This is the story of Stands With A Fist's first husband Thunder Horse. I hope you like it. Please let me know what you think. It is a sweet story now, but will get juicer later on.
[1]
Thunder Horse stepped out of his lodge, and right into the path of Yellow Flower. He heaved a weary sigh before turning and walking in the opposite direction. She followed of course. Ever since word spread through the camp that he was looking for a wife, eligible girls had started popping up everywhere he turned. At first he enjoyed the attention, but he was growing tired of their constant flirting and random giggling. Lately he had to mount his paint and escape to the prairie to get a moments peace. Yellow Flower, more than most, had that look in her eyes, like he was a prime piece of buffalo and she had a powerful hunger to satisfy. More than once she had offered to let him have what should be reserved for her wedding night. He could not know for sure, but her boldness led him to believe that she had given that gift away long ago.
Thunder Horse was almost running, and Yellow Flower was trying to keep up. She called out his name and he pretended not to hear her. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dove Feather step out of her father's lodge, and he swerved to the right to avoid her. He made it to the ponies and he leaped onto the prized pinto that his father had given him after his first raid. He grabbed a fist full of mane and took off. He loved the feel of the wind on his face, and the raw power of the horse under him. Thunder Horse's best friend, Wind In His Hair rode up beside him. They smiled at each other and rode out into the vast open prairie.
[2]
Stands With a Fist re-adjusted the bundle of kindling that was flung over her shoulder. It was only mid-day and already her body ached. She had carried the bladders to the river and back again, filled with water for the family, then scrapped two large buffalo hides and hung them up to dry. She collected two large bundles of wood for Kicking Bird's fire. The nights were already growing colder, and before long she would be bringing in three bundles a day.
Later, after helping Black Shawl with preparation of the evening meal, she had some bead work that needed to be done while there was still light to see by. Stands With a Fist stepped into the dark lodge, lit only by the sun streaming in where the flap was thrown back. She neatly added her wood to the existing supply.
"Stands With a Fist, you have done much work today." Stands turned to see her adopted father sitting in the darkness of his fort, carving a piece of wood into a bear for his young son.
"Yes, there is much work to do," She replied, "and not many hours to get it done."
"You are a good daughter." He carved without looking at her.
"Thank you." She rolled up the sling that she had used to carry the wood from the forest, and put it in its place until it was needed again.
"Come and sit with me. We will have a talk." Stands walked over to Kicking Bird and lowered herself to her knees on the buffalo skin that lined the floor of the lodge.
"You have lived with my family for fourteen winters, and you lived almost 10 winters before you came to be with the Sioux people. I think it is time you considered taking a husband." He stated suddenly, Stands With a Fist was speechless for a moment.
"Who would have me as a wife?" She asked doubtfully.
"Why do you say this?" He asked.
"I'm not …I'm wasichu, a white woman." She reminded.
"You are a good Sioux woman with a good Sioux name. You will make a fine wife." Stands was skeptical.
"For who? No one has expressed an interest in me. Have they?" She asked, suddenly hopeful.
"Thunder Horse is looking for a wife. Every day the young girls follow him through the village trying to win his affections. If he is not to your liking, there are many other good prospects?" Stands blushed and lowered her eyes.
"Thunder Horse is a fine warrior, and he would make a good husband, but he doesn't have time to notice me. There are many other girls to choose from who are…not white." Kicking Bird patted Stands sympathetically on the shoulder.
"How will he ever notice you if you are always working."
"Would you rather we run out of water, or wood, or food to eat, or blankets to keep your children warm in winter?" She reasoned.
"What you say makes sense." He went back to his carving.
"You would think that with all the girls following Thunder Horse around that one of them would think to stock his wood pile, or fill his bladders with water. Yet he must tend to these things himself." Kicking Bird raised an eyebrow in her direction. Stands smiled at her adopted father who was a wise holy man to their people. She decided that in this he was also wise. She nodded without saying a word. Instead she rose to her feet and retrieved the wood sling and exited the lodge.
[3]
When Thunder Horse snuck back into his lodge and lowered the flap at dusk, he was shocked to find a huge pile of firewood and two full bladders of water. He was confused by this. He hung up the fish that he had caught that afternoon and lit his cooking fire. As he cleaned and cooked the trout, he thought about who could have stocked his lodge while he was gone, but he could not think of whom it could have been. After cleaning up after himself, Thunder Horse stretched out on his only buffalo skin to sleep alone.
[4]
When Stands awoke the next morning, Kicking Bird was preparing to leave. After dinner the night before, she told Kicking Bird that she had seen only one blanket in Thunder Horse's lodge, and she expressed concern about the coming winter. Kicking Bird told her he would think on it, and before he left the lodge for the day, he recommended a solution.
"Stands With a Fist, you have skinned many blankets for our family. We have almost enough to get us through the Winter. Perhaps you can find someone else who has use of a blanket." Black Shawl looked at her husband with a puzzled expression on her face. Stands only smiled.
"I will make a fine blanket." She assured.
"Walk with me wife." Kicking Bird and Black Shawl stepped out of the lodge and left Stands to get the children up and begin putting away the sleep pallets.
[5]
"You are giving away buffalo skins now?" Black Shaw asked.
"It is time Stands took a husband. " He declared, and Black Shawl did not disagree.
"It is customary for the groom to give gifts to the bride's father, not the other way around." She reminded her husband.
"Stands is interested in Thunder Horse, but she does not think she has a chance because she is white. Thunder Horse is a wise man. He will see the benefit in a wife who is willing to work hard to keep his lodge. I did." Black Shawl smiled tenderly and kissed her husband.
"I thought you chose me because of my beauty and my charm." She teased.
"That too." He smiled, then turned to leave. Black Shawl went back inside.
[6]
"I will do that." She said, taking her husband's pallet from Stands. "You best start on your blanket."
Obediently, Stands left the lodge and took a skin from the place where they were stored in the lean-to. She staked it to the ground, and on her hands and knees, with her knife she scraped the skin side. It took nearly an hour to get it as smooth as she wanted it. As she worked, she noticed Thunder Horse and Wind In His Hair walking towards the woods with their bows. Yellow Flower, Dove Feather, and Silver Shield followed along behind them. Stands felt the sudden sting of jealousy, but she continued working. She strung the blanket up and went to find her horsehair brushes and dyes. She knew exactly how she wanted to decorate the skin side of the blanket, with a picture of Thunder Horse's pony, and dark storm clouds behind. Hours later as she was putting on the finishing touches, Stands looked up to find Black Shawl and Pretty Shield admiring her work. The two older women studied it intently as Stands waited for their reaction. She finally dared to breathe when Pretty Shield, the chief's wife, gave an approving smile.
"You have a real gift dear! It is beautiful. Thunder Horse will treasure it!" Stands was suddenly embarrassed.
"How did you know it was for Thunder Horse?" She wanted to know.
"It's his horse, and…It is obvious." Pretty Shield stated, but her tone was all-knowing. Stands wondered if the two women had been discussing her situation. The two older women left Stands to finish up. Fortunately, the dye soaked right into the skin and it didn't take long at all to dry. She made her mark in the bottom corner. It was the same mark that she put on every blanket that she made, a crescent moon.
Thunder Horse was still out when she placed the blanket inside his lodge. He had used one of the two bladders that she had filled the day before, so she took the empty one and took stock of his wood supply. He would need half a bundle. Two of her father's bladders needed to be filled and they had used nearly half of the wood that she had gathered yesterday. Two slings of wood should be enough to supply both lodges.
After she had fetched the water and wood, she took a basket and went to look for berries, which she divided into a small bowl for Thunder Horse, and a larger bowl for Kicking Bird and his family. She finally sat down to rest under a shade tree and immediately Kicking Bird's youngest daughter fell into her lap, begging to have her hair braided. Stands was happy to do this. Sitting there, she witnessed Thunder Horse and Wind In His Hair triumphantly return with a young buck hanging from a pole between them. The girls, looking frustrated, disappointed, and completely ignored trailed along behind them, not nearly as happy as when they had passed by earlier. Stands was amused. She didn't bear the girls ill will, but Kicking Bird had been right all along, It was Thunder Horse that she wanted for herself. She only hoped that her father was right about this as well. Her greatest fear was that some other girl would lay with Thunder Horse beneath the blanket that she so lovingly made for him.
From where she sat, Stands went unnoticed as she watched the two warriors dress the buck. They divided the meat, and Thunder Horse hung the hide out to dry. They had chased the girls away by pretending to throw the bloody scraps on them, and Stands enjoyed the sound of their male voices as they recounted the hunt. When they finished, Thunder Horse went into his lodge and came back out carrying the filled bladders of water. He was no longer smiling. He handed one of the bladders to Wind In His Hair, and he used the other to wash his hands and his knife.
"You look troubled, my friend. What is wrong?" She heard Wind In His Hair ask.
"For two days, someone has entered my lodge when I was not home. They have filled my bladders with water and stocked my wood pile. Today, they also left berries, and this." Thunder reached inside and pulled out the buffalo skin. He held it up and both men marveled over the quality of the design.
"You don't have any idea who left this?" Thunder Horse's friend asked.
"No idea whatsoever. It is beautiful!" He proclaimed as a smile returned to his lips.
"The person who made this for you must really care for you. It took much work to create such detail. I have never seen a finer blanket!" Thunder Horse put the blanket back inside his lodge and he and his friend carried the excess meat to the storehouse.
[7]
Stands waited for Thunder Horse to leave again the next morning before she made her way to his lodge to get his bladders. When she entered the lodge, she found the empty bladders on the floor under a package wrapped in a piece of buckskin. She carefully unwrapped the gift to find a beautiful strand of beads. A huge smile spread across her face as she held the strand to her heart before slipping it over her head. She went about her chores, never noticing that someone was watching her.
[8]
"You are sure of this? Stands With A Fist?" Thunder Horse questioned his friend.
"I saw her with my own two eyes! I swear." Wind In His Hair placed a hand over his naked chest to swear his oath. Thunder Horse walked quickly in the direction of his lodge. The first thing he noticed was that the deerskin that he had hung the night before was missing. He turned to face his friend who had followed.
"Did you see her take it?" He asked. His friend shrugged his shoulders and then nodded his head. Thunder Horse looked inside his lodge to find it fully stocked. Beside the fresh bowl of berries was a loaf of flat bread. Thunder Horse smiled, but was stern faced again when he looked at his friend. Without saying a word, he walked towards Kicking Bird's lodge. He stopped to speak to Kicking Bird's young son.
"Where is Stands With A Fist?" He asked. The young boy pointed in the direction of the river. Thunder Horse walked with a steady and deliberate gait in the direction that the boy indicated. Wind In His Hair fell behind and let him go on alone.
As he approached the river he crouched down, sneaking quietly through the tall grass like the excellent warrior that he was. He heard hear humming a song as he got closer. He stopped moving when he finally saw her. She was wading in the water, enjoying the coolness on her feet. He watched her as she sat down on a large flat boulder in the middle of the stream. Her hand moved to the necklace and he smiled. He wondered how he had not thought of her before. She was beautiful, unique, and perfect. Boldly, he stepped out of the grass and she saw him. She looked startled. His stare penetrated her and she could barely breathe. He stepped into the water and made his way towards her without ever taking his eyes from hers. Her heart was pounding and she considered trying to run away, but she couldn't move. He stopped in front of her and she could not help but lower her eyes. She could feel herself trembling. He reached up and fingered the beads around her neck and she knew that he knew.
"Did you take my deerskin?" He finally asked. She was confused that he would mention that before anything else. Was he angry?
"Yes." She admitted guiltily.
"Why?" He asked.
"To make you buckskin leggings for the winter." She answered meekly. He considered this and smiled.
"Are you as skilled at sewing as you are at making blankets?" She blushed and smiled back.
"Then I will be a well-dressed warrior." There was silence except for the rolling river and the sound of a passing flock of geese. "And a most fortunate husband." Stands looked up at him, not sure that she heard him correctly. He stepped closer and laid her gently back against the rock. He pressed his body against hers and tenderly they shared her first kiss. She cautiously wrapped her arms around his neck and stroked his hair as the kiss deepened. Her heart was pounding and her head was spinning, but everything ground to a halt when he moved to slide his hand between her knees.
"No!" She cried.
"Why?" He asked, still holding her bottom lip gently between his teeth. He had already suggested that they would be wed, so she struggled to find a reason that he would accept.
"Are you saving this for the marriage bed?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Good. I will wait then." He kissed her neck. "You will be mine. Now or later, it makes no difference." He whispered into her ear before using the rock to push himself off of her and then he extended his hand. She took it and he pulled her gently to her feet. Once on the shore, he knelt to dry her feet on his apron before slipping them back into her boots. He took her hand again and they walked together back towards her father's lodge.
"I like the way that you take care of me. Will you stop now that you have won my heart?" He asked.
"No. I will be a good wife to you always." She promised.
"I know that you will be. I've seen you with Black Shawl's children. You will be a good mother to my children." Stands blushed at the thought of having babies with him.
"I will make my offer to Kicking Bird tomorrow. If he accepts, we will be married right away."
"I would like that." She replied softly. As they reached the edge of the tall grass, he stopped walking and pulled her into his arms. They kissed and then he held her tight to his chest.
"I will be a good husband and provider for you and our children. You will be the wife of my heart." She squeezed him tightly as her heart soared.
"I am yours." He promised, then he released her to return to her father's lodge.