Author's Note: I kind of play around with actual historical facts in this
one. It was actually in 1561 in England that had the law that any Rom found
were to be branded with a "V" on their chest and be a slave for two years.
If they escaped and were then recaptured; they received an "S" and were the
slave to whoever captured them for life.
The part about Moravia however is the truth, sadly enough.
Does anyone else see a pattern here with our history as a species?
*** This was it.
After three years of enduring Logan and his madness, Kurt only had to complete one final test and he would officially pass Logan's martial arts training.
All he had to do was beat Logan in a kind of hide-and-seek game in the forest.
Beat Logan in a hide-and-seek game while blindfolded.
He stood in the middle of what he hoped was a small clearing, trying to keep his mind blank and focused like Logan had taught him as he tightened his grip on the katana Logan had given him when he finished his sword training.
The wind slowly blew on his back, and he stiffened, turning his head side to side as he tried to figure everything out. He was thinking too much, and he couldn't hear anything except for his heart pounding in his ears.
This wasn't going to work; Kurt could tell right away. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly, trying to feel the elements as Logan had told him to do. The sound of his heart pounding in his ears soon died down, and Kurt soon got a mental picture of what was around him.
His feet flexed and unflexed, telling him that he was on grass that was still wet from the drizzle they had had in the morning. He slowly tilted his head to one side; he heard branches from trees banging lightly against each other, telling him which way the wind was blowing.
The thing he noticed was that all around him the branches in the trees were swaying and making some sort of sound. All of them that is, except for one on his left.
Slowly, Kurt turned his katana around in a full circle before he started to move forward and slightly to the left, trying not to let on that he knew. He made his tail slowly sway towards the left, feeling out how far away the trees were. After he had made his guess, he teleported and hoped to God that he didn't end up impaled in a tree.
Luckily, Kurt didn't end up impaled on any branches, and he was rewarded with a Snikt sound as Logan leapt back and got ready to fight him.
"I thought you said I only had to find you!" Kurt said, bracing himself for a fight.
"Never make assumptions, Elf!" Logan said, charging at him suddenly. Kurt held his katana to the side and he deflected the claws that came at him. He moved all around, using his tail to tell him where things were as he deflected Logan's blows, listening to the whistling noise they made when they cut through the air in a slashed motion.
He kept it up until he felt that his hands and arms would get too numb to hold the katana anymore. Narrowing his eyes behind his blindfold, Kurt teleported behind Logan and he stabbed as hard as he could, thinking that Logan would deflect the blow.
Instead, he felt it stab into something soft, and Logan growl softly in pain.
Gasping, he let go and he took off his blindfold, finding that he had stabbed Logan in the side pretty deeply. Clapping a hand over his mouth, his eyes grew wide as he tried to think of what to say as Logan pulled the katana out of his side.
"Logan..." he started.
"Nice move, Elf." Logan said with a smile. "The use of the tail helped you get better connected with everything in your surroundings."
"But your wound..."
"Is nothing." Logan said, waving his hand dismissively at him. Slowly, the wound started to close up and it was as if nothing had happened. Smiling at Kurt's surprise, Logan flipped the katana around and gave it to him handle first.
"You won." He said. "Congratulations, Elf!" Kurt smiled faintly, sheathing his katana as he followed Logan back to the mansion.
"I can't believe I did that!" he said. "I was so scared at first!"
"I know." Logan nodded. "I could smell the fear on you." Kurt blushed faintly, looking down at the ground.
"You could have at least lied about knowing." He said. Logan snorted softly.
"Ya beat me, what else do you want from me, Elf?" he asked. Kurt shrugged helplessly, placing a playful arm around Logan's shoulders.
"How about a kiss?" he asked. Logan calmly shoved him away by pressing his hand on Kurt's face as they entered the house.
"In your dreams maybe." He said.
"Kurt." Looking up, Kurt cocked an eyebrow slightly at Scott.
"Were you waiting for me?" he asked. Scott nodded, uncrossing his arms slightly.
"The Professor wants to see you. He says that some people came to see you." He said. Looking over at Logan with raised eyebrows, Kurt shrugged and he climbed the stairs and entered Charles' study, finding the man sitting down and leafing through a manuscript.
Looking up, Charles smiled and he stood up, taking Kurt lightly by the arm and leading him over to the front of the school, keeping his back to the door.
"Scott said that some people were here for me." Kurt said. Charles nodded a bit, smiling faintly at him.
"Yes, that's correct."
"Who is it?" Kurt asked, looking at Charles anxiously.
"Now calm down, Kurt." Charles said seriously. "You need to be under control when you see them and..."
"Is it my tribe? Have they come for me?" Kurt asked excitedly. Charles sighed softly, looking down slightly.
"Yes and no, Kurt." He said. Kurt frowned slightly, tilting his head to one side.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"They'll be able to tell you better than I can." Charles said.
"Who are they though?" Kurt insisted.
"Stop asking so many questions!" someone laughed from behind. "That's what always annoyed mother you know!" Looking over his shoulder, Kurt's eyes grew wide at the sight of his brother Stefan waiting just outside the door for him. Stefan was nearly knocked down to the ground as his little brother leapt up and hugged him tightly around the neck. Laughing, he patted him lightly on the back.
"*Devlesa avilan!*" he cried happily. Stefan smiled faintly at him.
"*Devlesa araklam tume.*" he said, before he realized that Kurt was hugging a bit too tightly around his neck. "I'm happy to see you too!" he said. "But I would like to breathe too." Laughing, Kurt let go and he looked around, tears of happiness falling down his cheeks.
"Where are the others?" he asked. "Tell me!" he said desperately. Stefan laughed, shaking his head a bit.
"You don't need to cry about this, Kurt." He said. "Everything is all right now!"
"But where are the others?" Kurt asked, looking at him anxiously. "Where are mother, Jimaine, Gummi, Haus, and the others?" Stefan's face became sad for a moment, but then he smiled faintly and tilted his head to one side.
"Turn around." He said simply. Confused, Kurt did so, and his mouth opened slightly in awe.
Jimaine was standing in the doorway beside Charles, her hands clasped in front of her slightly. A large headscarf was placed over her head, covering most of it except for her face, which sparkled with the light of her smile as she waved lightly at Kurt.
Something was off however, but Kurt couldn't put his finger on it. He shrugged it off and he ran up to hug her, but she stepped back slightly, taking his hands in her own instead.
"I'm so glad to see you again, brother." Jimaine said. Kurt smiled and tried to kiss her on the cheek, but she moved her head away, making him look at her in confusion.
"What's going on?" he asked, looking from Jimaine to Stefan. Stefan looked over at Jimaine, and he sighed softly, turning back to Kurt.
"We're the only ones left, Kurt." He said softly. Kurt looked at him in horror, slowly shaking his head as he turned to Jimaine.
"He's lying." He said. "Tell me he's lying!" He tried to touch her face, and she looked away, her eyes watery and sparkling with her tears.
"Jimaine?"
"Show him what happened, Jimaine." Stefan said softly. "It's the only way that he'll understand." Nodding sadly, Jimaine undid the knot under her chin and she let the headscarf fall to the ground.
Kurt and everyone who was in the room at the time stared at her helplessly, looking at her shaven head and missing left ear. It looked like someone had taken a knife and attacked it crazily, hacking it away to nothing but a hole in the side of her head. All that was left of her hair was enough to make a ponytail, and it was the headscarf that kept it in place and made it look as if she still had her hair.
"We tried to go to Moravia." Stefan explained softly, showing Kurt the "V" that was branded on his chest. "We were captured on the border however, and we tried to escape, but their laws were to kill whoever resisted, and almost everyone was killed right away in that.
"When it was over, only Jimaine, Gummi, and I were left alive. They shaved Jimaine and Gummi bald, and Gummi died when they started to cut off her ear. They branded us with these V's on our chests, marking us for slavery for two years.
"We broke out after a year and a half, and we've been looking for you ever since."
Tears flowed freely down Kurt's cheeks and he turned to Jimaine, lightly running a finger down the hole on the side of her head. She looked down, ashamed at her scarred looks.
Kurt slowly hugged her, burying his face in her neck, feeling completely helpless.
"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I'm so sorry."
***
Romani Translation:
Devlesa avilan: It is God who brought you
Devlesa araklam tume: It is with God that we found you
The part about Moravia however is the truth, sadly enough.
Does anyone else see a pattern here with our history as a species?
*** This was it.
After three years of enduring Logan and his madness, Kurt only had to complete one final test and he would officially pass Logan's martial arts training.
All he had to do was beat Logan in a kind of hide-and-seek game in the forest.
Beat Logan in a hide-and-seek game while blindfolded.
He stood in the middle of what he hoped was a small clearing, trying to keep his mind blank and focused like Logan had taught him as he tightened his grip on the katana Logan had given him when he finished his sword training.
The wind slowly blew on his back, and he stiffened, turning his head side to side as he tried to figure everything out. He was thinking too much, and he couldn't hear anything except for his heart pounding in his ears.
This wasn't going to work; Kurt could tell right away. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly, trying to feel the elements as Logan had told him to do. The sound of his heart pounding in his ears soon died down, and Kurt soon got a mental picture of what was around him.
His feet flexed and unflexed, telling him that he was on grass that was still wet from the drizzle they had had in the morning. He slowly tilted his head to one side; he heard branches from trees banging lightly against each other, telling him which way the wind was blowing.
The thing he noticed was that all around him the branches in the trees were swaying and making some sort of sound. All of them that is, except for one on his left.
Slowly, Kurt turned his katana around in a full circle before he started to move forward and slightly to the left, trying not to let on that he knew. He made his tail slowly sway towards the left, feeling out how far away the trees were. After he had made his guess, he teleported and hoped to God that he didn't end up impaled in a tree.
Luckily, Kurt didn't end up impaled on any branches, and he was rewarded with a Snikt sound as Logan leapt back and got ready to fight him.
"I thought you said I only had to find you!" Kurt said, bracing himself for a fight.
"Never make assumptions, Elf!" Logan said, charging at him suddenly. Kurt held his katana to the side and he deflected the claws that came at him. He moved all around, using his tail to tell him where things were as he deflected Logan's blows, listening to the whistling noise they made when they cut through the air in a slashed motion.
He kept it up until he felt that his hands and arms would get too numb to hold the katana anymore. Narrowing his eyes behind his blindfold, Kurt teleported behind Logan and he stabbed as hard as he could, thinking that Logan would deflect the blow.
Instead, he felt it stab into something soft, and Logan growl softly in pain.
Gasping, he let go and he took off his blindfold, finding that he had stabbed Logan in the side pretty deeply. Clapping a hand over his mouth, his eyes grew wide as he tried to think of what to say as Logan pulled the katana out of his side.
"Logan..." he started.
"Nice move, Elf." Logan said with a smile. "The use of the tail helped you get better connected with everything in your surroundings."
"But your wound..."
"Is nothing." Logan said, waving his hand dismissively at him. Slowly, the wound started to close up and it was as if nothing had happened. Smiling at Kurt's surprise, Logan flipped the katana around and gave it to him handle first.
"You won." He said. "Congratulations, Elf!" Kurt smiled faintly, sheathing his katana as he followed Logan back to the mansion.
"I can't believe I did that!" he said. "I was so scared at first!"
"I know." Logan nodded. "I could smell the fear on you." Kurt blushed faintly, looking down at the ground.
"You could have at least lied about knowing." He said. Logan snorted softly.
"Ya beat me, what else do you want from me, Elf?" he asked. Kurt shrugged helplessly, placing a playful arm around Logan's shoulders.
"How about a kiss?" he asked. Logan calmly shoved him away by pressing his hand on Kurt's face as they entered the house.
"In your dreams maybe." He said.
"Kurt." Looking up, Kurt cocked an eyebrow slightly at Scott.
"Were you waiting for me?" he asked. Scott nodded, uncrossing his arms slightly.
"The Professor wants to see you. He says that some people came to see you." He said. Looking over at Logan with raised eyebrows, Kurt shrugged and he climbed the stairs and entered Charles' study, finding the man sitting down and leafing through a manuscript.
Looking up, Charles smiled and he stood up, taking Kurt lightly by the arm and leading him over to the front of the school, keeping his back to the door.
"Scott said that some people were here for me." Kurt said. Charles nodded a bit, smiling faintly at him.
"Yes, that's correct."
"Who is it?" Kurt asked, looking at Charles anxiously.
"Now calm down, Kurt." Charles said seriously. "You need to be under control when you see them and..."
"Is it my tribe? Have they come for me?" Kurt asked excitedly. Charles sighed softly, looking down slightly.
"Yes and no, Kurt." He said. Kurt frowned slightly, tilting his head to one side.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"They'll be able to tell you better than I can." Charles said.
"Who are they though?" Kurt insisted.
"Stop asking so many questions!" someone laughed from behind. "That's what always annoyed mother you know!" Looking over his shoulder, Kurt's eyes grew wide at the sight of his brother Stefan waiting just outside the door for him. Stefan was nearly knocked down to the ground as his little brother leapt up and hugged him tightly around the neck. Laughing, he patted him lightly on the back.
"*Devlesa avilan!*" he cried happily. Stefan smiled faintly at him.
"*Devlesa araklam tume.*" he said, before he realized that Kurt was hugging a bit too tightly around his neck. "I'm happy to see you too!" he said. "But I would like to breathe too." Laughing, Kurt let go and he looked around, tears of happiness falling down his cheeks.
"Where are the others?" he asked. "Tell me!" he said desperately. Stefan laughed, shaking his head a bit.
"You don't need to cry about this, Kurt." He said. "Everything is all right now!"
"But where are the others?" Kurt asked, looking at him anxiously. "Where are mother, Jimaine, Gummi, Haus, and the others?" Stefan's face became sad for a moment, but then he smiled faintly and tilted his head to one side.
"Turn around." He said simply. Confused, Kurt did so, and his mouth opened slightly in awe.
Jimaine was standing in the doorway beside Charles, her hands clasped in front of her slightly. A large headscarf was placed over her head, covering most of it except for her face, which sparkled with the light of her smile as she waved lightly at Kurt.
Something was off however, but Kurt couldn't put his finger on it. He shrugged it off and he ran up to hug her, but she stepped back slightly, taking his hands in her own instead.
"I'm so glad to see you again, brother." Jimaine said. Kurt smiled and tried to kiss her on the cheek, but she moved her head away, making him look at her in confusion.
"What's going on?" he asked, looking from Jimaine to Stefan. Stefan looked over at Jimaine, and he sighed softly, turning back to Kurt.
"We're the only ones left, Kurt." He said softly. Kurt looked at him in horror, slowly shaking his head as he turned to Jimaine.
"He's lying." He said. "Tell me he's lying!" He tried to touch her face, and she looked away, her eyes watery and sparkling with her tears.
"Jimaine?"
"Show him what happened, Jimaine." Stefan said softly. "It's the only way that he'll understand." Nodding sadly, Jimaine undid the knot under her chin and she let the headscarf fall to the ground.
Kurt and everyone who was in the room at the time stared at her helplessly, looking at her shaven head and missing left ear. It looked like someone had taken a knife and attacked it crazily, hacking it away to nothing but a hole in the side of her head. All that was left of her hair was enough to make a ponytail, and it was the headscarf that kept it in place and made it look as if she still had her hair.
"We tried to go to Moravia." Stefan explained softly, showing Kurt the "V" that was branded on his chest. "We were captured on the border however, and we tried to escape, but their laws were to kill whoever resisted, and almost everyone was killed right away in that.
"When it was over, only Jimaine, Gummi, and I were left alive. They shaved Jimaine and Gummi bald, and Gummi died when they started to cut off her ear. They branded us with these V's on our chests, marking us for slavery for two years.
"We broke out after a year and a half, and we've been looking for you ever since."
Tears flowed freely down Kurt's cheeks and he turned to Jimaine, lightly running a finger down the hole on the side of her head. She looked down, ashamed at her scarred looks.
Kurt slowly hugged her, burying his face in her neck, feeling completely helpless.
"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I'm so sorry."
***
Romani Translation:
Devlesa avilan: It is God who brought you
Devlesa araklam tume: It is with God that we found you