Gold Raven (86 page)

He took another deep breath, pushed himself the rest of the way
out, and shouted from the agony of forcing himself along. He lay
panting unable to make another move. He opened his eyes and
looked up to see a white soldier standing over him with his sword
high about to drive it into him.

"No-o-o!" Both of them heard the scream at the
same time, both turned simultaneously to see Hope in the lead with
braves behind her charging towards them. The soldier turned to her
to defend himself, and a sparring battle began. Stunned that he was
fighting for his life with a woman, as Hope came at him hacking and
slashing quickly and deadly, her intent clear, she disarmed him and was
about to run him through when he dropped to his knees covering is
head. "Please ... please! Don't kill me... I have a wife and children... please!"

"Get the fuck away from my husband!" She ground out, nostrils
flared, breathing hard. He quickly scurried away, hopping to his feet
as he ran for his life.

"Greeneye, hurry, he’s here! I found him, he’s here!
Hurry, my God, I found him!!” She cried, dropping there before him,
covering her husband afraid of someone
else doing him possible harm.

"Woman!! Will you find him only to perish at his side
!?!" Greeneye shouted after her
rush forward to save Red Crow, leaving them behind. They now
surrounded her as she bent over him.

"Red Crow, oh God! Greeneye, he is hurt bad, we have to
get him out of here!" She wept, seeing his chest covered with cuts and
blood.

Greeneye gave a shrill whistle and those holding their mounts
rode in holding the reigns of horses belonging to those fighting on
foot.

"We must hurry Gold Raven, I will get him on your horse, mount
up now, we will have to tie him to your body, and whatever you do... do not fall off. Can you handle him?"

"Tie him to me... I can hold him." Gray Wolf called out.

"I can hold him!" Hope cried out.

"No! Gray Wolf is right, he is weak and heavy, you be ready to ride once he is tied to Gray Wolf."

Hope wasted no more time arguing, she knew it was vital that
they get out of there, if more militiamen came they would all be
trapped with no way out. Though their numbers were great,
there were many wounded to take out with them, the fighting had
ended. The soldiers made a full retreat, praying to make it out alive.
For Hope and the party that rode in, they gathered their wounded and
made a quick escape.
After riding for what seemed an eternity, needing to put a
distance between them and the battle, they finally found a place to stop and tend to the wounded.

A fire was built as Tropaio assisted
Gray Wolf in lowering Red Crow to the mat his wife had prepared for
him. Hope retrieved her salves that Cobenche had given her to help with any of the wounded.

Immediately she went to work on her husband, cleaning him as
best she could to apply the salve. All they did for them was
temporary, until they could get them back to the village. Quickly,
many of the braves went about fashioning travois’ to lay the wounded
on, and then strap them to the horses to pull home.

Having seen to Red Crow, she went from one fallen to another,
trying to help get them ready for the journey home.

Many would
remember that night as she went on tirelessly ignoring her own
exhaustion. Frequently she felt eyes on her and looked up to receive
an admiring smile that she pleasantly returned. By the time evening
rolled around, with her checking on her husband and going on to
others, she felt as if her back would give. Unable to help herself, she stood and stretched from leaning over so many wounded. So far, she
helped remove lead balls from twenty men, cleaned, packed with salve
and helped to strap them on travois'. They would travel under the
cover of night, and would not stop until they must. Pairing up a rider
to one wounded with horses stolen from the soldiers,
they were soon ready to ride.
Taking a break, Hope went and checked on her husband again.
He had not moved much since she had saved his life. Unable to resist,
she checked his pulse and temperature many times just to be sure.

With a sigh, she stood away
from him and walked a few feet to lean against a tree, peering up at the moon. A moment later, Greeneye was there, leaning against the same tree from the other side.

"Happy now?" He asked softly. She glanced over at him and
nodded, then burst into tears. He pulled her into his arms,
ignoring his conscience,
and held
her while she cried.

Rubbing her back, he comforted and soothed her, letting her pent up
tension and stress drain away in his arms. For that instant, he
savored the closeness of her and way down deep inside where it
would always stay; he imagined that she was his. With some effort, he reminded himself, that he loved his wife,
Silkie Whisper; that he treasured his friendship with Red Crow. However, that night, he knew,
if he could have the woman in his arms, he would
walk away from everything for her; because he would gladly live the life of a
white man, he had no problem passing for white. Finally, Hope came to her senses. Sniffing, she backed out of is arms, and
smiled up at him.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that, but I do thank you... for
everything." She sniffed again.

He smiled and reached up wiping the
moisture from her cheeks. "We had better mount up; we have a long
way to go." He said turning as he walked away to do just that. Taking a deep breath, Hope looked up at the night sky again. She could only
wonder at what was next to come. Turning, she strode to her horse,
ready to ride.

Conclusion

"How is he?"

"Still sleeping, the fever has left him for good this time I think.
His scars are healing over well, and even the pistol wound has
closed with no sign of infection. His only words have been a few mumbles in his sleep. I wish he were awake." Hope answered her
mother-in-laws inquiry in soft tones.

"He will awaken soon. He needs this sleep in order to heal
properly. He will be good as new before you know it."

Hope nodded with a sigh as she sat on the bed against the
headboard, leaning slightly over Red Crow as he slept, and she,
lovingly stroked his temple.

Josey sat staring at her daughter-in-laws profile as she sat diligently
by her son's side, caressing him with longing and love in her eyes.
This young girl had stolen her heart since she was a toddler. She had
always felt something special about her. Her son had also been
captivated from the moment he laid eyes on her aureate beauty. He
had said she was the object of his destiny. He had said she was to be a
gift to him from the Gods. He had said that one day, he would marry
her, and that she would come to love him. He had also said that she would bring him good luck. All these things he had said, and she sat
as a witness that they had all come true.

There he lay, recovering from a tragic decision to fight in a battle
that might have taken his life.

Josey knew that if Hope had not left
that day, her son would be dead now. This young woman had loved
him so deeply that she had charged into the center of a battle that
could have very well killed her as well as him. She had defied the odds
and snatched him out of the jaws of death. Ignoring all danger to herself, after what she had suffered, she bravely went in and
brought him back home, alive. Josey shook her head wondering if she
had been so determined to hold onto the love of
her
life, he might be
there with them right now to see their dreams come true. Her eyes
stung with tears. Long Bow was gone now, that part of her life was
over. Nothing of it could ever be changed. What mattered now was
the safety of her son.

That safety no longer included the village where he hid. His staying
there would only bring danger to the people. It was agreed by all that
a rumor be started, to be spread to every village, every town, bar and
settlement. The Mighty Chief Red Crow had succumbed in the battle at Sabine River. All worked hard at circulating it, growing the
details of it as it was carried on to each subsequent village. Along
with the spreading of the rumor, many tribes agreed to leave off in
their attacks on settlements. It was, after all, a small price to pay in
exchange for the gift granted many warriors from the hands of Gold
Raven. As her husband's legendary name diminished, hers grew.
Around the fires a tale was told of the heroic Gold Raven, a splendid,
sword wielding heroine who swooped in and saved the lives of
many...riding with the fighting Cherokee.

Again, Josey sighed. She would miss living in the south, teaching
among her late husband's people but new things awaited her, awaited them all. There was no better place for them to hide out than in a big
city up north. Now, Dark Shadow and two other braves were taking a
chance by going out and contacting a scout who would see them safely out of the territory. They would hold over at Harvest Gold
until Red Crow was strong and fully recuperated. This would give
Hope time to spend at Webster Fields, visiting her grandfather,
Jordan and the others. Every stitch of their Indian garbs would
be left behind never to be worn again.

"Well honey, there's a lot that must be done before we leave. You
should take a nap and get some rest. I have to go into the village to
take care of last minute things. The house will be empty, Butterfly will
be with me."

"Yes, I think that I will. I am tired." Hope responded with a yawn.

"You should be, with all that you've gone through in the last
several weeks. I honestly don't understand how you go on." Josey
stood and stroked Hope's arm. "Well, you get some rest." Hope
smiled up at her as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Hope carefully stood from the bed, removed her dress
and under garments climbing into bed over her sleeping husband to snuggle
in with her back to the wall. Slipping in between the linens, she lay on
her side, with her head on the pillow watching him. As she stared at
him, she realized how amazing this whole love thing was. The power
of it was breathtaking. It had taken almost losing him to make her
realize how fortunate she was to have the real thing, as imperfect as they both might be, they had each other, and they were in love.

'Why did I fight it so hard?'
That is what she could not understand. It
seemed that loving him, would mean that she would have to love
someone else less. Now she realized that was not so. What made love
so wonderful was that one could love father, mother and brother...
and still have more than enough love left...for a good man. This kind of love, the kind she was laying there feeling right then, could not be
found with her mother, her father, her brother...no one else.

Rising up to look at him more closely, she knew she needed that
kind of love now more than ever. She shook her head in disbelief.
She, Golden Hope Web-...O'Brien,
‘Yes... forgive me father, but I
am...an O'Brien.'
She smiled as she gently touched his brow, admiring
him, "What a beautiful man you are, Joseph Avery O'Brien." Moisture
gathered in her eyes as her thoughts flooded with emotion. "I - I cannot live - without you. I love you, I love you, I love you... and
God is my witness, I will never leave your side." She was crying and
did not know why, but the tears rolled. "Please forgive me for all the
pain I have caused you. Please... wake up and hear what I say. I love
you, I will always love you."

His smile made her eyes widen.

"Joseph Avery, are you awake?"

He smiled and nodded, keeping his eyes closed. He had been
awake for some time, but hid behind a false sleep, trying to think of
what he would say when the time came to open his eyes.

Hope did not move. She stared, as his eyes slowly opened and the
bluest eyes ever stared back at her. His eyes washed over with tears as
he stared up at her. Both felt an increase in their breathing. He stared
at her for so long, she felt self-conscious and reached up to feel at
hair that was just now a few inches long, curly as could be,
surrounding her head like a golden afro of fat locks.

"Don't." He rasped dryly.

"I must look a mess."

"You are... the most beautiful creature, on this earth."