"I am glad to hear it," said Laylah.
"And, I am happy to know you are both uninjured," Amelia murmured. "I've been very afraid for you. But, now that I know you are both unharmed, I must ask if either of you seen Sharon or David, Sharon's fiancé?"
Eagle Heart shook his head. Meanwhile, Gray Falcon placed his arms around Amelia and kissed the top of her head before saying, "Perhaps we should go to your lodge and see if they are both there."
Amelia nodded.
****
Where was Sharon?
Amelia frowned. Neither Sharon nor David were anywhere to be found. They were not within the lodge she shared with Sharon, nor was Sharon discovered to be within Laylah's tepee.
Perhaps they had fled into the fort? With nowhere else within the Indian encampment to hunt for her friend, both Amelia and Gray Falcon had asked for and had gained admission into the trading post. But, after a thorough search of David's quarters, they found no trace of Sharon nor David there. Standing within the fort, with Gray Falcon at her side, Amelia frowned.
Unexpectedly, the Pikuni boy, Kóónsska, came running into the fort and rushed straight at her and Gray Falcon. He was a little out of breath as he spoke to Gray Falcon in Blackfeet. Almost as soon as the words had been spoken, Gray Falcon turned away from her to follow the boy, but he quickly looked back and said over his shoulder, "You must hurry and follow us! I am asked to join a council, and I must go there at once."
She ran after them then, and, coming up close to Gray Falcon, she asked, "I am not allowed into the council, am I?"
"Saa, you are not. But, you will stand outside while we counsel. Your sister will be there, also. All the women who are married to the men in council will be standing outside the chief's lodge. What is decided will affect them, too, so they will listen."
Quickly, Amelia muttered, "All right," and, picking up her skirt so she could run a little faster, she trailed after Gray Falcon and the boy, though now and again she stumbled, resulting in having to sprint forward to keep pace with them.
