Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, except for of course, my six awesome characters that are not for your use! :-)
"And before we climbed the mountain...."
"We swam the river....."
"Drowned in, rather......"
"And before the river...."
"We ran from the vagrants......."
"And fought the vagrants......."
Frank Hopkins, known as the best mustang-rider in the world, laughed. His six friends were back...cloaked in their usual attire, and with their usual painted grins. He had called them all together, again, to help him win something of importance. He had missed seeing all their faces, and noticing that they were all present and speaking of their journey, he started to walk around the tent. Continuing to smile, he put his arm around his fiancé, Jazira's, shoulders, and lead her around the group, introducing her to his friends and their best qualitites.
"This," he said, putting his hand on the first Arab's shoulder, "Is Likerbein." Jazira nodded her greeting shyly. "Likerbein is known for his handiwork. He can fix anything with the sand from the desert, sun, and his hands."
Likerben laughed.
"Do not forget water, my friend. Nothing can be done without water...."
Frank shook Likerbein's hand.
"You will know me always from the silver scarf on my head," said Likerbein, taking Zuleika's hand. "It protects my fair skin from the sun."
Now it was Jazira's turn to laugh, as she watched him untie the scarf covering his face. He had a handsome nose, dark skin covered in spots from the sun, dark eyes that were almost like shadows themselves, and a cracked-lip smile.
"I will remember your fair skin by itself," whispered Jazira as Frank moved her on to introduce her to his next friend.
"This is..."
"........Dorian," said a woman's voice. "Hello. So nice to meet you! I've heard so much about you. About you and Frank's wonderful adventure. How he gave his horse up for you. How he came back and asked you to marry him. How he....."
"Thank you, Dorian," interrupted Frank, "We know the story."
Dorian smiled and nodded, blushing.
Jazira gave the woman a good up and down look. She was curvy and robust, with a kind, fair face, long golden hair, and brightly colored clothes. Her eyes were a chocolate brown, and they laughed continuously.
"Dorian," said Frank, "Is the cultural expert......"
"And the, uh, the persuader, shall we say," said Dorian, cupping her face, blushing deeper and laughing again. Frank kissed her on the cheek and quickly moved Jazira on.
"What did she mean by persuader?" she asked Frank in a low voice.
"Hopefully, you won't have to find out....."replied Frank, vaguely.
"This next rogue is Boldevier."
"Better known as Mercutio, the joker, the cmico, the schauspieler, the...."
"Can you tell that all my friends never know when to stop talking?" asked Frank.
Boldevier took Jazira's hand and put it to his lips. "And can you tell that Frank is not one for sweet words?"
Frank rolled his eyes.
"I am in charge of the word-play, dear lady. French, German, Arabic, Portuguese, English, Spanish, and Swedish are my specialties...and believe me, I can joke in even more languages. You may remember me by this phrase. Leben Sie gefhrlich oder berhaupt nicht.. It means, live dangerously or not at all."
"I will remember," answered Jazira.
Frank pushed her on.
"Next, is Mud. Just Mud, no other name."
Mud nodded and swept his eyes to the ground.
"Mud, unlike the others, is not much for words. He is the gambler and racer."
"Racer?" asked Jazira as she watched this Mud character. Before he had lowered his eyes she had been taken aback by their green intensity. He had had an incredibly handsome face that was dark and serious. He had been smiling, but only slightly: as if shocked that anything in this world could be worth laughing for.
"He races horses faster than any man I have ever seen."
"Not faster than you, dear friend," said Mud, looking up, finally.
"Do not be fooled," said Frank. "Mud is in better physical condition than any man on Earth. He can run faster than the fastest Arab, he can swim faster than the fastest Englishman. He is not one to be deceived by."
Jazira smiled and moved on.
This next person made Frank smile the biggest.
"This is Adrianne," said Frank, pulling back a black scarf that had been covering the woman's face. Adrianne smiled; a gesture that made her bright white teeth shine out from under her incredibly dark skin. Her eyes were blue and deep: intense like Mud's.
"Mud's sister," said Frank, seeing Jazira notice the resemblance.
"Hello," said Adrianne with a pleasant civility.
"Adrianne is our poison flower," said Frank, "Meaning, she is not as sweet as she looks."
And sweet she did look. Like Dorian, she was curvy and well-fed, but not nearly as tall and with a more innocent look to her face. She had high cheekbones, and black hair that waved down her back.
"I was originally a scout," said Adrianne. "For the sheik. But I was fired for..." she laughed, "Unruly conduct."
Frank laughed too, kissed her cheek and moved on to his sixth and final friend.
"Diedan!" Frank gave his last friend a hug.
"Diedan," said Jazira, also giving him a hug. She had known Diedan for a long time, and was glad to see that this seven foot, lanky, fair-haired, and dark-skinned boy had not changed. He was happy, she could tell, even though Frank had broken his heart by leaving his Tribe and returning to the sheik's kingdom.
"We have missed you," said Frank, taking his friend's hand in his.
"And I have missed you," answered Diedan.
When all the introductions had been done, Frank took his fiancé by the hand and lead her to middle of the tent where all the guests were staying.
"Although your long trip is over for the day," yelled Frank, over the voices and the laugher, "I am afraid that our journey has just begun." The friends immediately fell silent. They were in love with journeys.
"Before I may marry the love of my life," said Frank, more quietly. "It is custom, in this kingdom, for the future husband to give a gift. A gift of such proportion and magnanimity, that it matches his wife's beauty. I know of the perfect gift. But to get it.....we will need you're help."
The friends sat down, and prepared to get comfortable. There was a long explanation ahead.