Note: Here the last and final part to my story, the promised Epilogue. Now the story is really and truly finished. Thank you so much, everyone who read this story and stayed with it while I was writing it. I enjoyed writing it because you all enjoyed reading it so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for all the wonderful reviews and for being patient with me as I updated.

extra special thank you to BlueRose for encouraging me to keep going and reinforcing the idea in my mind that I can, in fact, write.

Heres the epilogue, enjoy! .

Epilogue

After the events on the cliff, no one was really in a fit state to travel. Chingachgook found a small cave a little ways down the path and the travelers made their way there to rest. It was days before the girls recovered enough to travel, having suffered infections in their feet. Uncas arm was going to be useless for a while, his father feared he might not use it again. Cora told Alice the said news of Duncan And she mourned for him. Despite many things, Duncan had been a good friend. Alice hoped he could find peace, knowing he had saved Cora's life.

When they had recovered sufficiently, they made their way down the other side of the cliff to another Indian village. The people there were kind to them, giving them food and place to further recover their strength The men traded furs to get shoes for the girls, and medicine for Uncas arm. When all was said and done, they headed out for Can-tuck-kee.

The trip there was uneventful, no more encounters with war parties. When they reached Can-tuck-kee, everyone breathed a little easier. Nathaniel and Cora found land in a deep stretch of forest and decided to make their home there. Chingachook and Uncas helped him build the homestead, Uncas arm had made a full recovery by then. When the home was built, all that was left was for them to marry. Cora and Nathaniel found a priest in town that was more than up to the job, though he refused to marry Uncas and Alice. He would have no part in joining a "heathen" with a white woman. Nathaniel would have left on the spot but Uncas smiled and told him to go ahead, he and Alice would sit in the church and watch. That much, at least, the priest would allow.

What the priest didn't know was that they said the vows quietly to each other when the priest spoke them. When he called for rings, they slipped them on each others fingers. When he called for the kiss, they shared one too. After the small ceremony, Alice and Uncas showed their siblings their rings and everyone laughed. Whether or not he'd wanted to, the priest had married both couples.

Life from there was quiet, save for one event. A month after both couples had married, it was discovered that Alice was pregnant. A few months after that she gave birth to a daughter. They named her Anakusak. The name meant, literally, "Stars." They were quiet sure that she was conceived that night in the cave, with the star-field shining in the water. For short, they called her Ana.

By the time Ana was three, Chingachgook told his sons he missed home. Uncas and Alice discussed it and decided that since the war was over, it was safe to take him back to the Carolinas. So, with a promise to come back and visit during the winter months, they set off for home.

On a whim they headed for the Cameron's old cabin, just to see if anyone had come to claim the land. Surprisingly, it was much as they had left it. Though some kind souls had come through and given the family a proper burial. With a look between three faces, a decision was made and the two men went about rebuilding the house.

In the end, they made their home in the Cameron's old cabin. Uncas and Chingachgook thought they would be pleased to have someone they trusted living on the land.

Another three years passed. Alice stood in the kitchen, preparing dinner in the large fire place. Her daughter sat on the floor, playing with a doll her grandfather had made for her. Alice herself was maneuvering her large stomach around the cooking pot. The baby inside stirred, reminding her that in a few days they might have a son. When the baby was old enough to travel, they would lock up the house and head back to Can-tuck-kee to visit Nathaniel, Cora, and their children. They had done it every year as promised, and this one would be no different.

The dogs outside began to bark, it was a happy sound, the one they used only for the men. Ana ran to the door, pulling it open.

"Grandfather and Poppy are home," She yelled and ran out the door. Alice followed slowly, smiling. She stopped at the door as Ana ran out to the two men. Uncas scooped her into his arms, laughing as she tried to tell him everything she had done that day. When he saw his wife waiting for him, he passed Ana off to his father and came to her.

As she watched him she thought of when she was a child, and she lay with her head in her mothers lap. Her mother had stroked her hair and predicted what her daughters life would be like.

"Someday, Alice, you will meet a wonderful man," She had said.

"And he will love you more than life itself. Then life... life will be more beautiful than you can ever imagine."

As Uncas approached and looked at her with his deep brown eyes she knew her mother had been right. She kissed him and he laid a hand on her stomach, feeling the baby kick. Life was beautiful. It was, it really was.

The End