Note : This part contains some dialogues which are not grammatically correct. I used them to depict a different culture, a different background. The meaning however would be easy for everyone to fathom. Hope you enjoy this chapter! 😉
CHAPTER - 12
A babble of voices broke through his consciousness, bringing a burning pain with them. He groaned as a gentle hand probed at one of his wounds, exclaiming happily that it wasn't infected.
"This is gonna hurt, ma boy," a female voice rasped. He nearly shouted aloud as a foul smelling salve was slapped onto that wound, and the burning sensation increased hundredhold. "It may hurt like hell, but its one o the best cures for wounds like these. Seeing as you're awake…"
A bowl was brought close to his lips, as a sturdy hand supported his neck. "Drink up, drink up. It will ease you." Following the order, he took in the liquid, which brought a pleasant cooling sensation all the way to his toes.
"Will he live, mama?" a child's voice asked.
"O course, he will. What a question to ask, Shirin! He's just wounded worse than I expected last night, what with them rocks hidden safely in the river. Why, if me husband hadn't seen im float past, he wouldn't have survived! The things people do these days! Whatever possessed this one to think of a swim in those evil waters at night!"
"Hush, Abenaki," a male's voice admonished. "The lad needs his sleep, let im rest. We will get our answers soon enough."
A coarse woolen blanket was tugged over him and he heard the draperies being pulled close. The noises faded away as his many visitors left. Supporting himself on his elbows, he managed to drag his body into a sitting position gazing at his surroundings with curiosity, feeling not the least bit sleepy. How had he landed up here?
As his eyes traveled along the small room, he discovered that it was sparsely furnished with only a few narrow beds a few feet away from each other. A pitcher lay on a low wooden table beneath a row of skillfully done drawings depicting the wildlife and tribal dances. The ceiling was high and covered with cobwebs, while the rest was spotlessly clean. Probably because the owners found the ceiling too high to bother with, he guessed.
He could hear people shouting and screaming outside in a dialect he was unfamiliar with. Wincing, he put his feet on the floor and limped towards the door, his feet hurting. Leaning against the entrance, he saw a crowd of people gathered in a circle wearing buckskins and carrying spears, each yelling himself hoarse. Many women were standing in separate groups, some with tears running down their cheeks and hands on their faces as if to ward off some horrid sight, and others adding to the din.
He heard a woman exclaim a few feet to his right and then a pair of sturdy hands lifted him gently and placed him on a wooden throne-like chair covered with furs, in spite of his protests. He now had a clear view of what the whole village was gazing at and he saw four men standing beneath a tree, grinning as they tugged at a thin rope on which a strange metal object was hung.
"Sit…comfortably," one of the men told him haltingly, apparently struggling with the language. "The Chief give u throne…to rest. He come soon."
Nodding that he understood, he watched the man join his friends. All of them were bronzed, dressed in furs and feathers. Apparently he was in a tribal camp, he noted, his apprehension high. And tribes rarely welcomed outsiders into their midst. So far they had shown him immense hospitality; he wondered how long it would be before they turned hostile.
"You need not worry," a beautiful young tribal woman with long hair and sky blue eyes told him. He had been so preoccupied with his thoughts that he hadn't even felt her putting a stool beneath his injured feet. "Our God demands us to be kind to those that are helpless."
"I'm not helpless," he replied, stung, his pride thoroughly pricked. "I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself."
She clicked her tongue and shook her head and muttered something that sounded like "men". Ignoring that comment, he asked her something he had been dying to ask since he had woken up. "How did I come to be here?"
"My Pa…he see you drift past him while he had gone to collect wood by river. You were almost unconscious, you did not hear him call. He had to wade in after you and he brought you here yesterday. Your body was treated by Ma. You are well healed now, yes?"
"Almost…" he answered distractedly, a pain weighing down on him as the memories came back to him. He had jumped in to save his wife, and had been unable to battle the current or the rocks. He had failed her…he had lost her.
"Do not worry overmuch over your inability to escape the current," she told him, straightening up. "Our men are trained from birth to handle everything. They are made stronger than most. Force without technique never gets anyone anywhere."
"Did…did you also save a woman…that night?" he asked, hardly listening to her monologue. All he could see and hear was Prachi laughing at something Rajeev said, Prachi holding a bowl as she nursed him, Prachi gazing shyly into his eyes as she offered her friendship to him…Prachi with tears in her eyes, tears he had caused!
"Your eyes…they show such pain! Was this woman dear to you?" she asked, her vivid blue eyes curious. Without waiting for an answer, she answered his question. "No woman was saved yesterday. However Pa did meet a woman while arriving near the river, I heard im say to Ma. She looked too exhausted to walk. He dropped her till nearest village and then resumed his work. He saw you next."
He almost stood up as he heard that, hope surging through him. "Where is this village?"
Raising a brow at his sharp tone, she told him. As he attempted to stand up, she put a restraining hand on his arm. "You cannot leave now. You are not healed!"
"I don't care," he growled, getting up all the same, ignoring the inquisitive stares they were receiving. He let out a hiss of pain as his injured foot encountered the ground.
"You must not, you must not!" she cried, catching hold of his arm as he almost fell. "The woman come in a few hours, as soon as the sun begins to set. She stays with Pa's sister. It's Sun Dance tonight. Many villages come, we are not hostile, we accept."
"And if she does not come, then what?" he snapped, as he let himself be lowered onto the throne again.
The woman lowered her eyes. "You may leave."
Satisfied now that he had a choice, he sat back. As the woman turned to leave, he stopped her. "What are you called?"
"Anahita. In your language – Ice," she replied, walking away, "Hope you find your destiny, Kiwigapawa."
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"Hum idhar jayenge," Ayesha declared, pointing towards the right, as they came upon a fork in the trail they had been following. They had traveled all day yesterday along the river, hoping for some sign of their lost kin. Finally, they had discovered Milind's mantle lying discarded on top of some bushes. As a trail had started at some distance from that bush, it only seemed logical that if Milind had been in the condition to walk, he wouldn't have chosen the wilderness alongside the river to walk into.
"No, hum iss taraf jayenge," Neev contradicted, gesturing towards the opposite direction. "There are many villages on this side where Milind and Prachi may have headed to."
"Left mein kuch tribal settlements bhi hain, Neev," Rajeev pointed out, trying to make up his mind on which direction to take.
"Milind wouldn't be stupid enough to opt for one of those settlements, Rajeev!"
"If Milind could choose. He wouldn't have a choice if he had been rescued, would he?" Ayesha challenged, feeling a twinge of satisfaction at his dark mood. He had been furious since the time she had refused to ride with him when her horse had broken a leg while jumping a rock. She had had to walk it all the way till the camp as she did not believe in killing horses if they became lame. She had refused the offer to ride with either of them, and had simply walked along until Neev had lost his patience and shouted at her that she was delaying them by being stubborn. In a huff, she had accepted Rajeev's outstretched hand and was presently seated in front of him.
"That's a far shot and you know it!" he replied, scornfully, his temper sorely strained after watching Ayesha leaning against Rajeev throughout the ride as if that was the most natural thing in the world for her to do. The woman would do always do everything that annoyed him!
Before Ayesha could make a sharp reply, Rajeev broke in. "Humein lagta hai it would be better if we choose a way jahan pe Milind and Prachi ke milne ke chances zyada ho. Isliye we should go the way Neev suggested."
As Ayesha turned to give him an indignant look, he told her hastily, the hint of a smile on his lips. "After all, agar Neev galat hua toh aapko usse ladhne ka ek aur bahana mil jayega?"
Ayesha snorted at that but didn't protest anymore as they headed towards the left. After all, she only argued on principle. She peeked sideways at Neev from under her lashes, as he rode swiftly beside them. He looked so determined, so handsome…and so damn irritated. She suppressed a chuckle at that last thought. He was certainly not pleased that she had been ignoring him since yesterday, while giving her whole attention to Rajeev.
He thought she didn't know that it angered him when she spent more time with Rajeev than him. She was not ignorant of the behavior of men, in fact she had had many fighting over her! Ultimately her father had stepped in and refused to allow her any male companions, seeing as how every one in due course expected more of her than she was ready to give.
He was jealous, she had realized triumphantly during her stay in Saharan Valley, when he had cuttingly asked Rajeev whether it was necessary for him to sit so close to her when there was ample space all around him. Rajeev had brushed it off as a joke, but she had not mistaken the gleam of anger in his eyes or missed the ominous quality of his deliberately smooth voice. Now if only his jealousy could stop feeding her feminine pride! But she felt oddly pleased that ignoring him infuriated him.
She caught her breath as his eyes locked onto hers, catching her staring at him. Embarrassed, she focused her eyes on the path ahead even though she felt him looking at her still. How did he manage to unsettle her with a look?
She sighed deeply inside. It was going to be a long journey ahead…she only hoped she would get her answers in the end.
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Her laughter echoed throughout the forest as she ran, glancing over her shoulder every now and then to see if he was following. She nearly tripped over her gown as she entered a large clearing, the view in front of her rendering her immobile for sometime.
A soft breeze lightly ruffled her hair as she walked slowly towards the water fall surrounded by the captivating beauty of the place she had unknowingly stumbled onto. Trees adorned with fresh leaves swayed gently, while thick grass coated the ground as far as she could see.
Entirely charmed, she raised a hand towards the droplets falling steadily, managing to escape the violence of the falling water. With childish delight she threw the captured water into the air and raised her face towards it receive it. She stiffened as an arm slipped around her from behind to pull her across an undoubtedly masculine body, and then relaxed as she realized it was him.
"You are so beautiful…" he murmured huskily, trailing his lips down her cheek in a sensuous caress, his breath hot against her ear. She turned slowly in his arms, his darkening gaze holding hers imprisoned as his hand tightened on her waist, urging her closer. His other hand slipped into her lustrous hair, sending tingles down her spine as it lightly brushed her neck. Her breath hitched as he lowered his face, his lips mere inches from hers.
"I love you," she whispered against his lips, her arms sliding around his neck. She felt him stiffen, and then pull away from her, his smoldering eyes slowly turning icy.
"Never say that, Prachi," he said coldly. "I don't love you, and neither do I want your love."
Tears filling her eyes, she saw him walk away, his each stride piercing her heart. "Don't go," she whispered brokenly. "Don't leave me…please!"
Unmindful of her cries, he disappeared in front of her eyes. Clouds gathered steadily overhead, lending their threatening presence to the slowly somber turning atmosphere as the gentle wind turned into a gale, stabbing her body with its icy fingers and the swaying branches of the trees clashed against each other, throwing torn bits of wood everywhere.
"I love you," she wept, falling down onto her knees, her gaze fixed on the place where he had vanished.
"I love you," Prachi cried out as she woke up with a jolt, her face wet with tears. Coming to her senses, she wiped them off, her heart still thudding heavily from the nightmarish turn her dream had taken. Her hands shaking, she poured herself some water from the pitcher kept beside the bed, trying to organize her disoriented thoughts.
She felt tired and her body ached all over. She didn't know which way to take, which way to go. A woman had very kindly given her some of her own clothes seeing that her staid night gown was dripping wet, and she was being subject to more leering grins from men than she could handle in her weakened state. She had only been able to sleep a few hours in a rundown hut, jolted awake every few minutes by the commotion outside as the villagers prepared to leave for a tribal settlement. She had caught the phrase Sun Dance many times, and thanks to a tribal she had befriended long back after saving him from a pack of wolves, she knew what the dance actually entailed.
He hadn't ever told her his actual name but requested her to call him Wind. It had been mere luck that she had been out with her father's hunting party when she had heard the ominous howl of the wolves and directed them all to train their arrows in that direction. Wind had fled as soon as the wolves were killed, and she hadn't seen him again for nearly a fortnight after that incident.
He had arrived unexpectedly during another one of the hunts, when she had been too weary of joining with the group and had sat quietly near the stream worrying over her sister's coldness. He had stayed by her side ever since, a secret friend she told her worries to though he hardly understood anything she said due to his limited knowledge of her language.
It was Wind who had taught her the technique to escape a current, Wind who had told her that the more she fought it, the more it would wreak havoc on her. He had taught her to swim in the most dangerous of waters. He taught her to track, and to hunt effectively with a spear. He did all that and more, as a clearance of the debt he had incurred when she had saved his life. Nobody ever knew where the Princess used to go every week, and she was happier keeping it that way. Her father would have had a fit had he realized she had befriended a tribal!
She told him about her life and he tried to tell her about his customs, demonstrating everything when she was unable to understand. Wind had died five winters ago due to the unbearable cold that had hit Shahjahanpur suddenly. She had grieved horribly, talking to no one for weeks, keeping to herself.
Now because of her friend, she was alive today though lost. If it hadn't been for the elderly tribal she had met along the way who had introduced her to his sister on learning that she could speak a few words of his native tongue, she wouldn't have managed to remain awake in her exhausted state. Now the woman intended to take her to her brother's settlement, and all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep. She could hardly manage to keep her eyes open, yet the din outside spared her no moment of reprieve.
She let out a low moan as someone put a blanket around her, taking the earthen cup gently out of her hands and urged her to get into the cart. Her aching muscles were making their grievances known as she was ushered in amongst a group of women who instantly began fussing over her. They massaged her tired muscles and a wet cloth was placed on her brow. Too worn out to protest, she gave in to the demands of her body and let the swaying motion of the cart lull her to sleep again…her last thoughts turning into a wish for her husband to come for her.
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liked it/hated it, dont forget to temme 😉 i made this longer than before and in case you guys are wondering -
Kiwigapawa means WANDERER in a tribal dialect (Shawnee i think).
Anahita does NOT mean ice in any language (lolz, even i dont know what it really means 😆 )
Abenaki means dawn people, easterners and also the people.
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