Children crowded around a colorful booth, awaiting the puppet master to put on the show. The colors on the side seemed to swirl in the sunlight glinting off the sides, causing the children to hyperfocus on the only part that wasn't shimmering. Suddenly the curtains pulled back to reveal a slightly ticked off Italian. He wore a floppy hat and a colorful cloak that appeared to copy the shimmering of the booth. He was in a deep conversation with a puppet that seemed to look like him, except with the hair curl on the wrong side.
"No, idiota. The bells! The bells are beautiful! Uhg. They are all so different, all of their chimes melding together to tell wonderful stories to those who listen. But you know, the bells don't ring by themselves." Here he seemed to pause, noticing the children. He smoothed a smile across his features, then continued on with his tale.
"Way up in the tower, there is a lonely bell ringer. No one knows where he came from or even that he was in existence. Until today, that is. Now if you listen closely, I will tell you the tale of a man. A man, and a monster..."
Long ago, on a dark and snowy night, four people sailed up to the docks, one of the men hissing at the woman to quiet down her babe. She crooned softly to the bundle she held, stepping off the boat with the others. Suddenly, guards burst from their various hiding places, a singular horseman sitting regally upon his faithful steed stepping forwards into the moonlight.
"Ivan Braginstky...!" One of the men muttered in horror, as the guards grabbed him and started to drag them away. One of the guards noticed something the woman was cradling to her chest.
"What is that?" He asked her. Ivan looked down at the woman from where he was perched.
"Something she stole, da? Take it from her." He said, his lips twisting upward in a cruel imitation of an innocent smile. The woman backed away in horror, then suddenly bolted, clutching the bundle tightly to her chest. Ivan sighed, kicking the sides of his horse, urging it to follow the woman as she weaved through the cold and silent town, the only noise being her rugged pants and the thunder of horse hooves chasing her. She saw a short alley and ducked into it at the last second, scaling the wall with her free hand as she continued her escape. However, Ivan merely chuckled as he urged his horse to go around, knowing that there was only one place that the woman could go. Sure enough, as he rounded the building, he saw her pounding on the church door, begging for someone to open the door. The woman whirled around as she heard the horse behind her. She struggled away from door, tripping down the stairs and landing in the snow, her bundle rolling away from her as she stared up at the sky, before her sight faded.
Ivan stared down at the bundle, swinging down from his horse to inspect it. He pulled the cloth away to reveal a dozing infant.
"A... Child?" He asked to himself. Then the child's eyes flickered open, and he took in the ruby hue and the white hair adorning the infants head. "A demon!" He cried, readying his pipe to crush the babe.
"Stop!" A voice cried, as Ivan was lifting the weapon above his head. Ivan turned, seeing the priest from the church, his robe in disarray, his brown hair flying everywhere as he cradled the young woman's form to himself.
"Ivan! Look at what you have done." He said, guestering to the woman's lifeless body. Ivan looked down at the babe he was about to rid from the world.
"But he is evil, da? I am merely freeing this vorld from his presence." The cold man replied. The Priest shook his head.
"No, Ivan. You must not shed anymore innocent blood tonight." He said, placing the woman down and stepping towards the large man.
"Then what am I to be doing vith this child?" He asked. The priest frowned as he looked at the child in the taller mans arms.
"You must raise him. Take care of this child as if he were your own." Ivan started to shake his head, when the child gurgled, reaching out towards the tall, cold man. Ivan felt something soften in his chest as he stared at the child's eyes. He sighed.
"Fine. I will take care of child. But let him live vith you. I have no room. Please." The priest nodded as he stepped forwards, taking the child from Ivan and turning back to the church.
-OHWOWALINEBREAKWOULDYOULOOKATTHAT-
Disclaimer is that I don't own any of this. Nada. Zip. None. yup. So, um... I reposted this because I found a few weird patches and stuff, so I rewrote some of it. Yeah... (This is kinda awkward?) Also, MOSOC isn't being updated anytime soon because it sucks and it's really old and people are mean and I'd rather not deal with that fandom anymore. Sorry. Soooo... Tell me what you think! I'd really appretiate it, and also, anyone want to guess who's gonna be who? c:
Whoever gets it right get their own story written! (Nopressureijustreallylikethembutidon'tgetthemthatoften)