I hope you all like reading my junky ANs, cuz here comes a long one. XD
I made a deadline for myself, and I'm certain it's because of this that this chapter is so bad. No, I'm dead serious: it's bad. The writing is sloppy and dull, the imagery I keep aiming for is atrocious, and this filler chapter's plot… *shudders* If you can overlook my choppy writing this time and don't hate on me for such a terribly dull installment, I would appreciate it to no end. :) I wish so badly that I could have done better –to make up for it I'll make the next chapter the best I can, with action, dialogue, etc. That might mean that chapter 8 may be a little while in coming (we have that stupid state testing for the next two weeks, and it's going to be what I call "stressful" XD), but I will do my best to make it worth the wait. :) And if you read all the way through this AN, I congratulate you, and here's a virtual cookie *hands you one*. Again, please forgive me, and review if you feel like it (I would love it if you did^^). Thank you to my loyal reviewers/readers, I'm sorry if I let ya down –I'll do better next time, I hope! :)
Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Jane. And. The. Dragon. But I will! XD Eventually…
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"There you are, dear. Now, lift your head so I can see your neck, would you please?"
Jane blinks in assent, lifting her face to the cart roof to expose the slit neatly placed across her throat; the ceiling is low and cracked, as though it has spent centuries surviving every kind of weather –and it probably has. The wood is riddled with miniature splits, like a maze of splinters waiting to rain down upon her upturned face, but oddly enough nothing happens.
Suddenly she opens her mouth in a silent gasp as rough, stinging leaves are abruptly pressed tight against her wound and dig into the tender, pale skin. The woman holding them clucks her tongue at Jane's obvious pain, and reaches with a free hand to takes Jane's clenched fist. Her fingers are thick and rough.
"Sorry, Jane. I forgot; you have not heard of our healing methods yet."
Jane responds with an irritable sigh.
The leaves press down again, and their sharp ends prick into the reddened spot; Jane waits patiently, though, silent even as a familiar, warm liquid trickles down her throat and is quickly wiped away by a softer cloth. It is accompanied almost immediately by an unknown substance, Probably leaf sap or something, she thinks, a cold sensation that leaks into the bloody area and fills it with liquid and a sharp, tangy odor. The woman releases the pressure and pulls away.
"You can look down now, Jane." She says kindly, letting the squire's fingertips slip from her own, larger ones. Jane smiles slightly at her words and lowers her head in response; to her surprise the pain that has been slowly growing to a terrible throb has ceased. She rolls her neck suspiciously, but the feeling has faded away almost completely.
"It will die down for a while," says the woman, crushing the now-useless leaves into a ball and wrapping them in the cloth, "but if these are not applied again in a few hours, you will feel the same pain as before. Just let it heal for now. Your wound must have come from a dirtied sword or something; the redness around the area was hot to the touch and incredibly swollen." She rests large, paw like hands upon her knees and smiles at the girl.
Jane nods slowly, still rather surprised at the simplicity of the medication. "May I… possibly… have some for later on?" she asks quietly, and feels the twinge of nervousness at being around a stranger – a feeling that she was sure she had smothered. "I will be off soon, and as I do not know when next I will find these herbs…"
The woman grins, exposing fewer teeth than Jane expected. "Of course, dear, of course!" she says, and turns to the small package beside her on the bed. "We should have some to spare. Only apply two or so at a time –they will last you for a while, I daresay, but please use them sparingly." With another near toothless smile the woman turns back to Jane and dumps a small, crumpled handful of the greenish leaves into her soiled hands. Jane observes them with interest, and tugs her last clean handkerchief from her pocket in order to wrap them correctly; as soon as they are gently bundled amongst the soft cotton, she tugs her saddlebag nearer and dumps them in.
"Thank you very much, Mistress…" Jane starts, turning to the woman; suddenly she trails off embarrassedly, and the realization that she doesn't know the woman's name drops down onto her shoulders in a hissing ball of sheepishness. But the healer-lady does not seem fazed.
"Mistress? Pah!" she says jovially, waving a giant paw about as though a terrible scent has permeated the rickety cart. "My name is Annamaria, and if you call me anything else I'll have the whip ready."
Jane leans away suspiciously at her words, obviously meant in jest but not being absorbed as such. Annamaria, huh? She thinks, drinking in the large, bearlike appearance, brightly colored, almost garishly decorated dress and scarf, and wide blue eyes harshly apparent against sun kissed skin. I would never have thought it...
"Foolish name, huh dear?" Annamaria says as she rises slowly to her feet and snatches up her satchel. "My mother was all for the long names, I suppose –may she rest in peace." With another deep chuckle she begins to hobble out the door on oddly elfin feet, but Jane is not going to be left behind in some rickety cart. She leaps from the rumpled bed covers, hauling her saddlebag over one shoulder, and chases after the burly woman.
"So, how many of you are there?" she asks as she reaches Annamaria and falls into step with her, intrigued by the seemingly endless gypsy camp. She had only just been awakened a few minutes ago by Annamaria's knock; after a hard ride all night long to keep up with the Gypsies, Jane had staggered into the camp like a madwoman, watched Beppe run for his mother, and practically collapsed on the way to someone's cart. And all she can remember is waking up in the midst of the sunrise and thinking Sir Theodore will be annoyed that I slept so late before slipping back into a dreamless slumber. After that, it was a total blank until she had blinked into consciousness hours later.
Annamaria considers the question, pausing a moment beside another (more cared for) cart to think.
"I don't really know, Jane. See, we are all sort of like a large family, if you know what I mean, and if you really get down to it all of us are related in some way, even if we just married into the group. And what with people constantly leaving or falling behind or going ahead or whatnot, it's hard to keep track. Sometimes we even get people who are not related to anyone, just folks hitching a ride to the next town!" Her laughter echoes round the space as she sets off again, and Jane tags along, wondering where they are going but not really sure if it even matters anymore –the carts are like a wild maze.
"So then… where does Beppe live?" She asks confusedly as they continue on, and a small mob of brightly clad children run past. "I have not seen him."
Annamaria looks about and shrugs. "His cart is over to the west of the camp, since his mother would rather keep him away from the other children. She is a little conservative, if you know what I mean." She winks, but Jane ignores the gesture, too preoccupied with craning her neck to see everything and everyone.
"And Jester's mother and father? Do they live near there as well?" she asks, dodging a young couple and glancing up at Annamaria.
The woman blinks at the squire, and for a brief, fleeting moment the bustle of the camp is muted, smothered by silent words passed between the two.
"No," she says at last, glancing away sadly and walking a little faster, "they were killed by bandits not three months ago."
Jane freezes.
"What? Does Jester know?" her voice is frantic and panicky, and she searches fruitlessly among the cheerful passerby for a sign of two people she has never seen before –and never will.
Annamaria shakes her head sharply, obviously trying to push off her sorrow. "They stood in the way of our limited treasures, and bandits do not really have all that much reverence for the human life…" she trails off, and for a little bit they are silent as they walk between the bustling, brightly clad people.
Jester is going to be so upset, Jane thinks fearfully, and what with this being so recent, it is no wonder he has no idea… she bites her lip in concentration, staring at the folds of Annamaria's skirt as it brushes gently against the soft grass. What am I going to tell him…?
"Here we are!" Annamaria's voice is high with false cheerfulness, and she comes to such an abrupt halt in front of a neatly painted cart that it nearly results in a collision of the twosome. Jane veers away luckily, and nearly crashes into another Gypsy, a man clad in a green tunic and dark plum breeches, as she does so. And as she does her best to stagger away from him, Jane gets a glimpse beneath his flapping outer vest and sees a sword so like the one that nearly killed her she rams back against the hard side of the cart. Her breath is knocked from her chest, and for a brief moment she stops to draw in air as Annamaria concernedly watches her.
"I-is that what I think it is?" she asks nervously, but Annamaria just seems mildly puzzled.
"Huh?"
"The sword, I have seen it someplace before, although not on that man. It is-"
At last the adult catches on, and with a quick glance around takes Jane's wrist in her large hand.
"I know, the sword. It is all right, I know what you think…" she says soothingly, as though Jane is a very young, frightened girl. "But the sword is just a-"
Jane tugs away angrily, "Does he know what it is? Or what it might make others outside your camp think he is?" The previous night's skirmish flashes through her mind, and she suppresses a shudder. Her hand slips to the sheath sitting quietly at her waist.
Annamaria looks nervous. "Mayhap you had best come inside," she says slowly, and beckons for Jane to enter her cart.
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Ew. Just ew. I will update as soon as I possibly can to make up for this monstrosity, and add all the cool action stuff I want to as well. So please, if you want just ignore this truly awful chapter and wait until I can rewrite it, reupload it, and add a new one to smooth it all over, that would be wonderful^^. Thank you so very much! I'll understand if you don't want to review, but if you would I'd greatly appreciate it.
Thanks again! :)