They trudged onwards, the column of people a never ending swaying path behind them. Erin caught sight of Cora glancing backwards many times, her eyes seeking Nathaniel, but it seemed her search was fruitless. Alice clung to her sister's waist, her body pushed against Cora's back, her shoulders hunched as if trying to make herself look smaller.

Erin felt sorry to the young woman, she must be terrified, but Erin wasn't sure Alice would feel any less fear knowing what was to come. She could understand why Cora had been reluctant to pull her younger sister down a path that only held more questions and worry. Perhaps Cora had been wise in her choice, soon they would be far away from here and causing more of a panic seemed like the worst idea for all involved.

Erin had chanced a few looks back too, her eyes seeking the same forms Cora sought, but all she could see was a sea of people blocking her view to the distant Fort beyond. She assumed that Nathaniel would be let out with the dregs of the fort, so that was where Uncas and Chingachgook would be.

The plan they had made before she'd been taken to Munro's rooms was basic, but simple at least. The Munro family would race for the road to Fort Edward as soon as danger presented itself and Colonel Munro was convinced of the fact that they were indeed in the thick of the ambush Erin had predicted. The three trackers would make their way as fast as possible to meet them, using the pathways of the forest if needed, joining the escort, if time was on their side. All would make for Fort Edward together, depending on the French guards for cover until they were safe.

As she went over the plan again in her mind for the hundredth time, Erin glanced up at Colonel Munro, studying him for a short moment. He hadn't looked at her once through the journey so far, but he had paused his horse's gait a few times when she struggled to keep up. His eyes were fixed ahead, unconcerned... no, she was wrong, not unconcerned but calmly cautious, his gaze flicking in between his men, his daughters and the encroaching woodland.

Erin understood, he was a very proud man, proud of his roots and proud of his position in the army. Erin knew asking him to essentially abandon his troops was a big ask, but he had seemed to understand her words and had voiced no objections.

At the thought of the conversations of that morning, her thoughts drifted to Duncan, and her eyes scanned the line of people for a short moment. He was easy to find, his stature tall and broad, his hair catching like embers in the sunlight, an imposing figure amongst the men he commanded. He was a good distance away and Erin felt a profound sadness that he was not with them. He was a Major, someone of rank and standing had to stay and control the troops, he had to try and fight back, but it was still a bitter thing to swallow, to leave him behind. Erin tried to take comfort in the fact that if the Munros got away, it gave Duncan a greater chance of making it out alive if he didn't have the women in his care being hunted by a murderous man seeking revenge. She sighed a heavy hearted sigh, no matter how Erin tried to twist the facts, it still felt she was trading one man's life for another, a Colonel for a Major. She prayed it wouldn't come to that.

Erin shook herself inwardly, there was no time for morbid thinking, she had to be alert and prepared, her part in this clear. No matter what came now, the most important thing was to get all the Munro family out alive and on the road to Fort Edward.

The procession of people moved slowly, the constant military drum beats heavy in the humid cloying summer heat. Erin could feel drops of sweat clinging to her lower back and shifted her weight clumsily to try and dispel it, her bound hands making even the most minor adjustment an arduous task in the mugginess.

The path ahead lead into a long v-shaped valley, lined by heavily forested steep embankments. At the sight Erin's stomach turned over, a crawling dread gnawing at her, eyes fixed on those looming trees as they came ever closer.

A few more steps and they were surrounded by it, the woodland edged with dark unknown dangers. Every movement within those depths made Erin start, branches swaying in the wind, a bird flying from bush to bush, the crackle of twigs snapping.

Erin looked about her, frantic now, even though she couldn't see anything, she knew the enemy was in there. Then a shadow rushed through dappled sunlight, then another, figures in the gloom.

"Colonel!" Erin called up to her charge and he glanced down at her, seeing that her gaze was fixed somewhere to their right, he followed, eyes scanning.

"I know lass," is all he said, his voice full of begrudging despondency, and Erin understood he'd been planning for this moment. That map, his wooden pieces moved to this area, he had tried every possible outcome, knowing this path out of the fort was the only way they could all take. In this moment all his dread had been brought into the stark light of day, Erin's prophecy of the ambush fulfilled. There was no escape from what was to come and no grand military plan could save everyone, he had tried and tried and there was only one way, through. She could see the bitter resentment ingrained into every line upon his face. His hands gripped at the reins, knuckles pale as bone, eyes upon the woodland, then back to Erin, a telling in those blue depths. Erin's heart gave a thud of dread as realization flowed through her.

In that instant she understood, he had never intended to heed her and run. The guard he'd asked for had been for his daughters' wellbeing alone. He had no notion of saving himself, his plans with Duncan had been for battle, and he had prepared to make this a last stand, a blaze of glory to end his career.

"Cora!" Erin called.

Before any more could be done a single figure broke from the tree line, a Huron warrior, young and fierce and war painted. He barrelled towards the column as if playing a game of chicken, his tomahawk held high and he brought it down with sickening force upon the head of a solider.

A gasp went up around them and then the soldiers were reacting, forming ranks as if prepared for such an onslaught; instead of being panicked, they acted, one red coat plunging a bayonet into the young Huron's side before he could retreat.

A great hum of confusion buzzed as all the men and women wondered if these were a scavenger's chance encounters, or if this held something more sinister.

Colonel Munro's horse had stilled as they watched and Erin walked into its flank, too preoccupied with what was happening behind them to watch her footing. She stared as the Huron fell limp to the ground beside the Englishman he had just killed.

Her fingers squeezed into the horse's coat, trying to take comfort from its great bulk.

This was not what happened in the book where the troops had been wholly unprepared for any attack, the surprise catching them off guard and allowing an onslaught of death. But Erin saw this was not true now, the men were taking up fighting stances, from private to farmer, Mohawk to cook, guns and weapons raised as ranks were formed and held in tightening formations.

"You warned all the men. You armed everyone! You lied to the French!" Erin breathed, looking up at Munro, her voice holding fearful admiration.

He simply nodded in reply. "Guards, take my daughters to Fort Edward now." He directed his words towards the French armed men nearby. Those who understood, looked about them as if unsure what they should do, these were not the orders they had received.

Munro reached down, his knife drawn, ready to cut Erin's bonds.

"Wait, Sir!" Erin knew once he had released her he would ride over into the coming fray, join in the combat and most likely he would still be killed. She pulled the rope away from his blade. "If you join this battle, you will die!"

Munro shook his head. "Better to die than live a coward. I will not be abandoning my men, Miss." He twitched his fingers towards her in impatience. Erin flinched away, just managing to avoid his grip. "You have to get to safety. You and your daughters' lives depend on it!"

"Madam, stop your struggling!"

"No, you stop!" Erin danced about, swooping and darting from his grasping hand, trying her best to avoid being caught.

The French guards had begun to mumble amongst themselves as they watched the baffling display before them.

In frustration, Colonel Munro reached down and grabbed the length of rope attached to his saddle and forced her towards him with a sharp tug, and Erin cried out in a petulant tone of dismay. With one quick flick he had severed the only thing keeping them tethered. She stared down at her still bound hands, the rest of the rope dangling uselessly before her.

"The French guard will protect my daughters and guide them to safety." He gave a certain nod, sheathing the dagger.

Erin gave the guards a doubtful look, without the Colonel they had no reason to keep to their oaths and protect a few women, a fact that Colonel Munro and all his desperate noble chivalry was deliberately overlooking. Erin didn't want to trust on anything else but all the Munros leaving this field right now!

"You must stay with them!" she shouted, her voice feeling hoarse from the effort. She didn't have time to even try and explain to him that his survival would give his daughters a fighting chance! If he died, Magua's gaze would have nowhere to go but to the two women.

"Father!"

Cora's voice was shrill and cut through the air. Erin and Munro abandoned their peevish bickering and saw she was gesturing behind them, a look of pure terror etched into every feature. Both gazes followed and saw two more attackers running from the dense thickets. They made for the weakest defence points, one was brought down by musket fire, but the other sailed through unchallenged, swung and cut a man down, then was away back into the woods before any within distance to shoot had time to reload.

A cry went up from within the trees, a call for war and it was answered by hundreds more, the whoops and shouts sounding like a menacing chattering. There was no more doubt, and all the men around them began to take up fighting stances.

"Papa!" Alice cried, the noise too much for the young girl's already tattered nerves.

"Be calm, girl!" Munro was looking about, his hand resting upon the hilt of his sword.

The air wavered with trepidation and a stony resilience from both sides. The attackers were deliberately waiting, holding onto the anticipation as if it were another weapon to wield.

"Father!" Cora pulled closer to them, blocking the Colonel's path and stilling his actions. "You cannot leave us."

"I cannot leave my men!"

"Yes, you can." Erin had grabbed his leg. "Put aside your petty pride, Sir. If you go into that battle you will die and your daughters will have no defence."

The cry rose again.

"Papa!"

"My petty pride, Madam! You speak of my honour!"

"We are running out of time." Erin's plea was fully directed at Cora, knowing Munro did not have the inclination to listen.

"Father, please. We must go!"

"Cora, go with the French guard, do as I say, girl!"

"No, not without you!"

"Hold those lines!" Munro bellowed out the command, ignoring his daughter's words. "Do not break rank! Be ready!"

Erin could see them now, the full force of the ambush, they had stepped forward with the second cry, men emerging from the shadows, weapons held high, ready to kill all in their way. Within moments they would flood down that embankment and submerge them all in carnage.

Her mind flared, she had to act, as soon as they all attacked the window of opportunity would be gone, swallowed up in the death that was coming. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and moved away from Munro, taking up a straight posture and a convincing air, head held high.

She turned to the French guards, her eyes finding each and holding contact as the short, sharp words spilled from her lips, her look determined, proud and full of confidence. This stilled Colonel Munro from his flight to war for just a moment, it was all Erin needed.

"Damn and blast it!" Colonel Munro was furious. "I knew she was a French spy!"

Cora looked just as shocked as her father but said nothing. Alice's wide eyes flew to the faces she knew, trying in vain to understand what was happening.

"What are you telling them, by God?!" He directed his question to Erin but when she continued talking over him, he turned to his daughter. "Cora?"

"I don't know, you never allowed us to learn French!"

Erin finished with a firm nod and the guards quickly surrounded Munro, forcefully removing his weapons as he grabbed and snatched, trying to gain control.

Munro was livid, his face turning a bright shade of red as he cursed, kicked and tried to punch the men trying to restrain him. He got a good hit on one man's jaw and Erin saw he would not leave without a fight, every second was precious. She could see out of the corner of her eye line, the British soldiers nearby starting to take note, seeing their leader was being attacked and knew it had to happen now or never.

She spoke again, the words brisk and callous, and one of the French guards took out his sword and brought the hilt down hard upon the back of the Colonel's head with a decidedly unpleasant crack. Erin winced and Alice screamed, then Munro went limp in his saddle, caught and secured by one of the guards.

"Papa! Papa! What are they doing to Papa, Cora!"

Voices were shouting, calling after the French guards in tones of panicked anger, muskets were raised and then calls of "Hold your fire! Those are Colonel Munro's daughters, hold your fire!" seemed to leave every solider nearby in a state of utter confusion at just what to do, attend to their Colonel or face the threat of the oncoming army.

Erin barked a few more words in French at the men. They took up Munro's reins and began to trot away, gaining speed to a gallop, spiriting the Colonel out of the battle to hopeful safety.

Erin turned, seeing the questions almost spilling from Cora's lips, her expression confused and incensed.

Erin held up a hand. "I'm sorry. It had to be done."

"What did you say? You spoke to them in French, I-"

"You should follow him, now!" Erin spat, her voice hoarse with emotion.

Her gaze moved frantically to Alice who looked as if she had been frozen still in the saddle, her wide eyes suddenly more grey, like a flat rock, there was no longer any golden hue in them. Her mouth was set in a line that spoke clearly of high treason.

Cora looked after her father, her gaze shifting between Erin and the far distance. "But what of y-"

"The plan hasn't changed, just the means of making it happen has. Stick to the plan!"

"What have you done?" Alice's voice was sharp but full of tremors. "Erin, what have you done?" Cora tried to hush her sister but she did not relent. "We must go back for aid!" Cora held her sister as tightly as she could.

Another war cry split the air and the world quivered, knowing time to do more would soon be lost.

"There is no time to explain!" Erin shouted out the words. "You must go now! Cora, go!"

With a look somewhere between hopeful and despairing, Cora spurred her horse after the guard at a gallop.

Alice's shrieks of protest flew through the air and Erin was sorry for it. To Alice's eyes this all looked like a dastardly French plot, where her father had been the target. Until Cora had time and breath to clarify the situation, Alice had only her anxiety to keep her company. Erin could only pray that Alice would forgive her for the shock when she finally understood this had all been a hastily executed plan to save them.

Erin watched after them a moment before turning back, just as a final cry rose up and the men at the tree line began to run down, intent on meeting their enemies. It happened half way down the column in a clash of blood and violence.

She looked towards the fort, her eyes searching for Uncas, but she could make no one out in all the moving bodies, only shapes, and she knew she had to move. In all the panicked havoc Erin had forgotten one very important detail, herself, she had no way to ride now Munro was gone and more importantly she had no idea what she would do now she had sent the Munros on without her.

Her thoughts drifted back to Uncas and settled upon a very loose plan, she had to find the three men and tell them what had happened, and more importantly, they needed to flee this place before all escapes had been closed off. She hoped her rash choices had not resulted in her being left behind, but Uncas' soothing words came back to her;

'I won't leave you either.'

Erin knew, he'd be looking for her and that was a great comfort.

She ran, the sounds of combat turned her stomach, cries of men, the terrible thunk of weapons meeting flesh and the blast of musket fire.

She could hear the constant stern calls for "Prime! Load! Present! Fire!" over and over again, the silence in between blasts only filled with screams, death cries and the frantic confusion of the battlefield.

She hesitated on where to go, what to do. She could perhaps find Duncan... there, her eyes caught him commanding a force a good way down the column, looking every part the British Major, but that would take her further into the conflict. She turned, lost and disoriented as the skirmish grew ever closer.

Suddenly the world tilted on its axis as she was wrenched from the ground, the scenes about her becoming a swaying mass of chaos as Erin tried to understand what was happening. She felt firm, strong arms wrapped round her waist, the strength and momentum lifting her fully off the ground as if she weighed nothing. With a sharp dismayed intake of breath Erin realized she was being carried by a man, she tried to turn to see who held her, but caught only sweat glistening bare skin and the flash of black feathers. He moved towards the trees as she struggled, kicked out her legs and yelled, and no one nearby took any note, too occupied with their own horrors. Her nails dug unrelentingly into the flesh of his arms, she could feel beads of blood beneath her fingers, but he didn't react and he did not let go.

She tried to regain her composure but found it near impossible as the tree line came to swallow them whole, and Erin felt dread clasp tightly around her chest. Was she being taken as a prize of war, or when he finally let her go would he strike her down as a trophy?

There, in the trees, she saw him, and knew him instantly, a ripple of pure panic left her feeling like cold water had been poured into her stomach. He was so much more than her imagination had ever conjured, the shadows birthing him into daylight. His face was painted from the upper lip down to his shoulders in glistening black war paint, the effect giving him an eerie quality, like he existed in two worlds, and Erin could feel that other world curling off him in an aura she didn't want to understand, like part of him was always submerged in it, in death.

His face was expressionless, as if he had nothing left in him, and Erin knew this could well be true. This man had been through hell and he now stared down his own mortality as if it was nothing more than an everyday occurrence.

A chill ran up her spine as she was placed back upon the ground before him, like an offering. The man holding her released her waist but in the same moment his hand twisted painfully into a clump of her hair and she was forced down onto her knees, the rough stones and sticks digging into her flesh.

Magua looked down at her with a remote coldness, a cruel stiffness to his mouth that spoke silently of no quarter today.

He said nothing for what seemed to Erin like a very long time, his eyes raking over her, slow and unrelenting, seeking all her secrets with a piercing unkindness. Erin knew he'd rip her apart to gain whatever it was he wanted.

Then with a measured hand he reached for the rope still tied about Erin's wrists, it took every ounce of her will to not recoil away, and he rubbed the material between his fingers as if the very fibres would tell him all he needed to know.

"The English had her captive. Tied to the Grey Hair's horse," the man still holding her said in his own language.

A flutter of a furrow briefly touched Magua's brow. "Grey Hair's children?"

"With him. The French took him away."

Erin could only sigh inwardly that it seemed this man had not understood her part in Colonel Munro's hasty departure.

Magua's eyes never left Erin's face and she tried her hardest to make her expression blank, as if she did not understand their words.

"What did the Grey Hair Munro want with you?" Magua asked in English.

Erin's mind whirred, she needed a plan, now! Her eyes darted around her, avoiding his direct gaze, words deserting her for a moment, her tongue as dry as ash.

"Cut her throat." It was said with such ease, falling back into his own tongue. He didn't even care if she knew or understood her own fate.

"I'm French!" The words came out as a squeak. "Sir, I work for General Montcalm." She now wasn't so sure if her French accent was acceptable at all. "I'm a spy!"

"Magua's French father said nothing of any spy." He switched into speaking French with such mastery that it startled Erin a moment, she could see in his inquiring eyes just how fiercely intelligent this man was, and also how fiercely violent he could be if so called for.

"It was a secret. I was to discover Munro's plans. He found out who I was, that is why I was bound." She paused, trying to gauge his reaction, when he gave no indication he had understood, Erin pushed on, knowing she was either digging herself out of a hole, or digging her own grave. "He abandoned me to save himself!"

Magua looked away briefly, studying the brutality raging around them as casually as if they were all just about to go out for a leisurely hike, the sounds of screams and battle cut like sharp knives through the humid air, making Erin wince as it threatened to come ever closer.

His eyes snapped back upon her and Erin felt her mind jolt under that intense glare.

"Where is Grey Hair Munro now?"

"Gone," Erin said simply. "He was taken away."

A brief flicker of glittering rage rippled through his dark eyes. "His children?"

"Also gone."

"Then what good are you? To Magua's French father who you failed, who lied to Magua and gave the Yengeese a guard, will he care you are gone?"

Erin stared at him blankly.

"You know no secrets, no information, that Magua doesn't already know." His eyes seemed to close off like a light bulb going out. He was done with her. "Magua will take you for his French father's betrayal."

Erin tried to move, to shift her weight off the rocks jabbing into her knees, but the man held her fast. Her mind whirled. Were they going to take her captive?

Magua turned to the man still holding Erin. "She is a liar," he said, reverting to his own language. "Kill her."

Erin's body rippled in alarm, suddenly understanding, he meant take her, as in take her very life!

Magua gave her one last look, his face remote and aloof as if she were nothing but spoils to be claimed. He stepped away, jogging casually onto the field and into the fray, his weapon ready, his stance all muscle and cold rage as bodies swallowed up his form.

"Wait!" Erin cried to the man who held her, in his own tongue, but he did not listen, he didn't even seem shocked to hear her speaking words he could understand. He tugged his knife free from his belt, a dainty silver, flashing looking thing, and Erin knew that its glinting edge would soon be at her throat. She closed her eyes, knowing this was the end.

/

A/N

Dun dun dunnn. I leave you on a cliff-hanger, I am sorry :)))

This however is the longer chapter I was thinking of, so I hope anyone out there still reading enjoyed.

Erin's bad decision making may have bitten her again, but I'm not sure what I would have done in this situation either. Insisted one the French guards take me perhaps? I don't know. Glad to not be making those choices in daily life lol

I think I stretched the time a little too much of the ambush happening, but I couldn't bring myself to cut it down. Please try and suspend your disbelief.

I know I am so behind in replying to a few questions about Spark sent in PMs, I have been so busy at work these last few weeks that I've found it hard to find time for a moment to myself. I will get back to you and answer your questions, you aren't being ignored, I do value your time.

Until next week! I hope you have a lovely weekend :)