Yellow Moon

Ginger Simpson

Description

Yellow Moon, a Lakota maiden, accompanies her family to the Sun Dance and becomes promised to a Santee warrior who’ll soon be chief. While accompanying Thunder Eyes’ clan back to his tribe, she and the other women are stolen by the Crow, and while in Plenty Coup’s camp is told she’ll become his second wife rather than be a slave. She finds friendship and help at the hands of his first wife, a Cherokee captive called Pretty Shield. When Thunder Eye’s comes to rescue his betrothed, she begs him to take her newfound friend along, and the two women eventually become sisters-in-law. When the Crow come to extract their revenge, fate changes their destiny in a big way.

Sujets

• Ebooks
• Littérature
• Romans et nouvelles
• Western
• Romance
• Santee
• Cherokee
• Captives

Informations

• Publié par: Books We Love Ltd.
• Date de parution: 09 août 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781773626291
• Langue: English

Extrait

Yellow Moon
By Ginger Simpson
 
Digital ISBNs
EPUB 978-1-77362-629-1
Kindle 978-1-77145-355-4
WEB 978-1-77362-630-7
 
Amazon Print 978-1-77362-631-4
 

 
Copyright 2014 by Ginger Simpson
Cover Art by Michelle Lee
 
All rights reserved. Without limiting therights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publicationmay be reproduced, stores in or introduced into a retrieval system,or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without theprior writer permission of both the copyright owner and thepublisher of this book.
 
* * *
 
Dedication
 
To my blog partner and sister of my heart,Rita Karnopp, who inspires me with her informative posts andpositive friendship. You rock!
 
 
Chapter One
 
1861-Nebraska Territory (Ní Btháska, Omahameaning “flat water”)
 
 
Yellow Moon traipsed down the dried grasspath leading to the river…a lane trampled flat by many feet beforehers. Halting at the bank, she gazed at the shimmering ribbon ofblue driven southward by a rapid current. In what place did thewater gather when its journey ended? She recalled tales of thisthing called an “ocean” that stretched as far as one could see andtried to envision what such hugeness might look like.
A tap on her shoulder drew her from reverie.She gasped. Turning, and still unable to exhale, she cameface-to-face with the most attractive brave she’d ever seen.Sunlight glistened on his freshly greased braids, and muscled armsextended from a broad, smooth chest exposed beneath his fringedvest. Finding her voice proved impossible.
“Hau,” He greeted her. “I too come forwater.” He extended a pouch identical to the buffalo bladders shecarried.
Releasing her pent up breath, she let go thetension his touch raised. “I was deep in thought, and you...youstartled me.” Her gaze remained locked with his—eyes capable ofcasting fear in an enemy, yet softened by his smile.
“I am sorry I frightened you, but our meetingis not by chance. I followed you here, hoping to learn your name. Iknow I should not have approached you in this way, but I havewatched you helping the other women erect your lodge…and…I justhave to know you. Taku eniciyapi he?” He asked her name.
“ Mitakuyepi …my name is…Yellow Moon. Iam so called for the season when the leaves fall.”
“ Mitakuyepi Thunder Eyes.” He puffedout his chest and stood straighter.
She dipped her chin to her chest and smiled.Thunder Eyes? How befitting his name. His mere gaze made her heartpound like the fiercest storm. She stole a quiet breath and lookedup. “What tribe is yours?”
“The Santee, I am son of Chief BlackBear.”
The mention of his relationship caused afearful tremble to pass through her, but she swallowed hard andfound words that weren’t offensive. “I have often heard yourfather’s name spoken around our tribal campfires.”
Still the facts Father O’Reilly shared withher bounced back and forth in her mind. Black Bear was one of manychiefs who encouraged fighting to drive away the whites. Sadly, thepale face people continued to come in herds larger than thebuffalo, and stopping them most likely meant many deaths on bothsides. Already, she’d heard rumors of young warriors attacking thewhites, burning their homes, and killing their families. The imagesshe conjured caused her another fearful shudder. Retaliation meantthe war the Father feared loomed closer.
“I am to be one of the Sun dancers,” thebrave broke the silence. “Will men from your tribe dance?”
“I do not know.”
“We need the tatanka to be plentiful,and if my dance brings the herds closer to our land, then I ampleased for my sacrifice.” He squared his strong shoulders. “Markmy word, I will be the last to be free of the skewers.”
His confidence impressed her, yet Yellow Moongrimaced. The flawlessness of his chest would soon bear the sameraised scars her father bore since his youth.
Yellow Moon’s braveness suited a dancer, andthe cocky attitude of a warrior hungry for attention left no doubthe would follow his Chief’s wishes. Still, discussion of suchimportant choices never included women, and she knew her place.
Enveloped by a sudden sadness at what mostcertainly lay ahead, she cocked her head and locked gazes with him,steering their conversation back to the dance. “Having you skintorn away must surely be a test of endurance. How will you sufferthe pain? You don’t have to be tethered to the sacred tree if youdon’t request it.”
His furrowed brow showed she’d insulted him.He stepped back and glared at her. “I am ready to honor the GreatSpirit, and with instruction from the holy men, I will be even morementally prepared when the time comes.”
Kneeling at the river, he dipped his handdeep into the current and filled the bladder he brought. Glancingover his shoulder, he gazed up at her. “Will you come and watch medance? My brother will also dance, but he has chosen a lessersacrifice.”
His invitation stole the air from her lungs.“I—I would be pleased to…but, I…I cannot acknowledge you untilyou’ve asked my mother for permission to meet me.”
“I know better than approaching withoutasking first, but. I swear on my honor I will abide by custom andseek out your mother before the sun sets.”
He stood, and shook the water from his handand arm, sending glistening drops into the sunlight. “In themeantime, tell me more, Yellow Moon. Where do you live and withwhich tribe? Has someone already offered many horses to wedyou?”
At his directness, her heart pounded, and inthe midst of her confusion, her father’s face flashed in her mind.She gulped. “I must hurry back. I’m almost certain to earn myfather’s anger for taking so long.”
Easing past Thunder Eyes, she knelt to fillher own containers. Her hand brushed his copper arm, and despitethe heat, she shivered.
Water bubbled into the first bladder she heldbeneath the surface, and she quickly filled the second. Rising, sheheld both containers with one hand and wiped the grass from herfringed skirt with the other. She cast a smile at her bold admirer,amazed that this handsome man affected her as no other ever had.“Perhaps, if my mother agrees, we will speak later and you can askall the questions you need.”
She slung the bladders over her shoulder andscurried back down the path.
“Then, I will see you at the feast tonight,”he called after her.
His confidence bade her look over hershoulder, but she took a deep breath and kept within the troddenboundaries. No one had ever offered anything for her hand, butThunder Eyes didn’t need to know that.
Pausing outside her mother’s tepee, shewaited for the tingling in her cheeks to stop—sure they wereflushed red. A gentle breeze fluttered wisps of hair loosened fromher braids. She peered down the trail but didn’t see Thunder Eyes.She sighed. Would he seek permission to court her? Waiting to findout would surely make the day pass more slowly.
The hot sun beat down upon her head. Althoughsummer, Wipazunkawaštewi , the moon of June berries, fire formeal preparation and providing light still remained her dailychore. She also had parfleches to hang, and beds to prepare.Already her body ached from the long walk to the Sun Dance site andhaving helped erect the tepee, but she resented being left behindwhile her siblings were free to have fun. She scanned thescenery.
The open prairie selected for the gatheringdidn’t provide much wooded shade like her tribe’s camp, but tepeesby the thousands spiked the flat land of the high prairie wheremany Sioux and other plains tribes gathered. Once she finished herchores, she’d join the crowds…but only if her father didn’t findmore for her to do. Sometimes she resented how men consideredwomen’s chores beneath them, but then she recalled how hard heworked, even in the worst weather, to keep them fed and defended.Shame gripped her.
She ducked inside only to find him stillworking on his bow. He obviously hadn’t even noticed her absence.“ Ate , I have fresh, cool water. Are you thirsty?”
Had she turned into a ghost dancer? He didn’teven look up.
“Oh,” she released a loud breath. “This daymakes me long for the winter snow.”
Her attempt to capture her father’s attentionfailed. He sat against his willow backrest, his focus on stringingnew sinew.
“Of course,” she spoke louder, “the heat isbound to worsen once the women prepare the cooking fire and lightthe torches for tonight’s feast.” Perhaps a mention of the eveningfestivities would remind him she was missing out on making newfriends and having fun. If her father heard her, he showed noindication.
Yellow Moon, her shoulders sagging, hung thebladders and turned her attention to making each person’sindividual bed. She lugged a stack of buffalo hides and blanketscloser to the fire ring and dropped them with a loud thud. StillAte didn’t stir.
How she wished she was younger than almostseventeen summers because somewhere, her brother and sister enjoyedthe company of others while she worked. Still, her maturitypromised more