Preface

Mother and child sat in the candlelit tent. Incense floated in the still air in delicate ripples. An older child, about eight, sat on the floor playing with an old doll. Her hair lay in a cloud around her head, her blue and yellow dress crumpled around her delicate legs. Her name was Calliope. She laughed and played with the doll, then rose to dance with it.

The mother sat the young boy on her knee and watched as her oldest daughter danced on the worn carpet, her skirt swirling with each step an imaginary beat. She began to sing as her mother clapped.

Deep in the woods on a starry night

I feel the song of a woodland spirit

I close my eyes, and see the words

Love is a tune that's never ending

Now you may ask, how I know

Of a voice that travels without body

It's all in the birds and the deer that run

The wolf that hunts and the river flowing

The land is alive, for those who know

It just takes love and a heart to listen

For the familiar tune on a starry night

The silent voice of the woodland spirit

The young girl bowed to her mother, then to her ill baby brother. The mother was overjoyed at the sight of her beautiful child, her precious Calliope, singing and dancing with such grace and beauty.

Calliope enjoyed the attention and began another dance. She would prove herself, she would become a dancer of the streets and help her mother to feed her family. She swung the doll around her head, as if a partner.

The doll was soon snatched away from her by a younger child, a fight being the result. The mother watched as Calliope was pinned to the ground by her youngest daughter.

"Let me up!"

"No! You took Anna!"

"You weren't using her!"

"You STOLE her!"

"I needed her to practice!"

"Mama! Calliope stole my doll!" The mother picked up the doll and handed it to her young son, who began chewing on its head.

"Both of you. You must work together, no more of this fighting over such things as dolls! There are much greater things to worry about." Calliope stuck her tongue out at her sister and received a slap for it. "Now the both of you. If you don't fight for the rest of the day, I will allow you to perform with Clopin tomorrow. No fighting for a whole day."

The children grinned and soon made up. A day with Clopin in the city was something to look forward to, something worth not fighting to achieve.

The girls got along and soon found themselves in the streets of Paris with Clopin. They soon got bored however and wandered off. Calliope began dancing on an empty street corner and collecting coins as she danced. Her sister played the flute beside her. They both laughed at how easy it was to make money. Clopin was so cautious, when in fact there was nothing to fear.

The girl's happiness shattered when leather clad hands rested on their shoulders. The younger sister caught a glimpse of a soldier.

"Run!" screamed Calliope.

The two girls ran across the square and past Clopin's wagon. Calliope overtook her younger sister, running toward the giant building across the square. The doors opened as Calliope fell against them, her sister fell on top of her. An invisible hand shut the door behind them.

"We're safe now, bibet." Calliope petted her sister's head. "Clopin says this place is always safe."

The younger gypsy looked up to the person who had shut the door. "Sanctuary is for all. This way, children."

Calliope stood and followed the priest, her sister in tow. Two sets of eyes looked upward, soaking in the beauty of the rainbow walls and checkerboard floor. Neither had ever beheld such beauty. The smell of incense touched their noses.

The priest led them to a narrow cloister to rest. "You may stay here as long as you wish."

The two girls sat next to each other throughout the evening, when the bells woke them up. The sound came directly from above and caused the two girls to tremble. Chanting monks emerged from the cloisters, the smell of incense became stronger. The girls could only feel the movement as the monks walked past. It was too dark to see anything.

"We'll be alright here?"

"I promise you."

The two gypsies returned to their slumber, awaking as the first morning rays pierced through the rose windows. Bells rang out above them as they did the night before. Both girls rose to leave.

As the girls walked out of the Cathedral, they passed a tall figure dressed in black, carrying a basket. He looked down at them and sneered, then continued on his way.

The youngest girl looked up at the judge, her eyes watching him as he walked on. She'd been told he was evil, that he was a danger to all gypsies. Meanwhile, Calliope had fled the Cathedral at the sight of him.

The young girl stayed quiet, her attention focused on the man in the robes. Suddenly, a high pitched scream reached the ears of those in Notre Dame from the square. The girl ran toward the door anxiously. She forced her way through the crowd making its way into the church for morning mass. Nobody moved to let her pass, they ignored her. She pushed through the last few worshipers, stumbling on her own feet as she arrived at the steps.

The square was nearly empty. Soldiers had surrounded the area, the people were scattering to shops or passing by her on their way into Notre Dame. Calliope was nowhere to be seen. The girl rose to her trembling feet and started to walk forward, calling her sisters' name. Tears streamed down her face as her blurry eyes scanned the square for a face she knew. She started to run down the steps, tripping and calling out. A Soldier approached her, her eyes widened as she looked up at the tall man in armor. She felt her breath escape her as a boot struck her chest. The last thing she felt was two hands scooping her up from behind.

The girl awoke in her mothers' tent. Her mother stood by the entrance, her baby brother screamed. Calliope was nowhere in sight, only her tambourine lay on the chest. The younger sister stared at the doll that sat next to her. There were much more important things to worry about, such as family. She stroked the dolls' hair and placed it next to the tambourine.

The young gypsy soon fell asleep, expecting her sister to walk in at any moment. Calliope arrived soon after her mother stepped out.

"Bibet! Bibet! Wake up!"

"Calliope! You've come back!"

"For a while, I must leave shortly. Don't worry about me, OK? I'll never be far from you."

"You have to stay. Mama cries without you."

"I have to go."

"Why?"

"I just do. I love you." A cold breeze blew through the tent, blowing Calliope into a gentle swirl of mist. She was gone before the air stilled once more.

The young gypsy cried and soon woke up. A mere dream.

Two weeks later, the body of an eight year old girl was discovered in the river. Her hair was a mess of black curls braided with tinsel and had been cropped. She wore a blue and yellow dress.

That night, the mother left the Court of Miracles. She said not a word to Clopin as she stole away into the night. She left with her son in a blanket, her daughter in tow, to leave Paris forever.