The Gypsy Queen (31 page)

The Gypsy Queen- CHAPTER 18- “servant”

  Draiman patiently awaited his news. It had been four days since the King’s funeral, and his messenger was due to return soon. Overdue, by Draiman’s estimation. He wanted to indulge in the gypsy community down below as his men did, but decided to stay away. He pondered his plans at length, imagining the possibilities. It was worth waiting for, he thought, and it would not be long before he would have everything he wanted. If not, he thought, maybe he would take a slave for himself, and just enjoy the riches he had amassed for a while. His greed for the spoils of
Jedikai
, however, did not allow him to be content.

  Draiman tended his morning fire, cooking some deer meat he had tracked with his men the day before. They had hired some of the gypsy women from the meadows to come and cure the meat, since Draiman couldn’t be bothered. He did like to skewer his own meat and cook it, watching it sizzle and eating it at its hottest.

  As Draiman took his first bite, he saw a horseman approaching. He sat up to get a better look, and stood up, as he realized it was his man. He took a big bite of his venison, chomping it in earnest as the horseman came into his camp and dismounted. He looked weathered and burnt.

  “Did you get to Kaffa?” Draiman asked, amused at the exhaustion on the man’s face.

  “I got to Kaffa,” he confirmed. “I rode hard to get back.”

  “You took too long. You better have good news for me,” Draiman said.

  “Give me my pay first,” Gunari said with contempt. 

  “How dare you talk to me in that way!” Draiman scolded him. “First tell me what you learned.
”
Gunari was too tired to argue.

  “
Volga
is dead,” he started.

  “Yes. I expected that.”

  “The port town is a mess,” he said. “It’s a poorly kept, filthy place.”

  “Did you find Degonyat?” Draiman asked him.

  “Find him? I was attacked! They were going to take me as a slave!”

  “Degonyat attacked you?”

  “His men did. I demanded to see him. I fought with two of them, but I got my way.”

  “What did Degonyat say?”

  “He tried to conscript me into his army!”

  “His army? What army?” Draiman asked.

  “He is forming an army to move on
Jedikai
!” Gunari said. “He said he will have over four hundred men soon.”

  “When will they move?”

  “I told him that you wanted to destroy the black riders, and that you are familiar with
Jedikai
,” Gunari said. “He said to meet him in the Lower Reach at
Tatu
Castle
three days from now.”

  “
Tatu
Castle
?” Draiman said, surprised. “It’s a giant pile of ashes!”

  “A pile of ashes with big walls,” Gunari said. “He means to use it to set up his men, to prepare an attack.” Draiman liked the idea, and his mind whirred through a thousand ideas as he spoke.

  “He will have to move west to stay in the forest for cover, and avoid the charred areas. He will need our help.”

  “That is exactly what he said,” Gunari agreed. Draiman frowned.

  “Was he angry?” Draiman asked.

  “He was so mad that the giant bushes on his face looked like they were smoking!” he said, laughing with Draiman. Draim
an was so pleased with the news that
he handed over his skewer, giving his meal to the weary messenger.

  “One more thing,” Gunari said. “He said he cannot find as many men to fight as he was looking for. He wants you to bring any other men you might have to the Lower Reach.”

  “Well, I don’t have any men besides us,” Draiman said, “and I am not sending you to the Lower Reach just yet. You deserve to enjoy your wages,” he said, tossing him the money he had promised in a burlap bundle. He wanted his men to have high morale for the battle to come.

  “I will meet with him first,” Draiman said. “What will he do if he does not find enough men to come?”
He began gathering his things to head south.

  “He intends to use slaves in the fight,” Gunari answered, ripping his teeth into the meat.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 
Yana
rode her horse, Kuta, towards the forest south of
Jedikai
. She wanted to get some time to herself, time to think. She had gotten through the funeral with Bastion, and the last few days since then had been a delightful blur, visiting the gypsies in the west meadows, dancing and telling stories. She had also met some people in the city, spending time with Bastion when he was available, and visiting with Mille and the people in the palace. Mille had come up with an idea for a dance the night before the Coronation, and
Yana
had loved practicing with her.

  She loved even more the way Bastion made her feel, as they made love freely, partaking of each other with an intimacy
beyond what she had
ever
imagined
. She had tried to give more of herself, and not hold back the way she always did. It was a struggle for her, between his endearing touch, and her normal way of keeping herself private. She had to guard her heart to survive, and she could feel him slipping past her defenses. She had been with a few boys in the past, but no one else had ever gotten close. This was the only time that she had even
wanted
someone so close.

  She was surprised to find that she enjoyed most of the attention she had been getting since their mission to free the captives. She had always enjoyed dancing in a gypsy caravan, but she found herself having fun in a place she never would have guessed- the palace and streets of
Jedikai
. She loved being w
ith Bastion, watching him function
as a King.

 
Yana
was most comfortable in solitude, or at least had been throughout her life. Being out in nature, climbing trees, digging in the dirt... the simple pleasures of the countryside were a tonic to her soul. It was a natural place for her to come, as she pondered the future. Her future.

  It was clear that Bastion wanted her to stay. He did not pressure her, and she was thankful for that. He did not need to- being by his side was a place she had come to love. Yet it was clear that it could not go on like this forever. Each day, she feared it would be harder to leave, and she grappled with the fact that her desire to stay was stronger than she had ever felt for a place... or for a man. She knew that by the time the Coronation was finished, she would have to decide.

  She listened to the wind whistle through the trees, hoping it would clear her mind, as it brushed through her hair.

  Draiman headed south for the Lower Reach, taking his time. He expected he would be there before Degonyat, and might see some old friends as well, if his luck was good.

  It couldn’t be
that
good, could it?

  Up ahead he saw a lone rider, apparently a girl. In fact, it looked like
Yana
. He decided to track her and stay out of sight for a while. It was not common for a woman to ride through a forest alone. Too many dangers lurked, and most of them would not dare. He prodded his horse forward, staying higher on the slope.

  The girl he tracked was a gypsy, by the looks of it. A bow was laden across her back. He was excited when he saw it- it had to be her. He had tried to seek her out in the west meadows, but she was never alone there, and Draiman was reluctant to seek her out in the city. He did not want to disrupt his own plans.

  The rider he was tracking began to take a strange course, and it did not take long for Draiman to realize that she knew she was being tracked.
Yana
would know by now, he figured. He directed his horse to intercept her, as they rounded a bend.

  “
Yana
!” he called out. He did not want her to get scared and flee. They were well into the forest. The girl stopped and looked his direction, as he came closer carefully. “
Yana
!” he shouted again, waving.

  He came around a small grove of trees, only to find
Yana
with an arrow drawn and aiming it straight at him.

  “
Yana
! It’s me, Draiman,” he called out.

  “I know who it is,” she replied, not lowering her aim. “I heard you were around.”

  “It’s good to see you,
Yana
,” Draiman said, trying to be friendly.

  “What do you want?”

  “Oh, I had been wanting to catch up with you since I heard of your heroic tales! Quite impressive. You are a credit to the Romany.”

  “Why are you following me?”

  “Actually, I am on my way south. I am to meet up with some old friends soon. My tribe did not want to make the trip.”

  “The Ursari have always been a sorry lot,”
Yana
said, insulting him. Draiman laughed.

  “A sorry lot indeed they are!”

  “You fit in well,”
Yana
said. She circled her horse around to keep her distance, and for the best position in case she would have to run.

  “Now, don’t be so harsh,” Draiman said. “We are gypsy, just like you.”

  “You are not like me,”
Yana
said with a scowl. “The Ursari are thieves. It is tribes like yours that give us so much trouble with the
gaje
.”

   “Not like you? Are you not a thief?” Draiman said.
Yana
said nothing.

   “Did you not have a hand in the burning of
Tatu
Castle
? Did you not kill men in Kaffa?”
Yana
was uneasy, and her hands were getting tired of aiming the arrow at him, so she eased it downward, but did not put it away.

  “We stopped slave traders from stealing gypsies!”
Yana
retorted.

  “So you did,” Draiman said. “So you did... and now, you are with the King of
Jedikai
?”

  “He is a good man,”
Yana
said. “A better man than you.”

  “A good killer, I am sure. The black riders have slain many men. He must be good at it by now. The black riders are cowards.” He could see he was getting to her.

  “And you, among them?
Yana
, the black rider?” he continued. “You should ride with us,
Yana
. Just like before. You don’t belong with the
gaje
.”

  “Where I ride is my concern, no one else’s,”
Yana
said. She could feel the anger rising up in her face. “Last time I rode with vagabonds like you, it was a disaster.”

  “Will you marry the good King?” he said, his voice dripping with disdain. Again,
Yana
had no reply.

  “If you marry him, you will not decide anything for yourself,” Draiman said. “He will rule over you, and the palace will become your prison.”

 
Yana
hated him for voicing those thoughts. They were exactly the things she was afraid of. He was doing this on purpose, she realized.

  “If I marry him, I will make love to him and bear him children. I will be queen, and expand the territory, and drive out worthless scoundrels like the Ursari,” she said.

  “You would be nothing but
gaje
filth,
” he said, disgusted. “I am surprised that King Bastion would ever want a common gypsy thief like you anyway. I expect he will come to his senses and eject you from the city like an old pig carcass, before long. The city people do not want you there,
Yana
. You have enemies there.”

  “I have enemies out here, too- including you,” she said, raising her arrow once more to point at him. Draiman softened his tone.

  “
Yana
, you don’t belong in the city. You know it yourself. You will drag Bastion down, and make enemies for him. If you care about him, you would do him a favor to leave him. It will never work, and the citizens will not accept him, or you. If you fail, it will be at a terrible price.”
Yana
could feel her heart breaking at the possible truth Draiman spoke.

  “Be free,
Yana
. You are far too beautiful not to be free,” Draiman said.

  “I am free to choose my own paths,”
Yana
said. “None of those paths will ever lead to you.”
Yana
tried not to show her surprise as she began to see a dim aura around the edges of Draiman’s form. It was black, like an abyss. She felt chills ripple up her spine, and hair stand up on her neck.