They took Erin down corridors she hadn't been before. A labyrinth that never seemed to end, dead ends turning into sudden doorways, and on, ever on, until before them was a rough wooden door with a square window of iron bars. A dim candle burned nearby, the faint light signalling that they had reached their destination.
Erin heard it then, the booming of cannons, the French had once again renewed their assault and it sounded closer than ever. The blare had been dulled within the bowels of Munro's office, but now it was loud and ever present and could not be ignored.
The door was opened, and unsteady creaking wooden stairs led down to an earthen floor where holding cells made of hardy timber stood as a makeshift prison. The only illumination, bar a few lacklustre tallow candles within, was a lantern one of the guards had brought in with him.
She noticed a very young, tired private standing at the bottom of the stairwell, who jolted to attention as they passed, then quickly sagged back to his slumped position when his duty was done.
Erin was pushed and dragged unceremoniously past a few cells, in one she could just about make out the form of Nathaniel, but the rest were sparsely occupied by lingering shadows of men or uneasy emptiness. They stilled at the furthermost stall from the door, a few down from Nathaniel's, she supposed to make fraternizing a harder task.
The sound of metal ringing together cut the silence as the guards found the right key, and then the crude iron bar gate was opened and she was roughly pushed inside. The bolt and lock were secured before she could turn around, and without a word they left, taking the only real source of light with them, leaving the surroundings in a dim, dull, sickly yellow haze.
Erin closed her eyes, willing her breathing to calm before she allowed herself to look at the tiny space she now found herself in. When she felt ready, she surveyed her new quarters. She could just about lie down, but it was cramped, and the hay on the floor smelt stale and rather mouldy. There were no blankets or furniture at all, apart from a very foul looking bucket in the far corner. She wrinkled her nose as the sharp tang of ammonia stung her senses and concluded it was not something she would go near if she could help it.
There were small barred windows, which right now was very welcome, the heat from the day clung to the warm smoky air. She took a few steps to the rough iron bars that were ground level with outside. Across the main yard she could see people, some dozing, some crying, the last vestiges of an already defeated people, all looked like they were at their wits end.
Past the barracks and beyond the parade ground, lay the tall sturdy wall of the fort's defence. The sky beyond was dark and starlit, but a red glow polluted the clarity, and the barrage sounded like the thunderclaps of an ominous approaching storm that would soon be inescapable. Erin took a small step backwards at what that now meant, what Cora had said in the book could not have been truer: the whole world was very much on fire.
The French were coming.
"Miss Cooper?" Nathaniel's call brought her away from the brink, and the grim thoughts of all the death that lay in wait tomorrow.
"Yes, Mr Poe?"
"What'd they get you for?" His surprise at finding her here with him was only thinly masked behind his lazy drawl.
"I'm a spy, apparently," Erin said, trying to match his own carefree attitude.
He laughed, it was a warm and heartening sound in the moldy gloom. "Between us I figure we have quite the act of treason. No better reason for the English to hang us."
"They haven't said they'll hang me yet, Mr Poe, but there is still time."
He laughed again, but their conversation was interrupted as the main door opened and light flooded into the dim place, as Cora and Uncas both swept in, followed by the annoyed calls of more guards.
"Miss, as I said, you cannot..."
"My Father has allowed it!" Cora flung the words carelessly. "If you would stop me, you will have to go and tell him yourself."
Cora coldly regarded the young private who again did his little stand to attention and then looked back towards his peers for orders. The guards at the doorway relented with a nod, both looking far too weary to argue about visiting times.
The door was closed, but now there was real light, Cora had brought a lantern which gave an acceptable glow to the surroundings, enough to see your hand, but not quite enough to see the filth too clearly.
She went to Nathaniel first, her hands clutching at his, hurried words were exchanged which Erin couldn't hear. Cora then re-joined Uncas and, with a firm nod to him, they walked to Erin's cell, pausing when they reached their destination, the bright light making Erin wince.
"That was charitable of your father..." she began, trying to find any conversation to break the ice.
"My father has no idea I'm here!" Cora snapped, she had no time for small talk. "He would be furious, but his mind is too full of the siege and what will come to keep close track of me. What you said has left him unnerved."
Erin wasn't sure what to say in this moment, Cora looked rather aggravated with the whole situation and her solemn eyes burned with a flame of heavy accusation.
"Uncas says he believes you."
"Believes what?" Nathaniel had caught a little of the conversation through their raised voices.
He was roundly ignored.
"I must ask, and you must answer me truthfully, Erin, are you indeed a spy?"
"No, I am not, nor do I have any motive other than helping you all." Erin tried to keep her tone kind, not allowing her own defences to rise in response to Cora's vexation.
"Then where did you hear this information?"
Erin glanced at Uncas, a look passing between them that said they had no time for honesty, no time for tall tales and doubting minds. "I cannot say. Not now. You wouldn't believe me."
Cora made to protest but Erin reached through the bars, stilling any further words with a gentle touch. "But I will tell you everything, I swear it on my blood and on Uncas'." She grimaced at him, apology etched into her expression at her ungraceful floundering.
Uncas looked a little chafed at being brought into her oath, but relented and nodded his head in agreement.
"When we are safe and away from here, from all this... I will tell you everything. But I just need you to trust me now. Please."
The two women stared at each other for a long moment, Cora's dark acute eyes taking in all Erin was, and she seemed to come to an agreement within herself.
"Very well." Cora paused, thinking deeply. "You say tomorrow, after this... parley... you believe there will be a ambush?"
"Yes, your father is the main target and if we do not help him, he will die."
Cora's eyes glittered with distress. "What of the people here, will they also die? You said there would be many deaths."
Erin wasn't surprised to hear this, she had come to understand Cora Munro had a habit of dismissing her own misery for the good of others.
Erin again looked to Uncas, who shook his head slowly, signalling there was little hope.
"Yes, many will die," she confirmed.
"But there are women and children."
"I cannot help everyone!" Erin felt callous saying those words, but they were true. She had so little power to do more than warn any of them, these plans had been formed long before she had even had the thought of trying to change them, before she'd stepped a foot in this world.
"We surely cannot just abandon them? They are innocents in this."
"So are many, but still the knife falls," Uncas said. His face was cold of emotion, but his tone bore all the hallmarks of hating that his words were indeed true.
"But we..."
"What would you have me do, Cora? Proclaim everyone's oncoming death and cause a panic? In that chaos, still many more may die. Panic causes people to act rashly." Erin wanted to make her understand and could see no gentle path in the telling.
For a moment Cora looked and sounded flustered, her mind reeling with possibilities and harsh rebuttals, but when she found none that made sense, she stilled, calmness regaining sway on her features.
"Uncas and I could perhaps spread the word to be prepared, once the news of this surrender is heard, so that many are ready for a dangerous journey. I could be discreet."
Erin nodded, this was probably the best plan they could do, if more could fight back, lives could be saved.
"This is a good plan," Erin said, knowing it was also their only plan. "General Montcalm will ask for no ammunition, but I doubt he'll be checking every musket. It could give people a fighting chance. Do you think you could convince your father to deceive the French?"
"My father has no love for the French, it's why he never allowed Alice and I to learn the language. I may be able to persuade him not to trust their word completely. It will be easier if tomorrow happens as you say."
"That's good," Erin said with a faint smile. "Your father must also gain that escort, Cora, and you and Alice must stay close to him, do not fall behind, be at the front of the column."
Cora's eyes drifted to Nathaniel's cell, her reluctance at leaving something so new, raw and passionate behind clear upon her face.
"I promise you, Mr Poe will be fine and he will come find you." Erin would once have found the mere notion of repeating Nathaniel's own words of desperate love a little corny, but now she understood their full weight and only saw the beauty. "He will not hang."
She saw Cora take a small inhale, pushing back her emotions with physical force. "This man that hunts us, you said he is the same scout that plotted the ambush on the road here?"
"He is. He is dangerous." Erin paused. "Be careful, Cora, be watchful and protect Alice."
"I will, always." They clasped hands and Erin felt the growth of their friendship in that touch. "I will do my best to put these thoughts in my father's mind. But as you can see he is a very stubborn man."
"He is. But at least he didn't allow Duncan to have me pilloried." Erin tried to lighten the mood of the current situation with a joke and succeeded in a whisper of a smile from Uncas.
Cora smiled too, but it died quickly. "Duncan is very hurt."
"I know," Erin said, patting her tenderly.
"You do?"
"You turned down his marriage proposal, and tonight he fully saw why; Nathaniel." Erin threw all caution to the wind. It seemed so petty compared to their present predicament, and anything that would make Cora believe there was truth to her words was very welcome.
"How... I haven't even told Alice. How did you know?" Cora wasn't annoyed but intensely curious She was beginning to understand there was far more to all this than just having obtained some secret information on the French's dirty dealings.
Erin gave a drained smile. "Like I said, I'll tell you everything soon."
Cora shook her head, laughing despite the tense situation. "Maybe you really are a fortune teller, or even a spy, although for what purpose I cannot fathom."
Erin was laughing too. "I'm too clumsy and lazy to be a spy."
Uncas let out a low grunt of agreement.
"I will do all I can," Cora said, the laughter replaced by seriousness again.
"Thank you, and thank you for trusting me."
Cora smiled knowingly. "We've had our disagreements, Erin." She looked up at Uncas for a short moment. "But I do feel you hold no malice, that you do want to help."
"I do." Erin felt near tears and Cora patted her in a distracted attempt at comfort, her mind was drifting back to where her heart lay.
"I must speak to Nathaniel."
Erin gave a low hum of understanding and Cora moved, taking the lantern further down the cells, but leaving it placed in the centre of the room so there was still a good amount of light.
/
A/N
Hello all, a Friday missed but I am back again.
I can only apologise and say life knocked me on my butt for a week but I'm back and ready to continue.
You, dear readers, may or may not be aware that this story has drawn some ire from guest and anon reviewers for not catering solely to the Alice and Uncas romance. I'm sorry some of you feel sharing a fandom is something to get mad about. All I can say to these people is a purely romance story was never my intent. I deliberately didn't tag any pairings for that reason and tags are important to know what story you will get without me having to spoil anything from the start. It's fine if this story isn't your cup of tea but I would be grateful if you took your eyes and views elsewhere instead of insulting me personally or swearing at me. It doesn't do anything but make me delete/ignore your review, so your time is wasted. If you still wish to do this, then I can't stop you and you cannot stop me from writing either. What an impasse *sighs* :/ Perhaps find something you enjoy to take up what precious time you have?
That being said, I want to express my thanks to those leaving reviews that are giving this story a go despite it not being right up their alley. You are too kind. Finally to Flowangelic, thank you for the boost.
To anyone reading this or reviewing and finding fun in it, thank you, endless thanks you, you make me believe I am not too much of a weirdo to have written this lol
I'm hoping the next few chapters will begin to reveal the cards I have hidden and explain what I was thinking when I came up with this idea. Until then I hope you enjoyed your time with me :)