The Witness

RAPE WARNING


CODE: M (set in the Manitou Island storyline)

TAKES PLACE DURING (specific story): NA

PAIRING: Unnamed native/Unnamed native/Angelique LaCroix (M/M/F)

EXPLANATION: Potential spoilers. Again, I'm not sure where or why the idea was born, but I decided to give some backstory to my Manitou Island character Francois LaCroix. As usually happens (witness other characters like Trooper Broderick, Didrika, Lynn Leja, and Stan Brooks), I gave him a tragic background. He had actually had a family once, before discovering and moving to Manitou Island...a pretty wife and a young daughter, with another child on the way. As was the way in those times, this ended almost in an instant, with an attack from a trio of enemy Iroquois. Although I don't think I intended any other reason for the scene aside from providing a tragic background for Francois, I think this also helps explain why he went to live on Manitou Island in the first place, and maybe why he has become so at home there--his ties to the mainland have been permanently severed, and he wishes to start anew and try to move on from his past. I think Francois's need to escape possibly led to the Island accepting him as one of its own, and might be the reason why he can travel to and from it with such ease, unlike just about everyone else. The rest of this intro contains potential spoilers. Now, it's only shown here that Francois's young daughter, Oriel, has been carried off; what happens to her afterward is not hinted at. What was really going on when the natives were arguing was that the third native, the one who did not rape Angelique (the reason why he did not participate should be obvious now), wished to spare the girl from any harm, and took her back to the tribe with him, still alive. (The attack, if I didn't make it clear, was aimed at Francois, for being in Iroquois territory--but as he was not at home, Angelique and Oriel were the victims instead.) Oriel grew up with them, taking on the native name "Oriole"...and maybe someday I will write the story of how she and her father eventually meet again. And of her OWN adult-fodder, erotic scene with...well, you'll just have to poke around in the rest of my scenes for that. ^_^

DISCLAIMERS: PLEASE NOTE! This scene was NOT intended to revile the Iroquois Indians, nor to paint them as brutal savages--I realize from my reading that almost ALL native tribes could be alternately friendly or vicious, depending on the circumstances. This scene was primarily intended to delve into Francois's past, and as the French in the Great Lakes region were allied with the Ojibwa, the enemy of the Iroquois, it just seemed more realistic that the Iroquois would have a reason to attack Francois's family. (Though my dates are somewhat off, seeing as Francois is a late 1700s-early 1800s voyageur, and I think the French had made peace with the Six Nations by then. *eep*) As described above, I hope it's made clear that I don't see any particular tribe as monsters--Oriel lives among them as the third native's adopted daughter, and another character in the in-progress scene "Stick-In-The-Dirt/Morning Star" is an Iroquois who has been badly mistreated, herself. FYI I have a tad of Iroquois and possibly Ottawa (brother tribe of the Ojibwa) in my own background...though I admit I really have a lot to learn about the Iroquois as a culture. I've just always been a lot more interested in the Ojibwa. o_o Also--some time after writing this, I read that rapes were NOT typical behavior of Indian attacks on whites, and were in fact considered cowardly--though I assume there must have been the occasional exception.

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The Witness

Angelique had just enough time to take one step back and cast a glance at Oriel. The girl saw fear in her eyes, and immediately backed into the adjoining room, just as the native at the door pushed his way in, brandishing a knife. Her mother gasped and tried to turn and run away from him, but he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back toward him. Two others entered the house, their eyes scouring the room.

Oriel dodged into the adjoining room with a yell. "Mama!"

"Oriel! Run! Hide--!" her mother's voice shouted, before she let out a broken-off cry, thumping and crashing sounds coming from the main room. Oriel squeezed herself flat to the wall and peered out, tears streaming from her eyes. Her mother still fought the man with the knife, while the other two rummaged through everything in the house, knocking over shelves and tipping out drawers. They treated most everything they found with disinterest, though they pocketed a few items here and there, continuing to sweep other items out of their way.

Angelique had managed so far to hold the first one off, but her strength was rapidly failing. He abruptly let go of her arm to punch her in the stomach, and she let out a gasp of pain, sinking against the wall. Oriel quailed; the blow had been aimed directly at the baby she still carried. Did they not know? Or did they simply not care--?

While her mother struggled to regather herself, the native grabbed her arm again, twisting it so she cried out. Her legs crumpled beneath her and he pushed her to the floor, the back of her head hitting the hard surface. She shook it dazedly and blinked in confusion. The native held up the knife, and Oriel panicked that he would plunge it into her; she jammed a fist into her mouth to stifle a scream.

Instead, he knelt down over her, still holding the knife aloft, and yanked up her dresses, pulling them aside. Her mother reacted as if this were worse than being stabbed. She started fighting against him, but he put the knife in his mouth and twisted her arms above her head. Once he'd secured them he used the blade to slice open and tear down her undergarments, then started to work at his loincloth. Angelique screamed and struggled to no avail.

Oriel shrank back behind the doorcasing as much as she could while still being able to see, her eyes two wide moons, her hands to her mouth. The man pried her mother's legs apart while she still screamed and fought, and then abruptly came down upon her, earning a shriek which made Oriel wince and cover her ears. She stared in terror and confusion as the native sat upon her mother's hips, thrusting himself forward repeatedly. Angelique cried and turned her head to the side to avoid looking at him, tears streaming from her eyes. Oriel wished she could go in and comfort her, but was afraid that the man would do the same thing to her, whatever he was doing. His eyes were narrowed and he breathed heavily as he moved quick and hard against her mother, and he reached up to squeeze harshly at her breast. She winced with a look of shame but finally stopped screaming, instead whimpering, biting her lip so it bled. The man panted and grunted, leaning his head forward and rocking more deeply. Oriel started to stand, but her mother caught sight of her and the look in her eyes told her to stay put. She stayed in the other room, shifting from foot to foot and looking around herself desperately. She hated that her mother was in pain, and there was nothing she could do. Where was her father? He could have fought them off, if he had been here...

At least he wasn't stabbing her. She was still alive, which was what mattered...

The native stopped pushing with a loud grunt and shivered. Angelique grimaced and cut off a whimper. He sat atop her, panting, for a moment, before pushing himself off, and Oriel flushed to see the hair between his legs, something hanging out from it as well. He lifted his head and snapped something at one of the other men in a harsh voice; one of the remaining two put down a picture frame he'd been inspecting, and came toward them, untying his loincloth as the first had. Angelique saw him and whimpered anew, her chest hitching. Oriel nearly cried out before remembering that she had to keep silent. The first man stood but the second only took his place, turning her mother over roughly and pulling up her dress in back. She started sobbing aloud but didn't bother to fight now as he pulled up his loincloth and sat down upon her, pushing forward, letting out a rough sigh, and starting to move much as the first one had, only from behind her this time. Angelique simply lay crying and broken, not resisting. He pushed at her for a while before finishing just as the first had, pulling himself free. After this the first one shouted to the third one, but received no response; and so he rolled her back over and scooped her up in his arms. She sagged against him limply, and Oriel feared that she was dead; he dumped her on the bed that sat against the far wall, and it was only when he stripped her skirts from her completely and forced himself inside her a second time that the girl realized she was still alive, a soft moan escaping her as she pressed her face into the pillows. The bed creaked as the man moved, panting loudly. His eyes glazed and he seemed to be enjoying it as he muttered to her and ran his hand up and down her breast.

Oriel shut her eyes and cried silently. The horror in the other room never seemed to end. After the first man, the second one took his place yet again, ravaging her mother upon her parents' bed; when she saw the great red stain marring the sheets, she had to fight down a wail, knowing somehow what it meant. Angelique appeared to understand as well, as she lurched when the second man grunted and quivered, and let out a shrill cry. She started to fight once more--"My child! You murdered my child!"--and earned a slap to the face and a guttural curse for her efforts. The native climbed off of her and conversed with the first one, and they stared at Angelique with barely concealed disgust. The second one punched her and spat in her face; the first one pulled out his knife and grasped her hair, yanking her head back.

Oriel's eyes grew. She opened her mouth but the knife had already sliced across her mother's throat, from ear to ear; Angelique's own eyes widened and she gurgled, blood gushing down her breast, before sagging back to the bed. A low sound came, then grew higher and louder until it filled the house. The three men in the room started and turned to look at Oriel. It was a moment before she realized that the sound was coming from herself--an earshattering scream, as she saw her mother and unborn sibling die before her eyes.

The third native was the one nearest her, standing not too far from the doorway and examining some knickknacks on the desk when her scream had caught him offguard. The first native spotted her and quickly overcame his surprise, his face growing ugly; he raised one bloodied hand and jerked it at her, yelling something that Oriel knew was not good for her. She cut off her scream and with a gasp dove into the room behind her, crawling under her bed as if it would protect her from anything. She screamed again when she felt an iron grip around her ankles, towing her back out; she was turned about and tucked roughly under the third man's arm and he carried her bodily from the room. She kicked and flailed and beat upon him with her fists, sobbing and wailing. "Mama! MAMA!" But her mother didn't respond, instead lying upon the bed with wide eyes and a great mess of red spreading down her front and from between her legs.

The first and second men stopped before them, and Oriel bit off her crying, instead whimpering pathetically much as her mother had. The three natives then commenced what appeared to be arguing, the first one pointing at Angelique's body and jerking his finger at the girl. The second pointed at the door, and then toward the window, and then at the knife that the first still held. And the third shook his head and barked back at them, squeezing Oriel so hard that she struggled to breathe. She squirmed and he had to let her go, but kept hold of her wrist, grasping it hard enough to make her wince. The first two scowled at her and the first one held up his knife in a threatening manner, but the third made an equally displeased face and stepped toward him menacingly. They stared each other down for a moment or two before the second one pointed again at the window. They glanced around the room, as if noticing their surroundings for the first time, then with one final glower from the first they turned toward the entrance. The second one scooped up all the goods they had found, while the third picked Oriel up again and headed for the door. She caught hold of the jamb just as he stepped outside, and tried to pull herself back in, crying aloud.

"Mama! Mama!"

The native stopped to pry her fingers loose, and continued on his way. They mounted their horses, leaving the rummaged cabin behind, turning the creatures about and heading off into the woods. It was a long time before Oriel's cries finally died altogether.

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This item is not looking for critique. It was written solely for entertainment's sake. Although a scene from a possibly longer story, it is complete in itself and unless otherwise stated there is not going to be any more of it written. Additional unrelated SCENES may be written, but single scenes themselves are complete as they are. So please do not expect more. If you are interested in reading the series which INSPIRED the scene, just look elsewhere in my portfolio and you should find something. (Use the "story codes" given in the scene headers. For example, "MI" = "Manitou Island" series.)

I am not looking for critique on grammar, spelling, style, sentence structure, flow, or the mechanics of writing. What I AM interested in is commentary on such things as characterization, plot, symbolism, theme, etc.--the deeper aspects of the story. I like to know if a scene is believable, if the characters are interesting, what you thought of how they interacted, if the writing evoked any emotions, things such as that.

Feel free to criticize, but just keep in mind that I'm working on more important projects and shared this just for fun and/or to illustrate character interactions, so I don't plan to revise it any time soon. Comments on the characters, theme, etc. are more than welcome.