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Disclaimer: See first chapter

The Freak Show

(Takes place almost two years before the first chapter of Genies and Jinxes)

The heat was starting to cool as the sun began to lower in the cloudless sky. Shadows began to appear on the ground as well and that was the time of day most people came out for. It wasn't too dark and yet not light enough to blind.

It was the perfect time for Alaric. In fact, he favored this time above all others. The seven-year-old loved the late afternoon sky and all the colors it made. He sat in his usual spot at the back of empty crumbled building next to his old home. There he had made a 'home' of sorts. The boy didn't have any food or water, but he did manage to get by thanks to some caring people. Not everyone liked him to come into town though, so he stayed away most days.

This particular evening though, he was rather curious as to what was happening in the very center of town. Curiosity got the better of him and he got up to sneak into town. He had to sneak or one of the angry villagers would see him. Alaric kept close to the shadows, but when he saw that the large crowd gathered in the middle of the street was blocking his view, he had no choice but to come out.

Keeping on the outskirts of the large group, Alaric shifted over to the front and saw a group of small children gathered around a massive, red-wooded caravan. Seeing no harm in blending in with the other children, Alaric moved slowly, until he was partially in the middle of the swarming kids. Hopefully he could now see what was going on. Alaric gaped at the large sign that was plastered to the side of the wagon. On it were pictures of odd looking people and it read: Manito the Magnificent Presents: The Freak Show! Real Live Freaks! Alaric didn't like the look of the poster and shivered slightly.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce myself." A man's voice came from the air. In a puff of red smoke, a man appeared at the corner of the wagon, his cape hiding his face from view. With a dramatic flair, the man flipped his cape back and revealed his face to the crowd. He was an older man with dark brown hair and a thinly trimmed goatee and mustache that was slightly curled on both ends. His dark eyes glimmered with excitement and Alaric shrank back further from the man's greedy gaze.

"I am Manito the Magnificent and this is my Freak Show!" He took a sliver-headed cane from behind his back like magic and the children 'ooh'd' and 'ahh'd', while the adults looked at him in wonderment. "This week's new attraction is…Wolf-Man!" He shouted and tapped the cane against the wagon. A new bigger and brighter poster appeared covering up the first as it slid down and Manito grinned at the crowd as they all gasped and cried out in shock. Children screamed in terror and hid from the hideous picture of fierce-looking hairy man with long pointed teeth. Alaric ducked down and hid too, for a moment, and then he straightened back up.

"He came from a far-away land where his kind all roams free! But fear not, my good people, he cannot escape!" The crowd murmured. Some of them were excited, some were scared, and most of them wondered how much it would cost them. When questioned of the pricing, the man merely smiled.

"It will vary for each age! So I implore you do not worry over the trifle price, but worry instead of where you will be when the show starts!" The crowds seemed to like that and Alaric sighed. If only he had money to go. As he was thinking wishfully, he took a step back too far and yelped as a large hand landed on his shoulder painfully.

"Jinx, what are you doing out here?" The man snarled whirling him around and Alaric tried to flee. "No, you don't!"

"Let go!" The boy cried, tears springing to his eyes. "I wasn't hurting anybody!"

"You little rat, you were going to cause trouble right here!"

"I wasn't!" Alaric sobbed, but the crowd didn't seem to care that he was terrified. In fear, Alaric twisted around and bit the hand that held him. The man roared in anger tossing Alaric to the ground. The boy got up and ran through the crowds. The people gasped in shock and fear as he moved through them and all avoided his touch like the plague. Manito eyed the boy with a wicked gleam and if you looked hard enough you might have seen the greed that appeared in his eyes. Perhaps he should learn more about this so called jinx.

Alaric ran as fast as he could, but as usual, in his panic went the wrong way and ended up running the opposite way he had come. Alaric suddenly tasted sand as he was knocked to the ground and spat it out, still lying on his stomach. A throbbing in his leg made his eyes well up and he looked over to see a large bruise forming on his mid-calf from a stone. When another small rock hit him, Alaric knew instantly that it was no accident and scrambled to his feet.

Rocks whizzed by his head and the boy's vision began to blur by the hot tears that pooled there from the sand that he had landed in. Alaric found an escape route just as a man threw a rotten fruit at him and Alaric wiped at his eyes, going for the hiding place that he had established there. Moving up the crates and barrels that lined the wall, Alaric climbed up and pushed the top one slightly out of the way to reveal a concealed hole big enough for him to hide in. And hide he did. He got inside the space and pulled the barrel to hide the hole and he curled up into a ball and sobbed, rocking himself back and forth. He looked at his leg and rubbed at the sore bruise wincing at the tender skin and he sobbed more. He wished more than anything that he had someone to care for him. He felt lonely and afraid, but Alaric knew that no one wanted a jinx. As night began to fall, he fell into a fitful sleep, unable to shake the feeling that something horrible would happen to him.

"Excuse me, my good man." Manito asked a villager; coincidently it was the one that Alaric had bitten. "What all this about a jinx?"

"That little devil has caused nothing but trouble for years." The man growled. "He's a menace and a little thief."

"So, you think he's full of bad luck, eh?" Manito asked wickedly and the man grunted.

"You can say that again, sir. That brat is no good at all. Did you get a good look at him? He's not like the rest of us, little freak."

"Hm…Well, dear sir, I might have a proper solution to your problem."

"How so? What can you do to help?"

"I would like to personally take the boy off your hands."

"Why?"

"The real question, dear sir, is why not?" Manito responded and leaned close to the man's ear. "Let me take him and cleanse your streets of bad misfortune. Let me take the boy and all your troubles will disappear." He grinned as the merchant began to nod. "Let me take the boy and I'll make sure he comes back to your…lovely town." The merchant nodded and shook Manito's white-gloved hand.

"It's a deal." The merchant beamed and Manito chuckled. "And I'll help you catch him."

"Here, little jinx." Manito cooed the man waving the leash at the wide-eyed boy. "Come out and I promise not to harm you." The boy moved further back, until his back hit the end of the box and, angrily, Manito snarled and reached for him. Cornered and unable to move much, Alaric screamed and bit at him. Alaric finally got a hold of his hand and Manito cursed, pulling his hand back.

"Leave me alone!" Alaric cried the seven-year old boy's voice barely loud. "I-I didn't do it!" He flinched as Manito snorted.

"I don't care! You'll make a great addition to my Freak Show!" Alaric whimpered. "Now come out of there!" The boy shook his head and moved further into the box Manito had managed to corner him in. Suddenly, Manito grabbed Alaric's leg and the man jerked him out. Alaric cried out in shock and Manito beamed.

"Got him, boys!" Manito laughed gleefully and Alaric winced and cringed as men leered in his face and held him down to put a leash and collar around his neck.

"We caught the jinx!" The merchant laughed and they all laughed along with him.

"Come on, little jinx." Manito grinned madly and tugged on the end of the leash. Alaric whimpered and whined a like the dog he was made to be. Manito only grinned wider and tugged until Alaric was obediently walking behind him as he waltzed from the alley. The boy struggled to keep up to Manito's long stride as he was paraded down the street for all to see. People laughed and jeered as the boy was tugged along and Alaric eyes welled up with tears. He cried quietly as he was lead towards the caravan of wagons that belonged to Manito. All he could do was cry, for no one could or would save him…

"Poor kid." Fergal, or more commonly known as the Wolfman, murmured as Alaric tended to this week's injuries. Beside him, Bethany, or the Bearded-Lady, wiped at her eyes with a colored handkerchief. They were the only two in the Freak Show that were kind to Alaric.

"That-that poor little boy." She bawled. "He-he isn't even a little boy, anymore." Fergal nodded as he watched Alaric lick at his injured knuckles like a cat. They had been on the road for six months and already, Alaric seemed to have lost his childlike quality for that of an animal. He hissed and snarled whenever they came too close and he had already did this when the two first entered the tent where Alaric's cage was hidden under it. Fergal wondered if the boy had already gone insane from the mad Freak Show's master's beatings. It was no longer just part of the act what he did to Alaric; it was slowly becoming a normal routine.

"Yeah," Fergal agreed and came closer to the bars of the cage. "Psst." Alaric's head swiveled towards the sound and he narrowed his eyes. "Easy there." Fergal murmured holding his hands up when Alaric flashed his teeth like a tiger or a wolf would. "I won't hurt you. Will you let me see your hands?" Alaric looked at his hands and back at Fergal.

"That's right, sweetie." Bethany cooed and Alaric crept closer, walking as a monkey would which was all he could really do in his limited space. He slid a hand out of the bars and showed it briefly to Fergal before jerking it back. Fergal chuckled.

"Well, I really meant could I clean those injuries."

"Clean?" Alaric uttered and Fergal jumped, having never heard Alaric speak before.

"Oh, you can talk!" Bethany clapped her hands, her beard bouncing.

"Clean….h-hands?" Alaric tried again and they both nodded.

"Yes." Fergal answered softly and Alaric let him touch the bloodied hands. Fergal cleaned his hands and bandaged them too, being quick so that Alaric wouldn't feel trapped.

"Isn't that better?" Bethany asked and Alaric nodded.

"Thank you." he said quietly and then a loud voice shouted:

"What do you think you are doing?" Manito stormed in and Alaric fled to the back of the cage, out of reach. "Well?" He demanded and Fergal spoke up.

"We were just making sure the boy was okay."

"What does it matter? He's just a little beast! A wild jinx!" At the moment Manito's brown eyes were so dark that they were like two hot coals burning furiously. Alaric whimpered, making Manito's glare turn upon him. He spied the freshly wrapped bandages, some of them already spotted with blood from open scabs.

"So, you decided to break one of my rules, eh?" He started in a dangerous tone and Fergal stepped in front of Bethany as Manito wildly turned to him. "You know you're not to speak to this little monster!"

"Well, I don't think he's a monster." Bethany said boldly and then she flinched under Manito's gaze.

"Oh you don't, do ya?" He mocked and then and tossed his cane up in the air so that he could both show it to Alaric and catch it on the middle of the pole. The small toss had its effects for Alaric snarled and whimpered at the same time, pushing back against the far corner of the cage. Like a dog pushed too far, he bared his teeth and growled as Manito walked closer.

"I'll show you what he is." He snapped and raked the silver-headed cane across the bars. Alaric's hands flew to his ears, blocking out the noise and he gave an involuntary scream. Satisfied, Manito turned to the two other freaks and grinned. "You see? A little monster. Nothing more, nothing less."

"He can talk." Fergal stated. "That child is not a monster; he is only poorly cared for. That is not what you claim him to be."

"So he can talk." Manito scoffed rudely. "He'll be speaking in tongues when I get through with him!" Fergal wanted nothing more than to strangle Manito then and there, his hands itching to grab the man's thin neck. Bethany wanted to hit him with whatever she could find. "Now, this better be the last time I catch the two of you in here! He's not to talk to, understand?"

"Yes, master." Fergal and Bethany said and bowed their heads. Manito ran a hand through his greasy brown hair and slicked it back from where it had gotten mussed up by his angry shouting.

"Good. Now get out." They left the tent feeling dread for what they were sure would be a difficult time for Alaric. Manito turned to the boy and Alaric hissed in a cat like manner.

"You think you're clever don't you?" Manito asked mockingly and pressed his face closer to the bars. Alaric gave him a warning snarl not to come further. "You think those fools want to help you? Well, I've got news for you little jinx. You all belong to ME!" He snapped and grabbed Alaric's dirtied vest jerking him towards the bars. Alaric's face collided with the thick metal and the boy whimpered in pain as Manito released his vest to grip his hair, slamming his head against the bars again. "You listen good, brat. None of you are getting out of here. And do you know why? Because just like you like little jinx, those two idiots would have nothing to go home too! I saved them from mockery just as I've done for you. And what do I get? Nothing! None of you are the least bit grateful!" He shoved Alaric back from him and the boy landed against the wall.

"You better learn who the master is here, Jinx." He took a bucket of water from beside the wagon and tossed its contents on Alaric, who slid down the wall, sputtering. "That ought to cool you off, boy. And just for all the trouble you've just caused you can sleep in the dark tonight." Alaric whimpered fearfully as Manito took the lantern that he had hung up down from the pole by the tent's entrance. "See you in the morning." He mocked and with that he left the tent, encasing Alaric in darkness.

The boy whimpered and rolled into a ball to try and keep warm as the cool dessert night wind blew. Alaric spotted something through the wind moved tent flap and as if by magic the tent flap stopped moving, getting stuck so that it was open and so he could see. A bright star gleamed in the inky sky and Alaric smiled wanly.

"I-I wanna leave." He whispered and the seven-year-old sniffed. "I wish my mommy hadn't left me." Tears filled his eyes and he blinked them back. "I wish had a brother and daddy and a…and a best friend and a pet and a house and a room and a bed…" The little boy tried to come up with more to ask for and then he sighed, looking at the star. "You're my only friend. You'll always be there, right?" The star twinkled and Alaric shivered again. His eyes began to close as he gazed upon the lonely star and as he fell asleep, he smiled a little as thoughts of his wishes coming true played in his head.

Fergal snuck back into Alaric's tent, having heard the boy talking lowly and the man had tears in his eyes. In one hand he held a blanket and he approached the sleeping boy almost silently. He had no fear of waking him though as the boy's breathing told him he was out deeply. Fergal pushed the blanket through the bars and covered the boy with it, not caring if the master would rip it to shreds and yell at him for it. He really didn't care anymore.

"I just wanted to say…I just wanted to say, I'm sorry for the hand you've been dealt, son."He whispered, couldn't resist brushing back the boy's hair like a father would do. "No one deserves this life, especially not a little boy. I'll be gone in the morning. I wish I could take you with me. You deserve a chance at least, but I'm afraid that I couldn't provide shelter for you. You don't realize it, little one, but you are much safer in here than out there in the wilderness alone. People don't care for different. A shame really, but they don't. Yes, as much as I hate to admit it, you are much safer within this cage than you would be alone on the streets. People can't get you if you are in here." Fergal patted Alaric's cheek gently and then removed his hand. "May the Great Spirits watch over you." He whispered and left the tent.

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