Spark of Life
“I’ll not be left here.”
“She speaks and, with stern words at that, Chin!”
Xheng’s eyes widened. It was the first sentence Amarelle had spoken. The Captain relieved Amarelle of her abusive captor, the Preacher, almost a fortnight ago but she’d fallen into a mute silence after being rescued. He noticed a spark of life in her eyes. Stiffness in her stance fore told a stubborn determination to have her way in this discussion.
“You are still too weak for a voyage over the ocean to the Canada’s, Amarelle,” Chin spoke his words softly and carefully so as not to cause the girl duress.
“I’ll not stay!” Amarelle stated with forceful intent.
“Well, she’s correct in thinking she can’t stay Chin! The moment we are gone the Preacher will be claiming her once again and we can’t have that. Gather up what tinctures you can for her and all the cheese, fat meats and bread makings you can to get her weight up while we journey. Then procure some proper foot wear and clothing for the girl. She will be relegated to the Captain quarters while we sail.”
Smith gave Amarelle a quick once over. The girl, although healing, was frail. Outward bruising had disappeared but she had not overcome the trauma she’d endured at the Preacher’s hands.
“Deny her nothing Chin. Take her with you to gather her needs. I suggest you hurray we leave on the tide come morning light.”
“As you will Captain,” Xheng bowed.
If Xheng’s memory served correct, that was five years ago. The Captain had never denied Amarelle. She wanted for nothing. Xheng secretly wished she was more like her sister. Vesta was not a needy or demanding girl, instead she kind and giving. Vesta unlike Amarelle made do with what she had and she did for herself without want or need to be served. Strange that they’d never found a trace of his young protégé, Vesta. It was as if she’d simply vanished from the face of the earth.
The Captain had spoiled Amarelle as far as he was concerned. The young woman was exhausting. Simply being in within her close proximity was draining. Xheng sunk into a wooden arm chair. Restful moments were short lived when Amarelle was near.
“Chin! Chin!”
Xheng opened his heavy eyes.
Amarelle was barking orders at the kitchen staff and berating them for trying to give her afternoon tea with biscuits.
“I’m not hungry you fools! Get away! And, take this fodder with you. Nothing but common buffoons…! All of you. Leave us be!”
Xheng shook his head so slightly that his disgust went unnoticed by Amarelle.
Now a very pretty young woman, Amarelle, had become accustomed to socializing with those in elite circles. She’d adjusted quickly to the manipulative, greedy ways of the socialites. And, she used her feminine wiles to twist not only Captain Smith into acquiescing to her wants but, many a young suitor vying for her attention and naïve young woman craving friendship. Amarelle was a popular young lady. Xheng had learned quickly to handle her with care. Amarelle had grown vindictive and mean toward any who dared deny her wants. Those in lesser circles were mercilessly berated by Amarelle. Xheng was often surprised at how easily others submitted to the young woman’s will. Even the poor showered Amarelle with gifts though, they could not afford to give them, often going without food or shelter because of their giving natures.
“Chin, get up you lazy sot! I’ve seen her! Are you listening to me? I’m telling you, I’ve seen Vesta!” She was glaring at him, “Chin…!”
Xheng sat upright in his chair, his face riddled with skeptical optimism.
“She was with an Indian man. Not from a local tribe. She carried a babe. She was on a pinto. It pulled a travois. Get-up! We must follow after them!”
Xheng cleared his throat. He had seen Amarelle in this frenzied, heightened state before. She was about to go into a tirade. Tears would follow; these meant to manipulate the intended victim. If her tears went ignored – well; hell had no fury like it. He suspected after five years, this ruse Amarelle was inventing, was nothing more than an over active imagination caused by house bound boredom.
“Have you spoken to the Captain; Miss?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Chin! We don’t have time to involve the Captain. Quickly, get up. We must go after that savage and retrieve Vesta.”
Time had not been easy on Xheng. He could hear his bones creak in dismay as he shifted forward in the chair and stood.
“I believe we must get approval from the Captain prior to following savages of any sort into the woods, Miss.”
“They’ve ridden west, beyond the wooded area, Chin. They’ve gone to the place past the meadow to the foothills which opens to the prairie but it is still sheltered by trees. I’m sure they can see any coming or going from that spot. I know they’ve gone there. Quickly, there is no time to waste. I insist you take me there now!”
Xheng let out an exasperated breath, “No, Amarelle.”
Her tantrum was unbearable. It was the worse yet. Xheng opened the door and left the mansion. He loathed the thought of enduring further tyranny or slanderous verbiage emitted by Amarelle’s ruthless onslaught. He reappeared hours later when he knew for certain the Captain had returned.
Amarelle was acting cute and alluring with the Captain. She was slithering up to him with an over-confident, seductive swagger that never failed to charm the hypnotized Captain into yielding to her demands. It was evident to Xheng that Amarelle held a strange power over people. It was if they were under a spell.
“Chin, tomorrow you will saddle two of our finest horses and take to the trail with Amarelle. Go west until you find this girl Amarelle speaks of. She must be accompanied by someone that I trust with my own life. That man is you.”
“Pardon me, Sir?” Xheng stammered.
“You heard me my friend, you will take Amarelle and head west on the ‘morrow. Those Natives travel fast and light so it will take you much speed and hard riding to catch them. I regret that I am unable to make the journey at this time myself. But, as you are aware, Amarelle is much exasperated at your denial of her request. I, on the other hand, am aghast that you did not set out on your own already. This girl, Vesta was in your charge was she not?”
Xheng did not know how to answer the Captain. The fact of the matter was that he did not believe Amarelle and had no wish to be manipulated by her yet again. Neither did he want to cause her more pain since the past held nothing but trauma for the young woman. Xheng believed Vesta had perished long ago, probably another victim of the Preacher’s but burned secretly on a pyre of fire in hidden woods behind the Protestant colony. He hung his head with solemn grief which Captain Smith misunderstood for submission.
“Good! I will follow within a fortnight if you have not returned.”
Amarelle smiled slyly and glanced at Xheng with a vindictive, blue-eyed, glint.
The duo set to the trail late the next morning. The trail had been easy to pick up without the help of bystanders. Most Natives in the area used pack horses to carry supplies, not a travois. As Amarelle stated, the trail led west but the venture would not be as speedy as Xheng had hoped since Amarelle had vehemently insisted on wearing her finest dress and burgundy cape which precipitated the need for a side-saddle – which she was not adept at using having been accustomed to a horse and carriage.
The village was hardly beyond sight when Amarelle began complaining. Xheng sighed heavily, this would be a long journey and nary would they find the ghost of Vesta, of that he was certain. Xheng straightened his shoulders and resigned himself to a trail of suffering alongside his chronically complaining female companion.
It was well into the evening of the third day. The sun had been beating down on Xheng and Amarelle. She’d grown sullen – quiet; of that Xheng was grateful. The tracks of the travois had disappeared. Xheng suspected the natives had gone through the trees and into bush that led into the foothills but he could not pick-up the track. That was the day before. The trail was lost. They would never find Vesta. He bit his tongue. It wouldn’t do to berate Amarelle; the bitter arrogant woman was on a mission. She insisted they follow the edge of these trees further west.
“I can feel her Chin. I know she’s near.”
Xheng was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Haughty know-it-all, she will never admit that she’s wrong. Something’s watching us. Xheng shifted in his saddle as he narrowed his eyes and surveyed the shadows among the trees and into the distant horizon to no avail. He could see nothing.
The horse and rider rode forward without a sound and stopped in front of Xheng. Xheng had never before seen a savage quite like this one. The man was majestic. He was so handsome one could have described him as beautiful. His eyes were fierce yet kind and full of curiosity.
“This is the savage, Xheng! I told you!” Amarelle’s voice was high-pitched and nervous. “You there… Where is Vesta?” her voice sounded more like a terrified squeal than a demand.
The Wildman motioned with his arm.
“Come. I take you.”
Xheng’s eyes widened. Quietly he spurred his mount on to follow the tawny dark skinned man.
The sun was setting orange on the horizon when the trio rode into a small camp. A young woman dressed in a buckskin dress sat by a lean-to nursing her infant. A fire burned low under a pot of delicious smelling stew.
Xheng’s trail weary stomach rumbled.
“Vesta,” Amarelle screamed then laughed with giddy enthusiasm. If she hadn’t needed help dismounting, she’d have tackled the wary woman still breast feeding the child with bear hugging enthusiasm.
Xheng had never seen Amarelle smile or even laugh when it hadn’t seem forced or fake. He was truly stunned by the spark of life and real emotion exhibited by Amarelle.
The woman with the child maintained her composure. True, she did resemble Vesta. However, she did not seem to relish Amarelle’s intrusion of her privacy, or the exuberant manner in which she had been approached. The ensuing, lengthy silence seemed to be a reprimand.
“Do you not remember your sister, Vesta?” Amarelle feigned a pout.
“I recognize you Amarelle,” Vesta replied softly.
Xheng’s heart leapt into his chest. It was Vesta!
“Thank the Heavens…” he muttered.
Xheng’s legs felt heavy like his feet had grown roots that dug deep into the earth. He couldn’t move. Instead, he transfixed his gaze on Vesta. She’d changed. She was young but old with wisdom. Her quiet demeanor demanded respect. She seemed to glow with holy light. Xheng’s head nodded slightly with realization. Always a natural healer, Vesta had come into the powers of her Cunning Folk ancestor’s. Once ostracized as a ‘Witch,’ in the colonies because of her prowess with nature’s remedies, Vesta would be revered by the native people of this new country. They would call her a Medicine Woman. Xheng’s chest swelled like that of a proud father.
The Wildman moved forward and gently moved Amarelle several steps back from Vesta and her child. As he motioned for Amarelle to sit, he hissed a single word in his native tongue. It was one Xheng recognized. It had been used by the native people where Vesta had vanished. The word was used in reference to an esteemed leader or a powerful healer. It confirmed Xheng’s observation of Vesta and this Wildman was obviously Vesta’s protector or perhaps the father of the babe. Amarelle would need to show polite respect to her sister unless she preferred to be further chastised by the man.
Vesta spoke in a language Xheng didn’t understand then watched as the Wildman softened and relaxed. Vesta smiled as she motioned for Xheng to come closer. He shook his head and held up the reins of the horses.
“I must see to our mounts first… errr…ummm…,” Xheng was at a loss of how to address this woman once his promising young protégé.
“Runs with the Moon will assist you, Xheng. Please, eat when you return. You must be famished. I will speak with my sister while you are absent.”
Amarelle had been watching the exchanges between Vesta and the men with jealousy. Her eyes had narrowed and her lips had twisted from a pout into a scowl. She was not accustomed to being reprimanded or to sharing adoration. As happy as she was to have discovered her sister; Amarelle was beginning to regret having found her. She scanned Vesta with a critical eye. A swirling aura of violet and pink pulsed around Vesta’s silhouette. Inflections of gold and green sparked amidst the aura. Amarelle gasped. She must shut down this wickedness now infecting her. A vision such as this was a sacrilege. She shook her aching head then glanced back at Vesta whose kind eyes were smiling back at her; the babe slept peacefully in loving arms.
Vesta stood and slipped quietly into the lean-to placing the sleeping infant on a pile of furs. When she re-appeared she had several bowls. She stepped toward the fire and ladled a healthy portion into one and handed it to Amarelle.
“It is from bison. Many of the herbs you will recognize from our childhood. Some will be new. It will replenish your strength. Please eat, Amarelle.”
Amarelle stared at the bowl suspiciously.
“I assure you, it isn’t poison!” Vesta laughed as she ladled a generous portion into a bowl for herself and began to eat.
Amarelle needed no further encouragement.
“The child, is it his Vesta?” she mumbled around a mouthful of bison.
“I am called, Red Willow, Amarelle. That is the translation at least… Runs with the Moon? Yes, the babe is our daughter.”
“How did it happen? That you were captured by him, I mean…”
“I went with him willingly, Amarelle. He found me by the red willow, do you remember? It is the last time we saw each other. He had Nell’s horse, Spirit. That is how we came to be in this country; on the prairie. She led us here to freedom. It was a trick you see… We thought we were setting her free!”
“You went with him willingly?” Amarelle bit down hard on her lip. “What of the promise you made to me Vesta? Did you not think I needed you more than a stupid horse?”
Vesta’s eyes narrowed. “I can see that you are tired and not feeling yourself Amarelle. Perhaps, we can discuss this further in the morning. Yes, I think that is best. See here, Xheng and Runs with the Moon have returned. You rest now. There is plenty of room in our shelter and a spot for a restful evening has been readied for you.”
Vesta kept a watchful eye on Amarelle as her burgundy cape disappeared into the lean-to. It hadn’t escaped her notice that the young woman had changed. Her heart was hard. She would have some private words with Xheng regarding Amarelle and decide how to proceed when the sun was full tomorrow.
Start at the beginning by clicking the link: Vultures
I love your writing style, Nadine and always look forward to the next chapter!
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Thank-you Terry that means so much coming from someone so talented like yourself! ❤
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That’s a wonderful compliment, Nadine. Thank you!
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You are very welcome 😊
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I get the sense that I missed Chapter 6 somewhere along the way. But after reading this, it seems Amarelle and Vesta have chosen different spiritual paths. I think this may turn into a war between the good witch of the west and the wicked witch of the east.
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😆 🤣 keep reading, the answer is coming…
(You can access Chapter 6 by clicking the link for Vulture’s)
Thanks for reading Tippy!
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