A/N: SURPRISE! I had a guest author write this for me, since I wanted to add on to the other stories I have been working on and since I thought it would be a fantastic treat to have my favorite fanfiction author write for you guys. THANKS TO TUTSTEMPLAR! I love you for this!

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The night's dark grip was at its strongest at this time- yet, in a strange
way, it was almost warm and inviting, the call of its mystery that of the
unknown.
And, after all, does not every small girl crave an adventure of her own at
one point in her childhood?
"Are you going to glare at the stars all night, or are you going to cease
detaining us and join the gypsies by the camp fire?" Felicity stares at me,
as though exasperated, like one would be with a petulant child. Her hips ** at
a seducing angle, her dainty hands resting lithely upon them.
"Of course. Sorry for the inconvenience." I smile half-heartedly.
"It's the nerves, I suppose."
"Oh, now don't you pay any mind to that Kartik fellow. Who's to say
he's worth any? After all, can any among us guarantee if he shall even be
there?"
This thought brightens my melancholy mood considerably. "Perhaps you are
right. Perhaps, if fortune smiles upon me this night, he shall be absent."
"All a dream needs is one fool worthy enough to uphold it." Felicity
nods, the corners of her lips curling. "Not that you're a fool, Gemma."
"Now, who in their right mind would think Gemma a fool? Surely to call one
a fool, you must be one yourself?" Ann seems genuinely perplexed by the
prospect.
"Unless said person who called the fool a fool is in fact fool enough to
be a genius, in which case the one with the title of fool is justly called so,
although to a foolish extent." I decide to insert my own wisdom.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that." Felicity laughs delightedly.

"I am of the same nature of confusion, Felicity." Pippa floats to where
Felicity stood. "Although, perhaps for different reasons. I have caught
absolutely nothing of that conversation, and if this bit of buffoonery is over
and done with, may we please continue on our journey to where our gypsy men
await us?"
"Your gypsy men." I correct her.
"Oh, well, yes, I suppose, if you care to be literal. However," Pippa
winks at me over her shoulder as she advances further into the night. "I do
not object to sharing."
"The very gall of that girl." Felicity wonders. I am of the same view.

"Quite. Tell me, do you believe that she is a promiscuous imp? For I am
beginning to think that myself." Ann admits, wrinkling her nose- whether in
distaste or humor, I am unsure.
I smile to myself. "Perhaps." I take a step in Pippa's direction, and
spin back to face them. "Shall we?"
"I do believe we shall." Ann nods, seconding Felicity's words, and
together, we follow after Pippa.
"What is on tonight's agenda?" I question.
"Sit about the fire. Talk. Laugh. Surely nothing out of the ordinary."
"Yet it never becomes boring." Ann adds. "Such a wondrous thing,
that."
"Indeed." I bite my lip. "Please, do not forget me when you find your
men."
"Oh, we could never, Gemma. And they all want to ask you of India, I am
sure. They do love hearing about other countries."
"Understandable." I say, taking another step.
After several moments of silence between us three, as we work our way to the
clearing, where Pippa and the others already were, we could hear the raucous
laughter of men and women.
"I do believe that that is our calling." Felicity says smugly. "Come,
Ann. We must hurry!"
The two of them sprint off ahead of me, and gain a few yards before Ann
gyrates, to ask me, "Are you coming, Gemma?"
"In a moment, Ann. Go ahead. I shall be with you in a moment."
"'If you say so."
"I do say so. Please, do not wait for me."
Ann rights herself, and she and Felicity sprint the rest of the distance to
the clearing.
I smile for no apparent reason. Such gaiety as this I wonder if I have ever
seen.
I myself break through the cover of trees within three minutes. Perhaps
more. I am in no particular hurry.
As I stroll in, I first catch sight of the flames dancing happily from
within the fire pit. The warm glow is palpable, and a smile in my relief from
the slight cold. Cold was fine- cold was good, in fact. But warmth reminded me
of India, and so provides some sheltered form of comfort.
But as my eyes dart upwards, I catch sight of Amar exiting the clearing, a
pale woman on his arm. From this angle, I can tell nothing of her features-
merely the basis of her physical anatomy.
Well, there went one friendly face.
I observe the rest of the troop, looking for my friends. There they are;
Pippa, Ann, Felicity, all three of them chatting with their gypsy men.
And then, my stomach falls to the dusty ground with nary a sound.
For sitting in solitude on the same log as he was before was Kartik.
His eyes flash to meet my own astonished ones. I look away quickly, my
cheeks staining a faint pink.
Why?
As I study every inch of the camp ground from where I stand, excluding where
he sat, of course, I realize with a faint trace of terror that "Why?" does
not even remotely begin to cover it.
Once more, all seats but the ones by Kartik are occupied.
"Felicity? Ann? Pippa?" They each turn to look at me when their
respective names are called.
"Yes, Gemma? Come sit down. There is room by Kartik." Pippa's eyes
flash with a gentle malicious delight. Ah, the horrors of friendship.
"As enticing as that sounds, I am afraid I must pass."
"Oh, but why, Gemma?" Felicity frowns.
"I am not feeling well, I have a headache." I lie.
"You seemed perfectly fine on our way over." Ann pipes up.
"Yes, but my stomach began to pain me as soon as you began to run
ahead."
"I thought you said you had a headache, Gemma, Darling," Cecily coos.

Whoops. "Yes, I do." I manage to stutter out. "But I also have a
stomach ache now. Terribly sorry."

"Ah, that is nothing to worry about." Ithal waves off my claims, and
begins to dig around inside a hide sack of sorts. "I have only recently
gathered medicinal herbs. They shall remedy your ailments immediately." He
pauses to grin up at me. "They are bitter, yes, but manageable."
I swallow, trying to look vaguely interested and grateful. "I appreciate
your kind offer, truly, but it is no matter. It is tolerable."
"If it is tolerable," Benjamin looks up from Ann, "Then why do you not
stay? Please, we crave your company."
"Oh, don't be rude, Gemma." Felicity sighs irritably.
"Yes, it is perfectly safe to sit beside Kartik." Emerson pipes up,
raising his eyebrows at Kartik. "Kartik here does not bite."
There is scattered appreciative laughter- Kartik himself does not laugh, but
merely allows his mouth to twist into an odd sort of grimacing smile.
"Oh, please, Gemma." Pippa pouts. "Please?" .
I open my mouth, and close it. Casting my eyes downwards, my head hung in a
submissive manner; I unsteadily walk to Kartik's log, and sit down near the
edge.
Several people brake out into scathing applause.
"Oh, do shut up." I murmur, more to myself to anything else.
And that is when I feel the sensation. That sort of goose flesh rising,
shivery feeling. The type that one receives only when being watched.
I hesitantly raise my eyes to stare in what I hope to be a discreet manner
at Kartik.
My sad suspicions are accurate. Kartik stares at me, glaring, almost, though
not in an entirely offensive way. Still, I feel self conscious, next to him.
He intimidates me most fiercely, and at the same time, I find myself unable to
look away, drawn in by his body, his hair, his face, and especially his eyes.
Speaking of which, I notice, to my general astonishment, that while before
they had been a brooding shade of blackish-brown before, they were now a warm,
inviting shade, and an uncommon one at that, of liquid gold, infused with
yellow flakes, which intervene the golden hue at odd intervals.
I look away, but not before noticing his posture and position.
He was rigid as a board; not to mention that he was on the complete opposite
end of the log, as though straining to be polite and yet not run away at the
same time.
I feel a wave of hurt.
I had not noticed that the conversation had resumed, but resumed it had, and
a warm chattering atmosphere had been created.
I am not interested in the trivial topics. Instead, I poke at the fire with
a long stick I had unearthed not out of arm's reach from where I perched.
"Hello." The voice appears seemingly out of thin air, causing me to jump
in astonishment. With a jolt I realize that the noise had, in fact, come from
him.
He said "Hello"?
For some bizarre reason, I found this inadequate word vastly hilarious.
Wondrous.
I do not look to him as I respond. "Hello."
He does not speak again. When I look up, he is staring at me once more. I
feel vulnerable, and afraid. And also awkward. The awkwardness is predominant.

I cannot help but to retaliate to unspoken words. "What?" I murmur
irritably.
He raises one well-formed eyebrow. "Nothing." He responds, equally as
quiet.
I snap. "'Nothing.'? What do you mean, 'nothing'? You stand
there- sit, rather, if you care to be technical, after glaring at me as though
I am Sin itself, running from me like a coward, when I had yet to speak to
you, and God knows there's a million other things to be said that I
shan't, for fear of the virtue of the ears of the people around us, and you
simply say 'Nothing'?" I am flushed from my outburst, and shame slowly
creeps its way throughout my mid-torso.
His brow furrows. He doesn't respond. Instead, he looks studiously at my
face.
I turn my putrid glare in the other direction.
"You have a temper, I see." He seems to be rolling this around, over his
tongue, as though this was something new to him entirely.
"Only around you, I'm afraid." My stupidity has risen to a new level
entirely. Why, oh why, God, would I admit such a thing to him?
His response is not one I could have ever anticipated. He chuckles darkly,
in such away that I find I am unable to refuse the requests of my body, which
turns me to face him.
As I stare dazedly his face, he reposts, "I think that I shall take that
as a compliment."
"Oh? And why ever so?"
He hesitates. "I find that, nowadays, women are of a confined manner, not
truly being themselves, instead being what other's wish."
"Is that not the way of the world?"
"No." He says it harshly, glaring at the ground in an almost feral way.
"If that is the way of the world, then I refuse to be a part of it. The
world is not about controlling, being evil, taking from one what they deserve.
What they need. I refuse to sin. I refuse to submit to the urges that come our
way, when they result in another's way."
I find this astonishing. And, in the corners of my mind, I suspect that I
was not truly meant to hear what it was he had only just said.
He confuses me to no end. I now rebuff the impulse to pay him any heed.
"How noble of you." I respond coldly, looking the other way.
"Do you think otherwise?"
I pause, and break my vow just this one time. "No."
He does not speak, and I stare fixedly at some unseen vantage point.
"I suppose that I owe you an apology." He ascents.
I do not respond. I do not want to respond.
Well, that is a lie.
"I suppose that it would seem that the reason I abandoned the group just
the other night would be you- but allow me to assure you, it isn't. I had a
problem to deal with, and unfortunately, my temper got the best of me. I just
couldn't control my emotions."
"And you couldn't have found an earlier time to apologize for this
why?" Well, my promises are now officially worth not. So much for silence on
my part.
"I am afraid I have no excuse for that. I am sorry. It was inexcusable of
me."
"Well," I say, turning to smile at him briefly. "I wouldn't say
that."
All of a sudden, a large, heart-melting grin graces his face at my words.
I do believe my heart missed a beat.
"So, Gemma," He pauses. "May I call you that?"
"I see no reason why not."
"Excellent. So, Gemma, you have recently come from India?"
"Yes."
"Tell me, what was it like?" He pauses, than adds, "Please?"
"It… it was hot. And sunny. And beautiful. There were markets, everyday
of the year. It was unbelievably gorgeous. The merchants, with their foods,
and silks, and household supplies, their animal hides, and the entertainers.
Musicians, dancers, and, of course, those men who would enchant the cobras in
baskets with a mere instrument."
Kartik raises his eyebrows in polite amusement. "It sounds a wondrous
place. Do you miss it?"
"Frequently. It is my home, more so then I wonder if England will ever
be."
"Do you have family?"
"Yes. My parents. And my brother." I scrunched up my face.
"You do not like your brother?"
"He is like those men you mentioned, the ones who… I believe you said
'submit to their urges'. He believes that a women's place is shut up and
in the corner." I cross my arms. "And for that I despise him."
He seems not to catch the ending of what I say, instead staring fixedly at
the fire. "I doubt that he is like the men I mention."
"Really?" I ask skeptically. "Do you believe them to be different from
my brother?"
"Have faith when I say that it is safe to claim that he is nothing like
the men of which I speak."
"You are a peculiar man, Kartik." I said. Then add, "May I call you
that?"
His mood changes drastically once more, as yet another of his radiant smiles
appears at my play of his words. "Yes. Yes, I do believe you can."

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A/N: Thanks again tutstemplar for writing the most fantastic chapter in my whole story for me! It ended spectacularly. Please r+r!!! not for me, but for dear tuts! :DDDD Song I chose for this was I don't wanna be in love by god-knows-who (no, for those who are wondering, god-knows-who is not the band, I seriously don't know...)