The opening in the roof of Talako's hut revealed a night sky with pinpricks of starlight dimmed by cloud cover.

The fortnight had passed quickly. Sookie sniggered to herself. Fortnight! She'd been picking up more Choctaw words as the days passed, and apparently the English vernacular of this time was seeping into her vocabulary as well. Just yesterday a boy no older than four had tutored her in numbers, holding his dimpled hand up to her, counting off each finger. "Achaffa…tuklo…tuchena." It didn't seem to matter the language, the familiar cadence of ticking off numbers was there in the child's voice, as it had been and would be for a thousand thousand other children. It was both endearing and heartening, and she'd done her best to learn from her young teacher. At one point she was aware she was being observed, and she looked up past the intent features of the boy to see Talako watching them. She'd offered him a wide smile, reveling in the waves of joy she could feel emanating out from him despite their distance. For a moment she allowed herself to think of what a child of theirs might look like, might be like, and then she neatly tucked the thought away. Later. But perhaps not too much later.

It would be dawn soon. They were leaving today.

Sookie rolled over on their mat, snuggling further into Talako's warmth. She knew sleep wouldn't return, so she allowed her buzzing mind freedom to roam. Dozens of people had poured into the village over the last few days, kin and friends. Sookie had been mildly surprised to see a few pale faces in the crowd. Talako had offered her a gentle reprimand. "Aye lass, family is family. If my da' were alive, you'd see his shaggy red hair amid the sea of black."

She'd reached up to caress his lovely dark hair. "I know. I don't know why I'm surprised. I guess I've been very focused on what is going to happen to the Choctaw and to other tribes, and didn't think about what it would mean for the whites who love them, who are their family." She just hadn't thought about it before. What if a white man was married to a Choctaw woman? Would she still be forced to leave, to walk the infamous Trail of Tears? Would she be able to remain with her husband? For all the reading and research she did, Sookie realized there was much she didn't know. And it was very different, to sit in your cozy living room and look up history on the internet as you sipped your iced tea, than it was to be in a situation, to actually be living it. To have so many lives depending on you.

For a moment, the weight of their task had affected her physically. The air seemed to be heavier as she struggled to draw it into her lungs, her heart had stuttered and then raced, and black dots had started to dance at the edge of her vision. Talako had pulled her out of what likely would have been a full-blown panic attack by bending down and pressing his warm lips to her neck. "Breathe, Sook. Just breathe."

Somehow a snort of laughter had escaped her. "Since when do you call me Sook? What happened to lass or wench?"

Now Talako was the one making sounds of amusement. "I have never called you wench. You must be getting me mixed up with the men in your tales."

"They're romance novels."

"They're explicit rubbish." But he said it with a grin.

Damn, she was going to miss the public library. And just like that, with the help of his closeness and a few words, her fears and worries abated. They didn't disappear, but now they were manageable.

"Thank you," she'd whispered, before stretching up to place her lips to his.

She could feel Talako stirring next to her. She knew his sleep patterns now, knew his body. He wasn't fully awake yet, but would be soon.

Sookie pulled away from Talako and lifted her arms above her head as she pointed her toes and stretched away the last of her sleepiness. She was ready for today.

Standing, she crossed the small space to the reed flap over the door, and lifted it away a few inches to peek outside. The barest hint of dawn was visible on the horizon through the tree line. Sookie could see some folks already up moving around. She dropped the flap and turned back to Talako. He was sitting up now, offering her a sleepy smile.

They'd made all of their final preparations the night before, so it was a simple matter to get dressed and to eat a quick meal of oatcakes and dried berries. No tea, they didn't want to bother with a fire. Talako folded up their sleeping mat while Sookie tidied up after their meal. A few villagers had already shared their decision to stay. Tearful goodbyes had been said. It was possible someone, or even a whole family, would move into the dwelling. Sookie wished them the very best. But she wished even more that they would have chosen to go with her and Talako and the others.

"Ready lass?"

"Yeah, I am." She meant it.

They stepped outside and made their way to the center of the village where their wedding ceremony had taken place two weeks before. A large group was already assembled, and was growing by the minute. As Talako and Sookie stepped among them, people instinctually stepped back, giving them both room. Thinking about the power they were about to summon, Sookie figured that was probably a pretty wise move.

A short while later, as the sun started to push up into the early morning darkness, Talako addressed his people. "My heart is happy that so many of you have come today. We will start a new life in a new place, and we will be safe. Our children will be safe. Do not be afraid of this journey we will take. It will be swift, and we will arrive in our new home, together.

No voices arose, either with questions or in protest. All of that had already been hashed out, much of it repeatedly. Instead, a quiet expectation filled the air.

Sookie reached for Talako's hands with each of hers. Their mental connection was constant now since their marriage, no barriers between them. But physical touch amplified it. She closed her eyes. Her awareness of the group faded away as she sought to join the currents of energy within her to Talako's, just like they'd practiced. Within moments, a ball of power exploded between them and hovered in the air above their joined hands. Even through her closed lids, the light was blinding. Vaguely, she could hear cries of alarm around her. But everything was as it should be.

She felt the presence of the Fay spirit, its unique mental imprint pressing at their brains. But when she opened her eyes, squinting through the light of the fireball, she couldn't see him…it, anywhere. But it was there, or its power was there, contributing to the sphere. The globe between them grew and lifted higher as it expanded. Now the yellow and orange flames flickered with spiraling strands of pink, purple, and blue. Sookie thought it must be much like looking into galaxy from one of those super powerful telescopes, only a thousand times more intense and bright.

The light no longer hurt her eyes. It enveloped her, Talako, and the others. She didn't just see the brightness and the different colors; she felt each hue. The yellows and oranges were pulsing and warm. The blues and purples were soothing, a cooling balm to the pleasant, but intense bursts of heat. The hot and then cool sensations cycloned around them, growing and growing in intensity, licking at their skin and whipping their hair about. She met Talako's eyes as the power globe reached a crescendo, and then exploded upward into the sky. Their gazes followed it, and Sookie registered it was a tunnel. A wormhole, really, a passageway of light.

Like the other vortexes she'd traveled, there was a sense that it had an awareness, that it was a conscious entity. Unlike the other vortexes, there wasn't a sense of pulling, of taking her, or any of them against their wishes. Those that chose to traverse this path would do so of their own free will.

Smiling, feeling sheer love and peace fill her heart, Sookie squeezed Talako's hands tight before dropping one so they walk side by side into the center of the tunnel just a few feet away, showing the others how to begin their journey. Once they reached the eye of the swirling power, the Choctaw watched the Eagle and his mate lifted away in a sea of color, and those that were brave of heart followed.

A/N- We shall leave our couple there, embarking on a new journey filled with as many possibilities as stars fill the night sky. Thank you to those that have stuck with this very, very AU story. Thank you to those of you that have taken the time to leave your thoughts, or even just a few words of encouragement, in a review. And thank you even to those that never reviewed, but alerted or favorited Let It Be Forgotten. It was nice to know you were there :O) It was an honor to learn more about the Choctaw culture as I researched for this story.