One of the guards was holding a tomato in his hands and said to the other : ,, You think he is ugly now ? Watch this. ,,
Then he threw a tomato and it hit Romanos face. Romano placed his hand on cheek and when it took it away,it was red from tomato juice. The crowd was silent and it gasped. The guard called: ,, Now,that is ugly !,,
Then another guard threw a tomato ,while saying: ,,Hail to the king! ,,
Romano used his hands to protect himself from flying vegetables.
One guard called : ,, Long leave the king! ,,
He threw a tried to avoid being hit by vegatables,but without sucess. More people threw vegetables at him. Romano tried to get off, but slipped on a tomato and landed on his back. The crowd began to laugh at him and more vegetables were thrown at Romano,who wanted to ran away. Then a man hollered as he threw a rope to Romano : ,, Where are you going, freak ? The fun's just beginning! ,,
A rope wrapped around Romano's neck, making him choke and fall to the ground. More ropes were thrown at his wrists,causing Romano to drop scepter and royal robe fell down. He was being tugged as the people jeered at him. Vash and his sister turned away and went home. It was to horrible for them to see what will happen.
Romano's tunic ripped and he got up to rip the ropes off him .Poor romano was scared and he wanted to ran away. More vegetables and ropes were thrown at him and a couple of men tied Romano's wrists behind him, then tied him to the platform. They spun bell ringer around, making the people laugh and throw more vegetables at him. Antonia heard the noise and drew the curtain as she took the crown from her head. She was worried about Romano, who was afraid and tears were running down his cheeks. She ran to the steps of platform. Romano cried out : ,, Master! Master, please ! Help me! ,,
Francis just watched from his seat without saying a word. Romano bowed his head down and was crying. Arthur turned to judge and said: ,, Sir. I request for permission to stop this cruelty, ,,
Judge turned to him and said as he put his hat down: ,, In a moment captain. A lesson needs to be learn here. ,,
Suddenlly the crowd gasped and everyone looked at platform. Gipsy was walking upstairs and slowlly came to scared Romano. She bent down with her kerchief off her skirt and said as she leaned closer to him: ,, Don`t be afraid. ,,
Romano turned his face away and closed his eyes. He expected that girl will hit him,but she didnt.
She continued : ,, I`m sorry. That wasnt supposed to happen. ,,
Romano looked at gipsy,who was helping him as she wiped his face clean with her kerchief. Francis stood up and called out: ,, You, gypsy girl! Get down at once! ,,
She got up and answered : ,, Yes, your Honor. Just as soon I free this poor creature. ,,
Francis shouted : ,, I forbid it! ,,
Antonia took a dagger out from her skirt and cut the ropes that tied Romano. There was suprise on judges face .
He said a bit suprised : ,, How dare you defy me!,,
Antonia shouted giving angry glare at judge : ,, You mistreat this poor boy the same way you mistreat my people! You speak of justice, yet you are cruel to those in most need of your help! ,,
Romano looked at Antonia,who was standing against his master. He thought : ,, why is she protectting me? ,,
Francis bellowed, trying not to sound suprise : ,, SILENCE! ,,
Antonia hollered while reaching with her fist in the air : ,, JUSTICE!,,
The crowd was silent and gasped, then gipsy got the ropes off of Romano and helped him up on his feet . Judge pointed out and sneered, ,, Mark my words, gipsy. You will pay for this insolence.,,
Antonia gave a mock bow and said: ,, Then, it appears we've crowned the wrong fool. ,,
She picked up the crown from Romano`s head, held it the air, and said before throwing it to Francis seat : ,, The only fool I see is you! ,,
Julchen stucked her tounge at Francis. After the crown was thrown, the audience laughed and Francis was beyond the boiling point. Turning towards Arthur , he ordered : ,, Captain Kirkland , arrest her ! ,,
Arthur snapped his fingers and ten guards on horseback rode towards the stage.
Antonia counted : ,, Now, let's see. Ono,dos,tres,cuatro,cinco,seis,sieta,ocho,nuedo,diez.,,
She counted the guards and said : ,, So, there's ten of you and one of me. What's poor girl to do? ,,
She pulled out a handkerchief and pretended to cry. She blew her nose into the handkerchief and as smoke came up, she got off from the platform fast. Everyone were supriesed .
Then Antonia called: ,, Oh,boys. Over here. ,,
She and her goat were near basket with fake heads, then they ran off the platform with gallows ,when the same guards from before chased them. They jumped off the platform and had the crowd carried them over. The guards jumped off, but fell on their faces with a thud. More guards tried to get them , but Antonia jumped onto a cage with a man inside and used her feet to wheel out of the way. Then she jumped onto a moving plank with a crippled gypsy and Julchen.
A man on stilts brought up his leg and kicked four guards very hard. They jumped over a bunch of guards and watched as the cage knock the men over, like a bunch of bowling pins. The old man inside the cage got out and smiled : ,, I'm free! I'm free! ,,
He acidentlly tripped over a bar and got into a prison stock, had his head and hands stuck and mumbled : ,,Dang it!,,
Antonia and Julchen ran from the guards, then gipsy saw another man on stilts. She used Julchen`s back to jump , pulled the man's pants, and watched the guard fly away as he was stretched into the pants. The guard`s helmet landed on Antonia 's head, who took it off and gave a bow to a cheering crowd . Three guards on horseback were charging towards them , but Antonia threw the helmet at the men and had them knocked over. The helmet smacked the guards and nearly cleaved Arthur's head, if he hadn't ducked in time. The captain of the guard shot up and said with supriese: ,, What a woman! ,,
Gipsy and her goat ran off as more guards rode after them. Antonia whistled at another guy on stilts, went under him,then watched the man drop a pole on the two guards and they crashed into Francis 's stand! The judge got out of the damage and was furious , but Antonia and Julchen got on top of a tent with some men on stilts. They got up there,Antonia took a bow and vanished with a red cloak swirling around. The sky darkened and it began to straightened his hat and turned to stare at Romano with anger. The bellringer shrank away and pulled his ripped tunic up to cover his shoulder. Francis got on his black stallion and ordered Arthur: ,, Find her ,Captain. I want her alive. ,,
Arthur was on Alfred and said: ,, Yes, sir. Seal off the area, men! Find the gypsy girl and do not harm her! ,,
The guards shoved some people out of the way to search for the girl, then Francis rode towards Romano and gave a cold glare that boy disobeyed him. Romano whispered with tears in his eyes,: ,, Mi dispiace. I'm sorry, Master. I will never disobey you again. ,,
He jumped off the stage and shrank back as people backed away in fear. Rain poured down heavilly as Romano went towards the doors of the cathedral. Matthew, Veneziano and Elizaveta looked down in sorrow for their friend over the balcony. As Romano went inside, he closed the doors and retreated towards the bell tower in sadness.
Outside the square, Antonia was in disguise and slipped into the cathedral without being caught or seen. However, Arthur noticed the figure walking towards the church and thought to himself with a smug smile.