The New Day-lighters--Janine-- I

Chapter I

Janine
(1802)


Bogard watched as the beautiful young gypsy twirled and swayed to the rhythm of the lively music. Her gracefulness enchanted him and his heart seemed to beat to the rhythm of her every movement. His desire for her grew each time her hands beat on the tambourine and he wished those hands were beating on his heart instead.

"I must meet her Borgda. She, is the most beautiful creature I have ever seen."

"She is a gypsy Bo. Do you really think they will let you get anywhere near her? They are thieves and cut-throats, and protective of their own."

"I don't care, I love her and I WILL marry her."

"Don't be a goose, there will be trouble."

"Since when is there not trouble with us Borgda?"

"Ha, that is true brother, we are always in trouble."

"Good, then it is settled, I will meet with her tonight and she won't be able to resist my charms."

As the crowds slowly dispersed into drunken slumber, Bogard knew it was time to meet the enchanting young girl. He searched for the young beauty and found her telling fortunes on the other side of the courtyard.

"I saw you dance earlier this evening and I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your dancing. It was most enchanting."

"Thank you, kind sir. Do you wish your fortune read? That will cost you two shillings."

"No, I know what my future will be, but if it means you will hold my hand...then here are the two shillings."

Janine stared at the stranger long and hard. His dark eyes seemed to penetrate into her thoughts. A strange feeling overwhelmed her and her body shook. Her heart beat slightly faster the longer she stared at him.

"Give me your hand," she finally said after taking the coins.

As she held her hand out toward him, he placed his big work worn hand in her fine delicate one and he shivered at her touch. Her hand was as cool as the mountain stream and as smooth as a rose petal. He kept his fist closed and she had to slowly pry open each finger to reveal his large palm. He figured to draw this meeting out as long as possible. He must make her see they were meant to be together.

Janine lowered her eyes and stared at his palm.
For a moment it confused her. He had an extremely long life-line with a small break in it and then it continued onward toward his wrist. She wondered what that break in his life-line meant, she had never encountered it before. She decided to tell him what he wanted to hear, just like she told all the others who came to her tent.

"You have a very long life-line good sir. You will marry and have two children, a girl and then a boy. You will meet a mysterious black haired woman and your lives will be mingled for a short time."

"And who is this black haired woman?"

"I do not know who she is, but be very wary of her."

It was then that Bogard seized her hand. Janine tried to pull away but he said, "Now I will tell your future." He opened up her hand and traced his fingers along the lines of her palm. "You have met a very dark haired, handsome man, who is consumed with desire for you. He will ask for your hand in marriage. At first you will refuse, there will be obstacles to overcome. Your parents will deny the union, but he will win them over and you will be married and have a grand gypsy wedding."

"Pray tell me sir, who is this handsome man I am to meet? Is he brave and fearless? Will he do battle for my honor? Will he love me for eternity?"

"All that, and more."

"Then introduce me to him, since I do not remember ever meeting such a man."

"Look deeply into my eyes and you will see all you need to know," he taunted her.

As she stared deeply into his eyes she too was seized with a desire to get to know this handsome man better, but her family would forbid a love between them. She was a gypsy and would marry a gypsy. He was not of their kind and a union between them would bring trouble to her people.

***********

For several days after the Festival of the Harvest Moon, Janine thought often of the tall dark stranger. When several young men of her clan asked her father's permission to marry her, she refused them all.

"Janine, what is wrong? You are now sixteen and old enough to wed. Why do you refuse these men? They will make you a good match. Draco has many horses, and Harlen too has much to offer."

"No papa, please, do not force me to wed someone I do not love. I have seen my future and it is not with them."

***********

One evening, while camped in a valley not to distant from the near-by village of Corinth, Janine sat at the water's edge washing her clothes in the river. The morning mist had dissipated and the sun had already melted the frost on the ground. The air was crisp and a slight breeze rustled the remaining leaves on the trees. Most of the leaves had already fallen and carpeted the landscape with their beauteous colors. It was early November and winter would soon be upon them. It was time to head south for the winter before the snows fell and made traveling impossible. The clan was packing up and were almost ready to leave.

As Janine scrubbed and beat the clothes on a large flat rock her mind drifted to the week before when she met the tall dark haired stranger. He never told her his name and she wondered why? That was the last time she saw him and it saddened her. Was he naught but a dream she had envisioned, or was he a real flesh and blood man.

As Janine's thoughts drifted to the handsome young man, she failed to notice the approach of three strangers until it was too late. These strangers were on their way home from the festival. They had spent the last few evenings at the Crockery Tavern, visiting with some old acquaintances before they walked the forty miles home.

They were well into their cups after drinking all night and celebrating with the whoring tavern wenches. Bleary eyed and restless they staggered toward the river for a drink to help clear their heads. As they approached the sparkling water they spied a water nymph, as beautiful as a spring flower and as delicate as the finest lace. They stood and stared for a while at this graceful creature and as they watched from a distance their desire for this vision of loveliness consumed them.

The three travelers looked toward each other and grinned. Their eyes were filled with lust and their mouths began to salivate. They couldn't believe their good fortune. This was no homely whoring tavern wench, only interested in separating them from their coins. Here was a sweet ripe young gypsy maiden. They all knew what wildcats gypsies were and they plotted to steal her away.

While Janine rinsed the clothes in the water the three men quietly crept closer. The sudden snap of a branch near-by caused Janine to sit-up straight and quickly turn toward two of the intruders. Half-way through her scream, the third unseen man, crept up from behind her and clamped his left hand over her mouth and encircled his right arm around her waist lifting her up off of the ground. Janine struggled and tried to kick at him with the back of her heals. The other two men grabbed at her kicking legs and quickly subdued them. Once she was secured they started to carry her off deeper into the woods away from the gypsy camp.

Terrified, Janine struggled and managed to viciously bite the hand clamped over her mouth. The man cursed and removed his now bleeding hand from her mouth. Janine managed a loud ear-piercing scream just before one of the men hit her in the jaw, slamming her head viciously into the bony shoulder of her abductor. As dark shadows engulfed her consciousness, Janine drifted off into a world of nightmarish dreams.

************************

On the other side of the river Bogard and his twin brother Borgda were stalking a large buck when they heard a woman scream.

"It came from across the river, Bo you go up-stream, I'll go down."

The two brothers separated after fording the river. Soon Borgda could hear shouts up ahead and cautiously approached the sound of the voices.

"JANINE, WHERE ARE YOU?" he heard over and over again. With his crossbow at the ready he approached the small group of gypsies.

The gypsies were unarmed except for the dirks still sheathed in their waist bands. As Borgda approached with his arrow pointing at them, the gypsies all reached for their daggers.

"Hold on, what is amiss here? Why are you gathered here on my land?"

"As you can see we are a band of gypsies. We entertained at the festival this week past."

"I remember, but why are you still here?"

"One of our horses has gone lame and she needed some rest. We had to tend to her foreleg or she would not make the journey south. As it is we may have to put her down. 'Tis a shame she is a good mare. We would hate to lose her, she has served us well for many years. But the mare is of no concern to us right now. My daughter is missing. She was at the river's edge and we came running when we heard her scream, but all we found was a pile of wet clothes. There seemed to be a struggle the leaves are all churned-up. We have been trampling through these woods all week so there is no clear trail to follow. We could be following ourselves. Several of our men have gone south along the river and east toward the village. We were about to head north and west when your unexpected presence hindered our progress."

Borgda lowered his crossbow.

"All-right," he said. "I will help in your search. I have just come from the west and have passed no one. My brother is with me. We heard the scream. He headed north while I headed south in search of its source. I will join with you in your search. Since my brother is alone and we know not how many there were, will one of you come with me north, while the rest of you search west?."

"I will go with you."

"Carlo, NO! How do we know we can trust him? What if it is a trap and he is but a decoy?"

"She is my daughter. Ober, I must do what I can to save Janine. I must trust that he was sent to us for a reason. Go now, time is passing swiftly. We must find her before it is too late."

The band of gypsies separated and Borgda and Carlo headed north.

*************

Bogard was having no difficulty following the trail of the three men. They were struggling with something heavy and seemed to stagger with each step. Who or whatever they captured had put up quite a battle. Suddenly the struggling seemed to cease. Only one man was now carrying the object of concern. The other two seemed to just be following behind in a straight line.

Bogard figured he would catch up with them soon. He knew these woods intimately. They were carrying a heavy load while he was fleet of foot and unhindered. He hunted and played in these woods since he was a young lad and knew every shortcut and resting place. Bogard marked the trail so Borgda could follow swiftly. Bogard knew he was getting close, he could hear voices up ahead. Silently as a cat Bogard shortened the distance between them.

He noticed three men standing in a clearing, one was out of breath and exhausted from carrying their victim. His breathing was labored and he was bent over as if in pain.

Bogard could not see who or what the men had captured, the leaves partially covered it from his view. He stayed out of site waiting for the right moment to overcome them. There were three of them and he was alone. He needed to know how well they were armed or even if they were the right men. To attack and kill an unarmed man could lead to his own execution and no one was worth losing his life over. Slowly he crept through he trees to get a better look and to hear what the men were saying.

The older man that was bent over finally stood up. He was tall and stockily built. There was an ugly scar on his right cheek. A scar that Bogard knew well, for he had put it there. The man had gotten drunk at the festival last year and had no money left to pay for his drink. He took his anger out on a young serving wench who refused to give him anything else to drink without payment. Bogard intervened and a fight ensued. As they fought the man fell to the dusty tavern floor and cut his cheek on a piece of broken crockery. The man swore revenge if he ever saw Bogard again, But the profusely bleeding scar ended the fight and the man left to tend his wound.

Bogard didn't recognize the other two men but they looked like younger versions of the scarred man. He was now close enough to hear the conversation between the three men and was revolted by what he heard.

"We are still to close to the gypsy camp they could be following us right now. I am getting tired I can't carry her much longer. It is up to you to take turns. Whichever of you carries her the furthest will get the first go at her. She is a great prize and well worth the effort."

"Why can't we just do her right here and then leave her?"

"No! It is too soon we must get further away. They are probably out searching for her as we speak."

"But papa, I want her now. Look at me, my needs can't wait."

"All right, but you carry her the next five miles."

The three men's eyes searched the forest before they turned their attention to the beauty half burried in the leaves. There was a bruise forming on the side of her left cheek and dried blood adorned her bottom lip where her tooth had cut into it.

"Find something to gag her with, we don't want her screaming when she wakes up."

One of the young men tore off the bottom of his shirt and raised her head up to gag her. As he bent over her, Janine, who was feigning unconsciousness, swung her clenched fist and punched him in the nose. He fell backward into the leaves clutching his bleeding nose.

"That was for my bruised jaw you maggot," she said as she jumped up on to her feet. The other two charged at her instantly. She knew she couldn't out run three of them she had to face them. As long as she kept them at a distance she had a chance. She twirled and side-stepped their advance, all they grabbed was air.

When Bogard saw who the captive was, his anger raged within him and he started to charge at the three men. As he entered the clearing he stopped and stared in amazement. This lovely unarmed gypsy flower was keeping the three men at bay. Her speed and agility was like a beautiful dance. Each time they reached for her she spun away and kicked out viciously at them. She caught the old man behind his right knee and his knee bent forward crumbling under him. He yelled in pain grabbing at his leg. She then placed her foot on his bum and pushed him forward into one of the other men tumbling them both to the ground. Bogard knew for sure now that this was the woman he would marry. She was magnificent.

It wasn't until the third man unsheathed his dirk that Bogard stepped in. He drew his crossbow and fired at the third man. The arrow pierced his hand and exited the other side and the dagger fell unceremoniously to the ground. It was then that Janine got in the final blow. She swung her leg upward and her foot viciously found its mark in the man's groin. He doubled over in pain and staggered away from the duo. The other two men had already retreated into the trees when they saw Bogard charge into the clearing.

As Janine turned to face the newcomer, her jaw fell. He was the last man she expected to see out here in the woods. She knew her family would be searching but he was unexpected.

"How did you get here?"

"I heard a scream and followed the trail. I did not know it was you I would be rescuing."

"Ha! I rescued myself. I could have taken all three of them. My four brothers have taught me well. I am not at all helpless, as you can see."

"I'm sure you could have bested them. I was watching from the edge of the clearing."

"You watched, and did nothing?"

"I am very skilled with a crossbow. I knocked that dagger out of his hand. Is that not at least worth a kiss of gratitude?"

Janine swung her hand to slap his face but he grabbed it and pulled her close. His crossbow fell to the ground as his arm encircled her body crushing her toward him. Fire flashed in her dark eyes and he was lost in them.

"I once told you I was brave and would do battle for your honor. You will marry me, it is written in the stars." With that said, he leaned forward and gently placed his lips on hers.

Janine tried to struggle but she soon felt herself melting into his arms. His kiss was warm and sweet and she found herself unable to resist his charms. She melded herself to him and his gentle kiss became more urgent and passionate. She realized she had been waiting for this since their first meeting.

As his kisses became more bold, Janine winced and pulled away. She could feel fresh blood in her mouth where her tooth had broken the skin. Her hand reached for her jaw and held it there. The bruise on her face was darkening, and her lip was swollen. Bogard cradled her into his shoulder and caressed the back of her head. Her long dark hair, although matted and laden with leaves, still felt silky smooth and smelled of the sweet fragrance of an autumn breeze. He would never let her go again.


*******************


Borgda and Carlo headed north through the forest. The cool autumn breeze took a back seat to the heat of the noon day sun.

"Over there," shouted Borgda. "My brother's mark is on that tree trunk. We are heading in the right direction."

"How can you be sure?"

"He is my brother, I know. See the twin arrows >>, they point East, we now change course."

"But why twin arrows? Why not only one?"

"You will see Carlo, you will see soon enough."

Carlo and Borgda headed East for another three miles. When they came upon Janine kissing Bogard, Carlo flew into a rage and rushed with his dagger drawn to do battle with the despoiler of his daughter's virtue.

Bogard heard the rushing of footsteps behind him and thought the three men had returned. Unsheathing his dagger he released Janine and turned to do battle with the intruder.

"NO!, screamed Janine. "He's my father."

Bogard side-stepped just in time for Carlo's dagger to miss him, at the same time he moved he stuck his left foot out tripping Carlo, who fell face first into a pile of leaves. Janine rushed to her father's side and threw herself over him.

"No, please do not hurt my papa."

"Hello Bo, I see you have found the young damsel in distress, and have already reaped your reward."

"Pray tell, what have you done with the culprits?"

"Me? I've done nothing with them. The young wench had things under control by the time I got here. She is a magnificent hellcat. She took on all three of them by herself and had two of them beaten before I took on the third. Bogard, what took you so long to get here?"

"I met up with Janine's family and they thought I was one of the men who took her prisoner. I had to do some fancy talking to convince them I was innocent."

"So that's her name, Janine. Her name is as beautiful as she is."

"Are you telling me you were kissing her like that and never introduced yourselves?"

"That's right." Bogard replied as a sly grin appeared on his face.

While Bo had his back to Janine and her father, Carlo slowly got up off of the ground. As he rose his hand brushed against something solid. He brushed the leaves aside and discovered the crossbow Bogard had dropped.

Janine turned her head away from her father and watched as Bogard talked to the newcomer and wondered who he might be. His face was obstructed from her view by Bogard's body. She turned back toward her father to ask him who he was, when she noticed the crossbow in her father's hands pointed at Bogards's back.

"PAPA NO!" she screamed.

Just then Bogard stepped backward and turned to face Carlo, at the same time Borgda looked up and saw the weapon in Carlo's hand. Borgda then raised his weapon in return and pointed it at Carlo.

"Papa, please put that down. Can you not see they mean us no harm?" Janine placed her hand on the bow and looked into her father's eyes. "Papa...I love him."

"Put down your bow Borgda, he only wants to protect his daughter."

"Not until he does."

"PLEASE PAPA! Put it down."

Carlo looked into his daughter's pleading eyes and slowly lowered the crossbow. Janine caressed her father's face and smiled gratefully at him.

Janine turned toward Bogard and suddenly stopped. The two brothers stood side-by-side. For the first time Janine and her father got to see the two brothers together. Astonishment shone in their eyes. If not for the difference in their clothes it would be impossible to tell them apart.

"Janine, this is my brother Borgda, and since we haven't officially been introduced, I am Bogard Sturges."

"This is my papa, Carlo Chrinchi."

Janine related the tale of her kidnapping to her father and the part Bogard played in her rescue.

"I am much grateful for what you have done for my daughter and I would like to offer you some kind of a reward. Perhaps you would like to stay for dinner tonight. We will have a grand gypsy celebration in your honor. By the time we get back to camp it will be too late for us to start our journey so we will postpone our departure until morning."



To be continued

Chapter II
"New Day-lighters-Gypsy Wedding-II"