Gabriel watched as the woman tugged against her bindings with so much force that she ended up falling down in the dirt. In that moment, as she picked herself up off of the ground, she looked up and noticed the two of them staring at her.
Her dark, sooty lashes lifted and she stared back at them with the most enchanting blue eyes Gabriel had ever seen. They were very unusual, tilted at a slight, exotic slant. Her skin, however, was very light in color, very fair, unlike the swarthy olive skin of most gypsies. She had jet-black hair, which had been left loose, flowing over her shoulders and back in spiraling waves. The darkness of her hair paired with her fair skin and exotic eyes made for an interesting combination. Gabriel couldn’t seem to take his eyes away from her.
Without a doubt, she had to be the beautiful slave Dragos had mentioned at breakfast. And she was obviously dressed to sell. A plain, white cotton gown adorned her, tugging at her every curve. Though Gabriel was captivated by her, it made him sick to realize just what kind of slave the girl would surely end up becoming.
She couldn’t be gypsy, he mused. Her skin was too fair. He doubted she was English or French, either, for her features were too exotic. Perhaps a Spaniard, or maybe Russian. He wondered how she ended up in slavery.
“Come on, girl!” The command was growled from the large man who held the rope as he jerked the young woman forward. She stumbled, but caught her footing this time. Strangely, as the group moved on, the girl continued to look over her shoulder, still staring blatantly at Gabriel and Raphael without an ounce of shame.
Without thinking, Gabriel left his horse and followed the group down to the riverside. And as soon as he realized Gabriel was walking away, Raphael quickly trailed after him.
“Ahh, your highnesses, how nice to see you both.” This was said by a shorter man who sported a black eye patch. The man had walked over to Gabriel as he’d noticed him approaching.
“None of that,” Gabriel said. “You can drop the title as it no longer belongs to either of us.”
“Of course,” The man smiled crookedly. “I am Ivan, by the way. I am the leader of this little band of peddlers.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Would either of you like to view our wares today?”
“Tell me about the slave girl, the one you took over to the river. Who is she?”
Ivan looked towards the group Gabriel had gestured to.
“Aye, but there are many females for sale in that group. I was planning to put them on display for your people at noon. But if it pleases you, I will allow you and your brother to look over the goods beforehand, eh?”
He smiled crookedly again, running his jeweled fingers through his greasy black hair.
“If there are many slaves in that group, why do you only have the one tied up?” Raphael asked this question, though Gabriel had been thinking the same thing.
Ivan frowned. “Oh, her. The rope is a precaution. She has tried to escape many times. I’m sorry to tell you both this, but that one is not for sale. We already have a buyer lined up for her in Rabat- an Arabic Dey. He’s offered a heavy price for the girl.”
“My brother said you were selling a beauty beyond compare. What is she, if not that?” Gabriel asked.
“Aye, she is a beauty, that one,” Ivan agreed. “Nasty little thing, though. She bit me twice.” He said this part bitterly, while lost in thought. “Anyway, she is not the beauty I mentioned to your brother. Come; let me show you the girl I was referring to.”
As they followed Ivan, Raphael nudged Gabriel in the ribs, asking, “What’s this all about, brother?”
Gabriel shrugged. He didn’t really care to see any of Ivan’s other slaves. But he didn’t know how to answer his brother. He only knew that he wanted the chance to get closer to the girl with the blue eyes. He had no idea why. Something about her intrigued him.
“Brutus!” Ivan shouted. “Bring Eryn to me.”
A few minutes later, a young girl with dark hair was being shoved to stand before Gabriel and Raphael. Granted the girl was beautiful with emerald green eyes and rosy cheeks, but her beauty did not compare to the woman who Gabriel continued watching with his mind’s eye down by the river. She was still watching them, too. He could see her doing it.
“This is Eryn. Lovely as a rose, isn’t she? Of course, her price will be higher than any of the others. But I can give you a special deal if you’re interested in purchasing her today.”
Gabriel barely paid any attention to Ivan. His mind was still focused on the other girl. He could see her guard untying her bindings. He then handed her a rag, which she used to wash the dirt and grime from her face and hands. She continued to watch them as she scrubbed.
“Well, you’re a pretty one, aren’t you?”
Gabriel turned to see that Raphael was toying with the slave girl. He lifted her hair and brought it to his nose.
“Like roses,” he breathed.
“Ralph,” Gabriel warned.
“What?” he asked. “I’m thinking of making a purchase. Could use a woman’s touch around my tent, if I do say so myself.” He brought the girls hand up to his lips. “Nice to make your acquaintance, m’dear.”
The girl wriggled out of his grasp and turned away from Raphael. It was then that Gabriel realized how frightened she was. He could see the fear plainly showing in her eyes, though she tried very hard to mask it with a haughty air. He doubted she’d been a slave for very long. She lacked the submissive attitude and she wasn’t completely broken.
Gabriel preferred not to see where this was headed.
“Eryn, this is your only warning.” Ivan’s voice was menacing. He’d caught her shaking away from Raphael’s touch.
“Come on, Ralph. You’re not buying anything today,” Gabriel commanded. “Let’s go.”
“Who says so? Because I haven’t forgotten that you’re planning to leave. So I can buy whatever I damn well please.”
He grabbed the girl’s hand again, yanking her towards him more forcefully now, though he’d only done it to spite Gabriel. Once he’d realized he might have hurt her, Raphael had turned back to the girl to offer an apology, “Sorry, lass--” He hadn’t even gotten the words out of his mouth before a swing was taken at him from a most unusual source.
Raphael was nearly knocked over. In fact, the force of the hit had splintered his lip open from being knocked into his front tooth. He touched his bloody mouth before looking up to find the young woman with the blue eyes angrily attempting to take another swing at him.
“You bloody knave!” she screamed as she lunged for him. At this point, her guard had caught up to her and effortlessly secured the girl by the waist, lifting her up off of the ground.
“Not her face!” Ivan screeched, panicking. “It’s too valuable.”
The guard merely tossed his captive on her backside, knocking the wind out of her. She choked as she tried to catch her breath, coughing sporadically. Gabriel held his own breath until he heard the woman breathe again.
Ivan turned back to Gabriel and Raphael now, his dark eyes still panicked. “My sincerest apologies, sirs. She is crazy, that one. I swear I’ll have her whipped.”
Gabriel frowned. “I don’t believe that’s necessary.” He turned towards his brother. “Is it necessary, Ralph?”
He could tell that Raphael was holding back his anger. Gabriel was sure that his brother’s pride was severely wounded from getting hit by a woman. He was young and still carried his ego around with him. Thankfully, Raphael swallowed back his pride and let it go. “It’s not necessary,” he agreed with Gabriel.
“I insist,” Ivan said. “She will need some form of punishment, anyhow. This cannot be overlooked.”
When Raphael didn’t immediately oppose Ivan’s offer, Gabriel stared daggers at his brother. “No, it’s fine,” Raphael said emphatically to Ivan, but while looking at Gabriel. “Just have the girl apologize and we’ll forget it ever happened.”
“Good boy, Ralph, that was very benevolent of you,” Gabriel m
entioned sarcastically.
Raphael rolled his eyes.
Ivan merely nodded to the guard, who picked the girl up from the ground by her arm and shoved her forward so that she stood directly in front of Raphael.
“Let’s hear it, then?” Ivan instructed her.
But the girl didn’t apologize. She continued to openly express her abhorrence through a pair of angry, slitted eyes. She wasn’t trying to hide how she felt. Not one little bit.
Gabriel didn’t like where this was headed- for the second time around.
The guard pushed her again, knocking her closer to Raphael. “You ‘eard him, girl. Apologize now.”
The beautiful girl still wouldn’t apologize, however. Instead, she spat at the ground before Raphael’s feet.
Gabriel was speechless. And Raphael had become even angrier. “You wicked little viper--”
“Forgive me, sirs,” Ivan cut in. “She’s apparently chosen the whipping over a simple apology and so that’s what she’ll get. Maybe it will bring some sense to her.”
The guard re-tied her bindings, cutting into the flesh of her wrists. Gabriel noticed the woman’s wrists had already turned bright red and were starting to bleed from the scratchy rope. She hissed with pain as her guard yanked her up.
“Ralph!” Gabriel shouted.
“What?” Raphael shouted back. “She chose her fate. All she had to do was apologize. She deserves whatever she gets!”
With that said, Raphael stomped away, holding his sleeve to his bloody mouth, nursing his wound like a spoiled child. Gabriel was pretty sure his brother was nursing his ego, as well.
TWENTY-THREE
The Constantin brothers.
Liliana had heard the name repeated by various members of the tribe whose camp they currently inhabited. It was just a simple name, but she was well aware of the underlying connotations attached to it. Unfortunately for the Constantin brothers, that name meant many things.
It said that they were abandoners, for one. If that wasn’t bad enough, it said that they were Royal abandoners. That name also meant that they were traitors- the very worst kind of traitors.
They were…murderers.
Liliana wondered why other gypsies chose to follow the Constantins. Granted, she hadn’t seen that many caravans or tents, so there probably weren’t very many people amongst their small band of gypsies. But…how could anyone follow a Constantin? It was beyond her capability of understanding.
“Why couldn’t you just apologize, Lily?”
Eryn had just been tossed into the caravan’s extremely cramped holding cell alongside Liliana. The cell was barred from the rest of the wagon, an ideal accommodation for transporting slaves.
Hugo, one of the peddlers and Liliana’s recently assigned guard, locked the cell with a resounding click.
“Thanks, Hugo,” Liliana called out. “You’re doing a great job as Ivan’s personal puppet.”
Hugo merely grunted in response. He rarely ever reacted to anything Liliana said to him and she hated him all the more for it. She’d even shouted and screamed the vilest expletives imaginable at him- so vile that she wouldn’t even speak that way amongst a group of barbarians- but he still wouldn’t say a word to her. He could bloody well be made out of stone, for all she knew. Liliana waited in anticipation for the day when she could escape Hugo. She would gladly beat that man to death if she could.
Eryn plopped down beside Liliana on the wooden floor. “Why do you do that?” she asked, sighing. “You know it does no good.”
“Since when did you begin speaking to me, anyway, Eryn?”
Eryn shrugged. “I suppose since I figured out you’re an utter fool. Now I’ve decided I pity you more than I hate you.”
“Well you can go right back to hating me,” Liliana advised her sister angrily. “I liked you much better when you had nothing to say.”
Eryn looked away, rolling her eyes in the process. She kept her head held high even within the confines of her newfound status of a slave. She maintained a high-handed temperament, as if she still considered herself above everyone and everything. Liliana envied her sister that, surprisingly. With each passing day, she could feel her own spirit breaking. She was starting to lose hope, and Liliana knew hope was all she had to get by with.
She should have said something to him.
He might have rescued them.
Liliana sighed, remembering the recent events. As soon as she locked her eyes upon him, she’d known right away it was Gabriel, though he’d been clueless to who she was. He’d looked right at her, stared at her even. But he had no idea.
Never in her wildest dreams had she expected to see Gabriel again. There had been so many, many nights since her capture that she had cried herself to sleep at night, wondering if he were even alive…and here he was, in such an unlikely place, hidden in a forest along the southern coast of Spain. Gabriel was alive, healthy and beautiful.
And he was a descendent of the Constantin Royals. Third in line to the throne, to be exact. He was a prince- a prince with a very big, black mark against him.
She probably shouldn’t have rescued him.
Liliana winced. Maybe that was too harsh. On the other hand, he’d known from the beginning that she was a gypsy. And he’d never admitted to who he was. All this time…she shook her head in awe. She’d never even guessed he was of gypsy descent, much less a Royal. Well it was no wonder he hadn’t admitted that part of his background. She probably wouldn’t admit to it, either. But he could have at least made it known that he was a fellow Rom.
She couldn’t ask him to help her. In fact, she refused to. She couldn’t take the chance that he would say no. Ivan would probably kill her and Eryn for attempting escape. It was too risky.
And it was obvious she could never trust Gabriel again, anyway, especially after he’d almost purchased Eryn! Liliana would never forgive him for that. And as far as his arrogant friend was concerned, she hoped he rotted in hell. It was disgusting, watching him put his hands on Eryn in the manner that he had. It was as if they were inspecting a bloody herd of chattel.
Now that she thought about it, the other man sort of resembled Gabriel. She’d bet they were siblings. There were three Constantin brothers in total. There had been others before, but they’d all been seized before leaving Redwood Forest and promptly executed for their crimes. She wondered if Gabriel felt at all guilty for the crimes his family had committed.
Eryn suddenly shifted in the cramped space they were enclosed within, just a slight movement Liliana noticed through her peripheral vision. The movement distracted her thoughts back to her sister. Eryn never should’ve had to endure all of this. And if Liliana hadn’t insisted they stop at the inn…who knows, they may have never been captured in the first place.
Was it a mistake not asking Gabriel for his help?
Liliana hated to think she was risking Eryn’s future only to save her own pride.
“I should have known you’d be more trouble than you’re worth.”
The slimy, hoarse voice came from Ivan. Both Eryn and Liliana looked up to find him standing outside their cell, looking down upon them with apparent disgust.
“There was a reason that no good, rotten pirate sold you two to me for such a low price. I should’ve figured as much at the time.”
Liliana hid her smile. Faucon had been all too glad to get rid of them. She’d remembered the face he’d made when she kicked him square in the stomach after he’d tried to manhandle her. The kick had rendered him nearly breathless for a good hour. He’d wanted to throttle her afterwards, but instead, he’d decided to sell both her and Eryn to Ivan, whose band of peddlers had just ridden into the camp of raiders.
Liliana almost preferred Faucon to Ivan. Faucon may have been a ruthless pirate, but he had also harbored a strange fear of gypsies. He’d been too afraid they would cast a curse upon him and his crew- a loathsome prospect for a sailor headed out to sea. Neither Eryn nor Liliana knew any curses, but both of them were happ
y to let Faucon believe otherwise.
Unlike the pirate, Ivan bore no fear of them at all. In fact, most times he was even a little cruel.
“Get up,” Ivan commanded as he unlocked the door. “It’s time for your backside to feel the sting of your defiance.”
Liliana winced. She hadn’t expected this to come so soon. Then again, Ivan was probably beyond livid after what she’d done.
“No!” Eryn pleaded, bolting upright.
“You.” Ivan looked upon Eryn now. “Stay out of this.”
“Please, Ivan,” she begged. “She was just trying to protect me.”
“Eryn, stop,” Liliana commanded. “Everything will be okay, I promise.”
Ivan chuckled, a foul noise.
“So you do not fear your impending lashes, do you, draga?”
Liliana shrugged, trying as best she could to keep her head held high. “I’m not afraid of you.”
His lips tightened and he twirled a finger through the curl at the end of his beard. “We shall see your fear emerge very shortly, I suspect.”
Ivan shouted for Hugo. Moments later, he was there to bind Liliana’s hands and then escort her out of the caravan.
“I’ve changed my mind,” Ivan announced at the last minute. “The sister will come to watch.” He grabbed Eryn by her arm. “Maybe watching your sister’s punishment will help you persuade her to not come to your rescue next time, eh?”
~ ~
Gabriel was ready to leave when he saw the giant man dragging his hostage across the field with his mind sight. He tied the young woman to a post, far from the camp. Gabriel assumed it was so no one could hear her cry out.
This shouldn’t be bothering him so much. It was none of his damned business, anyway. But it was bothering him. And he couldn’t shake the feeling away.
Wanderlove Page 17