"Puppy-dog Tale Two"
I remember, lounging in the sunlight with my mother and sister.
"Come on Ree, come on." I encouraged dangling a bit of ribbon over the basket.
The girl child nestled among the laundry stared with wide eyes and grabbed at the fluttering blue silk trim and finally managed to catch it… in her teeth. "Mrrrrrr." She growled trying to tug the prize from my fingers.
"Marti, don't tease." Mother said as she knelt scouring a faded tablecloth in the chill water of Bièvre River. The opposite bank was crowded with mills, tanneries and dye-makers, if the currents were with her the old cloth should pick up a bit of color. Runoff from the Red and blue vats of les Gobelin's family dye works lazily snaked its way down stream and about a dozen local women like herself had turned out with baskets of laundry to take advantage of the dilute color.
"M'jus playing momma; wouldn't want Ree down by the water, right?" I reasoned to myself, the Bièvre was a lazy river unlike the wild Seine but I wasn't taking any chances. I didn't even like momma so near the brink but she was big and should be safe enough…though I noticed her hands were bit discolored by the waters. My Ree was just about snack size for a hungry river and I'd not let her anywhere near it. "Wouldn't want a purple puppy anyway…the boys would talk." I reasoned aloud.
Mother frowned "I heard that i Moi petit monsieur, /i Marie is no dog. I wish you'd stop treating her like one."
"She likes it. Don't you Ree." I countered, and my tiny sister was quick to agree, "Mart!" she barked and I patted her on the head affectionately. It wasn't really right for Mother to complain I thought. After all, she was the one that tied Marie's curls into ear shaped tufts on each side of her head each morning. I went back to dangling the wet ribbon at her.
"Mart…Mart! Rrrrrrr!" Marie batted at the trim before gleefully catching between her sharp white teeth. I knew from past experience just how sharp her teeth were and always minded where my fingers were when we played.
A familiar whistle caught my attention; My friends Remy LeBeau and Cheval Lagardère emerged from the gardens of i La Couvent des Cordeliers. i Both with smug grins on their dirt smudged faces. Clearly adventure was afoot and they intended I be a party to it.
"Is it all right if I take Ree for a walk?" I asked tucking the silk ribbon in my pocket. Mother nodded her approval "Be careful with her" she warned and she resumed her scrubbing. My sisters was still a bit unsteady on her feet so after picking her out of the basket I took he ends of the lace bow sewn around the waist of her dress and let her go about on all fours. She eagerly bounded off to meet my friends and I followed behind holding on to her 'leash'.
i "Bonjour chérie, /i How is my good girl?" Remy asked leaning idly on his bo-staff to ruffle her blond curls. "Rrrrrrree!" She grinned showing her pearly white teeth and playfully nipping at his fingers. She'd never really bit Remy, a fact that made me a bit jealous until I discovered his secret. He discreetly took a pinch of Sugar-coated aniseed from the bag tied to his belt and fed them to her. She licked her lips and pulled herself up Remy's leg in hopes of getting some more.
Marie wobbled on her feet and Cheval swept her up into the air before she could topple over. He slung her over his shoulder like a sack of flower and she giggled pulling at his unkempt hair. Lagardère wasn't much older than Remy and I but living on the streets made my friend Cheval the canniest and most capable our crew. There was none who knew the back alleys and boulevards of Faubourg and St. Victor better. We followed his lead and when he announced "Its time to go!" we did so unquestioningly.
Where Cheval was strong, Remy was lithe and wiry. He would likely do well as a circus performer. With rapt attention, I watched the ginger haired youth use his staff to dance lightly from one crate to the next stacked helter-skelter along la Quai St. Bernard. But, the most unique thing about my friend leBeau was his eyes… which held an uncanny crimson flame.
"Why Do your eyes sparkle like that Remy?" I asked and he almost made a misstep. The keg he was on tilted precariously and he vaulted off with a showy flip.
"My Father tells me I'm special," he grinned impishly. Remy's Father was Jean-Luc LeBeau, was a moderately prosperous businessman who owned several warehouses. His mother had died when he was still small. If not for Maestro LeBeau, Remy would surely be running wild on the streets just like Cheval. I was very lucky to have a mother and father who loved me, and there was Sieur Tréville who promised to sponsor me for entry in the musketeers when I'm old enough.
Lagardère finally brought us to our destination, a fine frigate called i Gambit's prize /i just in from Marseille.
"So why are we hear?" I asked taking Marie from Cheval's shoulder. She'd fallen asleep some time ago and slurped noisily on her little fist. She was cute when she was asleep I had to admit it.
"We have come to learn." The urchin proclaimed proudly "Braid and Cocardasse have decreed I am to learn i jeu marseillais /i and I think you ought to as well."
To he honest, I'd never heard of i jeu marseillais /i But if Braid and Cocardasse thought learning it was a worthwhile endeavour then it must be so. Some seven years ago the two sword masters had gone Abbey Lagardère to duel with Maestro de Bergerac. No sooner had the duel began when they stumbled over a hatbox. Everyone knows that midwifes give Marie's to pregnant mommies just like like puppies do… urchins like Cheval arrive in hatboxes. Braid and Cocardasse were the ones to find Lagardère so they felt somewhat responsible in keeping him alive all these years. If two such outstanding gentlemen said Cheval was to learn, then Remy and I would be lucky to do so as well.
"We're supposed to see Captain Casseux," Cheval explained, "Do you have idea one which he is?"
Remy frowned in thought, "I think he's had dealings with my father." The ginger-haired boy did not mention it was his father's position as patriarch of the thieves' guild brought him in contact with the captain and not more legitimate business dealings. Of course it was more than likely Braid and Cocardasse moved in the same shadowy circles but it was better not to speak of such things in public. "That's him, there," Remy pointed.
I was a little leery of following the others onto the deck of the ship… thinking of the cold deep water that lay beneath us…waiting. But after a moments hesitation I mounted the gangplank and then the worst was over. I lay Marie down inside a coil of rope on the deck and she continued to sleep undisturbed.
The captain was somewhat brusque when he first came up demanding our business. But his manner changed abruptly when he learned why we had come. As it turned out i jeu marseillais /i was a type of French street fighting especially popular among sailors. I'd seen brawls of this type before involving high kicks and open-handed slaps. Open-handed slaps I understood could deal a good bit of force while avoiding legal penalties against brawling. King Henri law considered a closed fist a deadly weapon. More importantly I learned the fighting style had developed to allow the kicker a free hand or two as balance on a rocking ship's deck. Remy was quite good and naturally acrobatic. He had been practicing the bo-staff, for several years now and it was not difficult to transition those skills to place a hand, or hands, on the floor, or grab a hold of any convenient handrail or object, whilst lashing out with his foot.
I could easily recognize this would not be such a strange thing to do for two people who might be fighting on wet and slippery dock sides, or the swamped and rolling decks of sailing ships. The thought alone made me a bit queasy so after learning few basics I went to sit by Marie and watch my friends spar. It was easier to analyze what they were doing and I reasoned I could practice just as easily later… safely back on land.
Marie woke and whimpered softly till I petted her head and took her in my arms. She pulled the blue silk ribbon from my pocket and began chewing on it again. Spending time with friends and learning new ways to fight are fine things, but I had a Marie to look after… and that wasn't such a bad thing either.