3 comments/ 34277 views/ 10 favorites Into the Tribe Ch. 01 By: AmeriRam The wagon drew down its speed as the convoy neared the Cimarron River and the party saw the rushing rapids that would make the crossing difficult. It was one more obstacle on their arduous westward journey that seemed to never reach the destination in this gigantic land. They were destined for Arizona, yet at this time they were still driving through the Indian Territory in mid-November, when rains were already making much of the area difficult terrain. The area was also considered lawless, which made the going edgy for the group of sixty, 34 men of all ages, the remainder women and children from infancy to 42. It was considered too challenging of a trail for the elderly or the pregnant. At night they would circle the wagons and hope for the best, even though the trek organizers had reassured them that the Indian Territory was made up of tribes that had been pacified long before its incorporation in 1834, 42 years earlier. Among them were a diverse group, including mining prospectors, rail-road employees, and dispossessed farmers. An example of the latter category were the Northrups, who made up four souls of the convoy. There was Ada, the mother, Drew, Alexandra, and Anne Marie, the brother and sisters; and there was also Bethany Knox, who until seven years ago had been the child of their neighbours' slaves. The Northrup house was from Georgia, and their orchards had been lost as collateral damage by the war. The father and the oldest sons had been lost to disease while serving the losing side. Bethany's family was among those who had been disappeared by the slave owning authorities. Bethany was of Alexandra's age, eighteen, and they were so used to each other's company, that it would have been appropriate that they were sisters, apart from their physical contrasts. Alexandra possessed bronzed skin, green porcelain eyes light brown hair, and was just tall enough to mount a mule alone, not short at all, but definitely not conspicuous. It came in handy once when a stagecoach had broken an axle, and she had had to ride in tandem with someone for three weeks in Kansas. She had a very homely and reserved demeanour, due largely to the taxing life the family had led since the passing of its rebel men. Bethany had light brown skin, and more obscure eyes, and had a figure that was tall and slim, rising to the height of 5'11" while still only 17. This put her equal to Drew, who had grown to be taller than his late father.Bethany's character was also very indoors. . . during her previous life she had been a house servant. But she had been far better adjusted to frontier life, and took an active interest in learning skills of it such as freshwater fishing, fashioning makeshift tools, and building fires. Although Ada was the default head of the family, she was losing her influence over her children and Bethany as they gradually became dependent on the group. Several times she had had to implore Drew to head off hostile advances that some of the lecherous prospectors had made, particularly towards Bethany who as an orphan and freed slave ostensibly had no one to guard her honour. Drew, still only 18 at the outset of the journey, was chafing at the idea that he was being forced to shoulder the responsibility over four women who were basically bait for the rest of the men in the convoy. As dusk approached, the convoy began to despair of crossing the Cimarron, and they resolved to set up camp. "There ain't a chance in hell we'll make it to Arizona by winter," commented one of the prospectors as they all sat round a bonfire and waited for their dinner of bison beef and rice to cook. Ada gave the man a stern look. She had already admonished him before about his negative attitude. But the dreary reality had sunk in to everyone until they had been consigned to accept the possibility that perhaps they would still be slogging through the wilderness come winter. The rest of the evening was the usual long reverie of idling around the fires while Reverend Campbell, one of the South Carolinians in the party, entertained them with his tales of the New Testament and fiddle music. "Gals better hush up and turn in for tomorrow," Ada advised Beth and Alexandra, although they had sat in silence most of the evening. "We might yet cross the river in the morning." So they snapped out of their monotony of staring at the sparse vegetation peeking out of the darkness, and began to set up their bedding. As the last light of the evening disappeared, the sounds of the insects in the surrounding area close to the river began to amplify. More of concern was a distant howling that they assumed came from creatures they had been told were called coyotes in these parts. "Stuck on a river agin'" griped Alexandra to no one in particular, as she spread some fashioned straw cushions over a strip of ground. "En who knows what rain's in store for t'morrow. " Raising her head from her own beddings, Bethany shook her head. "Y'all can't just get to sleepin' without moanin'?" The argument had been replayed over and over again for months. "Didnt chall hear me before? This's our last open door. We gots to walk through it." Alexandra rolled her eyes, not possessing enough will to support her pessimistic argument. As they laid down to take their rest, she remained weary. Most nights they had passed under the stars until now had been peaceful. They had been too exhausted in any case for her to be able to keep her eyelids open. But in other cases, when they had not trekked as far as possible in a single day, her thoughts would wander until her excess energy was discharged. They would return to the past, to a home in the fertile soil of Georgia. To her father and older brothers who were now faded spectres of scrawny bodies in grey uniforms riding their emaciated horses down the path to the main highway and toward some vague front.But at some point, and tonight was no different, she would be seized momentarily by the feeling of impending doom. Alexandra's eyes remained guarded and open for what seemed an endless hour after most of the others had turned in. The sounds of the animals and insects were joined by the coughing of the ill and old. One of them, a former forester from Tennessee, would frequently hack, and it was plain to see that he wasn't coping well with his tuberculosis. Sleep came without her noticing, and she reclined face upward with her mouth ajar, as if expecting some gift from the black blanket of stars. ------ And that gift came in an unexpected and unwanted fashion. Bethany awoke first, and was greeted by complete pandemonium. By the time she had risen from her position, it was too late to make a serious difference. Flames were engulfing most of the wagons in the party, a lot of the menfolk were lying dead or dying, as were three dark figures clad in darkened moccasins. Some of their brethren were galloping around on foot or horseback and dispatching of the remaining trekkers. Some of them were armed with breech rifles, but the majority were using long spears and hatchets to do their damage. One of the settlers was shouting out orders. "Y'see anyone still asleep, wake 'em. Better dead than savages' trade. This was Daugherty, one of the top scouts, who unfortunately had not been on watch at that hour, as he would probably have given better warning than the sickly Clay Beathard who was. Bethany woke Alexandra and dragged her to her feet. "It's still dark!" she protested. "Get up and run, or we're both dead!" hissed Bethany. She grabbed the closest rigid object, a stirring ladle from the washed cauldron kit, and prepared to face whoever would face them. A hulking man ran up carrying a hatchet, which he held behind his shoulder. His face was smeared with dark grease, and he sneered in contempt, before shouting what sounded like a cursed oath. Bethany bellowed with a rage she'd never known, and charged full on at the mammoth warrior. He had been caught off guard, as he'd apparently expected spare resistance from settler women. The bowl of the ladle caught him in his temple, and he stumbled back before fulling straight onto his trunk. Bethany stood stunned at the force she had exerted, and hesitated a moment. Now Alexandra seized the initiative and grabbed Beth, dragging her in the direction where there were the least flames. They were able to make it thirty yards, before they were seized by a new terror. backed up against a pile of wood was Drew, with a revolver pistol drawn and pointed toward two of the attackers. One of them was with spear held in readiness to strike, the other held a club and seemed to be gesturing toward Drew to draw down. In a nearby corner between two wagons that were as yet unlit some of the attackers were binding live settlers. "Beth, we gotta move!" yelped Alexandra, trying not to draw the attention of an unoccupied Indian. "An' leave yo' brother to get torn to shreds?" Just then, Drew's eyes turned toward the two girls, and his eyes widened. "Get down! On the floor, Beth & Alex!" he shouted. They complied after a half-second hesitation. Drew glanced briefly at the two aligned against him, then whistled a round off toward a person who had been behind the two girls. The man bellowed in pain; it was the same one she had struck before. Bethany, from the ground, rose to a crouch and began delivering blows to his midsection still using the ladle. The man was in great pain, and she was able to deliver another blow to his throat, making sure this time he would be disabled. Bethany flew into a rage and continued to hit the gravely wounded Indian in the throat until she heard his struggling gurgling sounds. By then others had closed in around her, and she could see Drew and Alexandra being dragged into the corner by three men each, no longer capable of resisting. As the dark figures closed out what light remained, which was only from the blazing fires of the wagons, Bethany began to utter the few gospel prayers she remembered her parents teaching her. The faces in front of her displayed the bare rage of marauders who were in the mood to repay her for the painful wounds and likely death she had inflicted on their comrade. As she was counting her final seconds a scuffle behind them broke out, and a smaller figure pushed through toward her. Frenzied words were shouted toward the men surrounding her, in a lighter voice, and the ones in front of her moved back. Now directly in front of her stood only two figures. One was slightly taller than Bethany, and was wearing a short headdress, was bare-chested, and wore dark, yet elaborate moccasins with a pattern of wolves and gophers down the left side visible from the firelight. He had a cocky stance and was scowling. The other was shorter, wore a bison's head and was covered from head to toe in leather. The haughty warrior shouted at the bison's head, but was in return berated mercilessly. Bethany was content not to know what the shouting was about. For all she knew, the two Indians were arguing whether to kill her now or later, or in what manner to do it. The warrior eventually lowered his spear, and the bison's head turned to face her. She saw two eyes peeking out of the mouth, and a hand inserted a tube inside. Suddenly she felt something piercing her neck. She reached up to see what it was, but within seconds, she had become woozy and began to sway. The ground gave way from under her, and then she felt three pairs of strong arms grab her. ==== The first vision that greeted her was of the wispy clouds in the blue up above. Alexandra was patting her on the cheek, and when she rose to a seated position she realized that they were confined in a ring of tall stakes, although they could see outside. Inside were only a handful of the convoy trekkers, and only three men remained. Bethany was there, but the others from her kin were not. But she wasn't to have time to adjust to this. Three men arrived at one of the openings in the stake fence, and dug out one of the stakes. Two of them were bare chested and wore darkened leather pants and moccasins. She wondered if they'd been among the attackers the night before. If they were, their appearance at daytime was far less menacing. They had nonchalant expressions, and dug out the stakes without the least haste. The third, however, was in full dress, with a robe covered by a decoration made of feathers across the chest, and eyes peeking out of the buffalo headdress. The two unmasked Indians who had dug the stake out beckoned toward Bethany and Alexandra to come. When they hesitated, the buffalo head slapped the side of his left hand into his right hand. The gesture was intimidating, and the two girls rose to follow, although Bethany was impeded by a headache. Alexandra supported her as they plodded a distance of several dozen yards past trees and thickets of bushes toward a series of small huts. Outside of one sat the haggard figure of an Indian who appeared to be in his sixties. Buffalo Head spoke what seemed like a couple of sentences in a direct tone toward the man. The voice coming out seemed unnaturally light. He barely raised his head, and when he did he hacked painfully, before speaking. "Soaring Gull says you are the ones I am to travel with," he said in crisp English. "I am Norris Slaughter. I know you have been through a lot. From now on you are attached to them, the Ariwa, and I am to help you until they say otherwise." "Why they need us?" protested Bethany. "They got the rest of our family-" "Don't try to make reason of it," snapped Slaughter impatiently. He continued to stare forward toward absolutely nothing, and Bethany realized that one of his eyes was completely discoloured, and he was probably at least partially blind. "Do you think when I arrived I knew the purpose of my captivity?" He coughed bitterly and then gave them one final set of directions. "It is now almost high noon. We leave before dusk. You are to do as Soaring Gull and I say from now on." === The journey began exactly as Slaughter had dictated. They set off as light began to fade while the sun was on their left, meaning they were headed somewhere north. The party was small, horse mounted, and consisted of Slaughter, Soaring Gull in the buffalo headdress, and surprisingly, two women armed with rifles and hatchets. They were dressed in somewhat battle ready fashion, with low cut dresses covered by fur skirts with compartments for storing ammunitions and and tools such as quartz and flint knives. For parts of the journey Beth and Alex were without warning blinded by straw hats that looked like lamp shades so they wouldn't see the way. It seemed that their captors were trying their best to prevent them from finding their way back. During the journey Slaughter availed them of some spare information. For one thing, he was not an Ariwa, but had been born into the Creek tribe. He was a long-time prisoner of the Ariwa, not from a battle but for poaching with Mexican trappers on their land decades ago. His knowledge of English and other languages had kept him alive, but had also made them weary of his capacity to betray them, so they had blinded him in his left eye one day by throwing acid in it. Soaring gull and the two women spoke sparingly, and only among themselves or to Slaughter. The journey took what seemed to be two days, and traversed mostly hill country. As daylight broke on the final day, the party trudged into a clearing where several huts stood resembling the ones in the village where they had woken up after their capture. Soaring Gull motioned to Slaughter, and he directed the two captive girls to sit down on some logs arranged in a circle. Soaring Gull disappeared for a few moments while Slaughter also sat down and the two Ariwa women stood guard. Soaring Gull returned soon with a group of five young Ariwa girls, these clad in more feminine leather and cotton garments. They bore food that included squash and what appeared to be a stew made of some fowl. Soaring Gull removed the buffalo headdress, and the two girls were stunned to see a flowing mane of hair spring out. All along this fierce warrior had been a young striking woman.The girls who had accompanied her removed some of her outer vestments, and soon Soaring Gull was dressed in an arrangement somewhat similar to the two guards, only with blue and red chevrons on the shoulders that looked like sergeant's ranks that Alexandra remembered seeing on her father's uniform. For all of her menacing costume, Soaring Gull now looked slim, with alluring hips, long graceful arms, and bosoms that peeked out from her dress. Beth and Alex had never encountered a warrior woman, and this had some novelty and appeal to them. Soaring Gull addressed them while Slaughter translated. "She says, 'You are from now on in your home, and you will be sisters to others in this home. Flowing Rapids and Green Hill will guide you for much of what you need," she added gesturing to the two guides who had shown them the way. "And know you are both needed for something you will understand very soon. Now eat and rest, for you have much to learn." === The first few days in the camp were uneventful, and Slaughter translated as the girls were taught the crafts of the Ariwa. They would eat their meals in the company of the same dozen or so girls, along with an older looking Ariwa named Dove's Feather, who would show them some of the improvised cures of the Ariwa, as she was a shaman. As expected, Bethany had a better grasp of the outdoors activities, such as the archery, marksmanship, and woodworking. Alexandra primarily dealt with sewing, preparing food, and harvesting herbs. They noticed that the women in the camp were very exacting in their cleanliness, and they exhibited none of the odours that they had associated with rough life on the frontier. Bethany and Alexandra would accompany Soaring Gull in the late mornings along with some of the younger girls to a nearby creek, with its pristine waters broken by reeds and cat tails. They would watch in surprise at first as the girls undressed one another, never alone, and sank lithely into the water. Their bodies were typically hairless and slender, not even a bush between their legs to obstruct a view of their reddish brown skin. After expectant looks Alex and Beth would remove their own robes -- their linen dresses had been disposed of some time earlier, and would self-consciously dive into the creek, but the looks continued. Beth realized intuitively that it was because they undressed by themselves. The girls typically had the same tone of skin, but the two captive ones noticed that three possessed much lighter tones, and there was even one darker than Beth. Soaring Gull would bathe usually close to a girl who seemed adolescent, and had a much more tender and submissive demeanour. At least once each morning they would drift off into the reeds out of sight of anyone else. Bethany noticed from time to time that another girl, very similar looking to Soaring Gull's companion, would send her fleeting looks while she bathed. Alex noticed similar, if more obvious, behaviour from Green Hill. === One afternoon Alexandra was sitting next to Slaughter as an Ariwa woman showed the uses they made of prairie dog pelts. During a long monotonous break in the demonstration, Alex turned to her guide. "I have a question for you Mr. Slaughter." "Does it have to do with prairie dog pelts?" "Not necessarily." "Ask me anyway. I've seen this done more times than I can remember and it doesn't look any better when I'm half blind." "Why are you the only man we've seen since coming here?" The first grin Slaughter had allowed since their first meeting creeped onto his face. "Well, I guess you deserve that answer. But I'd be mighty tired if I'd have to explain to you now, and then Bethany again. Lemme tell you after she comes back from tracking coyote packs with the others." Into the Tribe Ch. 01 The rest of the day lumbered by slowly, as Alexandra continued to absorb the skills the Indian women imparted on her. By the time she, Bethany, Slaughter, and an Indian woman guard named Shining Rock were sitting by the fire in the late evening, she was dying in anticipation. But before she could ask again, Bethany brought it up. "How come you're the only man here, Slaughter?" she demanded directly. The Indian guide nodded toward the fire, now ready to broach the question. "Well, I guess this will actually answer most of your questions. I'm afraid the Ariwa chiefs have a truly unique system set up. It's really a reaction to their long history of bloodshed. Ariwa leaders are blood relatives of a single relative, Great Crow. But with each generation, the claim over who will be chief is complicated by fights between them. The sons always would fight one another. Years ago, one of the chiefs decided each of his sons would lead a camp and his chosen successor would be at his side. "So this tradition dealt with that threat. But the other threat would come from the daughters' husbands. Each chief would have to accept a son, knowing he could be the one to dispose of him and impose himself as new leader. "So chief Tall Oak came up with a solution. The daughters of the chiefs would not be married unless there were no male offspring, which hasn't happened yet. These women, the Ariwa noblewomen, would settle in a camp of their own, unknown to the rest of the tribe. Since it was built, no man has set foot in this camp, besides myself of course. As a foreigner, a blind man, and someone versed in white men's ways, I pose no threat to the Ariwa chief." Alex and Beth pondered this story in silence as the flames continued to lick the logs of the fire. "Then why send us here? We're not Ariwa women. And why not the rest of the women from our convoy?" Another of Slaughter's amused grins appeared on his face. "These answers I can't give you; only because you will learn them with your own hands and skin." And with this cryptic non-answer, Slaughter lapsed into silence and they eventually rose to go to sleep. Beth now noted that the Ariwa women would march off in pairs. === The next morning they set out to bathe slightly earlier, and the two captive girls noticed that Slaughter was waiting by the path to creek, watching the filing of the younger women and girls, who took leave first in the morning. Perched on his leg was an older Indian woman, whom they had seen with him briefly at other times. Beth thought she saw Slaughter shoot a look of understanding towards Soaring Gull, Flowing Rapids, and Green Hill, whom she had by now understood were daughters of the current chief. The girls wondered what this look meant. Upon arriving at the creek, Bethany and Alex bathed next to each other, the cool water lapping up against their bare breasts. Beth was watching as Soaring Gull stared into the distance and the younger girl lathered her with the extract from one of the creek reeds. When washed off it left Soaring Gull's skin shiny and with a clear texture. She raised an eyebrow as Soaring Gull turned around once this was finished and stared headlong into her friends face. They linked hands and drifted off. "Alex, c'mon over there with me." "What?" her sister stammered in perplexed wonder. "I wanna see what they do there in the reeds." "Maybe they don't wanna have no one see 'em." Beth sighed in annoyance. "Maybe one day we'll have to see it anyhow." So she drifted off alone to follow Soaring Gull. "What in the hell are you doin'?" demanded Alex. "I'm seeing what's going on, you can just wash yourself and stay blind." So Beth followed for a few yards staying close to the reads and out of sight. For a few seconds she didn't know whether she had passed them by and made a mistake. Maybe this would be interpreted as an escape. Then she heard a muffled whining sound coming from her left. She crawled through the rushes, and caught herself before stumbling into the scene. There in small clearing of sand among the reeds lay the two Indian women, leg over leg. At first Bethany believed that they were struggling or wrestling with one another, but then she saw their lips locked together. The sight jarred her, and she scampered several yards back, not caring about the brush sliding against her own nudity. Back where most of the women were bathing, Alexandra was splashing around a thicket of cat tails. She had come to value the advantage of the Ariwa daily cleansing, which was far more often than during frontier travel. She was musing that she had probably bathed more in the past week than she had since leaving Georgia, when she detected shadows discolouring the waters around her. She turned fast to see Green Hill standing in the shallow part holding a small glassy jar, flanked by Flowing Rapids and another of the taller Ariwa girls. Green Hill was, like the other Ariwas sentry girls, very tall and slender. But when nude, her physique was far more shapely than the others, and she took particular care in treating her skin. "Is it time to leave?" Alex asked dumbly. The question was greeted with a brief command in the Indian language, which Alexandra was starting to learn. It meant, "On her!" and within seconds Flowing Rapids and the third girl were holding onto Alex and restraining her arms. They easily forced her up against the bank of the creek and laid her down face up, fully exposed. Alex shrieked in terror, but Flowing Rapids cupped her mouth. In any event, no one was coming to help her, and instead all of the other bathers gathered in a semicircle to watch the spectacle. Alex craned her head forward to see Green Hill remove the top of the jar and pour a thick, creamy grey substance out of it. She muttered another command to the girls restraining Alex. The word for "separate" was the only one she caught. Flowing Rapids forced apart her legs, not too roughly, but still very firmly. Green Hill stepped up and lathered the cream over the hair on Alex's mons and her virginal opening. She felt a cool effervescent feeling all through her loins, and she wouldn't have screamed even if she could, as she was lapping up the sensation of substance foaming over her vulva. This feeling was quickly replaced once again by terror, as she saw two more girls come forward with sharp blades, one long, the other very short. They handed them to Green Hill who proceeded without haste to press the blade to Alex's skin, and then slowly removed all of the hair shielding it. In short order it was all dispensed with, and Green Hill splashed some creek water over the captive's mound. She then uttered some brief words and withdrew. Alex suddenly saw a path clear in front of her, and Bethany was coming towards her, stunned at the sight of her friend and sister sprawled on the bank like this. But the Ariwas soon seized her as well. They spread her on the bank four yards from Alex, her own mound exposed to the air, and Green Hill once again spread the grey substance over her privates. "This ain't even make sense!" yelled Beth at the top of her lungs. But the Ariwa were oblivious to her. This time, however, instead of Green Hill shaving Beth, another girl came forward, the one who was similar to Soaring Gull's companion. She had long black hair, the tenderest face possessing peaceful and serene eyes, and a body that was hairless and shiny from being washed with the strange plant gel. As she worked on the hair between Beth's dark legs, she would from time to time lay a soft kiss upon Beth's belly, and whisper soft words. "What in Lord's name is you sayin', girl?" exclaimed Beth, although it didn't really matter. A cough came from behind her. She strained her neck to see Slaughter there with the woman he had been with earlier. "It means, 'Calm, my sister. Peace, my bride.' That is what Green Hill was saying to Alex as well." The Indian women released the two captive girls from their holds, and stood them up. "Wha' chu mean, my bride?" demanded Bethany. She was self-conscious about Slaughter viewing her in the nude, until she remembered his vision was so poor he probably could see her as a dark blur on the creek bank. Slaughter chuckled. "I mean that the Ariwa have finally prepared you for their purpose. You have been betrothed to the noblest girls of the whole tribe. In their mind, you have been honoured--" he trailed on as Alex stared at Beth's still nude body in disbelief. Green Hill and the other girl emerged from the water and embraced the two prisoner girls. "You're gonna be the brides of Ariwa princesses. They were waiting for you, 'cuz Chief Tall Elk didn't want Ariwa common girls from the other camps, who would marry them for the prestige. Green Hill and Soaring Gull are both Tall Elk's daughters." He gestured toward the smaller, delicate girl who was now reclining her head on Bethany. "I'm sure you'll appreciate her name. She's Perfect Dawn, the youngest niece of Tall Elk from his own sister, who is Dove Feather's child. Perfect Dawn's father has never been allowed to meet her, and neither have any of the fathers of the girls here." Into the Tribe Ch. 02 Part 1 of this series is the build-up. Now Beth and Alex realized the meaning of all of the hidden motives since their capture. The Ariwa women camp was isolated from the rest of the tribes, and their chief was so jealous of his power, he would only let them marry other women, and if possible ones who were from outside. Some of the Ariwa girls, like Soaring Gull and Green Hill, would take on the roles of the braves, as warriors, hunters, and the like. Others, like Perfect Dawn, and her slightly older sister Trembling Grass who was with Soaring Gull, would take on completely submissive roles. These roles would be confirmed once they had reached adulthood, which had been not long ago. Later that day, the girls learned that ritual they just had performed on them was usually first done on an Ariwa girl at age 12, when they are assigned a love mate. In this case it was equivalent to an engagement, because Alex and Beth were both already of age. Slaughter informed them that the wedding itself would be that night. The next few hours were a blur for Beth and Alex, who were naturally on edge seeing as they had been subjected to a whirlwind "courtship". At mid-afternoon, Beth was taken to a hut, stripped of her normal Ariwa clothing, and told to lay on a long flat table, face down, and not to look up until told. These directions were written on some crude piece of paper by Slaughter, who as per the tribe's instructions, would be given minimum rights to guide the captive girls from now on. After a long wait, she could hear the leather panels on the door slide apart, and someone step inside. Beth was surprised as to how by now neither she nor Alex seemed to be fearful of what was going on. They had feared the worst during their brutal capture, but the life in the women's camp was a welcome change from the suffering in Georgia, and the hazards of the frontier. She was shaken from her contemplation by the rustle of the leather partition that functioned as the hut's door. Instead of hearing footsteps, she was greeted by the smell of blossoms next to her, and the feeling of body heat close up. Beth was always surprised by the degree to which the Arawi took care to maintain proper hygiene, especially when it came to odours. But Slaughter had explained to her after they had left the creek that all of the women in the camp were descendants of chiefs from one generation or another, and as such were expected to treat their bodies accordingly. They were, he said, more similar to images he had heard of European noblewomen, than of those of his people. Remembering Slaughter's instructions, Bethany never raised her head. She was stunned when the first thing she felt were cool hands covered in a salve rubbing along her back and massaging it. The salve was spread all along her shoulder blades first, then her neck, her lower torso, her buttocks, and the backs of her legs, and it had the same fragrance as the person who was spreading it. She was pretty obviously shorter than Bethany based on the posture of her hands. Breaking the silence was a gentle cooing and humming emanating from the woman's mouth. When she turned Bethany over, the woman's identity was revealed, it was her bride Perfect Dawn, who was dressed in only a white wraparound robe with no shoulders. Her cleavage peeked out over this, and Beth's eyes rose to greet her soft beautiful smile, one that accented her brownish skin which was a few hues lighter than Beth's. Perfect Dawn turned around and her hand clasped the knot that tied the wrap-around; it motioned upward toward her. Beth's heart pumped in anxiety, and she was forced to gulp as her hand reached out to loosen the knot. She had never been intimate with anyone, the trials of life on the frontier, and the protectiveness of Alex's brother Drew precluding that, although at times she had been forced to snuggle up next to Alex in order to keep warm under the winter chill. She trembled as the knot fell apart and the wrap-around collapsed to the floor. Her perfectly rounded butt was perked up now, and Perfect Dawn turned around slowly and displayed the most pristine breasts that Beth had ever seen, small and the size of grape fruits. Between her legs was the completely shaven slit of her vulva, without so much as the hint of a tan line. The salve that Perfect Dawn had rubbed her down with was now erupting all across Beth's skin, in some places freezing cold, in others searing hot, but especially around her loins, which were drenched in wetness. After a moment smiling and allowing Beth to savour the sight, Perfect Dawn mounted her, and took a second earthen jug, pouring a different salve onto Beth's belly above her mound. She took the substance in her hand and began kneading Beth's sex as if she was washing a shirt, but the sensation of this was like no other for Beth. "Oh! Uh, Uh, what are you doing?" Beth cried in ecstasy. Even if her mind would oppose this, her body could not resist it now. She reached out and grabbed Perfect Dawn's glistening orbs, and began caressing them herself. The girl grinned in a seductively innocent manner, and Beth could feel herself smiling as she embraced her and brought her down on her in a close kiss. The two young women revelled in the moment as their slick bodies slid against each other's, but eventually Beth pushed Perfect Dawn off, as an idea shot off in her head. Her vulva was now putting off some warm fluid which was interacting with the salve on her body to produce a new, indescribable sensation that was unlike any other pleasure. Perfect Dawn gave a perplexed face as she sat on the side, but this was replaced quickly with sighs as Beth mounted her and began to grind up into her, their vulva's eventually meeting and mixing in a rhythmic kissing dance. After they had exhausted this avenue, Beth out of curiosity climbed off and inserted her face into Perfect Dawn's privates and began to lap the fragrant nectar off of them, sucking back every single taste she could get. "I love this . . ." she whispered softly between licks, " . . . my bride." === While this had gone on, Alexandra was sitting upright in a different hut, dressed in a white wraparound like Perfect Dawn's, and anxiously awaiting her own initiation. When the leather partition was lifted, she was greeted with the sight of Green Hill as expected, but also of two shorter, more slender Ariwa girls also in the same dress. Green Hill, however, was in a more elaborately printed dress that came over her shoulders, with a pattern that resembled figures in twos embracing, as well as a skirt around it composed of some unusual green velvet fabric. In the arms of the two companions were earthen jugs, and they quickly laid them down on a small table in the hut and approached Alexandra. They removed her white wraparound and one held her arms down, while the other spread her legs. The Indian girl took one of the earthen jugs and began to examine Alexandra's slit, feeling along the folds of her labia, and pressing her clitoris several times. Finally, taking some salve out of the jug, she began lathering Alex with it, starting with her diaphragm, and eventually working her way down to her belly, and then to between her legs. Alexandra was blown away by the feeling of the salve, and she opened her eyes to see Green Hill approaching. The girl who had held her arms down now abandoned them and came to meet Green Hill and disrobed her of the top. Green Hill's breasts were now revealed, as were her shoulders and torso, and they were toned and muscular, as befitted a girl of the Ariwa warrior class. A confident smirk was spread on her face, while her second attendant removed the skirt from her waist, revealing curvy hips, strong legs, and a slit that was hairless and glistening already with a peculiar wetness. Green Hill removed some salve from the jug, and spread it in copious amounts on her own nipples and between her legs. The other girls took a different coloured substance from the other jar, and each spread it about the rest of Green Hill and Alexandra's bodies. Green Hill then came up to Alex and aggressively embraced her, a locking hug that was contrasted by the tender touch of her lips. She rubbed up against Alex roughly and began moving her hands over her lover's body in insatiable movements. Alex reciprocated with the kiss. She had initially been threatened by this sensation, but was by now completely aroused by the rough sensations passing over her body, especially when she felt a finger duck inside of her surreptitiously and begin wandering around her canal, then two more in succession. She gasped very loudly and began to moan, then opened her eyes to Green Hill's face, and passionately laid her own lips across her cheek and wetly began kissing her whole face. This continued for several minutes until Green Hill suddenly withdrew. Slaughter had told her that whatever went on would be paused momentarily, and then the final stage would begin that would seal everything. Green Hill stood upright, legs spread with arms upward, and screamed several words in her own language. The other girls who had sat on the side in their own embrace during the coupling, now rose and withdrew, only for one to return with a chest of stained green wood which they opened, retrieving from it an object over a foot in length with two rounded ends and covered in a velvety substance, similar to Green Hill's dress. A ring-like protrusion was between the ends, though not quite in the middle. The girl approached Green Hill, she was still standing in that stance, with her legs spread wide and her opening exposed, and began inserting one end into it. Green Hill yelped in pleasure, clenching her teeth as her attendant pushed it further and further in, until the entire short end was in her and the ring and the rest of it were exposed. She then removed the velvet cover from the rest of the object exposing a rubbery surface. Green Hill now came toward Alex, took her hands, and guided her toward a soft bed of pillows and laid her down with her legs spread. She climbed on top and inserted her wand, thrusting in slowly at first, as Alex cried at the pain. Green Hill withdrew and brought some salve to ease the pain, and then began thrusting with greater vigour. At some point Alex's ecstasy caused her to black out, and she never even realized that the two attendants had also been making love in a neighbouring nest of pillows. When they were awakened Alex was guided outside hand in hand with Green Hill, attendant's in tow, topless but with their skirts on. All of the women and girls of the village were sitting in rows and singing in soft voices in their strange language, and already standing together in front of a roaring bonfire were Beth and Perfect Dawn. Also to the side was Slaughter and , as well as Soaring Gull and her companion. Once they had reached the bonfire, Dove's Feather emerged with a pallet of paints, and began applying them to the girls' faces. On Beth's and Green Hill's there were dark hues of blue and green, while light lavender was spread across Alex and Perfect Dawn's faces. Dove's Feather then spoke one sentence in a loud clear voice. Slaughter translated, "The brides' ceremony has now finished, my ladies." Beth and Alex were soon enveloped in deep tender kisses from Perfect Dove and Green Hill. Their new life had now been officially confirmed.