Princess Ces'alena (59 page)

Hope was smiling brightly now that she was all clean, with her golden hair shimmering, her dewy skin glowing and her eyes bright and gold, enhanced by the flickering candle light. Red Dawn stood to greet her husband,

“I knew your belly would bring you home. Thank goodness for hunger, or you would stay within the village later still.”

“Nonsense woman, if not one hunger leading me home, I can assure you the other will.” He replied brazenly. Red Dawn gasped. “We have guests!” She reminded him. He only grinned taking up a bit of meat to bite into.

“Now now, I agree with your wife, you have guests!” Thomas added chuckling, following suit by grabbing from the trencher for a bite. Suddenly he noticed that Long Bow was staring down at his son, and Red Dawn was looking between father and son strangely, as well Lena, who wondered why the boy stood staring at Hope.

“Father - look at her!” Lil’Bear exclaimed excitedly. “Do you see what I see?” He asked with his eyes fastened on a giggling Hope. Suddenly the smile slid off of Long Bow’s face, it suddenly occurred to him why his son was staring so. “Son…” He started.

Lil’Bear turned to Lena to explain, “Your daughter, she is the Gold Raven in my dreams. The one I saw so long ago. I first thought I must capture the gold raven and it would be my destiny-…”

“Not now son!” Long Bow interrupted more forcefully.

“It is true father…the flock symbolized those that I would lead; the crow with its red markings, like mine…I am him. And the gold raven at his side…” He turned back to look at Hope who was wrapped around her mother; head on her shoulder, dropping off to sleep. He was suddenly quiet as if dismissing the adults as he circled Lena to look up at Hope. He reached up to touch her golden tresses.

“…you - little one, you are her … my - Gold Raven.” He whispered in awe, as if he had discovered all the answers to every question in the universe.

“Oh my.” Red Dawn groaned looking up at her husband.

“
What is he talking about?” Lena asked again, her eyes wide.

Red Dawn sighed, “Come with me, so we can lay her down, and I will try to explain.” Escorting Lena from the room, she cast her husband one last look before disappearing from sight, leaving the men alone in the kitchen.

“Who will grow into a woman! All this time I have been searching for my gold raven in the form of a bird. But the great spirit who guides me, was only showing me an image of what was to come. My gold raven would not be a bird…but human, as I am human!”

Thomas grabbed another piece of meat, and with a smile and a salute, left father and son alone. Long Bow was truly baffled and didn’t know what to say, and repeated the only thing he could think of. “She’s just a little girl.”

Lil’Bear stared long at his father, and finally he asked. “My father, are we becoming so much like the white man, that we are to no longer believe in the god’s that lead us? In the spirits that guide us? In the ways of our forefather’s? Are we to forsake it all?”

Long Bow was stumped. He sat staring speechless, not sure how he was to deal with this. He had not prepared himself for such an event, because he never imagined his son would draw such conclusions. “I say — that by the hands of the god’s of our forefather’s, and by the hand of the god who directed my grandfather - by their hands, Ceś alena, the mother of my Gold Raven, was led to us; so that my eyes would see, my future destiny. She is my Gold Raven, and by your own word…if I am to believe in your word… you will protect her and see her as I do.” Long Bow sat still unable to say a word. Staring at his son, who was leaving his childhood behind much too fast. How in the world was he to assure his son a promise concerning a child that was not his to give? She was the daughter of a slave owner, and fourteen years was a long time…a very long time.

“Son…you are asking me for the impossible. How can you be so sure she is the one?” He tried, feeling for a way out.

Lil’Bear was ready; it was simple and clear in his mind and thinking. So his aim was to direct his father’s thinking toward the answer to this question, “Answer me this my father…from where did the gold raven come?” Long Bow’s brows pinched trying to discern his son’s logic for such a question.

“I am not certain son, but it is more than likely she came from the black ravens of course, her coloring is just odd - different for some reason…rare.”

“And the black men among us, what label has the white man often used in reference to them?”

Long Bow sat without answering the question. There was no need to. His son was obviously leading him to his own conclusion, which was now clearly seen, he could only stare.

“Your silence says you grapple with what I feel is my destiny.”

“Son…she may not even be around fourteen years from now, and if she is, she may not want to marry you.”

“The god’s will see to that. Just as they brought her to me today; they will bring her once again when the time comes. And because I now know my destiny and where it lies…from this night forward…I will no longer be known as — Lil’Bear. It is time for all to come to know me as…Red Crow.” With that said, he turned from his father and left the room. Long Bow sat back in the chair as a chill raced over him… and this chill…stirred worry in his heart, for the future of his son.

In the weeks that followed, Lena made the visits with Thomas to the village on a regular basis. Eagerly looking forward to spending time with Red Dawn, as with the others, she too learned more. It didn’t take long before they became the closest of friends, doing just about everything together.

They made rugs together, that Lena would take back to the plantation as gifts to Kayleen, Jordan and Jean, Ma’Nicey and Mazie. Red Dawn also taught Lena how to make Indian jewelry, pottery, and how they tanned hides. Then she presented Lena with her own doe skin dress and leggings, which she immediately began wearing when they came back to the village.

Because they were inseparable, the village called them kindred spirits. Members of the tribe began referring to Lena as they saw her, as an amber swan. By the fifth visit, to them all she was…Amber Swan. Also, with her visits, she allowed Hope the freedom to be with the other children, knowing that Red Crow would let no harm come to her.

Unfortunately for him, Hope being the high strung child that she was; had a tendency to fight his direction and protection of her. Often he’d find himself, bitten, pinched, kicked and punched by her.

Actions of which he informed Lena on one occasion, indicating that her child needed discipline…if she were to be the wife of a great chief - she would need to learn proper behavior. Lena bit into her lip not to laugh, he was, after all - so serious…Red Dawn could only shake her head, while Lena thought him adorable.

On one particular visit, he gave them all quite a scare. All were sleeping within the house on this night of a full moon. Very quietly Red Crow crept up to what was now Lena’s loft room where Hope lay sleeping beside her mother. Very carefully, he lifted her from the bed and carried her down the stairs with him. At the bottom of the stairs, she woke up and looked into his eyes…not at all afraid, then dozed back to sleep on his shoulder. Very quietly he left the house and carried her off to a hidden spot just within the giant wall by a quiet stream that ran in from beneath it. There he woke her, bid her to be silent, then removed her clothes and bathed her. Still Hope was not afraid.

He then sat her in a circle of painted stones he’d prepared earlier that day, with signs of the ocean painted on a few…some had horses painted on, and others with symbols of time, and two directly opposite of each other on both sides of the circle was a stone painted with a red crow on it…and the other, a gold raven. He put flowers in her wet hair, and around her within the circle.

With his thumb, he made a black crow on her forehead marking it with red. On his own, he did the same with gold coloring. Adorned in only a loin cloth, he stood with a staff given to him by Dark Shadow; that he tied crow feathers to, and raised his arms to the heavens with that staff in one hand, and began chanting to the God’s - calling for a hearing, dancing that they might pay him attention.

Hope thought it a game and laughed out! Clapping as she too stood and began to dance, trying to step out of the circle. He would then pause, only long enough to push her back. Very soon, Hope quite upset by this, began fighting him to get out of the circle…interfering with his summons.

“Stop that! Get back - ow! Don’t bite! You shouldn’t - ow!! Let’go!”

“Wan’ stic’ too!” Hope demanded with her hand on her little hip…the other thrust out to get it from him. Her face crunched into a frown.

“No…it is mine! Now sit and obey me…I must do this so that the god’s know that I have accepted you as my destiny.”

“Gimme stic’!!”

“Nooo!” He whined, on the verge of stomping, “This is not right. You’re ruining this!” He observed as she stood defiant and naked in the moonlight.

“Gimme stic!” She demanded again.

“Okay, I’ll give it to you, but if I do…you must sit and do as I say? Alright?”

“
Gim - me’ st-i-i-ic!”
She screamed.

“Alright, alright … here! Now sit down, in – the circle!”

He passed it to her, and she sat holding it. He stared at her a moment, and wondered if he could be mistaken…it was possible. Then looking back to the heavens, he began again, chanting and dancing around her. Hope sat in the middle holding the stick, her head bobbing with his chant, as she tried to sing along, he rolled his eyes to the heavens, ignoring her and continued. In his dance, he reluctantly offered up his thanks for her. Praying that if they should separate, the god’s protect her in his absence.

He prayed they keep her as pure as she is this night, and that the time be marked to begin where it would end with them becoming as one. Laying on the ground before Hope was a copper medallion split in a jagged pattern. Both halves with a hole in it, tied to a leather string.

On one side, a soaring gold raven with the tip of her wing missing, and beneath her wing, the black tip of a wing. Then on the other half, there was a red crow in flight, part of its wing on the other side, and above the tip of a gold wing. Red Crow knelt before Hope, and tied around her neck, the half with the black crow and red markings. Then around his neck, he tied the one with the gold raven. “You must never, ever take this off. It will protect you from harm, and bring you back to me should we ever part.”

Hope liked it and smiled looking down at it, rubbing the copper against her chest. While she was admiring the medallion, he picked up a small knife that he’d hidden by the circle. She looked up at it with wide eyes.

“Are you brave? Truly brave?”

She nodded with wide eyes.

“Then give me your hand, and you must not cry out, or you will break the presence of the god’s.” She gave him her hand, “Now close your eyes.” She did so, tightly. Quickly he made a small cut on the heel of her hand, and the same on his own. Hope’s bottom lip curled under quivering as if she would cry. “Don’t you cry. You must be brave!” She sucked it up. Matching the cuts, he pressed his palm to hers so that their bloods might mix. “Now don’t let go.” She nodded with drooping eyes. “Stay awake…I am almost done.”

“No!” She was cranky, sleepy.

“Yes, not long now.”

Still holding her hand with one hand, he pulled out a wrapped fish from his sack by the circle, and broke off a piece and fed it to her - she ate it without hesitation. Then he ate some of it too. Afterwards, he cast it aside. Still holding her hand, he opened up the stones that closed him out, so they now welcomed him in. He took her other hand and began to pray. “I, Red Crow…future chief to my father’s people…accept my destiny! As I feed and will clothe her now…so this I will do in the days that come, when she will be my Gold Raven… bringing good medicine for our people.”

He opened his eyes and looked down at her… she was fast asleep. He let her hands go, and quickly dressed her. He put on his leggings, picked her up in his arms and walked back to his parent’s cabin. Where the lanterns were burning, they were awake, and he was in big trouble.