The Circus Part 5
The next night I followed his instructions and snuck out of Catherine's trailer after we'd shared dinner and she'd fallen asleep. Instead of wearing my usual clown suit I'd opted for my preferred black jeans and dark turtleneck, making it quite easy for me to move around in the darkness unnoticed. Due to the fact that the sun was now setting earlier I passed many of the troupe members around the tents who were still finishing up their jobs for the night. Those that saw me waved and I waved back, but many didn't see me and I made sure none knew I was heading straight for the lions' tent.
Due to the incident before with the male and female lion Catherine had insisted to the manager they be placed in the same cage, which they were. Most lions, when you walk into a zoo, seem sad. You can tell by their eyes and the way they pace around the cage with no real destination in mind, just pacing for something to do. However, these lions seemed genuinely happy since they'd been placed in the same cage. The male had long since stopped pacing and they now slept side by side, curled together as if they were one being. Truly a heart-warming sight that we humans could learn from if we only paid attention.
I made my way back behind the cage and spent some time petting through their soft fur as they moved to the edge of the cage. It was habit for them now, the minute I entered the tent they moved straight toward me, purring loudly in expectation. I suppose it was because of my actions in the tent. Whenever I was in the tent I was either there to feed them or give them extra attention, since I was the only one who got close enough to pet them besides their tamer. If nothing else could be said about my days in the circus at least I'd managed to make some loyal and life long friends in the pair of lions.
Kneeling down by their cage I slid my hands between the bars and buried them in the thick fur, leaning forward and rubbing the female's stomach as I scratched under the male's mane. The true sign of feline friendship, he was letting me touch his mate. It was most definitely an honor awarded to few.
Hours passed and I head the sounds of the circus closing down completely for the night. The fatman stopped drinking and eventually dozed off, so his intoxicated laughter couldn't be heard from his trailer, and the tamer finished cleaning his shift of the trash outside. I listened quietly to the sounds around the tent and breathed a small sigh as it died down to a mix of chirping crickets and wind rustled leaves. True night had fallen, and now it was only a matter of waiting.
Turning around I leaned my back against the bars to the lion cage and crossed my arms, letting my head rest comfortably against the male's back as he lay against the other side of the bars. He didn't mind and I had some time to wait. Closing my eyes I went over all the things I'd seen in my short time with the circus, trying to draw clues as to who and what exactly Quatre was.
I dozed off somewhere along the line and was woken later by a gentile shaking. Opening my eyes I found Quatre kneeling in front of me wrapped in his dark cloak. His hood was down and he was smiling sweetly. Blinking I sat up, receiving a small snort from the sleeping lion.
"Sorry I took so long," Quatre murmured softly.
"Nothing to worry about." I stood up and glanced at the shorter boy, immediately noticing the small chain which had reappeared back around his neck. Like the night before he was dressed in the loose pants and nothing else under the cloak, save for that red chain. And like the night before under that chain was a distinct line of red burned skin. I frowned.
"He made you put it back on?"
Quatre's smile wilted and he glanced down at his own chest, eyeing the chain and the red line. "I'm still being punished. Just at night now though, so it's getting better."
A thought occurred to me. "How did you get out of the room if you're allergic to that metal?"
Quatre took a step back and I watched as he moved his arms beneath the cloak, moving forward I grasped his wrists and brought them out into the dim tent light. I was greeted, rather unpleasantly, with the sight of burned palms, much like the ring which surrounded his neck. I blinked in shock and tried to meet his eyes but he pulled his hands away and turned from me, returning them to their place under the dark cloak.
"I promised I'd be here tonight to explain and I am. It doesn't hurt that much and as long as I don't touch the chains for too long when I return to the trailer the burns will go away by tomorrow night."
I stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder, trying for comfort. "You didn't have to."
He shook his head, but still didn't look at me. "I promised an explanation. I don't break promises." He turned back to face me. "We don't break promises."
I raised an eyebrow at that. "We?"
Quatre nodded, reaching his hands toward my face. I stayed motionless, just watching those reddened hands, but he paused. "May I…?"
I assumed he meant to touch my face, and I had no reason to deny that. I didn't completely understand him and I knew that whatever explanation he was now prepared to give me depended on my own faith and trust in him. Thus if he wished to touch my face I would not object. As much as I hated how he'd hurt himself to come see me I had to admit I was quite intrigued by the opportunity to finally learn who this boy was.
I nodded.
Stepping forward he moved his hands again, resting the damaged skin of his palms one to each cheek. I stood there silent as he closed his eyes and pursed his lips together. His hands tensed for a moment and then I felt a small jolt of energy shoot through my body, from one hand to the other. Out of reflex I stepped back, breaking my contact with his hands. Immediately his eyes opened and he tilted his head at me in question.
"You're not like me," he whispered softly.
"Like you?"
He shook his head. "I had thought…" Biting his lower lip he frowned slightly. "But it's a good thing you're not."
"I don't understand." Groping behind myself I found a small crate and gently pulled myself to sitting atop the rough wood. After that strange jolt of energy my legs felt strange and I didn't quite trust them, not to mention that a dull headache had started in the back of my skull. Given the chance to sit I decided to, realizing that his explanation was going to take some time.
"I," he paused. "I haven't tried to explain to anyone before, so I'm not sure how to go about doing this."
"Would it help if I asked questions?"
His face immediately brightened up. "Yes, that would help."
I thought for a moment as he pulled himself up onto the crate next to me and I turned so we faced each other, our knees touching for lack of space. I met his eyes and for a moment just stared into them. I was relieved that some of the glow had returned to his eyes since the pervious night and he truly did seem happier.
"Why does that metal burn your skin?" I asked quietly, eyeing the red line around his neck and then glancing down to his clasped hands.
Quatre uncurled his hands and laid them palm up to show me the burned skin once again. "That is ancient, and no one knows why. My kind cannot touch iron without being burned as this. The chain around my neck is not completely iron, but a stone called hematite that is only part iron and part oxygen, thus it doesn't hurt as much as a true chain of iron would."
I frowned. "True iron around your neck would kill you, judging by the severity of the burns."
He nodded, confirming my suspicion.
"The glow of your skin, even during the day… and how your eyes look like stars at night when you aren't wearing that chain. That isn't me hallucinating is it?"
He shook his head. "No, my kind usually stand out in such ways. We are distinguishable from humans by the sparkle in our eyes and their strange shades. Many of us also have brighter skin, causing us to appear to glow in human sight. I would use a glamour to disguise it but the chain prevents such things."
"You said glamour," I paused and thought for a moment. Glamour, iron, glowing skin, sparkling eyes, a thin body with blond hair that curled like that of the sweetest child. Reaching forward slowly I slid my fingers into his hair, brushing them along the edge of his ear. He didn't move, only sat their patiently as my fingers slid up the outside of his ear, barley brushing the hidden skin. I stopped my fingers as I reached the top and brushed back his soft curled to reveal the tip of his ear which had previously been hidden. I can't say I was too surprised to discover it was slightly curved and rose to a point. I pulled my hand away and let the golden curls fall back into place.
"You are an elf?" I asked quietly. The whole idea seemed so unreal and yet at the same time so obvious. How could I not have noticed the connections sooner? Did my life up until this point really train me so well to dismiss such a possibility? Now that I knew this was the truth it seemed too obvious, it still baffles me how I could have missed such an obvious fact.
"No, I am fey to be more precise. Elf is a human term. But essentially yes, it is the same thing."
"And when you touched me with your hands… you thought I was fey as well?"
Quatre shrugged. "That's what he thought. I asked him today when he got back who you were, saying I'd seen you pass by the trailer. You should have seen his face, he was so happy. Apparently he seems to think you are like me since the lions acted so familiar with you. He's never seen animals act so friendly toward a human, he thought you at least had some fey blood in you."
I remembered his reaction from my first day, how the manager's eyes had lit up when the lion responded to me and how he immediately called Catherine over as a witness. I should have suspected something going on there but it never occurred to me at the time. I was just happy to have the job, it never occurred to me to question why I had received it so quickly.
"Am I fey?"
Quatre shook his head. "No, the energy I sent through your body would have told me if you were. I'm sorry if I surprised you but it is harder to control my magic when I am wearing this chain. If I hurt you I didn't mean to."
"You didn't." Reaching forward I wrapped my hands gently around his and let them rest between us. His eyes drifted from our clasped hands to my eyes, the question and confusion quite apparent on his face. I smiled softly. "Thank you for telling me."
A bright smile broke across his face and he nodded happily. "Thank you for helping me last night. I know I shouldn't sneak out of the trailer but I get so lonely all by myself."
"Why does he keep you locked up?"
"He doesn't keep me locked up," Quatre said quickly, jumping to the defense of the circus manager. "Its for my own safety, there are lots of people out there who would use me for what I can do with my powers. He's simply trying to keep me safe."
I resisted the urge to frown deeply at that answer. I could tell almost instantly that it was practiced and had been spoken to him, no doubt by the manager, many times. Quatre was merely repeating the excuse he'd been provided with. Granted I am no expert of the danger to fey in the human world, but it seemed as if the answer was trained and hollow, as if the manager had a different intent lying beneath these repeated words. I kept my doubts to myself however, I'd been wrong about the manager before, and there was a chance that I was just jumping to conclusions once more.
Quatre stood up and jumped down from the crate, his cloak billowing around him. "I should head back, before he wakes."
I nodded and slid off the crate. "I'll walk back with you just in case."
He smiled and nodded and we exited the tent. Walking through the night air we were silent, simply listening to the peaceful sounds of the cooing owls and buzzing flies. The moon lit our way just enough for us to see, but not enough to make us noticeable and stand out. As we neared the manager's trailer I was happy I'd decided on dark clothes for this night.
Before stepping up to the door Quatre turned back to me and flashed a bright smile. "Good night Trowa."
"Good night." I remembered not to speak his name and this seemed to please him, for he gave a single nod and turned back to the door. I waited silently as his hand clasped around the knob to open it.
Immediately he jerked his hand back and cried out in pain. Stumbling backward he tripped on the steps and the only thing that prevented him from crashing to the ground hard was my diving forward to catch him. He landed hard in my arms and just lay there limp for a second, breathing heavily. A moment later he regained his footing and stood on his own, eyes wide and tearing as he looked to the doorknob. I stepped beside him and couldn't help but gasp as I saw the dark smoke curling up from his trembling hand. His palm was now scorched beyond belief, the skin blackened and smoking as dark red blood dripped off onto the grass.
Quatre bit his bottom lip and tried to wipe away the tears that poured softly from his eyes. He hissed in pain as he grabbed the chain around his neck and tried to break it off. "Iron… get this off me, please. I need to heal my hand!"
I quickly moved to his side and unclasped the cloak, letting it fall forgotten to the ground. Working quickly with my fingers I fumbled with the clasp on the chain, finally breaking it open and pulling it away from Quatre's neck. He immediately dropped to his knees and clasped his other hand around his wrist. Closing his eyes he pressed his scorched palm into the soft grass.
I watched in awe as the ground below him shimmered to life, long lines of light curling up from the plant life and swirling around his body. A light wind seemed to emerge from the earth itself, shifting the golden curls around his face and making the air sparkle with thousands of gold and silver lights. Green vines followed the trails of light, curving up from the ground and completely covering his damaged hand. They wrapped tightly around his hand, pulsating as if they had merged together to create a single being. I watched Quatre's entire body shudder with energy and a wave of light seemed to flow off of him.
He drew in a deep breath and the light around him began to fade, all seeping back into the ground from which it came. First the light slipped away, then the wind stopped, then finally the vines uncurled from his palm and retreated back into the earth. Shuddering once more he opened his eyes and visibly sagged from what I can only guess was loss of power. I immediately stepped forward and helped him stay upright.
"Are you alright?"
Swallowing hard he nodded and pulled his palm from the ground. Lifting his hand he flexed the fingers and turned it, allowing us both a view of the palm. To my amazement the skin had completely re-knitted together and now there was no sign he'd ever been burned. Not to mention that when I looked closer the burns form the chain and on his other palm were also gone. In that beautiful display he'd managed to completely heal himself, despite the fact that it significantly drained him.
Slipping my hands under his shoulders I helped him to his feet and left one arm in support, helping him to stand.
"Where is the chain?" He asked quietly, eyeing the ground.
I frowned and retrieved it. "It broke in my haste."
His expression fell. "I have to put it back on or he'll figure out that I've been putting him to sleep during the night."
"No good, the clasp completely snapped. There's nothing to hold it in place."
His eyes widened and he dropped to the ground, futilely searching for the small lost piece of metal. "I need to find it! If I don't he'll realize what I did. He'll know I snuck out! And it won't take him long to figure out it had something to do with you because of my questions today-"
I knelt beside him and wrapped my arms around his body, quieting his panicked ramblings. He searched the ground for a moment or two more then finally gave up, simply letting himself settle in my arms as silent tears of fear slid down his cheeks.
"Shh," I murmured softly.
Kneeling there holding him I managed to miss all other sounds around me, thus my only alert to the opening door was the large square of light that grew around us. Immediately both of us turned to look at the door to the trailer, which now stood open, the manager blocking a large amount of the light.
Quatre's arms tightened around me and his eyes widened in fear. I held him tighter and stared defiantly straight into the manager's eyes. He merely sneered at us and stepped down from the trailer door, his eyes locked with Quatre's.
"Quatre."
His word shot through the air like lightning, sounding full of power and scolding. I felt Quatre's entire body stiffen and he gasped quietly, his hands falling limply away from their place around my waist.
"Stand."
The manager growled and Quatre complied, his movements jerky and almost mechanical. I stood with him and kept my arms wrapped protectively around his body, noticing that it suddenly felt cold and almost devoid of life. I chanced a look into Quatre's eyes and was horrified to find nothing, his eyes were blank. As lifeless as glass.
"Let go."
Quatre's arms moved and braced themselves against my chest. The next moment I found myself flying backward into another trailer as he shoved me back. I hit the trailer and winced as my world spun around in tight and fast circles. Though somehow I was able to make out the images of the manager grasping Quatre's arm and yanking him into the trailer harshly. He gave a cry as the door shut but I couldn't move to help him, especially since my head was spinning so much I couldn't tell up from down.
Pain flooded my head and neck in a delayed effect and I felt my vision waver. I was only able to get out a small cough of protest before my vision gave out. Then the darkness and pain swallowed me whole.
TBC…