Chapter 15

"What do you mean she is withchild?!" An angry voice yelled, waking Lucy up. She sat up and looked around, seeing the fire burning in the middle of the hut and Koi sleeping at her side.

"She is withchild. She is carrying a seed in her womb." Shimasani's voice answered back, calmly. She figured Shimasani was talking to the chief. She, slowly, got up, careful not to wake up Koi. She placed the first hides she could grab, which were Koi's, slid on her boots, and crept out of his hut, making her way towards the chief's hut. She got down on her knees on the cold ground, crouching beside the entrance of the hut, close enough to hear but far enough not to be seen or heard.

"Who's seed is she carrying?!" The chief all but growled out.

"Koi's seed."

"Koi?! My son?! My blood?! My next in line to be chief of my tribe?!" He paused and the only sound that came from the hut was the cackling from the fire inside. "How large is the seed?"

"The heart is starting to form. It is a beautiful thing, husband. Koi has found love and is bringing life onto Mother Earth's land with a beautiful girl. Your blood line will be continued if they have a son, and he will be chief when Koi steps down."

"No. I will not have my blood line tainted with that of a nigger. My blood line will remain pure. She and that child will not stay in this tribe. The tribe is already at risk with her presence here. The white men have been wandering in these woods and close to our village, looking for escaped slaves. If they find her, they will take her and burn this village and this tribe to the ground! I will not risk the safety of my tribe for an escaped nigger girl and her half breed child! She will leave this village with that child, or they will both perish at my hands!"

Lucy's heart rammed against her chest. Her breathing stopped momentarily. Her blood ran cold through her veins. When her bodily functions returned, tears began running down her cheeks and she fought to keep back the sob lodged in her throat.

"You cannot kill her and her child! That child is born from the seed of our own child! That child will have our blood, as well! You cannot be so heartless to kill one of your own! Your own unborn grandchild!" Shimasani exclaimed, angrily.

"I am protecting our family and our tribe! She will leave or she will die!"

"What about Koi?! What will he do without his second half?!"

"He will find a woman from this tribe to be his wife! She will bear him sons who will be chief after him!"

"You have tried to marry every woman in this tribe off to Koi and he loved none of them! He loves Lucy! He loves the young slave girl! She carries his seed in her womb, symbolizing their love and union!"

"Koi will have another love! He will have other unions and other children! My mind has been made! I am the chief of this tribe and your husband! You will listen to my words! She has until the arrival of the full moon in 6 days to leave this village, or she will die!"

"And what happens if Koi does not find love again?! Your blood line will cease with the death of Koi and another blood line will come into power!"

"I would rather have my blood line cease pure than continue tainted." Each word he uttered dripped with venom. "That is the end. I will inform Koi of what is to happen in the morning and he will inform the girl."

Lucy stood up on weak legs and wobbled her way back to Koi's hut, holding her stomach and releasing soft sobs from her mouth. She had the option of leaving before 6 days elapsed, giving her baby the opportunity to be born and breath air into its small lungs. But, if she stayed, not  only would she die, but her baby would never get the opportunity to even see light. Even if she was to leave, with winter becoming fiercer as the days go on and white men searching for escaped slaves, her chances of survival are slim to none. Either way, she and, most importantly, her baby were as good as dead.

She crept back into the hut, removing the hides and boots on her body and laying back in her space next to Koi. She laid her head in the crook of his neck, inhaling his natural scent. She placed her hand on her stomach and looked up at Koi, thoughts racing through her mind at the speed of a stallion. Closing her eyes, she fell into a fitful sleep and asked herself: Will Koi protect me?