Breaking Through Time

Chapter 23 Love is Peace

I walk with Pocahontas into a tipi where Pawnee is lying asleep.

"Pocahontas, I need you to just be present as I question him. I may need to ask you things to confirm his story. Could you get your men to sit his body up?" she does as I ask and the men standing outside position Pwanees body up for me, while I continue talking to Pocahontas.

"For now, could you tell me anything you know about a woman in your village... Her name is Pima."

Pocahontas's eyes shoot wide open and fear lands on her face.

"She is mine and the chief's daughter..."

"Could you tell me more about her? How old is she? What is her role in the village?" I ask as I look in my bag for the machine that attaches to people's necks. I hear Pocahontas stutter and I turn around to look at her. Her eyes are filled with tears and she is trying very hard to keep it together and asks

"Is she the one which must be sacrificed in order to keep the peace?"

I walk back to Pocahontas and put her hands into mine and say

"I am not here to take anyone's life and I will not be your daughter's ending, but she plays an important role here and I would like to know more about her."

We suddenly hear grunts coming from Pawnee, so I quickly turn around and place on his neck my device. I can see that it connects to my AI and I adjust it, so he can be comfortable, but unable to move. As I do that I can hear Pocahontas starting to tell me

"She is seventeen years old, she is a lovely, happy young woman, a skilled fighter, good cook and kind person. We have been encouraging her to marry as she is able to start a family of her own, but she says she is not ready... She goes out hunting regularly with our people..."

"Is Sekani part of the hunting group?"

"How do you know?"

"Could you tell me, who does your husband thinks this man is?"

"He thinks this man is a spy from the Okelousa tribe"

"Why does he think that?"

"The Okelousa tribe has been attacking our people for the last year, destroying our crops, taking our animals... My husbands thinks its just a matter of time before they will come to attack our village."

"Could you tell me about this tribe? How far are they from here? How do you know of them?"

"They are a couple of hours walk from our village. They have been our allies for many generations. I was friends with their chief's wife when I was a child... It all started really when they started to marry their sons and daughters to another tribe near them, that is also how our language became to differ so much. Men in our village were disappointed, as the women in the Okelousa tribe have been very beautiful. Shortly after that our animals started to be scarce, the men said it was the Okelousa men, that came and took them. Then we had a few bad harvests and the men said it was Okelousa men poisoning our crops, from that point every disaster seemed to be blamed on the Okelousa tribe, rightfully so or not, nobody questioned it. One year are men, filled with anger went and killed some of their men. In return, they attacked us and killed some of ours. From that point, we became hostile to one another..."

Pawnee's eyes shoot open and he started to struggle against invisible restraints and shouts

"What is this magic?! You witches! I will not let you use your dark magic on me!"

I walk up to him and ask

"Pawnee, are you of the Okelousa tribe?"

"Who are you?" He grunts angrily at me