One Hundred Horses (5 page)

***

Grey Fox froze. He knew the prophecy was upon him. There was no longer any doubt in his mind. Seeing her with tears, there was also no longer doubt in his heart. As he stood by Crazy Goose he knew there could be no walking backwards on his path. He had chosen his fate, and now that he had come to see the truth in his heart, he would defend it at all costs. Grey Fox strengthened his stance. His hands curled into tight fists as he eyed each member of the crowd with ultimate authority and resolution.

***

Wild Flower entered the tipi, carrying a bag. Sarah was exhausted and couldn’t control the intermittent trembling. She sat with her arms wrapped tightly about her, Grey Fox’s embrace burning in her mind. At the sight of Wild Flower, what fear she had managed to get under control now bubbled back on the surface. There was no longer a safe place to hide. Crazy Goose insisted she take part in some kind of ceremony tonight. All her tears made no difference to him or to anyone else.

“I don’t want you to brush my hair. My head is already aching from all the pulling,” she told Wild Flower wearily.

“You cannot let anyone defeat you. You are to be Grey Fox’s mate. You need to be strong, like him,” Wild Flower explained.

“I don’t want to be anyone’s mate.” There was a catch in her throat and the look it evoked in Wild Flower made her wince.

“Grey Fox’s mate? Or would you rather be Stalking Wolf’s mate?” Wild Flower asked. Sarah’s eyes opened wide as she sucked in a mouthful of air.

“What are you saying?”

“Tonight my father announces you are his daughter, my sister. Then all the men who seek your hand will try and make a claim for you. Stalking Wolf is outside right now, making big words for you. He has been busy gathering items to meet your bride price. Stalking Wolf would do anything to make Grey Fox look like a fool. The man is very jealous of him. Tonight, when you dance, you better not dance for him. Only dance for Grey Fox. And... It is very painful to mate with Stalking Wolf. He is rough. He hurts Little Doe. That is why Little Doe is mean to you. She doesn’t know any other way. Grey Fox’s heart is good. He will not harm you. Do you understand now?”

Sarah
did
understand now. Dance and show interest in Grey Fox or be put up for auction like cattle. The thought sobered her, and then anger replaced it.

“What if I don’t dance for anybody?” Sarah asked with a lift of her chin. Wild Flower’s hands flew to her mouth.

“Do not dishonor our family this way! My father might set a very, very high bride price for you. Please do not dishonor my father by refusing to acknowledge this,” Wild Flower exclaimed. Sarah sat back. Wild Flower’s face spoke volumes. With a sigh, Sarah allowed the other woman to brush her hair.

The thought of Stalking Wolf made her shiver. There were no choices. She would have to make sure now that Grey Fox would continue to protect her. Perhaps it would not be such a terrible fate. She thought about how it felt to be held by him and her body grew warm, her face flushed. So deep in her own thoughts of Grey Fox and what it might actually be like to lie with him that she didn’t even notice when Wild Flower began placing beads and shells into her hair. She simply closed her eyes and accepted it.

***

The people sat around several fires. There was heavy anticipated excitement in the air as they waited for Crazy Goose to emerge with his daughter. There were also several braves exclaiming that they would fill the bride price for her. The drummers then began to play out a rhythmic beat while dancers with heavy face paint danced and praised.

When Sarah stepped out into the light of the fire the entire crowd gasped. Her hair reflected so much of the fire that it glowed. It hung long and straight and with leather thongs tied in the back. Her dress was a soft white doe hide adorned with heavy beading. But what gained the most attention were her eyes. She was looking at each of them with flashing green eyes, and she was challenging them all. The woman looked exactly like the golden goddess Red Dawn had predicted.

Roaring fires had been built in front of each tipi. Then in the center of the village was a larger fire where all eventually gathered together. Generous offerings of food and drink were available to all. Nobody was sure exactly what they would learn this night, but all their eyes remained on the golden woman and how the War Chief and Stalking Wolf were watching her intently. It made for good gossip and stories. Red Dawn had made a seat outside her tipi to listen and take part in the festivities and gossip.

When Crazy Goose stepped in front of the fire, the crowd fell silent. Running Deer sat next to Sarah, and his bright smile and easy laughter
seemed to
put her at ease
, and she relaxed her shoulders
and smiled back at him
. White Bird offered her a generous cup of a bitter liquid that Running Deer explained made adults do stupid things, act like children. Sarah laughed at that. It was a loud, spontaneous laugh that did not go unnoticed by Grey Fox. It caused him to smile, and Crow Feather patted his shoulder.

“Good medicine,” Crow Feather acknowledged.

Crazy Goose lifted his pipe and held it out while the smoke trailed the North, South, East and West. He said a silent prayer before he spoke.

“This is my daughter,” Crazy Goose announced as he gestured toward Sarah. There was a quiet murmur and nodding shared amongst them.

“I had a vision about my daughter and what appeared to me has claimed her as one of its own. Her face is white with hair like the sun. But her heart is not white, nor is it Comanche. This woman has a spirit so powerful that she can be neither. This is my daughter, Sun Puma!” Crazy Goose raised his staff three times higher when he announced her name. The people became excited. Some of the warriors became angry.

Stalking Wolf shouted above the noise.

“That is not possible. This woman does not hunt. She does nothing but sleep all day!”

Grey Fox stood up, defensive. The name was unusual, one usually given to a man, a fine hunter. Grey Fox understood the confusion, but he stood ready to quiet Stalking Wolf if he had to. He briefly glanced over to Red Dawn, and even the old woman seemed surprised at the name.

“Stalking Wolf, that is the way of it. This daughter commands a hundred horses for her bride price. Who here is worthy of a hundred horses?” The price astounded everyone. It was impossible. It would take many moons of raids to acquire so many horses. Grey Fox stared at Crazy Goose with wonder. Did he not want his daughter to marry? All the horses in the clan would not amount to that many. How would even he manage such a feat? Stalking Wolf must have realized this too, as he also sat down, defeated.

***

Sarah watched the proceedings with awe. Soon, painted-faced people began dancing around the fire to music being played with flutes and drums. White Bird filled her cup once more, and Sarah let the liquid slide down her throat. With every sip of the strong drink, her muscles relaxed and her pain eased.

Running Deer kept vying for her attention by the telling stories of his upcoming first hunt and how much he liked a little girl in the village with blue eyes.
Tomobi
, he called her. He explained it was the Comanche word for sky. Sarah was surprised to learn that there were many in the village that were once captives or had white fathers who passed through on trade routes.

Soon the dancers sat down, and women who all appeared to have drunk too much firewater, got up to take their turn around the fire. They were playfully dancing in front of their mates or men of interest. Some would gather the courage to do this in front of Grey Fox, and Sarah watched as an unfamiliar twinge of jealousy teased her senses. If a man was interested enough he would stand and take his woman into their tipi. Grey Fox took no one’s hand. To which she exhaled some relief then right after, chastised herself for being inwardly glad that he hadn’t. Wild Flower reached out for her hand and giggled.

“Come on, Sun Puma! Let’s dance!”

Sarah gave her a wild expression. Running Deer laughed.

“She’s scared! Maybe lions can’t dance!” he joked. Wild Flower rolled her eyes and pulled harder. Caught up in the levity and feeling good from all the strong drink, Sarah stood up then.

“Just do what I do,” Wild Flower said with a laugh. Even with her pregnancy, Wild Flower moved with seductive grace. She made her way to Crow Feather, and he smiled wide at his lovely wife.

The other women pulled Sarah along, and they coached her on the art of dancing. Again, Sarah found herself with another cup of liquid. The laughter became contagious with them all as Sarah started dancing just like she was taught, and she became very good at it. Good enough that several men stopped what they were doing to watch.

***

Grey Fox could not take his eyes off of Sun Puma, and he noticed he was not alone. She passed by him once. This pleased Stalking Wolf. He smirked and said something to another warrior sitting next to him. Then she made her way with a few other women back around the fire again. Grey Fox stood when a lovely maiden approached him. He smiled at the young woman but did not reach for her. Then, to his relief, Sun Puma stood before him, completely still. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at her. Their eyes met. The crowd grew silent. One of them would have to cave. She would have to dance or he would have to reach.

Several moments passed. Desire began to burn in him. He understood fully the implications of what was happening, and she had only to decide what was in her heart. So he waited for her decision. Then, slowly, Sun Puma embraced her fate when she began to dance for him.

Sun Puma was like water. She reflected everything around her. The fire danced in her hair, the stars in her eyes. Her movements were like a soft current that passed over rapids. Grey Fox was mesmerized.
Reach for her... Reach for her...

Grey Fox drank it all in. He memorized her face; he devoured with his gaze the swell of her breast. The tightness of his groin and rapid pace of his heart screamed at him. Slowly, Grey Fox held out his hand. Without hesitation, Sun Puma went to him.

***

Grey Fox pulled Sarah between the tipis and held her. She leaned her head back to look at him, but in the darkness she could not see his face. He moved closer to her and without warning, she felt the softness of lips move upon hers, sweet and undemanding. It was a gentle wisp of a touch that left her aching for more. Sarah placed her hand on his chest to steady herself, the heavy drink making her world spin. Or was that him? As she leaned against him for balance, he whispered something in Comanche that sounded intimate into her ear. Then he kissed her there. The spark of fire it created shot right down to her toes.

Then, as soon as it had begun it was over. Grey Fox led her to the entrance of Crazy Goose’s tipi and left her standing there, trembling, uncertain and lonelier than she had ever felt before in her life.

Chapter Five

Broken Horn didn’t have to barter too hard for the big Sorrel gelding. If they wanted the girl, they’d have to provide the horse. It had been many moons since he had had a horse of his own. Knowing that, soon he would be off riding across the open plains on this swift animal excited him. It almost masked the anger that always lurked just under the surface of his skin. The first place Broken Horn would look was along the Brazos River. There were still several renegade bands left there, along with his home band, the Otter Clan. The thought of being that close to his people again left him with bitter taste in his mouth. Instinctively he rubbed a finger along his cheek, where a deep scar had formed. Someday he would find the warrior who had maimed him for the stealing of a few lousy mares. Had the warrior not had a special magic with the horses, Broken Horn would have never been caught.

Broken Horn dug his heels into the gelding’s side hard as the horse carried him through the terrain, which changed slightly the further west he rode. His mind traveled back to his youth, when he was captured by the Blue Coats for stealing supplies. They told him if he would bring the military fresh horses, they would in exchange grant his freedom and give him some land.

He had had no idea then that the horses he stole belonged to Grey Fox. The brave had followed him and the herd straight back to the Fort. Then he waited until everyone was asleep, and simply called the herd out with a strange kind of whistle. When the soldiers discovered an empty corral, they decided Broken Horn had tricked them and threw him in their white man’s prison. Whereupon Grey Fox made sure that the other prisoners maimed his face and forever marked him as a traitor.

***

Deidre sat at the table as she listened to Tom. She clutched at the table cloth filling with both hope and anxiety. Giving up half the ranch to a stranger was next to impossible since the bank still held the deed. Plus, without that precious grazing resource, they would have to sell off most of the herd.

Teary-eyed, Deidre reached up to rub the cowboy’s face. Tom looked worn out, and he was still dusty from the trail. She stood up then and kissed him on his forehead. Tom had been a wonderful friend to her. If things were different, Deidre could imagine herself married to him.

“I will talk to the bank. Will you escort me to town tomorrow?” she asked quietly. Tom nodded.

“I’m sorry, Dee.”

“Sarah is all that is important now. Maybe if we sell some of our herd, we can earn enough to pay off the debt.”

***

She woke up before the sun. Sarah pulled her hair back into a knot and prepared to leave Crazy Goose’s tipi.

“Don’t worry. I do not wish to escape,” she said, for which she was rewarded with an innocent, disinterested shrug. She couldn’t help but smile. Crazy Goose was a terrible liar.

Sarah stepped out into the fresh air. There was a distinctive chill, telling her that soon autumn would arrive. She loved this time of the year, when the days grew shorter and the shadows stretched far. If she was at the ranch, this was the time when the hands at the ranch would begin breaking colts and fillies. Her mother would be busy planting the fall garden. A deep sigh escaped her. She decided she needed to find someplace to help in the village. She refused to give Stalking Wolf any more cause to complain. Plus, the more she learned of the village and gained the people’s trust, the sooner she could figure out how to get out of here.

After all, despite the fact she was becoming interested in Grey Fox, he didn’t seem to share those feelings. She sighed. Their shared kiss lingered upon her mind. She decided it must be her complete lack of experience; it must not have been so fantastic, since he had ignored her since. She would just need to bide her time to when a more thought-out escape would be possible. Until then, the only place she could imagine that would benefit from her work would be Red Dawn’s tipi.

“It is nice you came here
, Taabe Toyorohco.
” Sarah bristled at the name, which she knew was Sun Puma spoken in Comanche. She liked the sound of it, and that bothered her a little. She didn’t want to like anything about this place. Her own name, Sarah, had no meaning here, and it had been nearly a month since she had heard it. She noticed that Red Dawn was busy peeling wild potato roots and placing them in an empty pot. Again, everything seemed to pain the woman greatly. It pulled at Sarah’s heart strings.

“I don’t know where to help the village, but I’d like to help you. Can I get you water? Maybe I could help you prepare a meal?” Sarah asked cautiously. Red Dawn gave her a toothless grin.

“You are not afraid of helping an old witch?” Red Dawn asked. The question was a sincere one, but the trace of humor was etched on her face, encouraging Sarah to relax a little and return the smile.

“I don’t believe in witches.”

“Good, Sun Puma. It’s good for a person to be able to look a little closer at something that might seem unpleasant at first. Please, go fetch some water. I will teach you to cook Crazy Goose’s favorite stew.”

Sarah felt her nerves jump in her gut at the thought of heading toward the creek alone. She darted her eyes, hoping not to run into Stalking Wolf or Little Doe. She saw only a few faces and only one that she recognized. Running Deer was sitting with the young lady with the blue eyes, and the couple giggled that they had been spotted talking amongst the row of cattails along the water’s edge. Sarah smiled, then playfully shook her finger at them. They got up and ran off, laughing still.

She was dipping the skin of buffalo bladder into the creek when she happened to look across the water. Between the stalks of the cattails, she spotted a small meadow of tall grass. There stood Grey Fox among the horses. He was wearing nothing but a breech cloth, and his hair fell loose and flowing. He was making small clicking noises, and without the benefit of even a rope was successfully teaching a young colt to trot in circles around him and then stop and turn to face him. Sarah’s mouth opened in awe. Grey Fox held the attention of all the horses even though he was only working with one. She had never seen anything like it. Not even Tom had that kind of control over a horse. She squatted in the tall, swaying stalks and watched.

Her eyes concentrated on one thing: Grey Fox, and the perfect muscling of his back that shaped down to a perfect V to his buttocks and down his thighs. There was a shine of sweat that made him look sleek and perfectly sculpted. The sight of him, alone, amongst the horses, working his skill with them created a funny pulsing sensation between her legs. She inhaled sharply at her body’s reaction to him. Heat burned her face as she continued to brazenly watch him.

It was more than amazing, and maybe a little sinful, to sit and watch the man work with the horses with next to nothing on and his ebony hair lifting with every breath of the wind. She was glad for the cover of the cattail weeds and was definitely glad her mother could not witness her behavior. She felt a tug of a smile until Black Cloud snorted, turned an ear in her direction and lifted his head. She knew immediately that the stallion had sensed her presence. Without hesitating, she gathered up the bag of water and ran back to Red Dawn’s tipi, spilling half its contents along the way.

“Is everything all right, Sun Puma? You are breathing hard.”

Sarah’s felt her face flush.

“I’m fine,” she lied. She just knew Grey Fox had known she was spying on him.

“Grey Fox is beautiful, no? He works well with the
puc
.”

“Horses? Yes, he is amazing. It’s like he can speak with them,” Sarah said honestly. Red Dawn nodded with a knowing grin.

For the rest of the day, Sarah was an attentive student. Red Dawn explained to her that the buffalo hunt would soon be upon them, and she talked of harvesting hides, the meat, even the bones. She showed Sarah how to make the stew and even briefly discussed the healing powers of some of the herbs that were drying from the poles. Sarah took it all in with genuine and appreciative interest.

They even managed to share a laugh when one of the children touched the tipi and Sarah pushed back against the hide where his finger made a point. She made a ferocious cat sound and the child ran off screaming, sending both Sarah and Red Dawn into a fit of giggles. Pretty soon all the children had made a game of touching the tipi to hear the cat inside. Now all of them wanted to see Red Dawn so they, too, could be transformed into an animal.

Crazy Goose seemed to be pleasantly surprised when she walked into his tipi and offered him a plate of his favorite meal. The Shaman smiled genuinely at her.

“I can see a lifted spirit within you, Sun Puma. That is good,” he said with a wave of his finger pointing toward her.

“I made this for you. Red Dawn taught me how to prepare this and do other things needed to help the camp,” she said as she handed him the bowl. Crazy Goose took it gladly. She looked away as he ate, but he finished quickly.

“This is good, Sun Puma. You should be polite and make an offer to the hunter of the meat,” he told her gently as he licked his lips clean of the broth. It was the first time Sarah could remember seeing the elder Comanche eat his entire meal, a simple fact that thrilled her. But when he gestured her out of the tipi, she looked at him with mild trepidation. “I would think by now that Sun Puma would embrace her fate with the War Chief,” he told her, reaching for his pipe. He then looked at her, seeming to expect a reply. “Grey Fox. He provides. Offer him a plate,” Crazy Goose instructed again.

Sarah purposely relaxed her shoulders and softened her eyes. She would not disappoint Crazy Goose, nor did she wish to insult Grey Fox by not taking him an offering.

“I don’t know where his tipi is. Where do I find him?” she asked, looking down at what was left of the stew.

“He moved his tipi to be with the horses. He wants to know the next time you decide to take one of his war ponies for a ride,” he told her with a grin. She flinched. She still was not trusted, maybe rightfully so.

“Go,” he told her simply.

***

The evening sky painted the Earth with brilliant shades of crimson as Sarah made her way to the meadow. She couldn’t stop the urge to continually look over her shoulder and stay aware of every rustling leaf of a bush, wondering if Little Doe or Stalking Wolf would try for another lock of her hair. By the time the first star shone down upon her, Sarah found herself hesitating at the opening of Grey Fox’s tipi.

She heard him speak softly, whispering something in Comanche. The warm, fluid tone of his voice made her stomach quiver. Sarah hadn’t considered that maybe the War Chief had a companion with him. A sudden pang of regret and jealousy poked at her nerves. How fast could she run back to Crazy Goose’s tipi? Then, something caught her attention: a whinny, a little shaky and weak. Sarah’s eyes widened in surprise, and a bubble of excitement made her forget all about propriety. She poked her head inside.

The warrior was sitting cross-legged on the ground, holding the fuzzy, black head of a newborn filly in his lap. Both of them were covered with milk as he tried in vain to get the foal to drink from a crude udder fashioned out of deer intestine. It was going very badly. The filly could not latch on.

“I’m afraid I make a terrible
Pia...
Mother,” he explained with soft frustration as his eyes met hers. A tired smile appeared on his face, warming her.

Sarah sat down next to him and placed the plate of stew forgotten at her side. Lovingly, she stroked the neck of the animal. She looked up at Grey Fox, her eyes misting over. “There are no mothers with milk to feed this orphan?” she asked as she went back to stroking the filly’s neck.

“They have rejected her. That is why she is so weak. If I could just get her to trust me, she will grow strong.” He was speaking about the little horse, but he began searching her face.

“I can do this for you,” Sarah whispered.

“That would be good.”

“I would have to be here, with the filly.”

“That also would be good.”

***

Broken Horn rested on the mesa as he peered down at the Otter Clan below. Smoke trailed high from the cooking fires, carrying with it the smell of sweetbreads and roasted meat. Broken Horn’s gut roared in response. It had been many moons since he had a good meal from the hands of a Comanche woman. He sat there and stared at the clan he once called his own. His father was down there somewhere. Warriors he fought with were, too.

He knew if he walked into the village they would all turn away; they would act as though they couldn’t see him. Broken Horn’s body twitched as memories of being rejected and scorned, turned away from as if he did not exist. They molted within him like rotting flesh as he watched the workings of the Otter Clan. He was dead to them all because of the taking of a few ponies from a neighboring clan. He slapped the drool from his mouth. Revenge would have to wait for now. He needed to find the girl, and he could see that she was not among them.

***

Sarah sat with the filly while Grey Fox watched from just outside the light of his small fire. She was dipping her finger in the basin of milk and encouraging the baby horse to suckle it from it. This seemed to interest the filly more than what he had tried, so he welcomed the break and was content to watch her do the work. Her hair had freed itself of the bun she had it in, and it fell in a soft curtain about her, begging him to touch it.