Hi guys! So here's the update. I hope you like it!
I'll apologize now for the lack of Klaroline, but I promise to give you guys so much good stuff in the next couple chapters you're gonna just die! But this chapter is an important part of the story.
Also, sorry for anyone who actually knows how to speak Navajo (unlikely), but I used a few of their words and there is a reference at the end of the chapter for what the words mean.
Always and forever kudos to Angel and Mimi. Thanks ladies! =)
Yeehaw! This is gettin' good!
Chapter 6: Hiawatha
Middle of Nowhere
Klaus lazily walked back to the cabin unsure of what to do next. It was like an answer to prayer. One minute he's thinking about what to do with her and the next, she vanished. Clearly the Indians thought she meant something to him or they wouldn't have taken her. Little did they know...
"Where's Caroline?" Elijah asked seeing Klaus walking back by himself.
"Uh oh, was Caroline not impressed with what she saw and ran for the hills?" Kol snickered, which even brought a faint smile to Elijah's face. A very faint one.
"Well, it seems our dear Caroline has been taken."
"What? How?" Elijah asked.
"How else? The damn Apache," he responded nonchalantly.
"You let her out of your sights for two minutes, and you let the Indians steal her away?" Kol asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Seems to me like we just had a big problem solved for us. No more worrying about what to do with her," he shrugged and began to pack what was left at their camp.
"Klaus, I can see that you're just heart broken over this turn of events," Elijah mused, "but perhaps it wouldn't be wise to leave the girl in the hands of savages?"
"And I think we have bigger things to worry about today. Going to rescue some girl isn't my priority."
"Listen, I'm all for leavin' the girl with the Injuns, she'll only get in the way, but are you sure you're going to be okay with it?"
"ANd, I don't like what you're implying, Kol" Klaus said darkly, "so unless you'd like to have your liver ripped out and handed to you on a plate, I suggest you shut your trap." Klaus wasn't kidding, it was fun to think about what it would be like to bed the beauty, but that was as far as it went.
Elijah, always the sensible one said, "I think what our dear brother is trying to say, is that we shouldn't leave any loose strings lying around. This is a big job Klaus, and we need our heads clear. Even if that means we get the girl and kill her ourselves, at least then we'll have peace of mind about her whereabouts."
"Besides, who knows what she'll tell them? We don't need them knowin' our family business!" Kol interjected.
Klaus pondered his brothers' suggestions. He had no allegiance toward her. True, they knew each other when they were small, and now he couldn't fight the undeniable attraction and desire he had for her, but it wasn't stronger than the thrill of a heist. And it certainly wasn't stronger than the bond of family and Caroline wasn't family.
However, they did bring up some fair points. He'd be wondering all day what they were doing to her, no matter how hard he'd try not to. Her face had left an imprint in his mind, and he didn't need that rattling around his head on the most important day of his Outlaw career.
"What do you suggest we do? Infiltrate their village with guns blazin' and demand her release?"
"No," Elijah said calmly, "but, if it's the tribe that I think it is, there is a possibility that we can reason with them; see what they want in exchange."
"I'm not giving those dirty redskins a thing!"
"It's our only solution. Their land is on the way to Abilene, shouldn't be more than an hour out of the way."
Klaus growled with annoyance. This was not the way this day was supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to happen. He strolled toward his mare and began to saddle her. If there was one thing he hated more than anything else in this pitiful world, it was when his brothers were right. He didn't get to be the Boss of this gang by giving in to the likes of them, but he couldn't deny their logic. Caroline needed to be freed. He finished with the final cinches of his saddle and mounted his mare. "Well then brother, lead the way."
Elijah nodded his head in approval and Kol just laughed with amusement as they climbed on to their own horses. Klaus only shook his head before he kicked his heels to spur the animal forward. The other two followed and the three Mikaelsons galloped off to rescue the damsel in distress.
(***)
"Do you think they'll find us here?" Caroline's small voice whispered.
"Nah, this is the best hiding spot, they won't even think about looking here," the boy answered.
"What do you think our next move should be against those vile savages?"
"I don't know, but I'm just glad you're safe," the small boy continued to play along.
"Well, you were very brave," she said and placed a small kiss on his cheek.
He blushed and shook his head, smiling to himself. The moment lasted a second before his head shot up, "Do you smell that?"
"What?"
"I think they're getting close."
Caroline inhaled sharply, trying to sniff out the unfamiliar scent. "What is that?"
The smell of campfire with a hint of something unrecognizable wafted in the air.
"They're here. They found us!"
Caroline's eyes fluttered open. Her head was pounding and her vision blurry, and she was only able to make out a soft amber glow in a hazy room. Her head hung forward, bobbing up and down going in and out of consciousness. She remembered being rudely woken up, storming off on her own, and rinsing off in the river, then...the recognition of what had happened finally came in clearly, "the Indian." She struggled against the ropes keeping her hands tied to a pole behind, as her mind and the room came in to full focus.
This was not looking good for Caroline Forbes. She was a prisoner, yet again, only this time with true strangers. Not only strangers, but savages, another group of people that she had only heard horror stories about but never thought she would encounter. When she realized her struggles against the ropes were futile, her shoulders sagged and she took in her surroundings.
There was a small fire in the middle of the circular room. She followed the smoke trail up the cylinder enclosure where it escaped from a small opening at the top.
A tepee.
The rest of the room was sparse. There were a few furs hanging on the other side of the room, and what looked like a small bed huddled against the other. Up above her she saw lines of clothing hanging over the fire, and in front of her leather flaps of canvas that covered the entrance. It was still daylight she noticed, as hints of white light peeked through the cracks. Either it was the next day, or she hadn't been knocked out for very long.
She attempted to loosen her bindings once more, this time standing up against the pole in order to give herself more room to work with, but she quickly gave up. She was too tired and too weak to accomplish the task. She leaned her head back against the pole once more and let out a sigh, "What have you gotten yourself in to Caroline," she said out loud.
Surely Klaus knew she had gone missing. Maybe he even knew that she had been captured, but she didn't think the chances of them every knowing where she was or how to find her were very good. Even if they did, why would they rescue her?
The daylight began to invade the tepee as one of the canvas flaps folded back. A silhouette stood in the entrance, just a shadowy black mass at first until it started to take form. She was expecting the same man from earlier, the one that looked murderous and terrifying, but instead was relieved to see a small female figure approach her.
The girl smiled sweetly at Caroline and approached her holding a small bowl. She was very beautiful. She had long dark hair, chocolate eyes, and a pretty heart-shaped face. She put the bowl in front of Caroline and held up the spoon, indicating she wished to give Caroline some of what was in the bowl.
She didn't know what it was, it could've been poison for all she knew, but the smell was too enticing. Her stomach was hollow, and the temptation to satiate her hunger superseded the fear of dying. Besides, the girl seemed genuine and harmless.
She brought the spoon to Caroline's mouth, and she slurped it up. The hot liquid ran down her throat, soothing it before spreading the warmth through her stomach. They did this for a little while, both women silent as one tended to the other. Caroline wondered why this girl was being so kind to her, clearly she was their hostage, but weren't treating her as she expected.
The Indian placed the bowl down and smiled again, placing a hand over her chest and saying, "Elena," and then extended her hand to Caroline clearly expecting a response.
Elena? Caroline thought but then realized that must be her name and responded with a warm smile. "Caroline."
Elena seemed pleased with their dialogue, and nodded her head before turning and leaving the tepee. Caroline was still confused on why they were being so gentle with her, perhaps she had them all wrong, or perhaps the women were just gentler than the men. But, it didn't matter, the warm liquid had calmed her nerves. She slowly moved back down the pole to a sitting position. Her head grew heavy once more, and she drifted back off to sleep.
(***)
The boys rode for about an hour, Elijah leading the way, until they came upon a high ridge. They stuck close to the base, not wanting to be open and exposed, in fear of being spotted by a scout. An arrow wouldn't do much damage, especially at such a long distance, but the Apache had evolved over the years. No longer were they armed with bows and arrows and tomahawks, but they wielded fire arms too. They traded with the white man, furs and game in exchange for rifles and pistols, trying to match the fire power of their enemies.
"What's our next move?"
"I think our best chance is to try and get on higher ground without being spotted. There's a small opening just up here that should do just fine."
Elijah pointed at a small ridge trail hidden in the rock. If you weren't looking for it, you would've surely missed it.
"You seem to know your way around these parts pretty well," Klaus said. "You've been spending some time with the enemy, brother?"
"I've spent time with them and we've done our fair share of trading."
"Is that all? Just trading?" Klaus didn't like the idea of his brother having a relationship with them. It was his brother, and he would always be loyal but that didn't mean he always trusted his judgement.
Elijah remained silent and just continued along their path.
The horses remained sure footed as they began their assent. The walls were tight and rocks crumbled down around them, it was a dangerous path, but it seemed to be secure from watchful eyes. As they made their way to the end, the path began to widen, opening up to a small prairie. It was filled with tall grass and surrounded by high canyon walls, creating efficient protection against their enemies. In the distance they could see billows of smoke rising.
"Well done Elijah," Kol said, "Let's go get the girl and get the hell out of here." Kol moved forward across the field.
"Wait! Kol, stay put," Elijah yelled after him.
It was too late for Kol to recede, one second he was advancing forward and the next he was falling backward off his steed.
"Dammit!"
Klaus and Elijah raced forward to their brother. There was no indication of gunfire but his tumble was a true sign that he had been taken down by something. When they reached him he was writhing on the ground, an arrow sticking out of his shoulder and cursing the sky. "Goddamn, son of a bitch, fucking Injun scum..."
The cursing continued as they dismounted and rushed to his side. "Kol, you stupid SOB, why'd you take off like that?"
"I'll kill them all! I'll cut out their tongues, grind them up and force feed it down their fucking throats!" He sat up from the ground, the arrow had gone straight through, the head peeking out the back of his shoulder.
"You should be lucky they're not a very good shot. A few inches more to the left and you'd be dead," Elijah scolded him.
"Can we get the hell out of here please? We don't know where they are or how long it's gonna take for them to reach us."
Klaus and Elijah began to lift their brother off the ground. However, before they could make their escape the discernible sound of gunfire blasted in the air. All around them the onslaught of natives came upon them. Bow and arrows, shotguns, and pistols all poised and ready to rain death upon them.
Klaus and Elijah lifted their hands in surrender and Kol slumped back to the ground, bracing his shoulder before swearing one last time and passing out. They both reached down to aid their brother again when the stern voice of one of their captures halted them.
"Do not move, Wasichu*." A young Apache, no older than Klaus, climbed down from his horse and approached them.
Klaus began to speak, when Elijah put a hand across Klaus' chest and cut him off, "Taza, we are not here to fight. We've just come for the girl."
"We did not take her so you could come and claim her, Wasichu, you know this. We take her because you owe us something."
"I'm aware, Taza, but this is not the best time."
"Your wife is waiting. You promise her you would return."
Klaus threw his head back and laughed. "His wife? I think you may have my brother confused with someone else." When Elijah didn't join in with his chuckles, Klaus got the clear distinction that he was missing something. "Elijah, what the hell are they talking about?"
He didn't respond to Klaus, instead he continued to look at Taza, his eyebrows knitted together in concentration. "You can take me to her. My brother will need medicine, and we can discuss our arrangement."
"We will give your brother to *Pejula Wacasa, but we will keep the other one imprisoned," he pointed at Klaus, "until you speak with Inyuk-Chuk."
(***)
Caroline's eyes shot open at the sudden intrusion of daylight once more. A man stumbled in to the tent, cursing up a storm. The flaps closed and he spat in the direction of the entrance. "Fucking Indians!" he screamed.
"Klaus?" Caroline said.
He turned and glared at her, angry and full of wrath. "Oh fucking perfect! Just who I wanted to be stuck with! You Caroline Forbes have been a fucking thorn in my side!"
Oh man, Klaus is not a happy camper. He's got a big heist to worry about now what?!
And Elijah you old dog. Haha. What's that about?
Sorry for the lack of Klaroline, but I promise promise PROMISE that next chapter will totally be worth it.
***I got a review on this chapter about someone feeling uncomfortable with my racial terms. I thought I would update this chapter to put a small note in.
I would really really really love to point out the fact that in no way, shape or form do I tolerate racism. I think this is a confusing time in our history and there was a lot of misunderstanding of what Indians were. The words that I use are true to how I feel the Cowboys would think about them back then. However, as the story progresses I think you'll start to see an unexpected bond start to take place***
Please review! Let me know what you think! REVIEW!
References:
*Wasichu - White Man
*Pejula Wacasa - Medicine Man
*Inyuk-Chuk - Chief