"Class, this is Danielle McMillan. Her family has just moved here. Please say hello to Danielle."
"Hello, Danielle," the classroom full of seven-year-olds droned.
Dani looked around the classroom, taking in the sea of new faces. She had only been in "real" school for two years now, but this drill was all too familiar--this was her fifth school in that time. Now her family was in Texas, with her father's latest military assignment. Though they had only been there for a week, Dani grinned wide and spoke in an admirable imitation of a Texan accent. "Howdy, ya'll. Folks 'round these parts just call me Dani."
The humor of her faked accent was lost on her peers, but several of them smiled. Later, many of those who smiled gathered around her on the playground, wanting to know more about the new girl. She always had been good at making friends, wherever she went.
Several months later, Dani skipped home from school, eager to show her parents the newest song and dance she had learned from her classmates. As she turned the corner onto the cul-de-sac where they lived, she stopped. Parked in the driveway was a moving van. Rolling her eyes, she broke into a run towards the front door of the house.
"I'm home," she shouted, ducking underneath the couch that was being carried towards the front door.
"There you are, Dani doll." Colonel Robert McMillan scooped his small daughter up into his arms, and she scrambled to be atop his shoulders.
"Where we going, daddy?"
"Minnesota. Hopefully this time for more than a couple of months, doll."
"Minnesota," Dani said thoughtfully. "Oooh, that's where they talk like Canadians, right?"
Colonel McMillan let out a hearty laugh. "Yes, doll. Something like that."
Dani nodded, and looked at her mother, who had come in from the kitchen. "Hello, mother. What are you talking aboot?"
Jenica McMillan smiled and shook her head. "Come down from there, kadessa [mouse]. We still need to get your things packed."
The next few years were more of the same for Dani. Sometimes they stayed for a whole year, sometimes only for a few months. Everywhere they went, Dani made a few friends with ease, and usually won over the rest of her class with her charm and outgoing nature. Every once in a while, someone saw fit to pick on the little girl who really couldn't say where her true home was. But she had a response for them as well.
"You better watch it. My mother is a Gypsy witch, and she’s teaching me to grow up to be just like her," Dani muttered at the girl who had made fun of her peasant blouse and skirt.
"A Gypsy witch? Yeah, right," the girl responded, rolling her big blue eyes. "More like an ugly witch, if that."
"Fine then, I'll curse you," Dani said, adopting a dramatic pose. "Chces li tajnou vec aneb pravdu vyzvédéti Blazen..."
"Oh my God, I’m sorry Dani, I didn't mean it," the girl cried out.
"You sure?" Dani asked, pausing mid-"ritual".
"Yes, I promise, I'm so sorry," the girl sobbed.
"Okay," Dani replied with a smile. "No hard feelings then." Slinging her arm over the shoulder of her best friend, Rachel, she sauntered off.
As soon as they were around the corner, Rachel stopped and looked at Dani with wide eyes. "Was that really a Gypsy curse?"
Dani laughed aloud. "Wouldst thou know a truth or mystery, dité opily clovéc o tom umeji povodeti. A drunkard, fool, or child may tell thee. No, my mother is teaching me to speak Romani, so that when I meet my cousins, they won’t think I’m just a stupid American."
Despite her early start at learning Romani, Dani still had many years to go before she would meet her maternal cousins. By the time she reached high school, her father managed to get a more stable military assignment, allowing her to complete four grades in the same location. She was a star student, even though far more of her time at school was spent flirting and being a local "love consultant." Every day at lunch, Dani set herself up in the corner of the cafeteria, and would shortly have a line of students waiting to have their palms or tarot cards read. Some of the school officials were a bit reluctant to let her establish this small business on school property, but a few of the teachers had asked her for readings after school, and they made sure that her endeavors continued unchecked.
At the end of her senior year of high school, Dani's parents surprised her with her graduation gift. There were three months between graduation and the beginning of the college semester. Her cousins, the Gypsies, would be by to pick her up in a couple of hours.
"Better get to packing, kadessa," Jenica said with a wink.
Life with the gypsies was everything that Dani had loved about her childhood, multiplied by a thousand. They never had to stay anywhere for long, and they could spend days on the road without stopping. Dani was a natural at fitting in wherever they went, so she was often asked to deal with the locals, and convince them to let the gypsies camp in peace, with promises that they would move on as soon as the sun broke the horizon. One night, a few miles outside of Las Vegas, things changed.
"Kadessa, where are you going?" Phaedra, one of the older women of the caravan, regarded Dani sternly.
Dani paused in pushing her friend Cesar's motorcycle as she walked away from the campsite. "Just into town, kirvi [godmother]. We need a few supplies before we move on tomorrow."
Phaedra nodded, turning back towards the campsite. "Be careful, kadessa."
Dani nodded as she jumped on the motorcycle and started the engine.
Las Vegas really was the city of lights. Dani got into town, picked up the supplies the caravan needed, and tossed them into the saddlebags. Then she paused, looking both ways down the street.
To her right was Las Vegas. She could see the glare of the city lights from where she stood, near the outskirts. If she listened hard enough, she could almost hear the sounds of the casinos, the money pouring out of the slot machines. It was music to her ears.
To her left was the road out of town, back to the campsite. By this time of night, the instruments would have been brought out of their cases, and the dancing would have begun. Despite what she had learned from her mother, and from her cousins in the caravan, Dani was having a bit of trouble learning the Gypsy dances. And Boris would certainly be trying to lure her into his tent for the night.
"What's life without a little adventure?" Dani murmured to herself, turning the motorcycle to the right. "Viva Las Vegas!"
Two hours later, Dani had turned the spare change that she had from buying supplies, along with a few dollars that had "mysteriously" found their way into her pockets, into nearly $100. Pleased with herself, she stepped back out into the street and headed for where she had parked Cesar’s motorcycle.
... only to realize that the motorcycle was no longer there. Just across the parking lot from where she had left it, she saw an aqua colored VW bus, similar to one of the ones the caravan used. Sighing, she rushed over to it.
"Did Cesar come for his motorcycle?" she asked, glancing at the driver as she scanned the parking lot. Suddenly, she stopped, and looked back at the driver. "Wait, who are you?"
"Another cousin, my kadessa." The driver spoke with a honeyed voice. "Please, won’t you join me?"
As much as she wanted to resist, Dani found herself drawn to the passenger side door, which she opened. Climbing into the bus, she quietly buckled her seatbelt. The bus pulled away from the curb, and headed into the night.
"I know who took your motorcycle, kadessa," the man said with a smile.
"Please don't call me that," Dani said stiffly.
"Suit yourself. What shall I call you instead?"
"Dani... just Dani."
"Very well, Dani," he spoke the last word with a bit of distaste. "You may call me Michael. Tell me where your encampment is, and I will give you back your motorcycle."
Dani bit her lip. The man she was speaking to was clearly Rom, but there was something odd about him as well, something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She was half tempted to take him back to the campsite, where the other Gypsies could deal with him. But, at the same time, she really didn't want to put them at any risk. "Take me to my motorcycle and I can lead you back to them. I can't give directions that you'll be able to follow in the dark. You'll need to be able to see colors, or have a guide."
Michael said nothing for a long moment, but then let out a forced sigh. "Very well, Dani. You win. I will take you to your motorcycle."
The rest of the ride passed in silence. Dani looked out the window, and chewed her lip nervously. She found her thoughts drawn to the events of her life, and her short time with the Gypsies. She wondered, idly, if this was what they meant when they said "seeing your life flash before your eyes." The Gypsies has been teaching her to fight with a knife, but they always insisted that she leave her knife at the campsite when she went into town. She resigned herself to the thought that if this man wanted her dead, her only resort would be to run, and hope that her ankle, which had been giving her a bit of trouble the past couple of days, didn't slow her down.
Finally, the bus stopped. Looking around, Dani could see that they had pulled into some sort of cave. And there, in the darkness, she saw a glint of metal. The handlebars of Cesar's bike. Maybe Michael didn't want to kill her.
Dani hopped out of the bus and headed for the bike. As she went to grasp the handle, it wavered slightly and disappeared. "Hey!" she exclaimed, just before everything went dark.
Michael looked down at Dani's body. He knew that he had done everything correctly. He had drained her blood, and fed her some of his. Glancing at the entrance to the cave, he shook his head. A little more blood for her, and then time to sleep. Perhaps she would wake tomorrow night.
Michael looked at Dani's body the following night. Still no signs of unlife. Time to go see if the Gypsies had gone. If she still hadn't awoken by the time he came back, he would bury her in the sand tomorrow night.
The next night, Dani awoke with a start. She felt cold, dirty, and hungry.
Michael stood with his back to the wall of the cave. "Chovahani [witch]," he whispered. Dani could barely make out the movement of his lips.
"Ghi... what?"
"Chovahani," he repeated.
"Ghivanni?"
Michael let out a sharp laugh. "Dani Ghivanni. Oh yes, that suits you. Welcome back, my childe."
"I'm not your child," Dani spat back, rising slowly. "I'm cold, I'm dirty, and I'm hungry. And you told me you’d give me back my bike."
Michael shook his head. "I never had your bike, shebari [girl]. That's your first lesson. Never believe anything. As soon as you start believing, that's when you're vulnerable. Now, for your next lesson..."
Dani spent the next few weeks learning from Michael. He taught her about what she was, about the others of their kind, and about the ways of the Ravnos. Though she was a little bit disappointed about having to keep her existence a secret from even her own family, she acquiesced.
About a month after her Embrace, she returned to the cave after feeding in Las Vegas. The VW bus was gone, and in its place was a brand new Harley. Wrapped around the handlebar was a piece of paper, which she unwound and read.
"Kushti ratti! [Good night!] If we meet again some night, so be it. If not, enjoy all the night has to offer on your own. Remember what I taught you, and enjoy your new bike.--Michael Vesta"
Dani leaned against the bike and crumpled the piece of paper between her hands, until it was small enough to jam into the pocket of her pants. Climbing onto the motorcycle, she started it up and drove away from the cave.
The next couple of years passed without incident. Dani adapted easily to the Ravnos lifestyle, as it had much in common with her life with the Gypsies. She wandered across America, venturing into Canada on occasion, and getting out of the country whenever she could wrangle a plane ticket. She didn't keep her Harley for long, as it was too much of a hassle to keep filled with gas, and keep safe when she went away.
She lived the life of an independent, never settling down long enough to be required to swear fealty to any Prince, and knowing what to look for to avoid the Sabbat. She was content to simply travel, see the world, and scrape by on what she could beg borrow or steal... at least for a while.
the father/mother has woken up... he/she has tasted blood, and wants more... it is too soon... he/she must go back to sleep... perhaps if we ignore him/her, he/she will go away... perhaps...
NO!!!!!
it is far too late to quiet the slumbering dragon... father/mother/dragon is awake... the strange ones want to put him/her/it to sleep forever more... father/mother/dragon needs our help... but perhaps if we ignore him/her/it, he/she/it will go away...
battle rages, storms swirl, the end of the world is nigh... we know what is happening to our father/mother/dragon, but we do nothing... the storms clear, and the power of four suns burn through the haze... father/mother/dragon is strong, but he/she/it has suffered many wounds in the battle... his/her/its powers are no match for the fury of four suns... father/mother/dragon falls, but the simplest of curses leaves his/her/its lips as he/she/it dies...
Dani awoke with a start. She felt much as she had when she first awoke as a Vampire--cold, dirty, and hungry. But the hunger was different this time. She had a burning desire to find Michael, and taste his blood again. It had been too long.
Suddenly, she snapped back to reality, realizing where her thoughts were leading. She didn't simply want to find Michael and taste some of his blood, she wanted it all. "No no no," she murmured to herself. "No, I refuse."
Calmed considerably, she began to dress, and soon snuck out of the cheap motel room she had snuck into early that morning. There was a tension in the night air, but she tried to brush that away as she headed for the bus station. Bus to the airport, plane to Calcutta, she thought to herself. Then she shook her head, and the burning desire to be in Calcutta passed. Ugh, she thought. I've gotta get outta here.
Two nights later, the hunger would not die down. And Dani ran. She ran until she reached the edge of a river, and discovered, much to her chagrin, that she could go no further. Looking across the river, she saw another person, who seemed to be having much the same trouble as her. Gazing upon his aura, she identified him as another Vampire... as if the sound of his blood singing out to her had not made that apparent enough. He looked up at her, and bared his fangs.
"Hello, little one," he called out. "Won't you come over here and talk with me?"
"I would if I could," she responded. "You could come over here, you know."
"I can't," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I have a thing against water."
"Me too," she said with a sigh. "I'm Dani."
"Alec," he replied.
"Alec, what's happened to us?" she asked, hoping that perhaps he was a bit more wise in the ways of their clan than she.
"Father/mother/dragon has awoken. It wants us to devour each other."
"I can't do that. My Sire told me..."
"As did mine, little one. But when the urge strikes..." He shrugged again, and began looking up and down the river.
"So my dream..."
"Yes, little one. The dream is real. The end of the world is nigh. Survive while you can."
"I plan on it." Dani stared at the ground, hard, then turned away quickly, and ran back the way she came. She supposed that Alec called out to her as she ran, but she put it out of her mind as best she could.
When the urge to hunt and destroy the rest of her clan passed, Dani was still a bit nervous. From everything she was able to piece together, there were few of her clan left. After a short while, some Princes seemed to know this fact, and afforded the remaining Ravnos much less respect than previously. Dani was lucky enough to evade most of the Scourges, and kept to the countryside as much as possible.
After a while, she grew tired of wandering, tired of living as a pauper. She found herself near St. Louis, which she carefully avoided. Traveling south, and finding a bridge high enough over the Mississippi River to pass into Illinois, she soon found herself approaching Carbondale. In all of her travels, she had never heard a whole lot about that place, good or bad. At least she could rest there for a little while, before moving on again.
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