Ma'iitsoh

Chapter 3

Kathryn opened the door as silently as possible. It creaked, one day the darn thing will come off it's hinges. She walked to the stables, saddled Providence, took a mental note and realised she was ready to leave.

The midnight air was ice cold and storm clouds hung low over the mountain range.

"Please don't let it rain." She prayed to herself.

Only a few miles passed and she was caught in a terrifying storm. A lightning bolt struck a nearby tree. Providence reared up on his hind legs, Kathryn could not hold on and fell to the ground in a wet, muddled lump, drenched to the skin. She caught the sight of someone in her peripheral vision and froze.

She held on to Providence's mane, tried to shield her eyes from the rain. Once she could see clearer, Kathryn realised she stood face to face with an Indian.

He spoke to Providence in a language she could not understand, the stallion became calm. The next moment the tall figure said, "walk" and her feet obediently seemed to follow even though her whole being tried to protest. Providence seemed to have taken a liking to the stranger,

"Traitor." Kathryn cursed under her breath. She was too cold to pick a fight, not one she knew she would lose. They walked for a long time, her feet started to blister and burn.

Once they reached what might have been his cabin and warmth seeped into her body, Kat glanced at whom she thought to be her rescuer, her blood ran cold and she stopped breathing. Before she fainted, the last thing she could recollect was the malice in his hooded eyes.

Kat slowly opened her eyes, she was lying on a makeshift cot of sorts. Her feet were covered, at first she thought it must be the mud she stepped in. Then she noticed it looked like vegetation. Kat could hear no movement. She got off the cot and looked around. It was indeed a cabin. Next to the front door she found a tub and a basin. Across from it, something that resembled a kitchen and a fully stocked pantry.

The seating area had wooden, carved furniture, sparsely placed over a large area. A fire burned in the hearth. The walls and floors were covered in woven rugs. To her right she found a staircase and realised the cot was placed right under it. She walked up the stairs, no one else was there and she exhaled in relief. The room had a huge bed covered in a colourful quilt, a closet and a small window to the left.

She gazed out, it was still raining. It looked peaceful and green. From where she stood, she could see hills and mountains and a large stream seemed to pass the cabin.

Kat descended the stairs and headed for the tub. She boiled water and washed herself from head to toes. The water stung her feet. She took a sheet from a hook and wrapped it around her. She had forgotten about her clothes.

There he stood again. She had never seen anyone that could closely resemble the man that stood in front of her. She took it all in at once. His skin was coppery brown, he had a sloping forehead that gave him a hooded look. High cheek bones and thin lips, a straight nose, deep set eyes, she could not tell if they were brown or black. His hair was long and the same colour as hers. He had two braids on either side of his face and a feather hung from it.

Lone Wolf stared at the raven haired beauty in front of him. He had been a scout since the age of thirteen and had observed the village of the pale faces for months. Often he had seen her and the huge beast running while the wind swept their heads into one. Lone Wolf looked at her eyes. The colour of the sky, he thought. Her skin was strange to him, as if someone had bathed her in milk. He wanted to smile, she looked like a trapped rabbit. He looked from her face down her slender neck to her breasts, held tight by the sheet, he could see the peaks protrude from under the sheet and desire gripped him. His blood heated and he stared.