It was the first time they noticed a maiden
whose ears were adorned with pendant beads, and her dark hair was
worn flowing, with a turban. Jason told him that he was curious
about the turban and he would mention this to his sister. Melissa
informed them that she was Princess Rozene, which meant Rose
Blossom. She was the daughter of the neighboring Chirichua
clan.
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And definitely off limits. Blake chuckled.
His cousin had said that he fought in a goddamn war, catching the
princess eye was a piece of cake!
Princess Rozene had spotted the handsome
brother of the white woman when she visited from the neighboring
village. Her father, chief Itza-chu and chief Dasodaha were
friends.
It was by chance that they had spoken for it
was forbidden for a young maiden to speak with a man without an
adult. She was only sixteen winters, but White Blossom knew what
she wanted, and the moment her eyes came upon the white man’s face,
her heart skipped many beats. She knew of the problem Blue Thunder
had at first, how her kind could not find favor and did not approve
of the white woman. But recently the council accepted his white
wife and they had given permission for the union. Would her father
do the same and stand by her?
She had wondered off for a private moment,
but when walking back up the trail she accidentally bumped into the
one they called One Eye, the white man that had been on her mind
every waking moment. She had asked her friend Many Stars why he was
called that when Moon Glow had called him Jason. She learned that
he lost his vision in one eye fighting the white man’s war between
states. She had never been up close to the handsome man, so when he
came out from the bushes and collided with her, she was shocked to
see the scar on his handsome features. It wasn’t ugly, only pink in
color, and it didn’t mare his good looks. He was so disturbing to
her in every way even though she knew such an attraction would be
perilous.
Rozene was actually trembling now and she
knew she acted like a silly papoose. He had called her by the white
man’s name for Rozene and she liked it. His touch had shifted her
heart inside her small chest; his nearness affected her so much
that she didn’t design to look at him fearing he’d see the love in
her eyes. He was so close his hot breath had kissed her cheek as
sure as if he’d done so himself. Her limbs were trembling so bad
that if she tried to walk now, she’d certainly stumbled with weak
legs.
So she stood like a foolish statue with
thoughts of Jason; the way his long, dark hair shimmered with red
highlight when the sun kissed it. How he kept it tied back with
rawhide but a lazy curl caressed his brow and how she wanted to
touch it. The color of his eyes, like pine needle tea when boiled
to a tawny shade, the slant of his masculine nose and jaw, but most
of all,
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the feel of his hard chest when they
collided. He had a splendid physique; she had seen him participate
in the Indian’s games wearing only buskins.
Oh yes, she had but a glimpse of his face at
the moment of contact, but her mind’s eyes took in all of him and
she tried to learn him by heart. From afar he was good looking,
closer he was more appealing. No brave could compare with him, not
even her older half brother, Paytha Ouray, who has many women
fighting to share his mat.
Jason had been started when he bumped into
the pretty maiden that had been on his mind since the first time
she had visited the camp. He had caught her to keep from falling.
“Sorry,” he murmured. Silence met his comment but he didn’t release
his hand from her upper arm where his fingers curved into the
softness. His blood roused in his veins from touching her soft
skin. The maiden’s eyes were downcast, and he bent his head to try
and get a closer look at her. He was a hair breath away from the
princess’ brown skinned cheeks that turned a pretty pinkish
hue.
“You’re Princess Rose Blossom,” he stated
with a frog in his throat. The dark head simply nodded, refusing to
look up at him; she blushed anew. “Did I hurt you?” he asked. “I’m
such a clumsy fool. I tend to bump into things because of....”
She stumbled back and whispered, “N-no.”
She
spoke
.
Though his body ached for her touch, he
dropped his hand. Then he feared she’d run off like the frightened
doe she seemed to be. But he knew the Indian ways; a young
unmarried girl was prohibited to speak to a man when alone. Besides
himself, he didn’t want to get her into trouble.
“I’m Jason.” He should leave but he couldn’t
move. She smelled clean, like pine needles and morning dew.
“I know who you are.”
Her voice barely audible, she muttered
uneasily in English but the small head still remained downcast and
he wished she would look at him. He wanted to gaze into her eyes,
see what she was thinking. His wish was in vain. Then a horrible
thought struck him; was the
princess afraid to look at him because of
his scare? Did she think him ugly? If she knew who he
146
was, she also knew about his injury.
Disgusted by his own unfair notion, he turned and walked away
experiencing an instant squeezing hurt in his chest. He drew a
harsh breath no longer wanting to see the look in her doe eyes
fearing it was repulsive.
“Brother, you looked flustered,” Melissa
commented when Jason walked into the wickiup. She rubbed the small
of her back. The baby was due any day and she’d be happy when she’d
finally delivered. She was tired of waddling like a lame duck and
getting up many hours through the night to relive her bladder only
to find she hardly had any fluids to relieve. She gave her brother
a tired smile as he sat cross legged on the straw mat, one of the
many colored covering on the dirt floor. He let out a long, soul
weary sigh and Melissa didn’t like the sound of that.
“Spill it. You know you can never keep a
secret from me.”
She didn’t sit because she had a hell of a
time getting up even with one’s help. Standing, she continued to
rub her back.
“Oh, sis, I know what you said about
Princess Rose Blossom, but we met on the trail and we---”
“What?”
“Aw, sis, it was an accident. You know my
problem. I bumped into her on my blind side.”
Even thought she knew her brother hated to
resort to his wound as an excuse it was the
truth, she snorted in disgust. How could she
reprimand him, but he could cause problems between the clans.
“Jason, my sweet, you know of the trouble
I’d caused when I first was captured and brought here by Blue
Thunder. I’m afraid I had stretched the red man’s patience and
compassion to the limit. You must stay away from the maiden, her
brother, Paytha Ouray-Fire Arrow, is known to be very protective of
his sister. My words are final.”
His shoulders slumped more. “I know, but
I’ve fallen in love with her.” Her loud groan made him look up.
“'C’mon, sis, it cannot be that bad?” He jumped up when she doubled
over, a puddle of fluid at her feet. “Sis! Is it your time?”
Clutching her belly, she nodded, her mouth turned up impishly at
his stupid question.
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“Go get Laughing Tree! Hurry!” she
cried.
He nodded and ran to the flap but turned and
retreated. “Let me help you lie down.”
“No, go!” she ordered. Again her brother
turned and it looked like he might make it to the flap this time
but once more he turned. He was acting like a chicken without its
head.
“No, you must recline first,” he insisted,
sweating profusely. She had to agree if she ever expected to get
any help. Then he ran out shouting at the top of his lungs.
Jason bumped into a brick wall; he didn’t
have to look up to see who it was.
“Whoa! One Eyed,” laughed Blue Thunder. “Is
the camp under attack?” he said tongue-in-cheek.
Jason shook his head wildly. “No! Melissa
is, is... Oh, her water broke! I must get
Laughing Tree,” he stammered but when he
looked up, the big Apache was all ready running to his hut.
Jason and his brother-in-law paced outside
the Wickiup, occasionally bumping into the expecting father. Blue
Thunder grumbled each time, something to the fact that the white
man should look where he’s going and each time Jason apologized.
The whole clan also waited and when a baby’s wail emanated from the
hut, a whooping cry of joy went up around the knot of people. Blue
Thunder froze to the spot and he lost some of his bronzed
complexion. Jason believed that it took an infant’s wail to scare
the big brave more than a charging bison. He slapped his back,
congratulating him but the new father merely stood until an infant
wrapped in fur was brought out by a smiling Laughing Tree. She
handed the baby to Blue Thunder and he removed the wrapping to
discover he had a beautiful dark haired girl. Naked, he raised the
infant up in the air for all the Apache’s to see. Another round of
cheers went up.
Jason slapped the proud father on the back
again. “Sorry old man. I don’t have a cigar for you.” Blue
Thunder’s confused frown was priceless and he laughed and said,”
Never mind.”
He followed Blue Thunder inside. “How’s my
sister?”
Melissa was still groggy and she said that
her body was so sore but when her husband walked in with the baby
looking so happy and proud, she admitted that all the agony of
child birth was quickly forgotten. The new father kissed her sweaty
brow.
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“You make husband very proud, wife. Our
daughter, Blue Moon is beautiful.”
“Blue Moon?” Melissa yawned. “I like that
name. I believe husband that you had a hand in her beauty.” His
sister closed her eyes ending any further conversation.
“Come, we let her sleep.” He placed their
daughter by his wife’s side. Once outside, he said, “Come, we smoke
pipe.”
“Okay, but I like cigars better.”
Jason slapped the new father’s broad
shoulder and laughed at the stymied look that once again appeared
on the big Indian’s dark countenance.
149
THIRTY
Melissa settled into the happy routine of a
mother. She worked along with the women carrying her daughter in a
papoose. Blue Moon was a good baby and never cried. At first she
thought it was terrible to hold the child’s nose when it started to
whimper. She argued with Blue Thunder that she would not abuse her
daughter that way. But he explained that someday, if they were
attacked and she was hiding, the baby’s cry could give them away.
He told her the white man thought nothing of slaughtering Indian
women and infants. Melissa shuddered at the thought and decided a
little discomfort was better than what could happen otherwise.
One day when she was picking corn with other
woman a young maiden, Ih-tedda, whom Blue Thunder said, “It means
young girl,” doubled over with cramps. She shifted the cradle on
her back that held Blue Moon and went to the girl. Melissa called
her Tedda.
“Are you all right, Tedda?”
She blushed. “Today I am coming of age,” she
replied beaming with pride.
Melissa frowned and then she caught on what
the girl meant. “Oh, you got your menses?”
“Menses?” the maiden frowned then ran from
the field leaving her staring opened mouth. She knew Tedda had to
sit in a separate lodge until she was cleansed, a ritual she wasn’t
particularly fond about since it keep her away from her family. She
had pointed this out to Blue
Thunder many times, explaining that in her
culture women weren’t ostracized for being female. It did no good.
When she went home and mentioned this to her husband, he explained
another tradition to her.
“The girl,” he said, “will have her face
painted with white clay, and will be blessed with a sacred cattail
pollen. She will wear a piece of abalone tied above the forehead as
she prepares her life as an adult woman. They’ll have four days in
which to prepare Ih-tedda with a “getting her ready” ceremony. It
is during this time, the Apache believe that the Changing Woman’s
mythical powers enter the girl’s body and thus giving then the
power to heal all those around them.”
150
Once again she was intrigued with his
words.
He continued, “The Apache
Crown Dancer also known as
Gaan
represented Mountain Spirits, who come to the
puberty ceremonies to dance with the girls. These dancers have
black-hooded faces and wear awesome headdresses. Their bodies are
painted and adorned with harness bells also. As the Crown Dancers
dance around the fire, they look like giant wooden marionettes as
they swing their headdresses from side to side. They also fling
around wooden swords.”
“Indians seem to have a ceremony for
everything,” she snorted. “When my time came and I woke to find
stains on my sheet, I wasn’t overjoyed. Monthly cramps are nothing
to praise about.” She clucked her tongue. “I’ll never get used to
all the customs, a party to glorify a woman’s cycle. Will wonders
ever cease?” She giggled but though that this was another
interesting aspect and was looking forward to when her daughter
became a woman.
Too busy with Blue Moon, Melissa had no time
to worry over other small details in her life, like her brother who
had become scarce lately. It wasn’t until Blue Thunder mentioned
this
fact to her did she show any concern. After
that evening meal, she asked Jason what he’d been up to these past
weeks. But her brother merely shrugged, admitting that he’d been up
to nothing special. Of, course he couldn’t look her in the eyes and
she knew he had lied with a straight face.
Melissa knew her brother was not being
honest with her. She had this eerie feeling in the pit of her
stomach that she couldn’t quite put a finger on, but he was
definitely up to something. He was too quite and had this faraway
look in his good eye. Maybe he was thinking about going back to the
plantation. He had stated that he hadn’t planned on staying here
forever.