Judith E. French by Moon Dancer

Author:Moon Dancer [Dancer, Moon]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Willow’s wedding was as simple as she had requested. Her bridegroom entered the wigwam a few moments later, followed by three other Shawnee women. He sat beside Willow while Moonfeather spoke briefly in Algonquian. Then Amookas offered her new daughter-in-law a freshly baked corncake. Willow broke the bread and offered half to Niipan. Everyone watched in silence as they ate the cake, then shared a gourd of water.

Next, Cami shyly unfolded a red woolen blanket and handed it to the bride. Willow draped the blanket over her shoulders, leaned close to her groom, and allowed him to pull the blanket over both their heads. Immediately there were exclamations of congratulations from the witnesses. Amid warm laughter and hand clapping, the two newlyweds ducked out of the wigwam and vanished into the darkness.

Now it was Fiona’s turn. To her shock, she found herself stripped naked before the gathered women. Cami offered her a container of warm water and whispered to her that she should wash her face and hands in it. Speaking softly in the Indian tongue, Moonfeather dipped her fingers in the water and sprinkled it over Fiona’s bare breasts and thighs. As Amookas took hold of Fiona’s arms and turned her around, Fiona heard Moonfeather give a small sound of surprise.

Fiona glanced into the peace woman’s eyes and saw that she was staring at Fiona’s amulet. Quickly Fiona covered it with her hand. A look of confusion crossed Moonfeather’s smooth face, and she reached out as if to touch the necklace.

Fiona shrank back. “It’s mine,” she stammered. “My mother gave it to me.” Why was the Shawnee peace woman so alarmed by the sight of her necklace? And why did the gold suddenly feel so hot against her skin? A strange prickling ran down Fiona’s spine, and she felt light-headed. It’s too warm in here, she thought. There are too many people.

“Where did you get it?” Moonfeather demanded.

Fiona took another step back, brushing against the bark-covered wall with her bare shoulder. “I’ve always had it,” she answered. The charm was so hot now, it seemed to scorch her fingers. She took a deep breath and then another, trying to clear her head.

Amookas began to sing, and Moonfeather backed away at the sound of her aunt’s voice. But she continued to watch Fiona from the shadows.

Embarrassed, Fiona remembered her indecent state of undress and tried to shield her nakedness from the chattering women. Then, to her relief, Amookas stepped forward and handed her a white deerskin dress. Quickly Fiona pulled it over her head.

Moonfeather gave Amookas a brush, and the older woman began to brush out Fiona’s hair. The peace woman never took her eyes off Fiona’s necklace. Someone passed a soft beaded headband to Amookas, and she slid it over Fiona’s unbound hair. One by one, the women came forward and offered gifts of jewelry: strings of beads, earrings, a beaded medallion collar, and shell ornaments to adorn Fiona’s hair. Amookas thanked each woman formally and fastened the jewelry on Fiona.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.