Chapter Two
Hair billowing in the wind, Running Wolf stood before the two graves, his head lowered and unaware to the happenings around him.
He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder but he did not bother turning around.
Whoever it was, there was no way he could be spared his grief.
All in one day, he had lost two. It was pain that he would have to carry around for the rest of his life.
It was a pain that was heavy to bear but he had to bear it for no one else could do it for him.
How time had flown greatly. One minute they were here and the next they were gone.
He sighed as he ran a tired hand through his long black hair.
This was a loss that no one had seen coming.
It was a loss that came with twice the amount of pain.
Was there anything he could have done differently?
Surely, there had to be a lot that could have been done to prevent this pain.
Surely, they would still be here if things had been done differently. That had to be a possibility, right?
“Running Wolf?” a voice called beside him but he was no longer there. Rather, he was being transported into a time in his memories. It was a time before his loss. Things had not been the rosiest, sure, but they had certainly not been as gloomy as they were in his present.
Four months earlier
Fala sat on the tree stump, watching the path that led to the home she shared with Running Wolf. Her eyes lit up when he emerged around the path. She hurried toward him and made to relieve the load in his hands but he quickly pulled them away from her reach.
“You should not be doing this,” Running Wolf said quietly.
“I do not mind it, Running Wolf.” she tried to take it again but he continued to withhold it from her. She lowered her head and said softly, “Thank you for caring for me.”
He grunted and headed toward their tepee when she called, “I was expecting you a bit earlier, Running Wolf.”
Running Wolf shrugged as he said, “The meeting ran late. Let us go in.”
Fala followed him slowly, admiring the leanness of his back.
She sucked in a breath as he turned toward her just then, his eyes, the color of wild honey, staring at her.
She felt a jolt that went start to her knees, she always did whenever he looked at her that way.
She was lucky, very much lucky to be married to him.
“Is something wrong?” he inquired, a perfect dark brow quirked.
“Uh… no...” she quickly shook her head. “I am right behind you.”
Fala followed him in and placed his food before him.
She settled down and watched him eat, completely engrossed in all his actions.
It was the same every single time. Being here with him, being his wife, it was surreal and it warmed her heart.
Theirs had been an arranged marriage and back then, she had been amazed when she found out that the warrior she always admired from afar would be her husband.
He was the most sought after in the village and beyond, so him being with her, her being the lucky one was amazing.
She considered herself the luckiest of them all.
She was in love with him, it had not been difficult to fall for him actually.
Unfortunately, he did not feel the same way about her.
He had only married her out of his duty to the village and the people.
It was a reality that broke her heart. Still, she was determined to make him fall for her.
They were married and they had a long life ahead of them.
She had all the time to make him realize that she was the right one for him.
He was a sweetheart and soon, he would realize his feelings for her.
Then, her joy would be complete and they would be an absolutely united family.
That was a promise she was making herself.
“Are you not going to eat?” Running Wolf inquired of his wife.
She smiled and waved her hands. “Oh don’t mind me at all. Please eat. You need all the strength.”
He paused and said, “You also need as much strength, Fala. You forget that you are no longer living for one. You are two. You cannot afford to do anything that will harm you or the little one. I worry that you do not understand that. You seem too interested in other matters.”
“That… that’s not true. I am taking care of our baby!” Fala exclaimed, horrified at his suggestion.
He sighed and shook his head, “I do not mean that you are being careless of the baby. My apologies if it came out that way. I have just noticed that you pay me more attention than you pay yourself. I am not the one that needs all this attention, Fala. You do understand what I mean, don’t you?”
“I do,” she said quietly, her head lowered, “I will do better.”
“Thank you, Fala. And I will do all I can to ensure that you are not under stress or pressure. This I promise you. Now, can we eat?”
“Sure,” Fala forced a smile.
She stole glances at him between bites, taking in his features. I believe you will come to love me as much as you love this child, Running Wolf, she resolved in her heart.
“Running Wolf, you must be very excited. You are going to be a father soon,” a tall man with a tattoo line running down his chin said, jabbing Running Wolf.
Running Wolf shrugged, his eyes on the deer that was grazing in a clearing in the distance.
“Well, that was not the response I was expecting. Are you not happy about it, Running Wolf? I would be thrilled if I was married to Fala, the most beautiful in our village and expecting a child from her,” the man whose name was Owvtta said, looking at Running Wolf searchingly.
“Mmm hmmm,” was all Running Wolf muttered, his eyes still glued on the animal he was hunting.
“You know, I really do not understand you. You have everything, a….” Owvtta started when Running Wolf interrupted him quietly, but firmly,
“But right now, I do not have that deer and I would like to have it. I cannot do that with you yapping consistently beside me, can I?”
Owvtta scoffed, “As if you have ever needed silence to kill an animal. You are just looking for an excuse to avoid this discussion. The name is certainly fitting for you, Running Wolf. You keep running and running, without stop. I bet it is the same way you are running from your wife and not giving her a chance to be...”
Owvtta’s words were drowned out by the sound of the deer's pained scream as Running Wolf's arrow pierced it. He gaped and covered his ear. “Why didn’t you warn me? The arrow whizzed right past my ear!”
“You were too busy talking to realize that I was about to fire. That was on you, not me, Owvtta.”
“Hmmph, oh now you can talk huh? A few moments ago when I was asking you about your wife, you were tight lipped but now you are excited and eager to talk when it comes to a prey. This makes me wonder how you are treating dear Fala at home.” Owvtta glared at Running Wolf who ignored him as he approached the animal cautiously.
Running Wolf crouched beside it and placed a hand on its side. He had hit the deer right in the heart. It had no chance of survival.
“Well at least you killed it,” Owvtta grumbled.
“You need to come to terms with the fact that Fala is now my wife, Owvtta. No matter how much you love her, she is bonded to me. Let it go and start out with one of the other beautiful women in our village. Stop deluding yourself. However we came together is no concern of yours. We are the ones in the relationship so you should stop disguising your jealousy as concern and deal with your unrequited feelings,” Running Wolf said quietly, holding Owvtta’s gaze.
Owvtta, unable to look at him further averted his gaze and cleared his throat. “I have no idea what you are talking about. I only see her as your wife.”
“Okay, and it shall remain so. Do not get your hopes up over nothing, Owvtta.” Running Wolf threw the dear carcass over one shoulder and started out of the clearing.
“You are so confident, aren’t you? You know she loves you a great deal, so you are not bothered about loving her, because after all, she will stay with you because she loves you. Right?!” Owvtta thundered.
Running Wolf sighed and paused. Not looking back, he said, “I never stole her from you, Owvtta. There has never been anything between the two of you so why do you act as if I have wronged you? Free advice Owvtta, move on.”
Not waiting for Owvtta’s response, Running Wolf continued making his way out of the woods.
All through his walk home, Owvtta’s words hovered around him.
Yes, it was true that he did not love his wife but he respected her, he protected her and cared for her as he should.
He also did his duties as her husband. Love, that was not something he had ever experienced.
Honestly, he did not know if he actually believed in its existence.
Sure, he knew parents loved children and vice versa, and brothers loved sisters.
And there was the loyalty between warriors.
But, that was all he knew. He had never experienced anything stronger than that.
Now, while he respected his wife’s feelings for him, he could not force himself to feel the same way about her, and he knew this because he had tried.
They had been married for a year and she had been pregnant for five months of that year.
He was grateful to her for the child she was carrying and always tried to show his gratefulness to her.
He could only hope that his gratitude was enough for her, because his gratitude, protection, care, and loyalty, they were all he could give to her.
Any more than that and he would be completely at a loss.
He was trying his best to give and do all he could.
People like Owvtta, he owed them no explanations.
He and Fala were living a life for each other and not for them.
Hopefully, his words to Owvtta would sink in and he would not be a pest to Fala.