Chapter Two: Two Lonely Hearts
A young woman unconsciously rubbed her cheek against the threadbare pillow, wishing for her sweet dream to return. Her parents had been in this one, making the girl hunger for the sight of their faces. A sigh came from her bed partner, and the other woman reached over to start shaking the still-sleeping girl's shoulder.
"Come on, Haru; time to wake up!"
The brunette groaned at her blonde cousin.
"But I don't wanna…"
The blonde one sighed tiredly, and rose from the bed to start getting dressed.
"Suit yourself. But you know how angry Mama gets, when you sleep in."
That thought immediately catapulted the brunette from her bed, and made her reach for her clothes.
Louise laughed warmly at her cousin, throwing the loose amethyst dress over herself. She wrapped a white corset over the top, and struggled with the laces.
"Hey, could you help me out, Haru?"
"Yeah," the brunette yawned, taking a firm hand with the strings. Louise braced herself with her legs, determined not to let her younger cousin pull her onto her back again. The brunette might not be able to dance to save her life, but dang, she had strong arms.
Haru tightened the strings until the marks in the strings matched up perfectly, from previous wearings. Quickly, with a practiced flair, Haru securely tied it together in an elegant knot.
"There. That's one thing I like about being clumsy; not having to wear a corset."
Louise laughed again, combing her golden hair out with her fingers.
"I don't have to wear it, Haru. I just choose to, because I get twice as many customers when I have it on."
The brunette sighed tiredly.
"Men are so easy to please…"
"How would you know? You never talk to them," Louise countered, tying a gauzy sash into her hair.
"I talk to boys!"
"I meant human boys. Cats don't count."
Haru opened her mouth to say something, but then decided not to take the bait. She sighed tiredly, tying her own dress shut. Her clothes were decidedly simpler than that of her cousin's, since she didn't have a real act to perform. In fact, Haru was often chosen to buy or sell common items, for her strange ability of becoming invisible. Gypsies were never looked upon well, and Haru didn't look like one in the least.
Haru sighed again, climbing out of the tiny tent that she shared with her cousin. Her aunt was already stoking up a fire, and stirring up something in a pot. She looked up and grinned.
"What? Alive before noon?"
"Hah, hah," the young girl said sarcastically. "Anything I can help with?"
"Well, if you could get me a little fish, it will liven up the morning soup."
The brunette nodded once, and walked over to the family wagon to start sifting through one of the bags. There; a little dried fish. She slipped it into the stew at her aunt's urging, and poked the fire as her elegant cousin made her grand appearance.
Okay, so sue her. It was easy to feel envious when one lives with a butterfly and could still be personally seen as a fuzzy caterpillar. Haru sighed again, silencing the slight pang in her heart. Aunt Naomi looked up at her daughter, and beamed.
"Morning, Sunshine! Ready for another day of work?"
"As always," Louise returned, kissing her mother's cheek.
Once again, Haru quelled the seed of jealousy in her soul. It wasn't her cousin's fault that she still had a mother, happened to be gorgeous and talented, not to mention a favorite act of the city and…
An image of a dashing young captain came into her mind, his long hair flowing roguishly over his eyes. Haru's lip trembled, and she intentionally stuck a stick into the fire deep enough for a spark to kiss her pale skin. She bit back a yelp, strangely grateful for the distraction, despite her extreme dislike for fire.
Louise looked over at her, and sighed tiredly.
"Honestly Haru; can't you wait to hurt yourself until after breakfast?"
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Naomi watched her daughter leave with the other entertainers; a bit of pride welling up inside her.
'My little angel.' The woman sighed, turning back to her wagon in order to wash the dishes from breakfast. Haru appeared from the other side of the caravan; her arms full of fabric. She smiled softly for the woman before retreating to the tent to start repairing the many costumes that would be needed for the big festival in a week.
After becoming initiated in the gypsy ways, Haru had tried her hardest to contribute to the general cause, but…
The girl had no entertaining talent! She read palms wrong, she couldn't juggle, she couldn't sing anything above an average value, and dancing was absolutely out of the question, unless one happened to be marked for death anyway. Her strange ability to talk to cats was no good, since she refused to exploit her furry friends at any cost.
But, the girl did know her way around a needle, thank heaven. If she didn't, then the Gypsy King would surely have banished her from the order by now. There weren't too many good seamstresses in the order, so there was always work for Haru to do without messing things up. Naomi sighed, remembering the duty she owed to her little sister, Naoko. She had married a tailor, and had all but given up the life of a gypsy, working at her husband's side in his little shop. But that terrible fire, five years before, had irrevocably landed the elder sister with the task of raising her niece as well as her own daughter.
Haru was a good girl, but she wasn't exactly a gypsy's dream. Even dressing like them wasn't enough to convince anyone that she was truly one of them.
A fact that the brunette was all too aware of.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Far above the marketplace, in the old church, a lone shadow looked out from his tower. Gloved hands rested against a fuzzy chin while the mouth issued a sigh.
The gypsy girl had returned. Even from up here, he could see her dazzling smile, and watch her exquisite dance. A small boy kept time with a worn violin, and spectators whistled appreciatively as the beautiful young woman twirled around, her skirt flaring out just right to show off her well-formed ankles. Coins rained down at her feet, and another gypsy boy used his hat to gather the day's profit.
This was a scene he saw nearly every day, but he looked forward to the ritual. From behind him came an irritated coughing.
"Baron, stop ogling the poor girl and get back to the books!"
The tall man sighed, and reluctantly turned away from the tall window. His slanted green eyes were filled with a gentle regret, as he seated himself behind the desk and started on his work again. The numbers should have flowed into his head with ease, but the orange cat could still see the golden girl dancing in his head. The obese white cat sitting on the desk smirked once more before returning to his nap.
For it didn't matter how much the half-cat admired the blonde gypsy; he could never speak to her. He couldn't speak to anyone outside his tower, for fear of losing his life.