Declan's brow furrowed slightly as the women rushed him out, giving one more look towards Tegan and lingering for a moment before sliding back outside. He was obviously very well received here, and even the children flocked to him, chattering and laughing as he flashed a wink and a grin. For a man that didn't smile very much, it made his eyes light up and only added to his charm. He spent some time with the children who were absolutely delighted, proudly showing him things they had carved, beadwork they were learning, and new ways they could pass the blown up waterskin they used as a kickball.

After a while, some of the men pulled Declan over to the central fire to share some food, drink, and stories. His half Irish, half Cree heritage let him meld easily into both cultures, and certainly was the reason behind his exotic look. They carried on for a while, the laughter and smiles seemed infectious, and Declan seemed content. Just as the conversation started getting more serious, he looked up to see Tegan, smiling towards him. She barely looked like the same helpless girl from the night before. Declan shot her an approving glance and motioned for her to join him.

It took a bit over a week for Tegan's foot to fully heal, and by that time, her back was much better, with fresh scar tissue instead of open wounds. She spent many hours learning from the women, and despite the language barrier, she caught on quite quickly. Everything from herbal medicine, to beadwork, to cooking techniques. Every night they would gather around that central fire and share the fruits of the days labor. Declan was pleased to see her fitting in so well, but he was getting restless, and felt it might be time to take his leave, now that she was well. He started preparing his things and packing his saddlebags, then slowly began leading the great white beast towards the edge of the camp.

Tegan was sitting beside one of the elderly women of the tribe watching her weaving a blanket when a glint of white caught her peripheral vision. Glancing up, she saw Declan heading away with his horse. Only, this time, it didn't look like he was going for a hunt. She excused herself from her company and jogged lightly over to catch up with him.

"You look like you're leaving."

Reaching out, she ran her hand along the neck of Declan's horse and patted him. The horse gave her a nudge with his nose, causing Tegan to grin. 

In the last week or so, she'd learned much about the way the Cree lived, and despite that she looked almost like one of them, the fact remained that Tegan didn't belong there. The truth was that she didn't know where she belonged. More than that, she'd found herself attracted to Declan as the days had gone by. Several times, she'd caught herself staring at him across the fire, or when he and the men were sparring with one another. 

Her hazel green eyes flickered up to him. One thing Tegan had learned about the mysterious Declan Harp was that where his words were few, his eyes told more. As he strapped the saddle bags into the horse, his eyes would look off toward the west. He was leaving, indeed. She spoke quickly, the realization that she might lose the only familiar thing in her life. 

"Let me come with you? At least until the next town?" 

​​​​​​

Declan was used to traveling alone, except when riding with Black Wolf Company, who just happened to be a thorn in the side of the HBC. Word had reached the camp that some HBC goons were heading this way, less than a day's ride out, and Declan wasn't one to sit on his hands and wait.

He was slightly annoyed at the girl's request, since she'd most likely only slow him down, but that didn't explain the odd feeling that he felt when she was close by. He shrugged it off and gave her a quick glance while re-tightening the already snug straps on the saddlebags.

"It'll be dangerous. You're safe here."

Looking away briefly, Tegan didn't know exactly what to say. He was right. The territories were dangerous and wild. But she still didn't want him to go. At least, not without her. 

"I can stay out of the way. And I can cook. Nuna taught me a lot about roasting game and forraging." 

It was the truth. Tegan had picked up on a lot in just a week. She took a step closer to Declan and put a hand on his arm. 

"Please, you know I don't belong here. And if anyone from the fort comes looking, I don't want to put these people in danger. In another town I can change my looks, my name...no one will know anything. Then, you can leave me."

Tegan's words rang true, as much as Declan wanted to deny it. He had been impressed with how fast she adapted to the situation around her. His thoughts drifted to the dream he kept having, that first morning as she offered his furs back to him. His eyes seemed to stare off into the distance as he remembered the look of her, the pale swell of her breast showing through the scant rags she had worn. He snapped himself back to reality with a sharp breath and leaned close to her, bending some since his frame practically towered over hers.

"You do everything that I say....and you pull your weight."

He paused a moment as if he could not believe what he was about to do, then reached into his belt and pulled his spare blade, holding the handle towards her.

"You'll be needing this."

Tegan looked down at the knife, gripping the carved antler handle in her small hand. Moments later, she had flung the blade toward a tree behind Declan, where it pegged deep into the wood as straight as it could be. She stepped up to the tree and dislodged the knife, nodding. 

"Aye, I can do that."

She didn't wait to see the expression on his face, but turned and walked to the tent she'd been sleeping in. Nuna, the motherly native woman who had befriended Tegan, appeared at the entrance.  She spoke with broken English. 

​​​​​​"You go with him?" 

Tegan nodded, rolling up the blankets she'd been sleeping in. When she stood to leave, Nuna draped a heavy white fur with black patches on it and a hood. She then led Tegan out to where a beautiful young chesnut gelding stood with a blanket on its back. 

Tegan smiled and nodded. 

"Ayhay." 

Nuna grinned and hugged the girl, proud of the phrase she'd learned.

Moments later, Tegan stopped her horse beside Declan and looked to him, maybe for approval, but the look in her eyes seemed hungry for something. Whether it was for adventure or for Declan...well, maybe both. 

Tegan was certainly full of surprises, and Declan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when she immediately showed such skill with the knife. He was intrigued, and as she said her farewell to Nuna, his apprehension settled slightly. His horse seemed nearly as ready to go as he did, rearing up on it's hind legs gloriously as Tegan rode up behind them.

"Keep up."

Declan shot her a grin as his mustang bolted off into the night.

They were well fed and well rested, so there were not many reasons to stop except to water the horses or relieve themselves. They made good time, and by the afternoon the next day, they neared the spot Declan had been heading. He motioned for silence, not that they had been talking much, and slowed to a walk with the horses.

Declan sniffed the air around them, as he could see smoke in the distance, but the smell had not yet reached them. He looked behind to Tegan and she nodded back. He stopped and got down slowly, then wrapped the end of the reins around a tree branch nearby. 

Never in her life had Tegan felt more free than even she was racing over the rough-cut trappers trails through the wilderness in horseback. It was a far cry from Dumfries, from London, and from the life of a kitchen servant in Marsten's house. 

Their journey carried them through the night, and despite by no idea where they were going or which direction they were going in, Tegan didn't faulter. Thanks to the gifted fur cloak from Nuna, she not only kept up with Declan, but did so without freezing. She kept just a pace or two behind Declan, and her horse did most of the work. While they road, her mind often wandered with her eyes to Declan. Here, on the brink of this new life - with the world in front of her and the freedom to go anywhere, Tegan's attention always meandered back to Declan Harp. 

With the blade in her hand down by her side, Tegan followed Declan step for step. They were moving toward a pillar of dark gray smoke. She didn't ask what they were doing, but the look of intense concentration on Harp's face made her keenly aware that this may be the danger he had referred to at the settlement. Tegan, however, wasn't afraid. From Declan and her week with the Cree, she had learned so much. This was just another new adventure that, perhaps, some of the skills of her former life would aid in. 

She walked a silently as she could following Declan, barely taking a deep breath for fear of making too much sound. 

​​​​​

As Declan and Tegan crept silently forward, they were not prepared for the scene displayed before them. This was the Hudson Bay Company, but not what he was expecting at all. This was a family, and even Declan let out a short gasp at the sight. The arrows were not familiar to him, and as they got closer to the bodies, Declan readied his knives. Two men, two women, and three children lay sprawled in the dirty bloodstained snow. This had been a massacre. Their scalps had been taken and their bodies defiled, laid out in unnatural positions.

Declan's eyes scanned the forest before turning towards Tegan, motioning for her to take cover behind the overturned wagon. The wagon was partially burned, leaving a smoky acrid taste in the air. Just as he started to creep around the side of the wagon, a murderous yelp split the air with two arrows hitting the charred wood not far from his face.  

Declan immediately jumped into action, catching a brief glimpse of the closest native, he let his first knife fly. His aim was true, and as the first fell, he caught the sight of the second drawing back a second time on his bow. He closed the distance significantly as the arrow flew towards him, moving his body to the side just in time for the feathered missile to furrow a path through the furs he wore. Declan let the second knife fly just as the savage was pulling back for a third arrow. 

The arrow twanged harmlessly away as the second knife found its mark deep in the young brave's chest. Just as Declan started to turn towards Tegan, another arrow flew from the opposite side of the wagon. His eyes met hers as the arrow plunged deep into his shoulder, sending him to his knees in disbelief. The world seemed to spin in slow motion as he watched a savage drenched in blood moving towards Tegan with a tomahawk held high.

What Tegan saw as an exciting new adventure quickly became a gut-wrenching nightmare. Bodies strewn across the ground in puddles of dark red blood staining the white snow burned an terrifying image in her mind as she ducked behind the wagon as instructed. 

Everything seemed to happen so fast. The sound of the first arrow coming at them sent her heart racing, and she watched as Declan bolted into the onslaught. The attacking braves looked horrid, covered in blood and carrying fresh human flesh and hair on their belts. Tegan thought she'd be sick until she saw the first one can dead to Declan's blade. She saw the second and started to aim her own knife, but Declan was just a second faster. 

He turned to her, and Tegan started to stand to join him. She blinked, then heard the "FFFWWWT" of another arrow a split second before Declan fell to his knees. 

"No!!" 

Tegan swiveled her body in the direction of the arrow and saw a native barreling toward her. Gripping her knife, her eyes narrowed and an adrenaline fuled rage took over. She ran at the man, taking advantage of his momentum and moved just before he landed a blow with his tomahawk. With a loud grunt, she skidded around and sank the knife into his neck just as he raised the weapon to try again. Both the brave and the tomahawk fell to the ground. Tegan was at Declan's side immediately, hitting her knees and carefully turning his head to face her. 

"Declan? Jesus Christ...listen to me. You're going to be fine, just...hold on, aye?" 

She looked at the arrow lodged in his shoulder. It was sunk deep and the tip looked wide and barbed. Her heart sank. If she didn't think fast, he'd bleed out before she could do anything. Her other fear was that more Indians would be close behind. She touched a gloved hand to his face and watched his eyes. 

"We've got to get back to the horses. We can't stay here. Come on... I've got you."

She lifted his arm over her shoulder, praying he had enough strength to get to the place where they'd left the horses. 

Declan tried to cry out to warn Tegan, but the words seemed to stick in his throat. He could feel his blood boiling around the arrow, spreading out from the point of entry. His eyes glazed over with a film, as if looking through a dark haze. He could hear the pounding of his own heart in his ears, and every nerve in his body screamed as if being attacked by millions of fireants.

He had been shot, stabbed, nearly hung, almost drowned but always able to shake it off and continue. This was different. Something about this arrow....

He was barely getting still shots of the world around him now....

A woman's voice through the fog....

Moving...dripping sweat....fever....smell of smoke....

....sound of horses....

Declan felt the earth slipping away beneath him, but the familiar scent of his horse snapped him back into reality for the briefest of moments. Tegan had half carried half dragged him to his horse, and with the last of his strength, he reached out for a handful of mane and drug his tortured body over the back of the animal, leaving a trail of blood across the side of the loyal creature.

light fading...

metallic taste of his own blood....

Tegan's voice.....Tegan.....

movement....

bright...fire...white...heat...fever...pain