It was so fast Ethan barely saw it. The rope flew out tangling around the leader's ankles. Nahimana pulled hard and the big man fell like a felled tree. His head hit the wooden floor with a terrible sound.
The second outlaw yelled and drew his knife lunging at her. Nahimana spun, dodged, used the man's momentum against him, shoving him straight into the table where he crashed over chairs that broke under his weight. The third man, the young one, looked at his companions on the ground and at Nahimana standing there, barely breathing hard. He dropped his knife.
I I didn't want to come. They made me. I Nahimana pointed to the door. The young man ran as if being chased by the devil himself.
The leader was getting up, dazed. Blood ran from his nose. He looked at Nahimana with hatred and fear. Witch!
He spat. Demon! Nahimana took one step forward, just one. But the man scrambled backward in terror.
Then he staggered to his feet and ran for the door, helping his companion out. Silence. Ethan was against the wall, his heart beating wildly. He had just watched his wife, a woman who barely spoke, defeat three men in seconds.
Nahimana turned to him. Her eyes glowed in the darkness. For the first time, Ethan saw real emotion on her face, concern. Hurt?
She asked in a soft voice. Ethan shook his head, unable to speak. She checked the house quickly, making sure no one else was hiding. Then she checked the windows and the door.
Finally, she turned to Ethan again. You're going to ask questions, she said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Ethan found his voice.
Nahimana, you're a warrior. She nodded slowly. That's why no one wanted me. Dawn found Ethan and Nahimana sitting at the kitchen table.
She had made coffee. She had quickly learned how he liked it, and now she waited. Tell me, Ethan said softly. Please, I need to understand.
Nahimana looked at her cup for a long time. When she spoke, her words came slowly, as if each cost her effort. When I was a child, my mother died. My father, the chief, didn't know what to do with me.
My older brother took me hunting with him, tracking, training. She paused, her fingers tightening on the cup. I learned everything. How to track deer from 3 days away, how to read the weather in the clouds, how to fight.
Said I was better than many warriors. That's incredible, Ethan said. Not for my tribe. Her voice hardened slightly.
When I turned 15 summers, the warriors started seeking me for marriage. But I could beat them in horse races, shoot arrows farther, track better. And that offended them, humiliated them. Nahimana looked directly at him.
An Apache man must be strong, the protector. How can he protect a wife who is stronger than him? What will the other warriors say? Ethan began to understand.
So they rejected you one by one. Each suitor found an excuse. She's too tall. Her hands are rough.
She doesn't smile enough. But the truth was simple. They were afraid. Afraid their children would respect me more.
Afraid of looking weak. That's why you don't talk much. Ethan said slowly. You tried to be less.
Less strong, less capable. So someone would accept you. Nahimana nodded, pain crossing her face. I stopped competing.
Stopped showing my skills. I became silent. Invisible. But it was too late.
Everyone knew who I really was. No one wanted me. Your father must have felt terrible. It tore him in half.
Her voice softened. He loves me, but he also loves his tribe, his traditions. When you saved Tala, he saw an opportunity. A white man wouldn't know my reputation, wouldn't have the same expectations.
So he used us, both of us. Nahimana looked at him with those deep eyes. You needed to pass through Apache lands. I needed to escape.
My father needed to save his honor. We all gained something. We all lost something. Ethan leaned back in his chair, processing everything.
Last night, those men, you could have told me you were on the roof. Would you have believed me capable of being up there? He considered the question honestly. Probably not.
That's why I don't speak. It's easier when people underestimate me. It gives me an advantage. Nahimana.
Ethan leaned forward. Last night you saved my life. Maybe both our lives. Those men were dangerous.
I know. That's why I acted. But I'm the man. I'm supposed to protect you.
For the first time something like a smile touched her lips. Why? Because because that's how it works. Or is it just what you were taught?
Ethan opened his mouth. Then closed it. He had never thought of that. You're right.
He admitted finally. I guess it doesn't matter who protects who. What matters is that we take care of each other. Nahimana studied him with penetrating eyes.
It doesn't bother you? That I'm strong. It wasn't a question, but Ethan answered anyway. It scared me last night.
I won't lie. But bothered? No. I actually feel safer.
Impressed. Very impressed. The men in my tribe didn't think that way. Then they're stupid.
Ethan said it with such conviction that Nahimana blinked in surprise. Nahimana. In these 2 weeks you fixed things I couldn't. Made plants grow in dead earth.
Healed my mare. Repaired fences better than me. And yes, defeated three outlaws while I was frozen with fear. So do I see you as less of a woman?
No. I see you as more of a human. Ethan searched for the right words. I don't want a decorative wife who only cooks and sews.
I want a partner. Someone who works beside me. Someone I can trust. Someone who's real.
Nahimana looked down, but Ethan saw something glisten in her eyes. Tears. No one has ever said that to me before. Well, it's the truth.
Ethan extended his hand across the table. We can start over. Not as chief and forced wife. As partners, friends.