Same
disclaimer as before, i don't own the Hond, so don't sue me!, and without
further introduction, chapter 2 it's here:
The court
of miracles was one of those places that always bubbled with activity. The people of the
place never seemed to sleep, and even though up there, in the streets of Paris
darkness reigned in every corner, down here there was so much light as if it
were day, thanks to the strategic positioning of many lamps and torches.
In spite of
what's already told, the court was now in one of those rare moments of lethargy
that always preceded the important events. And it's not just the author's
imagination. The court was truly preparing itself for something special. A new
caravan was about to arrive to the city, and everyone was resting, gathering
their energies to receive as
cheerful as possible the certainly tired travelers.
Well...
almost everyone. Everyone but Clopin, of course. Our always hyperactive gypsy
king found himself, as always, jumping up and down, going from one place to another making jokes, or simply
talking with his puppet as he killed time waiting for his messenger to come from
his spot near the bridge, where he was supposed to be expecting the caravan's
arrival to tell their leader to wait up for the guide that would escort them all the way to The Court of
Miracles.
Although
Clopin knew that it was still too soon for the caravan to arrive, he couldn't
help but feel a little worried and distressed. He too felt kinda silly, for he
knew ever since Frollo's death, the vigilance of the town's street had been
reduced notably. But he also knew that even though most of the soldiers and
street centinels had decided to take it easy with gypsies now that they didn't
have their boss behind their back, some of them still continued Claude's
tradition of doing the beating first and then asking the questions. Luckily
Clopin had decided not to change his people precautions either. Ever since the
accidental revelation of the place by the bellringer, he had decided that some security measures must be taken.
Not that he could do too much, since almost every soldier that this city had
knew where they were hiding.
He couldn't
take care of that without causing another rebellion, and although he had enjoyed
the last one, he didn't wanted to repeat the experience. So all he could do was
redouble the vigilance at the entrance and order every remaining gypsy there to
make COMPLETELY SURE that no one was following them before coming to the place.
Having lost the secrecy of their hideout, many gypsies had decided to leave the
place and find somewhere else to live where they could be left in peace. He
hadn't been happy about that, because it is well known that no king enjoys
seeing his kingdom fall apart. Luckily the ones that had stayed were very happy
and liked hard work, and even more, they were very happy to share the place with
the newcomers.
Clopin
specially was looking forward to the arrival of this caravan in particular.
Well, it was no ordinary caravan. This was the Mirga's tribe, well known for
it's great artists and acrobats. He couldn't wait to see them. And even more, he
couldn't wait to say hello, after so much time, to his old friend Koro. "He
must be the his tribe's leader now, of course", Clopin though with a smile
"Now let's just hope he is good enough to bring them all the way here
safely".
"Clopin!
Clopin!! They are here! They just got here!!" shout a kid from the entrance,
automatically alerting everybody and rising a wave of excitement from everybody in the
court.
"Hey! Hey!
Wait everybody!" said Clopin
stepping up to the scaffold and gathering everyone's attention. "Our guests
aren't even here and you are about to start the party without them" he joked,
rising a soft laugh from his audience.
He
continued, now seriously "I'll go now to get our friends and show them the way.
In the meantime i hope to find everything ready for the celebration once we all
get back here, right?"
He
concluded throwing them a
half-severe look before turning to the corpulent men that were the habitual
centinels of the entrance and
having heard the scandal coming from the inside, had come near it to catch some
news.
"You
three," he said signaling them "Come with me."
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o
"We must wait here until our guide
arrives." Koro adressed the bunch of gypsies that, having stopped their caravan
only a few meters from the city's bridge, and seeing no intention from his
leader to keep moving, had gathered around him to know what was delaying
them.
"I thought
the kid you were talking to a few minutes ago was our guide." said a frowning
woman.
"He was
just a child bringing a message for us to wait right here for our real guide to
come and escort us all the way to the Court of miracles!" He almost snapped,
scaring the woman and making her take a step back. He was sorry, but he was
already growing tired from their interminable babbling and didn't see how it
took them too much to them all to understand that they were supposed to just
WAIT, that there was nothing HE could do from now on!
"But how
long are we supposed to wait?" suddenly asked an angry voice from the front of
the crowd. "Are we supposed to wait here all the night 'til sunrise, giving
everybody in the city a chance to spot us? What do you think they are going to
do once they find a gypsy caravan stationed before their noses? How long do you
think they are going to wait before telling every soldier in the place to come
arrest us? Do you think we made such a long journey just to be imprisoned like
this, probably less than a mile from the place that was supposed to become our
refuge?" The one that has talked was obviously the husband of the woman that has
talked before, and he didn't seem happy at all to have her told off by anyone
but him.
Upon
hearing his words the rest of the people started eyeing every direction
nervously, now seeing danger in every dark corner of their surroundings,
imagining armed soldiers appearing from under every rock, surrounding them and
ready to arrest and beat anyone that tried to resist. His comment had turned
them all more paranoic (if possible) than in the start, and now they all now
resembled a bunch of chickens the day before the big banquet, waiting for their
executioner to appear in any second to take them all to the
kitchen.
"The guy
said the person we are waiting for would arrive in less than an hour..." started
Koro for the tenth time that night, raising his eyes to the
heavens.
"How can
you be sure?" demanded the man. "For god's sake! How can you know if the kid
wasn't a spy of the soldiers? How can you..."
"OH, WOULD
YOU SHUT UP?!!!" suddenly interrupted a feminine voice behind Koro. Without
needing to look back, he closed his eyes and lifted two fingers to rub his
forehead. He knew he was about to get a headache...
"Who asked
you, woman? Do you fancy yourself as our leader to come and speak in public
without being asked to?" replied angrily the same man, "Why don't you shut up
and let OUR LEADER answer the questions we asked HIM?" he added giving Dharma a
scornful look.
Dharma had
stayed aside ever since the people had started gathering around the cart, and
had remained silent, too tired to tell them all to go to hell. It wasn't 'til
she noticed that the conversation had started raising decibels that she decided
to join in. She almost regretted having done so as she heard Rudolf words. Not
that she cared of what that fool said, but because he had become too angry to
realize that he was in the edge of screaming and making them all be
discovered.
"I don't
fancy myself as nothing more than what i am..." she said, her voice pure ice.
"And i know perfectly well that it was our leader the one you were
interrogating. What i just can't understand it's how many times does he have to
repeat his words to get them through your blockhead! Are you deaf or don't you
get that the only think we can do from now on it's wait? Didn't you just hear
that the guide will arrive in less than an hour?" relaxing a little she
continued:
"Besides, i
don't think it's more than one in the morning, so don't worry, that i'm sure
we'll be safe and celebrating in the Court of Miracles long before sunrise" she
concluded, her voice directed towards him, but her eyes in the few friends she
got among the tribe.
Dharma knew
perfectly well the power that words can have in the throngs' minds, and even
though she couldn't sing a simple "do-re-mi" for the life of hers, she had
learned how to use her voice to persuade, convince and calm people at her
convenience. This hadn't been an exception. Everyone in the crowd seemed to have
relaxed a little, and now they all stood in silence waiting for her or Koro to
say anything else they should do. Well, almost
everybody...
This man of
course wasn't smart enough to simply shut up, and even though taken aback by the
calmness of her speech, had decided that he still wasn't done for the
night.
"Haven't
you learned to be quiet in a man's presence? Didn't your parents teach you to
bow your head in front of your elders?" he attacked "Oh, yeah! That's right!
What can we expect from a parasite like you that goes from one place to another
without a trade of her own? From nothing but a miserable tramp that does nothing
but suck out our food supplies, our MONEY! Without even trying to earn it the
way we do?".
Now was
Dharma's turn to be taken aback. Suddenly she became speechless. Now she could feel everyone's stare on her,
as the color rose in her face. Parasite... Miserable tramp... Now a doubt
she thought Koro's words had buried had risen again. Did everyone thought of her
the same way as Franko? Lifting her gaze she found her doubts
gone.
In spite of
the strength Franko's insults had the moment he pronounced them, they had had
nothing but the exact opposite effect as he expected. Although some folks looked
as they were about to cheer (most of them young men that had been a target of
Dharma's rejections), the big majority were glancing each other with looks that
meant to say all the same thing. An old gypsy looked up at Dharma and
telegraphed her the message. That they all though the same thing as her: Franko
was a jerk.
For they
knew as well as Koro about Dharma's complete lack of talent, and had enjoyed the
company she offered the elders and
that no one else gave them. And they silently expressed their thanks letting her
win this round, not paying any more attention to her opponent, which having seen
her shut up and quietly smile to herself in a very confident way, was about to
speak again when Koro suddenly raised his arm and closed his fist tightly. At
this gesture everybody automatically closed their mouth, and even the man that
was arguing waited for his words.
"This is
not the moment to argue." He said after a pause "I want you all to go back to
your respective carts and prepare everything to part as soon as our guide
arrive. We don't know if he'll really be here in less than an hour, and i don't want us to waste time
unnecessarily or to have sunrise taking us by surprise in case he doesn't show
up. Move! NOW!" his voice, even though surprisingly calm, sounded like a thunder
to them all, and he had barely finished saying the last word before everybody
fled away from the scenery.
"As for you
two..." he said turning to face Dharma and Franko, who, even after hearing his
orders hadn't move an inch for the place they stood during the whole argument,
and now were looking each other, one as if wanting to tear the eyes off the
other's face, and the other, with a look of scorn and hate that only seemed to
enrage her opponent even more.
"Franko, go
to your cart and take your wife with you" he said glancing significantly the
diminute woman that was practically hidden behind the robust figure of her
husband, meaning that the order's were given to her since the man didn't seemed
to be listening. With a thankful look, and practically dragging her mate away,
she took him with her while he groaned and muttered insults under his
breath.
Once he saw
the couple go away to a prudent distance in which it'll be impossible for them to hear him, he turned around
and stalked to his wagon without even sparing a glance to the young woman that
stood like a statue at his side, looking at her feet as if they were the most
interesting thing she'd ever seen in her life. As he was busy franticly packing
every item he had out of place back were it belonged (not that there were many)
while he waited the messenger to arrive. Just as he expected, he heard an almost
inaudible voice mutter behind him:
"I'm
sorry..."
Without
turning around, or even stopping his labor, he responded
"Next time
keep out from where you are not called". Getting up to the step of the wagon,
where he could spot anyone that came from the city, he added, his voice a little
softer than before
"Go see if
the girls need something".
Without a
word, Dharma retreated to the wagon that came right behind Koro's, and after a
moment of hesitation, knocked softly one of the closed wood doors of one of it's
closed windows.
"Is that
you, Dharma? Come in, please, that i'm busy!" came a melodious feminine voice
from the interior.
With a
relieved sigh Dharma slipped into the small vehicle and couldn't help the small
smile that escaped her lips as she saw the woman that had spoken before. Sweet
and smiling, Sophie was at her 72 years, one of the nicest persons she'd met in
her life. Active despite her age, she never seemed to rest from her eternal
chore of dusting, sweeping, washing and decorating the cart that put up her
whole family, and Dharma as an addition. Though Dharma and her granddaughters
all could swear that there wasn't in the whole Europe a gypsy wagon as clean as
theirs, Sophie didn't seemed to be of the same opinion. Even now that the small
community of gypsies seemed to have joined as one by their fear and anxiety,
Sophie, instead of sitting and worrying, was now totally absorbed in the chore
of dusting and organizing (for the 12th time that week) her amulet's
collection.
"I could
hear from here almost all of your 'discussion' with Franko" the old woman
cheerfully said, her back to Dharma, and even if she only turned her head for a
brief moment, she could clearly see the somber expression of the young one's
face. She quickly added "Oh! Pay no attention to him! We all here know he's got
a complex since the day we chose Koro over him for tribe's leader! And i'm
telling you, i haven't regretted our decision ever!". Not hearing any reply and
finally turning around to see the young woman sitting in the corner right across
from her, she finally blurted "Oh, Come ON!! Do you really thing we are fool
enough to pay any attention to anything than man says about you? I thought you
smarter my child! Believe me, i've had to endure all his shit-chat for more than
40 years now and..."
"Are you
nervous about our arrival to Paris?" suddenly asked Dharma, giving Sophie a
penetrating look.
"I beg you
pardon?"
"I asked
you if you were nervous about our arrival to Paris..." she repeated carefully,
now closing her eyes and leaning against the improvised mattress that lay beside
her.
"Why do you
ask me? I've been traveling all my life and i'm past the age where i got excited
about every new city we came to...." she stopped "YOU are hiding me something,
child, or don't tell me that you aren't the one being nervous?" she said as she
seated in the mattress and patted the girl's head with affection. "Is something
bothering you?".
"Yes...
No... AGHH! I don't know!!!" exclaimed the lass, her voice sounding tired and
confuse.
Now it was
the matron's turn to eye the young woman in her lap carefully. She knew
something had to be really bothering Dharma for her to sound so strained. She
knew that she had to be resting instead of accompanying her son guiding the
caravan!
They stood
there for a while, the old woman waiting for the young one to say something, but
not wanting to rush her 'til she was ready to speak. When she finally did so,
she looked at her questioning
"Where are
the girls?"
"They were
so tired of traveling in the cart the whole day, that they went out to play a while
or visit their friends. Medini it's
with them, so they'll be quiet"
"Ah..."
"Now don't
try to change the subject with me. You know me well enough to think that'll
work!
Tell me,
What happened? Is it something i can help you with?"
Sigh
"Well..."
"The Guide
is here! Everybody get ready!!" a dull voice from the outside interrupted
them.
Getting up
from her place and running to the carts door, Dharma left Sophie not without
giving her a look that meant they'll continue this conversation later. She was
at the front of the caravan in few seconds, and what she found there didn't
stopped from intrigue her.
Right in
front of her eyes, standing next to the row of wagons was Koro talking quietly
with 4 other men. 3 of them looked as tall and tick as stone walls, strong and
muscular as if they've spent a great amount of their life doing really hard
work. But that really wasn't what called her attention the most, for she had
already seen men like them or even stronger before. No, it was the other man
that accompanied them. This man seemed so out of place in that group as a little
capuchin monkey among a gang of gorillas (sorry Koro ^_^U). His physical wasn't
impressive at all. On the contrary, not very tall (he seemed a little shorter
than her), so skinny she would have swore he was ill if not for the healthy color that his face displayed even in
the moonlight. His hair and goat-beard were black and stood up with a
rebelliousness she'd only recalled seeing in the brooms sticks (which he
resembled a lot, now that she thought of it). His garments, unlike Koro's and
the 3 hunks dark and discreet ones, had such a colourfulness that made her
though of a day she had stared at the sun for so long that her eyes hurt.
What really
impressed her was his way of speaking. He did it at great speed, and even though
she couldn't understand what was he saying, she noticed that his voice, though
penetrating, sounded nice in her ears. He talked with such a natural authority
that, despite his jovial and careless tone, made obvious his paper as
expedition's leader.
When she
saw him turn his face and contemplate her curiously, she realized she didn't
know how long she had been standing there, staring at them like a dumb. And it
wasn't 'til she saw him tore his gaze from her and redirecting it to something
in her back, that she noticed that she had been nothing but the first one of
many to arrive there, and gathering all around her, were the rest of the
travelers. They were as her, waiting for the little council their leader was in,
before coming any closer.
Once all
the tribe had been reunited, and before anyone made any question, Koro turned to
them and lifted his fist the same time he said: "As you can see, our guide has
finally arrived. Let me introduce you all Clopin. He, together with this men,
will take us all the way through the Court of Miracles." After a pause he
continued "You must all treat him with the same respect you pay to me, or even
more. Understood?".
Everybody
remained silent. Not because Koro's orders, but because they all have seemed, by
the tone of his voice, that he had finally passed the command, after so many
days of journey, to the man that, making use of their astonishment, now seemed
to be examining each and every one of them carefully. After another quick look
he exclaimed
"Alright
dear comrades. Before anything else, Allow me to welcome you all to the
Beautiful city of Paris, your new home, i hope, if we manage to take you all
sane and safe to the Court of miracles." After a pause, in which the cheerful
smile in his face has been replaced by one full of expectation. "But before
taking you there, i need you all to make an oath right here and right now, that
you will NEVER, ever! Reveal this place to anyone that could put our hiding in
danger, under death penalty!", he finished, the smile never leaving his face,
but his look so penetrating the gypsies felt like he was trespassing their
thoughts.
A
petrifying silence followed his words. The crowd looked at each other uneasily.
Noone had told them they'll have to swear for their lives. Sure, it was logic
that a place like the Court of Miracles should remain a secret for those who
persecuted them, but still death penalty sounded extremely
severe..
Seeing his
people suddenly distressed, Koro was about to raise his hand and explain them
all that they didn't have time to waste, when suddenly...
"I swear
it." Two voices proclaimed at the same time.
To
everyone's astonishment and even Koro's, the one's that had spoke first where no
one but Dharma and Franko. They too seemed surprised to hear each other make an
oath like that so easily, and they crossed suspicious glances, trying to catch
any secret reason the other may have had when another voice interrupted
them.
"I swear
it" It was Sophie, who having abandoned her cleaning and followed Dharma as she
left her cart, was now making in front of everyone. Her dark eyes, the exact
same color as Koro's, looked at her
son warmly as she nodded with her
head.
"We swear
it" called 4 voices in chorus at her back. Those voices belonged to her daughter
Medini, and her 3 granddaughters Gudrum, Lali and Rubi, who had taken a step to
the front and had followed nana's example as always. In spite of how young they
were at her 15, 10 and 7 years respectively, they all seemed to completely
understand with a maturity beyond their age, how serious was the promise they
were making in from of they tribe. Medini on the other hand stood next to
them, looking from her nieces to her brother alternatively and half
smiling.
That way,
one after another the other members of the caravan joined them and made the
solemn oath of keeping the Court of Miracles location a secret, as Koro threw a
thankful look to his family, Dharma and Franco, who now had gone as far as they
could from each other as the situation allowed them.
"Alright
then" exclaimed happily Clopin as they all were done "Here's the plan. In order
to get to the court of Miracles without calling too much attention, we'll split
in 4 groups, each one guided by one of my man and me myself. Each group will
surround the city and enter into it from a different side, ok? That way it won't
be as strange for the citizens to find a big family of gypsies arriving to the
town, than a small tribe of them, That'll prevent them from calling any
soldiers. And even if they do so, the less we are, the easier it'll be to sneak
away from them, ok?" he raised his voice an inch
"Now go
divide yourself and we'll set off.
Go!" Once his voice died in the cold air of the early morning and it was clear
to the travelers that he wasn't going to say anymore, the crowd dispersed from
the second time that night. Clopin sure knew how to pick the best moments to
play his "man of few words" role.
So,
therefore, in less than 15 minutes there were formed 4 different groups of 2 or
3 wagons each. One by one they wandered from clear that had served them as stop,
'til only one stood there, in which were Koro, Dharma, a gypsy family of 7
members (father, mother, and old man and 4 children), and Clopin of
course.
"Well," he
started as soon as the last cart had completely dissapeared into the night's
veil "As the lead group you all should have realized that we have perhaps the
most dangerous route to follow. That is, crossing the bridge and getting
directly into the city's heart, this zone the one the soldiers watch most of the
ones we've chosen."
"Then how
come you allowed a family as big as this to come following such a dangerous
mission?" asked Dharma quietly and not very happy at the prospect of having
children around her, and much less if they all were in
danger.
"Isn't it
obvious, my dear child? It is to disguise us as a family in case a soldier
appears and want to interrogate us!" he answered. "so, the best we can do now
it's trying to make all the way as fast and quietly as we can..." seeing her
getting into the cart just as he finished his first sentence, he quickly
concluded "Let's go!"
As they
crossed the bridge, Dharma couldn't help but wonder if god actually found
amusing having her all jumpy. She always seemed to be in the worst places at the
worst times, and she couldn't shake the persistent feeling that this was one of
them. It was not the first time she had it, and it rarely failed
her.
"Why the
long face?"
"What?" she
was startled to find Clopin talking to her. He was sitting in the step of the
wagon, directing the vehicle as Koro rested sitting by his side, watching the
road.
"I mean,
what is it with the long face? Aren't you happy to have finally arrived to
Paris??" he asked again, now looking at her and wearing an enigmatic
smile.
"I'll be
happy and chirping as soon as we
are safe in the court. Shouldn't you be watching the
road?.
Although a
little surprised by how coolly her voice sounded, he continued, paying no need
to her comment "But that doesn't mean you have to be wearing that scowl on your
face the whole journey, does it? I think it'll be nicer if you
smiled.
Ah, it
was THAT. Sighing
she answered "It's not a scowl. It's a nervous tic... Besides, what do you care,
or does it bother you?" Her expression was exactly the same, but her voice
sounded impatient.
"No, not at
all. I just think that you'll look even more beautiful if you smiled a little"
he concluded now watching her intendly.
Aaah! So
you want to make me blush, don't you? You're wasting your time. As an answer, she pulled her
best -don'teventhinkofit- and –notinthislife-
look.
Surprised
and finally taken aback by her reaction (that was nothing like he had expected),
he turned to Koro, who had been putting one eye on the road and one on them
discreetly, and asked him
"Is she
always that sweet, or is it my lucky day?"
"You should
see her in her bad days" he replied chuckling. Clopin joined him and
concentrated back on the road, not without a last curious glance at the girl
behind them.
Well,
seems like he gave up, she thought as she released the breath she
had been holding as she waited for another question from Clopin. Fortunately, it
never came.
Idiot,
get over it.
Just as
they finished crossing the bridge, and started thinking that the worst had been
left behind, a deafening voice stopped the in their tracks
"Stop!
Who's there?"
To be
continued.... (i hope ^_^)