5 A Charming Magic (17 page)

“I’m starving.” I grabbed the stale bread and stuffed it into my mouth. I tried not to think about who or what had touched the loaf, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And I was in a desperate time. I needed all the energy I could get in order to finish my business here.

I rolled up on my toes to look out of the swinging bar doors. The crowd had gathered around a group of gypsy dancers. The women wore chains of gold jewelry around their necks, bangle bracelets up to their elbows, and long dangling earrings. Their long brown hair hung loosely around their faces in large curls. The fiddlers were all men in balloon pants that were tapered around their ankles. Their bare feet stomped on the ground as they yelled out, never once stopping the bow as it shrilled along the fiddle strings.

The women twirled around. Their pink skirts kicked up puffs of dirt as they skimmed the dirt ground.

Dirt ground? I looked around after I realized all the snow was gone and I wasn’t freezing as much.

I slipped out of the doors and into the shadows. I stuck out like a sore thumb.

“Did you hear about the visitor?” I heard one of the gypsy women talking to the other as they watched their friends dance around in a circle as some of the men passed a chair with a man sitting in it clapping his hands in the air.

I leaned a little closer to the women. If they were talking about Gerald, maybe I could get a clue on where to find him.

“She’s dressed in boy pants,” one of them said.

Boy pants?
I glanced down. They were talking about me. I slipped back into the shadow and watched as each of them clapped, danced and yelped. There was only one way to fit in.

I eyed the roadside makeshift stand where a few of the other gypsies were selling pieces of their clothing.

Making my way around the building and staying under cover, I knew I had to get my hands on one of those outfits if I was ever going to be able to come out of the darkness and walk among them so I could find Gerald.

I dug my hand deep in my bag and searched for money. I pulled out a twenty before handing it to the woman at the booth.

“Your paper is no good to me.” She scoffed. Her lips snarled. “I will take him.” Her long black fingernail extended past me and pointed to something behind me.

I turned.

Hiss, hiss
. Mr. Prince Charming curled his back up and showed his teeth.

The woman threw her head back in a fit of laughter before her face suddenly became serious. “Intruder!” she screamed and pointed to me.

I ran back behind the building to get out of the way of the people running after me and tripped on a cloth. I pulled the black fabric over my head until the stampede had passed me. Slowly I pulled it off my head and just below my eyes to make sure it was all clear.

A hand touched my shoulder, another one covered my mouth, nearly making me jump out of my skin.

“Shh,” the woman whispered, “come with me.”

There wasn’t much I could do. If I didn’t go with her, she might turn me in. So I went with her hoping she didn’t.
 

Chapter Twenty Two

The fully-clothed woman was dressed in head-to-toe black. She wore a veil to cover her face. She must have been a wealthy member in the village of Azarcabam because lots of gold coins dangled down her forehead and down the length of her entire veil.

She led me into a dark room that was covered in deep purple fabrics with lots and lots of tassels dangling from everywhere. She turned on a couple of table lamps which only gave a shadow of light from the frosted globes.

“Please sit.” She gestured toward the ground where there was a large area rug with big pillows thrown about. “Put your paper money on the plate.”

I reached forward. With my hand over the gold plate on the small table, I uncurled my fist and let the twenty-dollar bill drop before I sat on the ground with one of the large pillows under me.

She handed me a dark jar of something with a cork on the lid.

“Drink,” she encouraged me. My eyes adjusted to the light and her eyes caught mine. There was something vaguely familiar about her. That was impossible. I had never met a gypsy nor had I been out of Locust Grove or Whispering Falls.

I blew it off thinking she looked like all the other women in this community.

“It will make you feel better.” She handed me a basket full of bread.

Reluctantly I reached out and held the heavy bottle. I grabbed the bread and devoured every crumb and took a few swigs of the water she handed me. Mr. Prince Charming didn’t alert me to any danger as he sat next to me with his eye on the gypsy the entire time.

The gypsy danced around the room with incense in her hands. She twirled her wrists in a counter-clockwise motion two times before changing the direction to clockwise. The smoke filled the room.

I fanned my hand in front of me. The gypsy could take some lessons on how to properly use the incense from Eloise, but I wasn’t here for that.

After scarfing up all the bread and after I finished off the bottle of water, I realized the gypsy sat on the arm of a big wooden chair, her legs apart with her elbows resting on them. She leaned over, her long hair dangling down in front of her. She left the veil attached around her face. Her eyes slanted, telling me she was smiling underneath her guarded face.

“What?” I asked. The image of her eyes nagged me. I dug deep in my memory to try to figure out where I knew her from.

“It’s interesting to watch foreigners come into our land. But you are not just any foreigner are you?”

“I’m looking for a friend.” There wasn’t much more I wanted to tell her. Especially after I was warned by Madame Torres and Aunt Helena that gypsies had a strange way.

“The past is what you seek.” She clapped her hands to the side. A puff of smoke swirled around her making more food to appear. She pushed the plate toward me using the tip of her toe—her dirty toe. Mr. Prince Charming pounced, standing between me and the plate.

“I’ll pass.” I waved it off, even though the added cheese looked divine and made my mouth water.

“Who is the man you wish to connect with?” she asked as if she were reading my mind.

“My friend, Gerald. The love of his life is gravely ill in a hospital and I must tell him.” I didn’t really know what the gypsy did and didn’t know about me and why I was here. All I knew was that she somehow could read little bits and pieces of my mind. And I had a sneaky suspicion she knew more than she was letting on.

“Love of his life?” She drew in a breath. “That must not be true.”

“How do you know? They are engaged to be married.” I tucked my bag in closer to me knowing the ring was deep inside.

“How do you know this man didn’t want to marry and he hurt her himself?” The gypsy asked the same question I was wanting to ask Gerald myself. She nudged the plate of food closer to me.

“When I find him, maybe I’ll ask him the same question.” I shook my head. “No thank you.”

“Then you must take this to use or you will not find the answers your heart desires.” Her hand swooped in the air creating another puff of smoke, this time grey, exposing a cloak and veil for me to use in the community.

“I can’t take that.” I shook my head. My intuition told me I couldn’t and if I did, I would be in debt to her.

“You aren’t taking it.” She stood up and grabbed the sleeves of the cape, flipping it up in the air, snapping it to form. “You paid for it.” She pointed to the plate where I put my paper money. “See.” Her heavy brows lifted.

“Really? Twenty dollars?” I couldn’t help but glance over at the veil. The deep purple teardrop gems around the veil sparkled leaving me with a wanting deep in my heart. I had always been partial to purple.

“Go on,” she encouraged me. “Try it on.”

Mewl.
Mr. Prince Charming let me know his displeasure.

“It’s not going to hurt.” I shrugged and got up off the floor.

I lifted the veil up. The gems were magical. Beautiful.

“Thank you.” I lifted the veil up and over my head. It fit perfect.

Mr. Prince Charming was beside himself. He ran around the room as if he was looking for an exit. His tail hit a jar, knocking it to the ground. Spiders trickled everywhere.

My eyes adjusted to the label.
Vermillian Spiders.

I gulped. Instantly I recalled where I had seen her. In A Charming Cure. I had found the customer, only I think she found me.

“You don’t have a very smart friend.” The gypsy laughed and pulled one of the large tapestries that hung on the wall to the side. There was a small door, big enough for a cat to run through. Mr. Prince Charming saw his opportunity and he took it, leaving me alone.

“I guess I better be on my way.” My stomach knotted, instantly making me feel sick with the decision I had made putting on the cloak and veil. I had to gather my wits and decide what my next move was going to be. Madame Torres and Aunt Helena had already warned me about the gypsy ways. I was nowhere near prepared to confront her. Yet.

Get out there. Blend in. Find Gerald. Take off cloak.
I had to keep repeating to make myself feel better.

“Well thanks.” I didn’t bother glancing back at the gypsy. I rushed out the door I had come in, leaving her and the memories of her behind. There was no time. I had to find Gerald.

The sun was shining. It was the first time I had seen the sun in a while. What was left of the snow was all gone. The castle on the hill was even scarier in the daylight.

The streets of Azarcabam were filled with all sorts of merchants and their wooden buggy carts. They pushed their wares through the streets, screaming at people to get out of their way.

The dangling gems kept beating me in the forehead, causing me to sling my head to the side as if they were side bangs.

“I wasn’t finished with you yet.” The familiar gypsy voice whispered over my shoulder in my left ear. “There are things you must do for me.”

“I paid my money.” I walked a little faster. Surely since I had shoes on, I could walk faster. “I owe you nothing.”

A wad of spit came flying over my shoulder and landed on the ground in front of me.

“Thief! This woman is a thief!” The gypsy danced around me with her arms extended out in front of her, not letting me pass. “She stole my veil!” she seethed. “She’s the intruder you seek!”

“What are you doing?” I hissed at her.

Her eyes were dark, squinted with malice set deep in them. She grabbed my wrist and spit again, this time landing on my shoe. A crowd had gathered around.

“You are just foul people.” I pushed her aside.

She fell to the ground like I really did forcibly push her. She lay on the dirt ground. Her arm shot in the air, her finger pointed at me. “You are a thief!”

The crowd got rowdy. Their circle moved closer and closer to me as they stepped forward. Each of them gnashing their teeth, spitting, and yelling expletives at me.

Nervously I rubbed my hand around my wrist. My bracelet was gone.

“My bracelet.” Frantically I looked around my feet, trying to ignore the angry mob.

“Mine now,
witch
!” The gypsy dangled my bracelet with her long fingers before she slipped it into the depths of her cloak. “Get her!”

Before I could run, a couple of men grabbed me. Another man threw me over his shoulder and started to march. I held onto my bag and tried to squirm my way off and out of his muscular grip, but I was going nowhere.

“Let me go!” I screamed moving side to side in hopes he’d drop me.

“Kill the witch!” the crowd screamed with their fists pumping the air.

“I’m not a witch!” I yelled back in hopes to save my life. “Mr. Prince Charming!” I screamed trying to lift my head to see if he was anywhere around.

It would come in awfully handy if he would live up to his duty of fairy-god cat.

The man turned around and walked backward. The crowd roared like he was slaying the big bad witch. I looked up.

The scary castle was getting closer. At that moment I knew I was about to get a tour.

Chapter Twenty Three

We didn’t make it all the way up the hill before a horse-drawn wagon pulled up behind us. The man dropped me from his shoulder and on my butt into the wagon.

“Ouch!” I rubbed my leg where it had hit the edge and noticed Mr. Prince Charming crouched in the tall, thick grass on the side of the gravel road. Seeing him gave me a little more confidence. “Where are you taking me?”

“Silence thief!” The man clicked the reins and the horse bolted off, sending me flying backward.

“I’m not a thief. The gypsy took my twenty-dollar bill in exchange for the cloak and veil.” I simply stated the facts because I knew this was all a misunderstanding. “She is the thief. She is a thief who took my bracelet.”

“Silence thief!” he screamed in his gruff ogre voice. “You will be heard in court.”

“Court?” My mouth dropped. “When is court?”

“It could be a couple of years or ten years. Depends.”

“Years?” My throat tightened. I didn’t have years.

Images of Oscar pushing a baby carriage with Arabella on his arm strolling through Whispering Falls danced in my head.

“I don’t have years. Let me go!” I demanded to deaf ears and stomped my feet.

I grabbed the sides of the wagon and held on for dear life when the horse took off straight up to the castle.

“Stick her in the dungeon,” the man driving the wagon told the guard who came out to get me.

My eyes drew up and down. He didn’t look so tough in his little ballooning pants, bare feet, and blowsy top that looked like someone had ripped the sleeves off of it. His greasy scruffy brown hair could stand to use a good shampoo. The patches of hair on his face proved he was only a young boy who was trying to fit in with the others. Even his eyes were more innocent.

“Or you could just let me go.” I smiled through the pain when he grabbed me shooting down my little theory that I could take him down.

He flung me over his shoulder. What was it with flinging me? I made sure to watch and make mental notes on where he was taking me. I was going to get out of this place somehow.