This is a fictional account.
Author's Note: Many of you love this story line and thanks for the kind words/votes. I will keep developing this story line for you. Please be patient as I also try other things too. I appreciate your feedback. Thanks to Techsan for his incredible editing.
Sally and Sarah began to adapt to their new way of life. They were becoming comfortable living with the Arapaho People. Life was hard at times like during the buffalo hunts but they got breaks too and those were usually fun. Besides Sarah now knew from their last failed attempt that escape was not likely. So the girls made the best of their new life.
Sally was picking up the language with remarkable speed. She even helped Sarah to learn many more words. Sally had chores each day just like White Flower, but they were usually done early. This gave them plenty of time for play and the girls were becoming good friends.
Sarah was learning a lot from Running Water about the role of an Indian woman. She had become a great help to Running Water and the older woman was grateful. They were becoming close too.
Sarah and Two Bears shared many pleasant looks, smiling at each other all the time. They had even managed several rendezvous at the bathing pool. Each one had led to more intimacy. Sarah was still a virgin though, but was beginning to understand why. She was the property of Gray Cloud. He alone would decide when and with whom she would be deflowered. She also learned that the arguments between Gray Cloud and Two Bears were over her. She didn't know exactly why, but she planned to find out.
Each time she had asked of Two Bears what he talked about with Gray Cloud, he always begged off. This was strange too, as he was otherwise very open with her. She sensed it had a lot to do with the obvious-to-all growing relationship between Two Bears and her. Running Water was no help either as she too refused to talk about it.
Sarah was helping Running Water with the afternoon meal when Red Fox rode up in a hurry. He spoke quickly and loudly to Gray Cloud in an excited manner, so they all paid attention. Sarah could not pick up everything but she did hear something about one dead.
Running Water also listened intently to Red Fox until he mounted and rode back off on his pony.
Sarah asked Running Water, "What was that all about?"
As they continued to work, Running Water did her best to explain that a hunting party had encountered a similar hunting party of Crow. They had fought and one Arapaho was dead and another hurt. Two Crow had been killed. The Arapaho had driven the Crow off but it was probably not over. Sarah shared the worried look on Running Water's face.
The Arapaho constantly had border skirmishes with their northern neighbor tribes. Not as often with the Crow, though lately they were pushing more down into Arapaho claimed lands to hunt buffalo and steal horses. The Sioux were the worst. They were brave warriors and often attacked the Arapaho the nearer they hunted and camped to the Dakotas. The chief of the Sioux, Sitting Bull, was fighting with the white settlers. He also pushed his people further west and south to safer lands.
Gray Cloud had talked with Sarah often about the white men settlers. They were continually taking Arapaho lands to the east and attacking the buffalo herds. He was very concerned about their encroachment on Arapaho hunting grounds. He worried about the approaching white men more than the other Indian tribes, it seemed.
Sarah did not know exactly how long they had been with the Arapaho People but the nights were getting cooler and the first signs of fall were approaching. She believed it was close to three months and probably mid-September by her best guess. She had come to learn the patterns of the village and could sense a change was coming. The hunting parties had to go farther and farther to spot the buffalo herds and for other game.
The traditional sun dances that Sarah and Sally both loved watching were becoming more frequent as the sun set earlier. The girls were also learning about the Arapaho beliefs and their powerful spiritual deities. The men often sat around at night talking of the spirits and passing a ceremonial pipe called a flat pipe. They also had another sacred item, a wood hoop called the wheel.
Sarah had helped Running Water cure meat for the winter. As the summer passed, Running Water became more and more urgent in her preparations for the cold months. The men had killed enough buffalo to make preparations for a fourth tepee for the family. The guys had collected poles for its construction. Sarah wondered why it was not being assembled but reasoned it was because they were going to be moving again soon.
For the first three months Sally and Sarah had lived among the Arapaho, none of the other young women paid any attention to Sarah. They would only look at her curiously from time to time. It was obvious to Sarah that many of these same women sought out Two Bears and Red Fox. In the last month, Red Fox had been spending time with a pretty girl named Summer Wind.
Now that Sarah knew a few Arapaho words, she could communicate somewhat with other members of the tribe. On one berry hunting expedition, Sarah ran into Summer Wind doing the same thing. They actually worked side by side for a while and talked briefly. Since then, Summer Wind had talked more to Sarah and seemed to be friendlier towards her.
On one occasion, when Sarah went to the watering hole to bathe, she ran into Summer Wind also bathing. Sarah had seen other Arapaho women before washing, both young and old, but she had never been alone with a woman her own age. Sarah was a little self- conscious as she stripped down with Summer Wind watching her from the warm water. Sarah hurried into the water to bathe.
As Sarah washed, Summer Wind came over to her and spoke.
Summer Wind said to her, "You have pretty hair, like golden grass."
"Thank you," Sarah replied, using her few Arapaho words. "You have pretty hair too."
"Thank you. I see you are golden down below too," Summer Wind said.
"Yes," Sarah said smiling back.
Then Summer Wind pointed to her nipples and said something Sarah did not get. Her confusion must have been obvious on her face as Summer Wind searched for a different way to describe it. They were in knee deep water and eventually Summer Wind got her point across by spreading her inner labia and showing her pinkness inside. She then pointed at Sarah's nipples and her own. Sarah got that she was describing the difference between Sarah's pink nipples and the much deeper red of Summer Wind's.
They finished bathing and sat on the rock together to dry in the sun. Sarah started brushing her hair but Summer Wind took the comb from her hand. Summer Wind combed her hair for her. When Sarah's hair was combed, they switched and Sarah combed Summer Wind's. Her hair was black as coal and Sarah was jealous of the lustrous sheen it had when clean. Summer Wind's hair came to the middle of her back. Sarah liked combing her beautiful hair for her.
They dressed and walked back to the village together. Over the next few weeks, Summer Wind talked to her more and more. She was spending more time with Red Fox, so they had several chances to meet. At one point, when they were sitting together and no one else was around, Sarah asked about her and Red Fox. Summer Wind indicated they were to be married. Sarah told her that was nice.
Summer Wind told her how sorry she was that Sarah could not marry Two Bears. Sarah played along and learned that Gray Cloud was standing in the way. He did not want his eldest son to marry a white woman but he also did not want to sell Sarah to any other man either. That night Sarah cried herself to sleep. Fortunately Sally was asleep and did not hear her.
It seemed the new tepee was for Red Fox and Summer Wind once they were married. That would leave Two Bears alone in the other tepee. Gray Cloud wanted him to choose a wife but just not Sarah. Sarah tried to talk to Running Water about all this but Running Water just said it was up to Gray Cloud. Sarah started crying again as she sat working on the afternoon meal. Running Water gave her a look of sorrow but said nothing.
About a week later, Sarah was out collecting edible roots with Summer Wind when Two Bears rode up with Red Fox. Summer Wind and Red Fox soon disappeared together leaving Two Bears and Sarah alone. Sarah took the opportunity to ask him about what she had learned.
