Darque Wants (51 page)

              “We should go see my father,” Kirrowind said as they entered the village.  “He needs to know about what is going on.”

              “I agree.  I just hope that he takes the news better than my father did,” Katrina said with a nervous grin.

              “I really hope so, too,” Kirrowind said, laughing.

              The two of them walked into the center of town to the Counsel Tree where they found Strotwater speaking with his two Mystics.  Katrina had not seen the Counsel Tree since the treaty signing and had nearly forgotten how impressive it was on the inside.  A large fire was lit in the center of the room that illuminated the entire cavernous room. 

              “Father, I'm back,” Kirrowind shouted gently setting Katrina's bags on the ground.

              Chief Strotwater looked up and Katrina saw the surprise in his eyes when he noticed that she was there.  “Welcome back, son.  I have something I need to speak to you about,” he said before he turned his attention to Katrina and said, “Welcome again, Princess Katrina.  To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?”

              “Hello again, Chief Strotwater,” Katrina said, bowing in respect.

              “I have something I need to talk to you about as well, Father,” Kirrowind said, interrupting the formalities.  “Katrina isn't just visiting.  She is coming to live here with me.”

              “This is sudden,” Strotwater said with surprise.  “What made you decide to come live with us, Princess?” he asked Katrina.

              Before Katrina could respond, Kirrowind continued, “She's pregnant and I have asked her to come live with me so that we can raise the child together.”

              Katrina looked at the Chief nervously.  She was not sure if he would respond with anger, happiness, or some mix of the two.  Would she even be allowed to live there now?  She waited for the Chief to respond and watched his face in an attempt to read his emotions.  His face did not move.  It remained as stoic as ever.

              “Are you two going to get married?” Strotwater asked simply.

              “No,” Katrina said quickly, “Kirrowind actually brought me down here so that I could avoid getting married.  Even though he is the father of my child, I do not think he should be my husband at this time.”

              “In that case, all I can say is congratulations and I am happy to be welcoming my grandchild into the world.”  Strotwater smiled and hugged Katrina and Kirrowind in his long arms.  “I will have Builders get started on a family dwelling for the three of you in the morning.  Now, it is getting dark.  Kirrowind, you should get the Princess to your dwelling and allow her to get settled.  I want you back here once she is safely inside.  I still have important things to discuss with you.”

              “Of course, Father,” Kirrowind said and with that he picked up Katrina's bags again and the two of them left for Kirrowind's dwelling.

              It was a short walk back to Kirrowind's dwelling, but after the emotional stress of the day and the long walk from New Atlantis, Katrina was exhausted.  She took a seat at the table in the center of the room where she had sat the last time she was there and breathed a sigh of relief that she could finally rest.  Kirrowind placed her bags against the wall near the door and began to light some candles around the room.  Katrina was surprised that his home was so warm despite the lack of a fire. 

              “You can put your things wherever you like, Katrina,” Kirrowind said as he walked around the room.  “This is your home now, too.  I have to go speak to my father.  I will return as soon as I can.”

              “Can you bring some food back?” Katrina asked.  “It has been a very long day for me and I am very hungry.”

              “For you, Princess, anything,” Kirrowind said with a wink as he walked out the door.

              Katrina loved it when Kirrowind called her “Princess”.  It made her stomach turn and her heart race in ways that reminded her of the night she spent with him after she landed in Wandersend.  Seeing him smile and wink at her in that way that she could only describe as flirtatious made her feel calm and happy and she could never resist smiling and laughing a little. 

              She began to unpack her things and exploring Kirrowind's dwelling.  She had not had the opportunity to investigate the house last time she was there.  Now she could see the cupboards and closets hidden in the walls that she had missed last time.  Storage space was not an issue. She could see that Kirrowind did not own much.  He had very little clothing and only two sets of wooden dishes.  Katrina started unpacking and the last thing she pulled out of her bag was a small handheld mirror that was given to her by her mother and a matching hair brush.  Someday, she thought hopefully, she might be able to pass these items down to her own daughter.

              Katrina occupied her time by organizing and reorganizing her things in the closet until she was finally satisfied with the way her things were laid out in her new home.  Shortly after she finished, Kirrowind walked back in with parcels of food wrapped in leaves in his hand.

              “I'm back.  Sorry that I was gone so long.  Spiroot cooked up some venison and potatoes for us to eat,” Kirrowind said as he laid the food out on the table.

              “It's alright.  I got all my things unpacked and organized,” Katrina said laying out wooden plates and cups onto the table and filling the cups with water.  “What did your father want to speak to you about?”

              “The Mystics have been feeling some strange energies lately.  They fear that when your people set up camp in the Flatlands, they may have upset some ancient spirits,” Kirrowind explained sitting down to eat.

              “What does that have to do with you?” Katrina asked sitting across from Kirrowind.

              “My Father just wants me to be vigilant of anything strange going on while I am out on hunts.  He doesn't want everyone to know yet to avoid stirring up a panic.  The Village has had enough stress this year,” Kirrowind said between mouthfuls of food.

              “Do you think we are in any danger?” Katrina asked after taking a sip of water.

              “I'm not worried.  If there were any ancient spirits out there, I think they would have woken up when your father first set foot out there.”  Kirrowind paused for a second then added, “on the other hand, if your people are still going across the river it might upset something out there.  You don't think your father would be doing something across the Eagle River, do you?”

              “No, I don't think so,” Katrina said.  Honestly, she had no idea what her father was doing in New Atlantis.  She knew that he was building mines in the mountains looking for precious metals, but she was unaware of any activity east of the river.

              “Good.  The Mystics say that the souls of all our ancestors since the dawn of time rest in the Flatlands and if they are disturbed, they will seek revenge.  I say that it's just stories, but I would rather not test the story and find out,” Kirrowind added swallowing down his last bite of potato.

              After dinner was finished, Katrina allowed the exhaustion of the day's events to overtake her.  She stretched and yawned, struggling to keep her eyes open. 

              “You must be exhausted,” Kirrowind said when he saw how tired Katrina was.  “You can have the bed.  I'll sleep on the floor.”

              “Kirrowind, we are having a baby together and we live together now.  I think sharing a bed will be fine,” Katrina said with a tired smile.  With that, the two of them went to bed.  Katrina curled up against Kirrowind's body and relished the feeling of safety and warmth that she found when he wrapped his arms around her. 

*****

              Katrina quickly adapted to life in Oldwoods.  She would wake up with the sun when Kirrowind crawled out of bed and join him at the Dining Tree for breakfast.  After breakfast, she would travel just south of Oldwoods and bathe in the natural hot springs.  She would then join Spiroot in the kitchens to prepare the meals for the rest of the day.  Chief Strotwater was gracious enough to postpone her duty assignment until after the birth of the baby, but she decided to help out in the kitchens with the Cook tribe just to pass the time while Kirrowind was away with the Hunters.  Her nights were filled with dinner and conversation with Kirrowind.  

              After a few weeks, Katrina and Kirrowind moved into their new home.  The family dwellings were much larger than Kirrowind's original home.  Rather than one large room, the family dwellings were laid out in a fashion more familiar to Katrina.  There were three separate bedrooms as well as a large common room with a fireplace that Katrina learned to use as a kitchen. 

              Days, weeks, and months passed.  Katrina's stomach grew larger and larger with each passing day.  Also growing each day was Katrina's feelings for Kirrowind.  As winter finally gave way to spring and spring became summer, Katrina finally decided that it was time to discuss her feelings with Kirrowind.  Being so far along in her pregnancy, she had stopped working in the kitchens and spent most of her time at home.  One night, Kirrowind came home from hunting and Katrina laid out the table with the dinner she had prepared. 

              “Kirrowind, I'd like to talk to you about something,” Katrina said tentatively.

              “You know that you can talk to me about anything,” Kirrowind said.

              “Well, we have been living together for quite some time now.  I have really enjoyed these past several months and I feel like you and I have grown very close together.”

              Kirrowind sat silently.  Katrina could see that he was confused and she knew that she simply just had to say what was on her mind.

              “What I'm trying to say,” Katrina continued, “is that I have fallen in love with you.”

              “Really?” Kirrowind said in disbelief.  “I have waited for you to say that for so long now.”

              “It's true.  For a while, I thought that it might just be because of the pregnancy that I feel this way, but I have thought about it for a long time and I truly do love you,” Katrina said feeling like the world had just lifted off of her shoulders.

              “I love you, too,” Kirrowind said as he ran over to Katrina and scooped her up in his arms.  He placed a passionate, loving kiss on Katrina's lips and squeezed her tightly.

              “I'm so happy to hear you say that, Kirrowind,” Katrina said laying her head on Kirrowind's shoulder.

              Kirrowind set Katrina back on the ground and took a step back, keeping both of Katrina's hands in his.  Katrina looked into his eyes and smiled widely.  She didn't remember the last time she felt so happy.

              “Katrina, before this child is born, I just want to know one thing,” Kirrowind said, suddenly becoming very solemn.

              “What do you want to know?” Katrina asked, confused by the sudden change of mood.

              “Will you be my wife? For real this time?”

              “Yes! Of course!” Katrina screamed almost immediately.

              Kirrowind kissed Katrina again and she felt like things in her life could not get any better.

*****

              The very next day, in front of the entire village, Katrina and Kirrowind stood in the Counsel Tree on either side of Chief Strotwater.  Katrina wore the finest dress she had that would still fit her and had spent the entire morning preparing herself to be married.  Kirrowind wore a cape of dark bear fur in the tradition of his people.

              “In the presence of all the Valley of Wandersend in the heart of the Counsel Tree, I proclaim Kirrowind of the Hunter Tribe and Princess Katrina of Atlantis to be bound in the ways of our people as earth and sky, soil and seed, life and death.  May the sun bless you for all your days and the moon guide your every night,” Chief Strotwater proclaimed, repeating the vows from the first wedding.

              Katrina smiled knowing that she was finally married to the only man she had ever truly fallen in love with.  She only wished that her mother and father had been there to witness the wedding.

              One month after the wedding, Katrina went into labor.  The pain was more intense than anything she had ever experienced before in her life or ever thought she would have to endure.  The Chief Mystic was in charge of delivering the child and Kirrowind stood by her side the entire time.  Chief Strotwater also came as soon as he heard that Katrina was giving birth and was very helpful, providing Katrina with fresh water.  After several hours of agony, the child finally emerged.  The Chief Mystic wrapped the baby in furs and handed the screaming bundle of life to Katrina.  As much as she loved her parents, and as much as she loved her husband, Katrina had never felt such a deep, pure love as she felt for her newborn baby.

              “It's a girl,” Chief Strotwater said proudly when he saw the baby.

              Katrina and Kirrowind barely even heard him.  They were both mesmerized by the small child in Katrina's arms.  It was almost unbelievably small with a light tan complexion and Kirrowind's deep blue eyes with wisps of red hair on her head. 

              “What will you call her?” the Chief Mystic asked.

              “Lillian,” Kirrowind said without taking his eyes off of the baby.  “Katrina and I decided that she should bear a name that represents both of our cultures.  Lilly after the flowers of summer and Anna after Katrina's mother.  Therefore, Lillian.”

              “It is a beautiful name, fitting for such a beautiful child,” Strotwater said.