Chapter 11: Happiness in Small Doses
"Danwell…" Danielle turned from her seat near the fire towards the tiny voice. She could hardly see the soon-to-be-three year old boy hidden under the thick wool blanket he had wrapped around his body.
"Why hello there." She responded sweetly. A wide smile instantly appeared across her face when she saw the little boy blush. He crinkled his nose happily, and let out a small giggle that made Danielle feel warm and tingly inside.
"Danwell… umm…." The little boy stuttered.
"Yes?"
"Can…. Umm…. We pway, da nosy game agin?" Danielle nodded instantly. She turned around fully so that she was now facing the little boy. He let the blanket fall off his body, allowing her to fall in love with him all over again. His name was Sonny, and he was the sweetest little thing she had ever seen. Short, fluffy, soft hair the color of ravens feathers, which directly contrasted his bright blue eyes. Eyes that were big, and happy and innocent. And he was so small, even for a child of two. And yet what his body lacked his personality more then made up for. Danielle had watched him all night long as he played with the other children. He was always the first one to offer a helping hand to anyone in need. And oh how he loved to laugh!! Danielle thought it was the single sweetest sound she'd ever heard.
Danielle put her hands behind her back and Sonny instantly grew excited. Her face grew serious and the little boy was mesmerized by her words. "You know why your not supposed to wonder too far out in the woods, correct?" Sonny shook his head no, but there was a huge smile on his face. This was his fourth time playing this game, so yes he did know. "Well, let me tell you, there is a tree in the woods called the cheeky tree, and inside the cheeky tree lives a family of nose flies."
"Nosy fwhys?" Sonny asked, right on queue.
"Yes, Nose Flies. Do you know what nose flies do?" Sonny shook his head again, but his smile grew even brighter and he was bouncing up and down in anticipation.
"They come out of the tree and steal your nose!!" Danielle exclaimed as both of her hands flew from behind her back. She pinched the little boy's nose in-between her pointer and her middle finger and as she pulled away she stuck her thumb between them. Sonny giggled wildly, and bounced up and down.
"Da fwhy's got me nosy!!" he squealed. Danielle laughed merrily, and when Sonny decided to jump into her lap she was happy to oblige. She held him close, and he wrapped his small arms around her belly. When the two stopped giggling they stayed there a minute or two longer. Each of them enjoying the closeness.
Danielle heard someone clear their over her shoulder and she turned around to face the person. She was still holding Sonny who had buried his nose deep in her stomach. It was Gabriel. He was smiling happily, obviously drawing delight from the merry scene he'd witnessed.
"Sonny, don't you think it's time to tell Danielle goodnight, and head on to bed?" Danielle heard Sonny groan in protest.
"I nah tired." He said simply.
"Sonnyyy…" Gabriel began slowly. Sonny apparently knew what was coming, because he made no farther protests. He let go of Danielle's body and allowed himself to slide off her lap. For a moment Danielle felt empty, almost in withdrawal from the warmth and closeness of the little boy's body. Sonny picked up his blanket off the ground and rewrapped himself inside it. He turned to walk away, but stopped suddenly and ran back up to Danielle.
"Danwell give me kissys first." He said, it sounded more like a command then a request. Danielle again pulled him into her lap and smothered his small face with soft kisses. Sonny squealed with delight at the attention and then he pulled away only to plant a wet kiss on Danielle's nose. It was Danielle's turn to squeal, and to her surprise she felt a stray tear wonder its way down her cheek. She hoped Sonny would not see it, and to her relief he didn't. Once his feet hit the ground he ran towards a tent where several children were already sleeping.
"He's such a beautiful boy." Danielle said softly as soon as Sonny was out of sight. Gabriel smiled broadly.
"Yes. I'm quite proud of him."
"He's yours?" Danielle asked. She didn't know why she was so surprised.
"You couldn't tell? Mary Grace say's he's got my smile."
"Oh, of course!!" Danielle realized happily, "I had wondered why his little face seemed so familiar!!" Gabriel chuckled.
"You know Danielle, that you may stay here as long as you like. You are always welcome among us." She nodded but said nothing. That was nice to hear. It was good to feel wanted again.
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The mood leaving the De Ghent manor was lighter by far, although again everyone remained silent. This time, however, all parties concerned knew that it was not out of nervousness but more so out of exhaustion. Henry resumed his position at the window. Watching the dark countryside roll by slowly. He wondered how he was going to find Danielle to tell her that she now owned her precious farm. He would start the search tomorrow, he decided. Right now he desperately needed a change of clothes and a good nights rest.
The Queen gazed at her son with pride. Today he had become a man. Her heart skipped beats as she remembered the way he addressed the De Ghent's. He was fearless, and sure of himself. She had never seen him take such great pride and joy from doing something regal. Amazing.
The King, on the other hand was trying like hell not to burst out laughing. Try as he might, his eyes kept wondering down to the horrid stain in Henry's lap. He decided he couldn't take it any longer.
"I smell pie." He said very matter-of-factly. He heard his wife snort involuntarily. His eyes moving up to Henry's face, he saw him crack a smile, and then finally his resolve broke, and he started to giggle. His giggling was all the prodding the King needed to let out a huge belly laugh, and that just gave Henry more fuel to laugh harder. The Queen tried to no avail to remain solemn, but when she noticed that her son and his father were now laughing so hard that they were in tears, she broke down.
The Royals laughed until they thought sure their sides were going to split. And even as Henry struggled to keep his bladder from misbehaving, somewhere it registered that it felt damned good to laugh again.
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"I hope you don't find me rude, Gabriel, but I'm afraid I have a few questions that I need for you to answer." Danielle sipped her hot apple cider slowly. The warm liquid felt wonderful sliding down her throat and into her stomach. She and Gabriel sat before the fire. Each of them had a wool blanket wrapped around their bodies. Danielle couldn't explain it, but at that time in that place everything that had happened in the last week seemed to slip away.
"Ask me anything you like. We're friends aren't we?" Gabriel said taking a long sip of his cider.
"Of course." Danielle replied, suddenly a little nervous. She took a moment to gather her thoughts before she spoke any of them.
"Gabriel, how do you know my name?" She asked quickly. She was careful to look anywhere but at her host. If she had she would have seen the confusion written all over his face. He thought for a moment, searching for a suitable answer. When none came to mind, he was forced to ask her to reiterate.
"I'm afraid I don't understand." He replied.
"When I came here last," Danielle began, "I came here with Henry. And Henry… well Henry thought…."
"That you were someone else." Gabriel said finishing her thought, "yes I remember now. What did he call you? Nancy?"
"Nicole." Danielle's voice was soft, almost a whisper. Her stomach rolled a few times, and now she wished she had passed on the cider.
"Yes, Nicole." Gabriel seemed to fallow Danielle's lead, his voice growing small as well.
"And yet, when I arrived here, you addressed me as Danielle. Why is that?" Danielle's curiosity got the better of her, and she found her voice again. So many questions.
"Was I wrong?" Gabriel asked, still a tad confused.
"No, no. Not at all, I was just curious as to how you knew my actual name." Suddenly it clicked with Gabriel and he smiled softly.
"Ah yes. We gypsies are everywhere. Society likes to think that we are a wild people who live on the outskirts, and rarely interact with the rest. But I can assure you that this is not the case. You see, we do many things the rest of the world do. We fall in love, we work, we cook, we get sick, we go to the market," he paused and looked at Danielle who now understood where he was going with this, "I have been sending one of my men to buy apples from your farm stand for years. He always comes back with tales of the pretty girl with mischievous eyes." Danielle felt herself blush deeply. Her thoughts seemed to scatter in the wind.
"Well, thank you very much for keeping my secret. Because of you, and the generosity of your people I have memories that shall last me a life time." Gabriel grew serious, and Danielle wished she had not burdened him with her problems.
"Memories?" Gabriel asked, a hint of sadness and confusion in his voice, "Pardon me ma'am but from what I saw that night, it seemed like the boy was smitten. Don't tell me that he's that damn fickle." A small chuckle escaped Danielle's lips.
"A lot has happened since that night." She said simply.
"I see." There was a long pause in conversation. Gabriel although he wanted to know more, was much too much of the gentleman to ask any questions. Danielle had suddenly grown sad and wished she'd never mentioned any of it. There were still so many questions, and yet they all seemed so insignificant now. "So Mary Grace tells me you fell off our horse." Gabriel said, desperately trying to change the subject. Danielle's stomach lurched suddenly. That was the last thing she wanted to talk about.
"Yes, I did." She replied, not wanting to appear rude.
"Have your wounds been dressed?" Gabriel asked. His eyes were full of concern, and Danielle wound have thought of it as sweet, if she wasn't nauseous.
"Yes they have. Listen, it is quite late. I think I should like to go to bed for the night." She didn't give Gabriel a chance to respond. Instead she simply stood up and headed towards the tent she had been assigned too. Gabriel sat there a moment longer before he decided that since everyone else had gone to bed that it was safe to put out the fire. Once the coals were put out, he walked over to the tent he shared with his wife. As he lay down in bed he made a mental note to have a long talk with Mary Grace in the morning.