Chapter 2: TIME TO FIGHT BACK

Chief Silver Fox strode into the Wyandotte village unannounced, his features drawn. Without acknowledging the warriors who stepped aside, he approached the longhouse, not in the least surprised that Chief Raven knew of his approach, the older man stepping out to greet him.

"Chief Silver Fox, welcome," the towering man motioned toward the entrance to the longhouse.

Without a word, Chief Silver Fox entered, joining other warriors and the chief near the fire.

"They came...my people were attacked while we were out hunting this morning."

Chief Raven's fist clenched. His visitor didn't need to tell him who attacked his village. There had been rumors that the Iroquois were approaching, but they had foolishly assumed they were simply moving West for the winter and had nothing to fear.

"Your wife? Daughter?"

Chief Silver Fox's eyes burned with unshed tears.

"Gone. I found my wife's body when I returned. She'd hit her head on a rock - I assume when trying to escape. Our baby..." Chief Silver Fox couldn't bring himself to finish describing the sight that had greeted him upon his return. "...after, they scalped her. My Morning Dove..."

Tears burned the back of his eyes as he thought once more about how his childhood love had met her end.

If he hadn't led his men on one last hunt...

"We will join you in avenging your wife and daughter," Chief Raven glanced over at his son who was already standing with clenched fists.

"If your daughter is still alive, we will find her and bring her home."

Long Knife was tall for his age, inheriting his father's height. He was on the cusp of becoming a young man and should accompany his father on the raid. The children were betrothed before they were born - it was Long Knife's right to fight for Gentle Doe and bring her safely to her father.

The Iroquois Nation was far stronger than the Wyandotte Tribe, therefore their raid would be little more than a suicide mission, but no one was thinking of that. They had but one purpose - to avenge Morning Dove's untimely death and bring Gentle Doe back to her father. As for the baby...there was little hope the child would have survived.

Chief Silver Fox's eyes were shadowed as he followed Chief Raven out of the longhouse, Long Knife at his father's side. He couldn't shake the feeling of premonition that had settled within his bones but didn't breathe a word of it to his companions.

A muscle clenched in the tall chief's jaw as he turned eastward. With the element of surprise on their side, he just might be wrong.

---

The warrior with the long scar running from his ear to his chiseled jaw carried the slender girl in his arms as Chief White Scar wove through the encampment. His heart twinged with pity for the child who had cried until she'd run out of tears. She'd learn soon enough that this was the way of their people - it wasn't personal. His wife was a good woman and her love would heal the child's broken heart. In fact, in time she would forget all about her people. Time could heal all wounds.

A smiling, petite woman stepped out of the longhouse's shadows, already reaching out her arms for the child.

"She's beautiful," Whispering Brook smiled as her husband placed Gentle Doe in her arms.

Two boys stood at their mother's side.

"What else did you get?" Eagle's eyes shone with excitement.

Unfortunately, unlike his older brother, Eagle was too young to join their father on the raid.

Red Hawk puffed out his chest, his legs akimbo.

"Our sister," Red Hawk smiled up at his mother who was running her fingers through Gentle Doe's wind-tousled hair, speaking in words the child wouldn't understand, and yet, Gentle Doe would be able to hear Whispering Brook's gentle heart.

"That's it?" Eagle frowned in disappointment.

Chief White Scar laughed at his youngest son's reaction as he reached out to fondly caress his son's cheek.

"It is enough. You have a sister now to replace Sparrow. Treat her well, boys, and she will soon forget her people."

A newborn's shrill cry interrupted the chief's train of thought as the tiny infant was carried to the back of the longhouse and placed in the arms of his sister. Silver Birch swiped at unbidden tears as she held the infant close to her heart.

Whispering Brook held Gentle Doe's hand as she led the child deeper into the longhouse. Gentle Doe no longer saw anything else but her baby brother. Stepping closer, Gentle Doe approached the young woman with unseeing eyes, reaching out to touch her parent's miracle baby.

"My brother..." Gentle Doe whispered although those around her couldn't understand what she was saying.

Escape was out of the question. The baby wouldn't make it.

At that moment, Gentle Doe made a life-altering decision. She would stay for the sake of her sibling. Together, they would survive.

Chief White Scar turned from the scene before him. In a perfect world, they would have their happily ever after, but it was not a risk he was willing to take.

"We must move before dawn in case they strike back. There were only elderly men when we arrived..."

Black Crow looked away from his bride and their new baby, avoiding the pain reflected in his wife's eyes.

"But our baby..." Silver Birch began, unwilling to move away from where they had just buried their own infant.

Just that morning, their firstborn had breathed his last within an hour of birth. How could they leave their son behind?

Black Crow gently squeezed his wife's fingers, feeling her heart ache even as he looked down at the newborn on her breast. This baby would never know another father or the fact he had been taken in a raid to replace the child they had just lost.

"He is our son, Silver Birch. For his safety, we must move camp. The past must be left behind to make way for the future."

Silver Birch understood her husband's logic. She couldn't bear to lose another baby. Brushing a tender kiss on the infant's tiny first, she swallowed hard before speaking again.

"When do we leave?"