Gold Raven (44 page)

"Still demanding and bossy as ever; I see I have a long way to go with you. It appears you have not changed at all, apart from growing into womanhood. Because I have always known how you are, I will be gentle with you. As my wife, you will learn to soften your tone, as well speak with the proper respect due me."

"Your wife?! Soften my tone?! Gentle with me?!" Hope threw her head back and laughed. "Speak with proper respect – due
you
! Ha! Let me tell you something, you low crawling, arrow slinging, heathenish red skin! If you think I give a flea’s fart for what you just said, you have a problem!"

"While I accept you being spirited, I will not allow for such insolence from Amber Swann's daughter! Never would such words be heard coming from her."

"Amber Swann? Who might that be? I know of no Amber Swann, and I'm certainly not her daughter!"

"Granted, if we go on your behavior alone, I would have to agree. Your mother was as graceful as her name. As eloquent as you are not; you have a long way to go before you become the woman Ceś alena was…a very long way."

The mention of her mother's name coming from the lips of this Indian made her heart jump. Her brass manner melted like butter in the sun. Breathless she asked, "You knew my mother? You – you are from the Indian village aren't you? The one she used to visit…she also taught there I heard…is that where you knew her?"

"Yes…that is where. Your mother and my mother became the best of friends-…"

"The one Jordan took us to?" She asked full of questions.

Red Crow nodded. "I gave you the medallion you now wear, once when you two visited with the good man, Thomas Sandoval. That night I declared you as my future wife. You are my destiny, fate of my Gods have brought you here to me now."

"Wait…echm, I don't even know your name-…"

"Red Crow…and you are my Gold Raven."

"…-okay…Red Crow…you may know my mother. Your mother, my mother…may have been friends…but…I am no man's wife…least of all…yours. I don't know you… but what you can do…is give me your horse, or help me find one. I have some place to go."

"Yes…you do…with me. Come, we shall join the others." He gently commanded.

"Wait…you don't understand, you see my brother was arrested and taken by the soldiers to a fort – there he faces charges, he could be executed.”

“
That – is where I am going. I cannot leave my brother to die. Therefore, if you would please, I need you to take me to him if you would. You're my only hope now." She pleaded.

He stood pondering over her predicament and request. "How long has it been since they took your brother?"

"Close to a fortnight."

He wondered where her thinking was. What made her think they stood a chance of getting to him in time? If he knew the ways of the white man, it was quite possible her brother was already dead. There was no way they would hold him for an extended period while they made their way to the fort. By the look on her face, he knew there was no way he could relay that message to her without her going into hysterics. He wanted to help her, but how could he do so, alone as he was – wanted as well by the white soldiers. There was no way for them to go there without his braves. They needed to return to his village, rest up and then…perhaps…his thoughts trailed off.

"Gold Raven…you must listen-…"

"My name is Hope." She corrected him.

"Regardless, you must understand – our first need is returning to my village-…"

"That is fine and well – should our paths again cross, may we both be fit and content in life…good-day to you." She turned from him to walk away.

"Wait-…" He grabbed her arm. "…-where do you think you are going? Surely you do not expect me to just let you walk away?"

She snatched her arm from him. "I expect just that. I asked for your assistance, you have denied me that, goodbye."

"I did not deny you! As I said, we will return to my village, I will discuss this with my warriors after we are married and then-…"

"Married! Have you heard nothing I've said? I'm going – after – my brother!"

"No. First, we shall go back to my village, marry - have our night of consummation, then we will seek to find your brother."

With her eyes narrowed and her hands clamped onto her hips, she stated firmly. "You, may be going back to your village. Marrying anyone you damn well please-…"

"These words you use…are not to my liking-…" Red Crow scolded.

"…-as for me, I am going after my brother and since there is only one horse-…"

"…-as my wife, you will learn the way of the Cherokee, as your husband it is up to me to expect-…"

"…-so it seems that we have a problem!" Hope continued interrupting
.

"…-your silence and attention when I am speaking! Or else yes, we will have problems!"

Both quieted at the same time, with Hope appalled that this Indian figured he could just step into her life and she was supposed to welcome him and his insane demands.

The fact that he had known her mother and father meant nothing to her. That gave him no right to dictate to her what her life would be and who she would spend it with. While she admitted he was very appealing to the eyes, and perhaps under different circumstances she might have given him a small bit of consideration…the present moment was not a good time.

He turned from her, took the par fleche filled with water from his horse’s harness and poured some into his hand to rinse the war paint form his face, using a cloth that was tied there, he wiped away the rest drying his skin. Done, he turned back to her.

"Come, we have spoken enough, it is time we ride."

Hope stood in her indignation despite being startled by his handsome features.
'Oh my.'
She gulped as the thought sang within her mind. As soon as her heart calmed, she would give him a piece of her mind, for the final time.

"Did you hear me? I said let us ride from this place."

"You pompous – arrogant – ass…our problem is this; there are two of us and one horse. You are going one direction; I am going in another."

"In the presence of others, you will not behave as you are now. You will not speak as you have just spoken. You will learn to bite your tongue when tempted to be disrespectful.”

“
You must come to the realization that from the moment of your birth…you were to be mine. I told your mother, that we would marry…and so we shall. Now – remove your hands from your hips, unclench your teeth and come so that I may place you on my horse. Know this, as a warrior and chief – I will not stand here and be argued with by a young obstinate chit who does not know her place. The last word has been spoken."

Hope was trembling now; it was obvious this Red Crow was out of his mind. It was also very apparent that no matter what she said, he had his own ideas. She decided no more would be said; she would turn and walk away and so, started doing just that.

Reaching the end of his patience, Red Crow grabbed her arm, spinning her about. Before he realized her intent, with a stealth that was surprising, she snatched his dagger from its scabbard and spun away from him, striking a combat stance.

Now she had his full attention.

In Red Crow's mind came the words he had once spoken to his father concerning her, how he would train her, but now…those words were replaced by the words
tame her
. If this situation had not become so serious, he was sure he could admire her fire and determination – even as she held his own knife against him. Resigning himself to what he must do, he gave himself a moment to admire her wild and radiant stance in opposition to him. For a flash of time, she astounded him. Squaring off with her, he eyed the weapon and her confidence wondering if she really had the skill to do battle with him. Until he was sure of this, he would use caution and hope it would not come to him having to hurt her. However, he was resolute – she would bend to his will. Because of her focused eyes and hard breathing, he knew that she was serious and maybe even a bit afraid of what he might do. One thing he was certain of, he could not allow her to think she could do battle with him whenever she felt – he had to make sure she understood that he was more than her match – and this nonsense would not be allowed to take place again.

Sweat beaded on her brow,
'Oh God…what am I doing? Can I really use this knife on him? I know how to use it…but can I actually cut him – cause him injury or death even. Oh please God…make him understand…I have to go for my brother…I have to!'
"Now look! I've tried to explain to you. I've tried to make you understand that what I say, I mean!" She ground out gruffly. "I don't want to use this on you, but if I have to, I will! My brother is at Fort Le Croix! That is where I'm going…not later – but right now! Today! You, can get another horse!”

“
I was going to walk back and hope that one or more might be left behind but I have a feeling your braves took whatever animals were left. So I have no choice but to take this one from you…now move away!"

Red Crow stared her down, his eyes boring straight into hers as they narrowed. He was warning her…the warning could not be missed, Hope gulped as she felt herself shiver, no longer sure of herself.

"My wife-…"

"I am not - your wife!”

"…-you must learn the hard way I see. A true warrior does not hand his horse over to anyone. It does not matter what he may be faced with…that includes…a rebellious wife! If it is my horse you want, you will have to kill me for him, because you will get it no other way."

"Why can’t you, just, let me go?!" She yelled in frustration, feeling as though she would cry…without a clue as to why.

"You also have my weapon." Again, he spoke calm and slow. "I gave you no permission to it. You will either hand it back to me, or fight me to keep it, whichever your choice, choose wisely." His warning shook her to the core.

Hope had never felt such fear. It was one thing to be in training combat with her brother – fighting to save his life…she could and would do it without hesitation. However, this… this was different. He held his palm out to her as he took a slow step towards her.

Hope crept back trying to keep the gap between them, convinced that she may have been hasty in taking his weapon but her pride; her blasted pride would not let her cower and just give in to him. She could not do it.

"Last chance, no matter how well your skill in battle, it is not enough to overcome me. If I have to take that weapon from you, it is possible you will get hurt. If I struggle longer than any man should for it, this may ignite my anger and cause you even greater harm. Be wise; take advantage of my hand held out to you. Do not let your pride bring you to shame."

Instead of his words calming her, they ignited her anger.
'Damn you, I'll show you!'

Beyond caring about the outcome, Hope hardened her resolve and began tossing the dagger back and forth from one hand to the other before him. "You want it…take it from me!" Thinking she could catch him by surprise, she dropped sweeping her foot to knock him off his feet. He saw the change in her eyes and jumped just in time to avoid the swipe of her leg.

Hope screamed out in frustration quickly rolling away from him to spring back to her feet. She lunged at him hoping to catch him off guard but Red Crow grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the knife – or so he thought, unaware that she'd tossed it to the other hand as he went to grab. She twisted her wrist, rotated her back to him and before he could blink, he found himself sailing through the air to land flat on his back with an,
'Umph!'

As he lay stunned, he knew he was there because he had underestimated his adversary. He thought she would not dare engage him in hand to hand combat…he had been wrong, he would not make the error again. As he re-evaluated his tactics, he was glad his braves had ridden for their village. Over the shock, he sprang to his feet with the agility of a gazelle and turned to face her. Not only had she dented his pride, but bruised his male ego as well – that ignited his fury, as his flaring nostrils made evident.

"Hey chief…backs dirty…Red Crow, hm? Maybe more fitting, Chief spits the dust! Whad'da'yah think?"

Red Crow felt his blood boil, but he would not act hastily, this woman would not get the better of him a second time. Both slowly circled, crouched and ready for attack. Red Crow knew the key was in remaining clam, refusing to be the attacker. Patiently, he held back not caring how long it would take before she grew impatient and instigated another attack, he would wait.

For Hope, patience was not one of her character attributes. She wanted him to charge her…she was better at
defense than attacks… earlier she had been lucky, but looking at him, she knew that her luck had run out…from now on there would be no surprises. Unable to stand it…she decided to goad him into action.

"Scared Red Crow? Don't face women like me everyday, do you? Mighty chief, thrown by his…
'wife!'
" She chuckled tauntingly. "That's the problem isn't it chief. I'm not your wife – and nothing you say or do will make it so! Come on…gotcha weapon…come and get it."

'What the hell is wrong with you? Make your move damn it! Attack - attack me!'
"Well attack!!" She shouted. She was getting hot; the poncho helped to weigh her down as it hampered her arms. Sweat was beading, gathering weight and rolling down the center of her back and down the side of her face. One tickled as it gained weight and rolled to her brow. She could feel it passing through as it speeded up to sit above her lashes about to spread into her eye. She could not stand it – she had to move.

Her reflexes were not fast enough; by the time she went to dash it away, in a blink he had her left wrist with the dagger in hand, yanking her so hard it felt to her as if he'd pulled her arm from its socket.

Spinning her back to his chest again, he twisted her arm up behind her, squeezing her wrist painfully as he did so. His other arm was around her neck, bent, pulling her up as if he'd hang her on his arm – choking her enough for her to be sorry and afraid. His jaw was pressed to the side of her head, his warm breath swept over her as he inhaled and exhaled to gain control of his temper. Hope's breathing was strained as she struggled against the painful hold. Trying to be brave and figure a way out, she was hurting. Her arm at the wrist was painfully twisted in his hand as he squeezed.

"You are hurting me!" She cried.

"Drop it – drop it now!" He grunted.

Fear, heat, panic and humiliation went through her all at once. She was caught firm and true, with no way out. He twisted a bit more. "Ow – you'll break my arm!"

"Now!" He growled in her ear.

Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks. "No – break it then."

"Are you insane? To say such a thing! Were I your enemy…I would! I am not - your enemy - I am not! You will not defy me as if I were. I have waited for you all this time! Prayed for you! Every night and every day – wondering where you were! Afraid that you might not even be alive! For this?"

Hope bit into her lip…fighting back another cry from the pain. "Please…you're hurting me…please."