Chapter 5
7 January 1784 – Davenport Homestead, Massachusetts State
Oni:dä woke up early the next morning. The sun hadn't come up yet and the outside world was silent as the birds were still asleep in their nests. She rubbed that sleep from her eyes and sat up with a yawn and felt a weight of something fall off of her.
Looking down she realised two things. One was that she was still in her ceremonial wedding clothing from the previous day, and two, that somebody had put a blanket on her during the night. It was at this point she came to the mortifying conclusion that she had fallen asleep waiting for her husband on her wedding night.
She wasn't sure if she should apologise to him for falling asleep or just pretending that none of this had ever happened.
Oni:dä put a hand over her eyes and sighed.
A gentle exhaling of breath close to her made her jump and she quickly got out of the bed her heart beating rapidly. Looking over at the other side the bed she saw Ratonhnhaké:ton sleeping there.
Her new husband must have returned at some point in the night as he was in deep sleep on the edge of the bed. The only sign he was alive came from the gentle rise and fall of his bare chest. He must have come back late in the night because she'd never noticed him coming in or covering her the blanket. He also must have blown out that candle, which was little more than a stub by now.
She picked up the blanket that she had been covered with and folded it placing it gently back on the bed before walking over to a basket on the floor where her usual buckskin fringed clothes had been kept during her ten day journey here, and began to dress for the day.
After fitting on her beaded belt and re-braiding her hair into a singular plait she silently made her way around the room, picking up Ratonhnhaké:ton's ceremonial outfit and her own from the day before and quietly left the room so as not to disturb the obviously tired man.
She walked through the quiet and empty corridor of the Manor, comparing it to the village she had grown up in. If she had been back in her village as was usual with marriages, she would've awoken with the others, everyone bustling about getting ready for the day and then chattering with the other woman she would've made her way to the cooking pits to make the morning meal, her husband already out with the other men to hunt for game. But instead she was living in this large house in a place she didn't know, with a lifestyle she was unfamiliar with, with the only other occupant, and only person she could properly communicate with, still asleep.
She couldn't complain though.
She hadn't expected it to be a normal Iroquois marriage when she had first seen him that time in the village. No other Iroquois wore the clothing of the colonials as he did, usually those who had grown up in colonial villages completely changed their own style to match that of the white men.
But Ratonhnhaké:ton's clothing had aspects of his original culture carefully worn and placed on his outfit, such as his buckskin boots, the woven bands and feathers on the arms of his coat, and the feathers that adorned his long mohawk styled hair.
Walking out of the front door she looked around. The sun was beginning to show through the trees, casting a faint light on the ground. Closing the front door behind her she made her way towards the stables, which she had been informed by the Council chief yesterday as they walked to the house, was yet another part of her husband's property.
No. Her new husband was not a normal Iroquois man.
She knew he was different, so it wasn't much of a surprise when the Clan Mother told her that she would not be living in the village as was tradition after her marriage, but rather be moving to a new village where her husband was living.
Oni:dä was however, surprised when she walked into the area and was faced with the tall buildings of the colonials surrounding the area as she had been informed she would now be living in one of these such homes, and when Ratonhnhaké:ton had shown her where they would be living she had been speechless as she looked up at the large brick and mortar building.
And then again, she had been reminded of the fact he was different when he had suggested separate rooms and then left quickly without explanation the night before.
Oni:dä winced at the memory.
She would be lying if she said she hadn't been hurt by this incident, but she was mostly concerned that the incident showed little hope for a good start to their marriage. But she had waited for him, as was expected of her as a bride, but she had still expected nothing and had promptly fallen asleep by accident.
Oni:dä shook her head. It wouldn't do any good thinking about what had happened.
Making her way down the hill, Oni:dä stopped at the stables to pick up a bucket before walking behind them in the direction of to the stream that she had seen behind it yesterday. Putting down the bucket at her side, she bent down she dipped her hands into the water and washed her face gasping as the icy water contacted with her warm skin. Turning to pick up the bundle of ceremonial clothes she had carried down with her, she carefully laid them out on the bankside, half into the icy water and began to clean them, beginning to gently rub the dirt off of her husband's ceremonial outfit before turning to wash her own. Laying them on the rocks so they didn't get dirty in the mud surrounded the bank Oni:dä picked up the bucket.
She dipped the wooden bucket into the icy stream and watched as it filled up thinking about what her life would be like now in this place. Oni:dä was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she didn't notice someone approach from behind and stop behind her.
"If you need water, I can get it for you." The voice came from close behind her.
Letting go of the bucket she whirled around with a gasp to find Ratonhnhaké:ton looking back at her, he was dressed up once again in the colonial style robes she had seen that time in the village. She looked up at him for a moment before noticing that the discarded bucket was now floating gently downstream. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at her.
"Are you okay Oni:dä?" He asked, concerned at her reaction.
"The bucket," Was all that she said pointing towards the forgotten object.
He turned to where she was pointing and quickly jogged downstream and retrieved the bucket before walking back to her. Oni:dä was grateful for the chance to compose herself before he came back. She had forgotten how tall he really was and seeing him stood by her as she was crouched down had reminded her rather forcefully of his height.
This was twice now in one morning that she had been scared by her husband. she had to stop this. It wouldn't do if she gaped at her husband every time he did something she wasn't used to.
"Good morning husband," she said taking the bucket from him as he approached, before turning back to the stream to refill it calmly as if nothing had happened. "What did you come here for?"
"Good morning wife," he dutifully replied, "I was wondering where you were. You weren't in the Manor when I woke up."
"Did you want me to wait for you to wake up?" She asked wondering if she'd done something wrong by leaving before he woke up.
"No, I just wanted to apologise." It was now Oni:dä's turn to look up at his obvious discomfort in confusion as he took a deep breath in and continued. "I'm sorry if you are offended."
She couldn't figure out what he was apologising for. The ceremony had gone well and there was no quarrel between them. What reason did she have to be offended?
"Is there something you needed to apologise for?" She responded with some confusion. He looked surprised at her reply for a moment before it quickly changed back into embarrassment as he seemed to realise he needed to explain the situation more.
"Oh. Well-" He seemed to be struggling to find the words that he wanted to say and was unconsciously fiddling with a frayed edge on his coat sleeve. "It's just- Yesterday, last night when I came back, I saw that you waited."
Ah. So that's what he was speaking about.
It was the very incident that she herself was trying to forget, and had managed to forget, until he had brought it up. She blushed in spite of herself and found a sudden interest with the pebbles lodged in the mud by the stream's edge, not looking him in the eye.
"It's not your fault, it is mine for not waiting up properly." She said trying to make her own apology back, but he persisted with his own.
"No the fault lies with me, I forgot to tell you that I scout the area at night. I should've told you this so you didn't expect anything-" Ratonhnhaké:ton stopped himself abruptly and his cheeks turned the same shade as she knew hers already were at this point.
"I'll leave a candle lit for you when you return again." Oni:dä said gently to show she was not offended.
"You don't need to if it inconveniences you." He was quick to reply.
"I want to." She said forcefully, he looked at her in surprise and she looked away with even more embarrassment than before.
"If it's not too much of an inconvenience…" Ratonhnhaké:ton trailed off. They both stood there awkwardly silent for a moment both looking anywhere but in the direction of the other.
They stayed like this for a time before Oni:dä spoke. She wasn't going to start her new life with being this uncomfortable with her new husband. Summoning what little courage she had left she turned back to him.
"Could you possibly carry the bucket back for me?" She asked quietly holding out the now filled bucket, "I can't carry the bucket and the clothes."
He nodded mutely and took the bucket from her and waited for her to pick up the clothes before walking together back to the Manor.
"You didn't see much of the people or the land yesterday," he said breaking the silence as they put both the clothes and bucket down in the kitchen, "I promised I'd show you them today if you still want too?"
She smiled up at him.
"I would like that."
After they had eaten together, with little conversation between the two, they made their way down towards the little colonial village. Walking down the beaten track they once again stayed silent each leaving the other to their own thoughts.
Oni:dä hadn't really met the villagers properly yesterday as she had stayed by Ratonhnhaké:ton's side for most of the feast as he translated for her, also they had been hesitant to intrude on their friend and his new bride. Some of them had come and greeted her but she already couldn't remember their names.
The church came into view as they rounded the corner, and Oni:dä noticed the bright flag flying on the steeple flowing in the winter breeze.
"Ratonhnhaké:ton, may I ask you something?"
"Of course, you may ask me anything."
"I have never seen this type of flag before" She asked pointing to the colourful flag, "What does it mean?"
He had turned to look at her when she had asked the question, but was now looking fondly at the flag at her question.
"One of the villagers made it for us for helping her." He said as if remembering the time fondly. "It's this land's flag representing our strength and unity as a people."
"So it is your village's symbol?" Oni:dä said looking back at the flag with a new perspective. She knew already that the villagers were close to Ratonhnhaké:ton, but she hadn't realised what a close knit group they were together. Yesterday when she had asked him about them, he had said that they had all had troubled pasts but had all come together, she hoped to one day become close enough to the people of this odd village who had such a close bond.
Walking to the bridge they saw a man in the distance who waved at them with his fishing rod and jogged towards them.
"Good morn' lad! And t' young lassie." He added in his thick accent with a tip of his wide brimmed hat towards Oni:dä.
Oni:dä nodded mutely back at him completely unable to understand a word he said apart from the 'good' part. She had been taught some English by the Clan Mother for when they went out to trade. But she had never once before heard an accent like the one this ginger haired man had.
"Good morning Terry," Ratonhnhaké:ton said in fluent English seemingly without noticing the Terry's thick accent, "Shouldn't you be at work?"
"But the day is a grand'n for some good fishing lad."
The sparked an argument that Oni:dä might not have understood, but she could tell they had it many times before. She stood watching the two of them talk only catching a few words that she could understand, until the argument finally winded down. The man, named Terry, seemed to have conceded and reeled in his fishing rod.
"Well I'll be hoping ta meet ye again soon lassie" Terry said looking back at Oni:dä, she looked at him blankly, and Ratonhnhaké:ton spoke up again filling in the gap she had left in the conversation.
"I suggest you return to your work before Godfrey finds you here."
"Aye, I'm goin'" Terry said waving his hand dismissively at the younger native man before he jogged back over the bridge and disappeared round the bend that led towards the mill by the river.
Ratonhnhake;ton shook his head with a sigh.
"Forgive Terry, he is a good worker and a good man," He said swapping back into his native tongue, "But all he has in his head is fishing at the moment. I'll introduce you another time when he isn't supposed to be working."
"I am fine with that," Oni:dä said looking the way Terry had just disappeared, "I'm sorry if I offended your friend back there, I don't know much of their language." She admitted glumly.
"You needn't worry too much with Terry," Ratonhnhaké:ton said gently, "Or Godfrey for that matter, they don't get offended by anyone but each other that easily."
Oni:dä nodded at him, but still a bit subdued over her failed first greeting of her new family. He must have noticed the look on her face because he spoke again.
"It takes a while to get used to their accents," he continued with a rueful smile, "I couldn't understand them either when I first met the both of them. I still can't understand them sometimes."
Oni:dä laughed at his confession, and a gentle smile passed over his face. They began again down the dirt road, this time in a more comfortable way as she asked him questions about what he and Terry had been talking about. The which he responded to each of her questions, occasionally explaining the dialect.
As they continued in this comfortable manner, Oni:dä had hope, that with time, they could become close companions and that their future in this new village would be alright.
I'm back! Sorry for the absence, life got in the way. Hope you liked this chapter that follows Oni:dä and her thoughts about the new situation and marriage. Remember to leave comments! I love reading them!
Fact of the day: In Iroquois weddings when a couple gets married the man is adopted into the wife's clan and becomes one of them. He also usually moves in with them. Which is why in this story it was seen as strange that Oni:dä came to live in Connor's 'village' (the homestead) instead of them returning to her village.
