Dawn's Fire, book 2 of the Dawn Fire trilogy

Chapter 17; Different Ways

Chapter 17

Different Ways 

       The next morning long after sun up, Dawn Fire finally stirred and rejoined the world of the conscious. With a contented sigh, she cuddled deeper into the thick buffalo hides covering her and rubbed the amazingly soft tanned leather of the hide’s underside with an idle finger. For the first time in a week she was satisfactorily warm. She turned over and looked into the glowing embers of the cooking fire which sent up a curling column of light grey smoke spiraling upwards towards the opening far overhead. She looked around herself and noticed suddenly that there was no one else in the tent with her. There was another thing that she had been deprived of, and now was allowed to enjoy; she was all by herself.  

      The faint scraping of stone against stone reached Dawn Fire’s ears from outside the teepee. With a groan she sat up and stretched, letting out a wide yawn. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath of air into her lungs, feeling a deep sense of peace settle over her. How strange that after everything that had happened which had served to turn her entire life upside down and inside out, she could still feel such peace. With a song of thanksgiving singing in her heart, Dawn Fire lifted her hands heavenward and whispered out into the stillness of the teepee’s interior, “Thank you my Lord and my God for all that You have done for this one, the least of your servants. I gave you my life many years ago and you have brought me safe thus far. I trust in you Father, to bring me the rest of the way to the end of the story which you have already written for my life. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.” 

       A well spring of joy began to bubble up from the depths of Dawn Fire’s heart and she could not help but giggle. How awesome was her God! Look at all that He had done on behalf of his followers so far! She could just imagine all the stories already circulating through this pocket of isolated humanity. And yet it had already been proven to be not as isolated as all of that; not for the God of the Universe Who had already touched these people’s lives in such awesome and mysterious ways. Yes, He was definitely at work here and she suspected that He was far from finished. Julianna, now Dawn Fire, could hardly wait to see what her Heavenly Father had in store for them next. Whatever it was, she was sure that it was going to be quite an adventure!      

      Again the sound of the women working on the other side of the scraped buffalo hide covered entrance reached her mulling mind. Her new master’s mother and sister had been kind enough to let her sleep herself out but suddenly she felt guilty for being so idle while they did all the work. She was a slave now after all and had best learn her new role as quickly as she could. With a new found determination to serve her new master and his family in all ways, Dawn Fire leapt up onto her feet. A gasp of pain escaped her as her full weight came to rest upon her tender blistered feet. As she bent involuntarily over and struggled to remain standing she suddenly noticed a pair of thick rabbit fur slippers sitting near the foot of her sleeping fur. At the sight of their silky softness she felt her toes start to itch with longing to sink into the slipper’s depths. But politeness had been so ingrained into Dawn Fire that she could never assume such a liberty without asking first. But before she bent to pick them up she quickly twined her long flaming red hair around, tied it in a knot at the back of her head and then wrapped her wool blanket around her shoulders. Then with slippers in hand Dawn Fire headed for the door, ready to work.

      As she lifted up the thick hide door, blindingly pure sunlight reflected on new snow assaulted her dark- dilated eyes. She blinked back tears and finally made out the two widely smiling women sitting upon hide rugs. Wind In Trees stood to her feet and began to speak in a soft kindly tone to Dawn Fire in the staccato sounding Arapaho language. She only smiled and shrugged her shoulders slightly to signify that she did not understand. A trace of her deep childhood fear for strangers touched her and made her suddenly bashful so she looked down at the corner of the teepees hide covered floor which she still stood on, uncertain of what to do or say.