It's been a week since I met Chuck, and I'm very glad I was wrong.   Although we fixed the gate, the walls were horrible.  After the seven of us fixed the obvious problems, I asked if there were any boys who hadn't shown promise in other crafts.  Two young boys, Ben and Martin were brought to me.  

They were rowdy , even for boys of eight and nine.  I told the boys that I wanted them to find as many rocks as they could and set them along the inside of the walls next to the gate.  In a couple days they had come up with enough stone to start construction of a new road.

Using a form of lime mortar, mud, and the rocks the boys found, I began teaching them how to layer cobblestone, and the gate's road was now stone, and provided plenty of drainage.  At first the boys were mad that I insisted so heavily on the beveled look.  But after the rain yesterday, and no mud under the gate, the boys started doing it my way.  The carpenters have been a huge help as well.  

Although it's not stone, the wooden walls are now solid, and don't have holes big enough for wolves to get in any longer.  I've also shown the carpenters how to do mortise and tenon joints so that the walkway on top of the wall is more secure.  After they figured it out, two of them completely rebuilt the front gate.  The old one didn't match the new cobblestone anyway.

Leann's oven is now being used to bake bricks when she isn't cooking.  I've been using the bricks to build a new palisade on the inside of the current gate.  Once it's done, I'm going to tear the old gate down, and build a portcullis there.  With what I've seen, unless we get invaded by siege weapons we are fairly safe at the moment.  But the bricks I'm not using are going to the walls, and they are layering the outside of the walls about eight layers thick, compared to the sixteen I'm using for the future gate.  It took me two days just to figure out a mortar mix strong enough for the foundation of the new gate.  And the last corse of bricks has finally brought me back up to ground level.

When I found the village Bowyer, I was surprised that it was Greta's older sister, who also helped me with Jennifer.  Carol was barren.  One of four women here who were.  The other three were all Coran's mothers.  Apparently the tribe only allows five wives per each man.  Talking about it with the girls, all the neighboring tribes have the same ruale.  The only exception is the current Eldest Elder.  Which Gina pointed out was me.

The exception also only applies if he has no other wives at the time, and even then it only allows for one more.  Since most women end up being forced, it's not something that happens often.   

When I showed Greg the drawings of what I was planning, all the guards stared pestering Carol.  I guess they like the idea of the light crossbows she was carving.

The strawberry seeds were put into a makeshift planter and I've Brennan keeping them watered.  In a few generations, I might get some decent sized ones.

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When he started digging a hole inside the village wall, I thought he was crazy.  Then he started filling it back up, using that weird mud that doesn't get wet again after it dries, and the clay blocks he calls bricks.  It's now back to ground level, and is perfectly flat.

He looks just at home doing that as I do with a needle and thread.  Although what he had me do to Jennifer didn't make sense at the time, I know that it helped.  Even Greta said Jennifer is doing better than she had.

It was Cassie's idea to marry him.  We were originally just going to tease him a while and then try lo leave him later.  That plan bit us back.  I'm not upset about it, at least not like Cassie was.  And this way, we still get to stay together.  So what if we share a man.

~I opened my eyes and glanced around.  A large brick structure sat where my husband had just been standing, a metal, yes metal, strapped door stood closed on the paved stone road that now went the length of the village.  

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A deep hollow sound reverberated through the air as I watched a carved tree, no, trebuchet is the word that came to mind, swing into the air.  A boulder was flung loose from it, and then I realized it wasn't a boulder.  It was the maimed body of my sister, Leann.  Somehow I knew she had been killed a week ago, but I didn't know who did it.  What has happened to make people do this.

Jesse ran up to me.  I saw love in his face for the first time.  Why did this have to happen for me to see this look on your face?  Where is Cassie?  Oh there she is.  Her body just landed on the cobblestone in front of me.  I heard Jesse scream out in anguish, and now I knew who did this.  The one word he screamed told me everything.~

As I looked  up from my we hands, Cassie and Coran were there.  Apparently I cried out while I was sleeping, Leann was next to me.  I didn't hesitate to grab he neck and pull her to me, Cassie as well.  My mind still floating through the dream, somehow I knew, of the three girls in front of me, if my dream came to pass, only Coran would have a quick death.

Jesse seeing me in tears came over to me, the look on his face matched my dream.  The look of loving his spouse.  Events are already moving away from the dream, but he is my husband now.  I have to tell him.

"Jesse, tell me you love me."  I heard mysel say.

"I've only known you for a week, so I don't know how much weight it holds.  Gina, I love you."

Hearing his words, I broke down even further.  And slowly told him of my dream, with his othe wives, and my sister listening.  When I finished, he cocked his head slightly.

"Do you know where the threat came from?"

I nodded gently, and then looked at him, with as much resolve as I could. A single word fell off my lips.  The voice didn't sound like mine, but it was full of malice "Chuck."

After a few more minutes I continued, "something is about to happen that will cause Chuck to become Tribeless, he will blame us, and come after us."  I looked at Coran. "You appear to be his first victim, and I will be the he last."  I look down seeing the images of the dream again.

Jesse looks me in the eyes, and gets really close to my face for some reason.

"SHIT!" He shouts out.  I hadn't heard him yell before.  The stone chisel in his hand was thrown toward the wall, and it stuck.  He then grabbed Cassie's head and does the same, and then Coran's.  He looks at my sister, and asks permission to look into her eyes, and she gives it.  He looks into her eyes, and backs away, walks over to the old gate leaning against the wall.  And he punched it.  Hard enough to put a hole through the four inch thick wood.

At first I thought he was angry, but now I see something that scares me.  He is afraid.

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We all knew my sister's curse well.  She always knew when a decision would be a bad one.  A simple shake of her head and even the elders would change their choices.  And she had just told Jesse about her curse.

At first I thought he was used to this kind of thing because he listened to her every word.  But when her tale was over he looked into her eyes, and then forcibly did the same to Cassie and Coran.  At least he asked for permission before he did it to me.

And then my blood ran cold.  He wasn't angry at us for not telling, nor was he afraid of her; he seemed afraid FOR us.  When he punched the old gate, I know he broke his hand.  But he flicked his wrist and then acted like nothing happened.

Damn, even now, Gina has rotten luck.  If her dream comes true, she will have to watch us die.  And the look on her face is that it won't be a quick death.

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A/N:  no, this chapter does not warrant adding another tag.  Will be explained at the end of the next chapter,  

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~Tink