Her heart raced as she drew nearer. It had dawned on her that she was really doing this. Escaping. It was a dream she had clung on to for the past days.
There were a few women by the stream. She dropped the bundle of clothes and began to wash them. Slowly. When she looked up, she was alone. Hannah scrambled to her feet with her bundle of clothes. She looked frantically over her shoulders as she went into the water.
She gasped; the water was cold. And deeper than she had anticipated. It went deeper as she moved across, almost touching her chest. Her arms ached as she held on to the bundle on her head. She could barely see and she was scared about the creatures in the stream.
She fell on the banks immediately she got to the other side. Her breathing was sharp and deep, as she took long breath of air. Her eyes weakly looked across. She saw someone. Anika as she was called by the others. The woman stared at her basket of clothes, and then, she tipped it over, into the water. A chill ran through Hannah at the smile on her face. She was wiping all traces of her which was to her advantage. She didn’t want her around after all.
Tiredly, she stood up. There was no time to waste. She had to be out of there before he returned.
Hannah made her way into the forest. It was noisy and full of life. She had no idea where she was going, but she headed north, hoping she was on the right path. The forest was filled with turns and twists, branches that she had to bend and trees she had to climb over. She stomped her feet several times to free herself of the ants. She swatted the flies away as they came for her.
Her dress was wet. She was shivering. She felt dirty. And she was very tired, but Hannah had to keep on moving. She needed to gain grounds before the night came. She didn’t want to be out here in the forest when it was dark. Just thinking about it, made her gulp as she hastened her steps. If night met her here, she was however ready for it. She would climb a tree to sleep. As much as she shivered, she could not set a fire. It would only call attention to herself by man and animals as well. She had enough food for three days, having eaten her fill before going to the stream. She could do this, she told herself. She was stronger than others thought she was.
Hannah walked for what seemed to be miles. She was tired. But she needed to keep on moving. She had lost idea of the time since she was kidnapped, but she suspected it was afternoon already.
The forest became less dense and she was able to walk through the rough paths. Her feet ached and she had hit a rock, her big toe now throbbing. She sat down for a moment and drank from the gourd of water. The sun had come up, and her face was now covered with sweat, strands of hair sticking to it. She felt miserable, but she would be more miserable if she stayed back at the camp. She would certainly not miss any of that lifestyle. Not even the man with the brooding eyes.
A snarl froze Hannah. Her heart racing she looked around. She had encountered some rodents like squirrels and rabbits who had run off when they saw her. And well, she had seen a deer who had ignored her. She knew there were wild animals in the forest, but she had been praying not to encounter one. All she had was a blade of an arrow. How was she supposed to use that to kill a bear? Or something worse?
She got up quickly, she needed to be on her way. She hurried through the forest, more like running if she had to be sincere, getting away from that noise and whatever it represented. She stopped for a moment, to gather her breath. Then she heard a snap. She turned around, breathing fast. She could not see anyone. But she sensed she was not alone. Something or someone was haunting her.
Hannah began to run. She ran into branches yet kept on running. She heard the snarl as it grew louder. She had been right.
Hannah threw a look behind her. She couldn’t see anything. She yelped as she fell over a stone. A sharp pain pierced through her left leg. Her head lifted and she gulped. She was staring into the dark eyes of a wolf. It was big, with yellow eyes, and sharp teeth that sneered at her as it took a step towards her. She tried to get up, her body shaking in fear, but she had twisted her ankle.
Her heart raced as the wolf advanced. So this was how she was going to die. Mauled by a wolf in a forest in the middle of nowhere. She should have just stayed at the camp, she thought.
Her eyes closed as she whispered a prayer, making the sign of the cross. They flung right open at a whining sound. Standing before the wolf was the chief, with an arrow that had gone through it.
How? Was the question on her lips as her eyes closed, with her losing consciousness?
*
It was warm. And there was a sweet aroma in the atmosphere. Had she gotten h— Hannah sat up, breathing fast. She looked around her and her shoulders slumped. She didn’t even know if to be relieved or devastated. She felt both actually. Relief that she was alive, and sadness because she was back in the village. She tried to get up and winced, a reminder of her twisted ankle. How had he known she was there? The last thing she could remember was fainting from exhaustion or fear, or perhaps both.
She was not in her teepee, she realized. She remembered from the last time she had been here that this was Bear Claw’s home. Her dress had been removed, and she wondered with a blush if he was the one who had removed her dress.
The flap lifted and her body recoiled. It was not Bear Claw to her relief, but one of the older women. She spoke to her, but Hannah didn’t understand, however she got the drift as the woman placed a bowl in front of her. She stretched out her leg and the woman’s hard hands wrapped around it. A menthol smell overwhelmed her as the woman massaged her ankle. It hurt so much and Hannah winced in pain. Hotness surrounded her ankle, and just as suddenly as it began, it was replaced with coolness.
“Thank you,” Hannah said with relief. She could barely feel any pain after the massage.
With a lowered head, the woman took her bowl and left.
The entrance opened and she looked up to Bear Claw. He looked furious as his eyes set on her. She was in a deep trouble.
“Thank you for saving my life,” Hannah said quietly. Still surprised that he had saved her. She would have expected that he left her there to die in the forest.
“You ran,” Bear Claw said in a voice that held disappointment.
“What did you expect me to do? You kidnapped me!” she threw at him. All of this was his fault. If he had not kidnapped her, she would not be here with a twisted ankle.
“Because you belong here!” Bear Claw said fiercely.
Hannah laughed. Belong here? She did not even know him! She was not one of them. She belonged with her family.
“You took me from my mother. From my brothers and sister. And you keep me prisoner here! I don’t even know what you want from me!” Hannah said.
“I want you. You belong to me,” Bear Claw said as he advanced. She tried to move away but her ankle still throbbed. With few strides he was onto her. He looked down at her with anger. “You will never run away. You belong to me.”
