Chapter 4

Most of the women preferred to wash clothes in the morning, but Sky Dancer usually waited until no one was down at the creek before doing hers. As she scrubbed a dress with soap root and the rock she always used, the memories of all the times she’d performed the chore while her daughter had played nearby came to her.

Sky Dancer smiled even as tears stung her eyes. Everyone had told her that she should try to find peace with the losses of her daughter and husband, but she just couldn’t. Sendeh knew she’d tried, but she just couldn’t move on. Solace didn’t come to her no matter how hard she prayed or how much she immersed herself in work.

Bitterness and grief were lodged in her heart, and she couldn’t get them out. She wished that she could wash the negative feelings away as easily as she removed spots from her clothes, but it seemed as though her soul was permanently stained.

Finishing the last of the dresses, Sky Dancer spread it out on a bush to dry in the hot evening sun. Then she sat down on the bank and watched the creek. She and her husband, Badger, had liked to sit by the water, talking about all sorts of things. Before Minnow had been born, they’d often run off into the woods to make love.

They’d been childhood friends and that friendship had turned to love shortly after they’d become teenagers. Some of her friends hadn’t understood her attraction to Badger, even though he was the son of a higher-ranking war leader. He hadn’t been the most handsome man, but Badger’s kindness, sense of humor, dependability, and intelligence had made him beautiful to her.

Closing her eyes, Sky Dancer thought about how good his kisses had felt and the way his hands on her body had excited her. He’d been as generous and loving in their sleeping robes as he had been at any other time. They’d enjoyed a passionate relationship, which had quickly resulted in her becoming pregnant.

Minnow had been a beautiful four-year-old child with a mischievous nature. Like most men, Badger had been indulgent with her. Perhaps even more so than other men. He’d spent as much time as possible playing with her and telling her stories when other husbands were participating in the evening gambling or other pursuits. He hadn’t minded when people had teased him about it.

Minnow had adored her father, often following him as he went about his business as long as it was appropriate. Sky Dancer loved watching the father and daughter together and had never begrudged them their closeness. All too soon it would’ve been time for Minnow’s training in womanly pursuits to begin and her time with her father would be limited. She’d wanted them to enjoy each other as long as possible before that had happened.

The appearance of She Sings startled her from her reverie.

“Háːcho, daughter. I see you are washing.”

Sky Dancer smiled. “Yes. It needed to be done.”

She Sings looked out over the water. “I have something to tell you that is going to be hard for both of us.”

Sky Dancer’s pulse rate rose in alarm. “What has happened?”

Wanting to get it over with, She Sings plunged ahead, telling her about Chirping Cricket’s visions and Growling Wolf’s plan, which included marrying her off to one of the Lakota braves who would be coming to their village.

As she’d expected, Sky Dancer became incensed. “I am not a possession to be passed off to someone. Especially to the enemy!”

She Sings said, “It is not like that. This is for the good of the people. If Chirping Cricket and Lightning Strike feel that you will be mistreated in any way, you will come back home with them.”

“But I will be alone with strangers who hate me!”

She Sings drew herself up. “Are you not alone now? You have shut almost everyone out of your life except for your immediate family.”

Sky Dancer stood up and paced. “Yes, I know, but it is only because they all want me to be happy, to forget those I lost. I have tried, but I cannot. I dream of them every night. I can feel my daughter in my arms and hear her laughing. When I wake up, they are gone, and it is like losing them all over again.”

She Sings said, “You are not the only one who lost them. We all loved them. I know that it is hard to lose loved ones, but we cannot allow it to make us hard and jaded. Your husband would not be happy with your behavior. You have turned into someone I do not know. I miss my sweet, kind girl.”

Guilt rose in Sky Dancer’s heart at the pain she saw in her mother’s gaze. “I am sorry, Mother. I miss her, too, but I do not know how to bring her back.”

She Sings sighed. “I will keep praying that you find her again. Now, back to the matter at hand. As much as I hate it, this is going to happen, as long as the Lakota agree. It is hard being a woman because there are times when we have no say in what happens to us.

“However, you are the chief’s granddaughter and must act accordingly. You are strong and smart. You must represent us well. I do not want you to go, but our chief and the council have voted and there is no way out of it.”

Sky Dancer seethed with anger and indignation even as she knew that railing at her grandfather would do no good. Men and women were forced to marry all the time in order to form an alliance between families.

The only difference in this situation was that she would be marrying the enemy and leaving her homeland, the place of so many memories. Memories that caused her pain. Perhaps going to a new place would be good for her. Somewhere that wasn’t a constant reminder of all that had been taken from her.

Stoically, she said, “Very well. I will do it for our people and make a good impression on them. I do not wish to marry, but I will try to be a good wife. I still love my husband and cannot imagine being with another man. Whoever this man is will need to understand that I will do my duty, but no more.

She Sings smiled at her feisty statement. “That will be between you and him. According to Chirping Cricket, these men will come in the next couple of days.”

Sky Dancer asked, “Do you think he is right? Do you think he really called the bison?”

She Sings nodded. “Yes, I do. Father is certain that our young medicine man is coming into power now. He is a very good healer, too.”

“Yes.”

Sitting down on the bank by her mother, Sky Dancer said, “I sometimes wish that I was a little girl again. Things were so much simpler, and I still had my husband.”