The Gypsy Queen (8 page)

it was absolutely thrilling.

They rode until near daybr
eak, running at top speeds
most of the way. The first tendrils of sunrise were encroaching into the sky,
with
the morning c
alm introducing what seemed
a pleasant smell.

Campfire.

Yana
pulled her reins up and
stopped. There was light ahead that wasn’t sunlight. She pulled out t
he telescope that she had easily
stolen from the foolish gatekeepers when she entered the city, and had a look. It was in the immediate direction of where the burning wagon had been found. It wasn’t a wagon, she realized. It was the whole forest! Just as the telescope revealed this horror, the smoke of it finally engulfed them completely, leaving no doubt.

  “Hurry! It’s all burning!”
Yana
shouted.

  “Then they are all lost
,” Bastion said. “Hold fast. We cannot charge directly into a forest fire! It moves too quickly!”

  “Like hell they are lost,”
Yana
protested. She would wait no longer. She snapped the reins against the horse’s flank and launched directly for it. She was grateful the horse was obedient so as to not shrink away. She clutched the leather in her hands without any idea what else to do, looking for some signs of life.

  Bastion was furious. He was unaccustomed to being defied. His men were always faithful to his lead. He was frustrated with himself for admiring her courage in spite of his anger with her. He cursed under his breath.

  “Protect her at all costs,” he commanded his men. “Let’s go!” They headed after her, the horses all seeming to love the chase, trying to catch her as though even they had understood Bastion’s orders. 

  The smoke obscured the landsc
ape, making it difficult to see…
yet at the same time, the light of the fire illuminated what was otherwise a dark, dense forest. Bastion couldn’t believe her madness, charging straight into a burning forest. Neither could he believe he was doing it as well.

  He found it fantastic.

  Heading after her, it seemed they might all be charging directly to their deaths. Bastion struggled just to keep track of her through the
smoke and the
trees. Then he saw something she seemed to be heading for. Something moving. Two figures, silhouetted against the fire not far behind them. He headed straight for them, as
Yana
was almost upon them.

 
Yana
charged up to them, and leapt off her horse before it had even come to a stop. The brush fires were nearly on the
m all, rushing ahead, igniting the trees as they went.
Yana
already knew who they were.

  “
Yana
?” Kizzy asked, barely able to speak, coughing and choking.
Yana
went to speak, but instead got a massive dose of hot air and thick smoke in her lungs. She flung her cloak over the three of them and began to try and direct them to safety. They were creeping slowly through the brush, but the fire was not. It was faster.

  Bastion charged up to them with his men directly behind. Fighting for his own air to breathe, he said nothing, but instead reached down and snatched
Yana
up by her wrist, wresting her into the air and onto his horse. She landed in front of him, her hands hanging over one side and feet dangling over the other, her cloak tangled about her. His men needed no further instruction. The two gypsy girls were snatched up just like Bastion had done, and the horse
Yana
rod
e in with was retrieved as well. T
hey all fled the fire, each of them eager to exit the forest, horses included.

  They rode hard once more, the horses winded by all the hard running and the thick smoke. Bastion led the way,
Yana
unable to do anything except try to keep the horse’s broad back from punishing her midsection. They splashed through a wide but shallow stream after they escaped the forest, and finally came to a halt, lowering the three gypsy girls to the ground.

 
Yana
did not like being manhandled like that, and she was in pain, but did not care. She was so elated that her friends were safe with her, she embraced them immediately and kissed their faces.

  Bastion turned to his men. “Ride the fire line as long as you can, and see if there are others you can save. Return to the city when you can do no more. The fire should burn out at the river.”

  “And the caravan, Captain?” one of the riders inquired. Bastion looked to
Yana
.

  “They are safe,”
Yana
said. “I sent them towards
Jedikai
at the first sign of fire.”

  The man nodded towards her,
and to Bastion, and
the riders departed as instructed.

  Kizzy and Nadya were sipping the water they had been given, but saying very little, as the sun finally crested. They had much to say, but they were shaken... and they were aware that they had just be
en in the presence of the dreaded
black riders.
Yana
could see the fear in their faces.

  “Fear not, my friends,”
Yana
encouraged them. “We are safe.” With that statement, they looked towards Bastion. “You remember the boy I told you about. The one who was struck by lightning? The one I helped?”

  They nodded. She opened her hand toward t
he one black rider still among
them. “Meet Bastion,” she said with a smile.

  “Pleased to meet you sir,” they both agreed, comforted by
Yana
’s own familiarity. 

  “Hello,” Bastion said. He had not met these two gypsies, but they were very sweet, as they smiled at him through the ash on their faces, hiding their blushing cheeks. 

  “We almost lost you,”
Yana
admonished them, before they could say more. “I was so afraid we lost you!”
Yana
could feel the emotion in her voice, as her fearful energy was dissolving into fatigue.

  “We were attacked,” Kizzy said. “We fought them, but there were too many. They were going to take us to the Lower Reach! We got away when the fire caught up to us.”

  B
astion was fully interested
. “Who were they?” he asked.

  “They were Moldavians, some of them,” Kizzy said.

  “But,” Nadya whimpered, finally speaking up, “but...” she choked on the words.

  “Some of the men who attacked... they were gypsies,” she said in horror.

  Kizzy confirmed. “Some of them were gypsies... just like us...”

________________________

The Gypsy Queen- CHAPTER 5- “Request”

Bastion and his gypsy companions made their way towards
Yana
’s caravan, as Kizzy and Nadya told their tale.

  “They captured us all. Everyone we were traveling with,” said Nadya.

  “How many?”
Yana
and Bastion asked in unison.

  “There were seven of us. We got away in the fire, but we don’t know about the others. But they didn’t just have us,” Nadya continued, “They already had at least a dozen others we didn’t know.”

  “We heard them talking,” Kizzy added. “I don’t understand too much of their language, but it sounded like
they were up to something big
.”

  “Where were they taking you?” Bastion asked.

  “They were taking us to Kaffa, sir,” Kizzy answered. “Across the
Black Sea
.”
Bastion stiffened. He knew
of Kaffa.

  “There was a gypsy woman,” said Nadya. “She said they have a castle in the Lower Reach, a big place where they keep everyone they capture, before they sail to Kaffa to be sold.”

  Bastion rode silently, as the gypsy girls talked further amongst themselves. Their conversation turned to lighter things, and
they were all grateful for it
. They traveled toward
Jedikai
, to meet up with
Yana
’s caravan. The morning sun lent its warmth to them as they traveled the meadows and hillsides towards the city, and
Yana
shed her black cloak.  

  Bastion retrieved a white shirt from his pack and changed as they rode.
Yana
did ev
erything she could to watch him
without him noticing. She looked on in surprise when he was finished. “You look like a gypsy man,” she remarked. Bastion smiled at that. He was indeed wearing gypsy clothing.

  “It’s my favorite shirt,” he replied. “I don’t often find occasion to wear it.”

 
Yana
opened her mouth to say more, but was unable. She was a bit flustered, in fact, and chose instead to look off into the distance, lest he catch her blushing. He was a fine looking man, and the white gypsy shirt set off a tremendous affection
for him
within her. Her
emotions were flooding her
, as she thought of him and watched him ride.

  He had not hesitat
ed to come to her aid, and
that
of her p
eople. He executed their mission
flawlessly. He took over masterfully. He was dangerous, and he was fearless.

 
Yana
thought a moment. She knew no other man like him. He was a beautiful boy, when they first met, and now he was a powerful man. His power appealed to her, but it was their sticking point, too. He was based in the city, in the
kingdom
, and she was not. There was no gypsy man she could imagine that was anything like him... but at least the gypsy men were free to roam, as she was. They would not rule over her; she could not allow that.

 
Yana
let her troubled thoughts wander silently through her
head as they approached
Jedikai
. She wondered if somehow the seeming curse of dark news or dark times that always accompanied Bastion might be lifted, as cheers rose from the gypsy camp as they approached, Dimmie running up to meet them.

  “You found them! You found them!” he shouted, running up to their horses. Kizzy and Nadya jumped to the ground and embraced Dimmie and the other gypsies. Music sprung up in the camp, and Bastion kept his distance, letting the gypsies have their celebration. His mind was elsewhere, considering the news the gypsy girls had brought, and comparing it to the information the
kingdom
held about the
Moldavians. Bastion was glad
for their successful mission, but this news meant that a much larger task faced him.

 
Yana
made her way through the camp, looking for Lyubov. Finally she found her with Luba. Luba leapt up and embraced
Yana
, and Lyubov, the old woman, gave a warm smile. Luba wasn’t her joyful self, however.

  “Emilee is gone,” she said.

  “Gone? Gone where?”
Yana
asked, hoping she was on an errand.

  Luba looked up at Bastion as well, and addressed them both. “She went to try and track Kizzy and Nadya. After you left and we broke camp, she went back towards the burning wagon. We have not seen her since.”

  The dread of that was more than
Yana
could take, as tears began to course down her face and angry curses spilled forth. “
Dilo baxt!
” she spat in Romany, kicking a bundle of sticks. “
Dilo prikasa!
”

  “Foolish girl,” she ranted. “Why didn’t she listen to me? Why such terrible luck?” She glared at Bastion at the thought of it. Bastion had no reply worth offering. It certainly was bad luck. 

  “
Yana
, come. Sit with me,” Lyubov invited her. “I help.”

 
Yana
was alive with new angst and anger. This madness had to stop, this evil trade of stealing people. She didn’t wa
nt to sit down with Lyubov, but
she sat down anyway, reluctant. Lyubov offered her a tin cup of steaming tea, and Luba urged for Bastion to join them and sit down. Lyubov pulled a small curved pi
pe from her bag, and
deliberately prepared it. No one spoke, as they watched, and finally she set a twig
into their modest fire and
used it to light the herbs in the pipe.

  She passed it first to
Yana
, and around it went, to Bastion, and Luba, and back to the old woman. They indulged it a while in silence, and
Yana
was grateful- it did seem to calm her. Her fury subsided, as she stared at the fire and exhaled the s
moke into it, as though to expel her
fear
s as she did
. Peace settled over her, in spite of the world around her.