Feu Sauvage: A Sequel to Flamme Éternelle

Le Retour De La Reine

Mary and Sebastian awoke to birds chirping and the clanking of someone stirring something in a large metal cauldron with a wooden spoon. The gypsy woman's gaze fell on the couple and she harrumphed, rolling her eyes and turning back to whatever it was that she was brewing. "You've been out a long time. I was beginning to think you'd never come 'round," the woman's voice was gravely with age and use, though she still looked strong enough to beat the daylights out of them if necessary.

"Where are we?" Mary asked.

"The gypsy camp where my mother was born," Sebastian replied, pulling Mary to her feet. He turned to the woman, "We came out here searching for-"

"I know why you're here, boy," the woman replied, "And you won't be getting answers from me," she  clutched a charm dangling from her neck and muttered something in a language Mary didn't recognize.

"Please, we could use any help we can get," Mary asked.

"Aye, that you could," the woman nodded, "but unfortunately, I cannot give you information. I can, however, give you provisions and guide you to your horses, but even that must be done quietly."

"We'd be extremely grateful for any and all aid you can give us," Mary smiled.

The woman frowned at them, as if she knew something she wasn't letting on. "Stay here," she instructed, then scuttled off through the maze of tents.

"We need to get back," Sebastian murmured, "I don't know how long we've been gone, but it has been much longer than we intended."

"I hope everything is okay at the palace," Mary mused.

"As do I," Sebastian said.

The woman returned with bread shaped lumps wrapped in pieces of cloth. "Your horses are being kept over there," she gestured east, "I can help you no more."

"You have helped us more than we could hope for. Thank you," Mary nodded to the woman.

Mary and Sebastian crept around the outskirts of the tent encampment toward their horses. No one approached or stopped them, but they could feel the eyes of the gypsies on them. Once reaching the horses, they placed the food the woman had given them in the saddlebags. There was a stirring in the gypsy village which gave Mary and Bash a greater sense of urgency. Bash helped Mary onto her horse and then climbed onto his own. There was a shout from a nearby tent and Mary looked at Bash. "Go!" He cried and they spurred their horses away from the tents. There were footfalls behind them and a shriek of anger as the pair escaped. They didn't dare turn and look back and they didn't slow down until they were some miles away.

"Do you think we're safe?" Mary asked.

"I'm not sure if we'll be safe until we get back to the palace," Bash replied grimly.

"It seems so different since we left," Mary mused, studying the forest, "I wonder how long it has been."

"I don't know, but I fear what we may find when we return," Bash said, "It makes me uneasy. The forest is too quiet, and the sky is too dark."

"Bash," Mary said, "What if we're too late?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if, while we were gone, she made her move and France has already begun to fall?" Mary asked.

"We'll only know once we get there, so there's no use in worrying about it now," Sebastian advised. They rode on through the woods, a comfortable silence between them, the only sounds to be heard were the snapping of twigs and branches beneath the horses' hooves and the squelching suck and give of the muddy ground.