The Dog & His Reflection
The Heimertzes, Nod, Pet, Edgar and Ellen were gathered at the entrance of the Heimertz Family Circus' Big Top, preparing for what, at least for them, would be the most wonderful spectacle of their lives: The punishment of the Heimertz family's traitor and would-have-been murderer. They were gathering food and happily talking with one another about the upcoming function.
Stephanie was locked in an animal cage until the circus reached Smelterburg, where she was handed over to her parents for them to deal with.
Deciding Ormond's punishment took forever, most of the family wanted to banish him, others wanted to lock him up in an animal cage for the rest of his life, and others (especially Pollyanna) didn't care about it as long as they would get a chance to beat him up but Benedict rejected all those ideas, claiming that if they let Ormond loose he would most likely keep stealing and hurting people or worse, locking him in a cage for life was too cruel and they wouldn't risk going to jail themselves.
Benedict walked around the circus' Big Top, wondering what he did wrong with Ormond. He wondered if this was Ormond's way to get back at him after he was forced to banish Ormond's parents when the boy was a teenager, also due to their greed and selfishness, or if it was due to Benedict paying more attention to Ronan than him. He couldn't help it, Ronan was quite a handful as a kid and needed more supervision but Benedict tried to make it up to Ormond and raised him with all his best intentions, he gave him every opportunity in the world to prove his worth and for awhile it seemed to have worked, but it was all fake.
Despite that, Benedict still loved and wanted to help his troubled nephew so after much arguing they decided to let Ormond choose whether to either stay in the asylum the Midway Irregulars dropped him at, before going to Zimmizoka, turning him in to the authorities in Bavaria or return to the circus, accept the alternate punishment the circus choosed and do community service. The decrepit state of the institution made Ormond choose the alternate punishment, he didn't care what this punishment was, he wanted out of there.
Benedict was brought back to reality by Imogen's voice in the speaker, which announced that the "spectacle" was about to start. In a matter of seconds, everyone had accommodated, unable to contain their zeal. After a few seconds, Benedict slowly entered the tent and stood next to the door, a regretful expression on his face.
A single spotlight shone upon Ormond, who was standing in the center of the ring wearing nothing except for his trousers (as part of the punishment), much to the embarrassment and delight of the women who weren't related to him. Despite being scrawny, he was still one of the most handsome men in the circus. He had cuffs on his feet and his arms were tied with two ropes held by the mime officers Jibbers and Jabbers. A slight blush appeared in Ormond's face as he looked down in embarrassment, whether it was from being almost naked or for having to receive his punishment in front of his family nobody knew.
Pollyanna slowly walked into the light to stand behind Ormond, in her hands was a whip.
The spotlight suddently broadened to include Gonzalo, the clown apprentice. The large boy was dressed in a raggedy outfit that resembled that of a hobo with a red clown nose. He was standing far enough from Pollyanna as to not result harmed but close enough to not miss the action. Once he was sure it was time he approached a microphone and started singing loud and clear for everyone to hear, trying to sound as grown-up and scary as possible.
"Let me tell you a tale for a penny,
One that you cannot hear anywhere else,
Not anywhere else,
I heard from a birdy,
It doesn't end purdy,
It doesn't end well,
No it never ends well,"
"Let me spin you a yarn for a cent,
Lord, would it not be a sin,
For you to deny yourselves,
A tale..."
Gonzalo tipped his hat and approached the crowd.
"A penny, a penny,
A penny for an old beggar man's
Story, a story...
...A penny for a tale."
He put his back on.
"There once was a doggy..."
"Arf, arf, arf!." Barked the crowd.
"He pranced in the moon
With a mouth full of
Shiny red pennies..."
Ormond cringled in anticipation as Pollyanna prepared for her performance, a bloodthirsty expression on her face.
"He leapt and he wagged,
So proud of his-
Shiny red pennies...
...Yipping with glee."
Whip!
Pollyanna whipped Ormond with all her might. He gasped and stumbled but managed to keep his balance.
"He trotted by the river..."
"Trot, trot, trot!." Said the crowd.
"And, oh, bless my soul,
He saw his,
Reflection in the water,
A pup with a jaw full,
Of shiny red,
Pennies in the water,
He trotted as he plotted,
To pirate those pennies..."
Whip!
Pollyanna raised her arms, clearly wanting an applause, which she got.
"...Oh, how they teased!."
"Lord, lord!
That greed, it'll kill ya
Lord, lord!
Go on pass the hat, will ya
Yer purse strings are tight
Bleed for a sinner
I just need a few pennies more
A few pennies more."
"No! no!." Ormond cried, although it was in vain.
Whip!
Everyone cheered.
"But greedy, so greedy..."
"Me, me, ME!." Said the crowd, anger and contempt in their voices.
"He snarled as he swiped
And struck at the
Mutt in the water-"
Whip!
"-a foolish pooch loots
From himself in the water..."
Benedict shook his head sadly and looked away.
"...His reflection struck back."
"Loooord! I want to go on with the song,
But don't make me bring up,
What he did to that pup,
That cute little pup,
I just might well up...
But I'll continue my rhyme for a dime,
Or a penny is fine,
These are difficult times,
Yes difficult times,
Thank you sirs, you're too kind!."
Some people threw fake coins at him (as part of the act) but then he shoved his hand through his hat, only for it to come right through the hat. This was meant to symbolize that Gonzalo wasn't greedy and was happy with what little he had.
"Lord, lord!
That greed, it'll kill ya
Lord, lord
Go on pass the hat, will ya."
WHIP!
"Your purse strings are tight
Bleed for a sinner
I just need a few pennies-
Lord, lord!
That greed, it'll kill ya
Lord, lord
Go on pass the hat, will ya-"
Benedict tried to think of something to distract himself, a new leg, future plans for the circus, anything. He decided to focus on what a great singing voice his young nephew had.
"Your purse strings are tight
Bleed for a sinner
I just need a few pennies more
A few pennies more..."
"And so did our doggy-"
"BAD! BAD! BAD!." The crowd practically yelled.
"He'd kill for a bite
At those shiny red pennies."
WHIP!
Ormond's back was down bleeding, each layer was harder than the former and the puppeter took her time between each layer to scare him more, although she occasionally checked on him to make sure he wasn't hurt too badly. This went unnoticed by everyone, except Benedict.
"He leapt and he barked,
At the dog in the water."
Benedict glanced at his family and what he saw brought a small smile to his face. His kin still had smiles on their faces, but Benedict would tell those were sad smiles, the situation hurt them as much as it did their leader. Benedict didn't believe them to be heartless or anything, he just didn't like how they took so much pleasure to their former colleague's torment.
He looked at Officers Jibbers and Jabbers, Dahlia, Nod, Edgar and Ellen; they had solemn looks on their faces. The twins were the only ones smirking.
He finally looked at Pollyanna and Gonzalo, searching their faces for any signs of sadness. Gonzalo now seemed more focused on finishing his song than watching Ormond suffer while Pollyanna and the mimes just wanted this to be over.
WHIP!
"But his pennies,
His pennies,
They dropped,
Down, down,
After them he shot-,"
WHIP!
"Down, down
Down in the waters below . . ."
WHIP!
"God rest his soul!..."
Gonzalo once again put his hat back on and kneeled, which meant the end of the show. Everyone congratulated him for his amazing performance as they left the tent and Ormond behind.
Officers Jibbers and Jabbers loosened their grip on Ormond enough to allow him to fall on his knees, but still did not let him go until Benedict arrived. He had the officers help Ormond to the circus' infirmary, where they laid him face-down on a bed while Benedict got a First-Aid kit and tended to his wounds.
"Do you need help?." Asked Pollyanna, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, a common trait of the Heimertzes. Even though Benedict couldn't see Ormond's face, he knew the poor man was terrified. Benedict patted him in the head.
"Don't worry," He said, "That part of your punishment is over."
A proud Benedict allowed his friend and relative to bandage Ormond's wounds, which she did with all the gentleness she would master. Once she was done, the Ringmaster approached Ormond.
"I hope you learn to behave yourself, unless you want to spend the rest of your life in an asylum at Bavaria."
Ormond did not flinch. Benedict ran a hand through his nephew's black hair before leaving the tent with Pollyanna. Officers Jibbers and Jabbers stayed behind to make sure Ormond wouldn't escape.