Bound by Honor Bound by Love (21 page)

Citlali figured the chief
might pass a harsh punishment on Cole for killing Quanah, so he
wasn’t surprised. “I plan to talk to the chief.”

“
You need to do more than
talk to him. You need to stop him.”

“
Don’t tell me how to do my
job.”

“
I’m not
telling you
how
to do it. I’m just telling you to
do
it. A lot of people in the tribe
are counting on you.”

Deciding he’d heard enough,
he pointed to the teepee and his things. “Then you won’t mind
putting those on the travois and taking them to the tribe while I
ride with Onawa.” Without waiting for Chogan to respond, he went to
Onawa and hopped up behind her on the horse. He wrapped his arms
around her waist and held her close. “I’m ready.”

“
Don’t you want to wait for
him?” she asked as Chogan strode over to the teepee.

“
Why? He can take care of
everything by himself.”

“
I thought you might want
to talk to him on the way back.”

“
I already talked to
him.”

She laughed. “You two
barely said anything.”

“
We said enough. Men don’t
need to talk for hours like women do.”

“
Alright.” She urged the
horse forward and called out a greeting to Chogan.

Chogan waved in return then
she led the horse into a gallop.

On the way back to the
tribe, Citlali knew if he was going to assert his position, he
needed to remain calm and handle matters as logically as possible.
Though he could show his emotions safely around Onawa, he knew it
was to his advantage to refrain from showing them to others. The
people in the tribe needed someone who wouldn’t let emotions
override good judgment. And part of that would require him to do
the best thing despite how he felt about it.

He pulled Onawa closer to
him and pressed his cheek against hers, taking in the quiet
strength of her support. He didn’t look forward to telling the
chief he didn’t agree with him. It was something he never enjoyed,
but in the past, he’d relented and given into the chief’s will.
Such would not be the case this time.

They arrived at the tribe
much too soon, and Citlali reluctantly pulled away from Onawa so he
could get off the horse. After helping her down, he turned to the
group of people who gathered around him and Onawa. Though he could
detect the many questions they had when his gaze settled on them,
they remained quiet. He stepped forward, and there was a hesitant
moment before they took a step back to allow him room so he could
go to the chief’s lodge.

He couldn’t help but notice
the solemn mood they were in. He sensed a mixture of apprehension,
fear and anger, but the prominent mood was definitely somber.
Having left when an uproar over whether the white people should be
allowed to stay in the tribe was going on and learning that a man’s
life hung in the balance, he knew he’d have to proceed with
care.

When he reached the chief’s
lodge, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened them
and steeled his resolve. This was it: the moment of truth. He’d
either get the chief to agree with him or lose his position in the
tribe. Either way, he was going to stand his ground and show no
emotions, whether good or bad. He almost glanced over his shoulder
to see if Onawa was still watching him but decided he couldn’t
afford to lose his focus.

Stepping into the lodge, he
heard the chief struggling for breath before he saw him lying on a
rug in front of a fire, wrapped tightly in a blanket. Even with the
warmth in the room, the chief shivered. Citlali’s gaze went to the
chief’s oldest daughter who nodded to him and quickly left so he
could be alone with him. Citlali found a blanket in the corner of
the lodge and brought it over to the chief. He gently placed it
over the chief and tucked it around him.

The chief opened his eyes.
“You returned.”

Sitting beside him, he
nodded. The chief had always seemed like a pillar of strength, so
seeing him weakened this way was hard to take. Knowing the chief
wouldn’t like it if he cried, Citlali forced back his tears. “Yes,
I returned,” he softly replied.

“
I knew you would. I had a
dream you would come before I crossed into the next
life.”

The chief coughed, and
Citlali reached for a bowl of herbs mixed with water. “Do you need
some of this to drink?” He lifted the bowl to show the chief what
he referred to.

The chief shook his head.
“That won’t help me now. In my dream, I saw that your arrival meant
my death. It is time for you to continue the traditions of our
people.” He paused and took a shaky breath. “You will make sure our
ways won’t be forgotten.”

“
Yes, I will make sure our
ways aren’t forgotten.” After a moment of silence, he added, “You
can’t let Cole die. It’s not the way of our people to punish a man
for an accident. Had Cole done it on purpose, he would deserve
death, but since he didn’t intend to kill Quanah, he is innocent.
Our way is to be at peace whenever possible. You know
this.”

“
He can leave as long as he
agrees that Etu and Yepa will stay here in this tribe.”

“
Etu and Yepa don’t want
that, and you know it.”

“
They will understand when
they are older.”

“
Will they?” Citlali asked.
“Or will they resent us for separating them from the only parents
they remember? And if they resent us, do you honestly believe
they’ll stay here when they’re adults? If we let them go now, they
might one day return to learn more about their heritage, and at
that time, they might marry someone from this tribe.”

“
Your point to
this?”

“
My point is that you can’t
force someone to do something. They have to want to do it. The only
way to lead is to let people make their own decisions. They must
follow you because they want to, not because they have
to.”

Citlali waited for the
chief to respond, but he didn’t. It took Citlali a moment to
realize the chief had stopped breathing. He stared at the chief
who’d been his mentor ever since he could remember. Though he
didn’t agree with everything the chief said or did, he couldn’t
fault the man for wanting to protect the people in the
tribe.

“
I’m
sorry,
Mahkah, but I can’t do things
your way anymore,” he whispered.

He brought his hand up to the chief’s
eyes and shut them. His hand trembled and a couple of tears slid
down his cheeks. He wished the chief could have lived forever, but
his death was the mark of a change that Citlali couldn’t help but
think symbolized a new course for the tribe. Things would be
different. He wasn’t sure how, but he knew they would.

After five minutes, Citlali rose to
his feet. Once he was able to rein in his emotions, he took a deep
breath and left the lodge. The first thing that struck him was the
mass of people who waited outside the lodge for him. As before,
they were strangely quiet, but there were more of them. He couldn’t
tell if the whole tribe surrounded the lodge, but even if a few
were somewhere else, what he had to say would reach them soon
enough.

“
The chief has crossed over
to the next life,” he told them raising his voice so everyone could
hear him. “We’ll need to get him ready for burial. We’ll build a
scaffold outside the tribe and place his body on it. His head will
point to the northwest and his feet to the southeast. After we
perform the ceremony to send his spirit away, the family will mourn
his death for four days. Then we wait for the scaffold to collapse,
at which time we’ll gather his bones and bury him.”

Achai raised his hand to indicate he
wanted to speak, so Citlali nodded. “Why don’t we put his body in a
box? It’s how we’ve been doing it.”

“
He would have wanted it
this way,” Citlali replied. “We must honor him.” He waited to see
if Achai or anyone else would argue, but since no one did, he
continued, “Who will build the scaffold to hold his
body?”

“
I’ll do it,” Hache-Hi
volunteered.

Two others offered to help, so Citlali
said, “Then you three will perform that task. I’ll see to it that
he’s in his favorite clothes, including his headdress. I’ll be with
his family when it’s time to take his body to the
scaffold.”

Citlali went over to the wooden
platform the chief had used in the past when he wished to address
the entire tribe. It felt strange to be taking the position
reserved for the chief, but since he was assuming the role as head
chief, he did it. The view from the platform afforded him the scope
of the entire tribe and made it easier for everyone to hear
him.

He took a deep breath. “Gary, bring
Cole, Penelope, Etu, and Yepa to me.”

As he expected, the crowd stirred with
curiosity, and many murmured amongst themselves. They would find
out his intention soon enough, so he held his tongue as Gary
hastened to obey him. He scanned the crowd and saw Onawa who was
standing with Woape, Julia, and Amata. She offered him a smile, and
though he only gave a slight nod in return, he knew she understood
that he appreciated her support. And that was a nice feeling. She
now knew he couldn’t express his emotions in public, but he could
when they were alone. It was a freeing thing to know after all the
times he held his emotions back from her.

Gary emerged to the front of the crowd
with a terrified looking Penelope who held onto Etu and Yepa who
were crying. Though Cole looked apprehensive, Citlali noted the
exhaustion on his face. He recalled how happy the family seemed
when they first came to the tribe. Cole and Penelope had brought
them here. Had he known the consequences, he would have told them
to go back home. But there was nothing he could do about the past.
All he could do was send them home so they could heal from what had
to be a trying experience.

“
Gary and Hache-Hi,”
Citlali began, “you will give them our best wagon, horses, and
food. Cole and Penelope, gather your belongings. You and your
children will go home together.”

Anoki came forward. “The
chief has ordered me to kill that white man. He killed my
brother.”

His face expressionless,
Citlali replied, “It was an accident, Anoki. It was a tragic one,
but it can’t be undone and killing Cole won’t bring Quanah back.
Cole and Penelope came in peace. We will let them leave in
peace.”

He waited for Anoki to
respond, and for a long moment, Anoki glared at him, his expression
dark. Citlali refused to break eye contact but also refused to show
him any sign of emotion in case he detected any
weakness.

Finally, Anoki broke eye
contact.

“
I’m
sorry, Anoki, but it must be this way. We have always been a
peaceful people, and part of peace is learning to forgive.” Turning
his attention to the rest of the people, he decided to go on with
the rest of his announcement. “I will not require all white people
to leave this tribe. The decision to stay or leave is up to all of
you, white or Mandan.
I will not
force anyone to follow me if they don’t want to.”

Since that was all he had to say, he
grew quiet and waited for their response. One person nodded his
approval to his changes. Then another person nodded, shortly
followed by another. And it seemed that in one accord, the people
accepted the way Citlali chose to handle matters in the tribe.
Relieved, he stepped down from the platform and headed back to the
chief’s lodge so he could help the chief’s family get his body
ready for the scaffold.

Chapter Seventeen

Later that day, Onawa helped Woape as
she gathered the food Penelope, Cole, and their children would need
for their journey back home. As they collected food from their
family’s garden, Woape smiled. “It looks like Citlali came
through.”

Onawa returned her smile as she held
the large basket so Woape could place squash in it. “It was
thrilling to see him on the platform. He’d always been in the
shadows before when the chief gave his announcements.”

“
He won’t be in the shadows
anymore. He’s the first chief, and there’s no doubt the people
respect him. He did a good thing today, Onawa. I think your
influence had something to do with it.”

Pleased, her face warmed. “Will you
and Gary be leaving the tribe now that you don’t have
to?”

“
No. Gary likes working
with Citlali, and I think the feeling is mutual. Now that we don’t
have to leave, we won’t.”

“
I’m glad.”

“
I thought you’d be, but
you know Julia and Chogan are still leaving. They’re looking
forward to living in their cabin, and since they didn’t get far in
building the cabin Gary and I were supposed to live in, they will
convert it to a barn.”

“
And our father and
Erin?”

Woape placed more vegetables into the
basket. “They’ll stay here, too. They plan to marry next week now
that things are settling down in the tribe.”

“
I know Julia will miss her
aunt, but it’s nice father will still be here.”

“
Oh, I wouldn’t worry about
Julia. She and Chogan will live close enough to visit. Plus, she
has her hands full with the twins. I’m glad I didn’t have two
babies at once.”