-1760
I remembered that day clearly.
When I awoke that morning in our long house, I could hear the birds chirping and a few of our villagers singing outside.
I rolled over on my cot, still a bit drowsy from my sleep and smiled at my brother. Ratohnhaké:ton was still sleeping. I quietly sat up and stretched my arms over my head, not wanting to disturb my sleeping sibling.
I stood up slowly and made my way out of our home. I rubbed my eyes as the soft rays of morning sunshine danced across my face. The air was warm this morning and the sky was its normal blue, with not a cloud in the sky.
It did not take me long to find my mother. She was sitting cross legged by the hearth in the center of our village. She was speaking to Oiá:ner, my grandmother and our village clan mother.
"Istá" I whispered with a smile. My mother turned towards me at the sounds my voice and gave me a smile. I loved her smile. My mother was beautiful in every way. I'd even heard people saying that I was beginning to look like her.
I made my way towards the hearth and I wrapped my arms around my mother's neck.
"Good morning Kateri. Did you sleep well?" Mother asked me softly. I rested my head against her shoulder and nodded. I heard her laugh softly as she pulled me away.
She motioned for me to sit down in front of her. I complied and sat with my back to her as I faced the fire. I close my eyes with a smile as mother ran her fingers through my hair and began to fashion it into a braid.
Oiá:ner then stood and told us that she had matters to attend to that day. She smiled at mother and touched my cheek softly as she left.
"Ratohnhaké:ton is no doubt still asleep." My mother stated, a smile in her voice. I giggled. My brother enjoyed sleeping in on most days. It got him into a bit of trouble sometimes.
We sat in silence for several more minutes while mother finished braiding my hair. While she finished, I played with the small bracelet that hung on my wrist. I'd received it for my birthday from mother and Ratohnhaké:ton. It'd taken them several days to make. It was several different colors, but my favorite part was the intricate wooden wolf that my mother had carved.
When mother was done with my hair, she gently laid her hand on my shoulder. "Perhaps it is time that we wake your brother."
Mother offered me her hand as she stood from the ground. I took it happily and skipped alongside her as we made our way back to our longhouse.
As we walked inside, I saw that Ratohnhaké:ton was now awake. He stood with his back to us and appeared to be examining something.
As he heard our approach, he abruptly dropped the item, which I now saw was a book, and kicked it under the stand that we hung our tobacco leaves on.
With a timid expression on his face, he turned towards us.
"Good morning, Istá, Kateri." He mumbled with a small smile. Mother gave him a stern look. I realized that my brother must've been reading something that wasn't for him to be reading.
"Hmm… and what are you up to?" She asked. He seemed to stutter a bit with his reply.
"Nothing…I…uhm…I was only…" His answer was cut short by Kanen'tó:kon popping his head around the door of our home.
"Ratohnkaké:ton, Kateri, come play with us! The others have gone hunting and we're bored" He whined. I turned my head to look at him. He looked a little timid in the face of my mother, who had been on the verge of scolding my brother.
Ratohnhaké:ton looked at mother hopefully. I squeezed her hand gently as she looked between my brother and our friend.
"Go on. But do not venture beyond the valley." She said, warningly. I watched as Ratohnhaké:ton and Kanen'tó:kon began to walk out of our house. My brother turned to see if I was following.
"Are you coming, Kateri?" He asked, hopeful. I smiled and shook my head.
"I'm going to help Istá and Oiá:ner with some of the chores." I smiled. I hugged my brother and pulled a lock of his hair playfully.
"Make sure to be careful. Have fun!" I waved at him as he left the long house with Kanen'tó:kon.
…..
After several hours of helping mother, I noticed that it was already late afternoon. The sun was just beginning its descent. I also realized that Ratohnhaké:ton and the other children hadn't returned yet.
I glanced at my mother from across the fire and saw that she was also worried.
"Kateri, why don't you go and check around the village. Perhaps we just haven't seen them since they returned." She said, warily.
I nodded and stood up. I straightened my dress and set off towards the village entrance. As I neared the entrance, worry began to form in the pit of my stomach. However, I soon relaxed when I heard the laughter of children.
As I walked around one of the long houses, I saw them all playing near the village entrance. I smiled and ran up to them.
My smile quickly faded as I realized that my brother wasn't in the crowd of children.
"Kanen'tó:kon! Where is Ratohnhaké:ton?" I questioned nervously, wringing my hands. He stopped playing and turned to me with a confused expression.
"We thought he'd already come home. We were playing hide and seek and we gave up looking for him hours ago." He said slowly, a trace of worry beginning to form on his features.
I felt my breath leave me in short bursts, anxiety bubbling within my stomach. What if he'd gotten lost in the woods? What if he'd been carried off by a bear or a mountain lion? What if the strange men from beyond the valley had taken him? Possibilities raced through my mind and I felt my hands begin to shake.
Kanen'tó:kon spoke slowly, probably trying to calm my fears.
"I'm sure he's fine, Kateri. You know how curious he is." I could tell that as much as he was trying to convince me, he was also trying to convince himself.
In that moment, an ear-shattering noise rattled the air around us. It faintly resembled thunder, but mother had taught me what that noise was. It was gunfire.
I felt my heart stop in my chest and the blood raced through my system. Before I even understood what happened, I was running. Running towards the entrance to the village, desperate to find my brother.
Several protests preceded my exit. One of the hunters of our village tried to grab my arm in an attempt to stop me, but I quickly wrenched my arm free of his grip. The only thing I cared about right now was my brother.
Frantically, I stumbled up the slopes of the valley. It didn't even register in my mind that the gunfire hadn't sounded from this direction. However, I knew that this was where the village children usually played.
"Ratohnhaké:ton!" I screamed desperately. I stopped my scrambling to listen for a reply, but heard nothing except the continuation of gunfire behind me.
My anxiety grew every time I yelled my brother's name.
As I ran farther up the trail, I found a large pile of boulders. Climbing up them, I scanned the forest for any sign of my brother. Seeing none, I yelled to him once again.
"Ratohnhaké:ton! Please answer me! We need to go home!" After several moments of painful silence, I whimpered. Panting from exertion, I scrambled down the rock formation, and diligently began my search once more.
Although the thoughts in my head were chaotic, the forest was peaceful around me. It was as if nature wasn't aware that the world was shattering right before my eyes.
As I ran, I felt warm tears begin to slide down my cheeks and my cries for my brother became strangled sobs.
As I continued to follow the trail, I realized that I was beginning to leave the safety of the valley. I knew that mother would not be pleased.
I took a sharp right on the trail around another rock formation, and I ran straight into something large blocking my path.
I fell backwards and my hands and side took most of the impact from the fall. My hands stung and I could feel that I would have a rather large bruise on my face the next morning.
Looking up to see what was obscuring my path, I realized in sudden terror that it wasn't something but someone.
It was a white man. He wore a blue vest with a dark brown jacket on. He was wearing a large, odd shaped hat on his head. His face looked cruel, as if he took joy in causing others pain.
"And what've we got 'ere? Another savage." He sneered. I tried to scramble away as he grabbed my wrist. Acting in instinct, I twisted my arm away from his in hopes of somehow escaping. Against all odds, it worked.
Instead of holding on to my wrist, he'd grabbed hold of my bracelet. As I twisted my arm, the bracelet slid off and my arm was free.
My joy of escape would be short lived.
When I turned to run, I saw that I was surrounded on every side. The man on my left side wore dark red. It made him look like he was covered in blood. He looked at me with mild sympathy, as if this was something he didn't enjoy taking part in. The man on my right held some sort of large wooden stick with a knife fixed at the end. I realized that it must have been a gun, and he was aiming it right at me. He had darker hair and he had a calculating look on his face.
Last was the man who stood directly in front of me. His hair was oily and black as night. If I thought the first man's expression was evil, this man's was sinister.
There was no way to escape.
Before I could think of another way out, the man behind me retook my wrist and held it so tight that I felt it would shatter.
"Lookie here, Charlie. Wonder if this one speaks English too." He said, squeezing my wrist a bit tighter. I whimpered and clawed at his hand, trying to get him to release me.
"Not this time, you little wench." He chuckled evilly and jerked my arm up.
Fresh tears were streaming down my face. I could feel my braid beginning to come undone from being shaken around so much. A few strands were starting to cover my face.
"Please let me go!" I begged. I expected surprise because of my English skills, but the men just looked at the man with the black hair as if waiting for orders. He looked at me with a cruel smirk and spoke for the first time.
"Now why would we do that, my dear? We have plans for you after all." His tone becoming more menacing.
As he drew closer to me, I cringed and tried to back away from him. I whimpered as I discovered my path was blocked by my captor.
I closed my eyes as he touched my hair gently. He took hold of my chin and jerked my face. I opened my eyes and saw that he was examining my face. His eyes widened slightly and then narrowed as his caught sight of my necklace. My mother had given it to me not too long ago.
He released my chin and stood as his full height.
"The girl comes with us." He ordered. Looking around at his company, they seemed perplexed.
"She comes with us to John's Town and we hold her for ransom. Her life for information about the precursor sites." He stated, looking around once more. They all seemed to agree, except the man with the blood red clothes.
"Charles, how can we be sure that the village will even cooperate?" The man said. He glanced behind him to wear my village was.
Charles gave him a knowing smile.
"I have a feeling that she is of great importance to that village."
…
Hope you guys liked this! Reviews help with the writing process (;
Ratohnhaké:ton- 4 years old
Kateri- 4 years old