Unspoken

Chapter 9 Silence is the loudest scream

They didn't see any of the men, but Alin made her stay in the tree with him. "We have to stay quiet, Lenka. If we make a sound, they will find us."
"I want to go home," Milena sobbed.
"I know. Just a little longer." But he was concerned too. Judging by the sun, they had been here for at least an hour. Why had no one of the kumpania come look for them? "Wait here. I will go see if all is safe. "
"Do not leave me here."
Alin cupped his sister's cheek. "I will not be long. I promise." He planted a kiss on her brow and lowered himself from the tree branch.
On the ground, he looked up to his sister one more time. "Stay in the tree until I come for you."
He took a deep breath and hurried back towards the camp.

 "Why did you run away?" the young lord asked. He had slowed his horse down to a calm stride and looked back at her over his shoulder. "You are still injured. My grandmother said your ribs might be bruised. You should be more careful."
Milena bit her lip. She was leaning away from him as much as possible in order not to touch him.
Truth to be told, he was right, but she had to find the kumpania.
"Why are you so silent?" he asked, "you don't have to be afraid. I won't hurt you."
Milena sighed. She wasn't afraid of him. Not anymore. But she still did not trust him. And she wanted to go home.
"Or maybe you can not understand what I'm saying, is that it?" He looked at her again.
Milena shook her head.
"No?" he let out a soft laugh, "what is it then?"
Milena sighed again and he halted his horse. He looked at her puzzled. "You can't speak, can you?"
Milena's eyes went wide and she made ready to let herself down from the horse, but he stopped her.
"Don't be frightened. I told you I won't harm you. But you do need to rest. Your injuries need time to heal and that running of yours has probably made matters worse. I will take you back to the mansion, alright?  Come, you must meet my sisters." He urged his horse forward again. 

A stable boy came out of the stables as soon as they arrived and held the horse while Daniel dismounted.
The young lord turned back to Milena to help her and no matter how much she wanted to decline, she needed his help to get down.
He carefully planted her on her feet. "Come," he said and guided her inside the house.

An elderly woman came to greet them, but she instantly headed for Milena. "Thank goodness he fund you child." She gently took Milena's shoulders. "Do not be afraid of us, you are safe here." She smiled kindly. "What is your name child?"  
"She cannot speak, grandmother," Daniel said, "at least I think so."
The woman sighed. "I am sorry to hear that," she told Milena, "my name is Ruth Weston. I am Daniel's grandmother. Come child. You must be hungry." She took Milena's hand and made for the dining room. "Sit please." She directed Milena to a chair and turned to call a young woman. "We will take lunch here today, Anna. And tell the staff we have a guest for the time being."
Anna curtsied and walked out of the room.
Ruth turned to Daniel, who had entered the room as well. "Please call your mother and your sisters. We will have lunch together."
Daniel grinned and winked at Milena before disappearing down the hall.
Milena nervously looked around the room. It was so big here and there were so many people. She knew some of the gadje had servants. This must be a wealthy family. 

It didn't take long before the girl from earlier entered the room, pushing a wheel chair with a younger girl in it.
Daniel followed behind them, a playful grin on his lips. His mother walked at his side.
The older girl gasped when she saw Milena. "Ah! He found you. I'm so glad!"
"Amelia," Ruth reprimanded, "do not raise your voice."
"Forgive me, grandmother," Amelia said.
Ruth nodded at her. "As you can see, we have a guest," she continued, "she will be staying with us for the time being. I expect both you girls to treat her with kindness and respect as we would any other guest."
"Yes grandmamma," both girls chimed.
Amelia pushed her sister closer to Milena. "My name is Amelia. I'm Daniel's sister. And this is our youngest sister Emily."
The girl in the wheelchair smiled kindly. "Nice to meet you. What is your name? I've never meta gypsy before, Do you like it here? How long will you stay?"
"Em..." Daniel chuckled, "can you pause to breathe between the questions?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Emily gasped. She looked at Milena wide-eyed.
"What's the use?" Cecily sighed. She held her fingers to her head. "She can't understand a word."
"She understands," Daniel said, "she just can't speak."
"You can't speak?" Emily's eyes were filled with sympathy. She knew what it was like to not be able to use her body the way she would like. Her legs could not carry her, but at least she could still communicate with her family and friends. It must be horrible not being able to do that.
"Then how do we find out her name?" Amelia asked, "we need to call her by something." She looked at Milena. "Can you write it down? "
Milena shook her head. She did not know how to write, nor read. Some of the men in the kumpania knew the language of the gadje. Perhaps Aishe had learned as well, but most of them had no use for the written word. Trade was done by verbal agreement. When dealing with gadje, they used tricks or immediate exchange, but they rarely wrote anything down. When they had to leave a message, they used certain markings that were known only by the travelers, not words.
"Then we'll have to guess," Daniel smiled. He sat down at the head of the table, two seats away from Milena.
He looked at her amused. "Cassandra?"
Milena blinked and shook her head.
"No? Hmmm... Esmeralda? Carmen?  Tanya?  It must be something exotic."
Milena hung her head and bit her lip. They never gave the gadje their true names. When someone knew your name, that person held power over you. And gadje could not be trusted. Perhaps she should just agree to a name. She would not be here long.
"Amyra," Amelia suggested.
Milena sighed. She knew she was taking a risk, but none of the names seemed to fit her. So she mouthed her name to him.
But he misread.
"Leah?" Daniel said surprised.
Milena bit her lip. It was close enough. She nodded.
"Well," Cecily said with a sigh, "now that we've solved that matter, perhaps we can eat." She unfolded her napkin and placed it on her lap. She looked at her daughters pointedly.
Amelia curtsied at her mother and wheeled her sister to the other side of the table and sat down next to her.
On the other side, Ruth gestured towards a servant girl to serve lunch.

Milena stared at it confused. They were going to eat all at the same time? She glanced at Daniel. She hadn't seen any other man yet, so she assumed he was the phuro of this family. Shouldn't he eat first?
She glanced around the table. Everyone was eating like nothing was wrong.
"What's the matter?" Emily asked concerned when she noticed Milena had not moved, "is the food not to your liking?"
Milena looked at the young girl and then at her plate. Two slices of bread were placed on the plate and a fruity substance next to it. Someone had poured tea in her cup.
Afraid of insulting her hosts, Milena took a bite.
She looked at Emily again, who smiled at her.
Milena sighed. She kept hitting her elbow against the table. Why would anyone want to sit at such an uncomfortable thing? And why were they all so silent?
At the kumpania, they would gather around  the fire and tell stories. They would laugh together. Did the gadje not care for each other?