The Savage Moon

Chapter Three: Fanning the Flames

As dawn approached, Cecelia sighed. She hadn't slept, tossing restlessly throughout the night. She felt anxious, excitable, and couldn't seem to coerce her mind or body into getting still.

She rubbed her eyes sleepily and emerged from her wagon cocoon. The dawn was just beginning to lighten the sky and only a few people were up and about yet.

Pulling her shawl from inside the wagon, she made her way around to the other side, toward the cook fire and stopped short.

There he was, up before dawn, balancing a cup of coffee on his knee as he gazed into the fire.

He knew she was there before she even spoke. The morning breeze carried the smell of her lavender soap to him and he closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself.

"Good Morning." She made her way to the cook wagon and gratefully accepted a cup of steaming coffee from the camp's cook.

"Morning Miss 'Celia." She smiled at the portly fellow who served as their trail cook. They were lucky to have him. He was a genius over the campfire and she'd complimented him numerous times already along their journey.

"Good Morning, Jimmy." Cecelia said, smiling as he stirred a small bit of sugar into her cup before she turned toward the fire.

"Good morning, yourself." Jack cut a look at her and smiled an oddly knowing smile to himself.
"You're up awful early. Trouble sleeping?" His innocently asked question brought an unexpected laugh from her.

"You could say that. What about you? Are you always up this early?" She sipped her steaming coffee carefully, peeking at him over the rim of the cup.

"I don't really sleep a lot." He drained his coffee cup and tossed the remaining dregs into the fire.

"Why's that?" He smiled at her question. He couldn't help mentally noting that when the sun began to rise it seemed to cast a lovely golden sheen across her skin that was most becoming.

"My grandmother used to tell me I had a restless spirit. That I couldn't ever get still." His eyes took on a faraway look, as if he were reliving those memories before her.

"Were you close to her?" She probed gently, not wanting to push too far, but desperately wanting to know more about this man who had captivated her mind.

"Yes. She's a great lady." He glanced up at her, meeting her eyes directly for the first time that morning. The heat that had been present between them the day before remained an unspoken entity hovering between them. Neither of them spoke, but the air between them seemed to be crackling with energy and Cecelia felt a deep hum building within her, as if her body were abuzz.

Cecelia tried to divert her mind from the intense feelings that were rushing through her. "My grandmother was an unusual woman... ever heard of a seer?"

Jack seemed to stop all activity abruptly and his eyes met hers, a small smile tugging up one side of his mouth.
"You mean... a wise woman? A medicine woman, the Indians call them. They are revered and held in high regard by their tribes."

"Yes, well they weren't so well received in my family's home country. She lived a life of solitude and fear. She said she had only finally felt free and safe after she'd come across the ocean and set her feet into the soil of Carolina." A smile softened her face with the memory. "She passed before we headed on the train west. She was to come with us..."

Tears welled up unbidden and she sniffed and got ahold of herself.

"There are those in life, family or not, who seem more important to our own story. Only you can see the connection, but it's there." Jack stopped and their eyes caught. He had once again shocked himself with his reaction to this girl. Just listen to him, sitting around the fire, as the dawn lights the sky, waxing philosophical with a little slip of a girl/woman.