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Saya First Installment

Saya: The Beginning

Chapter 3

Take One: Humming of a Mother

"Hmm mm hmm mm hmm hmm hmmm…" the honeyed sound of humming entered into Hagi's ears and aroused him from his slumber.

His eyes contorted to the candlelight burning near him, and he could make out the warm tones on his mother's face as she sat beside his laying figure. A quilt was wrapped around him, and he seemed slightly feverish. The hard floor seemed to have knots, he kept feeling something poke into his back.

Apparently his lack of consciousness was an ongoing trait today, whether physical or mindful, he couldn't worry his family like this. He hoped that whatever happened before was just a fever induced dream, and he was awake now -- away from such chaos.

His mother then became aware of her son's awakened state. She had been knitting and thus put down her tools and pull her palm across the boy's forehead, "Your fever is weakening, but you still need to rest." Her maternal intuitiveness spoke.

"What happened?" He asked tiredly, looking around him at his sleeping family members.

"You fainted on the ride here and caught quite the fever, had me worried sick for a while." She shushed him and coaxed her son to lie back down. He obliged, but his tiredness was gone so he chose to lay quietly. His mother got up from her spot next to him and walked away into a darker part of the Church. She came back a moment later with a small portion of bread and a bucket of what was presumed to be water.

"You shall need to drink often, the lady of this church let us use their well." She sat the bucket down between them, "and have a bit of bread to get your strength back." and she handed them the bit of bread. He took it without fuss and crammed it into his hungry mouth.

"Easy there," his mother chuckled. "You don't want to get a stomach ache from eating too fast."

Hagi looked up at his mother and nodded, a smile somehow formed on his mouth that was still stuffed with bread. His mother sat back down next to him, a feeling of comfort and contentment filled him. Hours before, if things weren't they way they were, he wouldn't be sitting her with her right now.

"So, where were you really when you couldn't be found?" His mother asked, "Hmm?" she implied with a knowing smile that she had caught him in a lie earlier.

"Well, we…we…. We just," But before he could come up with a more elaborate false truth, the door to the church gave a loud bang.

Take Two: Thievery and Bartering

It awoke everyone in the church, this loud knocking on the church door. But that was precisely the strangers' intentions. As the lady of the Church scurried to open the door, a whole Roma family awake and alert to the incident, all stared at the two men in night air. One had a burly silhouette, the other was aged and hunched over but their faces were obscured with shadows. But Hagi didn't need a lantern to see who they were, he knew who they were… and so did his cousins, now awake and just as frightened as he was.

"What can I do for you gentlemen?" The old lady asked, holding a candle up to reveal their features. The Burly man from before stepped forward and introduced himself.

"Good evening, I am Amshel and this is Joel Goldsmith," He indicated to the man to his left. "We are here to investigate a robbery that occurred earlier this night."

"Oh My! You own that charming land not far from here, the one with all the animals.." She began in awe. Hagi looked on in horror at the two men, and knew the lie was too believable for anyone to avoid.

"Yes, recently we caught three boys in our manor, they ran off before we could say anything but they took a very precious item from our niece." Amshel smiled sadly.

The old woman looked around and gasped, "You don't think the thief is among us? Do you?"

Joel then spoke up, his aged voice but a whisper to their ears.

"We know we shouldn't be so prude, but the culprits did say they were part of a theatre act, and naturally when we asked around we were taken here."

The old woman looked around at the lot she had taken in. A wave of racial fear awoke in her that hadn't from before, she had told herself when she took them in to not succumb to racial hate that this town wholly accepted. Now, here she was harboring thieves.

"Please, do whatever you feel helps." She opened the door fully for them to enter.

"Thank you ma'm, our niece will be grateful for the return of precious brooch." Amshel said as he stepped in, both men's eyes fell upon Hagi.

Jonas got up from his place on the church floor, and walked toward the two men. He seemed rather displeased. "Excuse me, gentlemen." He growled out. "But what makes you think our family had anything to do with this, not all gypsies are thieves!" He yelled. These two men had come in the middle of the night, woke up his family, and had the audacity to accuse them of thievery. Hagi sunk lower into the quilt, the same could be said for Trever and Nicholav.

"We saw three of your boys jump out of the window, those three right over there." Amshel said calmly, pointing at all three cousins. Demetri stood in the far back, his conscious reeking of guilt.

Hagi's mother's face seemed more stricken then his own, she looked onto her son in realization. She finally understood where the boys had been that evening, and furthermore, it didn't take the family long to put two and two together. Jonas looked onto the source of Amshel's raised hand, and utter disappointment entered his father's stare that nearly broke Hagi's heart--for being the one to put it there.

His mother stood up in defiance, "What proof do you have?!" she yelled. But Amshel simply grinned and pointed to Hagi again, "Look inside his back pocket." Hagi felt his back pocket, and with realization of his earlier discomfort, he felt a lump of something. He remembered Trever and Nicholav flying past this man when they were trying to escape, and how easy it had been. The man didn't want to catch us, he had slipped something into Hagi's pocket as Trever ran past him, enough to frame them all.

His mother was the one who reached inside his back pocket, and pulled out a sapphire Broach, one of the many that littered the girl's vanity from before. His family gasped and shook their heads in disbelief, Trever and Nicholav seemed to sink into the shadows of the church as to not be blamed. Their lack of voice in the situation pained Hagi to no end, it wasn't his idea, he didn't want to go, they have to say something.

"I, I don't know what….to say.." Jonas choked out, "My son would never…how?" But his questioned remained irrelevant when the proof of the thievery lied in the hands of his wife.

"Now that we have gotten that out of the way," Joel rasped out, "We should discuss the means for payment for this transgression."

"That's right, no wrong should ever go unpunished." Amshel added.

"You have my apologies sir," Jonas grounded out. "We thought we had taught my son better, how wrong I see now." Hagi's chest tightened, tears threatening to escape.

"We are in need of a new manservant. The broach was worth a lot of Francs, perhaps he shall work it off." Joel chided in.

"But, we can't stay here and wait for him to earn that amount of money!." Demetri finally spoke up. "We are traveling folk, we don't stay in the same place long."

"Ahh!, well this does pose a problem," Amshel pretended he was at a conundrum. "I guess you'll have to leave the boy here."

"LEAVE HIM?" His mother cried, shaking her head in protest, "No, Not my boy!"

"But the debt has to be paid, and I'm sure it would be very bad for business if everyone found out you have thieves for sons." Amshel said. "We do hold enough power to damage at least that."

"Hagi, boy come here." Jonas said flatly.

His legs were moving before he knew it, his forehead full of sweat, and his mind scrambled.

"You give me no choice, The boy will serve you." Jonas directed toward Amshel and Joel. But once it was said, Trever and Nicholav ran from their hiding place and yelled out the scene the saw from before.

"But Uncle Jonas!! They cut off their manservant's hand, and fed it to their niece!" Trever rushed, "We tried to get away, but they said they would let us go till we gave over Hagi, they were going to kill him!" Nicholav finished. Jonas would hear none of it, he held up his hand to stop the boy's explanation, "You first steal from these men, and now you intend to make up stories to defend yourselves!" The two cousins shrank away and gave Hagi a sympathetic look. It was their fault and they brought Hagi into it.

"Well, I think this concludes our business." Joel said, reaching out for Hagi's arm. He snapped it away only to be pushed toward the old man by his own father.

"Go with them boy." He commanded. He looked back at his mother who was now in tears, his father's expression was unreadable.

"You've only brought this upon yourself." was the last thing he heard from his father, before Amshel came and grabbed Hagi by the shoulders and pulled him out into the night air.

"We will take good care of him," Joel bowed, "And it's good that this was dealt with so civilly."

'But what about your Broach?" Ana asked, the sapphire gleaming still in her hand.

"Ah yes, well, Our niece would really appreciate to have it back." Ana crossed over the threshold and handed the gem to the old man. "Now, goodnight to you all." The Church door closed behind him with an echo, leaving Hagi's mother free to cry her eyes out.

Take Three: The Carriage ride To Hell

Amshel still held Hagi by the shoulders and with a violent thrust he pushed Hagi into an awaiting carriage outside the church. Hagi tried to dash back out of the carriage, but was overpowered by Amshel's strong build. "Not so fast."

"Why are doing this?" Hagi spat out.

"Why? My boy, you are our token to a good nights sleep." Amshel said. " without you, she would never be satisfied."

"You are going to give me over to that!?" Hagi cried out, his fate wouldn't last long being her manservant.

"She isn't normally so assertive," Joel began, "when she's fed properly."

"Why, what… do you gain from this?" Hagi knew this was out of his character, but when you are shuttled back to a house of horrors, one's normality changes.

"We told you, a good night's sleep." Joel said again.

Hagi sat back and bit his lip, dare he even cross this line. But he knew if he was to endure this he needed some questions answered.

"What….what is she?" Hagi dared.

Both older men looked at the boy with mild surprise, as if it there were a very obvious answer.

"What she is?" Joel repeated his question.

"Well, if we knew that, we wouldn't be catering to her every needs." Amshel answered. "Now, you just shut up till we return, and when you see her again you shouldn't say a word for your benefit not ours." Amshel explained to Hagi.

"What makes you think I won't run away?" Hagi asked, his bravery coming from nowhere.

"Trust me, you don't want to do that." Amshel then chuckled. " we've made sure all the runaways don't get very far." A secret smile slipped onto his lips…Hagi felt his heart be quicker every time the horses trotted closer the large gates he entered earlier today.

Preview: Chapter 4: Take One: Meeting Bloody Mary