Okay so I know that gypsies probably weren't around at the time that this took place, but ... bear with me. Also, this might be slightly historically inaccurate, but I hope you read it anyway, because it's going to get a lot better!

Also I got my first review on this story! Yay! Thanks a lot!

BlueSun91:Well, I can't give any secrets away about the story, so you'll just have to read and find out what nation is involved!

Chapter Two

Her uncle hitched up the wagon on a lone tree as Mei Li watched in bitter silence. He quieted down the horse, and untied Lei Lei's rope from the cart and led her quietly to the open-air market that was several yards away. Li trailed behind, becoming suddenly aware of her shoddy appearance and second-hand clothes as they approahced the hustle and bustle of early morning bargain hunters.

"Get your fresh produce! Hand picked yesterday! Known for quality!" shouts were heard from all around as dealers tried desperately to make some profit off the day's merchandise. Mei Li stopped to admire some jewelry, and the man behind the make-shift counter started talking to her.

"You like jewels, eh? Tell you what. You buy one, and I'll throw in this pendant for free. Goes great on any chain you might have lying around at home. Whaddya say?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," she stuttered, blushing. "I was just looking." Of course she had no money to spend on fine things like jewelry. She fingered her locket, as was her habit when she got nervous.

"That's a pretty necklace you got there, missy," said the man. "You looking to sell it?"

"Oh, no, of course not." she said, holding it close. "It was a gift from my father. It's very old."

"Really? Can I have a look-see?" Not waiting for Mei Li to answer, the man asked another question. "It's a locket, isn't it? Does it open?"

"Well, I imagine it did at one point." Li answered. "But it's so old that it's rusted shut. I'm afraid I wouldn't like to try and open it, anyhow, in case it broke."

"Hm, I see," said the man; his way of ending the conversation. Mei Li was about to leave, but the man was desperate for a customer, so he started talking again.

"I hear the gypsy fair is coming to town tomorrow."

"I thought it was two days?" Mei Li responded, suddenly interested.

"Well, two days is when they open up for entertainment. They need time to set up camp though, and they'll be arriving to do so tomorrow."

"Oh," Mei Li said, not knowing what else to say.

"I can see you're planning on going," the man guessed. "Are you sure you don't want to buy a piece of jewelry for the occasion? You know how gypsies always dress up and wear tons of jewels. Well you'd blend right in if you bought some..."

"Sorry, but no," Mei Li said. "I have to go now."

The man muttered something inaudibly, but Mei Li didn't care what he said. She wandered back into the crowd, trying to find her uncle.

She found him a few minutes later, haggling with a short, round man over the price for Lei Lei.

"I tell you, that is my final offer!" The short man shouted.

"I'm selling you a cow that will give you at least three weeks of dinner for yourself, and you're offering me a price that wouldn't even feed my family for three days? I'm sorry, I can't do business this way," said Li's uncle, and he started to walk away.

"Fine, fine," the short man yelled to him. "I'll raise it by 50, but that is my final offer."

He pretended to think about the offer for a minute or two, then stuck out his hand and said, "Deal." He handed the man the rope tied around Lei Lei's neck, and the man fished through his pockets to hand him the money in exchange.

"Pleasure doing business with you," the short man smiled, and Li's uncle nodded in return. After the man left, he turned to Mei Li and said, "Here, take some of this money, would you, and go buy us two loaves of bread and some salt. We're running short."

Remembering that she was still mad at her uncle, Mei Li put on a face and stuck out her hand to receive the money. "Fine," she mumbled, and walked off.

"And don't take too long, Li." He called to her as she sauntered away. "The sun sure is shining and I don't think I can take this heat much longer. Plus, we need to get back to your aunt and make sure she hadn't burned the farm down." he chuckled to himself, and Mei Li rolled her eyes.

Finding the loaves of bread and the salt didn't take Li that long at all. But she was mad at her uncle, and purposely took a long time for the sole purpose of annoying him. He can sweat like a pig for all I care. She thought angrily. And as for the farm, I certainly don't care if it burns down. That'd mean we'd have to move, and I could get away from this boring old place.

Li managed to take up twenty minutes, walking around as she pleased, looking at different merchandise, pretending to examine things for possible purchase. She even haggled with a man over the price of an expensive vase, though she didn't have any money for it, and in the end walked away, pretending that the man's offer was too outrageous.

She finally decided she should get back to her uncle, because she was getting hungry and the ride back home wasn't going to be any shorter the longer she took. She started heading back in the direction in which her uncle was waiting, holding the loaves and salt in her hands.

When she neared where her uncle had been waiting, she noticed a large crowd gathered around one spot. Confused, she walked over and tried to push her way through to see what all the commotion was about.

"He was just standing there, perfectly fine when I suddenly saw him start to sway, and then he just fell over!" A woman that Li did not recognize was recounting what she saw to the person standing next to her. Mei Li paled at hearing this. Images started flashing through her mind... her uncle lying on the ground, a crowd surrounding him, she rushing to his side only to find that he was dead.

"What's going on?" she asked a tall man.

"An old man just fell over for no apparent reason." He said.

"Is he okay? What was his name?"

"Sorry, I haven't -"

Mei Li didn't bother to wait around for his answer. She started pushing through the crowd, the inevitable sense of doom growing stronger with every passing second.

"Move, move!" she said as she forced her way to the man. She broke through to him, and saw her uncle lying on the ground. And he wasn't breathing.

She knelt beside him and touched him. He didn't respond. She put the bread and the salt down next to him, held his hand and started crying.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." she said. "I wasn't really mad at you, I was just having a bad day, is all. I didn't mean it. I don't have to go to the fair if we can't afford it."

"Dear," a lady said, trying to get her to stand up. "Why don't you come with me? The authorities will be here any minute and -"

Mei Li wasn't listening to her. "I brought the bread and the salt like you asked. Come on, get up. We have to make sure Aunt didn't burn down the farmhouse, remember? Get up, please, just get up!" She started sobbing uncontrollably, unable to talk anymore. The lady tried to help her up again, but Li pushed her away. "I knew it," she muttered. "I knew this was going to happen and I didn't even do anything about it. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have left him alone for so long."

"It's not at all your fault, now come along," the lady finally got Li to stand up. "Look, the authorities are here ... they'll take care of everything, okay? Now, tell me where you live and I'll get you home to your family."

Mei Li said nothing, but silently led the lady back to the lone tree where the cart was still tied up, the tears running down her face and onto her clothes. All she could think of were those images of her uncle, the crowd ... the same images she had seen in her dream last night. And she remembered that this had not been the first time something like this had happened.

Ooh, exciting, no? Since even I'm excited to see the progress of this story, I'll try to update asap. Please continue to R&R!