Chapter 5-2
2361 Words
The native who spoke for his group nodded and said, “Peshewa says that he will offer help to you if you come to him.”
He turned to his companions and they stood back waiting for my answer. I had lived long in America and yet my experience with the natives was mixed.
I addressed the main scout and replied, “I thank you for this great honor that Peshewa has bestowed on me to become a guest of the Miami tribe. I need a few minutes to discuss with my people.”
I bowed to them and then headed back to the wagons with Jeremiah. On our way back, I remembered the name of the driver of the first wagon. His name was Henry. He followed us and we met the Radleys in back of the second wagon. Charles came to speak to us with a rifle in his hand. Mrs. Radley remained inside with the children, but I quickly waved to Bebe to show her that I was unharmed.
“What do you advise that we do?” I relied upon Jeremiah.
He scratched at his head and said, “I have heard that the Miami tribe dispute their lands with the Shawnee and that conflict has broken out between the American settlers and the Shawnee. If we declined Peshewa’s invitation, we might have trouble getting through these lands and be blocked by the Shawnee. And I would not rebuff an invitation from an Indian chief.”
Mr. Radley glanced at his family in the wagon. “To protect my family, I would suggest that you two go with the Indians and my family will head on to safer lands. We could keep Bebe with us and then you can return to claim her later. She would be safe with us.”
“I cannot leave my daughter.” I saw her peeking out of the wagon at us. “Jeremiah, if you are willing, we three will go with the natives.”
Henry spoke up before Jeremiah could respond. “I do not think it wise to separate if we are in contested Indian territory. The Shawnee have recently moved into the Miami tribe’s lands and a few wagons filled mostly with women and children will mark us as easy to attack.”
Jeremiah nodded. “I would not disagree but I am not an expert in these lands and my family’s lives are not in the balance. The Queen of England has asked me to bring Cinderella and her daughter back to England, but I would go see Peshewa. Charles, what say you now? Henry makes a strong point.”
Mr. Radley remained quiet a moment and looked to Henry. “You are right. It is foolish of me to put my family at greater risk by separating. We should all go together.”
A part of me felt glad inside and I said so. “I am happy that you have decided to come along for I worry about you and your family’s safety. Thank you.”
Mr. Radley tipped his hat and then left to go talk to Mrs. Radley. Jeremiah and I headed back to the natives who stood in silence waiting for us to return. When we stood before them, the tall one bowed and asked, “Will you come with us?”
“Yes, our entire group has decided to accept the great Peshewa’s invitation.”
He smiled and I froze in confusion as I heard a noise to my right and an arrow shot past me and embedded itself into his right shoulder. I blinked, unsure at the gruesome sight before me, and I heard the war cries from natives all around us. Before I could react, Jeremiah threw himself at me, knocking me to the ground. The ambush ended in a few moments. Resting on the ground, I heard some crying from the children, but no screams or rifle shots. Jeremiah pushed himself up and put his arms up high. I saw the members of the Miami tribe being dragged away by several Indians. And standing before us were two Indians who pointed their pistols at us. The one man had a scar on the right side of his face. He addressed me and said, “You will come with us or the children will die.”
I put my arms up, like Jeremiah, and surrendered. Today would not be the day to fight.
***
Renée rested on the ground and took in a deep breath. She stared up at the darkening sky and gave in to her fatigue. She and Jeremiah had flown another full day, but they both now needed rest. The sky, thick with clouds and approaching rain, looked ominous.
“I will not be saddened to have found Cinderella.” Jeremiah stretched his fingers and dug them deep into the dirt. He also rested on his back, spent from the day’s long flight.
“Let us put up the lean-to before the rain starts.” Renée rolled on her side and then pushed herself to her feet. “Then we can have some dinner.” When she stood up, she stumbled and fell right back down.
“Are you not well?” He rushed to her side and helped steady her.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and rested a bit. “I will be fine. I am just tired.”
Jeremiah stood by her for a few more moments and walked away to unfold the canvas. Renée came over to help him and between the two of them their makeshift shelter was erected in a few minutes. They remained quiet while they worked and then sat side by side working on sharing a frugal meal of bread, dried fruit, and meats.
The rain started slowly, but steadily increased in intensity, and they worked together to close up any open areas in their makeshift shelter. Renée heard a far off echo of thunder and she stopped, listening to the sound. She closed her eyes and concentrated for a minute. “She is in danger.”
Jeremiah stopped working on tying down a corner of the lean-to and asked, “Are you certain?”
Renée closed her eyes and tried to see through the dreamline, reaching out across the stars, but she could not focus in on what she felt. “I cannot see through the field around her. Some presence clouds what I can see and protects her. But in times of great emotion, I can sense bursts of worry from her.”
Jeremiah blinked when a bolt of lightning crossed the sky and an immediate clap of thunder crackled overhead. “Could she have learned a spell to help shield her from la petite Reine and she is using that new power?”
“It is possible, but I should be able to sense the witch or warlock she is working with.” Renée rubbed her temples and then sat back down, trying to stay dry. “We are still one to two days away before we can reach her. If the rain continues through tomorrow, then we will need two days more to reach where she is now.”
Jeremiah kicked off his boots and rested against a tree trunk. “Perhaps I am tired but I cannot sense her tonight. She is blocked from my sight, but in the morning I can try to find her again. Once I rest, I will feel better.”
They did not speak much during the rest of their meal and the heavy rain intensified, but their small shelter stayed dry. When Renée finished eating and cleaning up, she leaned back against a tree and longed for her pipe to smoke. She glanced over at Jeremiah and watched him in the approaching darkness. “I need to ask you a question.”
He ran his fingers across his thick beard and glanced over at her. “No, I am not a spy of la petite Reine here to report on all you do.”
She laughed at him. “That would not be the question that I wish to ask.”
“My apologies then.” He shifted his pack behind him as a pillow and stared up at the canvas overhead and listened to the heavy beat of rain that continued to pour down.
“Can you share news of Europe with me?” She twirled a stick in her hand, shy at first with her question. “I miss my home.”
Surprised at her question, he regarded her with curiosity. “I suspect you have not had much news being on the frontier for the last ten years.” He thought a moment and said, “I will start by telling you of the wars. I would suspect that you have heard of Napoleon’s coronation and his spreading his empire across Europe.”
“Yes, we heard of such news and of his selling the Louisiana Purchase to the United States seven years ago. There was much controversy over the sale and many of the natives we have come across still fight against the treaty that was signed between America and France.”
Jeremiah shook his head in concern. “Since then there has been much war in Europe. Coalition after coalition has tried to defeat Napoleon but he is yet to be deterred. I suspect that you have not heard that he has divorced Joséphine and has remarried. The Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria is now empress.”
Renée sat up and threw her stick aside. “Joséphine was a good friend. Is she well?”
“I have no intimate news on her and can only tell you what I have read in the London papers.”
“But surely the Pope would not have allowed the divorce to take place.”
“As emperor, it seems Napoleon can do as he pleases. It is rumored that he has abducted Pope Pius VII who excommunicated Napoleon and refused his divorce. Relations are not well between the Papal States and France.” Jeremiah chuckled. “I would say that relations between France and any country who opposes the emperor does not fare well. There has been much war.”
“I have stayed here for far too long and my hope to train Cinderella and help raise Phoebe has kept me blind to the rest of the world.” Renée folded her hands in her lap and leaned back against a tree. The rain had begun to subside somewhat. “Lost in the thickness of these great forests here, I have abandoned my sisters back home and they toil without me.”
“There is other news that I can share with you.” Jeremiah asked, “Have you heard of Trevithick’s steam locomotive and his railway in south Wales?”
“I have not, but we did hear tell of the North River Steamboat that Fulton has running up in New York to Albany. It is said that the 150 mile trip takes only thirty-two hours.”
“How I wish we could find such a boat to bring us to find Cinderella!” He picked up a small pebble and flicked it out into the rain and heard it hit a tree. “Great changes are coming and the inventions are of such wonder. I read in the paper that a chemist has made electrical lighting with wires and a device called a battery. He lit up a piece of charcoal that caused the air around it to glow with arcs of light.”
“Sounds like magic to me.” Renée appeared unimpressed.
“You miss my point. It is not magic, but physical properties of life that we are able to understand. It is why she fears …” He stopped talking and realized his mistake too late.
Renée waited and the silence between them was drowned out by the slow, steady rain. She broke the stalemate at last. “Continue or maybe it is true that you are a spy.”
Jeremiah held her gaze. “Before I left her, la petite Reine trusted me and told me much. We would walk together under the moonlight and she would use her magic to cause the flowers to sing for her. But, at times, when she was more pensive she would talk about these great inventions of man and cast doubt on them. I think she feared them. Or feared what they would bring to the world.”
“What else did she say?”
“She did not say much more than that, but I think she feared becoming irrelevant. That the world would pass her by and no longer need her. I think …”
A great peel of thunder rocked the surrounding area and he remained quiet for a moment. Renée reached out and placed her hand on his arm. She tensed and looked up at the sky. “She searches the dreamline for you. I can sense her presence. Clear your thoughts of her and I will do the same.”
Jeremiah listened to more thunder off on the horizon and remained quiet for a moment and said, “She calls after me, in my blood, I can feel her close. She is lonely and searching, but she wants Cinderella. I know that now, but I have never understood why.”
“She has the power to go back to an event and relive it again. She is a Chronicler.”
He rubbed his hand through his rough beard. “I wonder where la petite Reine would want to return to.”
“Have you tried ice cream before?” Renée sprung the question on him.
He laughed. “What?”
“Ice cream.” She pretended to eat some. “Have you ever had the opportunity to eat some?”
“Why do you ask that?”
“Your thoughts, change them or she will find us. Trust me.” Renée closed her eyes and reminisced. “In France, Cinderella and I would have ice cream at the balls that Joséphine would throw for us. I remember the creamy texture and the cold that would hit the roof of my mouth. Wonderful!”
Jeremiah laughed. “I have not the opportunity to try this delicacy, but I suspect that I will need to rectify this before my journey here is through.”
“You will not be able to find it here in America. Maybe the rich have tried it. But the common folk here have not.” She pointed up at the sky. “She has moved on, searching elsewhere on the dreamline.”
Jeremiah listened to the rain and wondered aloud. “Do you think we will be able to find Cinderella before she does?”
“Never give up hope. Without hope, the world would not keep turning.”
“I have been running or hunting for many years now. Perhaps it best if I get some rest. In the morning light, all will be better.”
Renée nodded and closed her eyes. She thought of Cinderella and Bebe and missed them. She wondered where they were and how they fared, falling off into sleep with the steady rain continuing to fall all around her.
- Writer
