Chapter 11

A few days after the attack on Jasper’s cabin, the dawn saw a stealthy group of warriors approaching an unsuspecting Gineduli tribe. Silently, the warriors crept closer and closer to the enemy’s homes using the ground and any shadowy brush they could find as cover.

After Black Wolf and the others reported back to the council, Bright Wolf and another elder were sent with two warriors as escorts to the Gineduli tribe to find out the truth. Bright Wolf had soon returned home tight-lipped with anger and told them what he had found out.

The warriors who had attacked the Whitlock cabin had been returning from an unsuccessful raid of one of their rival tribes. Not wanting to show up empty handed, they decided to try to raid anyone and anything along the way back to their village. The Whitlock cabin hadn’t been the only lone place to be raided.

However, what angered Bright Wolf the most was that these warriors didn’t just raid the places they found. They destroyed the entire property even if there was nothing to take from there, then they assaulted the people and left them for dead. It was just senseless destruction of lives and property.

These warriors hadn’t even cared if the people they assaulted were men, women, or children. No one had been spared. Jasper had been one of the lucky ones since he had survived the attack. Some of the others had not only lost all of their belongings, but had lost a family member or two…or even their own lives.

When Bright Wolf asked why these warriors were not being held accountable for their senseless actions, especially when the Gineduli were supposedly following the same laws as the Quedeyona and the other allied tribes, he was told that it was not his concern. In the end, he had found out that the only thing those warriors had received was a slap on the wrist while being told they would not be allowed to go out on the next raid.

Bright Wolf had tried to reason with some of the council members of the Gineduli, but they insisted that they were taking care of things. Then right before he was about to return to the Quedeyona, Bright Wolf found out that the reason the warriors were not being held accountable was because the leader of the raiding party, the one who had made the decision to raid and destroy defenseless places on the way home, was the favorite son of the chief of the tribe.

This chief wasn’t like Bright Wolf. As the chief of the Quedeyona, his orders could be vetoed by the council. Instead, this chief ruled the council and the tribe with a cruel fist. Anytime one of the council members, or anyone else for that matter, tried to stand up to the chief they quickly found themselves or members of their families found themselves meeting with untimely accidents.

Bright Wolf had taken that information and returned home upset over the fact that the Gineduli didn’t seem to hold any regard for the loss of lives or property, regardless if it was a member of their own tribe or not. That and the fact that the entire tribe seemed to allow the chief to be the dictator of them all without complaint, only added to his upset.

Still, he had managed to keep a rein on his temper as he told the Quedeyona council what he had found out. Luckily for him, most of the council were of the same mind as he was when it came to the careless use of lives, property, and most especially the land. They knew something had to be done, so they ordered a group of warriors to raid the entire Gineduli tribe once they got word from several of the other tribes who were their allies.

During this raid, the warriors were to collect anything that would be of immense value to the Gineduli. Anything the tribe needed to survive such as food and clothing, but they were not to damage lives or property unless it couldn’t be avoided.

The Quedeyona council felt that by taking everything the Gineduli needed to survive on a day to day basis was enough to teach them a lesson. They would still have their shelter, their families, and their lives but they would be reduced to scrounging up meager scraps for food and the like.

Once the raiding party had been organized and given their orders, they were sent on their way. This was the group that now approached a still sleeping Gineduli tribe in the wee hours of the morning.

Among this group were Black Wolf, Fighting Dog and Mountain Lion Guides. Mountain Lion Guides had been the one chosen as the leader of the raid due to the fact that he was usually the calmest under fire and he was also the eldest with the most experience in leading.

As a few of the warriors, including Fighting Dog, approached the edge of the tribe on foot, having left their horses a few leagues back with the rest of the waiting raiding party, Mountain Lion Guides signaled to them to get ready for the attack. All of them stopped in their tracks and waited silently and patiently for Mountain Lion Guides to give the order.

He scanned the area for a few moments, listening and watching for any sign of life or any warning. When he was certain that they would have the element of surprise, he signaled once more to the others and made his move. The others were only a second behind him as he dashed towards the homes and began the first wave of attack.

Within moments, the first wave had already managed to do what they’d been ordered to do before the Gineduli were aware of what was going on. The still sleepy inhabitants were finally becoming aware of their misfortune when the second wave came in.

Soon, the tribe was overrun with Quedeyona warriors both on foot and on horseback. Gineduli warriors began scrambling for their weapons only to find that they’d already been taken or a Quedeyona was preventing them from getting to them. The Quedeyona quickly took care of those whom they figured would be the most threat to them which were mostly the warriors.

Still, the Quedeyona warriors made sure not to mortally wound anyone from the Gineduli tribe. Several of the people were rendered unconscious, but were otherwise unharmed. The chief himself was dragged out to the center of the tribal village, tied to a pole and striped of everything he had on his person.

All of his sons were treated the same way since none of the Quedeyona warriors knew which one was the favorite and they were not going to take the time to ask. For most tribes, it was the greatest shame for a warrior to be captured and striped bare then left out in the open for all to see. As long as the Quedeyona remained in the villlage gathering up everything they could find, no one dared to rescue the chief and his sons.

In the end, archers on horseback led by Black Wolf remained behind with Mountain Lion Guides while the rest of the Quedeyona warriors retreated back into the forest. While the archers kept their arrows notched in the direction of any capable Gineduli, Mountain Lion Guides’ voice rang out loud and clear for them to hear.

"For the senseless destruction of one who is under our tribe's protection and for the other innocents you raided along the way, this is your punishment. Know that word of the destruction your last raiding party caused and your lack of disciplinary action has been sent to the other allied tribes. We have been ordered to take into possession anything we deem necessary for your day to day survival. All of these things will be given to those whose lives you have destroyed. Should any of you think to follow us, the warriors hidden in the surroundings will not hesitate to take you out. Should you try to raid our tribe in retaliation for what we did today, know that you will have declared open war with the allied tribes."

He paused for a moment to let that sink in before he finished. "This is the will of the Quedeyona council and that of the other councils of the allied tribes. Be thankful they have been merciful in allowing you to keep your lives and your homes."

With that, he nodded to the other warriors surrounding him before turning away from the tribe. Black Wolf and the rest of archers on horseback remained behind, allowing Mountain Lion Guides and the rest that were still on foot to disappear into the surroundings. Once they were gone, the archers spurred their horses to leave the village, but still kept their arrows notched. Even though they knew there were others hidden in the surroundings watching their backs, they were taking no chances.

Fighting Dog had retreated before Mountain Lion Guides had and was waiting on horseback once more until the others joined them. When Mountain Lion Guides approached, he handed him the reins of his horse then went to join some other warriors in leading a pack of horses they’d procured from the Gineduli. These horses were loaded down with plenty of belongings they’d taken from the Gineduli, including a number of slaves.

Once Black Wolf and the archers joined the rest of them, Mountain Lion Guides signaled the order for the entire group to begin their trek back to their village. Black Wolf took in everything they had managed to capture and wondered if any of it would help to rebuild his friend’s life. For the time being Jasper had been taken in by Black Wolf and Fighting Dog’s parents, but Black Wolf knew that kindness wasn’t always the answer to healing the kind of wounds Jasper had received.

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Mouse Daydreams looked up from doing her chores when she heard the sound of many hooves in the distance. She watched as the raiding party made their way into the village, bringing with them all the things they had taken from the Gineduli. Frowning when she realized that they had also brought back more slaves, she returned to doing her work in a pique.

Mountain Lion Guides dismounted from his horse as the council members approached them. He gave them their due before speaking to them. "We have done as you ordered. No one was mortally wounded and these are the things we have taken from them."

He swept his arm out to encompass the stolen horses and their contents. The council members moved among the goods, murmuring to themselves. Finally one of them spoke to him. "You have done well Mountain Lion Guides. We thank you and your raiders for a job well done. Let us take these supplies to the storage building were we can divide them up to be sent to those who have suffered needlessly."

One of the other council members spoke up then. "Most of those who we seek to help do not deal in the use of slaves. There are a number of slaves among the supplies."

Mountain Lion Guides nodded. "I apologize for that Elder Wise Bear. By the time I realized some of the warriors had taken slaves, it was already to late to return them."

The elder who’d first spoken, waved him down. "It is of little consequence. We did not specify that slaves were to be left behind. Let us see if anyone in our tribe has need of a slave, if not we can send them on to the other allied tribes in thanks for backing us up."

Mountain Lion Guides nodded once more and waited for the council to take their leave. Once they were gone, he began giving orders to his warriors to disperse or take the supplies to the storage building.

Then he asked Black Wolf to help him deal with the slaves, as well as Hawk Soars and Laughing Antelope who had come to welcome the group home. Those three followed Mountain Lion Guides to where the small group of slaves were huddled. He walked up to them and stood in a stance that wouldn’t be seen as threatening to them at all.

Standing before them, he spoke to them in a soft voice. “Do not be afraid. We do not seek to harm any of you. I am Mountain Lion Guides and I would welcome you to my village, home of the Quedeyona tribe.”

Before he could continue on, one woman who was nearly equal to him in height stepped forward. “You…you speak English?”

Mountain Lion Guides turned towards the voice to answer her. For a moment, his voice seemed to lodge in his throat as he stared at her. Awed by the way her dark hair shone like a raven’s wing in the sun, he remained speechless.

Black Wolf, who noticed his friend’s awestruck expression, quickly stepped up to take over for him. “Yes. Some of us do.”

She turned to look at him. “Some of you?”

He nodded. “Yes, those of us who were fortunate to attend a school owned by the white man learned English while we were there.”

“How many exactly?”

“Those of us you see before you,” replied Black Wolf as he held up his hand to indicate the four who stood near him.

She nodded, understanding that she was looking at the only Quedeyona in the tribe who could speak English. “I see and what is it that you would do with us?”

Mountain Lion Guides, who finally found his voice, answered her. “If you will come with us, we will take you to the council building. There you will be given to someone in our tribe who has need of a slave to help them with their life or you will be given to another tribe.”

She frowned. “So, we remain slaves then? Just like we were for the other tribe you took us from.”

Mountain Lion Guides nodded. “Yes.”

“Are your people so useless that you have to resort to stealing slaves from another tribe?” she asked.

Black Wolf raised an eyebrow at her courage in saying that, but Mountain Lion Guides merely met her unwavering gaze with one of his own.

“No, we are not. Our orders were to take anything of value from the Gineduli to teach them a lesson. We were not told to leave the slaves behind. It was an honest mistake.”

She glanced to Black Wolf before looking back at Mountain Lion Guides. “A mistake huh? Well, to tell you the truth, I can already see that this tribe is at least civil to their slaves. I believe the Gineduli thought we were incapable of thinking. We were treated as if we were cattle.”

Black Wolf frowned. “Is that so? Were you not taken in by a family?”

She shook her head. “No, we were made to stay in a locked building with no windows. When they wanted to put one of us to work, they dragged that one out and tied a rope around our waist. Like I said, we were cattle to them.”

Black Wolf and Mountain Lion Guides exchanged glances before Mountain Lion Guides spoke to Black Wolf in Quedeyona. "This is something else we are going to have to report to the council."

Black Wolf nodded as the woman frowned at them and asked, “What is it that you say?”

Mountain Lion Guides turned to her. “What you have just told us I will report to the council. The raid on the Gineduli tribe was a punishment for something they did wrong. Now I am hearing that the tribe has refused to follow more of our laws.”

“Are you saying we were being mistreated?”

Mountain Lion Guides nodded. “Yes. Come with me and I will show you how the allied tribes are supposed to treat their slaves.”

He gestured towards a building where several people could be seen casually walking in and out of it. From what she could tell most of them looked like the Quedeyona warriors who stood in front of her. However, there were a couple of people who didn’t look like any of the Quedeyona she had seen so far.

Finally nodding, she began to walk towards the building as he fell into step besides her. However, she stopped when she realized the others weren’t following.

Turning to them, she gestured for them to join her. “It’s alright. I think we can trust them.”

Slowly, the rest of the slaves began to join her. She held out her hand to one of the young boys in the group and when he placed his hand in hers, she turned to follow Mountain Lion Guides as he continued towards the building. Black Wolf, Hawk Soars and Laughing Antelope took up the rear of the group.

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Mouse Daydreams put away the last of the tools she’d been using and straightened up while pushing strands of hair away from her face. As she wiped away the sweat from her brow, she happened to glance in the direction of the council’s building. Her eyes went wide as recognized someone walking towards the building.

“Oh my God!” she whispered in disbelief. “Is it…”

For a moment she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. In that moment, she thought she saw her mother holding the hand of a child as she walked along a garden path. But the vision faded only to be replaced with an image that was far better than anything she’d seen in years.

“Leah!” she exclaimed as she took off at a run towards the group that were walking to the building.

Mouse Daydreams’ smile widened as the woman who’d been following Mountain Lion Guides turned her head in her direction. The woman frowned for a moment before recognition appeared on her features. Even as Mouse Daydreams neared her, the woman let go of the little boy’s hand she had been holding and ran towards her.

“Rosie? Is that you?”

Tears of joy fell from Mouse Daydreams’ eyes as she flew into her older sister’s arms and hugged her tight.

She sobbed against her sister’s shoulder. “Oh Leah! You’re alive! You’re really alive!”

Leah held her little sister in her arms the way she used to when they had been younger. Whenever Rosalie would cry or be upset about something, Leah had always been there to comfort her and make things all right again. Even when she was just a little girl, Rosalie had always thought that her big sister was so much like their mother. They had both been gentle and nurturing with those they loved, yet still possessed the strength to protect them too.

The others watched the exchange between the two dark-haired women. Mountain Lion Guides leaned in to Black Wolf and whispered in Quedeyona, "We should tell the council to try to make sure that one stays in this tribe since it appears that they are sisters."

Black Wolf nodded his agreement. He knew his father would definitely agree to that one. Bright Wolf was one of the few people in the tribe who believed slaves tended to be healthier and happier when surrounded by those they were close to. And it was clear from watching the two women, that Mouse Daydreams would be a lot happier to have her sister nearby.

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Fighting Dog hastened to Black Wolf’s side as he headed towards their parent’s home. "Hey Black Wolf, going to see Weasel Tracks?"

Black Wolf nodded as he wiped the last of the water from his hair. After he and the others had taken the slaves to the council building and left them in the care of the elders, he had gone to the river to bathe. Now clean again, Black Wolf was anxious to get to his parent’s home to see how his friend was doing.

Fighting Dog tugged his jerkin over his still wet torso as he kept pace with his older brother. Unlike Black Wolf, Fighting Dog had taken his time bathing until he’d seen his older brother leaving the river bank.

He glanced at Black Wolf out of the corner of his eye before murmuring, "Are you really in a hurry to see Weasel Tracks?"

Black Wolf frowned at him. "I want to see if he's any better than he was when we left."


"Really?" At Black Wolf’s nod he added, "And it's not because a certain someone is supposed to be there helping spitfire out?"

Fighting Dog didn’t miss the slight redness that appeared on his brother’s face.

"What are you talking about?" Black Wolf asked in feigned innocence.

Fighting Dog chuckled. "Oh come on Black Wolf, you and I both know that White Swan has been helping Porcupine Smiles to care for Weasel Tracks even while translating for our parents and their new slaves."

Still Black Wolf refused to admit it. "So?"

Fighting Dog stopped Black Wolf with a hand on his arm. Facing his older brother, he gave him a serious look. "Black Wolf, I am not blind. Just as you know of my attraction to Porcupine Smiles, I know of yours to White Swan. And I want you to know brother, I don't see anything wrong with that. If you like her, if she's what you want then go get her and I will stand behind you no matter what. Okay?"

Black Wolf gave his brother a grateful look. "Okay. Thank you, Fighting Dog."

Fighting Dog gave him a smile before they both resumed their walk to their parent’s house.

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White Swan looked up when she heard the flap being pushed aside. Fighting Dog walked into the room followed by Black Wolf. The moment Black Wolf’s eyes met hers, they shared a secret smile. She was glad he had made it back okay.

Fighting Dog moved to sit next to Porcupine Smiles where she sat near Jasper’s head. As Black Wolf moved to sit near White Swan at Jasper’s feet, Fighting Dog whispered to Porcupine Smiles.

“How is he?” he asked, in his stilted English.

Porcupine Smiles turned to smile at him. “He’s getting better, but still sleeping.”

“No, I was asleep ‘til those ruffians made all tha’ noise walking in here,” came Jasper’s groggy voice as he opened his eyes to grin at them.

Black Wolf chuckled to see that his friend still had his sense of humor. “Well, well look who’s still alive.”

Jasper’s grin widened. “What ken I say? You two made enough noise ta wake tha dead!”

Fighting Dog frowned. “I do not understand?”

Jasper repeated his words in Quedeyona making Fighting Dog laugh.

"You are never going to forgive us for sneaking up on you and scaring you when you were ten are you?" taunted Fighting Dog.

"You two got lucky! I wasn't trained to be a warrior yet!" replied Jasper.

Black Wolf laughed at Jasper’s excuse. "A warrior? Who said anything about being a warrior? I was only eight Weasel Tracks! I wasn't even a man yet, let alone a warrior!"

Jasper rolled his eyes before replying in English. “Fine, laugh it up ya two. Just ya wait, one o’ these days I’m gonna get ya back.”

The others laughed as Jasper continued to banter with Black Wolf and Fighting Dog for a little longer. However when it was clear that Jasper was beginning to tire, Fighting Dog and Black Wolf both told Jasper that they would come to visit him the following day, then Black Wolf offered to walk White Swan back to her home.

Porcupine Smiles and White Swan made sure Jasper was comfortable before they followed the two men outside. Leaving Porcupine Smiles to chat with Fighting Dog, Black Wolf and White Swan made their way towards her home.

Black Wolf led White Swan towards a path near the outskirts of the village, taking a longer and much more private way to her home. As they slowed their pace to a leisurely stroll, Black Wolf slid his hand into White Swan’s.

She glanced up at him with a smile as she curled her fingers around his. “I’m glad you’re okay, Jake. I was worried when I heard Bright Wolf talk about what he saw there.”

Black Wolf gave her hand a squeeze. “Thank you. It wasn’t that hard, we planned it well and Mountain Lion Guides is a good leader.”

She grinned at him. “You know, you’re not so bad yourself.”

When he gave her a puzzled look she added, “There are plenty of people in this tribe that look up to you too.”

He shrugged. “That may be so, but I’m not as experienced as Mountain Lion Guides is, especially with leading.”

She stopped walking to look at him. “But you fight well.”

He arched an eyebrow. “I do?”

She blushed when she realized that he didn’t know about the other day. “Oh, um…”

When she faltered, Black Wolf moved closer to her. “Bells? What is it?”

Blushing even more, she looked him in the eyes. “I saw you, Jake. It was a few days before you saw me bathing at the river. You were in the field sparring with another brave and there were others watching you. I saw you win your round.”

Black Wolf looked away from her as he thought back to that day. He remembered it well. Lizard Walks had been a tough competitor, yet he had managed to get the upper hand to win that round.

He grinned. “Oh, you saw that.”

She nodded. “Yes and you won. I saw them congratulate you.”

“Right. Well, Lizard Walks was a good fighter. I thought I was going to lose.”

She smiled at him. “But you didn’t.”

He shook his head before starting to walk along the path once more. “No, I guess I didn’t.”

As he started to lose himself in thoughts of that day once more, he almost missed the soft words White Swan spoke next. “You looked really good that day.”

When those words registered, he came to a halt. Looking at her, he noticed the faint blush of her cheeks and the fact that she was looking at the ground. At first he couldn’t understand why she would be embarrassed about watching him fight until he thought more about that day. And if she had looked at him the way he had looked at her at the river, suddenly everything became clear to him.

He smiled as he realized why White Swan hadn’t pushed him away when he had kissed her. She had wanted it just as much as he had. Now he understood her words when she had told him she had been wanting him to do that for a while. With that realization, he knew his brother was right. It was time he went after what he wanted.

Leaning closer to White Swan, Black Wolf lifted her chin with his hand. Looking into her eyes, he smiled at her.

“I forgive you Bells, for spying on me,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

She laughed softly at his joke until his lips covered hers and stole her breath. Just like before, his lips brushed hers lightly but only for a moment. In the next moment, he wrapped his arms around her waist and deepened the kiss.

White Swan didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around his shoulders. Parting her lips, she teased his tongue until he dipped it into her mouth, tasting her. As their tongues dueled, Black Wolf slid his hands up her back pulling her even closer to him.

When they came up for air, Black Wolf pressed his forehead against hers. “Kissing you is dangerous for me.”

“How so?” she asked in a breathless voice.

“I can never get enough of it. Every time I kiss you, I just want more.” He took her lips into his again, kissing her until air became necessary again. Even then, his lips remained close to hers.

“I can’t stop,” he murmured against her lips.

“Me neither,” came her reply.

He smiled at that, then went in for another deep kiss. His hands buried themselves in her hair to hold her to him. And when he felt her hands slide up the front of his jerkin clad chest, he couldn’t stop the moan that escaped his lips.

“Bells,” he mumbled against her lips.

“Mm?” she mumbled back.

“We have to stop.”

“Mm hm,” she replied as she curled her hands into the front of his jerkin.

They continued to kiss for a few more moments before Black Wolf finally forced himself away from her addictive kisses. Once more he leaned his forehead against hers. “Bells…”

She pressed a finger against his lips. “It’s okay. I know. I should be getting home.”

Black Wolf nodded as he pulled away from her. They collected themselves before resuming their walk towards her home, hand in hand.