Many Horses 7

Walks Far watched her ride ahead of him not entirely believing what she had said. Either she was up to something or was serious about what she had said, determining which was true would become the difficult part.

Winter set in with the same ferocity it always did and Many Horses turned to her quilling to keep her busy. She spent time with Blue Raven and sometimes bundled up to go riding with her husband. As he had predicted she was with child and by the time spring arrived she found it hard to walk anywhere without straining her back.
She awoke him early one morning asking for Blue Raven after which he sat out side for hours listening to her scream and moan. His father had come to sit next to him although no words were spoken between the two, it wasn't neccesary.
She gave birth to a baby boy soon after and Walks Far could not help but rush inside to find the baby boy clean but placed to the side in an effort to stem the bleeding from Many Horses body.
"cover her" he demanded picking her up and running outside heading for the cold stream as fast as he could. Her blood began to soak his front side and she grew weaker. The shock of running into the cold water and immersing her snapped her awake so suddenly that she began to flail her arms.
"what are you doing?" she shouted panicked
"you are bleeding" he said very calmly managing to hold on despite her struggling
"stop" he finally shouted
she shivered at the coldness of the water and just looked up at him. "where is the baby?"
"with Blue Raven"
They sat there like that for hours until the bleeding stopped. By then his legs were so cold and numb that he could barely stand. He carried her back to their lodge and watched as she fell asleep still not entirely convinced that he would not loose her. Their son had been cleaned, fed and well cared for by his mother and Blue Raven. Right now all he wanted was to take the small bundle and just walk, looking down at the small face and marveling. He returned to Many Horses not long after waiting and watching over the next several days as under the care of a healer and many women she grew stronger and the color returned to her once vibrant face.
She finally had enough of being cooped up one day and announced that she was going for a short walk. Walks Far would not let her go alone however and presented her with an exqusitely handcrafted cradleboard that could be carried on her back. She immediatley bundled the baby in it and slipped it on her back. They walked to where the horses were and then a little beyond. He had been told by others that a group of Cheyenne had been seen about a day's ride from where they were camped. No doubt they would be coming after Many Horses as she was not simply Kills Many's intended but also a special woman partly for her ability to communicate with horses the way she did but also because she could understand people. Unbeknownst to her he had agreed to ride out and find these men the next day. She was well enough to be on her own now and would be well guarded.

Many Horses awoke the next morning to find her husband gone. She knew that he'd had to ride out with several other men but nonetheless still felt empty with him gone. She decided to get an early start and bundled the still sleeping baby gently strapping him to her back and walking down to the stream. They would soon be moving everyone to another place where they would be spending the summer and some of the fall. She had come to love this place and didn't want to leave it but had been used to this sort of routine all her life. The horses were a little restless as she walked among them, some grunted, others whinnied and while she didn't find the behavior strange she did want to know what was behind it all.
"Many Horses"
She stopped immediatley trying to discern which direction the call had come from and listened intently as her name was called again. An uneasy feeling came over Many Horses as she turned and walked towards one of the few trees out here.
"do not call out" Kills Many warned her
"how did you get here?" she demanded wanting to know how he had not been seen by anyone
"It does not matter, I will help you escape"
He had obviously seen the baby but displayed no shock or surprise whatsoever, his goal was to get her back.
"this is my home, I will not return with you"
"you are Cheyenne" he angrily reminded her
"I will always be Cheyenne" she replied "I will remain among the crow"
"what did he do to you?" Kills Many wanted to shout as loud as he could but would not risk being found out. As it was all she would have to do is yell.
"he told me the truth, about the woman you killed" she said calmly "that woman had been his wife"
Kills Many understood everything now, Many Horses was his revenge. There was nothing he could say or do that would erase the truth of what he had done. In that moment he had simply been killing an enemy to the Cheyenne but now it had cost him the woman he loved.

To be continued....