AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Brown Elk's eyes lowered to keep from revealing the sudden sadness that was creeping into them. At this time he couldn't help thinking of his son.
"This old man has known the joy of holding only one infant to his breast in his lifetime," Brown Elk said. "And he is gone from me now, as Jolena was gone from me when she was stolen by people with the white skins."
Brown Elk looked slowly up at Spotted Eagle. "I look forward to holding an infant again next to my heart," he said. "Make babies soon, Spotted Eagle, so this old man can watch the child grow some summers before wandering off to the Sand Hills to join his ancestors."
"There will be sons and daughters soon to fill your arms," Spotted Eagle said, smiling. "My womanyour daughterwill make beautiful daughters and strong, courageous sons. You will be proud, and yes, you will be drawn into their lives and your daughter's and mine as though we were of one heart and soul. My children will be blessed to have such a grandfather as Brown Elk!"
Brown Elk's eyes danced as he leaned closer to Spotted Eagle. "Jolena will soon erect her lodge in the center of the village. There I will place her dowry, for your taking. I hope what I choose for this dowry will be adequate to show my admiration for the man my daughter is to marry!"
"Having your daughter as my wife is dowry enough for this man," Spotted Eagle said, chuckling low. He rose to his feet and went around the fire and embraced Brown Elk as he rose and stood before him.
"It will be good to have two fathers," Spotted Eagle said, stepping back from Brown Elk. "I fear that my true father's summers are lessening much too quickly. He may not see his first grandchild. That saddens me."
"Do not bring such sadness into your heart until it happens and you are forced to accept it," Brown Elk said. "Cherish the time now with him, so that when he passes to the other side you will not be as heart sick over the loss."
"That I will do," Spotted Eagle said, then nod- ded a silent farewell. He went to the entrance flap and raised it, only to find himself peering down into the eyes of his beloved.
Jolena blushed and lowered her eyes, feeling awkward at this moment because of what was taking place between her and Spotted Eagle. For the first time in her life that she could recall, she was actually feeling bashful! She said nothing, nor did he, and she slipped past him into the tepee, laughing softly as she turned a wondering look at Moon Flower.
"This is such fun," she said, clasping her hands before her. "I suddenly feel more like a child than a woman preparing for marriage. It all seems so secretive. It makes it all seem sospecial, somehow."
"It is good to see your eyes shining and to hear the excitement in your voice," Brown Elk said, going to Jolena.
He drew her into his arms and held her to him. "My daughter," he said fondly. "Do you know how good it is to hold you? For so long this was denied me!"
"I, too, enjoy being h
eld by you," Jolena murmured, clinging to him. "You are everything I would ever want in a father."
Brown Elk stepped away from her and knelt down before a trunk that he was slowly uncovering by lifting one blanket and then another away from it. "This father has gifts for you from myself and your mother," he said, his voice drawn. He cast Jolena a glance and nodded for her to join him at the trunk. " Ok-yi. Come. See. They are yours to wear on your wedding day."
Her pulse racing, anxious to know what could be in the trunk that could be from her mother as well as her father, Jolena sat down on a thick cushion of pelts beside Brown Elk. Her eyes were glued to the lid of the trunk as her father's trembling fingers began raising it.
Her eyes widened when she saw the beautiful things inside the trunk, laid out so carefully. The light of the fire reflected on leggings adorned with many colorful beads and bells and brass buttons. As her father lifted the garment from the trunk and laid it on Jolena's lap, she saw that it was made of deerskin and was heavily fringed, as well as beautifully decorated.
She gently touched the leggings, sighing as she discovered the softness of the buckskin, but her eyes were elsewhere as her father slowly lifted a beautiful Indian dress from the trunk. It was made of antelope skin and was as white as snow and ornamented with at least three hundred beads made from elk tusks!
This, too, was laid across Jolena's lap for her to gaze upon and to touch, but again her attention was drawn to something else her father was taking from the trunk.
It was a summer blanket made of elk skin, well tanned, without the hair, and with the dew-claws left on.
Brown Elk reached into the trunk one last time and drew out a beautiful pair of black moccasins. They were of deerskin with parfleche soles and worked with porcupine quills. "These were your mother's on the day of her marriage to your father," Brown Elk said, gently stroking his hand down the full length of Jolena's unbraided hair. "This old man never thought there could be another woman as lovely as your mother… not until now. Not until you. You will be as beautiful. And your mother will be watching from her place in the heavens as you become a radiant wife to Spotted Eagle. She will bless this marriage, as I have already."
Jolena was at a loss for words. Tears splashed from her eyes. She felt both happy and sad. The clothes gave her a sense of her mother's nearness, yet they also made it all the more real that Sweet Dove was not there to witness her daughter's happiness!
At this moment, Jolena realized just how cheated she had been by fate. Her mother had been taken from her before she had known the wonders of her touch, her kiss, her blessingseven before Jolena had been able to drink that first drop of milk from her mother's breast!
She turned her eyes from Brown Elk, willing herself to stop crying!
This was a time meant for happy thoughts, not a past that she had never had any control over!
When the tears had dried, she turned a smile to her father. "I love them all," she murmured. "Thank you, father, for allowing me to wear the clothes my mother wore when she became your wife. I wear them with much pride and love."
A soft voice outside the tepee speaking Brown Elk's name made him smile broadly. He rose to his feet and walked toward the entrance. Then he nodded at Moon Flower. "Go to Jolena," he said softly. "Take the clothes from her arms. Her arms must be free to accept the gift One Who Walks With A Limp has made for her. Lay the clothes aside and go with Jolena and assist her in setting up her lodge, for she has no knowledge yet of how this is done."
Brown Elk gave Jolena a glance over his shoulder. " Ok-yi. Come, my daughter," he said. "Come and see what One Who Walks With A Limp has brought you."
Moon Flower went to Jolena and carefully took the clothes from her arms, then gave her a quiet smile as Jolena got to her feet and moved toward her father with soft steps.
