Chapter Three
Brotherhood and Love
A month passed since the first day that Cyrus was awake among the Apachenegs. The steppes seemed to be his new home. Itza-lupan taught him more of the ways of the tribe such as wrestling, knife-fighting, and archery. He occasionally sparred with Itza-lupan's subordinate Tayunko. He played games with the children and Sonsee-array. It was especially fun playing with Cochise, Sonsee-array's son. Cochise was a bold boy, always willing to wrestle and his strength was astounding for someone so small. He enjoyed the food that Sonsee-array brought to him and she always blushed when she tried to look away from him.
He was fascinated by her and one question seemed to be on his mind quite often: what happened to her husband? One day as she brought him food after another round of games with Cochise, he said to her, "What happened to him?" "I guess I have to tell you. Could we talk about this later, alone?" "Sure." They waited until nightfall. They met under the stars as Cyrus lit a small fire. "My husband was named Geronimo. He was Itza-lupan's blood brother and they followed each other into battle frequently. Once, Itza-lupan was on a hunting trip and Geronimo stayed with me and Cochise to watch over the rest of the tribe. The Imperial cavalry attacked us and in the midst of the combat as Geronimo was driving them away, he got shot by a stray bullet. I cradled him as he died and I swore vengeance. In the night, I tracked them on a spare horse with just his short spear. I attacked them in the night and killed every last one but the spear was broken in combat. After all that fighting, I cried myself to sleep. I had never killed anyone in my life. I found both joy and sorrow in their deaths. My father and Tayunko found me the next morning. I collapsed in their arms and sobbed in uncontrollable horror. They manged to console me but I was never the same. I swore that I would only kill in defense of my people. I-I do not even know how I managed to tell you this without just collapsing." and she turned away from him. "I understand a bit of how you feel. My family was a tribal clan on the Isle of the Shadowfaces. When the Empire came, they slaughtered my whole family with my mother being the first to die. I found her killer and beat his head into the ground with my war club. My father pulled me away and told me to run. I ran. When I looked back, he was impaled. I kept on running but I was captured. I was raised and trained by the very people who killed my clan but I loved the army and I care for its foes. We can still choose who we are regardless of the monster within." "Thank you for understanding. Perhaps I must look for another in honor of Geronimo." "Choose who you will." "The one I want is you." she whispered in his ear as she pressed her lips onto his.
He breathed in her natural fragrance and embraced her. He loved her but did she really want him? He pulled away from her, nervous. "It's fine. I know what I am doing but we should both get to bed." she said to him as she walked away.
"You are lucky. Very few can make her feel this good." said Tayunko, surprising him. "Why me?", he asked. "You are new and unknown to her. Also, Cochise loves playing with you. Be good to her. If you do not, she can readily scar you forever. Good night, Cyrus." Tayunko said as he walked away. "May the stars watch over you, Tayunko." Cyrus said as he walked to his tent.
Perhaps something gold could stay.