"Desert Rose - Chapter II" by Lindsay Verde

Epona looked up from the horse"s hoof she was picking out to find Matin watching her work. He was taller than Epona with short dark hair, currently speckled with sand, and aqua eyes. Ever since Epona turned fifteen he had been turning up frequently. A month ago she had confronted him about it and he had confessed his interest in her. Epona didn"t know why she held his interest; she was nothing like the other girls of the gypsy band. Her blond hair, blue eyes, and pale skin made her stand out amongst the dark hair and dark skin of the gypsies. She"d always wondered how she had come to live amongst them, but any questions she posed were always put off.

"Corin is wantin" a meetin" with ya," Matin said walking closer.

"Well, he"ll just have to wait until I"ve finished picking this horse"s hooves now, won't he?" Epona replied as she moved onto the mare"s other hoof. Matin just shrugged and kept on watching.

"Is there some other message you"re supposed to be delivering or are you just standing there to annoy me?"

Matin looked down at the ground as he hunched his shoulders and replied, "I was wonderin" if you were wantin" to go to the Samhain festival."

The sun was beating down and reflected off the sand to make the weather especially hot; it was doing nothing to help Epona"s temper. Not to mention the fact that she managed to get sand down her sutah and it was sticking to her sweat-soaked back.

"The Samhain festiv ... since when has any gypsy ever attended the New Year Festival?" The mere idea of it was just a little bit absurd.

Matin just shrugged, looking extremely uncomfortable as he dug in the sand with his boot. "Well, I"d overheard Corin talkin" "bout havin" a dance trial for those that want ta dance."

Epona paused, giving Matin a glare that spoke volumes of her opinion on that subject. Finishing the mare"s hooves, she gave her a slap on the rump that sent her back into the makeshift corral the other horses were milling about. Dusting off her hands, she squinted into the distance.

Corin"s tent flap was down, so there was a good chance he was undisturbed within. Now would be a good time to go and get some of her questions answered. Goodness knows Matin didn"t have any answers.

She noted that some of the tents were looking a little shabby as she passed. She would have to talk to Corin about supplies for getting them patched. It wouldn"t do to have a tent full of holes during a sandstorm.

The southern winds caught the chimes hanging from each of the tents and manifested an orchestra of sound that traveled with the wind as Epona stepped inside the tent. Corin was busy scanning some maps, sitting on a cushion in the middle of a sea of rolled hides. Slipping the sandals off her feet, she stepped onto the rug. One of the women, probably Corin"s cousin, had woven it a few years back. It depicted some ancient battle or other that Epona hadn"t bothered to learn about.

"What"s this I hear about holding dance trials for the Samhain?"

Snagging a nearby pillow, she dropped it on the rug in front of Corin and landed with a plop. He gave her a disapproving look out of the corner of his eye before returning to the maps spread out before him.

Epona didn"t know whether the look had been for her actions or her comment, so she tried a different track, "What are you looking over the maps for?"

Without looking up he muttered, "Just scouting out routes before the Samhain. How are the horses?"

"Good. Only one has a crack in his hoof and I caught it early enough that it shouldn"t be a problem."

"Good," he nodded.

"So why are we attending the Samhain all of a sudden this year?"

"Mmm," he hummed, brow furrowed at an apparently fascinating bit of the map.

Epona was getting frustrated but she tried not to show it. Corin would just play it up even more if he saw he was getting to her.

"The reason actually involves you. It"s about some news I received two years ago."

"Well?" she said, eyebrows rising when he didn"t continue. What information could he possibly have received two years ago that would be relevant today?

"Thirteen and a half years ago our troupe came across a woman in the desert with two little girls. The older of the two had dark wavy hair, but it was the younger who attracted our attention. She had the lightest hair we had ever seen." Corin got up to roll the maps and set them away in an oiled sack at the back corner of the tent.

Epona was almost bursting with impatience. She wanted to shout at him to continue. That fair-haired child had to be her, but he had mentioned a woman and child. Her mother?

"The fair-haired child had particularly caught the attention of Helah, the lover of Gammid, the previous leader of the gypsy band. Helah had finally come to terms with the fact that she was barren after thirteen years without conceiving. She ordered Gammid to get the golden haired child for her. He refused, though she begged and pleaded with him, saying that it went beyond what his scruples deemed acceptable, and if he didn"t follow his own dictates how could he expect anyone else to? It wasn"t until she threatened to leave him that he gave in. He knew that her leaving wouldn"t only break his heart, but hers as well."

The slight light that filtered through the canvas of the tent cast wavering shadows across Corin"s features, making his expression hard to read. Sitting up a bit straighter, Epona arched her back, moving closer as Corin continued.

"So one night Gammid crept into the tribe where the woman and child lived and waited outside the tent. When he was certain that everyone inside was asleep, he slipped in and found the little girl. He breathed a simple sleeping charm over her to ensure she remained so until they were away from the camp. As Gammid slipped his arms underneath her she fussed, tossing amidst the clutches of a dream. He froze, holding his breath, listening for movement. When he glanced up, it was straight into the open eyes of a man who had been asleep beside the child."

"My father?"

"Hold on. Save your question for later," Corin got up and began to pace, fidgeting with a loose thread on his robes.

"His opponent gave a cry of fury and launched himself at Gammid, dagger in hand. Gammid, well, he panicked," Epona could hear the hesitation in Corin"s voice as he paused. This all had the sounds of a rehearsed tale.

"What? What did he do? Where are my parents, my sister, now?"

"Gammid, he-he wasn"t thinking rationally, nor would you if someone were attacking you. It all happened so fast that he didn"t have time to stop himself releasing a blast of power."

Shock had Epona"s features going slack as Corin looked guiltily at her. The innate power that every born and bred gypsy seemed to possess was one that was never used against another human.

"It was an accident," Corin defended, "and before he could think he"d grabbed the child and raced away as quickly as his injuries would allow to his horse. The band of gypsies were camped only a few sand dunes away from the tribe, but in his condition he barely managed to hand the sleeping child off before he slumped in his saddle."

"Helah, who had anxiously been awaiting his return with their daughter, spent the next three days caring for him and praying for his recovery. But it wasn"t destined to be. He died that night and Helah, in her grief, took her life, leaving the fate of the child in her sister"s hands."

When Corin glanced up, it was to find Epona watching him with tears of shock pooling in her eyes.

"That"s it?" she managed to croak out. "Did," she cleared her throat and tried again, "did they ever find out what had happened to the family?"

Corin shook his head. "No. But both parents would definitely have been killed. The other child, I don"t know if she might have survived."

"My sister." "I"m sorry Epona, I was only eight at the time this happened and I didn"t know about any of this until two years ago."

"So why tell me now?"

"Because, there is to be a Samhain festival and all the tribes are to attend this year, including your sister"s."

"You know my sister"s tribe? But why tell me all of this?"

"No, unfortunately I don"t know your sister"s tribe-"

"But then how am I supposed to find her, for I assume you are giving me this information for that purpose," she interrupted in a rush, a little color creeping back into her pallid cheeks as she was unable to hold her frustration at bay.

"I hope to make amends to you and your family for the wrongs that were done to you. Gammid only did it for the love of his life. Nothing else could have enticed him to ignore his scruples. This may be your chance to find out if any of your family survived."

"But how will I know her, do you have her name?" She lent closer, anxiously holding her breath while hardly daring to hope.

"No, but you were both wearing identical pendants."

"Of what? What did they look like?" She burst forth, barely able to get the words out in a coherent fashion.

"This." He said as he extended his hand toward her, a miniature gold chain dangling from his fingers. From the chain hung a pendant of a design Epona had never seen before. There were two half circles joined at opposite ends by a small sapphire jewel. Ensconced within the two half circles were two stones. The top-most looked to be jade, while the bottom one looked like onyx.

"She will be wearing this. You will know her when you find her."