Nightstalker ~ Gypsy Prisoner ~ DarknessEmbraced666

The streets were filled with performers and on lookers. Stalls and tents alike. They were all together for that one day that took place once a year. The Festival of Fools. The day when Gypsies from all around came together to perform and just have fun. The people of the city all took part as well. There were fortune tellers, acrobats, jesters and one of the most popular, dancers. That's what Natayla was. She was one of the dancers that performed for the crowds. It's what she was raised to be. She was also taught to perform illusions and different tricks. She was at the moment changing in one of the tents while one of the other gypsies performed on the stage, his loud singing and comedic act causing laughter to fill the town square. It was rumored that the judge, the Minister of Justice was going to be attending the festival that day. This caused a slightly nervous air to be among the gypsies but most cast of their fear because this was their day to celebrate.

Judge Ross Pascoe had seen all the newspaper advertisements for it along with the shop window displays. Their one day to shine and he was not going to dismiss it as a waste of time. Instead he had made it quite clear to several people around town he would attend. Dressed in his usual business attire set atop a solidly but short body his blue eyes scanned the area surrounding the town square as he lazily approached.

Natayla was sitting before the mirror in her small tent, finishing putting the last touch of her out fit on when she heard her friend passing her tent as he danced through the square singing and she giggled while shaking her head. He was her best friend and fellow gypsy. He was well known amongst their community for mocking authority figures and being a clown. When her parents were arrested when she was a child, his family took her in. He was dressed in a very colorful outfit with a purple hat and mask. Suddenly she heard the beginning of her introduction and she smiled to herself. Hurrying out of the back of her tent, she made her way over to the back of the stage and went through a secret trap door in the floor to make it seem she just appeared in a puff of smoke and she began dancing.

She was 5'7" with long dark hair that had tints of red in it and she had bright green eyes and lightly tanned skin. Natayla had the curvy but slender body of a dancer with long fit legs, a small waist but slightly wide hips and a bust that was a little bigger then the normal dancers. Her breasts were maybe a large c. At the moment she wore an off the shoulder red dress that reached her feet. It was trimmed with gold and had short sheer purple sleeves and a purple scarf around her waist with gold coins sewn to the hem. Around her wrists and ankles she wore gold bangles and she was barefoot as she danced. In her long hair she had a gold head piece that went across her forehead and across her head like a tiara with a red gem in the middle of it. In her hand she held a tambourine with a long white scarf tied to it.

Judge Ross Pascoe's eyes moved around the whole area as he approached one part of it slowly, hearing the slight change in the tempo of the music as one performer left and another appeared. Taking barely any notice of them to start with he paused at one of the small stands and bought himself a wine that had been made by one of the traders. Now his eyes settled on the perfomer, wondering just how far she might take her performance.

The dance started off at a slow tempo before speeding up, her feet moving faster and her twirls causing her skirt to rise up, flashing her long legs in an inappropriate way. As the music sped up, so did her footsteps and the dace continued getting more entrancing and seductive. The crowd cheered louder as she moved along the stage before setting down her tambourine and she did a split near the end of the stage and she winked at the crowd before she jumped back up and danced towards the back of the stage before facing the crowd again and doing a series of backflips and cartwheels back towards the front. She was coming to the climax of her dance and the crowd knew it.

He stood transfixed in the one spot watching her as she moved about on stage, it was not something he should have done to some but he joined in the loud chorus of cheers. His voice going above some of the other members of the crowd, totally caught in a spell it seemed by her.

Upon reaching the end of the stage again, Natayla saw one of her fellow gypsies standing there with what looked like a spear and she grabbed it. Turning, she embeded it into the stage floor before running towards it and grabbing onto the end of the pole and she spun around it several times before stopping with one of her long legs wrapped around it and the other stretched out while she held onto it with one hand and her back was arched with her arm stretched out above her head while she smiled at the crowd. When she came to a stop at the bottom of the pole the music stopped and she breathed heavily while her friend came back onto stage and she slowly stood up, removing the spear from the stage with ease before handing it back to the gypsy she took it from.

His blue eyes watched every movement on stage that she made, her name not having appeared on the posters or in the papers so he was a little befuddled by that. With her talent and all she should have been, shaking it off he smiled, whistled and even tipped his hat to her wonderful performance. Buying another drink for himself he made his way slowly through some of the crowd waiting to get another glimpse of her, already enthralled and enchanted he needed to see more.

((Happy new year))

Natayla smiled at the crowd as she stood with her friend, smiling up at him as he began singing again and she kissed him on the cheek before she moved towards the edge of the stage and jumped down gracefully, her skirt fluttering around her a little. The young woman slowly moved through the crowd. She easily stuck out amongst the people that lived in the town because of her brightly colored attire but when she moved through spots where other gypsies were, she would blend in as she moved toward her tent again to change back into her normal clothing.

(( Happy New Year ))

The judge watched her move from the large stage towards the back area of the courtyard that had been setup for this festival day. His eyes moving through the crowd trying to keep track of her but lost her when she mingled with other performers. Finishing his drink and tipping his hat to another busker he casually made his way through the large throng of people towards an open area just behind the tents.

Natayla passed through the crowds and she smiled gently at different people that offered their comments about how good her performance was before she entered her tent. Sighing, she moved over to the small table that had the mirror sitting on it and she sat down on the small bench in front of it and she began removing her head band. She could once again hear the cheers and her friends singing and joking as he danced around. The young woman knew that he would be bringing any money she earned to her after the festival. She trusted him and he knew better then to cheat her out of any money she earned.

Judge Ross Pascoe took a seat on the long wooden bench, removing his bowler hat and resting it lightly on his knee as his eyes glanced around the area. Every once in awhile he heard a few more crowd noises and laughed softly as he was spoken to by several of the performers. He was needing to see more of her, hooked by some sort of spell he stood up and donning his hat slowly walked towards the large fountain.

The young woman quickly began changing, removing her red dress and changing into a more casual but still colorful outfit. It was a sleeveless purple dress over a pale lavender peasant shirt that hung low on her shoulders and around her waist was a sheer purple shawl that had moons, stars and suns printed in gold all over it while she tied a pink scarf in her hair along with the usual string of gold coins that rested across her forehead. To finish off her outfit, she wore a pair of simple black shoes that she was able to just slip on. With a small smile, she ran her fingers over her hoop earrings before slipping out of the tent and into the sunlight once again.

Judge Ross Pascoe continued his walk past the fountain, pausing only briefly to look into the water. His appetite totally whet by her performance now and taking a flyer from another performer he grinned a little as he left. Turning back only once he would make plans to see that she would see him again, this time in his own territory.

Natayla moved through the crowd towards the center of the town square where the fountain was. She was supposed to meet her friend there after his performance. She stopped on the opposite side of the fountain from where the judge was and she sat on the edge of it, remaining there until her friend showed up. Smiling up at the masked young man, she stood and hugged him gently before laughing as he twirled her around. Once he set her down, she took his hat off his head and put it onto her own before they both disappeared into the throng of festival goers, neither knowing that the young gypsy woman had caught the attention of Judge Ross Pascoe.

Judge Ross Pascoe had left that afternoon feeling pleased but also baffled as to why she had enthralled him so much with such a brief performance. Using his powers he had the local sergeant investigate the circus goers more. For now that would suit him as he needed more to go on.

For the rest of that afternoon and that evening, Natayla performed tricks for the children and she put on one more performance. The festival lasted until late into the evening before the gypsies all retired for the night. The next morning they would begin packing up in order to move on. After all, gypsies were wanderers and nomads. They never remained in one spot for very long, staying just long enough to raise money for their caravan to survive. As the sergeant investigated the circus goers, most people that attended the festival would speak of how nice and wonderful the gypsies were while others who had lost a game or were disappointed in something would say they were scoundrels that cheated them for their money. Some would say that the women with the gypsy caravan were doing witchcraft. That comment would usually draw laughter from others.

Judge Ross Pascoe smiled at what the investigation from the sergeant discovered. Using some of the knowledge of those who had been ripped off in their eyes he placed a warrant out for her arrest. It would be enough to keep her in town for a few weeks, perfect time to get to know her better.

Natayla was in Clopin's caravan wagon when the men came to arrest her. She was getting things ready for them to move on to the next town when there was a commotion outside and suddenly Clopin appeared, climbing inside. He was wearing the same hat that he wore during the festival though instead of a mismatched outfit, he wore a pair of black pants and a teal shirt. "Natayla, you must hurry." he said softly while looking over his shoulder. "The are here to arrest you on false charges. You run while I hold them off." She merely smiled at him and shook her head. "No, you and the others head off to the next town. I'll meet up with you. I promise." she whispered before grabbing something down from a shelf and she grabbed her favorite scarf, the same sheer purple one with the celestial pattern on it. Jumping out of the wagon, she looked around at the others who were yelling at the men that were there to arrest her before she took off, running away from the town square.

There had been many men sent to arrest her, only a few made their way through the huge crowds still there towards that one caravan. Others had blocked off all exits as well as patrolling other caravans. Two of them heard the commotion and quickly spotted her running towards one, bringing their batons up quickly and using them to render her unconcious via a quick hit to her midriff. Soon shackled and in the large patrol van she was taken directly to jail, she would appear in court in the morning.

Natayla looked back over her shoulder and that was a big mistake on her part. When she looked forward again, she saw two men ahead of her, their batons raised and a sharp pain which caused her to double over and then black out. When she came around, she was laying in a jail cell and she softly groaned when she went to sit up, pain filling her stomach and she lightly touched her stomach where she had been hit. She slowly forced herself to stand and she looked around slowly while wondering why she was there.

Judge Ross Pascoe gave a sly grin as he was told the news of not just her capture but how it happened. How could one think they could not just outsmart the cops but him too. Never mind tomorrow morning at 7am sharp her eyes would meet his for the very first time. Relaxing in his chambers for the night he stretched out on his large leather couch, eyes closing as he prepared to rest for a few hours.

Natayla stayed up all night, pacing the cell she had been locked in. After a while she had to sit down when the bruise on her stomach got aggravated after turning sharply when she heard one of the doors of the jail open. With a sigh, she ran her fingers through her long dark hair and she gently tugged at the strand of gold coins that decorated her forehead. The charges were completely false. She never took money from people because she was a dancer and her tricks were done for the children. Natayla never worked at the stalls nor in any of the tents.

Judge Pascoe woke about 6am the next morning, his usual morning coffee brewed as he made a few pieces of toast for himself. There had been another charge added, it would be one not many could disprove. She was using her body almost like a hooker to attract a crowd, thus making people pay more than what they might have if she was not around.

The young woman didn't hear of the added charge. She didn't hear about anything yet since none of the people that worked at the jail would talk to her. No matter what she said or asked, they just walked by as if she wasn't there. She almost felt as if she were going to cry but she wouldn't. She'd be strong and show no fear in the face of the men. "This is ridiculous." she muttered to herself. It was early in the morning and she was waiting for something to happen.