Drowning

The roar of the waterfall pounds in her ears.

They will come.

The red men will come. And then they will be found, and there will be more bloodshed, more violence- they will flee again, and again, and again, and it will never end.

She is so tired of it all.

"It will be such an adventure!"

Did she ever say that? That voice sounds so cheerful. She is so far removed from that girl in Albany; it is as though the Alice she knew never existed.

As she closes her eyes, she sees them once more, hears their wild screams, watches the red men (Hurons, he had said)- burst forth in attack.

She sees Father as he falls to the ground. A Huron stands over him, holding something aloft. Blood drips down his arm.

Father's heart.

She stumbles to the mouth of the cave. The water on her face is harsh and cleansing. One step, and it would be so easy to drown, so pleasant to wash the world away.

Almost in slow motion, she sees the Huron once more, watches as he lowers his arm, and, still holding Father's heart, he begins to eat.

Suddenly, his hand is clamped over her mouth, stifling her silent shriek, and he is holding her, cradling her, running his fingers through her tangled her.

He is warm.

Dangerous, she tells herself, but it is with him that she feels safest. Not with Chingachook- his piercing gaze frightens her. Not with Duncan, who looks almost as lost as she feels inside. Not with Hawkeye- he is too brash, too wild- too like Cora- and when she is with either of them, she is frozen, frightened.

Useless.

"I am useless," she whispers, her voice cracking from disuse. She sounds so pathetic, and she knows it, but he merely runs a finger over the creases in her face.

"You are afraid," he says quietly, in a voice so low she strains to hear him. "You have every right."

And then the tears come, her body shaking as she clutches him, her unspoken words ringing above the crash of the water.

Let me leave, let me leave!

But she is trapped here, here in this never-ending darkness, with nothing but his hold to prevent her from falling.

He lets her cry for what seems like hours. He cradles her, pulls her closer- (he is gentle, and warm)- his chapped lips pressing kisses on her forehead.

Finally, all her tears are exhausted, and she draws a ragged breath, loosing her grip and falling limply back. He lays her against the cave wall- (so tenderly), and crouches beside her.

"Get some rest."

His voice is hot in her ear. She nods in acknowledgement of his unspoken words- I will be here.

So she relaxes, just a fraction, closes her eyes, and lays her head against his chest.

The world is a nightmare.

And then, there is him.

Alice sleeps.

-

A/N: Just a tiny bit of Alice/Uncas, because I was watching LotM with my Dad, and he was confused by the lack of development in their relationship. My apologies for the shortness, lack of character development, and poor grammar- my beta is currently caught up in the midst of Motherhood and Christmas, and it seemed unfair to burden her with this.

Anyhoo, wishing you all a very merry Christmas! God bless.