At Magua's command, the band of Hurons picked up their pace swiftly, never stopping once for a break. Alice found herself dragged along at top speed along with them, her arm tightly held by a Huron, so firmly that she could nearly feel her arm growing more and more numb each passing moment.
Uncas, where was Uncas? He himself had promised her to always come back for her, no matter how long it took for him to save her. Anyone could tell his love and promise to her was more than sincere. But where was he now? Why wasn't he coming? Surely he wasn't going to put off rescuing her because there were too many Hurons for him to handle?
"Move on now, gold one!" Magua snarled, as Alice dropped her pace for a while to steady herself across several large gray rocks. "Move one!"
Alice clenched her free left hand into a fist, gritting her teeth angrily. Was it even possible to term Magua a human, she wondered? As though it wasn't enough for him to murder her beloved father, he now had to extract yet more revenge – on innocent people. Goodness knew how many innocents had now been slain by his hand in the name of revenge.
On and on moved the group, higher and higher up onto the tall, majestic cliffs marked by harsh grey rocks and only a single narrow, flat path for them to tread. With only the slightest of hope remaining in her heart now, Alice turned back one last time, straining to catch sight of a tall, handsome young man striding along towards them.
But all that greeted her eyes was the sight of the grey, rocky walls of the cliff.
Alice felt as though her heart had been ripped out of her.
And then, a single gunshot abruptly rang out, loud and clear. It was accompanied by a single cry of pain and shock, and then a Huron lifelessly toppled down the cliff. Around him, the other Hurons shifted uneasily, hands reaching out for tomahawks and guns or any other weapon on them.
Someone leaped out from behind the wall, then, someone tall and handsome and graceful, clad in green with long black hair streaming down his back. Alice took a single glance at him, and felt her breath drain out of her completely.
Uncas. He had come for her after all. For a moment, guilt overwhelmed her, and her head drooped momentarily. How could she have doubted Uncas, of all people, for even a moment? He loved her; he had sworn he would come to her rescue, no matter how high the price. How then, could she have believed he had abandoned his word?
He was fighting with ferocious, merciless speed now, alternately shooting or hacking down a Huron with his rifle or tomahawk or knife. Because of the narrowness of the cliff's path, only one or two at a time could attack him, or else risk toppling downwards, hundreds of feet. That gave Uncas a slight advantage, gave him time to plan his next move.
The Huron holding Alice's arm now released her, withdrew his tomawhawk, and leaped into action. Alice rubbed her sore arm, willing life back into it. It hurt, and was already flowering with pale bruises from the force previously administered to it, yet she felt nothing. All she felt now was the terror, beginning to replace gradually the relief.
There were just too many Hurons, even for Uncas. No way could he win, not in such a situation. Even if he did, he might not be able to escape the wounds that would undoubtedly accompany his rash act of courage.
"Uncas!" Alice tried to call out, her voice feeble and hoarse.
He simply cast her a single glance, his lips silent. But in his dark eyes, Alice saw the same expression she had seen that night in the waterfall: all his love and fierce determination and tenderness that had always made Alice fall in love with him all over again.
"Hold on, Alice," he managed to call out, pitching his voice just loud enough for her to hear. "Just you hold on!"
Alice merely nodded mutely.
Magua himself was charging now at Uncas, his face calm and somehow ferocious all at the same time. The bloodlust was already evident in his eyes; they were blazing like the fiercest of fires, untameable, wild, lethal.
Uncas did not hesitate. Instead, he swung his tomahawk out wildly, eager to strike the first blow at this monster who had killed his sweetheart's father and then stolen Alice herself away. Magua, however, was a hard and tough, experienced warrior, and simply side-stepped the blow calmly.
Uncas half lost his balance, reeled in, and prepared to strike again. Smiling his deadly smile, Magua struck back, tomahawk to tomahawk. Their weapons clashed back and forth for several minutes, and then, out of the blue, the sound of a knife slicing something rang out, sharply cutting the air.
Alice gasped aloud with horror, her blue eyes widening as red blood streamed down Uncas' arm. The young Mohican said nothing; he merely looked down at it, his eyes half-dazed as though he couldn't believe he had been struck.
"Uncas," Alice murmured, her head swimming with terror.
With a grunt of rage and pain, Uncas lunged back at Magua, swinging his weapon again. However, the pain and shock of having his arm sliced apart had somewhat blurred his judgement, and he missed his target by almost a foot. Magua scrambled back several steps, raised his arm and struck again.
Alice found herself on the verge of fainting as Magua cruelly wielded his tomahawk and knife together to deadly effect, slicing all the way through Uncas' arm almost to the bone. More blood flowed out; and this time, Uncas could no longer disguise his pain, though he displayed no signs of fear.
"Magua! Leave him alone!" Alice screamed desperately, throwing herself forward, not sure of what to really do, only knowing she had to stop Uncas from being slain there and then, right in front of her eyes. "Take me if you wish, but just leave him alone!" Paying no attention to Magua's lethal weapons, she flung herself right at
Uncas, sobbing with terror as she gathered her wounded lover into her arms.
"No, Alice." Uncas' voice was so calm that it seemed he was still as hale as ever, despite the serious injury to his arm. "Do not grieve for me. Do you remember what I told you once?"
"That you would always be with me," Alice managed to reply, through her tears.
"Indeed. And now, I think, is the time to fulfil that promise one last time. If die I must, then die I will. Do not weep for me, beloved. Know that death is not the end; it will be a new beginning for us both."
"Uncas…"
"I love you, Alice, and always will. Remember that, and…
"Enough, you dog!" Magua's voice was a snarl as he reached down and grabbed Uncas roughly by the hair. "The woman is mine. She will be for no one else but me now."
Uncas did not protest as Magua moved to drag him away. A smile was already on his face, a calm, serene, peaceful smile. His hand moved to touch hers, one last time, and Alice saw too clearly the farewell in his eyes. Her heart was torn apart already, but no tears could she shed. She simply touched her hand to his pale face lovingly, tenderly, and then Uncas was roughly pulled away before either of them could say anything.
"Die now, son of dogs, and know that your woman is mine!" Magua screeched, turning Uncas over, and holding his already bloody knife to the Mohican's throat.
Alice turned away at that last moment, knowing she would never be able to bear the sight. All she heard was a muffled, controlled groan of pain, and then the sound of someone crashing downwards. By the time she could summon enough willpower to look, Uncas was nowhere to be seen. All she saw was Magua standing there, his bloody knife still raised as if to strike again.
The world around her spun violently, yet Alice found herself still standing firm on the ground. Below, the sound of trees blowing and shuffling their leaves in the sudden wind became unusually clear, so clear that Alice felt as though she was standing right down below, with her dead lover. Her eyes blurred; shapes dimmed and danced in front of her, all she could see now were blur shapes of green and brown.
"You killed him." Alice did not utter the sentence with any feelings of rage of grief. She simply said it as though she was making any casual remark. "Uncas. You slew him."
"Come now, woman," was the only reply. "You're still mine. What you have seen will not change anything."
Alice laughed, then, a strange hollow sound resonating harshly in her throat. Anyone would have found it impossible to believe the gold-haired girl standing before a killer was still Alice Munro. "You think so?" she said, in an almost sneering tone. "You think nothing will change? You think I am just going to follow you on, as though nothing has happened? You think I'm going to spend the rest of my life with a murderer?"
"Woman…"
"I'm not your slave, and I never will be. You will not have me, Magua."
She was walking towards the edge of the cliff now, her feet following a mind of their own. She did not stop nor hesitate once; she simply walked on until she was touching the edge. One step further, and she would no longer be standing on solid ground.
"Woman…"
Alice simply shut her ears to Magua's hated voice, and stared down, down at the ground ever so far below. Even then, it was not hard to catch sight of Uncas, her lover, her protector. Limp and cold his body would be now, Alice knew, never to rise again and race with the wind like a graceful deer, never to hold her close and protect her with his life.
And remember, Alice, that I will always be with you.
It was a question of life and death for her now. Would it be possible to live on, not as her own free, independent self, but as Magua's slave, to be beaten and raped whenever he pleased? Would it be possible to live in the same wigwam as the monster who had murdered her father, and then the only man she would ever love?
And, most of all, would it be possible to find a way out of her slavery?
"Miss Munro."
It was the first time Magua had ever addressed her by that name. Turning round to face him with eyes of blazing blue fire, Alice detected for the first time ever, an almost human, compassionate look. She knew, of course, what he wanted. She knew that Magua wanted her alive, not because he cared, but simply because he wanted revenge, knowing that he would have power over the daughter of the man he hated most. And she knew that it would please him to beat the life and spirit out of her, if he wished.
She said nothing, only turned her head slowly to the bottom of the cliff again, still staring at the cold emptiness there.
Uncas, wait for me! Let me follow you one last time!
Never looking back once, Alice leaned over, and took flight for the first – and last time.
She soared like a bird then, feeling freer than she had ever been, while the wind gently blew her white skirts about her legs, and her golden hair around her arms. There was no fear in her, no more grief, no more anger, only a feeling of indescribable relief and freedom.
She never did hear a shriek of unutterable horror and grief as she met the ground, entering the final dark sleep from which there was no waking, to sleep in the arms of Uncas. For, as fate would have it, as her flight was halted by the ground below, she landed so close to Uncas that it was more than enough for them to touch, as they lay side-by-side in sleep, both of them smiling peacefully.
For, although they would never wake up in this world again, they were more than happy to be reunited in another world beyond this world of strife and pain, in a world where there would be no killing or enmity or sorrow.
They were back together once more, never to be parted again.
The end, guys!!! Hope you don't mind my very tragic version, but I decided that killing them off somehow makes their love seem more...profound.
To everyone who's read and reviewed this, thanks a million!!! Toodles! Please don't forget to review this, and tell me what you think! If I get enough reviews, I might write another Alice/Uncas centred fic...with a happy ending.