The place over the hill
By Starlit Skyline
Tom, he was a piper's son,
He learnt to play when he was young,
And all the tune that he could play
Was 'over the hills and far away';
Over the hills and a great way off,
The wind shall blow my top-knot off.
Snake remembers a rickety old cart, with iron bars and a sign written in big, capital letters saying "SNAKE MAN". He remembers also, the many deformed faces staring at him through the bars, whispering and pointing at him and scaring him. He remembers their yelps of surprise, whispers that were always too loud not to be heard and disgusted expressions. He remembers being afraid. He remembers being alone, despite all of his friends that slithered all over the rotten wooden floor and hay.
He remembers, even if all he wants to do is forget.
There is a memory though, that seemed to have happened an eternity later. A smiling face emerging from the crowd of disdainful, leering people, an extended hand and an offer of comfort before it disappeared among the crowd again.
The next day, they came.
A giant man with bulging muscles and a bald head. He held the owner of the freak-show by the shoulders while a pale woman with black hair and clad in red clothing cracked a whip in front of his tormentor.
There was another man too, though this one was smaller and younger than the first. His hair was a flaming red and he had a black teardrop drawn on his right cheek despite the fact that he was all smiles. Behind him stood a girl, the girl who had smiled at him the day before.
The bars were ripped open by the giant man and he felt his heart quicken with fright. Snake had pushed himself away from them, hiding in the corner opposite the bars. He knew they could see him though – covered in filth, his scales clearly visible and his small frame shaking.
The sad but smiling man told him there was nothing to be afraid of, but Snake was sure he was lying. In the end, the girl, that couldn't have been much older than him, climbed into his little prison. He doesn't remember what she had done to convince him to crawl out of his little Hell, just that he followed those four strange people back to a circus.
Noah's Arc Circus.
He learned their names there. Jumbo, the strong man with a gentle heart. Beast, who sometimes acted as a true, short-tempered creature and sometimes more like a beaten dog than her actual namesake. Joker, who hid his melancholy behind a carefree mask. Doll, who was precisely that – a naïve puppet who let others pull her strings. He met Peter and Wendy too, who seemed to be a lot older than ordinary children – and Dagger, who was a clingy boy with a lot of spirit.
He learned his name too, since Joker had dubbed him "Snake". "It fits, don't you think?" he had said in his usual, teasing manner.
Time passed in the circus, and it moved around a lot. Doll and Joker found out about his talents and his ability to talk to snakes and soon Joker had made him an act in the show. He was scared though – scared of so many people watching him, disgusted and whispering awful things about him.
On his first performance, he watched the audience from behind iron bars, trying to hide in his small cart even though everywhere he went he would still be seen.
His family helped him after that, and gradually his fear lessened. He tried to ignore people's stares as much as he could. It wasn't his fault he was special.
He hears a child's tune being sung sometimes "Over the hill and far away,"it echoes among the colorful tents, like a memory, like an unfulfilled promise – but he could never decipher the meaning of it, no matter how many times his family whispers it to one another.
He was never part of it.
Snake drums his fingers over the tabletop as he remembers all of this, a little sad and a bit resentful.
"I'll take you over the hill, someday..."
"Hey, Snake! Quit snoozing and help us with this! Sebastian's gonna have a fit if we don't finish this on time!" Bard yells. His voice is booming as always, and he's carrying a sack of flower out of the storage room. Meylene is washing the dishes and Finni had just come in from the garden, his hands full of field flowers and herbs.
Snake looks at the three of them, crowding together as they work.
He wonders briefly how he had become so like them. When had his sole purpose became to please the whims of a child? He doesn't know, and honestly, he isn't complaining. He had seen just how old Ciel could be, and he'd seen just how young he truly was.
Snake remembers, with a sense of morbidity, the first time he had to protect his young Master, aboard the ship Campania. This was no ordinary boy, and these were no ordinary people who served him – these were the Phantomhive servants. He was a Phantomhive servant.
Snake felt as though he had always been here – like there was never any freak-show or circus or anything before coming here. He felt that he belonged here, with the outcasts, the freaks, the deserters and the deserted. He still longed for his old family though, because they saved him – not unlike Ciel had – and he would be eternally grateful to both.
Over the time he had spent here, Snake gathered that Ciel's family was rather infamous – sometime blatantly insulted. He learned also just how inapt the name Smile really was, because Ciel was anything but.
This mansion is old, full of secrets and forbidden things. Back at the circus he knew something had been happening between the first-tier performers, he wasn't stupid, but he had ignored it. He had put it down to causing some mischief, when it came to the younger first-tier members, or going out for a drink at the local tavern. He'd never wanted to believe it could be anything sinister. He still wanted to see them, despite what they had done – maybe to simply ask them why or maybe to try to reconcile. He missed them, sometimes, this new family was quite the distraction.
Here, he knew there was something dark lurking about, something hidden and dangerous. Here, though, everyone knew, everyone was a part of it – even though some things were still kept from them, he no longer cared if he was told or not. The others were content with half-baked lies and empty reassurances; he knew they could see through the deceit just as well as he. They took it without complain, because maybe they didn't want to know, or maybe they didn't think it was important. They were loyal, no matter what. They were the Phantomhive servants and they would protect anything that held the title of 'Phantomhive' within its' name with their lives.
Snake stands up from the table and goes to help Finni sort the flowers from the herbs and spices. He's rewarded with a cheerful reply of "Thanks!" before they both set to work.
Black – uh, Sebastian – comes in some time later, an annoyed scowl on his face and tells them he'll do the work himself. After a few moments of protest, disorder and Sebastian thinking of what other task to give them, they all bustled around the kitchen, preparing the young Master's dinner.
Snake likes it here, that he does – in this dark, ominous manor, with these three ditsy, slightly incompetent servants, one too perfect, snappy butler, old Mister Tanaka and a master that was but a child – Smile – uh, um young Master Ciel.
Snake wonders if this is the place over the hill.
Tom with his pipe made such a noise,
That he pleased both the girls and boys,
They all stopped to hear him play,
'Over the hills and far away'.
AN: I called the maid Meylene, instead of Mey-Rin as she is called in some versions, because they all have English names - I believe both are in equal use though. Anyway, I sincerely hope you have enjoyed reading this and will maybe leave me a comment, critic or whatever. Love you all, please review!