Bound by Honor Bound by Love by Ruth Ann Nordin

of flint rocks and sat in front of the fire to sharpen them
for the arrows he liked to make. Citlali forced aside his grimace.
He knew what his brother thought. He saw Citlali’s habit of sitting
in this spot as a way to avoid people, something which his brother
mocked him for.
    Not that Citlali cared what his
brother thought. He had more important things to tend to, like
warning Onawa about tomorrow. He closed his eyes and struggled for
how he might word things so she’d accept it. He heard her laugh, so
he opened his eyes and saw that his mother was saying something to
her that seemed to delight her. With a sigh, he rose to his feet
and approached her. The sooner he got this over with, the
better.
    “ I need to speak to you,”
he said, his tone solemn.
    She nodded and quickly washed the last
bowl before she stood up.
    “ I think it’s best if we
take a walk,” he added.
    After Onawa slipped on her moccasins,
they left the lodge. Though it was cool, it was warm enough so they
didn’t need a robe. It was a good night to be outside, before the
insects became a nuisance. He usually enjoyed these quiet moments
with her the few times they’d walked, but tonight, he couldn’t. Not
fully.
    “ What do you wish to tell
me?” she asked, breaking the silence.
    “ Wait until we get further
out of the tribe,” he whispered. The last thing he wanted was for
someone to hear how much she detested him. “We’ll go to the
river.”
    Though her eyebrows furrowed, she
nodded, and they continued on in silence, their footsteps soft on
the prairie grass. They reached the edge of the tribe where no one
was in hearing distance. Before them was the Missouri River, and
further in the distance were the hills. He had the urge to hold
her. He wanted nothing more than to block out the rest of the world
and love her. Love her the way he desperately wanted to, without
fear holding him back. But he couldn’t. Once she found out what he
and the chief were going to do to her family, she was bound to be
upset. The most he could hope for was that she wouldn’t go back to
her family’s lodge and leave the tribe with them.
    He paused to look at the sky. He’d
often taken solace in studying the stars, but tonight they seemed
to be mocking him. Those stars had been there far longer than him
or the chief. They were there when the Mandans prospered, when they
were strong and many. They were there when the white man first
showed up on their land. They were there when the Mandans, along
with other tribes, moved further and further west. They were here
now, looking down on what was probably a vanishing people. One day,
they might see the final full-blooded Mandan pass away.
    Was the future already set? The stars
had been there for centuries as tribes rose and fell. They remained
constant while things on Earth changed. In the grand scheme of
things, was he fooling himself into thinking he or the chief could
do anything to change the course of events? Maybe the whole thing
was futile. What was the purpose of it all? If they couldn’t bring
the tribe back to a time of increase, then what was there to live
for?
    “ Citlali?”
    He turned his attention to Onawa who
patiently waited for him. He blinked back his tears, unwilling for
her—especially her—to know how scared he was. He didn’t know the
answers. All he had were questions. Taking a deep breath, he willed
his emotions to steady so he could give her the bad
news.
    “ You might as well tell
me,” she softly said.
    “ Tell you what?” She
couldn’t possibly know what the chief had in mind. He’d been
diligent to not give any hints about the matter.
    She shrugged. “Whatever it is you
brought me out here to say.”
    Her answer was far too vague for his
liking. He picked up on the hint of sorrow in her voice and the way
she crossed her arms to emotionally distance herself from him. He
didn’t like her reaction to him. It couldn’t be about the chief’s
announcement. Was there something