He deserved to suffer, and Bear Claw hoped his suffering would continue in the other world, for he did not deserve mercy. He hugged his sister again, grateful that she had returned home, despite her scars.
“Are we welcome here?” she asked.
It was in that moment he noticed that she was with child. His mouth opened. For years, his sister had been unable to conceive, only intensifying her husband’s cruelty.
“How?” he whispered.
“Should she explain the intricacies of creating a child?” Aiyana asked.
A laughter rose from the crowd as Bear Claw felt heat creep over his face. He glared at his sister and her smile only widened. He placed a hand over her stomach, and the child moved. It was a boy. He could tell already. His nephew who would never lack for a father. It was well that the bastard was dead, for he did not deserve to be a father. Neither did the child deserve a father like him.
“You are always welcome here. This is your home,” he said to her. He would never turn her away. This had been her home since she was born. It would always be a home to her and her child. And no one here would turn them away.
The gates opened, welcoming them in. He held his sister’s hand and felt her shaking as she returned to the home she had left times ago. He could see the hurt and pain in her eyes as she looked around.
“I should have left a long time ago,” White Dove said.
He caressed her hand. Yes, she should have. Thank the spirits, she had returned alive. Then, his vengeance on her husband would have been accepted. But he would have lost her. The living was better than the dead.
A small crowd soon formed in front of his sister, as many came to her to hug and greet her. For those of their generation all knew her, and had heard of her pain. The women took her away, and he watched her go. It was only then he realized he felt relief for his sister in what seemed to be a long time. He had always worried for her, and prayed to the spirits to free her. His status would have redeemed her, but Big Horn had been a scoundrel, the third son of a chief who cared nothing but enriching himself, then care anything for fairness.
She would stay with Aiyana for the while, while her companions would be camped for days until they were well rested. They would be provided supplies and escorted back home. Death had done good, taking the scoundrel, but there would always be a bond to him, in a child who would be raised by the clan.
He went in search of Sparrow, but he was told by her apprentice that she had heard of his sister’s return and had gone to her. He knew the women had to be catching up on lost times. He let them be. He looked for a light-skinned woman. He was told that she was by the stream.
Had she attempted to flee again? He wondered as he went to the stream. She had to know it was stupid to go through the forest, especially with no escorts. He was relieved when he found her by the stream, washing her clothes.
Hannah looked up and met Bear Claw’s eyes. There was an emotion in them she could not identify. She stood up and went to him.
“What troubles you?” she asked.
“My sister has returned.” He told her briefly of how his sister’s husband had treated her cruelly.
Hannah ached for the woman who had been hurt by the husband she was supposed to have trusted.
“He reminds me of my stepfather,” Hannah said.
“Did he ever hurt you?” Bear Claw growled. He knew he should have hurt the man. There had been something unsettling about him. While her mother had screamed for her daughter, the man had been more concerned about his horses and those bound papers in the huge boxes. If he had hurt her, he would track him down and make sure he paid.
“Not with his fists, but with his words. He tried to manipulate my mother and I, and when he saw I was no victim, he tried to separate us.” Just thinking of the wedge Samuel had created between her and her mother upset her. Her mother had always been a dependent, looking up to someone to care for her. She had done that most of her life. And so when Samuel came into their lives with his scriptures and nice words, her mother had looked onto him as a protector, instead of the leech that he truly was.
“No one will ever hurt you. I promise you,” Bear Claw said, pulling her into his arms.
Hannah scoffed. “And you will protect me from you, if you hurt me?”
Her words made him frown. “I will never hurt you.”
“Yet you kidnapped me and separated me from my family. Isn’t that hurting me?”
Bear Claw let go of her. He was offended. He had no intention of hurting her. Yes, he had taken her from her family, but would she have gone with him if he had walked up to her and told her to come with him? Would she understand that they were meant to be? He had done what was necessary, but that made him nothing like Big Horn. The man had been a monster.
Hannah left him in his thoughts, returning back to her laundry. She considered it ironic that he worried for his sister who had been treated cruelly, and he did something similar to her. She ignored him as he watched her, all her attention on the clothes.
The village was lively when she returned. She guessed it had to do with the return of Bear Claw’s sister. She wondered how the woman felt, returning with a pregnancy to her old home after so many years of being away. Would she feel that same way when she found her way back to her family? Would she feel like a stranger, or like she never left?
*
“There’s no need for it,” White Dove insisted, but Bear Claw had made up his mind.
