Her Name

Chapter 1

"Lincoln, I need your help."

"You don't want help, Dawn. You want revenge," he countered.

"Jus drein jus daun."

"Aren't you sick of it. It seems to me that when 'blood must have blood' governs, everyone dies. You've devoted your life to peace, Dawn. Do not let this change who you are," Lincoln protested.

"Without my brother, I don't know who I am anymore."

"I know who you are. Yu laik Abenaki kom Trikru." (You're Abenaki of Trikru.)

"Ai laik Abenaki kom Azgeda." (I'm Abenaki of Ice Nation.)

Dawn paused and took a deep breath.

"And in Azgeda, jus drein jus daun rules. I know you've been watching them, Lincoln. Please, I ask for the life of just their leaders in return for the hundreds killed in my brother's village."

"They won't understand. If you take the lives of their leaders, they'll take yours."

"If my death is the price for justice, I will pay it," she declared bravely.

"Jus drein jus daun is not justice. And even if you killed them, what good would it do? Only more will die. War will break out," Lincoln protested.

"They massacred an entire village filled with innocent women, elders, and children. War is already upon us. It is our duty to win it for our people."

"You're judgment is clouded by pain, Dawn. What would your father say?"

"My father ruled by jus drein jus daun," she argued.

"And what would your mother say?"

"My mother is dead. And because of Skaikru, my brother now is, too."

"Your brother wouldn't want this."

"Then it is good that he is not here to stop it."

"A wise warrior once told me that we fight only to protect those we love and those too weak to protect themselves, and that peace is worth a high price. She taught me that forgiveness is the only way to live with one's pain. Where is she now? Because the woman standing before me today embodies everything she has fought against."

"That warrior died with my brother. She was weak. I am not."

"I won't help you murder them," he stated firmly.

"Then, I'll do it myself."

Dawn exited the cave before Lincoln could say anything else. He doubted that there was anything he could say to change her mind.

"You'll help me whether you want to or not," Dawn muttered to herself once outside of the cave.

The warrior hid among the trees. Sooner or later, Lincoln would go to see the sky people, and when he did, she would follow.

Lincoln soon left his cave to go hunting. Oddly enough, he stopped at a steep slope and descended from the high ground he had been on. When he came back up, he was carrying a girl. She was unconscious, but most importantly, she was Skaikru. Dawn followed Lincoln back to his cave, but did not enter. Later, the girl tried to escape, but Lincoln captured her once more. He did not say anything to his prisoner.

"Please, those people out there are my friends. You have to help them or they'll be killed," she screamed as Lincoln carried her back to the cave. "Please! My brother is out there!"

Dawn followed the two back to Lincoln's cave. This time, she entered.

"Ai kamp raun hir sis au." (I came here to help.)