She stared at him, clearly frozen in fright, and all he did was blink at her. He heard Bellamy shift and mumble behind him.

"What's going on?" The muscle man grumbled. Clopin didn't dare take his eyes off the girl. She couldn't have been more than six years old.

"I just found this little snack going through my stuff," he said. She whimpered, and tried to scram free. "I'm not going to hurt you little one." He said in a hushed voice, and lessened his grip on her. He knew sometimes his lean, dark appearance was frightening to children when he wasn't wearing his jester clothes. She slipped from his finger and stepped back, but didn't run away. She was thin, in a hungry way, and all she wore was a white shirt which looked like it belonged to a much older person, as it went down to her knees, and the sleeves were cut at her elbows. It was as dirty as she was.

"I was only looking." She managed to say. She still had the earring in her hand.

"Then you won't mind giving it back, would you? I am very attached to that earring after all."

She looked at the gold in her hand, then quickly handed it back to him.

"Thank you, Cherie." He said, and for extra effect, put the earring in his ear again. She stared again.

"My god, Clopin, you better not be thinking what I think you're thinking." Bellamy growled behind him. "Mailhairer will kill you."

Clopin ignored him, and asked the girl, "Do you live here?"

She shrugged, and looked down at her feet.

"Is that your father in the house?"

She nodded, and started playing with the straw near her bare foot with her toe.

"Do you always stay out here?"

Another shrug. He smiled.

"Well then, we're sorry we intruded on your home. This is a grand palace you have."

She frowned, and looked at him. "I live in a barn."

"And we live in the Catacombs." Bellamy said, "You win."

A tiny smile flickered on her lips, then she looked down at her feet again. "It's not my barn."

"Uhhh, but by squatters rights my dear, we're intruding on your home." Clopin said, crossing his legs more comfortably. "So, I'll ask you, are we please allowed to stay in your barn? It is frightfully unpleasant outside, you know. And we have an old man with us."

"But don't tell him we said that." Bellamy said quickly. The girl glanced behind Clopin, either to look at Bellamy or the sleeping Mailhairer. She scrunched her face up, and looked at Clopin's bag.

"Do you have any food?" she asked.

"Indeed we do, and we'll let you have a sip of our beer if you let us stay." Clopin said, with a twist of his fingers towards the bag.

"Clopin!" Bellamy gasped.

"Oh like you've never let the other children have a sip on occasion." Clopin said with an accusing smile. The girl giggled a little.

"As a matter of fact, no I haven't." the big man snapped back.

"You know for a muscle man, you're quite the softy." Clopin said, as he leaned over and grabbed his bag, pulling the beer bottle and the bread from it. "So what will it be, Cherie?" he asked the girl with a raised eyebrow. She bit her lip in a smile and nodded, then stepped closer to him. He snapped off a large bit of bread from his own
ration, and handed it to her.

"Thank you," She said, and he smiled.

"You have good manners." He said, taking a bite of his bread as well. He didn't know why, but children seemed to trust you more if you ate the same thing as them. She smiled in return, but said no more. He uncorked the bottle next and let her shuffle forward a little more before he gave it to her. She even sat down, just inches from his legs. She took a sip, and instantly her face scrunched up. She swallowed, but then stuck her tongue out and said

"Urgh!"

Bellamy and Clopin both chuckled quietly, and he took the bottle back. "Here, I have water as well." He handed her the water skin, and she drank from that gladly, and sighed when the taste of the previous liquid was gone.

Clopin lowered his voice and leaned forward, putting a palm up next to his mouth and whispered,
"If I show you a magic trick, will you show me around your palace?"

She pouted, but she seemed amused, then she nodded quickly, and stood. Clopin pulled a candle from his bag and lit it, then followed her as she ran down the barn.
"These aren't my Papa's horses, but the owners let me pat and feed them." The girl said excitedly. "This one's Carolus, that's Addy, and that's Wiatt. Wiatt's the oldest, but he's calm."

Clopin followed her around the barn as she told him of where she liked to hide, to play, even where she slept, which was a bundle of blankets amongst straw.

"Papa lets me go inside to get food sometimes, but sometimes he gets mad when I ask for it." She said casually, then showed him up the ladder to the loft above.
"I play up here sometimes, and I wish I could sleep here, but it gets colder than down there."

There was nothing up in the loft apart from straw bales. There was a flash of lightning from above, which came through the tiny cracks in the roof, but the girl didn't flinch.

"Aren't you scared of the lighting?" he asked, astounded. In his experience, all kids hated it. But she shook her head.

"I don't like thunder though. It sounds like the world is cracking."

The world is always cracking, small one, just not in the way you think.

"Well, lucky for us there's no thunder tonight. At least I hope not." Personally, he liked storms. They were wild and unpredictable, which he liked. But he pretended he didn't, just for her. "But just to be safe, let's get back down, and I'll show you some tricks."

She smiled widely and nodded the same as before. They made their way down again, and made sure Mailhairer was sound asleep, before Clopin decided to show her what he could do. Clopin laid his cloak out near the horse's stalls, away from Mailhairer and Bellamy, who had also gone back to sleep.

Setting the candle aside, Clopin rubbed his hands together.

"Now, watch closely." He said, and with a flick of his wrists and a twist of his fingers, he produced a pink silk from 'thin air'. He had never been sure how magic worked, but he'd been taught at a young age, and he knew almost all the tricks now. Most people thought it was illusions and logic, and some was, but others…others were real, and could not be explained.

The girl gasped and clapped lightly.

"May I, Cherie?" he asked, indicating to her hair. She twisted where she sat, and let him tie her hair up with the cloth. Her hair was wavy and thick and so black it seemed almost blue. It was tangled too, but he could fix that soon. "I think pink is your colour." He said honesty. She picked up the tail of the cloth and rubbed it with her fingers gently.

"It's so soft." She said quietly. "Is there more, where you come from."

"Why yes!" he said, sitting back, and leaning on his arms. "My people don't wear black or grey or brown, usually. We love colour! Purples and pinks and blues, golds and reds and greens, oranges like the sunset, yellows like daisies."

"Your people?" She asked. Clopin bulked. He'd slipped dammit.

"Haha, well, you see, my two friends and I are actually gypsies." He said, waiting for her to cringe and run away.

"Really!?" She asked, her eyes lighting up and her mouth going so wide he wondered how much face she had left to hold it.

"Um, yes?" he asked, a little startled.

"Oh my mother always said gypsies are the best singers and dancers and story-tellers in the world." The she paused, and grew sour. "Father hates them though. He says you're thieves."

"Well, on my part that's at least a little true, to be fair. But most of the others are more honourable than me." He explained.

"Can you show me more tricks?" She asked, shuffling more forward. He pouted with a raised eyebrow at her, then shrugged with a smile.

"As Cherie commands."

He showed her coin tricks and card tricks, he read her palm future, (which was very promising, as a matter of fact), he tried to make a doll for her out of straw, he walked on his hands for her to see, and had her doing fantastic cartwheels in minutes, though not without a few falls that he had to soothe her from.
They both grew very tired, and Clopin started looking longingly towards his own pile of straw. He had no idea what time it was, but it had been well over an hour, maybe two, since he'd met the little girl. And dawn was not close.

So maybe it was lucky, that there was a crack of thunder, and the rain started to pour heavily and bash against the walls. It had come so sudden that even Clopin jumped. The girl whimpered and stepped closer to Clopin, her hands becoming tiny fists and cuddling to her chest.

"It's okay Cherie," he said softly, kneeling. "I think it's time for bed now, yes?" He involuntarily yawned, and she yawned in response, then nodded, rubbing an eye.

"You can sleep next to me if you're scared." He said. She hesitated, but eventually nodded tiredly, and said,

"Yes please." In a whisper. He smiled, and took her by the hand as he led her towards his sleeping place. With a sigh like the first time he laid in the straw, he shifted into it until he was comfortable, and again pulled his hat down over his eyes with one arm tucked behind his head, and the other resting on his chest. He patted the straw next to him and said,

"You can sleep right here Cherie."

He felt the straw shift and heard her lay down next to his torso. A few minutes later, after another crack of thunder that went for ages, as he was starting to drift, she shifted a little closer, then closer until she was practically cuddled on top of his chest. He moved his arm from his chest and rested it on top of her shoulder comfortably.

There was one last thing he wanted to ask her before he went to sleep, he realised.

"What is your name, little palace girl?" he said.

"Esmeralda." She mumbled, almost asleep herself.

"Esmeralda," he said with a smile. "What a perfect gypsy name."

In the morning, Mailhairer stood and stared at the thin man who had a little girl sleeping on top of him.

"Let me guess." He said to Bellamy, who was gathering their things. "He found another poor little child who he is set on stealing away to the Court of Miracles."

"It looked like it last night. She's a smart little thing though." Bellamy answered, picking up Clopin's bag. "She only let us stay here on the account that we gave her food."

"You gave her food!" Mailhairer growled.

"Only Clopin's part." Bellamy said defensively.

"What do we know about her?" the old man asked, grabbing his own things.

"That she lives here in the barn and that she is practically starved by her father."

"She won't do much better with us." Mailhairer replied.

"We don't starve the children, Mailhairer. That's why we go hungry most of the time, remember. They merely don't get as much as other children really."

"So you're supporting him in this decision?" Mailhairer asked.

Bellamy laughed, and indicated towards where the girl smiled in her sleep, and Clopin looked at peace. "Does it look like I'm in a position to tell him no?!"
Mailhairer sighed, and resigned to the conversation to come.

"What about her father, hm? What do you think he'll say about us trying to take his daughter?" Mailhairer rasped harshly.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him." Clopin whispered, tucking his earring back into his bag. "It's not like he'd notice her gone anyway."

"So you're going to kidnap her?"

"She's napping right now." Clopin responded cleverly, and ignored the gruesome stare that followed. "Listen Mailhairer, she's got a sparkle in her eye and a talent just waiting up her sleeve! She's one of us, and that's final."

"But Clopin-,"

"Nope! Not listening! Overruled. Conversation over. We're done. She's ours."

Mailhairer grumbled and turned away, stuffing his things away into his own bag, then slung it over his shoulder and went outside. Bellamy shook his head after where the old man was standing.

"He'll cool off. He has to. She almost looks like his Suzette."

"She's my Suzette as well," Clopin stated, then knelt beside the sleeping Esmeralda, who held onto his cloak which was wrapped around her like a blanket.

"Mon Cherie Esmeralda." He whispered, and nudged her shoulder slightly. It took a few more nudges and whispers before she licked her lips and opened her eyes.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle."

"Bonjour." She replied with a smile, sitting up.

"My friends and I are going to buy some things off your Papa, then we're leaving."

Immediately her eyes grew wide and her forehead scrunched up. Her lip started to tremble and she shook her head viciously.

"No, please. No, no."

"Hush now. Esmeralda, you can come with Clopin if you like. Me and my friends can take you to where the other gypsies live, and you can be one of us."

She sniffed, and rubbed her face like kids do. "Would you teach me tricks?"

"Even better than that, Cherie," Bellamy said behind Clopin, "We'll give you more food that your Papa does."

"Bellamy here is a strong man. He can teach you how to be strong too. And Mailhairer out there can make you a golden hoop just like mine." He brought out the hoop from his bag and put it in her small hand. She stared at it in wonder.

"Really?"

"Certainly. So, what will it be, Cherie?"

She jumped and hugged him around the neck, and he laughed, hugging her tight.

"But what about Papa?" she said, still holding onto him.

"We'll ask him of course, but you must stay hidden when we do." He winked at Bellamy as he lied, and the big man rolled his eyes and said,

"I want to get home as soon as possible, so can we go now please?"

"Right after we get that metal is all." Clopin said.

Figuring out how they were going to sneak Esmeralda away was tricky. Naturally Mailhairer wasn't any help at all, but Bellamy was the one who suggested that she run and hide behind the trees closest to the road, and they would grab her just as they were leaving, and walk with her hidden in Clopin's cloak. They told Esmeralda they had to hide her to protect her from other people, like road brigands, that's why she had to hide behind the trees.

"And once you see us on the road, you can run out from the trees, and we'll take you to a magical place called the Court of Miracles."

"The Port of Mirror balls?"

He laughed. "No La Esmeralda, The Court of Miracles. And once you go in, you must never ever tell anyone where it is, or people like your father might come and take us away."

"Take us away? Why?"

He sighed sadly. "Because there are more people like your father than there are like your mother."

She nodded.

They then had to deal with their father. An hour after sunrise, when the last of the clouds was gone and there was a patch of sunlight, they listened at his door for movement, and clearly heard him working somewhere inside.

Mailhairer knocked, and Clopin and Bellamy stepped back, neither of them too keen to see the grumpy man with angry orange eyes.

Again, there was a few moments before the door was opened. This time it wasn't a crack, but opened the full way.

He couldn't be any taller than Clopin, but he was grouchy looking and had grey in brown hair. He was stocky, like a boar, and had a great beard and moustache the same greying brown as his hair.

"Mailhairer," he grumbled.

"Kalman." Mailhairer replied, matching his tone. "I'm just in need of some metals. Brass, copper, light steel, sterling silver, the usual."

Kalman grunted back, then stepped back and indicated for them to come in. Mailhairer went in, but the other two happily stayed outside. It was only a few minutes until grumpy men exited the house.

"That's enough for two weeks I'd say." Mailhairer said. "Thank you Kalman."

"Don't mention it." Kalman said simply, and then the door shut heavily.

"Charming man." Clopin said with a grin, then skipped down the path towards the road, humming the tune to a song he was trying to put together himself about the Feast of Fools.

He waited at the road for Mailhairer and Bellamy to catch up, then they went further down the road.

Clopin looked back and forth across the road, and glanced back at the farmhouse to check for people. Then he jumped atop the perimeter wall to the property, and gave a large whistle.

She ran from the trees like she was being hunted, and he dropped down to her side of the wall, and waited till she reached his arms, then tossed her over the wall into Bellamy's arms, and jumped back over himself.

She grabbed onto his leg with a giggle, and he patted her head before wrapping his cloak around his shoulders and hiding her from view.

"Clopin, this better not get us killed." Mailhairer said.

"Don't be so glum, you might make it rain again, and Esme here doesn't like thunder."

"I'm not very fond of it myself, Cherie Esmeralda." Bellamy said, and Clopin could have kissed the man right then.

"On to home then." Clopin said, and they began the long walk back.

It was a strange luck charm, having Esmeralda with them. It didn't rain, and the girl didn't complain once. When they got a fair few miles away from the house, they deemed it safe for her to come out from her hiding place beneath his cloak. She laughed loud and ran out, squealing. She was barefoot and was still only wearing the over-sized shirt, but she looked happier than any child Clopin had seen. He handed his bag to Bellamy, and started chasing her through the fields they came across, jumping over rocks and splashing in puddles. They find a wonderful patch of mud off the side of the road, and got even filthier than they already were, throwing mud at each other and rolling in it until Mailhairer pulled Clopin out by the ear, while Esmeralda followed, laughing at him grumble and whine at the cruel treatment.

When Mailhairer finally let go, Clopin rubbed his ear and said,
"You shouldn't treat your King like that." He only used this on people like Mailhairer.

"You shouldn't act like a child then."

"But it's my job!"

"Shut up Trouillefou."

Esmeralda giggled, so Clopin swooped in and picked her up, putting her on his shoulders.

"Clopin?" She said.

"Yes, Esme?" he responded, taking his hat off and handing it to Bellamy as well, so he could put it in the bag.

"Why are you king?"

"Oh here we go." Bellamy said with a laugh.

"You'll see why, when we get home." Clopin said. It was no use explaining it, when he wasn't sure how he was, himself.

"Home. Where is home?"

"My little Cherie, La Esmeralda, our home is in Paris!" Clopin said with a twirl.

"Paris!" She squealed.

"Paris." Bellamy confirmed.

"We live in Paris!" She yelled excitedly, and Clopin couldn't help start to love this girl.

Besides, I've always wanted a little sister.