special,” Emel exclaimed.
“You know it’s true, she’s a crazy old woman. I bet you’ll be just like her someday.” Sophie crossed her arms and used ugly words to mask how she felt. Alone and vulnerable.
“You need to leave. Seriously, I don’t want you here if you treat my people this way,” Emel said, holding her ground, not letting Sophie boss her.
“What will you do, Jou-Jou? You can’t just wander the woods. Come home with me. We can sort this all out together.” Henri spoke gently, but Sophie froze in annoyance.
“Stop that.” Sophie stared him down.
“You’re right. She can’t go off alone in the woods. She won’t be safe. Especially with what we heard from Miora.” Emel’s words seemed to soothe Henri because his shoulders slacked a bit and he nodded his head in understanding.
The fiddle stopped playing its soulful tune and Beznik came and joined his sister.
“What is the dilemma you seem to face?” he asked, putting his arms on Sophie’s shoulders.
His black felt cap was cocked to the side, and a few days’ rubble crossed his chin. Sophie had never found herself less attracted to a man. His nose was huge and his eyes bugged. He was as lanky as they come and Sophie rolled his eyes at his pretense.
“She was about to run away like a prissy little girl. Too privileged to know better,” Emel said, haughtily.
“Hey now, Emel, be gentle with our company. Where do you want to go, milady?” he asked kindly.
“Away. Anywhere. Soon.”
“In the morning a group of us are leaving to meet with some other friends, to bring them back here where we’re camping for the summer. I can drop you off in the king’s North Montagne. It’s far enough away, but still the closest Provence to home.”
“Why would you be nice to her? She’s treated Miora terribly, and me too for that matter.” Emel stomped her foot.
“Oh hush, sister, our job is to treat the ones who come on our path with generosity.” He looked at Sophie and raised his eyebrows in what appeared to be his sexiest pose.
“Oh, brother. You just want a wife. You’re ridiculous you know that?” Emel started walking away, but before she left she turned and said, “You know, Henri, last summer when we met I couldn’t understand why someone as sweet as you would be in love with a girl like her. You’re wasting your time, you know that? The nice girls will treat you better. Girls like me.” With that she turned on her heels and left.
Henri opened his mouth to disagree, but quickly shut it. He looked back at Sophie, wanting to gauge her response.
She ignored Emel’s words completely, and instead turned to Beznik and smiled a ridiculously fake smile.
“Yeah, maybe I will. I mean, I’m headed to the mines anyway. That was my plan.”
“Perfect!” Beznik clapped his hands, and danced a little jig in front of them. “We leave at dawn.”
Sophie’s eyes grew wide as she tried to decipher what exactly she had gotten herself into.
“It’s settled. I’ll be back. I just need to go get some things.” Sophie nodded her head and puckered her lips. Like there was more she wanted to say, but she didn’t. Instead she turned back to the woods toward their village.
8.
Tristan
North Montagne, Gemmes
Tristan arrived in the village square in early evening, exhausted on all accounts, yet still eager to start searching for the stone he was desperate to find.
A diamond.
He’d seen plenty of them before, of course. Any gem tracker with a decent record would have found a handful if they searched in the right spot, but this diamond was an eight-sided beauty that was rumored to be the lost diamond of Gemmes. A diamond gone missing generations ago, some say it was lost at sea, others say in the mountains. This was all assuming it was the same diamond the Trésor de L’espoir required.
“Tristan! Long time no see my friend!”
Tristan’s turned and saw Damian. A tracker he had spent several
“You know it’s true, she’s a crazy old woman. I bet you’ll be just like her someday.” Sophie crossed her arms and used ugly words to mask how she felt. Alone and vulnerable.
“You need to leave. Seriously, I don’t want you here if you treat my people this way,” Emel said, holding her ground, not letting Sophie boss her.
“What will you do, Jou-Jou? You can’t just wander the woods. Come home with me. We can sort this all out together.” Henri spoke gently, but Sophie froze in annoyance.
“Stop that.” Sophie stared him down.
“You’re right. She can’t go off alone in the woods. She won’t be safe. Especially with what we heard from Miora.” Emel’s words seemed to soothe Henri because his shoulders slacked a bit and he nodded his head in understanding.
The fiddle stopped playing its soulful tune and Beznik came and joined his sister.
“What is the dilemma you seem to face?” he asked, putting his arms on Sophie’s shoulders.
His black felt cap was cocked to the side, and a few days’ rubble crossed his chin. Sophie had never found herself less attracted to a man. His nose was huge and his eyes bugged. He was as lanky as they come and Sophie rolled his eyes at his pretense.
“She was about to run away like a prissy little girl. Too privileged to know better,” Emel said, haughtily.
“Hey now, Emel, be gentle with our company. Where do you want to go, milady?” he asked kindly.
“Away. Anywhere. Soon.”
“In the morning a group of us are leaving to meet with some other friends, to bring them back here where we’re camping for the summer. I can drop you off in the king’s North Montagne. It’s far enough away, but still the closest Provence to home.”
“Why would you be nice to her? She’s treated Miora terribly, and me too for that matter.” Emel stomped her foot.
“Oh hush, sister, our job is to treat the ones who come on our path with generosity.” He looked at Sophie and raised his eyebrows in what appeared to be his sexiest pose.
“Oh, brother. You just want a wife. You’re ridiculous you know that?” Emel started walking away, but before she left she turned and said, “You know, Henri, last summer when we met I couldn’t understand why someone as sweet as you would be in love with a girl like her. You’re wasting your time, you know that? The nice girls will treat you better. Girls like me.” With that she turned on her heels and left.
Henri opened his mouth to disagree, but quickly shut it. He looked back at Sophie, wanting to gauge her response.
She ignored Emel’s words completely, and instead turned to Beznik and smiled a ridiculously fake smile.
“Yeah, maybe I will. I mean, I’m headed to the mines anyway. That was my plan.”
“Perfect!” Beznik clapped his hands, and danced a little jig in front of them. “We leave at dawn.”
Sophie’s eyes grew wide as she tried to decipher what exactly she had gotten herself into.
“It’s settled. I’ll be back. I just need to go get some things.” Sophie nodded her head and puckered her lips. Like there was more she wanted to say, but she didn’t. Instead she turned back to the woods toward their village.
8.
Tristan
North Montagne, Gemmes
Tristan arrived in the village square in early evening, exhausted on all accounts, yet still eager to start searching for the stone he was desperate to find.
A diamond.
He’d seen plenty of them before, of course. Any gem tracker with a decent record would have found a handful if they searched in the right spot, but this diamond was an eight-sided beauty that was rumored to be the lost diamond of Gemmes. A diamond gone missing generations ago, some say it was lost at sea, others say in the mountains. This was all assuming it was the same diamond the Trésor de L’espoir required.
“Tristan! Long time no see my friend!”
Tristan’s turned and saw Damian. A tracker he had spent several
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