by Poppets of the Pearl
a.k.a. Cherry-Alanna and LittleBlackStarz
Disclaimer: You know what we own. Adelia. Odessa. The plot. No stealing. And please no flames--be kind. Don't spoil the movie for us. But, Constructive criticism is accepted, with thanks.
~Chapter 8: A Gypsy Caravan
By half past ten, the rather interesting looking quartet the group made ventured into the restless caravan. The place stood lonesome on the outskirts of town, but the many huts and tents rang proud. The rich, red dust, and mud, flew through the air, giving the caravan a rich, ruby glow. More than a hundred gypsies milled around the place, coins and bells dangling from their wrists and ankles.
To Odessa, it was home; to Adelia, it was her never-forgotten past.
The people practically looked the same as her gypsy practically looked the same as her gypsy caravan, prancing and dancing about. They wore the same skirts, scarves, and jewelry as Adelia remembered. Spotting the fortune teller's hut, Adelia half expected to see her mother come through the entrance. It was too much for her; the sights, smells, and sounds. They carried harsh memories that the wench had desperately tried to forget.
Noticing Adelia's fallen look, Jack became worried; he had been so wrapped up in how own needs and problems to even consider how Adelia would react to visiting another caravan. And for that he felt terrible.
Without speaking, Jack approached Adelia and in a silent apology put a comforting arm around her shoulders. She, in turn, reacted by placing her head on his shoulder, accepting his unspoken apology. There was no need for words, they knew each other too well for dialect to be needed at that moment.
Odessa, spotting the little exchange between the two pirates, sighed inwardly. It was sweet; if not a little romantic. Odessa was a romantic at heart; she personally believed that with the encouragement of love, one could do anything. And it was always delightful for her to be in the presence of romance, even though she felt a pang of longing at the same time. They just had to be lovers, it was the only explanation, and Odessa wouldn't pry apart two lovers for the world, but her head and her heart just couldn't agree.
Will also noticed the transaction between Adelia and Jack. He had absolutely no idea what it meant, but to him it looked as though Jack was comforting Adelia. Why would he do that? Better yet--why Adelia even need comfort? No matter what the reason though, Will felt his anger towards Adelia soften, and felt his guilt decrease. Nevertheless, there was a memory pulling at him from the previous night; something he felt he should be remembering. Yet, try as he might, he couldn't put a finger on the memory.
Shrugging off the annoying feeling, Will offered his arm to Odessa, indicating they should enter; she gladly took it.
~
As Odessa proudly led the three shipmates to her family home, she gave them a brief tour of the caravan. She showed them gypsy crafts and inventions that the outcasts were eagerly assembling, yet all the while the workers would stop and stare at the visitors with curiousity.
Coming upon the fortune teller's lair, Adelia looked at her feet as she walked, not wanting to remember her mother. Nevertheless her silent request was denied as an unknowing Odessa led the two men and wench inside.
The room that they came upon first was tiny and dimly lit, creating odd and eerie shadows along the adobe walls. Directly across from this doorway was an archway with handmade bead strings hanging from it. Odessa entered this new room first, indicating for her companions to follow her through the beaded domain. Will eagerly did, followed by a neutral Jack, and last but not least was an unsure Adelia. After glancing longingly back at the last viewable rays of sunlight, Adelia hesitantly followed the rest to the fortune teller.
Inside this novel surrounding hung the heavy scent of incense and the light of small candles that seemed freshly lit. In the center of the room was a circular table, and seated in the largest chair was an elderly woman. And placed before her were numerous tarot cards and a clear, crystal ball.
The woman's steel gray hair was wound into a tight bun atop her head, and her small eyes were closed; either from concentration, or from sleep. The seer wore many crystal and colorful necklaces around her sagging neck. In addition, the bright colors of her clothes brought out her natural tan skin. Adelia silently concluded that the woman must have been a beauty in her day, but had lost her looks with time. Yet, one didn't need beauty to read a palm.
Odessa approached the woman and gave her a light shake. The woman's eyes immediately shot open revealing a pure, queer emerald green. A rather unnerving green actually. The old woman smiled at her unexpected visitors, showing her long, and somewhat blackened, teeth. When she spoke, her voice was husky, yet soft and comforting.
"Come," she commanded, "Take a seat; I'm Rosemary, and let me read your future using the mystic powers of the gypsy ways."
Adelia inwardly laughed at that. 'Mystic gypsy ways,' she thought. 'What a crock.'
The aging woman continued as the young people sat--Odessa, Jack, Adelia, and then Will. "Now who would like to have their palm read for a doubloon?" Without waiting for an answer, she forcefully grabbed the nearest hand: Will's. He was literally jerked forward as she took it and placed it upward in front of her beady eyes, surveying it.
"Hmm..." was what Rosemary continually murmured, making Adelia scoff distastefully at the woman's dramatics. Each time she did this, Adelia earned a glare from Odessa, ones which the wench didn't catch, but Jack did and it made him smile. 'Women,' was what he thought each time.
Finally Rosemary spoke, and ran one long finger down Will's palm, making him squirm. "This, my dear boy," she started, running a finger down a certain cease, "is your heart line." The line she was fingering happened to be the wrong one, yet Adelia didn't say anything. "I see from it that you are a very passionate person, and happen to have a lot of emotional stress on your mind. Perhaps a lost love. Perhaps a new one." At that, Rosemary looked up and locked eyes with Adelia, which the younger woman didn't connect the reason with until much later. "Which brings us to your line of affection; it symbolizes the love you possess in your heart."
Will leaned in with newfound interest. "What do you see, madam?"
"To read further, you must pay gradually. I charge by the line," Rosemary replied, smiling.
Adelia smirked. "You failed to mention that before, Mistress."
Rosemary laughed falsely. "It must have slipped my mind, young missy."
Jack eyed the glossy exchange between Adelia and the fortune teller; he didn't like where it was going, especially with the irregular mood his friend was in. "I very highly doubt that."
Before things could get two out of hand, Adelia, without thinking, grabbed Will's hand from Rosemary, as if to prove a point to the greedy seer.
Correcting the gypsy, Adelia pointed out the correct heart line; a cease that slants upward throughout mid-palm. "This is your heart line and it does indeed signify one's passion and emotional response. However, the line of affection is what predicts love, marriage, and children. Now, at some point in our lives, most of us experience unrequited passions, along with the pain of separation or rejection. All of these particular emotions will be mirrored on the palm, as well as one's attitude towards romance." Fingering the soft skin under his thumb, Adelia continued, "This is the Mount of Venus. Yours is a full mount, which means you're a passionate lover. It is also rather low, which means that passion and desire are stronger than reasoning ability; your heart always will control your head. Also, notice the length of your line of affection and how it intercepts with your life line....this means that you are going to have a long life filled with--"
Adelia, realizing the current position of their entwined hands, stopped jabbering and looked up to meet Will's eyes. His light brown pools were focused intimately and intently on her. It was then that Adelia found herself staring into them just as focused. Time seemed to stand still just for them.
She swallowed nervously, and desperately tried to break the gaze but found that she couldn't. Yet, she didn't truly know if she couldn't or if she just didn't want to.
Their joined hands and nearness of their bodies seemed so right, so tranquil, that Adelia was taken aback a moment. However, when she realized that she was thinking thoughts of how handsome he was, she broke the contact.
"Love," she finished. "The length of that line means you're going to have a long life filled with love."
He nodded, grinning lightly. He knew he had only known Adelia for a couple of days, but he believed in love at first sight more than he would admit. In addition, when he felt the instant jolt of lightening between them; when he felt the softness of her skin brush against his; when he saw the brief spark of passion in her eyes; when he realized he wanted to reach for her with ever fiber of his being. That was when he knew.
~*~
Odessa, giddy with excitement, led her new acquaintances, and daresay friends, to her home. It was larger than the rest of the homes, and just as proud.
Inside were beautiful hand woven carpets of rich reds and shimmering gold upon the floor, and crystal charms that were eager to catch the light hung from the adobe ceiling.
Adelia, who was desperately trying to keep a distance between herself and Will, was vigorously attempting to simmer odd, boiling feelings for Will down. She was failing miserably. And to no one would she admit that.
Instead, she trailed close behind Odessa, not really surveying any aspect of the gypsy home.
Coming upon what her guests assumed were the living quarters, Odessa found her grandparents lazily lounging upon the throw rugs on the dirt floor.
The elderly folk stood up at their entrance, only to have a slight surprising spring in their step. Odessa's grandparents politely nodded to the young, red-headed girl beside their granddaughter, but stopped mid-action when a very interesting man with bead in his swarthy hair came through the opening. Behind him was a young and handsome youth that could easily set a female heart afluffer.
Odessa's grandmother's eyes somewhat enlarged, showing her surprise and queer glee.
Smiling flirtatiously, the older women interjected, "Whoa! Are these two men with you, Odessa dear?" At her grandmother's nod, she continued to survey them. "Sign me up for the next four!"
Jack smirked, not really sure if he should truly be flattered by the woman's comment, yet she seemed harmless, so he continued to smile. Will, however, was a little shocked to say the least.
With his newfound thoughts and feelings running through his head, Will hadn't exactly been paying much attention. Now that he was, he found some old gypsy smiling fully at him. It was a little unnerving.
Odessa, too, smiled at her grandmother's comment, and at the extremely different reactions between the two men. Her grandmother, despite her age, never ceased to amaze anyone, even her husband of 40 years.
Looking over at Jack and Will, Odessa locked eyes with the pirate captain, though it wasn't intentional. But in the end, she was glad that she had.
His eyes twinkled at hers with a secret passion that she was oblivious to, one that kept her wondering. He was such a fascinating man to her, and just for that originality she respected him. Respected and admired him, in more ways than one.
Odessa softly smiled at that; she was such a romantic sometimes, it was scary. But she couldn't resist it, she had grow up around the soft, yet passionate, love of her grandparents, and if was only natural that she had inherited
it.
Nevertheless, Jack was in love with another. Which meant, whatever little infatuation Odessa had would have to stop.
But as she met Jack's eyes again, she knew that it was more than an infatuation. And that getting over it wouldn't be simple.
~*~
Diane Langley--Thanks for your insightful review. Your question is perfectly normal about Will and Odessa, and I'm glad someone finally asked. And the answer is No, they really don't have a relationship yet, because they don't know each other. But if you found a long-lost relative, there would be instant compassion for that person. That's all there is. Thanks for your other review too and I'm glad that you like the relationship between Adelia and Will; I didn't want there to be instant love between the characters, because well, that isn't life. Adelia is probably my favorite character that I've ever written. (Odessa's belongs to littleblackstarz and Adelia belongs to me, Cherry-Alanna). KEEP READING!! ;-)