A Perfect Bride

by Ginny Sterling

  Glancing up, she saw the handsome, dark-haired soldier riding away from where they all sat. Staring at his back, she saw that he glanced over his shoulder to where she sat and tipped his hat. She watched him drop several other rabbits down the line until he disappeared in the darkness.

  “That was kind of him,” Hidden Doe said softly beside her, grabbing the rabbit quickly. “I wonder if this means we can make a fire, too.”

  “Kind? It’s his duty to feed us. A rabbit doesn’t relieve him of their deaths,” she said, dismayed. She was surprised at the gesture, yet disgusted at the lack of respect for life she had seen earlier in the day from the other soldier. If one man was so careless with their lives, the others would probably be as well – or so she assumed.

  All the recipients of the precious meats must have had the same thoughts… unsure whether or not to start a fire. Several small fires were started and not long afterwards, extinguished. Theirs included. Hidden Doe had cleaned the rabbit and instead of putting it on a makeshift spit, they had tossed it into the fire causing it to pop and sizzle. It made her think of her late brother and how upset he’d have been if she had teased him about it being burnt. She realized how much she missed him and how long it had been since she had thought about him.

  Dashing tears away, she listened to Hidden Doe tease her about how she was mourning over Fierce Mother’s death. They had not been fond of each other in the slightest over the years. Not wanting to tell her secrets, she smiled in acquiescence and ate a small portion of the rabbit. They split their single meager rabbit between a dozen others, each taking a small sampling of the meat. Not everyone did so, and she felt guilty for eating her portion. She sincerely hoped that the others who ate in front of the starving felt badly also. She wasn’t sure why the soldiers wouldn’t let them go hunt, but her stomach was sincerely grateful that the dark-haired soldier had brought the bounty to them.

  Chapter Five

  July 1838

  Days became weeks and the exhaustion was taking its toll on everyone. They had not come upon a river or creek in quite some time. The water skins were nearing empty. The dark-haired soldier had dropped rabbits to her once or twice, but not enough for them to get by since they were dividing the meat up between so many of them. She was getting weak and losing weight. They all were. She hoped that they were making progress in their travels since the mountains were now getting much closer to them. She had found it increasingly hard to keep up with the uphill pace, thus slowing them down. It wasn’t just her though. All were having a tough time. They were dehydrated and exhausted.

  “What’s your name?” she heard a deep voice say quietly off to her left as she walked with her head down. Glancing up under her lashes, she saw it was the dark-haired soldier. She didn’t say a word and looked away again, straight ahead. He repeated it again, this time he tacked on “please” at the end.

  “Little Fire,” she said quietly, avoiding looking at him. “Why do you want to know?”

  “Little Fire? Interesting. My name is Lieutenant Daniel Williams,” he said easily and leaned down towards her. “I have something for you, friend.”

  “We aren’t friends, nor did I ask your name,” she retorted automatically, causing a gasp from Hidden Doe as she walked silently beside Little Fire. She knew she was trapped on this trail with the others. There would be no getting away from him. He would also notice that she wasn’t Indian. She felt cornered. Any moment, her coloring would betray the fact that she was a pretender.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that. I was just hungry and tired,” she quickly backtracked, staring at the ground ahead of her that was inclining yet again.

  “I see how you got your name,” Daniel chuckled, amused. “This is for you. Here.”

  Glancing up, she caught a bag just in the nick of time before it hit the ground. It was a medium-sized leather bag with a draw string. It felt like something was rolling around inside. Pulling the string open, she glanced inside and looked up at him. This time she did not try to hide her eyes, nor did he look surprised. Instead, he looked quite pleased at having finally cracked through her shell.

  Daniel smiled at her, tipped his hat again and rode off. He had given her a large bag of raspberries. She adored the berries and they couldn’t have come at a better time. Clutching the precious food, she stared at him off in the distance and ignored the prodding of her sister. Why would he do this? He never even said a word about her eyes being green instead of brown. Was this why? Did he know she didn’t belong? Did he feel sorry for what they were doing to her people? Coming out of her reverie, she realized that the others would be wondering at the attention he was showing her as well.

  “I will show you later, trust me,” Little Fire whispered to Hidden Doe. She tied the bag to her waist tightly. She didn’t plan on the bag disappearing from her side until she had a chance to sample the berries.

  That night, after darkness fell, she opened the precious bag of berries and divided them out amongst them. She knew that there wasn’t enough to go around to everyone and felt extremely guilty. There would have been plenty for just her, however, she could never selfishly hoard them. They were all hungry. There were maybe fifty of the red, juicy morsels inside giving between five and ten of them to her family members. She felt relieved at the treat, yet guilty at having even the smallest amount of more food than the others. She lay down and found herself thinking about how kind it was of Lieutenant Williams to have given her the berries.

  Little Fire was having an extremely hard time hiding the redness of her hair since they had hardly made any fires at all. And they had not been provided the opportunity to bathe. Sweat, rain, and just braiding her hair were taking its toll on the remainder of the tinted bear grease she had. Her small clay jar of blackened grease was nearly gone and she had been trying to keep from using it. Unfortunately, when Hidden Doe mentioned that she could see red hair peeking out and suggested covering her hair, she knew her time was limited. Would they pull her from the line? Would they shoot her or keep her with them, calling her hateful names? A few of the soldiers had been quite nasty and cruel along the way, which is why it struck her so odd that the lieutenant had been so nice to her.

  Pulling up her pack further on her back, she sighed heavily due to the thin air. They were high in the mountains now and it was cooler up here in the mornings. She really loved the view over the valley and had never seen anything like it before. Unfortunately, the view came with trials. The walk was steep and if you couldn’t keep up, there was a price to pay at the very back of the line.

  Little Fire had heard gunshots several times and each time, the frown on the lieutenant’s face in the distance got more and more menacing. One day, there were several bouts of gunfire that had him riding back along the line in a hurry – only to be stopped by another soldier. It was apparently either keep up and move on, or give up all together.

  “Little Fire,” Daniel said quietly one day, getting off his horse and checking his saddle. “If you have the bag, I will refill it the next chance I get,” he whispered as he stood near where she sat.

  “Lieutenant, why do you do this for me? For us? This is wrong what your people are doing, you know that – right?” she asked, handing the empty leather bag back to him. They stared at each other for a moment and she swallowed hard, seeing his warm golden-brown gaze.

  “Please, call me Daniel. Do you need anything else?” he asked, looking away, not answering her question.

  “More food, water… and to be allowed to make a fire,” she said softly, grasping at the chance. If they could make a fire, then there would be ash for her hair. She didn’t know where she’d get the grease but maybe someone else would have some. “Is there bear here? A bear would feed several mouths.”

  Daniel didn’t say a word, he just got back up on the horse and rode off. Little Fire had a gnawing feeling in her stomach that had nothing to do with lack of food. She was concerned that she had asked for too much, too soon. He seemed to be nice an
d wanting to help, but she didn’t want to take advantage of it.

  That night, Little Fire did not think it happenstance that two bears were sighted in the area and killed. A large fire was made and the meat was cooked and served up to as many people as possible. Hidden Doe volunteered to skin the hide, and Little Fire joined her. They wanted the hide for when the temperatures began to drop, and she wanted the ash in order to continue to hide her red hair.

  The bearskin was granted to them, as the soldiers went down the line. They parceled out the food as long as they could. She knew exactly when they ran out of food and could hear the cries of desperation from where she was at. It was heartbreaking to hear them, knowing how that hunger felt. It was the first time in a long time she felt full that night, yet cried herself to sleep.

  Chapter Six

  October 1838

  The days were certainly getting cooler and nights were getting longer. It was sometimes a struggle to keep warm when they had all lost so much weight and muscle mass. Little Fire didn’t know what she would do if she didn’t have Daniel slipping her food items here and there. It was confusing to have him singling her out quietly, but it kept her and her family fed a bit better than the others. She had quite a guilty conscious waking each morning to find a bag of berries near her head, while others awoke to simply get up and walk some more.

  Long days of walking and struggling to get by had finally come to a head. Several of the People had developed an illness. They stopped for several days so that some of the soldiers could heal and get over the cholera that was spreading. They created a makeshift camp where there could be some treatment. Water was boiled and medicines were given to the soldiers. The People were allowed to search for medicines for themselves, if they didn’t have some in their belongings.

  Luckily for Little Fire, she didn’t have the crippling vomiting and diarrhea that came with cholera. She had weakness and high fever instead. At night, several water skins appeared near where they camped and she knew Daniel had brought them to her. She still didn’t understand why or how he was so nice to her, but it was certainly welcomed. The infection seemed to strike down young and old, regardless of what side you were on.

  Daniel appeared one morning early after she had awoken with a thick handful of purple flowers. She watched as he came through the mist, looking around carefully until he saw that she was watching. He never broke stride. He walked right over to her and handed her the large bouquet of wildflowers.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, staring at him wide-eyed in wonder. “For the flowers and the water. I’m beginning to feel a bit better.” She saw him kneel close by and was surprised by the warmth in his eyes.

  “I’m glad you are feeling better. The flowers are for you to boil into a tea. It will make you and the others well.” Little Fire stared at him openly, studying his features. He truly was easy on the eyes. Dark hair, golden-brown eyes and he had a gruff exterior that seemed to light up from the inside when he smiled, which was rare.

  “What’s your real name?” he whispered, staring at her. She saw the questions in his eyes. “Are you happy here?”

  “No, I’m not happy here! I’m starving and exhausted,” she said fiercely, trying to keep her voice down. “I was happy back home where we were once living! Not walking hundreds of miles, corralled like cattle and threatened to be shot at every turn.”

  “I meant with them,” he said, pointing at the sleeping people around her. Their dark heads were resting in the grasses with blankets pulled over them to keep warm. “Are you with them by choice?”

  “Now? Yes. When I was a child, they took me in because I lost my family.”

  His dark head nodded in understanding. “I lost mine, that is how I ended up in the Army. What’s your real name?” he asked again.

  “It’s Little Fire,” she answered quickly, seeing his expression grow cold as he stood. “Why? Why do you care?”

  “I wanted to know,” he said simply and walked off into the mist of the morning. She stared at where he disappeared for some time, thinking it was sweet that he wanted to know more about her but confused at why he insisted on learning her real name. That girl was long gone.

  That night, the lieutenant once again dropped several rabbits to be cooked nearby as he rode the horse on patrol. He brought her a rabbit that had been tied to the pommel of his horse, as well as a blanket. He made it look as nonchalant as possible, but one of the other officers saw him and grinned. The other officer handed a blanket to Hidden Doe as well, surprising all of them with the kind gesture. He certainly didn’t have to give up a blanket, he could have told on Daniel or teased him about it. Instead, he also singled out an Indian woman from the crowd and showed her kindness. This surprised many, causing a ripple through the crowd around them.

  Sitting quietly in the dark, she saw many others had gone to sleep. The crisp, cool air, while chilly made her eager to snuggle deeper in the blanket she had been given. Instead, she unbraided her hair and shook out the locks. Grimacing, she flinched at how gritty her hair felt with the ash/soot mixture that she used to darken it. Instead, she sighed and carefully combed out any tangles. Parting it, she smoothed fresh tint on there and braided it tightly once again on both sides.

  That night, Little Fire slept better than she had in ages. She was warm, well-fed for the moment, and, frankly, strangely content during this horrible time. She knew that handsome lieutenant, Daniel, would be there yet again for her. This realization surprised her as well as scared her. She couldn’t even fathom looking at him in the way he was beginning to look at her. There were too many differences, too many obstacles.

  Chapter Seven

  December 1838

  “How are you doing, Little Fire?” Daniel asked her, pulling his horse to a slow walk nearby. She had watched him from a distance for a while now and usually he would turn and wink in her direction. She found him mysterious and fascinating. He would look at her when no one was looking and smile. His smile made her toes curl in happiness. Other times, he looked like any other fierce warrior, only the costumes were different. Braves wore buckskin during the winter and the soldiers wore woolen jackets.

  Daniel was in his uniform and was more handsome than she had ever imagined she could have thought. His dark jacket had both rows of buttons up to his neckline fastened in an effort to keep warm. The wool was not near as warm as buckskin. She had several layers on as they travelled now. Including the bear hides they had snagged several months ago. While the tanning wasn’t the greatest, it was warmer than not having it.

  “I’m well, Lieutenant,” she replied with a warm smile. He grinned from where he sat on his horse. They had begun to chat more and more often, much to her delight. She had several of her brothers and sisters questioning what was going on, calling her a traitor. Instead, she advised them to make friends with the military who were their guide in this foreign land of white. It had snowed in Kentucky and most of them had never seen snow in Georgia.

  “It’s Daniel, remember?” he reminded her, leaning down from his seat. He handed his scarf down to her. Wrapping it around her neck and chin, she grinned as she caught whiff of his aftershave.

  “Thank you, Daniel,” she corrected.

  “Now, Little Fire, did you ever celebrate the holidays with your new family?” he asked, making small talk.

  “Well,” she began, surprised at the turn the conversation had taken. “We celebrate the solstice. The People don’t believe in giving just at one time of the year. We believe in giving and sharing during the entire year.”

  “Ahhhh,” he said with a small smile. “You don’t believe in the spirit of Christmas?”

  “I never said that!”

  “You never said differently either,” he teased, hopping down from the horse to walk beside her as they trudged through the snow. The wind was whipping around them and she was grateful for the scarf he had loaned her. His dark hair was dusted with the glittering snowflakes that looked like fairy dust. It reminded her of the sto
ries her father told her as a girl about the fae.

  “I remember when I was little, having trees with candles on the branches. My mother and my da would –”

  “Da? You mean Dad?” he asked quickly, catching the nickname and lilt of her speech.

  “No,” she said with a shy smile, looking away. “My da. It’s an Irish term for father.”

  “You’re Irish, sweet Little Fire?” he said with an engaging smile. “That explains that fierce fighter hidden in you.”

  “My parents were before they immigrated,” she said faintly, frowning at the memories. “I think that was correct. It was so long ago, I remember bits and pieces.”

  “So, what is your real name, Little Fire?” He nudged her shoulder with his, almost affectionately. This caused a stir of anger, rage and jealously in the others near her. She had been singled out for so long that others had noticed that she was being taken care of.

  “I think that is enough talking, Lieutenant. My adopted daughter will need every bit of her strength to keep warm during our travels,” Chief Mighty Banner interrupted, from out of nowhere. Hidden Doe looked extremely guilty beside him.

  “We are your prisoners, sir. Not your friends.”

  “You are our travelling companions.”

  “You might tend to all of the companions then, Lieutenant. Several others have fallen on this route only to be put down like vermin. Companions don’t do that.”

  The open ferocity between them was palpable. It had been a long trip, they had lost several members along the way. In fact, she just realized that she didn’t remember the last time she was alarmed at the sound of gunshots. It still occurred, yet she didn’t jump like she once did.