twisted into a light grimace and she continued riding down the trail, and soon, the Whitman Mission came into view.
This was her last stop before she headed back home. She needed to check on her Cayuse kin; they were, after all, one of the more irritable of her people, and what she thought to be the most warlike. With the Whitmans so nearby, and with their European customs, she didn't know how they were faring.
As her horse crossed the threshold of the Whitman land, a young boy was peeking out around the house at her. She placed a trained smile on her face and slowed her horse to a stop.
"Are you a Cayuse?" the boy asked her softly. He couldn't be much more than sixteen, seventeen maybe. She looked at him in confusion, and then shook her head, sliding off of the horse.
"No," she informed him, almost gently. "Why? What's going on?"
The boy had visibly relaxed. "Oh. Nothin', it's just-- there's been talk going 'round and whatnot-"
"Talk?" she asked, brow furrowing, and the boy tensed up again slightly.
"Mother says tain't nothing," he told her. "But talk says that the Cayuse are gettin' angry."
"Mother?" Kai asked again. "May I speak with your mother, erm..."
"John," he answered. "John Sager."
"John Sager," she affirmed, as best she could with the foreign words on her tongue. "May I speak to your mother, John Sager?"
John grimaced. "Maybe not... She doesn't quite like talkin' about the Indians, 'specially the Cayuse. But Father may talk to you."
"Then please," she told him, "show me where I may speak to your father."
John nodded, taking her horse for her and tethering the steed up in front of the house. Then, leading her into the house, he called, "Father? There's a lady here wantin' to talk to you."
A tall, dark-haired man, handsome in his age, looked into the room. "It's wanting, not wantin', John. And may I ask who you are?" His words were now directed at Kai, whom now had his gaze fixed on her. She shifted slightly.
"Kai," she replied. "I wanted to speak to you about the Cayuse."
The man, Marcus Whitman, almost tensed, but cleared his face and offered a polite smile. "Come in, Miss Kai. John, fetch a pitcher of water, won't you?"
"Sure, father."
Marcus motioned Kai inside the room, and she obliged, seating herself stiffly at the kitchen table. It wasn't that she disliked the man; she had just never felt at home inside a place as neat as this. She was a wanton creature of the wilds, that much was for sure.
"I assume you've heard about the Cayuse threat?" Marcus asked her.
"Your... Son told me," she answered. "I was coming here to check on my kinsmen."
Marcus looked perplexed for a moment, but didn't push further. "Marcus Whitman," he introduced himself, and Kai gave him a look that said 'I didn't need to guess to know that'. He gave a slight smile. "Well, I think that someone has been telling the Cayuse terrible things-- you must know how eager they are to find something wrong with my family and I being here," he added, and when she nodded, he continued. "Things are getting very tense. I don't know what it is, but... I plan on leaving soon."
"Good," Kai answered firmly. "I will go now to speak with them," she continued, lighter now, "and perhaps we can work this out."
"It would be nice to be on more friendly terms with our Indian neighbors," Marcus agreed, "but I think it's about time we take our leave anyway. Retire somewhere safer."
Kai gave him a soft smile. Here was a man who was thinking; for his family, for himself. Her smile was sympathetic, though-- couldn't he have thought of this sooner? Hadn't he noticed the Cayuse's dislike for him from the beginning? Not to mention that Indian children were beginning to die of European diseases; that, on top of everything else, was only making matters worse.
"Well, I do wish you good luck on your endeavors, Miss Kai," Marcus told her, extending his hand. "And wish your kinsmen a good life from me." She shook his -hand, and he paused, giving a wry smile. "On second thought, don't do that," he said. "In fact, don't even mention me. I don't know what you might set off."
She gave a bittersweet laugh, and then nodded her head, excusing herself from the room. John Sager peered at her with wondering eyes as she left, hoping maybe she could mend the relations with the Cayuse. What would they do if she didn't?
x x x
-Alfred-
They made it over the Blues in no time. Alfred, grinning as he spear-headed the group, took a deep breath of the air. This was the air he'd been longing to taste; America's air.
"Well, I'll be damned!" Samuel called. "But ain't that a man coming our way?"
And indeed it was. Alfred peered more closely and saw that the man was dark-haired, in his late thirties, and scrambling to stay on his horse correctly. Clearly, he hadn't been riding for all that long. "Excuse me!" the man called. "Excuse me, but I would like to request some help from the men in this wagon train?"
"What for?" Samuel asked, suspicious, and Alfred turned to the man in question. He slowed his horse clumsily to a stop in front of them.
"The Cayuse are getting riled up," he explained. "We wanted to get a bit of men ready in case anything started happening."
Akando bristled at the name of his kinsmen, and then looked at the ground, dark gaze fierce. Alfred cleared his throat, and then turned his attention back to the man.
"I'll come," he answered. "For safety," he added, as if to explain he didn't plan on shooting any Indians.
"That's all we ask for!" The man exclaimed. "Please, follow me-- your wagon train can rest in our little town until we get word of any attacks from the Cayuse."
As they set out again, Alfred slowed his horse so that he was riding side by side with Akando.
"Do you know anything about this?" he asked Akando uneasily after a moment. The Indian bristled again.
"Cayuse are fighting people," he answered in a clipped tone. "They do not like the pale face expansion. That is all I know."
To Alfred, it seemed that Akando might know more-- but instead, he didn't push, just remained stonily quiet as they pressed on.
x x x
-Matthew-
"Matthew, are you alright?"
That was only the bajillionth time Mona had asked him that. Perhaps it was his labored breathing, or ashen face, but she had taken notice several times already.
"I'm fine," Matthew panted, but this time Mona didn't fall for it.
"Matthew, I already like you too much to lose you so close to safety," she informed him, grasping his hand firmly, ignoring his blushing cheeks. "So we're going to stop for the night and give you some rest. Is that clear?"
"Y-Yes, Mona."
She gave him a small smile, warm and making him feel as if it were only them in the whole entire world.
"Good."
...
Matthew's cheeks were blushing furiously, and he tried to keep it hidden, but in the dark it seemed all the more noticeable.
Both he and Mona had stopped for the night; they'd set up a fire, with Matthew laying on the ground next to Mona while she dozed against a tree trunk. It had been very, very harmless until now-- never mind the fact that he'd managed to keep his newfound attraction for the young woman smothered! But it had all started with, while Matthew was starting to drift off himself, he felt something touching his hair.
He barely kept his breathing in check, lifting his gaze to look at Mona-- she, meanwhile, was fast asleep, head having tilted and cheek pressed against the top of his head. It wasn't as if there was anything particularly sensual about it, but just the sheer intimacy of the unconcious movement was what made his cheeks heat. She murmured something absently in her sleep, and Matthew was almost sure he heard his name. He shifted slightly, moving to get away from her, only to find her head nestled into his shoulder.
He was terrible at this "smothering affection" thing.
Mona murmured again, snuggling closer to him, clinging to his arm. Little vixen, he thought wryly, but a smile was crossing his flushed face all the same. There was just something ultimately right about having her with him; that was what he adored most.
While she slept, softly, he whispered, "Je t'aime, mon ami."
Her eyes blinked open.
He stared, apalled, into the dark blue depths of her gaze, and then watched in shock as a smile formed on her face. Quietly, she leaned up and kissed his cheek.
"Je t'aime, mon ami," she answered him drowsily, and fell asleep.
x x x
-Kai-
"Welcome, Kimimeela," a deep-voiced man greeted her. "It has been long since you last visited us."
"It's Kai now," she replied, almost timidly, and he quirked a brow almost in surprise.
"Very well," he answered. "You will explain later. For now, tell us why you have come so unnanounced."
She shifted, feelig the dark, almost hostile gazes, before clearing her throat and lifting her chin.
"People have been speaking. They say you are turning against the Whitmans," she began, but immediately stopped as the Cayuse around her bristled.
"Then they are right!" the first man growled at her, so fiercely that she almost shrank back. "The Whitman man is poisoning our children," he continued, snarling now. "We will destroy him before he destroys us!"
A chorus of agreement rose from the other Indians.
"Please, if you would just think for a moment!" Kai exclaimed, desperately trying to gather hold of the situation. The man stared at her with eyes that burned in their hatred.
"We have thought, for longer than a moment," he replied in a stony voice now. "We will attack the Whitman Mission at dawn, and we will be safe from the tyranny of the white settler!"
Attack the mission at dawn, Kai thought, panicking. What am I going to do?
So that's fun, right? Right. I don't know exactly how I'm going to go about unfolding this plot, but I hope you guys like it so far~
