Chapter One
Newly elected Chief Black Wolf lay wounded after a skirmish with the Sioux and Crow tribes. He reached his hand down to his side and felt blood trickling over it. He suffered a deep wound in his side from a spear. His eyes opened slowly, as he took in the scene before him. Instantly blocking the pain from his mind, he concentrated on his surroundings and the men lying dead all around him.
The smell of Indian sagebrush, and acrid gun smoke assailed his nostrils. Bitterroot and Blazing Star flowers littered the grasslands on the hills. Snowcapped mountains in the distance hinted winter wasn't far away. An eagle flew high above in the distance. Black Wolf watched his flight.
He deliberately ignored his pain and tried to get up when a beautiful young maiden came up to him. She wore a dark buckskin dress, and her hair was long and braided on both sides. She had a beautiful face, sweet and unassuming, one that would make any man take notice. Black Wolf's loins reacted to her standing there staring at him. It did not please him that her looks alone caught his attention. When it came to women, he always looked deeper than the outside of a person.
He stared out at the meadow where the battle had taken place. Smoke was still clearing from the air; the stench of death eroded the earth now. He whispered a prayer to the Creator.
Black Wolf saw many men on the battlefield, dead and some groaning from the agony of a death that wouldn't come.
"How many?" he asked this strange woman.
"How many?" Her head twisted in question.
"How many died?"
His voice was raspy now.
"Of your tribe three men have died, and twenty-two are wounded. Five seriously, including you."
"And what of the blue coat soldiers?"
She turned away, "Fifteen dead and twenty wounded."
"And the Sioux and Crow?"
"They have not been counted yet, but the number is higher than your own." She told him almost in a whisper.
"You must be still, you have not been treated," she said in very good English, as he tried to get up.
"Who are you?" Black Wolf frowned. Although she had a pleasing demeanor, he didn't know her.
"I am Sasha, a healer." She told him.
"A healer, be gone with you woman." Black Wolf frowned.
"Your wound is deep and although I see it trying to mend itself, it is not yet healed. You must be still until I can doctor you. You have lost much blood." She insisted as she made a poultice to stop the bleeding.
"Doctor me? Where did you come from?" He demanded to know, trying to raise up and look around him.
He glanced at his wound now and saw what she had done. "What is this?"
"It will stop the bleeding."
"You did not answer. Where have you come from?"
"I came from Ft. Bridger. We moved to Ft. Hall and now I am here. I am Arapaho." She told him quietly.
"Arapaho?" He said with a twist of his head. "And what is an Arapaho doing in the Wind River Valley?" He asked, eyeing her with interest now.
She was silent and hung her head. "We live on the reservation also now."
"So you have moved upon our lands, have you?" He frowned once more.
She was silent.
"By what authority do you live here?"
"By the white man's authority from Ft. Bridger and Ft. Hall. Because we no longer war with the Shoshone, we have been sent here to live."
"We did not invite you!" He snapped, giving her a second glance.
"Are you always so grouchy?" She asked frowning at him now.
"Grouchy? I do not know this word."
"Unpleasant!" she told him with a twist of her brow.
"Only when I learn of an invasion of the Valley. This is Shoshone land."
"Then you should take it up with the white leaders. For there was no invasion."
"I will!"
She came closer and stared at his wound. She had a nice odor about her that shocked him. Most women he knew had none.
"Your wound is infected. I will treat it when it stops bleeding so." She told him.
"Treat my men, and the white soldier's men first. I will be fine." He raised his head with such arrogance.
"Your wound is deep and needs disinfecting soon."
"Be gone with you. I do not need your help."
"You are a stubborn man." She insisted, with impatience now, "but you will have my help whether you want it or not."
Suddenly Black Wolf's eyes traveled her, taking her all in. She was pretty, slender, and had a smile that captivated him. She was built small, dainty almost, but her mouth seemed to have become her backbone. He hadn't paid much attention to her when she first walked up to him, accept to admire her beauty. But she was very pleasing to the eye. He especially liked the fullness of her lips and wondered what a kiss might be like from her.
"Are you married?" he asked quite suddenly.