The French fancy is back with a new fic! For all those who were waitin' for the update of my latest fic, I'm sorry am running dry on inspiration on that one, so I'll give you this instead. This fic I have much more hope for. And I apologize if you don't speak French, I'm jus so darned chuffed about passing my French exam with an A. (these exams btw are major, everybody in England has to take them when they reach a certain age, they're major qualifications. These can make all the difference while applying for a job, because once you've taken these exams you can leave school or stay on to do further learning in the courses of your choice. They're rele important things G.C.S.E's) a still can't believe I passed everything, even maths.
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Of Gypsies and Demons
Hoof beats echoed throughout the charred and wind blasted wasteland. A dark shadow thundered across the arid ground, no water had blessed the fractured earth. The black stallion grunted out a breath as his rider pushed him on further. Pressing his heels against the stallion's heaving flanks, he loosened up the reins, allowing the panting horse's head to stretch out and take a breath as he galloped on.
"Keep it up Diablo. Jus a few more miles to go. I'll find this girl and I'll take out anyone who stands in my way." As the figure turned he gazed emotionlessly at a mountain of smouldering corpses.
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"Faster, come on Cherub, faster!" Giggled a figure robed in red velvets and silks, pushing the strawberry roan into a swift canter, round the corner of the cobbled bakers shop and into the shadowy back alley. These alleys were a maze, unless you knew them like her. This was her home, her territory to be more precise. Her home was somewhere completely different to here, somewhere sacred.
"Get back here you thieving little gypsy!" a burley man bellowed, as he took up the chase. He had a round and ugly face that was contorted into a grisly sneer. He was the chief general of the royal guard, if you could call the prince royal. It was no secret that the prince was not royal by birth; he killed and cheated his way to the throne. He had a dark family, that held a dark secret, a secret that was no longer so undisclosed. Now that he was prince and ruler of two kingdoms, he had no need to keep such secrets.
"La fille Rouge, strikes again." The baker's wife stood in the doorway a grin plastered across her face.
"Such silliness for a woman of her age. They say that beneath those cloaks lies a beautiful girl, why does she hide it with those rags and frightful behaviour. I say she should be brought back in line the scandalous little gypsy" A upper-class woman stated a little too loudly, her nose pointed high as her carriage glided past the baker's.
"She's keeping them on their toes." The baker's wife laughed under her breath. "And saving those well beneath yourself"
Meanwhile back within the depths of the alleyways, La Fille Rouge blazed on, her horse's tail held high with excitement as it approached a stack of barrels blocking the narrow street.
"Well my little gypsy, do you think that little pony of yours can get past this?" The general taunting voice rang out behind her as Cherub thundered headlong towards the barricade.
"Oh my dear general, she is no pony, 16hh may seem small to you, but she is well over the standard maximum height for a pony." She laughed before leaning forward into her mount's mane and whispering: "Let's show this pompous toad your skills." The figure shortened her reins and rose a little more from the saddle to give Cherub a bit of a hand. Three strides into the barricade she pressed her heels into the mare's sides, signalling now was the time. The mare gave an excited squeal rising upwards, rider folding forward and standing up in her stirrups. The horse stood off the jump perfectly, leaping well clear off the top and arcing beautifully in the air. She stretched her two white socked front legs out before her, letting her pearly hooves touch the cobbles on the other side. As her back two hooves touched the ground, the rider sat up, landing back in the saddle with a soft thump, as the mare leapt forward into a spirited canter, her tail flying out behind her like a banner.
"Hahaahah, Wahoo!!" Rouge's laughter floated up around the rooftops in a girlish chortle. "See ya' around General!" she laughed as the general's horse outright refused to jump the barrels, throwing him to the floor.
"You filthy, four legged, cowardly beast!" He snarled, snatching a loose metal binding from one of the barrels. He raised it high above his head, holding the distraught and panic stricken horse's reins, as it span circles round the man fearing what was to come. The metal whistled and screeched as it cut through the air. The metal struck. But not it's intended target.
"What the…!" the general spluttered as the rest of his squad gasped and gawped with shock. A thick strand of leather was wrapped around the metal strip, held taught so that the metal binding could be moved neither up nor down. The strand came from the top of the barrels, were a shadow was cast. Standing there, was Rouge herself, horseless and imposing.
"What's everybody gawping at, we've seen La Fille Rouge about a thousand times, what's so special now?" A junior within the squad spoke boldly
An elder squad member spoke tentatively, his voice wavering. "Urban legend says that for Rouge to dismount her horse in order to fight you, you must have really upset her."
"She only fights when it is needed, and her skills, though rarely seen, are of legendary calibre." Another spoke, before the older one spoke again.
"Highly regarded skills that are almost as famous as, well… L'inconnu."
The junior visibly gulped, before turning back to the general. Rouge stood, her hand that held the taught bull whip, unwavering. Her scarlet cloaks covered everything but her livid, crimson eyes. She yanked at the whip causing the metal binding to hit the floor with a clatter. As quickly as the metal hit the floor, she cracked the flailing whip with a flourish, as it lashed through the air like a serpent's tail. The sudden crack that broke the silence caused the squad the jump.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you that striking a horse across the face, will never gain it's confidence? Hmm? Obviously not. A horse so young, and clearly full with talent, and you hit it because it has never jumped something so high or imposing and is nervous.!" Her voice was normally so carefree and sweet, ringing through the streets as she laughed during a chase or held up some haughty upper-class tart (she was after all the highway-woman of the cobbles). But now it was full of rage and venom, but with an air of calm and seductiveness. The men of the generals royal guard, gulped with fear and strangely enough… hormones? Rouge grimaced at the thought of these men being turned on by her sudden fit of fury; some were old enough to be her father, if she had one. She could almost smell the male hormones mingled with sweat, beer and was that…she didn't want to know what that foul fourth smell was.
Strange it is that a man's heart is within his pants at moments of potential death or harm.
"Unlike you I was trained in combat rather than horse whispering, you filthy gypsy." The general lunged at her, a large broad sword drawn and aimed towards her throat. She sighed, rolling her eyes as she dodged his swing, gracefully hopping to the next barrel. She unsheathed a beautiful katana, it's blade arced within the air as she blocked his attack, then pushed him back, before dealing a elegant backhand blow causing him to tumble down the pile of barrels.
"You may have been trained in combat, but you certainly weren't trained in grace or savvy." Her childlike giggle erupted from her lips, as with one elegant swing of the blade, she sliced through the ropes that held the barrels together, as if they were butter, before leaping away into the dusk. As the men fought back against the barrage of wooden boulders, the sound of her laughter mingled with the delighted squeal of her mare and clattering of pearly hooves, echoed through the cobbled alleyways.
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Dark hooves rang out upon the shining cobbles of the beautiful town. Pretty as it may be, it was yet another pawn within the dark prince's "new and improved" world. It was a town dominated by the wealthy and noble, the dank alleyways that housed the poverty stricken were overlooked. The dark shadow uttered no word as he silently directed his onyx black stallion, through the bustling activities of the early dusk.
Bright, innocent eyes peered out from under the silhouette of one of the shop alleyways. As they watched the dark figure, the child crept close through sheer inquisitiveness, eyes wide with tension and anxiety. The figure halted his horse, the child shoot backwards again, revealing the ribs protruding from the little boy's chest. Battle hardened eyes, gave way to sadness and remorse, for this was all the child had to judge the man by. His eyes. The figure felt around the pockets of his robes, before producing a small loaf of bread. He through it to the little boy, who immediately tucked in. as the boy looked up with thanks he realised the strangers eye's were now smiling.
As the figure carried on, a sound met his ears, laughter. It was bright and full of mischief.
A devilish grin graced his lips as he urged the horse into a canter.
"Found you." He spoke with barely a whisper, which was carried with the sudden breeze, his smirk never leaving his hidden face.
As the figure sped through the cobbled streets, a hopeful whisper was uttered from the little boy's lips…
"L'inconnu"
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Well read and review Mon petits pois!
If your confused bout the French I'll give you a few translations:
La Fille Rouge- the red girl
L'inconnu- the unknown
I'll update a.s.a.p!