Chapter 8: Faces of Change

It was in the middle of summer when Moon Flower and the girls cornered Fighting Hawk about the woman. He had just returned from hunting and the woman was unloading the deer from the horse. They said that she needed a name, and that he needed to take her as his woman. He looked at them without speaking. It was Moon Flower that spoke, "There are new captives in the village, and she should be dressed. She does not complain at still being naked, or having a rope around her neck. We have to lead her everywhere that she goes away from the lodge even though the entire village knows that she would never run away from you. She loves you, and you would have to kill her before she would ever leave you." They waited for Fighting Hawk to speak. He knew her words were true, but he still didn't want to take the woman for his own. There were enough things in his life that needed his attention.

He spoke slowly and with great thought. "There are times that I cannot keep the four of you happy. I know that if you didn't find pleasure in each other's arms, I would die of exhaustion. Now you want to add another woman for me to keep happy." He shook his head and the women giggled. It was Moon Flower that spoke again, "Fighting Hawk you have shown us great pleasure. I am much older than you and I had never known what love was supposed to feel like."

She waved at the girls beside her. "These women were captives. From the first time that they were taken, they knew only pain and humiliation. You have given us only love and pleasure. You have shown us that we can love you, and each other. We know that if you punish us that we deserve it, and that you do not do it just for your pleasure. We love to have you between our legs, but all that we need to be happy is to be near you and to know that you love us. She is like that. You sold her to Wild Buffalo, and she knew the first time that he took her that she would never give herself to any other man. She told us that she would rather die than have any other man. We know what she feels for you, and you need to take her as your woman, or kill her. To her, living as she is, is worse than death."

All of the girls were shaking their heads, showing that they agreed with Moon Flower. Fighting Hawk went over to the knives, kept in sheathes and selected the sharpest skinning knife that he could find. He stood before them and asked, "Are you sure about this?" He looked at each woman and even though there were tears in her eyes she still nodded her head. He turned and walked through the lodge flaps. None of the women followed him.

She was bending over the deer. Her dark hair was almost black as it shone in the sun. He knew the bright green eyes that she had were just above a line of freckles that covered her cheeks. Those freckles ran from her neck down to her breasts, he knew that she hated the freckles, but he liked them. When she was embarrassed they would turn a darker color than the red skin around them. He found it pleasing to watch. Her breasts were small, like her nipples. Even when she was excited and her nipples stood up, they were hard to hold on to. Like the rest of her, her hips were narrow and her hard butt could almost pass for a boy. But even though she was small, only about five feet tall, she was strong. He saw that she had managed to unload the deer and move it to the skinning rack.

He walked up behind her and grabbed her hair in his hand. He pulled her to her feet, and back against his chest. The knife rested against her neck. He spoke softly into her ear. "I have been told that if I wouldn't take you as my woman, that you would rather be dead. Is this now your time to die?" He waited for her answer. She didn't speak, but she nodded her head. He saw the tears race down her cheeks, but she stood passively against him with her hands at her sides.

He whispered again, "Would you stand so quietly if I sold you to another warrior?" This time her voice came out with a hard edge. "No. I would fight him until he killed me, or brought me back." Fighting Hawk could hear the conviction of her words, and knew that she was telling the truth.

He whispered again, "Then there is only one thing that I can do with you." With that there was a flash of steel and his knife made a clean cut. The rope fell to the ground. He didn't release her as he said to her, "You are now called Little Mule. You are as stubborn as a mule, and I think that the name suits you. Go inside and tell Moon Flower that you need a dress. You will carry this knife, and I hope that you always remember that it was the one that set you free."

When he released her she turned and stared into his eyes, "Does this mean that you will take me as your woman?" Fighting Hawk nodded his head sadly, and she launched herself at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She covered his face with kisses and she spoke words of love. He had to pry her from his neck, but when her feet touched the ground she was off and running to the lodge. He couldn't figure out why he was smiling, when he knew the trouble that he was letting himself in for. He vowed that he would never take another captive.

That night Little Mule was even louder than she had been that night in the clearing, almost a year ago. She was just as passionate and aggressive, and her pleasure came more easily than ever before. With her delicate legs wrapped around his waist she screamed her pleasure as he thundered into her small body. Their violence and passion was almost a living thing in itself.

When they lay gasping for breath, Fighting Hawk noticed the women were all sitting and staring at them with looks of wonder on their faces. Those were the same looks that the women gave them in the clearing that night so long ago. He nudged Little Mule and she looked at the other women. She smiled shyly and hid her face in Fighting Hawk shoulder.

He looked at Moon Flower and said, "What?" She acted startled as she blinked a few times and looked at the other girls. The spell had been broken. There was open astonishment on their faces as Moon Flower said, "I have heard stories of how you raped her the first night, and what you did after. I heard that it changed her, but the stories of your coupling on the last night are still talked about today."

Moon Flower shook her head and wiped the sweat from her face. "I had never believed what they said. I couldn't believe that anything could be as they described it. Such violence and passion and love all rolled into a single moment. I have looked into the faces of the women that were there that night, as they told of what they saw. It scared me to think that anything could be so intense. Many of the women and even some of the warriors that were there, still say that they dream about that night. I know that I will never forget what I saw here tonight." As she spoke Fighting Hawk could see the girls nodding their agreement of her words. He snorted his contempt for such childish things and lay down to go to sleep.

The next evening on his way back to the lodge, he noticed strange looks coming from many of the villagers. He ignored them but it still bothered him. When he got back he asked what was going on. It was Bright Dove that told the story. "Little Mule was heard in the lodges all around ours. Most of the people had heard the story of last year and when they heard her cries of passion, it spread throughout the village. All day there have been women finding excuses to visit the lodge and ask about last night. Even though we told them nothing, as soon as they saw her they were off spreading tales."

Fighting Hawk snorted his contempt again, but when he looked at Little Mule he could see what they had seen. Her eyes shone and her hair seemed to have a life of its own; flowing and bouncing as she moved. Her skin almost looked like it could shine in the sun. But when he saw the smile on her face it couldn't hide the feelings that she felt. He nodded to her when he looked at Bright Dove. She just nodded her head, "She has been like that all day. You could hit her with a stick and she would just smile. I don't even think that she would feel it." Fighting Hawk shook his head and went into the lodge.

That night Bright Dove came to his blankets, "Please make me feel like that." Fighting Hawk looked at her and told her that it had to come from within her, it was nothing that he could do, but he would try to bring it out. Fighting Hawk did everything that he could to make her pleasure peak, and she did many times. But when they fell asleep late in the night, he knew that she would not shine in the light. After that the girls seemed to accept that it was just her, and that it would always be something that they would have to dream about.

The next morning Fighting Hawk went hunting with Big Cloud. They were returning with their deer on their backs, and stopped to rest. Fighting Hawk said, "Big Cloud, do you remember what your life was like before I took you hunting?" Fighting Hawk saw the painful memories cross his face. He nodded, but he didn't say what he felt about it.

Fighting Hawk continued, "I have an idea and I would like your help." Big Cloud looked him in the eye and said, "Fighting Hawk, you can have my life if you ask it." Fighting Hawk shook his head and said that his help would be enough.

Fighting Hawk sat down to explain what he wanted. "The widows in the village concern me. They have nobody to help them, except the charity that is given. I want to do something that will help them, without it being charity. I want to give them back their pride." Big Cloud was listening intently. This was something that he personally knew about, and he knew what it could mean, to many people.

Fighting Hawk told him of his plan to take the older boys of the widows and teach them how to hunt and to be a warrior, just as Fighting Hawk had done with Big Cloud. Big Cloud saw the reason behind all that Fighting Hawk had done for him. He looked at him with hurt in his eyes. "All that you did for me was just charity. It was never about me, but helping a boy to stand on his feet, so that you didn't have to feed them yourself."

Fighting Hawk saw that Big Cloud didn't understand what he had in mind. "Yes, it was all charity; just like it was charity when you helped me drag that boar back to the village." Big Cloud looked hard at Fighting Hawk, trying to understand his meaning. Fighting Hawk saw that he was listening, so he continued. "You helped me, just like I helped you. Charity is nothing more than help. But when people help each other, then it isn't charity. Pride is being able to hold your head up when you are getting help. When we hunt buffalo, we all go to help. The warrior kills the buffalo; the women skin and prepare the meat, everybody helping each other. That is not charity; that is working together. When we went hunting we worked together. I taught you how to hunt, but you did it yourself. Tell me where the charity is" Big Cloud wasn't as sure of himself as he had been. Fighting Hawk's words made sense, and he was no longer sure what charity was. He shook his head and told Fighting Hawk that he didn't know any more.