The Gypsy Queen (56 page)

  “
Yana
!” Emilee called out, seeing her first.
Yana
hurried to them. Old Lyubov had come, and
Yana
flung her arms around her, as they all crowded her, each of them speaking at once.

  “Lyubov, are you well?”
Yana
asked, concerned.

  “Da. Better,” she said. “Little Luba heal me.” Luba looked at her, and they both remembered the healing that Luba had seen in her ball.

Yana
’s healing.

  Luba’s face beamed with joy, and
Yana
kissed her cheek.

  “You
are
a healer,”
Yana
said to her. “Thank you.” She hugged Lyubov and Luba both, together.

  “Now you free,” Lyubov said. “Now you free.”

  Dimmie showed off his knife, and his wound from battle. Emilee, Jaelle, Kizzy and Nadya, her whole caravan was there. Mille the gypsy jester arrived, and hugged her friend.

  “I was so afraid for you,” Mille said. “I wanted to come help you.”

  “Maybe someday we can go on that trip after all,”
Yana
said. “Think I can get a ride in your new wagon?” Mille laughed and hugged her.

  Soon, citizens came to enter the hall as well.
Yana
recognized some of them from Obadiah’s party, and frowned. Bastion had explained Otta’s behavior, and all was well with him, but these people- they were the o
nes she overheard insulting her and the gypsies
badly. Bastion and
Yana
stood elevated, where the King’s table normally was. It was removed for the occasion.

  “Everyone is here, your highness,” Otta said, coming up to him. Bastion was dressed regally, in his finest attire, wearing his crown. He wanted to enjoy
Yana
and her friends too, but he had business first.

  “Citizens of
Jedikai
!” he announced. “Romany gypsies! I have brought you here to make a decree.” Bastion strode the stage.

  “A new time has come for this
kingdom
,” he said. “The gypsies will always be allowed in the west meadows, from now on. It will be open territory for citizens of
Jedikai
as well. I have built a new theatre, a bridge between the city and the meadow. All will be welcome to attend, and all will be welcome to perform.

  “I have created a new program, so that all gypsies will be able to find work, in this realm. Citizens will have the opportunity to cooperate with gypsies. We will sow new crops, and farmland. No one goes hungry.
Jedikai
will be a land of plenty!”  The people in the hall applauded.

  “Gypsies will be taught to respect the laws of the
kingdom
, so that citizens are not harmed. Our laws, our structure, will be supported and enforced. Respect for our protocols and laws will bring prosperity, and prosperity will drive out fear and lack, and drive out crime.

  “I have worked my whole life to fight for the security and well-being of this city. Recently, many gypsies have offered up their own lives alongside me, to that same end. It is the citizens that support
this
kingdom
that made us powerful enough to drive out our enemies. But it is the gypsies who have saved the life of its King, and are worthy of honor as well.”

  They had all heard the news of the battle that Bastion had gained victory in, and the Ursari gypsies- the troublemakers- that had been driven out.

  “I have commissioned for a shelter to be built in the city, for any freed slaves or captives who need shelter.
Jedikai
shall be a safe haven for those in need, and those in trouble.
Jedikai
will be a land of freedom, a sanctuary for all people.” Everyone applauded enthusiastically.

  Bastion brought forth Yana
, her wounds concealed by the garments
+
that adorned her.

  “
Yana
will be my wife.
Yana
will be the queen of
Jedikai
. She has gained honor and esteem with me, and she has earned her place beside me in every possible way. She will be honored by the people of this
kingdom
.”

  Bastion paused for effect. He wanted to drive this point home most of all.

“I will not abide
disrespect of the queen. Anyone who would
dishonor the
queen would embarrass themselves as fools. I would regard it as an affront to my father the King, my mother, the queen, an
d to me personally. Anyone who would transgress this decree
will answer to me,” he said with conviction. Bastion signaled, and Otta came forth, with a feminine crown.

  Bastion took it, and turned to
Yana
. She knelt before him, in the way she had come to love. Bastion set the crown upon her head. He stepped back, to see her as glorious as she was. She stood, and looked out at her friends.

An Alexandrite stone, the heart of a gypsy, was set perfectly in the center of her crown.

  Every person in the room bowed before her.

The applause that followe
d
was not thunderous, like that of many thousands, but it was the most exceptional time
Yana
had ever heard it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The hall had cleared out some, the citizens going about their business. Some gypsies lingered behind, catching up with
Yana
and Bastion.

They laughed, and played with Mille, and
even
Otta joined in too.

A man burst into the Great Hall, hurrying to Otta. He pulled Otta aside, and whispered to him.

  “Send them in!” Otta said. The man went outside, and brought in three gypsies- Two men, and one woman.

  “
Yana
!” one of the men shouted. “It’s me,
Vigo
! You remember me? We gave you coffee?”
Yana
remembered him well. She had sipped coffee for the first time with him, and Bastion, on their way back to the city. They had danced and celebrated, but became somber, realizing that Bastion did not know his father had died. All those gypsies bowing to the new King was a moment she would not soon forget.

  “Of course,”
Yana
said, hugging him. “What brings you into the city?”

  “This here is Pali and Kari,” he introduced his companions. “Kari says she has some news!”

  “News? For me?”
Yana
asked. Pali, the other man, spoke up first.

  “I was in the
army f
rom Kaffa,” he said. “Thank you
for saving us,” he said to Bastion
,
who stood beside
Yana
.

  “You saved me
too,” Kari said. “I was on the ship back from Kaffa.”  She did look familiar.

  “Well, we all got to talking. News of
Yana
, the gypsy warrior, has spread far and wide!” Kari said.

  “Tell her the good part!”
Vigo
encouraged her.

  “
Yana
,” Kari said, “We think we met your parents.”

Yana
’s face turned white, and she felt a little faint. Bastion held her, and spoke up.

  “What?
Yana
’s parents?” he said.
Yana
had been out searching for her parents nine years ago, when she saw Bastion struck by lightning. She had saved him, but had given up the search for her own parents.

  “Yes. Less than two years ago,” Kari said. “Way up north, above the Dneister river, where I was working when I was captured by the Moldavians. They were in the same cage as me for a while, but I do not know where they ended up.”
Yana
tried to get her wits about her.

  “What are my parents’ names?”
Yana
asked them.

  “These folks’ names was Zindelo and Violea,” Kari said.
Yana
felt weak, and Bastion supported her again.

  Those were, in fact, her parents’ names.

  “They were always talkin’ about a little gypsy girl named
Yana
,” Kari said. “They talked and talked, kept saying Yana,
Yana
... something about a harp you always played, or something. Do you play a harp?”

 
Yana
nodded, putting her hand over her mouth. Her head was spinn
ing, and her emotions were too. Her parents, alive? Her parents, slaves?

  “How long ago did you say that you saw them?” Bastion asked.

  “Less than two years ago,” Kari said.

Bastion looked at
Yana
, as she stood next to him.

“Can you ride?”  Bastion asked her.

“I can,” she replied, her eyes full of fire.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Bastion climbed into a wagon with
Yana
.

  “You think Otta can manage to run the
kingdom
all by himself for a while?”
Yana
asked.

  “He is going to be fine,” Bastion said. “He knows more about it than anyone. Besides, I gave him the most important advice I could, a wisdom that my father passed along to me.”

  “What’s that?”
Yana
said.

  “Mind the periwinkle!” Bastion said, laughing with her.

Bastion and
Yana
had delayed their wedding. They set their cr
owns
in wait, in the throne room, next to the periwinkle.

They rode the lead wagon of a large gypsy caravan. Lyubov and Luba were along. Emilee, Dimmie, Jaelle, Kizzy, Nadya.... everyone. Their wagons were well stocked, including the three extra wagons they had ridden into the Lower Reach.

Mille, the court jester, was along as well. She rode in Yana’s old wagon, and guided Kuta, the faithful horse
Yana
had given her. Another wagon held
Vigo
, and Pali, and Kari, who wanted to help
Yana
find her parents.

They were accompanied by Nico and Nathaniel, the accomplished black riders, and Bastion’s close friends. Several other caravans decided to leave the meadows and come along, eager for new adventure after a long spell in the west meadows of
Jedikai
.

They all wanted the honor to be called
Yana
’s friend

and to
hear the stories of
Yana
’s journey to
freedom.

_________________________________

THE GYPSY QUEEN

a novel
by

S
amuel
S
olomon

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© 2012
Samuel Solomon

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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