"Oh," that brought her attention around. "Well, my mother died many years ago, she caught a white man's sickness, smallpox and died." She hung her head in sadness. "I did my best to save her myself, but the medicine we had could not fight the white man's diseases then."
"Do you miss her?" He asked.
"Yes, very much." She stared at him strangely. "Not many have ever asked me that." She mused aloud. "Are both your parents alive?"
"Yes, they are." He smiled sadly. "And you will meet them soon."
"Do they approve of you marrying a woman from another tribe?" She watched his face for the answer.
"We'll find that out, tomorrow. But it is of no consequence, I am thirty years old and well able to choose my own bride." He chuckled.
"I'm still very curious about that. Why did you choose me?" she asked suddenly looking at him.
He hung his head now, and then looked up at her. "I had looked at every woman in my tribe. Truly," he stared into her innocent face. "I looked into their hearts. But I suppose I knew them too well. I don't know what I was looking for, but when I saw you, and your sassy mouth, I knew you were the one. That and other things."
"What other things?" she asked.
"Perhaps we should leave that for later." He told her.
"I know you don't love me, but I am interested in whether you want children in the future."
"Children? How can you ask me such a thing? You are a stranger to me. How can I answer you?"
"Sweet One, I simply want to know if you have dreams of having your own family or not." He reached for her hand, his thumb rubbing the top of her hand mindlessly. "We will get to know e
ach other in time. But surely you must have thought of having them with Big Knife."
Her head jerked up to look at him. Had she? Had they ever really talked of having children? No they had not. They hadn't planned a thing for their future except Big Knife wanted war. It dawned on her suddenly, that they hadn't talked hardly at all. "Well, yes, I suppose you are right about that. I wanted children, yes. It might sound strange to you, but Big Knife never talked about having them."
"Well, I'm glad you want them. I too would like at least two. And it is a start that we both know this."
"What is your favorite color?" he asked.
"Color?" She almost laughed at that question. Everything he wanted to know surprised her. "Blue, I guess."
He looked up in the sky and nodded, "Yes, it is a good color."
"And yours?"
"I like red." He smiled. "What do you like to eat?"
"Venison cooked in a stew until it's tender." She smiled absently. "And you?"
"The same but cooked over a fire like a beef steak."
She looked at him and couldn't help the smile on her face. "I've never had it that way."
"Then I will cook it for you. Tell me, what do you do with your time, Sasha?"
She took a long breath. None of his questions were what she expected. But it was interesting and enlightening too. "When I'm not healing the sick or injured, I like to weave baskets, and sometimes make jewelry." She blurted out of the blue. "I sometimes would listen to the council of our tribe, as I am eager to learn new things. I like to learn new things, so I try to talk to many different people. I know most of my people well. At least, I thought I did."
"That is good, I too like to learn from others. Tell me about your bad habits?" he asked, still holding her hand.
"Bad habits," she mused. "Now that is a hard one." She laughed. "I talk too much, argue too much, and I have a sweet tooth." She chuckled. "And you?"
"I fret over my decisions for my people. No matter what my decisions are, it will not please everyone. I know this, and it bothers me. Like this peace we have with the blue coats, many of my people don't like it and want to war with them. I do not think war is the answer. It is a constant battle to make them see we are better off not fighting them any longer. Both sides have warred for many years, and there have been many deaths. There comes a time, to put away the wars and seek peace. I figure it will be good for us to learn their ways and I wish they'd learn of ours. But I guess my biggest fault is I'm jealous of others at times."
"Jealous? But you’re a chief, your handsome, and strong and courageous, what have you to be jealous of?"