Within the ring of stones, colorful flames rivaled each
other for height as the wood sizzled and cracked apart. Green Eyes leaned on
her husband’s shoulder and enjoyed the rare serenity. Her son, seven-year-old
Little Cloud, was spending the night with his grandmother. One full moon had
passed since Broken Feather’s burial ceremony, and the child’s continued
presence in his grandmother’s lodge eased her loneliness.
For the past two weeks, Lone Eagle had met daily with the
elder tribesmen, and tonight he seemed lost in thought.
Green Eyes tickled his
ribs. “Where are you? Your body sits with me, but your mind wanders. We should
be making better use of our time alone.”
“I’m sorry, but I have much to think about.” He sounded
unusually somber. “Now that I am Chief, my first concern is the well-being of
our people.”
Our people. His words touched her heart. Relations
with the whites were strained, and messengers from other tribes continually
brought news of raids, kidnappings, and killings. Outsiders made her nervous, and
she only felt secure with Lone Eagle’s people—her people.
The anguished look on her husband’s face bothered her. This
wasn’t the time to think only of herself. “What worries you most, my
husband?” She grasped his hand.
“I fear we will be drawn into war. At the Elder’s Council,
there was talk of the white man’s continued encroachment on our land. They
violate our treaties, and we can no longer move about safely. Slaying buffalo
has become their sport, and our brothers are being killed for no reason. If our
tribe had not separated from the rest of the Oglala, we would already be living
on a white man’s reservation. There is no way we will surrender our
freedom. If surviving means war with the whites, we will fight.”
Her throat constricted. “Where will that leave me?” She forced the words. “Will our people turn
against me because of my skin color?”
***********
Now....please hop on over to the other gals who post on Sundays, and check out their offerings:
http://authorjamiehill.blogspot.com/ (Jamie Hill)
http://triciamg.blogspot.com (Tricia McGill)
http://romancingscifi.blogspot.com (Vijaya Schartz)
http://connievines.blogspot.com (Connie Vines)
http://yesterrdayrevisitedhere.blogspot.com/ (Juliet Waldron)
If you get a page that has an old post...just realize that life sometimes happens, and then check back next week. I've missed a few myself...summer time is camping time and we don't always have Internet access. Thanks for checking in and we hope you keep coming back.
No comments:
Post a Comment