Princess Electra Book 3 Gypsy Music
by Dory Lee Maske
Copyright © 2011 by Dory Lee Maske
All rights reserved
Copyright ©-2011 by Robert Maske
All rights reserved
Cover design by Robert Maske
Princess Electra Book 3 Gypsy Music
Chapter 1
King's Lake in Fernland
A colorful caravan of wagons rumbled down King's Road toward Fernland. The wagons were barrel shaped on the top, set into flat beds on wheels, each wagon pulled by a powerful horse. The wagons were painted bright colors, purple with red and orange flowers, blue with yellow stars and moons, green with yellow patterns, a total of eighteen wagons in all, each with its own designs. The driver in the lead wagon pulled gently on his reins, slowing the lead horse, while he studied the ships anchored on King's Lake and the construction activity on the north shore. He stood up on his seat, reins in hand, and whistled to the driver of the wagon behind him. With a series of whistles and hand signals, the caravan came to a halt. Men climbed down from the drivers' seats and from within the enclosed wagons. They wore satin shirts and brightly colored pants with sashes at the waist. Their hair was long and dark.
The men walked to the side of the road facing the lake and huddled together for an impromptu meeting. Before long a few women emerged from the wagons wearing brightly colored full skirts and blouses. They also had long black hair which they tossed from side to side when they laughed. They too, looked with interest at the activity on the north shore of King's Lake.
The men's meeting broke up. A consensus had been reached. The little caravan turned off the main road onto a trail that ran to the lake, coming to a final stop at a spot on the south shore close to the water. Here they circled their wagons and got out to look around. An old woman eased herself down from a wagon painted red with yellow stars and moons. She spoke to the driver of the lead wagon, a wide-shouldered man with long dark hair held at the back of his neck with a leather tie.
"You know we won't be here more than a day before the king sends soldiers to tell us to move on." The old woman frowned her disapproval.
"What about those ships?" He pointed to the seven tall ships anchored off shore. "The king hasn't told them to move on. Look at those stacks of wood. They are making beams and boards from it. It looks to me as though they are building permanent. We may as well stay on until we see which way the wind blows here. There may be opportunities for us."
The old woman shrugged. "Ships are one thing. They come and go. Gypsy Travelers are another. A king doesn't need to worry about sailors putting down roots."
"Gypsy Travelers come and go as well. Send out the girls. Tell them to find out who is building what and on whose order." The man turned his attention to unhitching the horses.
The old woman shook her head as she made her way to the largest wagon, painted bright yellow with blue waves.
"Juanita! Esmeralda!" She peered into the dark wagon.
After a good deal of rustling noise, two pretty faces emerged at the door of the wagon. They looked as though they might have just awakened. Esmeralda ran her fingers through her long black hair and yawned. Juanita blinked at the sunlight and pushed her face forward to see where they had stopped. They both appeared to be in their late teens.
The old woman chuckled at the girls. "El Grande wants the two of you to go tell a few fortunes and pick up information."
The girls emerged slowly, stretching and looking around.
Juanita smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt. "Where are we?"
The old woman pointed towards the water. "This is King's Lake in Fernland. There are ships anchored and men working on the north shore. You know what working men means."
Esmeralda laughed. "It means they have the coin to pay us to tell them what they want to hear."
"Off you go then." The old woman smiled. "You'd best take some love charms along as well. There may be one or two men yearning for a particular girl. But stay on your good behavior until we see which way the wind blows here. No light fingered business. Find out what they're building and who they're building it for."
Juanita fanned her skirt out around her, wrinkling her nose. "We're not light-fingered and I'm hungry."
The old woman started toward the area where others were already setting up a central cooking fire. "I'll get you some apples you can take with you."
Esmeralda and Juanita arrived at the building site on the north shore and were soon discouraged in their quest for money and information. No one seemed to speak their language or have time to admire their youthful good looks. They passed by the first group of men sawing and shaving logs and stopped at a little cottage with a walled enclosure in the back. A slender young girl was tending plants within the enclosure. She looked up as the two Traveler girls drew near.
All three were surprised to recognize one another. Juanita was the first to speak.
"Aren't you Electra, the sorceress Serafina's daughter?"
"It's you for certain," Esmeralda agreed, staring hard at Electra. Something seemed different about Electra, perhaps she had filled out a little and she seemed to be wearing better clothes. "So this is where you and Serafina took off to. We heard rumors Serafina died in the fire that burned down your cabin in the swamp, but I never believed it." Esmeralda looked at the cottage and lowered her voice. "Is Serafina here?"
Electra remembered Juanita and Esmeralda from the Traveler's camp on the outskirts of Chase Bound, where she had grown up believing Serafina to be her mother. She smiled as she held out her hand in greeting. She decided to ignore any questions about Serafina for a time.
"Yes, I remember you both. You lived at the Traveler's camp. What brings you to Fernland?"
Juanita tossed her head to swing her hair from her face. She lowered her voice. "Those Chase Bound swell headed shopkeepers threatened to burn our wagons if we didn't leave town. Just when business was good, too. We picked up most of Serafina's old customers for charms and the like. Someone started a false rumor that we were taking things from the shops."
"Somebody jealous of the free way we live, likely," Esmeralda added. "Anyway, the whole camp moved out of Chase Bound. We've been on the road for weeks coming north. We're camped over on the other shore." She pointed across the lake.
Electra moved to the side of the cottage to see the circular grouping of colorful wagons on the opposite shore. A worried line crossed her brow.
"Are you planning to stay camped there?"
Juanita laughed. "If they let the likes of you and Serafina stay here, I suppose they'll let us stay as well."
Electra paused, wondering where to begin to explain her altered circumstances. She was now a princess, reunited with her real parents, the king and queen of Fernland, and Serafina was now the Princess of Henge, a sworn enemy of Fernland. All this had happened in the few short months since leaving Chase Bound. She could scarcely wrap her own mind around all the events that had brought her to this cottage on King's Lake.
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