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“Sky Dancer will be mine,” he whispered to himself over and over again as he rode closer to the village.
He finally reached it and entered, aware he made quite a sight with many beautiful horses trailing behind him, their hooves making a sound similar to thunder as they beat against the ground. Yes, it was surely a spectacle, one that he was proud to make.
He smiled and nodded at the people as they came and stood at the doors of their hogans. He patted
the heads of children as they ran along on each side of his horse, laughing and reaching up to touch him. Owning this many horses seemed to make him into a hero in the eyes of the children. He only hoped that Chief Red Moon would feel some of the enthusiasm generated by the hordes of children as they gathered in even greater numbers around him as he approached the chief’s hogan.
Then Thunder Hawk’s eyes wavered and his throat tightened when up ahead he saw Chief Red Moon step from his dwelling. He was an imposing figure who stood over six feet in his bare feet and whose weight must have been no less than three hundred pounds. His eyes were dark and set back deep under thick, black eyebrows. The bones of his face were prominent and his nose was hawk-beaked. His bony jawline was heavy, moving solidly into a jutting chin beneath a straight mouth.
Chief Red Moon wore a velveteen shirt and breeches with silver buttons glistening from the sides of his breeches and up the front of his shirt. His hair hung long, black, and sleek across his shoulders, a red velveteen headband holding his hair back at his brow.
The frown that he wore and the locked arms across his chest caused fear once again to grip Thunder Hawk. He could tell that Chief Red Moon was not as taken by this young man who so boldly entered his village with a stampede of horses tied behind him as the children were.
Then Thunder Hawk’s heart seemed to drop to his feet when Sky Dancer slipped to her father’s side, her dark eyes wide and dancing when she saw who was approaching, and surely understanding why: the horses; they were proof of Thunder Hawk’s intentions on this bright and sunny day of late summer.
Thunder Hawk let his eyes trail over Sky Dancer. She wore a fully gathered skirt and velveteen blouse, both of which revealed her tiny waist and luscious curves. Her face had been perfectly molded by the hands of the Great Unseen Power.
As always, her smile was melting Thunder Hawk. Thunder Hawk’s eyes locked with Sky Dancer’s. His pulse raced when he saw that once again they were communicating their feelings for one another without having spoken.
Intrigued anew by her loveliness, his head began to spin, but feeling the steely gaze of her father on him, he again turned his eyes to the chief.
He drew a tight rein a short distance away from Chief Red Moon and Sky Dancer. There was an obvious absence at the chief’s right side, his wife having passed away two moons ago due to a fever.
Dressed in his finest clothes, a pair of fringed breeches, a dark purple velveteen shirt that displayed silver buttons down its front, and a matching velveteen headband that held his long, black hair in place, Thunder Hawk dismounted his horse. He nodded a thank you to a young brave who took his reins and stood obediently beside the horse.
His shoulders squared, his throat dry, and his heart pounding out his fear of standing before this great chief, Thunder Hawk took the few steps required to reach Chief Red Moon.
Once there, he clumsily gave the chief a pleasant greeting, then also extended the same cordial greeting to Sky Dancer, who smiled timidly at him, then cast her eyes even more bashfully to the ground.
“Why have you come?” Chief Red Moon said, not wasting time with further cordialities. He did not even invite Thunder Hawk into his dwelling. “Why have you brought many horses?”
Sky Dancer lifted her head long enough to cast Thunder Hawk a sweet, quick smile, and then once again lowered her eyes humbly to the ground.
“The horses that I have brought to you count fifteen in number,” Thunder Hawk said, turning to motion with a hand toward them. “Do you not see that they are all beautiful?”
He turned back around to face the chief. “Do you see them worthy as a bride price?” he said, his voice drawn and edged with fear.
“A . . . bride . . . price?” Chief Red Moon said, glowering at Thunder Hawk. “For whom?”
Thunder Hawk shuffled his moccasined feet nervously. He cleared his throat. He gave Sky Dancer a wistful stare, then challenged the glare that Chief Red Moon was sending his way.
“Thunder Hawk brings these horses to Chief Red Moon as payment for the privilege of marrying his beautiful daughter,” he finally blurted out.
Many people had gathered around them, whispering and nudging one another, while others had crept close to run their hands down the necks of one or more of the horses.
When Thunder Hawk voiced his intentions, a hush fell over the crowd. All that Thunder Hawk could hear was the harshness of his breathing, and perhaps even the beating of his own heart.
Chief Red Moon took a step closer to Thunder Hawk. He took a slow turn around the young man. Then Red Moon went and stood beside his daughter again. “You lack the years required to be a husband,” he scoffed. “Take your horses and go.”
Gasps wafted through the air around Thunder Hawk, but his own was the loudest. He could not believe that Chief Red Moon could be so quick to deny him what he wanted so much.
Sky Dancer lifted her eyes and looked boldly into his, then gave the same bold, steadfast gaze to her father.
“Father, I do not want him to leave,” Sky Dancer said, no longer pretending to be timid and shy. “Not without me.”
Chief Red Moon’s eyes lit with a sudden fire. His jaw tightened and his lips pursed as he gave his daughter a disbelieving stare.
“Father, this daughter does not want a man of many years for a husband,” Sky Dancer continued. “Sky Dancer wants Thunder Hawk.”
