~ I ~ Feather in the Wind ~ I ~

~ Jasper ~

~ Historical (fan) fiction ~

~ Chapter 5 ~

1845. After a forced agreement with Europeans, 15 year old Piper is betrothed to Jason Grace, son of the one who has caused much harm to her people. Yet she doesn't know that and it doesn't help the vast rumors of forced marriages with the lightly-colored she had heard of. But yet she never thought that she would fall for him, despite the knowledge that he might leave.

~ A Child in Time ~

~ Jason ~

The shock from Piper's anger hadn't settled into Jason well when Piper collapsed on the floor.

"Pipes!" Jason exclaimed, when he recovered his senses. He ran to her and picked her up. He balanced her in his arms, careful with her head. He went scrambled to their bedroom.

"Esperanza! Help!" Jason yelled frantically.

He laid Piper on the bed and Esperanza came in soon after.

"My child, what has— Oh, dear. Let me be with Piper. I'll make sure she's fine but you here I am sure I am not going to get anything done." Esperanza told him. Breathing heavily in panic, he obeyed Esperanza. In a few seconds, Esperanza came out and scurried to the kitchen, but not before scolding Jason to not go inside. Jason tried but then she came back and smacked his hand off the handle. After a few moments Esperanza came out once more and he entered. When he entered, Piper was awake and had a cup of tea in her hands. Her face was down and sad. Dried tears stained her beautiful cheeks.

"Pipes! You are okay! What a relief!" Jason ran to her side. Piper did no motion to try to move toward him.

Esperanza left saying something in Cherokee to Piper. The door closed soon after.

"Piper? What did Esperanza say? What do you have? What's wrong?" Jason tried.

Keeping her eyes straight for the wall in front of her, she said something in Cherokee as well.

"Piper. Please let's not start this. Tell me in English." Jason pleaded.

Piper has been doing that lately. Mostly with Esperanza. He suddenly enters the room and they switch from speaking to Cherokee. Some rare times with Thalia, since Thalia wants to learn.

She repeated her words in English but they were barely audible.

"Pipes, please." Jason tried again.

And then she said it, barely audible, but he heard alright.

"What?"

"I'm pregnant. I am going to have your child in Nature's time." Piper said blankly.

Jason couldn't contain his mixed feelings. Jason had sworn to keep his relationship with Piper subtle and calm, only court her despite their marriage, and have a child in time. But he had had always wanted to have a child. At last, the rightful words made his way out of his mouth.

"Oh, Piper. Thank you. You know what this means right?" Jason said, placing a hand on his wife's belly.

"That you'll abandon me and your child. Remember Gwen?" Piper said pain clear in her voice.

Jason stopped his feeling from clouding his head and looked at Piper, trying to register her words.

Before his anger flared up at the mention of that name, he asked, "Piper, what did you say? From whom did you hear that?"

Piper sighed deeply and said, "Three women at the bakery. I heard everything and now I can understand many things you and your father are hiding from my people. And me…"

"Three women? You must've have heard the Fate sisters; Teresa, Mary, and Beth Fate. Piper don't listen to anything those women say. They twist and turn and have a gift for making the right people overhear the wrong news. Piper, what did you hear?"

"It doesn't matter. What matters here is that you won't abandon me. Not like your 'previous relationships'! If anyone is abandoning someone, it's me of you!"

"Piper, you don't realize how happy I am. We are having a child. A baby. Our baby. Someone we created. I don't want you to leave. It's what I fear most. And not now. Not when you are pregnant." Jason begged.

"Who is Gwen?" Piper said plainly, sliding his hand from her belly.

"Piper, I don't want to discuss that with you." Jason stated firmly. "I will let you rest. I will tell Thalia and Reyna the news."

Jason stood and planted a kiss on her forehead. Piper stayed still at his action.

He stepped out from the room and went to the living room. Thalia was reading a book and Reyna was knitting a sweater. Or at least attempting to.

"Dear sisters, there is some news we would like to share with you." Jason said proudly, forgetting a bit of the argument with Piper.

Reyna and Thalia looked up. "What is it?"

"Well you are both clearly getting old because you are going to become aunts in nine month's time." Jason exclaimed.

Thalia caught on quicker. "Piper's pregnant?"

Jason nodded and Thalia squealed and hugged Jason. Reyna jumped up and down, not understanding the word 'pregnant' but noticing the happiness.

"Where is she?" Thalia asked.

Jason grimaced. "Um, she is resting. She is recovering from a collapse hence the discovery of the pregnancy."

"Oh good. Let her rest."

He nodded and left to see Esperanza.

He found her in the kitchen, tending to some dishes. "Nana, how did you know? We could call a doctor."

"Don't doubt us, my boy. My people can tell by looking in the windows of a person's soul. Most woman can tell is a another woman is expecting. It's like a gift we have. You can clearly see a child is henceforth coming. Congratulations, my boy." Esperanza assured.

"Thank you. Nana, when you both went into town, did you see her talk to the Fate sisters?" Jason asked.

Esperanza thought, "No my boy. Why the inquiry?"

Jason sighed. "Piper's faint happened during an argument we had. She overheard the Fate sisters talk about us. You know how they are; inventing that the sky is falling and such. She also learned about Gwen."

"Piper didn't recognize the name? They used to play as children." Esperanza thought out loud.

"She thinks Gwen was my partner of the sort. She is too upset to hear reason from me or won't believe me when I tell her the truth. Besides, she suspects the same thing you and I predict about Native American land. I don't want her to think I don't support her." Jason said, placing his head over his hands.

"I will help you clear that up."

~ I ~

Piper

Piper had to work hard on not letting a single tear slip down her cheek.

First of all she broke the only rule her father presented to her: Don't talk the light-colored's language.

She did that.

She mentally prohibited herself from falling him.

Possibly, did that.

Don't forget where you come from and do what ever you can to save your people…

The latter part is demolished and scratched but at what cost?

What has gotten into her? She very well knows who Jason is. He is not like other whites. But how can she be sure. What is she thinking? Of course Piper is sure of that! Jason himself has promised to stay by her side. He was happy to know he was to father her child. He proposed the courting idea to save them from unlove.

Piper let out a tear of frustration. How could she have been so stupid?

I have to get things right now. Piper put her cup of tea on the nightstand and stood. She walked to the door but just as she placed her hand on the knob, the door swung open.

Esperanza stood, stern, at the door.

"You scared me!" Piper yelped.

"What has gotten into you?" Esperanza proclaimed. She walked passed Piper and dragged her along to the bed. The door shut somehow.

"This is going to be straightforward and cold. I am going to answer the questions that insult Jason so very much in every way. Gwen, she is a Cherokee maid that was abused sexually and ended up pregnant. She played with you when you were young. Remember? Jason helped her out and when she gave birth she passed away and the child was stillborn. She had grown a bit here and Jason had somewhat of a crush on her. They were about the same age. She was like a daughter to me. The land. We suspect that the government will take the land. We don't know. In any case the government is cruel. Jason passed relationships?; there were two and not very good ones. One more thing: don't listen to those scumbags! They only gossip wrong information." Esperanza wailed out. She stood up and went for the door.

Before she left she said, "I expect you to apologize to Jason. He is in his room feeling hopeless. Save him from his misery!"

And the door shut violently.

Piper flinched but she scrambled to obey her orders. Besides, Piper was going to do that anyway.

"Esperanza has some voice." she muttered to herself.

Piper knocked on Jason's door. She heard a faint 'come in' and entered.

Piper quickly started, "Jason, I am so sorry. I never knew what happened. I just got carried away, letting my suspicions override me. I don't know what I was thinking. I jus—"

Jason walked forward to her, little to the noticing of Piper. And she was cut off by Jason sudden lips on her. It was quick but their lips moved together. He pulled away. She just stood stiff as a cane.

"Let's leave it all behind. I was wondering where that side of you, Piper, went." Jason chuckled. "It was delayed."

Piper blinked and looked down. She saw that he had something yellow in his hand. Jason noticed.

He held it up. It looked like a hat. Baby hat.

"I learned how to knit." He chuckled. "Since I don't know what our baby will be, I made it from yellow fabric Reyna had lying around. Just don't tell anyone I did a woman's job. They'll hunt me down."

He gave it to Piper. It was beautiful; uneven, out of shape, and badly sown, but beautiful.

With tears in her eyes, she smiled and kissed him. "It's beautiful."

She took the little hat and folded it in her hand. Then she asked him something that she just needed to hear a positive response to.

"Do you want this child?" Piper asked him. She let her head fall down, not wanting to meet his eyes.

"Piper? Look at me." Jason said, lifting her chin. "Yes, Ido. Do not ever think that I don't want our child. It's a miracle of life that can't be appreciated."

"But people in town are saying that we married because I had a child within me." Piper enforced.

"Pipes, I won't repeat this again so listen. I don't care what people say. I am already the talk of the town. I do various talks and stand ups for the natives of this country. I want to protect you all from this harsh government. You deserve to keep your land. These people don't think that. So for what I care, let them talk. We should only worry about the people that matter." Jason told her.

"Will I be able to see my father and family again? Maybe be when I deliver the baby?" Piper asked.

"I won't force you to stay away from them. After all we are standing up for them. You will see them again. Maybe before the baby arrives."

Piper smiled big after those words. She hung to Jason's neck and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you."

"You can count on me, Pipes. Don't think otherwise." Jason told her.

A reappearance will happen in the next chappie. Stay tuned.

~BeautiWind –heart-