Hello readers! Before you begin I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to read my story and I hope you like it!
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Chapter 1
I was standing a top the highest hill in our territory. The wind wiped at my long, black braids. My friend, the eagle, circled high above me, ridding the up-drafts while waiting to spot his prey bellow.
The crisp october breeze played with the fringe on my dress as I stood silently and just listened. My grandmother once told me that if I was silent enough I would be able to hear the wind sing and the trees laugh as they watched the leaves dance.
âNina! Get down here! We are supposed to be gathering the berries.â My best friend Tiva stood at the bottom of the hill, hands on hips, tapping her foot.
I looked down at my half-full basket and sighed. Mother would not be happy if I came home with so few berries. I waved goodbye to the eagle and started down the hill towards my friend.
Tiva had always been the more sensible one. Like most girls in our tribe she wanted a nice, strong husband to build her a sturdy home, and have healthy children. She always did everything she was told and never strayed from the ways of our people. The only thing wild or untamed about Tiva was her hair. Unlike most girls and women in our tribe, she wore her hair straight down her back, flowing and free.
âWhy do you always have to ruin my fun?â I asked.
We walked side by side in companionable silence through the woods. All the while we picked the few stray berries we could find for it was late in the harvest season.
âDyami is coming home with the hunting party today. Are you excited to see him?â Tiva asked.
Dyami. The strong and silent man that had been chosen to be my husband. He was kind, but still a man of few words which made him seem cold and distant.
âI suppose Iâm excited. I will be glad to know he is safe but...I donât know Tiva. Do you think I should marry him? Father thinks very highly of him and I know he would be able to provide for me, but I just donât love him.â I had stopped walking and sat under a tree. I played with the end of my long braid as I contemplated my impending marriage. Tiva sat next to me and put her hands over mine. I looked up at my friend.
âNina, Dyami is a good man. He will be kind to you, provide for you, keep you safe. You know itâs a good idea and maybe over time you can learn to lo-â
A shot rang through the woods and interrupted Tiva. The war cries of our people rang through the forest as more shots went off. Tiva and I looked at each other. We dropped our baskets and ran. We ran as fast as our feet would carry us. The eagle soared above us and cried out as if to say he would go to battle with us.
We sprang through the trees and skidded to halt as we saw the scene before us. Men were being taken from the fields and arrested, women were being dragged out of their homes, children were crying as they stood still after they were separated from their parents. I squeezed Tivaâs hand, then we went our separate ways.
I ran to my home and found the door ripped off. I walked in and saw most of our belongings strewn across the floor. Pottery was broken, baskets of grain were spilled on the ground, blankets and clothes thrown around. I quickly gathered a large buckskin bag full of extra clothes and an extra blanket. I added some of our dried meat that we had been saving for the winter and some berries, then ran out of my home.
