Chapter 5

(I did some editing to this story, because I didn't like the direction it was going in. It felt a little rushed to me. That's why chapter 6 is deleted and this chapter is completely changed. The previous chapters have a few lines altered, but that's it.)

"Here. Put this on." Koi handed Lucy a deer hide dress that was similar to the ones the other women were wearing. Lucy looked up at Koi from the floor of his hut.

"Why? What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Lucy asked, somewhat offended.

"If the white men see you in that, they will know you are a slave and will take you back. If you wear this, they will think you are a part of this tribe."

"They'll already know I ain't an indian by lookin' at my skin!"

"Well, it will be less obvious with the dress."

Lucy looked from the dress, to Koi, and back to the dress. She grabbed the dress and stood up.

"Turn 'round so I can change." She told him. He nodded his head and turned to face the woven wall of the hut. She took off the old tattered dress that she had worn for almost 2 years and tugged on the new dress. She smoothed out the dress, feeling odd with the new material against her skin. "Okay, you can look."

Koi turned back around and looked at Lucy. He ignored the slight discomfort in his lower region, and moved his thoughts to other things.

"Come. I want you to meet some of the brothers and sisters." He took her hand and led her out of the hut and into the sunlight. Children were running all over the place, laughing and playing. He walked some ways down from his hut, where 3 men and a women were sitting on the ground.

"Koi! Where have you been, brother?" One exclaimed upon seeing the two of them.

"Calm yourself, Ahanu." Koi said, laughing. "This is Lucy. Lucy, this is Ahanu, Lokni, Sewati, and Soyala."

"Oh, you are the slave girl that Koi shot with an arrow!" Ahanu exclaimed. Lucy, unconsciously, rubbed the wrapped wound where the arrow struck her.

"Ahanu, silence!" Soyala, the girl, scolded.

"You are quite young. How old are you?" Soyala asked.

"17."

"So, why did you leave-" Sewati started, but was cut off by Koi.

"Enough questions." Koi demanded, tightening his grip on Lucy's hand. They all quieted down, trying not to anger Koi any further.

"Are you coming hunting with us today, Koi?" Sewati asked.

"Yes. Soyala, will you keep Lucy company while I am away?"

"Of course." Soyala smiled.

Before anyone else could get another word out, one of the children came up to Koi."

"Brother Koi, the chief wants to see you and Lucy." He said.

"Thank you, Ahote." Koi stood up and pulled Lucy with him. He took her over to the chief's hut, which was his parents' hut. He stepped in, seeing his father sitting across from a fire in the middle of the hut and his mother throwing plants into the fire and looking at the smoke.

"Father, Mother." He greeted his parents. His mother, Shimasani, smiled at the two, while his father held a stoic expression on his face.

"Is this the slave girl?" His father, the chief, asked.

"Yes, Father. Her name is Lucy."

The chief stood up and walked over to the two, standing right in front of Lucy. He looked down at her, examining her face and stature.

"You are no bigger than a fawn." He stated.

"Um...?" Lucy wasn't sure how she was supposed to respond to him.

"You may stay with us, but you should stay hidden. The white men do not come into these parts, but one is never safe with them."

She nodded her head and looked over at Koi, who smiled at her.

"Retreat to Koi's hut. Koi, you stay." Lucy let go of Koi's hand and headed back to his hut. Once she was gone, the chief returned to his spot across the fire and looked at Koi.

"She will be your responsibilty. Make sure she stays in your sight and does not stray away from camp. The white men will kill her and all of us if they find her."

"Yes, Father."

"Do not become too comfortable with her, though. You are next in line to become chief, and the blood line should not be tainted with that of outsiders. Your duty is to your tribe."

"Yes, Father." Koi turned and walked out of the hut, his father's words ringing in his head.