Legends of Belariath

Salina Kyle

The Warrior’s Dance Part Four

After a few more weeks of rest, I felt ready to return to my duties. After a final check of my arm, Wise Talker agreed. Working around the camp changed a little. I was still a slave doing the same tasks I had done before. Still, the women of the camp treated me different. They would speak kindly with me. The children would bring me water if I worked under the hot sun. The attention embarrassed me. Even the other slaves reacted differently to me. Summer Light seemed shy or uncomfortable around me. The situation began to get distressing to me so I went to Winter Flower.

“Why is everyone treating me this way, Winter Flower?” I asked. She smiled indulgently, her face filled with pride.

“You’re a hero to every mother and slave in this camp,” she said, “They wish to honor you as such.”

“I’d lay my life down for anyone in this camp,” I stated.

“Yes, but you did so to save the only child of our Chief. You must know such an act puts all into your debt.”

“I’m a slave, Winter Flower,” I said, “I want to be treated like any other slave in the camp.” She caught my right wrist and held it up for both of us to look at. Red scars licked up from my elbow to surround my wrist and the back of my hand.

“So long as the flames of courage should cover your arm you can not be treated like any other slave,” Winter Flower said, “You saved our Chief’s daughter. For that you must be honored.” She sent me back to my work.

Wiping my forehead, I set the grinding bowl aside. Grinding flour was a tiring job, especially after I had been inactive for so long. I had one more bowl to go.

“Would you like a drink of water, Flaming Spirit?” asked a timid voice. Dancing Brook held the cup out to me.

“Thank you, little chieftess,” I said, taking the water. It was cold, and fresh. “That was very good, my little chieftess.” Silently, she stared at me. My hands took up the grinding stone so I could go back to work.

“Flaming Spirit-?” she started, then burst into tears. My arms wrapped around the child holding her to my sweaty chest.

“What’s wrong, Dancing Brook?” I asked.

“You- you almost died,” she sobbed, “It-it was all my fault.”

“You had no way of knowing that the Forest Pig had come to the water to drink,” I told her, “I did what I had to do. It gladdens my heart to know that you weren’t harmed.”

“I will be your friend forever,” she said. She kissed my cheek. Surprised, my cheeks turned a scarlet hue.

“You wouldn’t have been my friend before?” I asked, slyly. Her eyes grew wide, then she smiled.

“I would be you friend no matter what, Flaming Spirit,” she said.

“I know, little chieftess,” I said smiling, then bent my back to the task at hand. For a while, she watched me as I ground the corn.

“May I help you?” she asked. I paused to rest. She seemed so very hopeful. My eyes glanced around for an uncertain moment.

“Could you check the ground flour for seed shells?” I asked. She jumped up.

“Oh yes, Flaming Spirit,” the girl said. She hurried to the other bowls, and started sifting. That would save me a little time.

As we worked, I told Dancing Brook some stories from my childhood. Giggling, she listened to me for quite a while.

“Dancing Brook, what are you doing?” Raging Boar charged up to us. “Your mother is looking for you.” He reached down toward the child, but I got between them. His eyes went black with rage.

“You should go, Dancing Brook,” I said, softly pushing the child, “It will be okay.” Frightened, the girl inched around the angry warrior and ran away from us.

“How dare you make the Chief’s daughter do manual labor like she is a slave,” he growled.

“She came to me, and asked if she could help me,” I stated, standing, “Dancing Brook wanted to help me. It did her no harm to get her hands a little dirty, Warrior.” My eyes studied his angry face. It looked a lot different then the first time I had seen it. So long ago in that clearing, he had been surprised, and somehow kinder. As though he were reading my thoughts, Raging Boar snarled. His backhand threw me back a few steps.

“What is going on here?” Winter Flower demanded. The Chief’s daughter stood not far behind.

“This slave insulted our Chief’s daughter by allowing the girl to work at a slave’s task,” he hissed, “then she insulted me.” My face would be bruised for a while. Lighting Hawk wasn’t going to be pleased but then Winter Flower didn’t look very happy.

“Can you explain, Flaming Spirit?” she asked.

“Dancing Brook offered me some water,” I said, “After I had drunk, she asked me if she could help me. I didn’t think it would anger anyone. She sifted the flour for me. She did a very good job.” I smiled at Dancing Brook.

“And how did you offend Raging Boar?” the woman asked. That would be a trickier answer.

“I don’t know, Winter Flower,” I said, shrugging a little bit.

“Do you wish to take this up with Lighting Hawk, Warrior?” she asked.

“That won’t be necessary,” he growled, then stalked off.

“Why does he hate you, Flaming Spirit?” Dancing Brook asked. We watched him disappear into the camp.

“I saw his face at the wrong time,” I said, “So he hates me.” Winter Flower sighed in concern.

“You should try to avoid him, Flaming Spirit,” she said, “He is a warrior with some rank.”

“I’ll try,” I said, “I will really try.” We went back to camp.

Lighting Hawk had been very mad. He wanted to face Raging Boar, but I talked him out of it. Raging Boar had ten turns on my master’s seventeen turns. The dark warrior had rank and station. This made his dishonor that much worse, and his rage. In the end, Lighting Hawk made me swear to avoid Raging Boar at all times. My word reassured my owner. The bruises to my face would heal. If only Raging Boar’s hatred could heal as well.

Near the next full moon, I worked at the stream washing Lighting Hawk’s clothing, and mine. He had given me leather to make two more outfits. My lips curled into a soft smile. It felt good to have his body next to mine at night. Somehow, I couldn’t imagine not having him by me. Life before the camp grew dim. My mind filled with new information, and new experiences. Nodding my head, my hands worked the stain remover into a blood spot on his warrior pants. The warriors spent a lot of time hunting. They went on raids once in a while. After my first time of him coming home from a raid, Lighting Hawk didn’t describe his battles in very vivid terms. It tended to upset me.

“If you were a warrior you would understand better,” he once told me, “We honor our fallen enemies by taking their heads. Their strength is added to ours.” Still, I didn’t want to hear about. He didn’t tell me very much. We were very happy together.

Winter Flower came up to me, as I finished my work.

“Flaming Spirit, I need your help,” she said, “Summer Light has injured her ankle. I need Fungus root for Wise Talker. Do you mind going into the forest and gathering some?”

“Of course not, Winter Flower,” I said, “Let me hang up my laundry.” She smiled.

“I’ll hang up your clothing,” she said, taking my basket, “Wise Talker said that you should leave at once.” I took the gathering basket.

“All right,” I said. This seemed very odd. As I went into the woods, Wise Talker came from his tent. His eyes watched me disappear into the green semi-darkness.

The roots grew under rotting logs. Once in a while, I helped Wise Talker with his herbs. The shape of the Fungus root had become well known to me. My knife dug under a log, as my other hand felt for the soft tuber.

“I thought he had plenty of root,” I muttered, putting the white plant in my basket. Looking around, I sighed in frustration. It took me deeper into the woods then I was suppose to go. Carefully, my feet moved around the undergrowth. Snakes and forest rats carried sickness, and had to be watched for and avoided. My eyes looked for the proper rotting timber. For some reason, I couldn’t find very much. It all remained very strange to me like I walked in a dream. My back bent to let me look at possible root. When I straightened, my heart froze. A Great Snow Wolf stared at me from across the clearing. His black and brown coloring helped him to blend into the late summer growth. In time the snow would blanket the land in a white gown. He would turn to a snowy white and gray. Once long ago my father had bought a skin of the Great Snow Wolf to make my mother a fur wrap. Never had I seen a live one in all my life. He snorted as though amused and sat down in a relaxed air. Startled, I watched him cleaning his tail. Our eyes came together in a moment of understanding. Suddenly, I knew he meant me no harm. He grinned in a wolfish way with laughter shining in his amber gaze. Standing, he stared into my eyes for several moments, then disappeared into the growth. He vanished from sight so completely that even the brush didn’t sway. Just as startled as when he appeared, my knees sank to the ground. Wonder filled my heart.

“He didn’t want to harm me,” I said, softly, “He just wanted to see me.” How I knew the powerful creature was no danger to me lay beyond my reasoning. After a little thought, I followed the direction the wolf had taken. It seemed like the right thing to do.

The wolf danced just out of my sight teasing me with brief glimpses of brown fur. My ears heard him laughing at my struggles to chase him. I could see his tracks made boldly in the moist earth. Yet, only fleeting glances drove me to continue this strange chase. We acted like he and I played a game of hide and seek. He led me further into the forest, and it didn’t frighten me at all. Strangely, wonder and curiosity held in my heart. The basket hung at my side forgotten. The wolf disappeared into some bushes that stood six feet tall or higher. As I neared the place, shouting and grunting reached my ears. My feet became silent not even leaving a mark on the ground. Sneaking forward, my hands gently parted the bushes. Lighting Hawk, and those warriors not on guard at the camp stood in a line. Great Gray Wolf, one of the elders, trained the warriors in the Chawchee, the Warrior’s Dance. My heart nearly stopped at the sight, and the knowledge that I had been told.

“The Training Grounds,” I whispered, watching Lighting Hawk move in sync with his teacher. It ranked forbidden for a woman to see the Training Grounds. What would happen to me if I got caught? Filling with panic, I knew I had to get away. Before I could turn to leave, Raging Boar stumbled in his movements.

“I could do better then that,” I whispered. Before I really thought about it, my body began to follow Gray Wolf in his movements. It came easily. My body flowed through each pattern growing in confidence. My mind concentrated on each careful placement of my foot. Each move of the hand brought to a pause then set in motion once more. Nothing else seemed to matter to me. The dance of the warriors called to me, forcing me to answer in kind.

The snuff of the wolf brought me from the dance. My eyes darted around to see shadows. It had grown late while I learned. The warriors would be headed back to camp in a short while. I had to be there first fixing Lighting Hawk’s dinner. My mind went over every way I could explain my long absence to Winter Flower. The way home had Fungus Root in abundance. The wolf followed me for a short while before disappearing into the deep green. His howl chased me from the forest. Wise Talker stood at the edge of camp, waiting. Every excuse I could come up with fell away. My mouth opened and closed for a moment as I thought that he would know what I’d done. The elder smiled in reassurance at my sweaty face. Taking the basket, he looked the roots over.

“You did very well, Flaming Spirit,” he said, “You should hurry. The warriors will be home soon.” He took the basket, and walked away. Stunned at my good fortune, I hurried to Lighting Hawk’s tent. From somewhere in the deep wood, a snow wolf howled. A secret smile passed over my face. I’d share with Lighting Hawk the secrete of my training someday.

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