As the woman moved to Faith, Juniper lifted the cake near her nose. It smelled sweet, maybe like berries. She took a small bite.
There was a crust on the outside, protecting a warm, soft inside. The sweet aroma was definitely berries, and perhaps some kind of vegetable or root. Though it tasted like nothing she’d ever eaten, it was actually quite good. “Mmm. Very tasty.” She said that more for her sisters than their hosts. These native women likely couldn’t understand her.
Faith gave her a dubious look but bit into her own cake. Her brows rose, and she nodded. “Itisgood.”
Juniper glanced at their main host, the one who’d led them in here, and caught the woman smiling at Faith’s response. Good thing her sister liked the cake. Faith didn’t always school her expression. If the food had tasted foul, her reaction might well have put them in danger. Or at least, displeased their hosts.
As they ate, new women came and went from the lodge, some casting quick glances at Juniper and her sisters as they spoke with the women by the fire. Others were more obvious in their perusal, staring mostly at her. Was it her blue eyes that drew so much attention?
A few looked like they were speaking to her. She couldn’t say for sure, though, for one of their hosts always answeredin the same tongue. It would be nice to have Riley here to interpret.
What was he doing now with the men? If only she and her sisters could be there with him, to hear what these people said about Steps Right. Was she one of these women even?
The thought should have occurred to Juniper earlier. As she studied each of the five faces currently in the lodge, all looked to be over forty years, except the one who had just entered. She appeared young, barely a woman. Perhaps Faith’s age.
She studied them with as much curiosity as the others had, her focus roaming over Juniper first, then down the line to Rosemary, finally swinging back to Juniper. She murmured something to the other women and received a matter-of-fact reply. Then the newcomer stepped toward Juniper. She stopped an arm’s length away and smiled. The expression brightened her face, and Juniper returned the smile.
The girl spoke to her, a slew of sounds that dipped low then rose high in quick succession. No clue of what she said, though. How should Juniper respond?
She smiled wider and managed a simple “Hello.” Should they introduce themselves? The girl didn’t seem to be doing that herself.
Then her gaze shifted to Juniper’s hair, and her attention fixed there. She raised a hand as though to touch. But her fingers paused halfway.
Juniper took in a breath. Did she dare allow these people to touch her hair? If she offered the chance to this woman, the others might want to as well. As long as they only stroked... If they didn’t pull, what harm could it do? And allowing the liberty might endear her to them.
Moving carefully so she didn’t startle the girl, Juniper reached up and pulled her braid around to the front of her shoulder, then held out the loose hairs at the tip for her to touch.
The girl’s eyes sparkled, her full cheeks spreading in a smile. She fingered the ends of Juniper’s hair, then moved upward to stroke the lower half of her braid.
After several seconds of this, the girl pulled her hands back and reached for one of her own braids, pulling it over her right shoulder and holding it out for Juniper to touch. The glossy black strands were secured with a leather strap, which was threaded with beads of several different colors and sizes. Another string of beads, entirely blue, dangled from that tie.
Blue beads. Like those of the necklace tucked in Rosemary’s saddle pack, the one they were bringing back to Steps Right. These beads here looked different than the ones they had, a lighter blue and not as clear, but still. The fact that they were a solid string of blue ... did that matter?
This girl couldn’t be old enough to be Steps Right. Could she be a daughter or granddaughter of the woman?
She was still holding out her braid, so Juniper reached and stroked the end. Soft, just as the glossy strands appeared. She let her fingers trail down to the string of blue beads and pause there. She sent another smile to the girl. “Pretty.”
The young woman smiled and nodded, almost like she understood.
Juniper pulled her hand away, and the girl edged back.That appeared to be a cue for the other women, and they swarmed forward, surrounding and moving in front of her.
Juniper held her braid up, and hands reached from all directions to touch it, sometimes pushing another away as the women clambered closer.
Most stroked her braid, but a few wove fingers through the hair closer to her head, mussing what she’d carefully secured that morning. The women’s happy chattering filled the lodge. If this was what it took to earn their friendship, or at least their good opinion, it was a small price to pay.
After what felt like hours, a clap from the lodge door rose above the voices, and all turned to face their host, who stood framed in the opening. At her words, the women backed away, retreating to the other side of the fire. She motioned to Juniper, then again to the rest of her sisters. Perhaps the men were finally finished and Riley had sent for them.
Juniper gripped Faith’s hand and stood, pulling her sister beside her as she checked to make sure Lorelei and Rosie came too. The woman in charge turned and stepped out of the lodge, then paused for them to follow her.
Juniper blinked in the brightness of the sunlight, then squinted across the courtyard to where the woman was taking them.
Riley stood beside two men at the place they’d entered the circle of lodges. He was watching their approach, but from this distance his expression was hard to read. Part of her was more than a little relieved to see him. To know that they’d survived and would soon be back together. But in truth, though this had been an adventure she would never forget, the women had been kind and quite hospitable.
Her attention snagged on a figure tucked behind the menwith Riley. The young woman who’d first approached and touched Juniper’s hair. Why was she there with the men, standing so quietly?
When they reached Riley and their hostess backed away, his mouth held a twist of amusement. “Are you ready to go?” He glanced around at all four of them but came back to Juniper, as though he was speaking mostly to her. How had she suddenly become the leader in their group of sisters? This was Rosie’s place, but the Gros Ventre woman and now Riley all seemed to look for her to speak for them.
She met his gaze, searching for any details he might share about Steps Right. “Did you learn anything?”
