Forbidden love for a Barkley
Part Thirty:
"Pride and Prejudice, pt. 6: Team"
Despite having made a vow to never help a white man, Carmine went against his own vow by digging Nick out of the rock pile and helping him out of the cave. Once out of the cave, Nick sat on a nearby rock and pretty quickly, things got tense between Carmine and him. The two men engaged in a fiery back and forth, Nick calling the Mangano patriarch "Pigheaded" & Carmine slapping Nick across the face in the same exact manner that Marquis De Lacaise slapped Michelle, only much harder to the point of leaving a red mark. Before the fiery exchange could possibly continue, Carmine and Nick's attention would be drawn to a sound. The source of the sound came from a very unlikely trio; a raccoon, a deer, and a chipmunk. These critters are usually bitter enemies by nature, but for some reason, they banded together and came to Nick & Carmine to convey some sort of message. Now, after guessing that the animals may lead them to their families, Carmine and Nick decided to follow the furry trio. The questions that remain are as follows: Will the furry trio lead Nick and Carmine back to their families?, Will Mavis be found?, Will more unlikely animals join the search and/or guide?, Will Jarrod reveal his plan, yet?, and most importantly, will Carmine come to see Nick and the Barkleys in a different way and get rid of his preconceived notion of them? Stay tuned and find out!
Author's Note: I do NOT own The Big Valley or its characters. I ONLY own this fic and the characters of: Stefania Mangano, Carmine Mangano Sr, Carmine's friends, Paulie Mangano, Italia Mangano, Chet and the men Heath rounded up, Jess and Mavis Chaney, the Furry Trio, Leonard Barkley, Seth & his gang, and the Mangano family. This is the sixth part of however many parts of this multi chapter saga. As you can very well see by the title, I modeled this chapter after the Jane Austen book, tv shows, and movies of the same name. Full disclosure, I have neither read the book, watched the 1958, 1967, 1980, 1995, or 2014 series, nor seen the 1940 or 2005 film. I just think the title is fitting. Also too, as you can very well see, I also modeled this chapter's title after the Lorde song "Team". Personally, I love this song and I also think it is fitting :D plus it has been stuck in my head for a few days Lol
WARNING: There may be some instances of profanity in this chapter. If it makes you uncomfortable, I understand and...you get the idea by now when it comes to the "WARNING" label :D
(Flashback to part 29)
Carmine scoffed and made a "Hmph!" noise before continuing to dig Nick the rest of the way out of the rock pile. In his eyes, on the outside, he was being what one would call a "humanitarian", but on the inside, he was hating and kicking himself for the very obvious reason; he was helping a white man. He was helping somebody of the very race that caused the premature deaths of Emilio and Santo & assaulted Serafina, Allegra, and most recently, Stefania. He couldn't believe he was helping the white man after what the white man has done to him and his family.
*Carmine's POV*
'What in the hell is wrong with me? What the hell am I doing?! Why? Why am I helping the white man?! Why?! After what his kind did to my family and me, I help him when he's in trouble?! I must be losing it!'
I shake my head.
'Un-f*ing-believable! Why didn't I keep going? Why didn't I just leave this white man here to suffer and let his own kind help him out?! He's NOT my problem! I'm not obligated to help him!'
I look down, realize that I am still digging Nick out of the rock pile, and sigh.
'And yet, I'm still digging him out! I hate myself right now!'
I think about the vow I made after papa and Santo's murders.
'Here I made a promise to my papa and my brother Santo that I would never lend a helping hand to the race that murdered them & yet, here I am, helping a white man! God forgive me for helping my enemy.'
I sigh, again and start to remember what Andrea said about that thing called "having an epiphany", only to quickly shake my head.
'No! No! No, no! I'm not having that! I'm...not...having...that! I'm not having an epiphany! I'm just being...a fool and a humanitarian!'
I nod.
'Yup. I'm being a fool and a humanitarian! If the tables were turned, I know Nick or whoever would leave me to die! I know he wouldn't be trying to dig me out!'
I look up at Nick for a minute and start thinking about the things Stefania said about him & how she along with Nick and his family tried to save me before the water swept Nick and me away.
'Then again, do I know that for sure? Stefania sang his praises and during that harrowing experience yesterday, Nick and his family did try to save me before what happened, so maybe Nick isn't all th-'
I quickly shake my head and remind myself what Nick is & what I am.
'He's a white man, Carmine! A white man! They're all the same! Don't you dare go soft on one now!'
*Outside of Carmine's mind*
While internally battling with himself, Carmine continued to dig Nick out of the rock pile, thus going against his own vow. He wanted to stop and leave, but deep within himself, he knew or had to know that he would come to regret it and it was just as well to "be the bigger better person". Of course, seeing as the Mangano patriarch was a very stubborn man, being the "bigger better person" may not be his cup of tea, especially when it came to those who wronged him.
Nick, with the pain of the rocks crushing his legs and back began to subside a bit, started to help Carmine dig himself out of the rock pile. After all, it'd go faster with two people instead of one, right? Carmine looked up at him and the two locked eyes for a bit before going back to work.
*Approximately, 5 minutes later*
Five minutes passed and after what seemed like an eternity or at the very least, 100 years, Nick was finally freed from the rock pile and doing an act of kindness, albeit very reluctantly and internally hating himself some more, Carmine was helping him walk out of the cave due to not being able to stand seeing Nick struggle a bit, even by limping a little.
'God forgive me for I do not what I'm doing. I should know better than to help the enemy.' Carmine thought, as he and Nick made their way out of the cave to a nearby rock.
"Thank you, Carmine." Nick sat down on the rock.
"Sure." Carmine said in a monotonous way.
"Look, I know your heart wasn't in it, but I appreciate it." Nick told him.
"Don't fall apart or grovel. What's the big deal anyways? I helped you. I was being a humanitarian. Let's leave it there." Carmine held his hand up.
"Carmine, what happened to our agreement of "playing nice"?" Nick asked, folding his arms.
"Don't worry, Nick Barkley. We'll still "play nice". I hate being nice to the likes of you and your kind, but we'll still play nice. That being said, as a friendly reminder, once we get back to our families, this so called truce is finished. Do I make myself clear?!" Carmine paced back and forth.
"And as I said before, fair enough. However, as of now, we're gonna play nice!" Nick gritted his teeth, clearly losing his patience despite trying hard not to lose it.
"And there you go! Typical white man!" Carmine kicked a small rock, "Giving orders to the Italian man! Barking orders as if he is the master and I, the servant!"
"I am not barking orders nor am I acting like a master!" Nick slightly raised his voice.
"Yes, you are and don't deny it! Also, don't you dare bark orders at me!" Carmine walked over to Nick and got nose-to-nose with him, "I'm older than you! Show me respect!"
"No, because you get the respect that you give and I have been trying to be nice to you this whole entire time, but do I get it in return? No!" Nick told him, before shaking his head.
"No, you haven't, you white son of a b*! You and your kind haven't shown my family and me any respect!" Carmine stomped his foot, "If you were so respectful, you wouldn't have let my little Stefania get attacked and r*ped!"
"First of all, calling me a "son of a b*" is an insult to not only me, but my mother and secondly..." Nick paused for a bit, "I didn't let that happen to Stefania and I didn't r*pe her! I didn't do anything wrong! What the hell will it take for you to believe me?! I mean if I did wrong, why just why would I have dove into the water and save you plus why would I be hellbent to get McMahon and his gang if I was the perpetrator? Why? It wouldn't make any sense!"
"Don't you dare talk down to me!" Carmine raised his voice.
"I'm not talking down to you!" Nick stood up, "You're just being pigheaded!"
"Vaffanculo! (F* you!)" Carmine slapped him across the face, leaving another red mark.
"Owww!" Nick grunted.
"Now, you listen here-" Carmine stopped in his tracks when he either heard something or thought he heard something.
"What is it?" Nick asked.
"It sounded like something from the bushes." Carmine looked around.
The sound was heard, again only this time, it sounded closer than it did beforehand. Nick and Carmine turned their attention to where the sound was coming from-a bush-and before the blink of an eye, out from behind the bush came three animals.
"Ohhh! A procione, cervo, e tamia." Carmine pointed at the animals.
"Huh?" Nick didn't understand.
"Procione is Raccoon in my language. Cervo is Deer in my language and Tamia is Chipmunk in my language." Carmine told him.
"Ohhhh." Nick nodded, "Gotcha."
"You never see a procione, cervo, and tamia together without fighting or I never have." Carmine scratched the back of his head.
"No, you never ever see a chipmunk and raccoon together, because they are natural born prey and predator to each other. Raccoon being the predator and Chipmunk being the prey, obviously." Nick pointed out, "There's got to be a reason these three animals are with each other and seem to be friends."
"You think so?" Carmine raised an eyebrow.
The raccoon stood on its hind legs and chittered at Nick and Carmine, as if to convey some sort of a message to them. The deer echoed whatever the raccoon said by bleating and pawing the ground three times.
"I think we should follow them." Nick was starting to sense something.
"Why?" Carmine asked.
"I don't know why, but for some reason, I think we should follow them to wherever they'll lead us." Nick walked towards the animal trio.
"Are you sure?" Carmine had a look of confusion on his face, clearly not sure on whether to trust Nick and the animals or not.
"These animals may lead us back to our families." Nick suggested.
"I dunno." Carmine shook his head.
"Carmine, it won't hurt to try. Now, let's follow them." Nick told him.
"Okay. Might as well give it a try." Carmine shrugged.
With that, the animal trio led the way, Nick and Carmine following them away from the rock and cave.
(Now)
A few minutes had passed, but Nick, Carmine, and the furry trio kept on going. That was until they all stopped in their tracks when they saw something running right towards them.
"Hey, what's that?" Carmine pointed straight ahead.
"It could be one of our family members!" Nick started to smile and wave his hands.
"What are you doing?" Carmine asked.
"It could be Jarrod." Nick continued waving his hands, "Jarrod! Jarrod! Jarrod, over here!"
The figure didn't say a word and kept running towards them, now getting somewhat in close range.
"Uh...Nick." Carmine got a good look at the figure and a look of concern on his face.
"Not now, Carmine." Nick said while continuing to wave his hands, "Jarrod! Jarrod!"
"Nick..." Carmine started to slowly take a few steps backwards.
"Not now." Nick told him.
"Orso!" Carmine shouted, eyes bugging out.
"What?" Nick turned to him.
"Orso!" Carmine shouted, again.
"What's an orso?" Nick asked.
Before Carmine could say anything, the figure approached them, stood tall, and let out a loud growl. Carmine, clearly scared out of his wits, started mumbling the Hail Mary prayer and doing the sign of the cross while Nick turned his attention to the figure and got taken aback by what he saw.
"Ave Maria, piena di grazia, il Signore è con te...(Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee...)" Carmine started saying the Hail Mary again, this time in Italian.
Nick, taken aback and stunned, just stood there and didn't say a word as the figure walked towards Carmine and him, snorting and sniffing the air. The Chipmunk looked up at the gigantic figure and chirped. The gigantic figure huffed and grunted in response before getting nose-to-nose with Nick.
"Benedetto arte tra le donne, e benedetto è il frutto-(Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit-)" Carmine stopped saying the Hail Mary due to his voice getting shaky and turned to Nick, "Nick, that-that's a-a bear! Get away from it!"
"Carmine, that would be the worst thing I could do." Nick said through clenched teeth while trying to play it cool as the bear continued to sniff him.
"How on God's green Earth do you figure that?" Carmine asked.
"If either of us gives off an inch of fear, the bear could choose to rip us limb from limb. Now, just remain calm and let the bear sniff us." Nick told him, before holding his hand out for the bear to sniff.
*Meanwhile, with Jarrod and company*
As planned, Jarrod and everyone else had split up and started the search. With Chet and the other men headed north & Paulie and his friends headed east, Jarrod, Heath, Victoria, Jess, and Stefania headed west. While they were all full of dread and fear, they tried to remain optimistic, strong, and positive at the same time. After all, it was the best strategy and one shouldn't always assume the absolute worst, right?
It wouldn't be too long into the search when everyone came to a screeching halt upon seeing a small figure running towards them.
"What is that?" Heath asked.
"That could be Mavis!" Jess said before calling out to the figure, "Mavis! Mavis! Mavis, over here!"
"Uh...Signor Chaney." Stefania got a good glimpse of the figure then a look of concern on her face.
"Mavis! Mavis, over here! Mavis! Over here, honey!" Jess continued to yell and started waving his hands.
"Uh...Jess." Heath said.
"Not now, Heath!" Jess replied before continuing to wave his hands, "Mavis! Come here, sweetness! Over here!"
"Jess, I don't think that's Mavis." Jarrod shook his head.
"Mavis! Over here!" Jess ignored Jarrod and continued to wave his hands & yell out.
"Porcospino." Stefania gasped.
"Huh?" Heath turned to her.
"Porcospino." Stefania pointed at the figure.
"What's a porcospino?" Jarrod asked.
"That's how you say porcupine in my language." Stefania replied.
The porcupine approached the group and whined. This was followed by a howl then the appearance of a white wolf. The wolf walked up to Jess and whimpered as if to tell him something.
"Porcospino e un Lupo? (Porcupine and a Wolf?)" Stefania scratched her head.
"A porcupine and a wolf working together and being friendly to each other? They're usually bitter enemies!" Jess was confused just like anybody would be if they saw two animals who were enemies by nature suddenly act friendly and work together.
The wolf barked followed by the porcupine grunting and wailing. It was obvious these animals were conveying a message to the group.
"I think they're trying to tell us something." Victoria spoke up.
Before anybody could speak up, a cooing sound was heard followed by a white pigeon perching itself onto a branch of a nearby tree for a brief moment before flying to Jarrod's right shoulder and landing onto it.
"Jarrod?" Heath raised an eyebrow.
The pigeon cooed, again before flying off of Jarrod's shoulder, landing between the wolf and porcupine. The trio looked at each other for a moment then back at the group.
"I think they want us to follow them." Stefania saw that the animals appeared to be either distressed or concerned about something.
The pigeon cooed again before taking flight, going towards the way the porcupine came, circling three times, then flying back to the group and landing on Stefania's shoulder this time. The wolf walked up to her, sniffed her hand, and licked it before howling, again.
"I think we better follow the fur-feathered team." Stefania said while petting the wolf's head.
"You think we should? Their arrival might be a red herring." Jarrod wasn't too sure.
"It might be a red herring and it might not. Jarrod, they just might lead us to Nick and my papa." Stefania nodded.
"Who just might have seen Mavis." Jess added, "We can't afford to wait any longer."
"Kids, lead the way." Stefania said to the fur-feathered team.
The fur-feathered team did what she said and started to lead the way for the group.
"Giddyup, Jingo. Giddyup." Jarrod tapped his horse with the reins and started following the fur-feathered team, everyone else following suit.
*With Paulie and his friends*
Over in the east part, Paulie and his friends were searching everywhere and calling out Carmine's name, in the hopes that he would, by a miracle, hear them and reunite with them, but so far, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.
That was until the men stopped when they saw something running their way. At first, they were confused as to what or who it may be until one of them got a good look at the figure that was headed their way and by the looks on each of their faces, it was most likely something that wouldn't get a warm reception.
"Puzzola! Puzzola! Puzzola! Puuuuuuuuzzolaaa!" Luca's eyes were the size of plates.
"Sei sicuro che non sia Carmine? (Are you sure it isn't Carmine?)" Arturo asked while smirking.
"Cosa ti fa pensare che sia Carmine?! (What makes you think it would be Carmine?!)" Paulie shot Arturo a glare.
"A volte tende a comportarsi come una puzzola. (He tends to act like a skunk at times.)" Arturo shrugged.
Massimo, Luca, Enzo, and Vito all nodded in agreement while trying hard not to laugh.
"Beh, non posso permettermi di dissentire. A volte si comporta come una puzzola pronta a sparare in qualsiasi momento. (Well, I cannot beg to differ. He sometimes does act like a skunk that is ready to spray at any given moment.)" Paulie conceded.
"Non fargli sentire quello che dici. (Don't let him hear you say that.)" Massimo chuckled.
"Sì, perché potrebbe decidere di spruzzare l'acqua su uno di noi. (Yeah, because he may choose to spray one of us.)" Arturo slapped his knee.
The skunk walked up to Luca and squealed, before walking around him and sniffing.
"Cosa sta facendo quella puzzola? Per favore, dimmi che non farà quello che penso! (What's the skunk doing? Please, tell me that he isn't going to do what I think he is!)" Luca sounded a bit alarmed.
"Forse gli piaci. (Maybe he likes you.)" Enzo spoke up before giggling.
Vito, Paulie, Arturo, and Massimo joined Enzo in giggling that would turn into them laughing their behinds off.
"Se mi spruzza addosso, vi prendo, ragazzi! (If he sprays me, I'm gonna get you guys!)" Luca groaned out of annoyance.
The sound of honking was heard and before the blink of an eye, three geese ran up to the men, honking like crazy and flapping their wings.
"Oche? (Geese?)" Luca raised an eyebrow.
"Prendiamone uno. (Let's catch one of them.)" Vito spoke up.
Luca and everyone else turned and gave him weird looks.
"Una di queste potrebbe essere l'oca di Natale. (One of them could be the Christmas goose.)" Vito suggested before licking his lips.
"Scusa un attimo, hai detto oca di Natale? (Pardon me just a minute, did you say Christmas goose?)" Paulie walked up to Vito.
"Mmmmhmmm." Vito nodded before licking his lips again.
"Idiota! (Idiot!)" Paulie smacked him upside his head, "Carmine potrebbe essere qui steso, morente o gravemente ferito, e tu potresti pensare solo a riempirti lo stomaco! (Carmine could be laying out here dying or badly injured and all you think about is filling your stomach!)"
"Posso farci qualcosa se ho fame? (Can I help it if I'm starved?)" Vito shrugged.
The geese continued to make their honking sounds and flapping their wings, drawing the attention of Massimo and the rest. It was obvious that the geese and the skunk were trying to convey a message of sorts.
"Paulie, Vito, potreste smetterla di fare quello che state facendo? (Paulie, Vito, could you stop what you two are doing?)" Massimo asked while looking at the geese and skunk.
"Per cosa, Massimo? (What for, Massimo?)" Paulie and Vito said in unison.
"Penso che le oche e le puzzole siano arrivate da noi per un motivo. (I think the geese and skunk may have come to us for a reason.)" Massimo replied.
"Oh, sicuramente avranno una ragione. (Oh, they definitely have a reason alright.)" Paulie said in a very sarcastic way.
"Ho capito! Pensi che io sia pazzo! (I get it! You think I am crazy!)" Massimo shook his head in disgust.
"Non solo pazzo. Anche ingenuo. (Not just crazy. Naive, too.)" Paulie told him.
"Paulie, questi animali potrebbero condurci a Carmine. (Paulie, these animals may lead us to Carmine.)" Enzo chimed in while petting one of the geese.
"Potrebbero anche essere una pista falsa. (They could also be a red herring.)" Paulie replied.
"Tu e la tua falsa pista siete i benvenuti a restare qui in negazione, Paulie. Anzi, vai avanti e resta qui mentre noi tutti continuiamo ad andare avanti. (You and your red herring are welcome to stay here in denial, Paulie. In fact, go ahead and stay here while the rest of us keep going.)" Massimo told him before turning to the geese and skunk, "Guidare la strada. (Lead the way.)"
"Il resto di voi non ci cascherà e-(The rest of you aren't going to fall for this and-)" Paulie was cut off.
"Paulie, queste bestioline potrebbero essere le uniche che potrebbero condurci a Carmine. Ci dispiace, ma è un rischio che siamo disposti a correre. Forse ti sveglierai e ti unirai a noi. (Paulie, these critters may be the only ones who could lead us to Carmine. We're sorry, but it's a chance we are willing to take. Maybe you'll wise up and join us.)" Massimo replied before following the geese and skunk, Luca and the others joining him.
"Ragazzi, state andando nella direzione sbagliata! (You guys are going to go the wrong way!)" Paulie called out to them.
Massimo and the others ignored him and kept following the geese and skunk.
"Vi dispiacerà tutti quando arriverete a un vicolo cieco! (You'll all be sorry when you reach a dead end!)" Paulie called out once more, getting ignored yet, again.
Realizing that they may have a point, Paulie reluctantly run after them in order to catch up.
*Back with Nick and Carmine*
15 minutes had passed and the raccoon, black bear, deer, and chipmunk were leading Nick and Carmine to an area that looked like it led to a cliff. The two men found it completely odd as they had not recalled ever being in this area as of recent and that this was not where their families were camping out. Something was definitely up.
Upon reaching the edge of the cliff, the animals came to a halt which made the men do the same.
"Why did we stop?" Nick asked.
"Do I look like I have the answer for everything?!" Carmine asked in a snarky way.
"Carmine, you don't need to bite my head off." Nick told him.
The bear jumped over the cliff and landed on a ledge before jumping again and landing on the ground below. The bear let out a noise that sounded of distress. This made the deer paw the ground four times and the raccoon whimper. From behind a nearby bush, a loud squawking could be heard.
"Now, what in the world could that be?" Nick turned his attention to the bush.
Out from behind the bush came a beautiful blue peacock. The bird walked up to the edge of the cliff, looked down, then looked back up at the men, and let out another sound, this time a loud crowing wail.
"It's as if-" Nick was cut off.
"He wants us to look over the edge, but why?" Carmine finished Nick's sentence, "What the hell could be down there?"
"Maybe somebody fell over?" Nick suggested.
"Bulls*t. Who'd be stupid enough to fall over a damn cliff?!" Carmine shook his head.
"Carmine, it does happen." Nick replied.
"Impossible! I mean what are the odds that-" Carmine stopped mid sentence, looked down below, and gasped.
"What? What is it?" Nick had a look of concern on his face.
To Be Continued...
Nick: Carmine, what's down there?
Jarrod: Where are these animals taking us?
Jess: I hope we find Mavis.
Paulie: I tell you these animals are a red herring!
Heath: I still find it hard to believe that these animals who are enemies by nature are acting friendly with each other and helping us humans out.
Audra: What is going on?
Jarrod: Audra, where did you come from?
Carmine: R&R, people. R&R.
Happy early Thanksgiving, y'all! :D