Gold Raven (56 page)

"My mother is well. Why do you seek passage through our lands? Your land and
business is further southeast. Why are you here? Traveling with such a
small party?"

"My business brought me this far. I have collected my son and his
family as I traveled. We now head for Fort Jacques in search of my
daughter." Manny explained.

"Yes...my little sister was separated from my family by
militiamen. Her name is Hope. Perhaps you have seen militiamen escorting a group of women whom they took as prisoners. She would
have been among them. She is of aureate coloring, very pretty, young in her years, with outstanding gold/blue eyes."

Mike kept his eyes sharp and focused on Red Crow, knowing
instantly, that he would deny ever seeing her. Red Crow's stomach
knotted tighter. The battle to do what was right began. He knew that
if he told them the truth, they would surely ask to return to his village
with him. He also knew that upon seeing them, Gold Raven would
surely flee with them. The ties between father, brother and daughter
were too strong. She would not understand that her place was now
with him.
'It is too soon!! I need more time with her! I need more time to
make her truly mine! More time to love me, as she does them! I cannot just hand
her over! I cannot!'
He fumed angrily from within.
'Had they taken better
care of her, they would not have to seek her out! They lost her! She is
mine...mine!'

Mike was watching and saw the play of emotions no matter
how he masked his struggle. Manny noted it as well.

'Damn you red bastard! You have my little sister! I can read it in your eyes!
Mike fretted, as his jaw clenched for control. He had never felt as
helpless as that moment when facing Red Crow.

Red Crow turned to the left from them to face his braves and
held up his staff in a signal that passage was granted them in safety.
Instantly the large circle opened to spread wide across the horizon
again.

Looking away from Manny and Mike, Red Crow bade them safe
passage, "Maynard Webster, leave others to traveling this territory,
harm to you or your family would bring my mother much anguish,"
With that said, he turned to ride away.

"Wait! My son asked you a question concerning my daughter. The
women prisoners, have you seen them come through?" Manny asked,
having his own gut feelings concerning Josey's son.

Red Crow stopped, and without looking
back at them announced.
"I know nothing of your daughter, Maynard Webster. As for
women prisoners, many of my braves reported sightings of such a
group, perhaps she is still among them. Have faith Maynard
Webster, the God's will let no harm come to one such as she, have
faith."

Before they could respond, he rode off; with his braves
following uniformly behind; his closest friend riding at his right hand
side. He could not speak, nor look at him...not now. Not when he
needed time to collect himself, and deal with his lie. Without a word
from him, he knew that Greeneye disapproved because he knew that
Greeneye was a man of honor.

"That lying, bastard!" Mike spat. "He knows something. I'd stake my life on it. I'd be willing to go so far as to say that he has her."

"Why would he lie?" Leon asked as they rode back to the others.

"Because he wants her, for himself." Manny simmered as his imagination took off.

"Damn right he does. Patrick and Liddy Johnson told me about
the time mother spent at the village; how Hope formed an attachment to the little Indian boy, Red Crow. They also said that his belief was
that they belong together, that his plan was to make her his wife, when she was of age. I'm telling you, just as he and his braves
encountered us, they probably came across that party of militiamen
with those women. He has her."

Manny felt his temples throbbing.

"There's no way of being certain." Leon tried to reason, noticing
Manny's harsh expression. "And because we have your family with us,
there's little we can do other than to finish our journey to the fort.
Once there, we'll know."

"Okay, so we get there, and she's not there...then what?" Mike
asked his father and Leon.

"We must first complete this trip. We must first get your family to
safety." Manny answered.

"While he had his way with her?!" Mike shouted,
boiling.

"Michael...there is nothing we can do now. Are you willing to s
acrifice the safety of your family...again?"

"That's not fair! She's my sister!"

"Damn it! She's my daughter! She'll never mean more to you, than
she does to me. All I can do now is get to that fort.”

“
From there, get
back east. If she's not with us by then, we know where she is, at that
point, it's all about finding his village."

They continued on because they could do little else. Mike sat
upon his mount looking back over his shoulder at the cloud of dust
from the Indians. Both he and his father battled the images in their
minds of what they figured this Red Crow had already done to their
Hope. For that moment in time, Mike wished that he was still a
bandit; and that his men were alive. Red Crow would then be given a
run for his life. He settled back and remembered to be thankful for
what was right in his life, he had his family back and he was with his
father again. Soon too, Hope would be back with him as well... then, hopefully,
it would be their mother's turn.

***

Red Crow and his braves rode all day until dark, then stopped and
munched on dried pemmican. He sat at the fire lost in thought, chewing, when Greeneye approached him finally. His name was a
good description of him, originating from a mixed parentage. His
father had been a Scottish trapper who’d found himself among their
people, marrying one of their maidens, producing Greeneye, who
stood as his father had, an impressive six foot four, much taller than
Red Crow. His hair, tawny brown; his body broad and thick; his face
full and square with a wide jaw and thick neck, and yes...one eye
green, the other brown. Though his mother still lived, his father had
died due to a sickness, which had cut him to half his former bulk.

He sat quietly at first next to Red Crow, eating wild fowl he'd
caught. Upon finishing it, he licked his
greasy fingers, settled himself to look into the fire, and asked
.

"Why?"

Expecting this, Red Crow’s answer came without hesitation, "Because, I love her. She, on the other hand, does not yet love me.
Not as I do her. I cannot lose her when I have just found her.
You know more than anyone, I have wanted her much too long for
me to just hand her back over to him."

"For this, what you have done...she will love you even less. You
cannot force her to feel what is not there. They are her people. They have a right to know of her whereabouts and her safety."

"It is because of them,
that she was lost to begin with; lost to her
mother, lost to them all. Now, I have found her...she will stay with me, and with me, no harm will come to her. When I am certain her
love is true, and her loyalty to me is as strong as her loyalty to them,
then...and only then, can I divulge the truth. She is not yet mature enough to know that she belongs with her husband...with me." He
argued defensively, making excuses for his deceit.

"Red Crow, I am your friend...please hear what I say. Nothing
good will come of this; nothing but the growth of this lie. When it has
reached a size that you can no longer control it, it will turn on its
creator. It is not too late. If we head back and ride fast, we can catch
this Maynard Webster. Kill this lie now, do not let it gain strength to
grow, let us undo it, while it can be undone. I promise you if you do
not, you will come to regr-..."

"Enough! You have had your say. I will not go back. I am all she
needs; in time she will see this. Later, after a time has passed and we
have grown close...we will seek out her family."

"Fine, if that is what you wish."

"That is what I wish. Do not interfere; promise me that you will
not bring this up again, never again mentioning this day...because I
have made up my mind."

"If that is your wish, so now what are we to do?" Greeneye
dropped the subject for the time being but
the consequences his friend may one day have to face placed a fear in
him.

"It is too soon to return. She will know we have come back too
soon, so we will visit this fort Le Croix. She informed me that all the
men of her brother's camp were killed. The militiamen must learn
there is a price to pay for their actions. They cannot destroy the lives;
of any they choose and not pay. Their debt is now vastly overdue."

The revenge in his blood sang strong and thick, instigated by his
encounter with Maynard Webster and his son.
Already, his desperate actions to hold onto Hope were pushing
him further into needing an outlet for his steady building anger, fear
and frustration. What better target to vent his spleen than on the white intruders who had come to overrun their lands, cruelly torturing the
indigenous population who stood in their way. Fueled by his justified
agenda, they rose before dawn...to exact what he felt was justified punishment.

* * *

Hope wiped away tears brought on by uncontrollable laughter. In
her husband's absence, she had gained a strong liking for Cobenche
and his wife. A lot of her time was spent with them, or otherwise, her
mother-in-law.

Josey was determined to take up tutoring Hope and teaching her
as much as she could about Greek literature and reading Homer's
Iliad and the Odyssey; she also included the plays of Shakespeare, as well
discussions on philosophy and elements surrounding the powers of
men. How they ruled in England bringing about the great flux of
Europeans to the new world. What the laws and restrictions meant in
their day and how it affected their lives. There were also days of learning arithmetic; walks with the older women to learn how to
identify and gather medicinal herbs, bark and roots. Sometimes she held Hopes rapt attention and other times she had to shake her head
as the young woman found one excuse or another to get away from
her daily lessons.

Most of the time, she ended up right where she was now,
laughing at Cobenche and his many comical tales of old. Spending
time with him was the highlight of her day. Yet, even at the best of
times spent with them, she would lapse into a contemplative quiet.
Stunned at what she was feeling, because never would she have
imagined it possible, that she would be missing Red Crow...terribly.
At night, she would lay awake thinking of him; wondering if he had
found her brother and if he had been able to help him? Was he, Red
Crow alright? Now more than ever, she wished she had been able to
go with him, not just to know of her brother's welfare, but also to be
with him, to be with her husband.

Suddenly there was a mumbling that stirred within the village,
then an outright uproar, the braves were back. Hope stood dusting
off her skirt, not hearing the last of Cobenche's comments. She felt her
heart skip a beat as other women of the village rushed past her,
looking for their men. Slowly she followed behind, feeling shy and
uncertain in her actions. She had just come from a swim to cool off
before she joined Cobenche, which was the reason for her hair flying wild, free, waving, and curling as the gentle breezes blew soft wisps of it across her face. She reached up to pull it away, which is when she saw him.

T
hat is also when he saw her, with her freshly cleaned hair shining in the sun. She was wearing a calf length dress, of buff doeskin. He pulled
his mount to a stop in the center of the village, not far from
Cobenche’s tepee. Her eyes were
large and eager, searching his face. He knew that he would never get
tired of looking at her. The time they spent apart, only made his need
for her that much stronger.

Nervous, Hope slowly approached her husband's horse, trying to
breathe normally with her heart racing so. The party of men with him
passed them by on their way to their dwelling places. None among
them was her brother. She would not ruin this welcome home by
asking about him first; no matter how tempted she was. Instead, she
smiled sweetly up at Red Crow, and admitted, "I - I missed
you, Chief Red Crow, I have missed you a great deal."

He swallowed the lump in his throat as his heart swelled with her
words.
'Is this normal, to love a woman so much?'
He wondered to
himself.

Holding out a hand to her, she grabbed it as he helped her up
behind him. Hope settled behind him wrapping her arms around his
waist, her chin on his shoulder.

Feeling her squeeze him against her, her breasts pressed into his back and made his senses sing. Golden Hope Webster was an obsession
with him. He knew that he would do anything to keep her, to hold h
er, to possess her.

With a click of his tongue and a flick of the reigns, he increased
the speed of his trot through the village. "Is this really true? I feared
that I might have to remind you of who I am upon my return."

"I need no reminders Red Crow." She declared softly in his ear,
"You are my husband, I am your wife. Did you — miss me?" She
asked laying her head on his back, hugging him again.

"Would I miss the air that I breathe were it taken away? Or the
water that ends my thirst if all ran dry? Or the vision that searches
near or far to focus on you? As surely as I would miss those things,
my Gold Raven...I have missed you."

"Do you know what you are?" Hope asked, looking up at his
profile as he turned back to her. "What am I?" He asked grinning.

"A Greek, poetic god, born in form of an Indian for our day; the things you say to me at times, have to be far better than what Homer
or Dante could have ever penned."