“I have to think about this,” Alexandria said, holding her hands to her stomach, allowing a plethora of emotions to run through her.
“There is nothing thinking will do. Your child will be female, and she will be proud of her people,” the shaman explained while Alexandria bent over to catch her breath.
“How do you know these things?” she asked, not sure whether she believe the man or not. As soon as she asked the question, she remembered how she’d learned she was pregnant the first time. It was an old one.
“I am the shaman, and I am often gifted with visions. A gift of sight,” he explained.
“Then why can’t you tell me if Running Elk is alive?!” she asked before walking away from the two men without looking back.
***
“She will be overjoyed about the news once she thinks on it,” White Wolf assured Kicking Bird.
“I have no doubt about that, brother, but what she needs more than anything is news of Running Elk,” Kicking Bird stressed. “Have you seen anything?”
“No, but I wish I had, and I pray every night.”
“I wish I could help Two Fires and calm her fears, but I feel as if my brother has passed over,” Kicking Bird confessed.
“You are not the one who has sight. Your guilt is what’s making you feel as you do. Now go and find Two Fires. Keep her out of the cold. She carries an important member of our nation.”
“I will find her and speak to her,” Kicking Bird stated as he walked away from White Wolf, leaving the shaman standing in the center of their camp, wrapped in a blanket, staring at the cloud-covered sun.
***
Alexandria pulled the thick robe close to her body to keep the bone-chilling cold out. Hearing White Wolf say she was once again carrying a child excited her, but her happiness was lessened because of Running Elk’s absence. She couldn’t help but wonder if she was wrong to ask for him to return to her. Wrong or not, that was what she was doing as she sat on the snow-covered riverbank. She was jolted back to reality when she heard Kicking Bird speak her name.
“It is cold out here,” he observed as he sat beside her.
“I will return to the tipi in a minute,” she said, knowing the warrior was actually saying she should be inside instead of commenting on the briskness. “Kicking Bird? What am I supposed to do now?”
“You will do as the gods ask. They have blessed you with another child. It was meant to be. And you won’t be alone. We are your family,” he declared.
“I still want him to come home,” she said, standing and beginning to walk away.
“We all do, Two Fires,” Kicking Bird said as she was leaving.
Alexandria returned to her adopted family’s tipi and sat in silence for the remainder of the day. The only thing she did was feed Little Eagle and hold him close.
The following morning, she remained silent. She performed her daily duties of picking any vegetation that thrived in the cold and gathering the daily water supply but only spoke when spoken to.
“Two Fires?” a deep, throaty voice asked.
She knew it was Quanah.
“I wish to be allowed inside so that we may speak,” he asked from the closed entrance to the home.
“Of course,” she answered softly.
Before taking a seat by the fire, Quanah reached for Little Eagle. The boy was walking with help from the stakes that held the tipi. After greeting the boy with a strong hug, he settled in the center of the dwelling.
“Well … sit down. I am not going to talk while you are moving about,” the chief said as he patted the dirt next to him.
Alexandria sat down as he directed, but she didn’t look at him.
“I am aware of everything that happens here. So, of course I know that you are carrying another child. You have been blessed. I am also here to tell you that there has been no reliable news about Running Elk.”
Alexandria chose to ignore the word reliable. “Have you heard something?” she asked hopefully.
“Nothing reliable,” Quanah repeated before continuing. “A trapper came to camp yesterday and informed me there had been some trouble near the fort. I do not know what trouble means. It was secondhand information. He said that both soldiers and Indians died. I do not tell you this to cause you concern. I promised myself when we met that I would hold nothing back from you. Yesterday, I sent a scout to travel to the friendlies near the fort. It will take some time before he returns,” Quanah explained. “But I hope his arrival will bring answers to our questions.”
“No one thinks he’s coming back, do they?” she asked as she looked up at him.
Quanah watched her eyes fill with tears and tried to answer her question with as much hope as possible. “Two Fires, many warriors have made it through this war. I pray that Running Elk is one of them,” he answered truthfully.
“He would have been here already if he was all right. Wouldn’t he?” she asked.
“There could be many reasons for his delay,” he offered.
“Quanah, I am trying to be strong, but it is so heartbreaking to think I may never see him again.”
“I understand. But remember you have two reasons to attempt to be happy. The Great Spirit has blessed you. We will talk again soon,” he said, standing as he finished his thought.
The war chief extended his hand and helped Alexandria stand before hugging her quickly. On his way out, he gave Little Eagle a pat on the head.
“Ura,” she said, thanking him for visiting.
Alexandria stayed seated and thought on what Quanah had said. He and everyone she’d met since her arrival had been kind and loving. The Comanche had adopted her and her son instantly. She knew she should be counting her blessings but couldn’t allow herself to do so without knowing what had happened to Running Elk. Quanah had said the information was not reliable, but all Alexandria prayed for was that she would know of Running Elk soon.
Chapter Fifty-Four
As the days passed, Alexandria tried to take Quanah’s words to heart. She spent more time with her son and spoke often to the child growing inside her. She became closer to Sparrow and gladly took all advice the woman offered. As the winter lingered, Alexandria realized just how sparse the food supply was. She wasn’t going to bed hungry, but her diet consisted more of vegetables than meat. Sparrow informed her that before the soldiers came, their winters had not been so difficult to endure. The Quahadi chose to stay free, and that meant they had to make do with what they had.
Gray Eagle visited daily with Abigail steadfastly by his side. While Alexandria and Abigail visited, Gray Eagle played with his cousin. It was a comfortable routine, but she was still alone at night.
Alexandria treasured her nights. It was then that Running Elk came to her, reassuring her everything would work out.
The cold winter seemed to go on forever. Alexandria spent most of her time near the fire playing and teaching Little Eagle to talk. The boy’s vocabulary was limited to Uncle, Quanah, and Ma.
She was so accustomed to her routine that she was startled one day by Kicking Bird’s sudden appearance. The concern he carried on his face wasn’t settling either. “Where is Sparrow?”
“She’s gone for water. What’s the matter?” Alexandria asked, standing and moving towards him.
“We must move very soon. The soldiers are near. I need to find her,” he answered quickly.
“She should be right back. Is it my fault the soldiers are coming?” she asked, horrified by the thought.
“No. They are coming for us. They want us all on a reservation,” he said as he left without a backwards glance.
Alexandria sat by the fire and held Little Eagle close. Moving in the snowstorm wasn’t ideal. She hoped Sparrow returned quickly because she had no idea how they were going to move the old people and children in a blizzard.
Sparrow returned alone and after laying a buffalo skin of water in a basket, she placed fresh firewood at the back of the dwelling.
“Did you speak to Kicking
Bird?” Alexandria asked nervously as she followed Sparrow around.
“I did. We must start packing now. I wish we didn’t have to, but we must,” Sparrow answered.
“What about Little Eagle? It’s too cold for him to be outside,” Alexandria objected.
“We will wrap him as warm as we can. It has to be done,” the woman stressed, sounding more like a mother than a friend.
“When are we leaving?”
“In the morning. We can pray the snow stops by then.”
“What can I do?”
“You can go find Abigail. We need all the help we can get.”
Alexandria grabbed a robe and stepped outside. The wind immediately took her breath away. After pulling the robe closer to her body she slowly made her way towards Gray Eagle’s tipi.
“You shouldn’t be out in this weather. Where are you going?”
The voice behind her startled her and she jumped.
“I apologize. I didn’t mean to frighten you, Two Fires,” the man said as he began walking beside her before putting his arm around her.
“White Wolf. I’m going to find Abigail so she can help us prepare for the move.”
“Do not worry about this. You and your children will have long healthy lives. I have seen it,” he informed her in a confident, calming manner.
“How will Running Elk know where we are if we move?” she asked, stopping her trek to look the shaman in the eye.
“He will know. Try not to worry about things you have no control over,” White Wolf advised as he held her tighter. “Go back to the tipi. I am going to see Gray Eagle and will give Abigail the message.”
“Thank you,” she said, turning around, grateful for the opportunity to return to the warmth of the fire.
“Two Fires,” White Wolf called to her before she had taken four steps.
She stopped and turned around.
“Look to the horizon as you walk. It holds many unspoken wonders.”
“You are a strange man, White Wolf. But I will do as you suggest,” she agreed, smiling as she nodded her head at the medicine man.
When she neared the lodge, she looked around the camp. The blowing snow made it difficult to see anything. Her eyes watered as she looked at the back of the tipi into the prairie that was, only a few months ago, lush and green, and now was covered in a blanket of white. She blinked her eyes to clear her vision. The wind still concealed the area so she turned and returned to the tipi.
“Sit by the fire and warm yourself. What have you been doing?” Sparrow asked with disapproval in her tone.
“I was trying to look to the horizon,” Alexandria answered, frowning at the woman.
“So, you spoke to White Wolf?” Sparrow asked knowingly.
“I have. He went to inform Abigail we need her. He seemed in high spirits, even with the move coming.”
“White Wolf is hard to understand. He is a wonderful shaman, but sometimes I think he looks to the horizon too much,” Sparrow informed Alexandria playfully.
***
The remainder of the morning was filled with packing and preparing to take the tipi down the next day. By midday, the wind had stopped howling but the snow continued to fall. Alexandria took a minute to go back outside.
“Don’t stay out there for long. We still have much to do,” Sparrow reminded Alexandria.
“I won’t,” she answered absently.
She stood outside and quickly learned heavy snow was no easier to see through whether it was windblown or not.
She squinted her eyes one last time before giving up and returning inside. Just as she was turning to leave, she thought she saw movement in the corner of her eye. She stopped and argued with herself over the possibility that she had seen anything but snow. After convincing herself she wasn’t imagining things, she squinted and looked again. For a split second, she was sure she had seen the outline of a white horse slowly moving closer to the village. Her legs felt glued to the ground, and her heart raced. She had definitely seen something. It was either the scout Quanah had sent out, or a soldier.
Her first impulse was to scream, but she knew that wasn’t the right way to handle the situation. After slowly backing up, she turned and ran to Quanah’s tipi.
When she reached the home, she saw the flap closed and spoke loud enough to be heard. “Quanah … someone is coming!” she blurted out as she tried to catch her breath.
The chief was beside her before she finished her statement. “Where?” he asked as he followed her back to the spot where she had seen the horse.
“I was looking out and saw a horse coming.” She tried to keep up with Quanah.
“What color was the horse?” he asked, slowing his pace when he realized she was having trouble keeping pace.
“White,” she answered, “I wasn’t sure I’d really seen it the first time.”
“If it is white, it is not Cloud Chaser. His horse is bay,” he said, almost under his breath.
“Who is Cloud Chaser?” she asked, walking beside him.
“The scout I sent to learn about the incident at the fort.”
Alexandria was listening, but she was also squinting in the direction she’d seen the animal. “There … can you see it?” she asked, pointing in the direction she was looking.
“You have exceptional eyesight. The man is still a good distance away. I will send someone to meet whoever it is. You have been extremely helpful,” he said, looking down at her and smiling.
“Who is it?” Kicking Bird asked as he joined the pair who were still fixated on the open prairie.
“Get on your horse and find out,” Quanah suggested more than demanded.
“I can barely see him,” he commented as he turned to retrieve his horse.
“Go back inside and get warm. I will let you know who it is as soon as I do,” Quanah promised.
Alexandria knew Quanah’s request was for her own good, but she would have rather stayed with him.
As soon as she returned to the tipi, she was peppered with questions.
“I saw a rider in the distance. Quanah told me to come inside while Kicking Bird goes to meet them,” she informed them as she stood by the fire, shaking from the cold.
“Take off the robe and get warm,” Abigail suggested.
“No. I’m fine. I want to go back outside. I’ll return if I get too chilled,” Alexandria decided, before leaving the tipi she’d just entered.
Before Alexandria completely disappeared from the dwelling, Sparrow questioned her. “Are you sure you are all right?”
“I am. I just have a strong feeling whoever the rider is, he has information about Running Elk.”
“Do not get your hopes up,” Sparrow said gently.
“I’m not,” she lied.
When Alexandria’s eyes adjusted to the blinding light glaring off the snow, she saw that Quanah had not moved from where she left him. He was staring intently at the approaching man.
“Can you make out who it is yet?” she asked when she stood beside him.
“No. He is wrapped in a blanket and his head is held downward. I only know it is not a soldier. I thought I told you to get warm,” he said, looking down at her.
“I can’t stay inside. I’m sorry.”
Quanah crossed his arms and returned his gaze to the rider. They watched as Kicking Bird neared the man. The man on the white horse kicked his mount and rode past the warrior. Kicking Bird turned his horse and gave chase.
“Get inside,” Quanah told her sternly.
“Why?”
“Do as I say!”
Alexandria wanted to argue, but from the tone of Quanah’s voice, she knew better. She stood at the entrance of the tipi and continued to watch with anxiety as the scene unfolded before her.
Kicking Bird’s fresh horse easily caught up with the stranger, and he reached out to slow the uninvited guest. Quanah turned to Alexandria and frowned when he realized she hadn’t done as he said. She didn’t want to anger the chief but didn’t want to mi
ss whatever was about to happen. Alexandria couldn’t help but notice the confusion on his unhappy face. Quanah was puzzled and angry but still wasn’t alerting the other warriors in the camp.
The unknown rider stopped his horse near the center of the camp.
The rider was covered from head to toe in layers of fur robes, which made it impossible to see his face.
Kicking Bird stopped his mount a few steps behind the rider.
Alexandria slowly walked back towards Quanah, not caring what he was going to say.
“Who is it?” she asked quietly, not taking her eyes from the mysterious white horse and shielded rider.
Quanah remained silent. It seemed he couldn’t look away from the mysterious visitor either.
Alexandria tensed when she saw the man slowly begin to remove the layers obscuring his face.
He jumped from his horse before his face was completely revealed.
Alexandria’s knees went weak, but the man caught her before she fell.
“Two Fires, nei-kamakura, we are together again,” Running Elk said, holding her tightly, speaking in the language she had grown to love. “I am home.”
Fin
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Without you, there’d be no reason to write.
Please contact me on facebook or visit my page at
ElizabethAnnePorter.com
If you enjoyed Running Elk, you might also enjoy:
The Importance of Being Prudence
The Virtue of Prudence
A Study in Scarlytt
Beauty Bedamned
Seraphina’s Phyre
Roy, Vampire
A Date with Death
And coming soon to Amazon,
The Fortitude of Prudence
(Book 3 in the Prudence McDaniel series)
Running Elk Page 29