A/N: Slow going, guys. Plot and typing. Sorry but I've been terribly uninspired and unable to concentrate on anything lately. But you've been waiting for a long time, so I decided to send you this half of a chapter as an entire chapter. I also thought it might help with feedback as to how much I should continue. Little (or lot) more melodrama to come if you miss it. I just wanted to spread it out.

Thank you for all your loyalty!

You look beautiful…

Arabella turned away from the cheap mirror, her hands pausing on the veiled hat that she had been carefully arranging. Erik had gifted the gown to her the day after his proposal; and she had adored how he constantly found ways to interject a theme of flames and phoenixes. From a distance her dress would appear to be white – or at least off white. Yet when one got up close or looked at it in just the right light, the gown and hat proved to be much more pearlescent. There were shades of yellow, orange, and red all over everything. And there was beautiful subtle embroidery of the same colors that showed a phoenix in flight wrapping around from the back hem of her skirt and ending up high on her bodice.

"Adnah?" she murmured quietly – not wanting to disturb Erik as he prepared himself out in the dooryard. "I have not heard from you in … a long time. You have been very quiet."

I had little to say… Adnah admitted. Besides … you may be marrying Erik today … but the two of you have been behaving like newlyweds for quite some time.

Ducking her head in embarrassment, Arabella blushed – unable to keep from smiling in chagrin.

I thought it best to keep my distance. But … you'll be married today … I wanted to congratulate you…

"Thank you…" Arabella picked her head back up, her smile faltering slightly. She had in turns both nearly forgotten about Adnah … and also somehow managed to make such a peace with him that she realized she had come close to missing him during his long silences.

I also wanted to say good-bye.

"Good-bye?" Now shock made Arabella's face go completely slack. "What do you mean? You are going somewhere?"

I … want to figure out how to move on…

She was unsure how to take this. She no longer held any animosity towards Adnah … but she didn't exactly welcome his presence in her new life. It was rather confusing to worry about what might happen to him now that he didn't wish to haunt anyone.

Was that all it took? Choosing to try and move on?

"I … wish you the best of luck…" she offered slowly. "Will you … stay for the wedding?"

Adnah chuckled, and her head turned in the direction she thought the sound was coming from. He seemed to be standing by the window in a brilliant shaft of sunlight.

I would like that… Bella… Even though she could not see him, Arabella felt as if Adnah was shifting uncomfortably. Bella … for years you remembered the most horrible things about me. Can … can I ask you a favor?

"Yes… I suppose so. I can afford to be a little generous on my wedding day."

Will you remember me as I was when we were children? How you and I both were?

She swallowed thickly … trying to remember. Did she even have any memories of Adnah as a boy? Mostly her mind was consumed with memories of her grandfather when she dared to think of happier times before her fathers' abuse had seemed to take everything good out of her life. Had she and Adnah played together at all?

To her surprise … yes. When she actually tried … she could recall Adnah as a boy. He'd been older than her by a few scant years; but he'd often been there. He had been a favorite of her grandfathers'… Since he'd had no son or grandson, it was no wonder he had eventually connected with a different Romani boy… How could she have forgotten that?

She could remember her grandfathers' funeral … something that almost made Arabella violently block the memories away because now she remembered the funeral had not been for only one man! Her mouth went dry as she saw four different bodies laid out in preparation for burial. Beside her was Adnah, offering her flowers to place on her grandfathers' bier.

Yes… Adnah agreed, apparently seeing into her mind. I think that was what changed us… The gypsy hunt that took your grandfather … my brother … the others… our last visit to Cadiz was the end of our innocence.

Arabella swallowed hard, her throat making a painful ticking noise in the process.

I know it changed me … and for a long time I did not understand why you had changed in the ways you did. I am sorry for becoming what I did … and not realizing the torment you continued to suffer.

She shook her head, unable to speak as she licked anxiously at her dry lips.

"I forgive you." She whispered. "For everything … I forgive you. May you find peace…"

There was nothing else. Adnah was still there … but he said nothing. He seemed further away somehow … as though he were on the other side of a pane of glass. Slowly she stood back up and returned to the mirror to make certain her hair was not falling out of place.

"I leave you to God…"

"Would you look at this?" Erik said as she finally stepped outside a few minutes later. He stood near the corner of their shack, looking out over the wide grasslands where they'd watched wild horses' run and graze almost every day since their arrival. This morning was different, though. There were people there … and tents … and even a few wagons.

"Is … is that a Romani tribe?" Arabella asked in amazement, her eyes wide.

"They must be here on pilgrimage…" Erik mused quietly, wiping his hands as though to clean them of dust or grime. It was an interesting and slightly nervous gesture he usually didn't give into. Arabella glanced him over, appreciating that he was not wearing only his usual black and white formal attire as he had at the Opera House. Ever since coming out to the country, he'd allowed himself to wear more casual clothes … but they were often still black and white. Now, though, his very nice formal suit was accented by a waistcoat of golden silk. "I hope they do not try to invade the church during the ceremony…"

Arabella's eyebrows lifted in amusement.

"Perhaps it is a sign… a good omen." She suggested. "Both of our people being present in some form on our wedding day… surely it is a good sign."

Erik laughed sharply – a skeptical sound of wry humor. Then he put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed them before kissing her temple.

"You are so optimistic." He murmured. "You always see things in ways I don't…"

He released her abruptly and turned away from the group of strangers far enough away that their voices barely carried on the hard breeze. Arabella stared out at them for a long moment; curious enough that she was tempted to walk out and see how many people there were and what they were like. But she was not going to do that on her wedding day. After a moment, she turned away and saw that Erik had taken out the small single-horse wagon they used to shop in the town.

"You are not nervous, are you?" she asked gently as he helped her up onto the seat. "Having them near our house?"

"We will see where they are when we return." He said quickly. "I will lock up the shack – just in case one or two of them are tempted to burglarize this pathetic little building."

He held up hands of submission almost instantly at the look on her face.

"No need to be offended, mira kom!" he assured her. "I am not trying to say that all gypsies lie and cheat and steal. We both know better than that. But they are not all saints, either. Someone might be tempted… especially if they have fallen on harder times."

"In France?" Arabella bit out her own bitter little laugh. "I guarantee they have fallen on hard times. It is worse in France than it is in Spain for my people."

Erik maneuvered the wagon up beyond the corner of the house so they again had a sight lie to the encampment of gypsies. There was no sign that anyone out there had even realized that there was a house of any kind near them yet. For a long few minutes they just sat quietly and watched a trio of men – two of them more likely boys based on their size – tried to form a triangle around one of the wild white horses in order to pen it in and move in close.

"They cannot actually think they will get away with breaking a Carmague horse!" Erik scoffed softly.

"That horse is half tame as it is." Arabella scoffed back. "Most of them are! They will have it broken by sunset. They will be able to sell it elsewhere."

Erik shook his head and clucked at their own Percheron horse with her beautiful cocoa-colored coat. Compared to the Carmague horses, theirs was quite massive … and Erik had every intentions of bringing it by train to Triste with them.

"Nadir had better be waiting for us." Erik grumbled as the wagon began rattling along their small and isolated dirt road. "I am not going to wait on him if he missed his coach yesterday!"

"Maybe we should have gone into town yesterday to make certain." Arabella stated – an opinion she'd been giving the entire previous day.

"Nadir is more surly after a day of travelling than I am after a day working on a building site." Erik finally grinned at her. "Even I am not foolish enough to poke that wasp next. And you know I could not possibly help but do it if I stood in his presence!"

She laughed, hooking her arm through his and glancing over her shoulder for one last view of the gypsy encampment as Erik sped up their pace. The smile slipped just a little as she caught sight of a young woman somewhere between the three men trying to capture the white horse … and the rest of the tribe. She had not been there a few moments before – which of course meant nothing. But she stood there in the tall grass … watching the three men and standing almost as still as a statue with her braided hair whipping in the wind. She wore a blouse that was sky blue … and a skirt of brightest canary yellow.

Even with the distance between them … Arabella thought she seemed familiar. But she shook herself free of that strange and eerie sense of familiarity before turning forward again. It was no surprise that such feelings might overcome her. She had not seen another gypsy tribe since her death – Erik had avoided them at all costs afterward. Not to mention that she had just said goodbye to Adnah after recalling a long-buried and traumatic memory.

Smiling softly, she looked up at her groom.

"Adnah will be leaving us." She murmured. "He just told me. After he sees the wedding … he's decided to move on in whatever way he can."

Erik frowned behind his mask; carefully considering her words.

"Why now?" he wondered musingly.

"I do not know. But I am happy for him. And … I think I am a little happy he will be a witness for our new beginning…"

Erik snorted.

"You are so giving, ma belle…" he praised. "But… I suppose I can be pleased on his behalf … if you want me to be."

They continued on for several minutes, watching the road and listening to the peace of the world around them.

"Perhaps we can bring back things for the tribe…" Erik murmured quietly. "Giving something on our own wedding day may bring us luck. And it has been a hard winter… Perhaps we might gift them with something from the butchers?"

"They would appreciate that… but they will be suspicious."

"Not if you gift it to them, mira ves'tacha."

There were more moments of silence while Arabella put all thoughts of the gypsy tribe aside – at least for the time being.

"I cannot wait to see Nadir."

"No?" Erik gave her a curious side glance. "Be careful, ma belle. You may waken my jealous side… Should we hurry, then? So you can reunite with the beloved Daroga all that much faster?"

"If blaming me for your eagerness makes you feel better – by all means."

The reunion with Nadir was short-lived; but filled with enthusiasm and vibrancy that gained the attention of townspeople wandering through the area. It probably was not all that often that they would see a gypsy bride walking the street with a masked groom walking side-by-side with two Middle Eastern men in formal silk perahan garments of rich jewel colors. Nadir dressed slightly more luxuriously than Darius in a deep midnight blue that was embroidered with silver and gold. Darius was in a slightly more subdued jade colored ensemble embroidered in only silver. Both wore turbans – which made them stand out all the more.

"Bella!" Nadir greeted as he and Darius stepped out of the lobby of the tiny and provincial hotel of the town. His arms immediately went wide open, and he enfolded the smaller gypsy bride into a warm hug that nearly lifted her off of her feet. Behind him, Darius held a box in his arms carefully, smiling with polite but sincere pleasure as he nodded to Erik. "Look at you! You look absolutely radiant – and beautiful!"

"Stealing my bride already, are you old man?" Erik demanded with a laugh – forcing himself not to shift nervously and uncomfortably as their exuberance garnered attention he didn't want. "All right – all right; unhand her now!"

Arabella laughed as she released Nadir and reached out to clasp hands briefly but warmly with Darius before returning to Erik's side. By then, Nadir had already shaking his hand with eagerness and laughter of his own. Her face was a brilliant shade of red as the excitement began to finally overtake her.

"Heaven forbid I enjoy having a simple armful of lovely girl for five or so seconds." Nadir was teasing Erik.

This was normally the entirely wrong thing to say to Erik – considering Erik's jealousy issues and general hatred of Nadir's good looks and ability to draw in ladies like bees to honey. But today … he was obviously refusing to take any kind of bate.

"We should go." He replied instead – his voice slightly brusque but ot cold or truly angry. "I would not want us to be late to our own ceremonies!"