Tue Feb 04, 2003 11:44 am
How many times had she been told not to stray too far from the group? Too many. And how many times had she listened? Never. She was a free spirit and she wanted no one to clip her wings. She would do as she wished and be damned them all who tried to stop her.
Ebony Merrick smiled to herself as she broke away from the rest of the group, the gypsy's never seeming to noticed as the dark haired wonder slipped away into the night. She knew the routine. They would simply set up camp and drink themselve into merriment, then they would pass out one at a time, leaving her to clean up their mess. But not this time! This time she was going to explore the village she had heard about. It was a little village in Myrken Wood but the name seemed to have escaped her that night.
As she moved through the night she laughed softly, finally seeming to be set free from the confines of her ownership. She had been won in a game of chance, her father having never been able to break the gambling habit. On that night, he had lost his own daughter to a clan of gypsies. How she had cried as she was led away from her father and the band of gypsies had quickly gotten out of the town to ensure that her father would not reneg on his debt. Though her job hadn't really been laid out before her, it fell somewhere along the lines of servant to entertainer. She did everything from cooking their meals, to singing to the people, to even dancing before the men.
As she neared the town, she crouched down, watching with fascination as the people came and went about their business. She started as a drunk was hurled out of a local bar and covered her ears from the string of curses that spewed from his lips. As she was about to step into the village, a scream rent the air and suddenly there were young girls running out of a tavern and toward the woods. Towards her! Her eyes flew open and she jumped to her feet, breaking into a fast sprint as she ran away from the people, trying to keep her distance from the girls lest she be mistaken for one of them.
She ran so fast and so hard that she hadn't realized that she had long ago ran passed her people. Before she realized this, she had come across an inn. She stopped dead in her tracks and drew in one great gulp of air after another, trying to calm her heartrate. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she felt as though someone were watching her.
Her hands began to shake and a cold sweat broke out on her back. She felt danger, yet she saw nothing. Without thinking of what she was doing, she ran to the door of the inn and without a backwards glance, she opened it and stepped inside........