Chapter 1

Sat, 26 Oct 2013 03:33:50 +0100

Chapter 1

Alone and Broken

THEN

Maria pulled her hood down over her face as she headed towards the river behind her castle. In her arms was an infant girl, the only child of her three she could save. Once she reached the river, she strapped the baby’s basket to a horse’s saddle, swatted the horse’s rear, and sent it on its way.

The horse ran for miles before coming to a stop near a gypsy camp. She trotted up to it, the baby still on her back. Neighing, she moved towards the other horse’s warily. A man stopped her, and led her to the gypsy’s leader. The leader took the baby, sent the man to take the horse to the rest, and examined the girl he now held. “Jinxx,” he said, “That is your name, child.”

The gypsy leader took Jinxx in, raising her as his own child, along with his two children, Mani and John.

NOW

As I stepped out into the sun from my wagon-house, I had a feeling that the day I was starting would change my life forever. My long black hair swished in the wind behind me, yet again getting in my way. I sighed and stepped back inside, pulling it into a side French braid. I smiled slightly when I saw my unique grey eyes in the small mirror on my night stand. Everyone seemed to love them, and I had no idea why. I reemerged from my cart and walked towards the center of camp, where breakfast would be. Once I arrived, I sat by John and Mani, my older siblings. John was eyeing a girl my age, which was several years younger than him. I smiled slightly, shaking my head. He’d never work up the nuts to ask her out. Mani, who was on the other side of John, was throwing herself at a guy sitting on the other side of her. I’d met him a few times, but never paid much attention to him. He seemed to sleep around, and since Mani did too, I figured they’d be a good match. They could have a nice, open, relationship. Plenty of diseases for them to share.

Stephen, a boy who’d had a crush on me for as long as I could remember, handed me a plate of food. I smiled slightly and took it, picking out the onions and carrots I despised. He took a seat beside me, and began eating. “It’s nice to see you awake this early,” he said. “I take it you weren’t out late this time?”

“Not really.” I replied, trying to keep our conversation short. I should have known better.

“Why not? It’s not normal for you.”

“I just didn’t feel like being out.”

“Something’s bothering you, isn’t it?”

“No,” I replied, a little sharper than I’d intended. “Nothing’s wrong,” I said, more gentle. I didn’t like him, but I wasn’t going to be a straight up bitch to him. Stephen seemed a little hurt by my tone, and he moved on to talk to some of his other friends. I finished my food and left, taking care of my daily chores.

Once the day had ended and the camp had started setting up for their nightly parties, I packed a set of tight, revealing clothes, and rode to the nearest town, finding a small inn in the higher class part of town. I changed into the black, transparent clothes and slipped into the room, attracting the eyes of several men (and women) in the room. I moved myself into a corner, carefully moving just the right way to provoke a man. After several moments, one strode confidently over to me. “You look a little far from home, gypsy.” he said.

I smirked slightly. “We don’t have homes. You know that. I’m just stopping by for a bit of fun,” I replied. “You up for it?”

The man moved closer to me, nearly pinning me to the wall. “Aren’t you a little young?”

“I’m glad I look like it. I’m twenty,” I lied. Really, I was sixteen, but he didn’t need to know that for my purposes.

“That so?” he asked doubtfully, running a hand up my side. “You sure you aren’t adding a few years there?”

“I’m sure,” My smirk widened. “Besides, it wouldn’t matter to you anyways. Are you checked into a room?”

The man raked his eyes over me, mentally undressing me and not bothering to hide it. “Go on up, kid.” he purred, handing me the key.

The man’s room was richly decorated, as I’d expected it to be. This guy had executed many gypsies, and he’d made lots of money off of it. I laid the key on his nightstand and walked to the window, staring out at the stars. The man walked in a few moments later, his light hair shining slightly in the moonlight. Downstairs, I’d noticed his eyes were brown; an unusual hair and eye color combination. I stayed by the window, and he came up behind me, hiking up my already short skirt, which I had nothing under. “Nice night, isn’t it?”

“It is,” I stood straight, leaning slightly into him. He ran his ice cold hands over my body, slipping them under my clothes at several points. I turned to face him, smiling faintly in the dark room. Slowly, I unbuttoned his shirt. He began placing kisses on my neck, seeming to enjoy himself. When he moved to my mouth, I let him slip his tongue into it, the taste of alcohol thick in his own mouth. I played my part for him until I stumbled onto his bed, taking him down with me once he‘d removed my clothes. As he fell on top of me, I slipped a dagger out of my nearby skirt and allowed him to fall onto it. He sputtered, eyes wide. Blood trickled out of his mouth and nose as he pushed himself off of me, staring at the knife in his chest. I stood and wiped his blood off of me, dressed, and walked over to him. He was on the ground. “This is what you get for killing gypsies,” I said, retrieving my knife.

“J-jinxx,” he stammered, recognizing me. I smirked and leaned over him.

“Yeah. And what’s your name?” I asked, harshly. When no attempt at an answer came, I sighed. “I could make this a lot worse for you, y’know.”

After a moment of consideration, the man closed his eyes. “Brad,” he mumbled. I suspected he’d die soon, so I cleaned the blade of my knife and left.

A woman was waiting for me when I brought my horse to a stop. Her name was Meiling, and she came by our camp occasionally. I frowned in the shadows, because, when Meiling showed up, trouble followed.

Meiling looked up from her bracelet, directly at me. “Child,” she said, “I need to speak with you.”

Dismounting, I braced myself. I’d never been alone with Meiling, and I’d only exchanged a handful of words with her when I’d walked into a conversation between her and my father. Was I the one she was going to use to start trouble? “What is it?”

“You aren’t a gypsy. Not by blood,” she said. I frowned, confused, but she didn’t give me a chance to ask questions. “Your family is royal. Or, they used to be. You must find and save them, or you will be hunted down and killed once the government finds out that you are alive. They have been looking for your brother and your sister, who also escaped, for years. Thankfully, those two know how to hide. Find them, Jinxx. This camp will be slaughtered tomorrow morning. Be gone by then.” Meiling finished, walking away into the shadows.

I knew if I tried to follow that woman that I’d never find her, so I stood in place, shocked by what I’d heard. I’d known I’d been adopted. That much was obvious. How could I believe my family was royal, though? I couldn’t. And if the camp would be killed, I had to warn people. I ran to John’s wagon-house and banged on his door. When no answer came, I opened his door and found him asleep. I kneeled by him and tried to shake him awake, but he only stirred slightly, even after hitting him and screaming in his ear. John was normally a light sleeper, so I went to the next few carts and found the inhabitants in the same condition as John.

Suddenly, I heard the footsteps of boots. Lots of them. The government’s military. Rushing to my own cart, I threw clothes into my bag, along with a few knives and valuables and jewelry, and looked out. The whole camp was on fire. Until that moment, I’d had no idea how fast those soldiers moved. Tears stung my eyes as I rushed to the nearest horse with my bag and fled my home, not a single scream coming from any of the carts. They all died in a drugged sleep, and I was alone and broken in the world.