Too Many Rivers
Running Buck Cross stood in front of the Cherokee medicine man, Crouching Wolf, anxiously awaiting the appearance of his bride-to-be, Cherokee Rose Growing on the Prairie, to emerge from within the ceremonial tepee. His half-brother, Red Bear, Chief of the Two Suns Kiowa tribe stood beside him. Across from Red Bear, stood Chief Stone Crow of the Two Many Rivers tribe, and gathered around them was a mixed group of Kiowa's and Cherokees, all supporters of the impending union between him and Cherokee Rose.
Buck knew that not all of the people in the village were supportive of his and Cherokee's marriage. Sharp Claw, a venerated warrior in his brother's tribe had originally been promised Cherokee Rose in an alliance pact that the two chiefs had made to benefit both their tribes. The Great Spirit had chosen a different path for Cherokee Rose, when he sent Buck on a vision quest to find her again.
They had been childhood playmates. Cherokee's father, Orson Crane, was a trapper who fell in love with Rose Petals in Bloom, a member of the Two Many Rivers tribe. Crane had earned an elevated status among the members of Stone Crow's band because of his staunch support, loyalty, and his willingness to do anything to benefit the tribe as a whole.
He knew that both Crane and Rose Petals in bloom were both killed in an early morning raid on their private camp as they journeyed back from a trading post with much needed supplies for the tribe. Cherokee's visits to the Two Suns tribe had ended soon after her parents' deaths', and Buck had left for the mission a short time later.
Buck had thought he would never see Cherokee again. The years since he had left the Two Suns tribe had been filled with many challengers for him. At the mission school, he had found a blood brother and best friend for life, Ike McSwain. When they had joined the Pony express, he had gained more than a job, he had been gifted with a family he had never had before.
When the PX had ended and the others had gone in separate directions, Buck had stayed in Rock Creek for a while, but eventually his Kiowa blood called him home. His transition back into a warrior had not been an easy one, but thanks to Red Bear's new status as chief of the tribe, he had been accepted back into the fold by most of the tribe.
He had recently proven himself a valuable member of the tribe when he had used a number of tricks taught to him by Teaspoon Hunter, in the middle of a battle, which had saved the lives of all the children in the tribe. His standing in the tribe had been cemented, but not everyone approved of him being back in the tribe. A few still doubted his loyalty to the tribe because of his mixed blood. One of those doubters was Sharp Claw.
Buck shifted his weight from one foot onto the other and wondered what was taking so long for Cherokee to emerge from the ceremonial tepee. Had she decided that she wasn't ready to get married yet? Maybe she had realized that she did not love him as much as she thought she did and she had run off.
He knew he was letting his past mishaps with relationships get the best of him. Cherokee Rose loved him, he loved her, and that was all that mattered. He hoped that he would be the husband to Cherokee Rose that she deserved. He knew that he loved her with his mind, body, and soul. Such all-consuming love was frightening, and he hoped that he never did anything to hurt Cherokee Rose or make her regret choosing him to be her husband.
The rhythmic sound of drums beating out the wedding chant brought Buck out of his reverie. He watched with growing anticipation as female relatives of Cherokee Rose's emerged from the ceremonial tepee before his bride-to-be.
His breath caught and held as he took in the vision walking toward him. Sunlight glistened off the tops of her head, setting her dark hair ablaze with copper highlights, and making the multi-hued glass beads interwoven throughout the luxurious strands, shine. He had known they would do that when he had purchased them at the trading post he had visited a few weeks earlier. He had strung them together himself and bestowed them upon her as a wedding present.
His perusal travelled down over her exquisite features. She had soft, tanned skin a shade lighter than his bronze coloring. Her eyes were a rich honey brown that could spark with passion at a single caress, ignite with fire when angered, and had the ability to peer into his soul with a single look or pierce his heart with a solitary caress.
As he took in the details of her white wedding dress, admiring how the soft deerskin accentuated her womanly curves to perfection, Buck was struck with awe again, at how fortunate he was that such an amazing woman had fallen in love with him. Especially since their first moments of re-acquaintance had been fraught with danger, emotion, and death.
Three months earlier, he had left his village on a vision quest. It had consisted of a grassy, disheveled campsite, two dead braves, and a beautiful, troubled woman. The pieces of his vision had fallen into place faster than he had expected. He had been only two days out from the village when he had discovered the ravaged campsite and the two dead braves.
The dead braves were Walks with Buffalo and Winds in Water from the Too Many Rivers tribe, and were assigned by Chief Stone Crow to escort Cherokee Rose to the Two Suns settlement so she could begin the courtship ritual with Sharp Claw. Buck was in the process of investigating what had happened, when Cherokee Rose had attacked him. Cherokee's movements were fueled by grief and rage, while Buck was acting purely on instinct.
He was not even aware that he was fighting a woman until right after he felt the cold steel of a blade slash his right side. As his knees buckled and he felt darkness closing in on him, he had heard an oddly familiar voice calling out his name. He had awakened to pain and Cherokee Rose caring for him.
While he recuperated from the wound she had inflicted upon him, they would become reacquainted again. By the time he was able to ride again, both were already aware that they were falling in love with one another.
When they arrived back at the village, Buck had to watch with a sinking heart as Cherokee Rose was presented to Sharp Claw, and plans were made for the courtship ritual to begin. They'd begun sneaking around in order to spend time with one another, until one day, Sharp Claw caught them talking intimately with each other. Cherokee Rose had declared to the whole tribe that she did not love Sharp Claw, and together she and Buck announced their devotion for one another.
To help Sharp Claw save face from the humiliation of his intended bride declaring her affections for another brave, Red Bear had decided that his brother and the venerated warrior would duel for her honor. Buck had won the duel, and despite Sharp Claw's protests, both Chief Stone Crow and Red Bear had agreed to the marriage and here they were now.
Buck smiled at Cherokee Rose and mouthed the words 'I love you' to her, as Cherokee Rose took her place beside him. Cherokee Rose smiled back at him, her eyes shining with her devotion to him, as well as unshed tears. As the medicine man began to chant the words of the wedding ceremony, Buck knew that his life was never going to be the same. With Cherokee Rose by his side, he knew that whatever obstacles the Great Spirit through at them, they would meet head on together.