Ravenna slowly peeked into the room that held Mush the next morning rather timidly. She wasn't quite sure how he would receive her due to her harsh words the previous afternoon. However, despite her aversion to apologizing, it really stung the ego, she knew it was necessary if she was going to attempt to push past her prejudices.
To her surprise she found that Mush was still asleep. Pushing the door open wider, her skirts made a rustling noise as she quickly made her way over to Mush's bedside. Setting her things upon the nearby chair she immediately felt Mush's forehead and gave a groan when she felt it hot again. This was definitely not a good sign. Yesterday he was doing so fine! Yet yesterday he also tried to fix himself something to eat. Moaning in frustration, as well as aggravation at herself for her own stupidity, she immediately began to hurry about and pile blankets upon the feverish newsboy. She was going to try to sweat this out of him before she even thought about facing that temptatious spot otherwise known as a washing room. She would avoid being caught in such a precarious position if she had any say in the situation.
An hour later, Mush was in bed thrashing around under what seemed to be ten borrowed Newsie blankets. She only hoped that those empty beds in the bedroom down the hall would stay empty until she could have them properly cleaned. She was not planning on having to nurse anymore boys back to health. Turning around Ravenna began to prepare a cold compress to place upon Mush's forehead when Mush's voice shattered the silence.
"Soske Prala Soske?"
Jumping in surprise, Ravenna whipped around to face her sick patient. She discovered him flailing about, shaking his head from side to side while his face was scrunched up in desperation.
"Hush kacker Dilo! Li' ha' eer Maronae'sko moarte tu prastlo. Marona se Romni"
She didn't understand what he was saying for it was not in any language she had ever heard before; yet, for some reason, it troubled her deep inside, she felt connected to it in some way. However, before Ravenna could analyze why she felt such a pull on her heart, Mush's restlessness got increasingly violent, and she became afraid he would injure himself.
" 'Chavaia Nano Balo 'Chavaia! 'Chavaia! Nano Balo 'Chavaia! Dat! Dat!"
Mush suddenly stopped moving and was deathly still except for his whimpering " 'Chavaia" over and over again. With shaking hands Ravenna hesitantly pressed the cold compress against Mush's forehead, for she feared that touching him might trigger the violent movement again.
Yet Mush was eerily still the rest of the day, and since his fever was still raging as high as it was when she entered in the morning, Ravenna was hesitant to leave his side.
"You don't need to stay the night Ravenna, one of us will."
Ravenna rolled her eyes in response to Jack's comment when he entered the room after his day of selling "papes." She took a deep breath before trying to convince Jack that she was going to be the one nursing Mush tonight.
"Look Cowboy, I'm the one who caused his relapse and so I'll be the one helping him tonight. Besides, if anyone else tried to help him they'd just get sick and then I'd be in the same situation as I was with Mush and Les. You might as well face the facts and admit that I'll be staying the evening. So, if you don't mind, please let Elena know that I'll be here tonight."
Throwing his hands up in frustration he stalked out of the room causing Ravenna to smile in triumph. It was about time she won an argument with Jack Kelly, she was beginning to think that she'd lost her womanly knack at winning debates.
The evening went on without much excitement. Mush's forehead was still extremely hot, and Ravenna was unable to do much about it except keep the blankets upon him and pray. It was sometime closer to one in the morning when Ravenna managed to doze off to sleep, her head resting upon the bed near Mush's waist, when the dreams came as they normally did.
"Soske Balo soske! Tu se didlo! Se Roma! Moarte tu prastlo sutho."
Her momma was talking to those mean men in a language she'd never heard before, perhaps that would get them to go away. She'd hid as her momma had told her to. She was a good girl.
"Ves'tacha, we are going to play a game ok? I need you to find the best hiding spot you can and I want you to stay there quietly until I come find you ok? I want you to be as quiet as a mouse; can you do that for me Ravenna, pisliskurja? Can you be a good girl for Momma and go hide?"
She had found the best hiding spot, right underneath her parent's bed, someplace that no one big could get too, just someone her size. It was a Ravenna size hiding spot and she knew that her momma would be so proud of her when she found her, if she could. Ravenna would have giggled and given away her secret had she not heard a deep gravelly voice which caused her to shiver violently.
"Dosta! Hush kicker gaja!"
Her momma began screaming and sobbing in the strange language before going deathly silent. What had happened to momma? Suddenly the entire room was getting really hot, and she heard a door shut. What was going on? She smelled something burning and there was smoke, so much smoke! Momma! Momma what is going on? But she can't say anything, momma had told her to be quiet like a mouse she musn't do anything to make momma further upset. No, she would be momma's good girl, her little pisliskurja.
The flames were getting nearer, she could see it was a fire now, and it was scaring her so very much. Sorry momma, I wanted to be good, but I can't, I can't keep this inside anymore, I have to go, I need to flee. Screaming, Ravenna dashed from under the bed.
Sitting up in a sudden start, Ravenna's heart was pounding a thousand miles a minuet in her chest; putting one hand to her head, she attempted to stop the swaying room. She had not ever remembered that much in her dream before, usually she just remembered being under the bed, never the voices. Voices, what was it they had said? Where had she heard that language before? Ravenna felt as if there was something she was missing, something her mind was within inches of grasping, yet just as suddenly as the dream had come, it was beginning to fade away just as fast. It was as if she was trying to keep wet sand from the beach from slipping through her fingers. Yawning, Ravenna made a mental note that she needed to change Mush's forehead cloth, however sleep claimed her once more.
Sunlight streamed into the room, causing Ravenna's eyes to flutter awake, that and the slight pressure of a hand gently fumbling with a curl that was lying atop of her arm which had served as a pillow for her last night. Her mind registering that some foreign person was touching her, let alone while she had been sleeping, Ravenna flew into the sitting position again for the second within a time frame of twelve hours.
Her golden gaze met a mahogany one that held something inside of it which she was unable to place her finger upon. Both simply held the gaze for a while, neither wanting to sever the connection that seemed to be forming, as if slight threads were attempting to weave themselves together and simply gazing into each other's eyes allowed the work to be done. Mush's hand slowly began to rise from the bed in an attempt to push away a stray curl when Ravenna realized what was happening. Not simply that Mush, Mush of all people was trying to touch her and whom she had allowed to stare at her as if searching her soul, but that this same person was awake. Nay, not simply awake but seemed to have broke the fever and seem as if he was on the mend. Fumbling with her hands in an attempt to put a stop to whatever had been going on, she stood and brushed at the apron upon her skirt.
"Well, you gave us quite a scare yesterday." For some reason she wasn't able to say much more, her mind had gone blank. They simply stood in an awkward silence for a few moments.
"You came back."
Ravenna's caramel gaze softened and a gentleness entered her voice which had never been present in her conversations with him before.
"Yes, I did."
He gave a smile, it was weak because of his exhausted physical state, yet it brightened his face nonetheless, and managed to warm Ravenna down to her toes.
"I'm glad."
A slight blush started to creep up onto Ravenna's cheeks, causing her to lower her head as she mumbled an "I'm too" before realizing that she still had to apologize. Taking in a deep breath she lifted her head.
"Look, Mush, about the day before…"she trailed off to take another deep breath. She hated apologizing, admitting she was wrong. However, she knew that it was necessary to do if she was to move on with her life and begin to grow up, something she desperately needed to do. "I'm sorry. I was wrong to say those things and I'm asking for your forgiveness."
Mush's face hardened a bit taking on a more serious air before slowly nodding his head.
"All right. Done."
Ravenna was taken slightly aback as she cocked her head to one side in a quizzical manner.
"All right? That's it. You're simply accepting it like that?"
"My mother always said it was better to forgive than to hold grudges, because holding a grudge only hurts you, not the one you're mad at."
"Your mother must have been one smart woman."
Mush's smile made Ravenna's toes curl, a reaction that she was unsure how to respond to.
"Yes, she was." He didn't mention anything about Ravenna's mother, for that was the Newsie code. You don't ask about the past. If someone decided to share that was different, but you never pry.
A bit unsure of how to proceed, Ravenna bit her bottom lip and looked around before mentally kicking herself. What was she acting like? She had been raised to handle messier situations than apologizing to a good looking guy who was forced to stay in bed. Straightening her back she said the first thing that popped into her mind.
"Is your mother still alive?"
A hand flew up to cover her mouth as soon as the words had flown from her lips. How stupid could she be? He was generous to forgive her rude behavior yesterday, but that did not mean that he would be so lenient with her lack of restraint on her tongue just after his magnanimous offer. Waving her free left hand in the air as if to ward off the reply she closed her eyes.
Parting her middle and index finger, she mumbled through the opening, "No, don't answer that. Please forgive my lack of propriety. I should not have asked. The Lord knows I would have flown off the handle so to speak, should you have asked me the same question. Forgive me, again I ask."
Opening an eye and glancing in Mush's direction, she was relieved to see his expression turn from stoic to a slight smile.
"You do seem to be tripping all over yourself today don't you Nettle?"
A blush began to taint her cheeks as she lowered her hands and stared at them linked together in front of her.
A hand gently came to rest on her arm causing an electric current to shoot up to her shoulder, then down her to the bottom of her spine where it pooled then spread this tingling sensation along her lower back. Her eyes immediately shot up catching Mush's, who seemed to be withholding something from her. What was coming over her today? First the invisible web that felt as if it was tying them together, now this strange sensation that she had never felt before.
"Don't worry about it" were the words that broke the silence between them after a few seconds that Ravenna swore held an eternity within each and every one of them. She was not quite sure to what he meant when he said he was sorry, but the contact between them was not broken until she moved away from him.
Flashing him a smile, she gathered her book from the bag at the foot of the bedside table.
"You must be exhausted. I can't imagine you are up to much of anything after that fight last night. Don't let me keep you up." Settling herself in the chair she had slept in last night, after moving it a proper distance from the bed, Ravenna began to pick up where she had last left off.
She was interrupted by a slight clearing of the throat after a few moments had passed.
"You must have forgotten that I just recently awoke."
The blush which had begun to appear moments ago returned with a vengeance, staining her pinks a rosy hue.
"Ah, yes, well, I didn't wish to assume that since you had awoken that you truly had any interest in getting up for the day. I merely assumed that…"
Mush did not allow her to finish her sentence, for he interrupted with a question.
"What book is that you are reading?"
Looking upon the rather worn copy, Ravenna turned the cover to face her before she offered a slight smile.
"Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin. Have you read it?"
The blush on her cheeks furthered, and she swore that her face would resemble the British soldiers' army uniforms should she not learn to hold her tongue better.
"As a matter of fact I have."
His eyebrow was raised in a defiant challenge, and Ravenna could not help herself from rising to the challenge.
She learned that afternoon that Mush had a rather voracious appetite when it came to books, and had read quite a bit of written works. They discussed their favorite authors and works, as well as a multitude of other things. She found that at the end of the day she was rather disappointed their time together had come to an end, and she relatively eagerly awaited their next meeting, which seemed to become a pattern for the future days she spent with Mush. Ravenna found that the next few days of care passed by amicably. Between Mush's naps, nurse and patient chatted while Ravenna worked on her needle point and Mush merely watched her. It was to Ravenna's surprise that she found Mush to be a rather good conversationalist. He was neither poorly educated nor fanciful in thought. His ideas and points of view were both logical and well thought out. Who knew that a gypsy could be so well informed on politics or philosophical theories? On Thursday she made the mistake of mentioning this towards the end of their time together.
"I never would have guessed that you would be so interesting to talk to Mush."
This time it was his turn to be taken a back by a comment.
"What did you think talking to me would be like? Talking to a rock? I'm not ignorant you know. I went to school for a little while before becoming a Newsie, and I do actually read the papers I'm selling. Not only is it beneficial for business, but I enjoy knowing what's going on around me. I expected a comment like that from you a few weeks ago Ravenna, not today. I thought you'd changed."
Mush's eyes turned from melted chocolate to hardened mahogany as Ravenna's hand flew to her mouth.
"Mush, I…that wasn't …I mean…"
Before she could say anything further the sound of knuckles rapping upon the door interrupted her train of thought and Jack popped into the room. Looking between the two people already present, Jack's brows furrowed as his ever observant eyes took in the scene. Sensing that Mush was not in the best of moods Jack motioned his head towards the door.
"Boots is outside ready to walk you to Elena's. I think you better leave."
Hanging her head down in shame, Ravenna shuffled out the door. Would her mouth never cease to get her in trouble? She hadn't meant what she said to be an insult but a complement. She had seemed to truly underestimate who Mush was, and all she had wanted to do was tell him that. The thought of Mush mad at her bothered her. She had found that she truly enjoyed his company, and in the back of her mind, she had begun to consider Mush a friend. A rather good looking friend at that too.
It was while she was tossing and turning in her bed later that night that she finally admitted the whole truth to herself. She didn't want Mush mad at her simply because he was becoming her friend, but because she was finding herself more and more attracted to him. Not just physically, but intellectually, emotionally. Mush had become someone she enjoyed spending time with, and when they accidentally touched one another, the same thing happened that did the first time. It was as if her body had been struck by lighting, tiny electric shocks ran up and down her spine.
Throwing herself on her right side, she closed her eyes tightly. What was she to do? She was attracted, well let's face the truth, she had always been attracted to Mush. That was what partially burned her animosity towards him. Sure, his relation and even appearance that resembled the people who had killed her family had aided in her dislike of Mush, yet it was also the fact that she had been attracted to the same person which had added fuel to the fire.
At that moment Ferocious mewed from the side she was facing, it appeared Ravenna had flopped herself onto her kitten tail. Mumbling an apology to the feline, Ravenna gathered the animal into her arms and cuddled it through the night. She was in desperate need of some guidance and comfort, and since Ferocious was the only one around, she was the one to receive all of the pent up emotions Rav had inside. As tears began to trace down Ravenna's face, Ferocious began to bump her head under Rav's chin.
A few hiccups emerged from Rav in response to her pet's actions.
"I'm sorry Ferocious, I'm just so lost. I don't know what to do. I…I like this guys but, well I'm not sure how to deal with that. First off, I don't even …I don't…ah lets just say it's complicated."
Mewing in response as if she had understood everything her mistress had said and had some deep words of wisdom to share, Ferocious began again to bump her head under Rav's chin.
"Aw, I love you too Ferocious"
Nuzzling her nose into the kitten's fur, Ravenna began to spill all that she had kept bottled inside, all of her feelings. At the end, after she had devised a plan of how to deal with Mush, she was so emotionally wrn out that she was asleep within mere minutes. Completely oblivious to the fact that her nearest and dearest friend Elena had been outside of Ravenna's bedroom door the entire time, soaking in all of the information she could.
Smiling to herself, Elena was making a plan of her own as she wandered back to her bedroom and settled in for what little sleep she could gain from the nearly ending night.
A/N: Ok, deeply apologize about this one too. hides I had this mostly written a long time ago cringes but I just couldn't finish it and then school happened and I don't even want to get into that. So, um…very sorry. But good news! I'm out of school in 3 weeks and them I'm taking the next semester off so that means more time to write. I promise! I have a plan, and this will be complete. :o) BTW sorry this wasn't beta-ed but I assumed you'd wanted this posted the sooner rather than later. And I'm not sure the things said in Romani are correctly"translated" So I apologize, if you know how to correctly do it I'd me more than happy to be corrected.P.S. an everlasting gobstopper for each person who correctly identifies what inspired the title....I'll give you a hint, its a movie and the title is slightly scewed from what it originally was.
Marona-Rav's mom's name
Balo-Mush's uncle's name
Mario-Mush's Romani name but Christian is his gajo (non Roma) name
Soske Prala Soske? Why brother why?
Hush kacker Dilo! Li' ha' eer Maronae'sko moarte tu prastlo Marona se Romni: Shut up and listen fool! By the gods Marona's death (makes) you unclean. (I don't know the Romani word for to make so I left it out sorry.) Marona is woman meaning Romani –of Roma-, you don't kill off fellow Roma
'Chavaia Nano Balo 'Chavaia! Stop uncle Balo stop!
Dat: Dad
Soske Balo soske! (we) se Roma! Tu se didlo! (our) moarte (makes) tu prastlo sutho: Why Balo why? We are Roma! We (our) death (makes) you unclean/dishonored forever! (Sorry, couldn't find what we, our or makes was in Romani.)
Ves'tacha: Beloved
Pisliskurja: Darling
Dosta! Hush kicker gaja! Enough! Shut up gaja (non Romani person –major insult to say to a fellow Romani person)
S/Os:
Rhys: Sorry, no Spot in this one, but he does play a part. Promise…though you know that hehe. Thanks so much for reading this for me and for encouraging me when I'm down about it :o)
Electricxrain: Thanks for being so faithful a reviewer even though I'm not as faithful an updater. I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I liked that Mush called her cute too. I hope this chapter was worth the wait.
The Good Girl: Yes, I would agree with your choice of words in regards to my updation of the last chapter…I assume you'll use the same phrase for this one...if you're still reading this fic after my long absence. I liked the last chapter of her getting flustered; it made me smile while I wrote it. I apologize for the tardiness of this, and hope that it was worth the wait. :o)
The Wonderfully Lurvly 3rd Person JP: Wow, tongueful. Be careful, or 3rd person Dreamer might come out with 3rd person JP. Hehe. I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. Your flattery of my writing makes me blush. Thank you for the complements though. I do hope this was worth the wait though…and perhaps this will be seen before we talk next so you won't have a heart attack in my presence and there won't be any hostile feelings that I haven't updated in aherm forever :o)
Cookechk02: I like that part of the story too. Hehe. Sorry for not updating sooner…but you can't complain as much as the others you already read some/most of this before I posted it….though that was weeks ago. hides Sorry for making you wait. You're the person I'm scared of the most 'cause you know where I live..wait that's with you hehehe. Roomy, I hope you can read this before we see each other next. Think of it was a belated Thanksgiving gift :o)
Morning Dew: I'm so glad you enjoy my story. Sorry for not updating sooner. I am glad that you are still reading it even though its no longer a part of the contest. I'm glad you like the fact that they are still not together 15 chapters into the story. (Wow, I take a LONG time moving this along. I'm surprised people aren't shooting me for its slowness.) But I wanted to make this realistic, isn't that a laugh realistic fiction that can't even be published cause its using copyrighted characters. Hehe. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for sticking with it. :o)
AABattery: Thank you for being faithful to review. I apologize that this wasn't up sooner. I'm so terrible at updations. You'll find out what was up with Jack later on. Promise. I hope you thought this chapter was worth the wait. :o)
Rumor: huggles Long time no talk Kansas! I hope things are well. Thank you for your review. I think others would agree with me in giving you the best reviewer award. Gotta love them Rumor reviews, sorry, Texas roots coming out (Mom's side). Anyway. Yes, treacherous hand that gets her in trouble, hehe that happens a lot to her doesn't it? Well you know what they say about subconscious impulses…ok neither do I , but still, must mean something. Yes things will be explained about Jack and Spot…but all in its due time :o) Woo you're an August baby too! So's my best bud..actually we're three days apart, kinda creepy. Well sorry for the lateness of this, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter :o)
Dimonah Tralon: Woohoo! First time reader and reviewer. That makes me smile! I'm glad you like how I'm taking my time wit the Rav and Mush. That's one thing I was going for. I don't want to rush it. Too many people do that and it bugs. I apologize for the wait and I hope this chapter made up for it in some way. :o)
MegabeeAthelete: Thanks for the e-mail review so long ago and for the nice complements/congrats. I never really thought of how many questions the last chapter would bring up, but I guess that's 'cause I know what's going on heh. But yes, I guess those were odd things to say, but all I can mention on this subject is that everything will make itself clear. Promise :o) I apologize for the tardiness of this update but I hope that you enjoyed it.