The river cascaded down from countless bodies – Swan Creek, Bear and Fawn River, and the other lesser tributaries. It flowed from the southeast, a rushing torrent edged with tall oak and birch trees towering to the sky like soft smoke.

Princess Mishawaka dismounted her horse and bent down to drink from the river. Her father, the violent Shawnee Chief, didn’t know she was here alone in the darkness waiting for her lover. Her romance with the Pottawatomie Chief Elkhart would separate her from her people, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered to her now was the feeling of Chief Elkhart’s hands tightly holding hers.

She would flee with him tonight, but she knew there would be a price. The Shawnee would come by land and by canoe. They would entrench themselves and defend the honor of her father. The Pottawatomie could always flee to the valley of the Wabash, but there would be a price to pay for retreating. One day she would have to face her father and explain why she had left her people.