Cheyenne Moon (5 page)

“Goodnight” Abby responded. Green Eyes disappeared inside her lodge. “Your mother is a beautiful and kind woman Shadow Spirit.  She seems truly at ease with your people.” Abby said.

“What would you expect?  That she is unhappy? That we are holding her captive?  She has been with the Cheyenne for many moons and I have never heard her express a wish to be anywhere else. She would be out of place in the white world, with the white eyes,” Shadow Spirit stated with an edge of anger toward Abby.

“I am sorry Shadow Spirit.  I wasn’t saying she was a prisoner. I’m just wondering how she managed to adjust to your way of life. It seems to be a harsh life to me,” Abby explained.

“The people of my village are content but I fear that our peace will be disturbed before many months have passed. There have been reports of more and more whites entering the Black Hills. Treaties have been signed but the white men do not keep their word,” he said.

“I have seen what Indians have done to innocent people. They killed my mother,” she cried.

“That was Black Heart’s band. All Indian people are not like that.” He explained. “Are there not whites that do horrible things also?”

“Yes there are but they are punished when they are caught.”

“Black Heart will also be punished but his punishment will be the Cheyenne brand of justice.”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore. It makes me miss my father even more knowing there is no one to take care of him,” Abby said.

“We will not discuss it if it upsets you. I wish you would accept the fact that you cannot go home now. We will go to our winter camp after the big buffalo hunt. There, maybe over the winter, your mind will change and you will not want to return to the white man’s world.”

“Shadow Spirit will you promise me something, if I still want to go home in the spring will you take me?” Abby watched the expression on his face. His emotions were masked. He took so long in answering her that she thought he had not heard her.

Shadow Spirit placed a hand on each side of her face and looked into her eyes. Abby thought he was going to kiss her again but he only smiled down at her. Abby’s heart did a flip-flop. Oh, how handsome he was.

“Yes Abby, I will take you home in the spring if you still wish to go. Now I must say goodnight. I will not be in the village when you wake up for I am going with some of the other warriors on a hunt. We must begin to gather food for the winter” he said ever so gently.

“I wish you wouldn’t go,” she said looking into his eyes.  Somewhere in the region of her heart, she was secretly wishing he would kiss her. 

He had let his hands drop from her face to her shoulders.  He was still staring straight into her eyes.  “When I look into your eyes I see my reflection as if I am looking into the white man’s mirror,” he said.

“That’s a beautiful thing to say.  Thank you.”

He drew her to his chest and gently held her.  “I must go; Goodnight Abby.”

“Goodnight Shadow Spirit.” When she drew back to go inside, he kissed her quickly on the forehead.

Abby spent the next day working alongside Green Eyes. They washed clothes at the stream then worked on new dresses for Abby. She was amazed at what the Indian women could do with a needle made of bone. Green Eyes hand worked with amazing speed and perfection as she cut and sewed Abby a dress from soft doeskin. All day long they worked, only taking time out for a noon meal.  She taught Abby to scrape the hide of deer that someone had killed and brought to the chief’s lodge while Shadow Spirit had been away. They would later stretch the hide on a board to dry and be made into clothing.

Abby was working on the beads of her dress when she noticed the same girl, who had given her such a look of hate yesterday, watching her from another teepee some distance away.

“Green Eyes, who is that girl watching me? I noticed her watching me yesterday also,” Abby asked?

“She is called Lone Raven.”

“But why does she look at me as if I’m poison?”

“She has eyes for Shadow Spirit.  She has always thought they would marry. I do not know why she feels that way. Shadow Spirit has not encouraged her to believe it is so. She probably thinks you are the one Shadow Spirit has chosen.”

“Oh,” was all Abby could say.

“I have talked to Shadow Spirit about taking a wife many times. He has never taken me seriously. Oh, I am sure he has visited the teepee of the loose women of our village. After all he is a twenty-four year old man,” Green Eyes said.

“Doesn’t the woman he marries have anything to say about it?” Abby asked.

“Not really. The male members of her family decide it if it is a good match or not.” Green Eyes answered.             

“That is totally barbarian. What if the woman is miserable?”

“Then she simply puts her husband’s belongings outside the teepee. Then they are divorced. But she must think long and hard about a decision that is so final.”

“That sounds fair. I would never marry a man I didn’t love.”

When Abby looked to where Lone Raven had stood watching. She had disappeared. Abby dismissed her from her mind.

Shadow Spirit did not return until after they had eaten their supper. He was tired and hungry. He had killed two deer. 

He greeted Abby with a smile that showed how happy he was to see her. “What have you done today in my absence?”

“Your mother has taught me a lot today but I still have much more to learn. I helped her tan a hide. We made pemmican and we sewed a new dress for me.” She was excited that he seemed pleased at the accomplishments. “Your mother also told me why most of the people in the village speak English. She taught anyone who wanted to learn.”

“Yes she was a wonderful teacher for our people.” he said. “There is a celebration dance to be held tonight for the wedding couple. I would like for you to go and watch. I think you should learn something of our traditions.”

They were walking by the stream and discussing Abby’s triumphs of the day. Shadow Spirit gently took her hand in his. They stopped and sat down on a large boulder facing the village. Shadow Spirit was very quiet. He sat looking at the village with an air of despair.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked.

He said nothing for several moments, and then he turned to look at Abby. “I was thinking of what the future holds. I do not think my Father will live for very much longer. He grows weaker each sunrise. It is like a part of my life is slowly slipping away. Do you know what that feels like to know that someone you love is dying and the fact that there is nothing you can do about it?”

“I know what it’s like to lose someone you love very much. My mother was taken from me suddenly I had no time to prepare. She was killed in a matter of minutes,” she sadly remarked. “I can feel your pain Shadow Spirit, but like my mother’s death, there is nothing you can do to save your father,” she finished.

“I hope he can live to see Yellow Dove married.” he said.

“That’s only two days away. I’ll pray that he can hold on.”

“Yellow Dove wanted to postpone her wedding but father would not hear of it. He said that it was one of his dreams to see his spirited daughter wed.” 

“That’s understandable,” Abby said.

They sat in silence for some time when Abby asked, “What do you know about a girl named Lone Raven? She watched me from a distance like she could kill me.”

“I know that you would be wise to stay clear of her. She is trouble,” he said

“Your mother thinks that she is jealous. That she wants you to be hers and that I pose some kind of threat,” Abby blushed.

“I have no interest in Lone Raven. She has tried to get my attention for some time now,” Shadow Spirit said looking into her eyes. “I think she can see that I have feelings for you. If they were only feelings of friendship she would be jealous. Do you think that it is only friendship that is between us Abby?”

“I don’t know what I feel for you. I feel that if we had met under different circumstances things might have been different….”

“You mean that if I were not Indian, you would feel different?” He interrupted her. He stood and started to walk away. Abby placed her hand on his arm to detain him.

“That isn’t what I meant at all and you know that. I only meant if I hadn’t been so scared,” she lamely said.

Suddenly she was in his arms. His lips were on hers gently prying her lips apart. His tongue played across her lower lip setting her on fire. He slowly gained entrance and as his tongue massaged hers, she was lost in the exquisite ecstasy of the feel of his mouth and his body pressed against hers. She could feel the rapid beat of his pulse and the feel of his desire pressing against her belly. She knew she should pull away from him but she couldn’t help secretly wanting him to lay her down on the ground. She could not find the will to pull away. Slowly he released her mouth, took her head between his hands, and stared into her eyes for a long moment.

“Do you really believe it is just a captive and captor relationship Abby,” he asked his breathing still irregular?

She couldn’t tear her eyes from his. He pulled her close so that her head rested on his chest and placed his chin on her head. They just stood holding each other until their breathing became normal once more.

“You have not answered my question,” Shadow Spirit said.

“I know I don’t have any answers. I’ve never felt like this before. Perhaps what I feel for you is lust. I have never known lust before but, I have heard women talk of such things,” she said.

“How many summers have you seen Abby?” Shadow Spirit asked.

“I am nineteen years old.” She answered. “My birthday was the day you rescued me from Black Heart.”

“Has no man ever kissed you before?”

“Oh, I have had beaus. I’ve been kissed but never quite like you do.”

They moved apart and began walking along the stream toward the village. The moon was full, casting enough golden light for Abby to see the expression on Shadow Spirit’s face, she could have sworn he was blushing.

The celebration was like nothing Abby had ever seen. There was dancing and singing, everyone sat on the ground around an open fire with the flames dancing high into the night sky. Everyone wore brightly colored beads and feathers attached to their best clothes. The Chief was brought from his lodge to reign over the festivities.

Yellow Dove was going to be a beautiful bride. She and Gray Wolf had the look of two people who were truly and completely enamored with each other. Although she had a strong feeling, it was more on Gray Wolf’s side than on Yellow Dove’s. Yellow Dove was a free spirit. Green Eyes had told Abby that even as a child Yellow Dove had not wanted to learn the things that the women of their village learned. She wanted to be with her brother and father.  As a young woman, she had wanted to go on hunts and raids with the warriors. Abby supposed that Yellow Dove was a tomboy at heart. She probably wouldn’t settle into marriage until she had had a child or two. Abby didn’t see Shadow Spirit leave for his lodge. He had left earlier than she so that he could be well rested for another hunt in the morning.

The day dawned on the quiet village with everyone tired from the previous night of festivities. Abby woke and glanced around the lodge, everyone was gone! Why had they let her sleep so long?  Where was the Chief? Oh no, had he died during the night? She rushed outside only to almost trip over Chief White Feather, who sat just outside the tepee in the early morning sunshine.

“Come sit with me while the sun climbs its way up into the eastern sky.”

Abby sat down beside the chief. “This is my favorite time of the day.” Abby said to the Chief.

“Yes,” he said. “It is mine also. Everything is new with each rising sun. The air is fresh and the earth is bathed in dew. I have lived many seasons. I am content with what I have accomplished, which some in my tribe are never able to do. I have a beautiful wife and two fine children.  Yellow Dove is about to wed a fine warrior. She will be happy.  Shadow Spirit has not as of yet found his true love but I have a strong feeling that it is not far in the future.  He has not expressed his feelings to me but I can tell by the way he looks at you that he has fallen in love with you.  He is fighting what is in his heart because he fears you will not adjust to the ways of the people.” He said.

Abby had not heard the Chief talk this much to anyone.  What he said caused her to blush. “Shadow Spirit has not disclosed his feelings to me. I have a great respect for him. If it hadn’t been for him, I would be dead by now but that doesn’t mean that I want to live here for the rest of my life. I have a home and a job and my father is there. He depends on me for so much. I can’t get the look on his face out of my mind when he saw Black Heart ride away with me.”

“It saddens my heart to think what your father must be going through. I know that if Yellow Dove was gone from my world, I would not want to face the new sun.” He said with a doleful expression.

“Good morning Abby,” said Yellow Dove. Her beautiful shimmering midnight hair was still wet from her morning bath in the stream. She went to her father’s side and tenderly kissed his cheek.  “Are you feeling better Father?” she asked.

“I think the Great Spirit has taken pity on an old man. I feel like he has seen fit to grant me a little more time daughter.” He said.

“Oh Father! I love you so. You will see many moons to come.”

Abby sat watching this display of love between parent and child with an emptiness that tore at her heart. She wondered if her father was still searching for her or had he given up. Without warning the tears came and she quickly walked away from the lodge with an ache in her soul. The tears were so blinding that at first she failed to see Lone Raven approaching her, she carried a basket with what appeared to be clothing in it.

“Here captive, you carry this for me,” she thrust the basket into Abby’s arms. 

Abby refused to hold on to the basket, letting it fall to the ground in a pile of dirt, the clean laundry becoming a muddy mess. Lone Raven flew into a rage. Abby screamed and kicked Lone Raven in the stomach, sending her spinning to the ground. They rolled over and over, clawing at each other. Abby met Lone Raven scratch for scratch and punch for punch.

“Stop this! What is going on here?” Exclaimed Green Eyes as she pulled Lone Raven off Abby.

Lone Raven had blood coming from her lip and nose. She looked like she was about to hit Green Eyes, when she thought better of it. “Why is this white woman allowed to walk freely around our village? She goes wherever she wants to go and she is a captive. I asked her to carry my basket of clothes and she threw them in the dirt.”

“You didn’t ask me to carry them. You told me to.” Abby cried before Green Eyes had a chance to answer.

“It is your job to do whatever anyone tells you to do while you are in this village. You are a captive!”

“Calm down both of you. What you say is true Lone Raven, if Abby were a captive, but she is not. She is a guest in my lodge. I do not want to have to warn you to leave her alone again. I do not want to have to tell my husband that you have behaved badly toward someone who is my friend. Is that clear to you?”  She finished.

“I did not know she was someone special. I will not ask her to do anything else for me.” Lone Raven said, but inside her anger escalated.

“That is good,” she said to Lone Raven. “Come Abby, we will go to the stream together.” As they walked off Abby turned back just in time to see a look of cold cunning cross her attackers face. When Lone Raven saw Abby look at her, she smiled, but the smile did not reach her eyes. Abby knew then that Lone Raven was more of a foe than she had anticipated.

When the hunting party returned at sunset, there was an air of impending doom about the village. There was a meeting of the elders called. The men of the village disappeared into the Chief’s lodge. 

“What is going on?” Abby asked Yellow Dove.

“I do not know, but something is happening,” she answered.

The women went about their evening activities of preparing food. It was some time later when Shadow Spirit came to discuss what had happened with his mother.

“Mother, I had some disturbing news today. We ran into a Sioux hunting party and they had reports of soldiers in the Black Hills. They were several days from here but that doesn’t mean that they won’t come farther into our lands.” Shadow Spirit said.

“They are not close enough to affect our lives yet my son. Soon we will move farther into the mountains for the winter. They will not follow us. I feel it in my heart that this must have been a group of soldiers who had become lost and did not realize that they had entered Indian Country.”

“I hope that you are right mother but I do not think so.”

“Shadow Spirit, have you talked to Abby since your return?”

“No, I saw her talking with Yellow Dove but I did not have time to talk with her. Has something happened?”

“Yes. She had an encounter with Lone Raven. You would have been proud of the way she defended herself.”

“Was she hurt Mother?” he asked with fear in his eyes.

“She only received a few scratches. She held her own very well but she is no match for the conniving of Lone Raven.”

“I will talk to Lone Raven. If she knows what is good for her she will leave Abby alone.” Shadow Spirit said angrily.

“No my son, I have already talked with her. I do not think she will bother Abby again.”

“I want Abby safe Mother. I want her to feel comfortable. I will protect her from all harm if it is within my power.”  He stated.

“You are in love with her, are you not Shadow Spirit?” Green Eyes asked.

“I do not know how it happened so quickly, but yes I am in love with her.”

“I have known that since you two first rode into our village and I saw the way you looked at her. She reminds me of myself twenty-five years ago. She is tough and determined to make her life as smooth as possible in her new surroundings. I also wished to return to the white world for some time but, as time passed and I fell in love with your father, I no longer had any desire to be anywhere else.”  She finished.

“I hope that Abby can find the happiness with me that you have found with father. I will go find her I want to see if she is all right after her run-in with Lone Raven.” He replied.

Abby was bending over the cooking fire stirring the stew when Shadow Spirit approached, she turned to him with a sense of relief that he had returned before sundown.

“Hello,” she said. It was difficult not to run into his strong arms.

“I hear you have had a bad day. Are you hurt?” He asked.

“I’m fine. I have only a few scratches and my pride was battered but she doesn’t look any better than I do.” She said as she raised her hand to the small cut on her left cheek.

Shadow Spirit took her hand and gently held it. He looked at her cheek, trying to assess the damage. He decided that it needed treating. He led her to his teepee; inside he went to one of his parfletches and removed a small bag, from that bag, he took another smaller bag. “Sit down Abby I will put some medicine on your cuts so that they do not become angry.”

She did as she was told, and tried not to flinch as he applied some sort of cream to her face.  It stung so badly that tears came to her eyes she put her hand to the cut. “What is that? It hurts terribly!” she cried.

“It is a special healing salve that is made from mesquite sap, which we boil to treat open wounds before they become irritated. It will only sting for a short time.” He said coaxing her hand away from her injury. He completed his task quickly and then replaced the medicine bag.

“Is the pain gone now?”

“Yes,” she said amazed that she no longer felt any pain at all. “It feels fine.”

Shadow Spirit sat down beside Abby on the blanket. The tension seemed suddenly to build. As their eyes locked, ever so slowly Shadow Spirit leaned toward her; his lips claimed hers in a tentative kiss, Abby’s heart raced. Quickly passion burned as the kiss intensified. She was having trouble breathing. She parted her lips as his tongue played at her lower lip. Shadow Spirit trailed kisses down her neck, starting at her earlobe and ending just below her collarbone. His hand rested on her ribcage just touching the underside of her breast through the deerskin dress she wore. Gently so as not to frighten her he placed his hand on her breast.  Shock waves ran through Abby. She knew she shouldn’t let this happen but she couldn’t have stopped him to save her soul. She had never wanted anything more.

He slowly ran his hand up her thigh, lifting her dress as he went. He gently stroked her and felt the moist center. She trembled and looked into his eyes and he saw the passion on her beautiful face and knew that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

“Abby?” Shadow Spirit said in a strained voice. “Are you sure you want this?”

“Yes Shadow Spirit I think I might not see another sunrise if you don’t love me.” To prove what she said was true, she removed her dress, letting it fall to the floor and then laid back on his blankets and raised her arms to him.

Standing, he removed his breechclout and slowly descended to her waiting arms. She caught a glimpse of his manhood as his body gently came down on hers.  She wrapped her arms around him.  He lavished her face and breasts with wet, wild kissed. Abby was swept up in a sea of ecstasy. 

Shadow Spirit knew he should hold out for as long as possible to give Abby as much pleasure as he was receiving. He poised over her holding back for fear of hurting her.

“Abby there will be some pain.” He said in a breathless voice. “I will try and not cause you any more than is necessary my love.” Shadow Spirit said.

Abby was on fire. She wanted something that he was just keeping out of her reach. She wrapped her legs around his buttocks and said, “It will be okay Shadow Spirit, I am not made of glass.” Then she tightened her legs to bring him closer to her.  He entered her with one quick thrust.  For a moment, he was still, letting her body get used to having him buried deep within the silken warmth of her. Then he began the slow rhythm that would bring both their bodies what they hungered for.

The pain Abby felt was short lived for when Shadow Spirit began, his delicious movements inside her, her world began to spin. She met him thrust for thrust, her hips arching to meet his body, she felt as if she was melting.

“Oh, Shadow Spirit, Please!” She cried out.

Slowly, ever so slowly, their breathing returned to normal once again. He rolled away pulling her to him, so that her head rested on his shoulder.

“I love you Abby. I have fought it for all the time we have been together but I love you as I have never loved another. Times for the Cheyenne will not be easy but I will take care of you for the rest of my life if you will become my life's mate.”

Abby didn’t know when it had happened but, she knew she loved this handsome Indian with all her heart and the thought of going back to her home and never seeing him again was more than she could endure. “I love you also Shadow Spirit. I think that I have since you first rescued me from Black Heart.” She replied.

“Will you become my wife Abby?” he asked.

“Yes I would be honored to marry you,” she said.

They made love again, this time more eased and without the rush of their first time together.  Shadow Spirit lavished her with kisses and pleasured her until she thought she would explode with love for this wonderful warrior.