I paused, as I gazed gently into her eyes.
"I love you, Teuila."
"If that's what all this pounding in my ch
est is that I'm feeling right now, then I guess I'm in love with you too, Jade. I think the Gods are trying to tell us something."
As I looked at Te' with tears of joy streaming down my face, I noticed some movement at the edge of the cape a few hundred feet offshore. I narrowed my eyes trying to focus on the object, then my eyes flung wide open when I realized it was the bow of a canoe slicing through the water. I grabbed Te's hand and pulled her behind one of the dunes.
"What is it?" she said, recognizing the fear in my eyes.
"It's a canoe," I said, pointing in the direction of the craft. "I think your father is getting closer than we hoped."
Te' poked her head carefully above the dune and peered in the direction I'd pointed, then ducked her head back down, her chest puffing up and down in frantic bursts.
"Is it from your tribe?" I asked.
"It looks like it," she said. "If we stay hidden, hopefully they won't come ashore. We haven't left any visible signs of habitation nearby. They're probably just searching the boundary of the island to see if they can find any sign of us."
As we lay flat against the side of the dune, I heard the sound of rhythmic singing emanating from the lagoon, growing progressively louder, then it began to diminish. After another minute or so, Teuila lifted her head again.
"What are you doing?!" I said, grabbing her hand. "They might see you!"
"It sounds like they're almost past the lagoon," she said. "I just want to see who they sent out to look for me."
Te' peered over the top of the sand for a long moment as her eyes grew wider and wider, then she ducked down again into the pit.
"What is it?" I said. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"It might as well have been," she said. "Those men weren't from my tribe. They must be from the tribe on the other side of the island. And they weren’t singing. Those were war chants. I think they have something far more sinister on their mind."
16
"There's another tribe on this island?" I asked. "Why didn't you mention this before?"
"I didn't think it was important," Te' said. "It's a big island and they usually stick to themselves, so I didn't think we'd cross them. But they're venturing further afield than usual and coming from the direction of my village, which worries me."
"Have the two tribes never had contact before?"
"Many years ago, we all lived together in peaceful harmony. But when a power struggle erupted between the chief and my grandfather, my tama matua was killed in battle and the chief banished the other faction to the other side of the island. My father became the chief of our clan and built fortifications to keep the other tribe away. Since then, everybody's been content to mind their own business. At least until now."
"What makes you think they mean to threaten your village?"
"It's unusual for them to venture so far from their side of the island. Their normal fishing grounds are to the north, not the west. And they were wearing war paint. But it was what they were chanting that worries me the most."
"What were they saying?"
"Something about taking back their land and reunifying their clan. I think they intend to recapture the women and children and kill off all the men. This was probably an advance reconnaissance mission to scope out our village's defenses before sending in their full war party."
"Oh my God!" I said, widening my eyes in horror. "What do you intend to do?"
Teuila paused for a moment as her gaze darted from side to side in thought. Then she looked up at me and frowned.
"I don't think I have any other choice. I've got to warn my father of their intentions before my tribe gets slaughtered. I'd never forgive myself if I didn't do everything in my power to save them."
I peered into Te's brown eyes, considering the implications of her plan.
"But aren't you risking your own freedom if you go back? After you've already disobeyed his wishes, he'll never let you out of his sight a second time."