This takes place before the first Genie and Jinxes.

Ophidiophobia

If Alaric had known what he knew now, he wouldn't have tried Manito's impatience that fateful day and received a haunting fear that never left him for the rest of his life. It all happened the day that Manito brought in Serpentina.

Alaric had learned about her from listening to conversations held outside his tent. The Freak Show workers went on and on about how she was so pretty and deadly too. Curiosity came to him, wondering about just who they were speaking of. A group of men whispered excitedly as cart was pushed into Alaric's tent and the boy drew closer to see.

Whatever it was, it was in a glass case and Alaric strained too see. Was this Serpentina? Who was she? What did she look like? As he tried to see, the cover on the case slipped off and Alaric cocked his head to one side. Having never seen a snake before, Alaric looked on with inquisitiveness. It was long, green, and thick, stretching out at the bottom of the glass. The glass itself was as long as a dog lying down and as tall as one standing up.

"Ah!" Manito said happily as he swept into the tent. "There is my newest money maker!" He patted the snake's glass and a hiss emerged from the inside. Alaric didn't like that sound and backed away from the cage bars, putting more distance between them. Manito saw this and laughed aloud.

"Scared are you?" He sneered and Alaric hissed at him. "You better watch it, boy. You're act is getting sloppy." Alaric growled at him. "I mean it, jinx. Tonight you better do right or I'll beat the living daylights out of you."

As if by some terrible fate, that night's show didn't bring in as much money as usual and Manito was furious. Technically, it could be said that Manito himself was to blame for that. After all he had pretty much insulted most of the town's people that morning. But everyone knew that you never tell that to Manito unless you wanted your head bit off. So he blamed it on Alaric of course and the other Freak Show inhabitants stayed clear of the man that stalked towards the boy's tent. A few watched from the safety of their own tents wondering what kind of punishment the man would bestow this time.

Alaric heard the tell-tale sound of Manito heading his way and headed for the very back of the cage. He knew that it offered little protection, but it was better than sitting within grabbing distance. Manito flung open the tent and stomped inside, eyes glittering black with anger.

"You little jinx!" He howled, slamming the sliver handled cane against the bars. Alaric covered his ears to protect them from the ringing sound of metal on metal. "You lost me money!" Alaric growled at him, baring his teeth and Manito gritted his teeth. "Don't you dare growl at me! I am the master here! Or have you forgotten?!" Alaric jutted his chin out and Manito's angry soared through the roof.

"Perhaps it is time to teach you a lesson." Manito shouted at two of his best men to come in and catch Alaric. the boy hissed and spat and snarled, kicking and clawing and biting, trying to get free from the hands of the two men, but he was eventually somewhat subdued by a blow to the head. Manito lifted his cane again and Alaric whimpered, feeling the effects of the last hit still lingering on his temple.

"That's right. I am the master." Manito panted and then waved a hand a gesture that only his true men knew of and they began to beat on the boy vigorously. Manito left telling them to put the boy back into his cage when they had him down. Alaric whimpered and cried out as he was kicked, smacked, and punched, enduring pain after pain until he could take no more. Crying silently, he fell to the ground curled into a ball. The men turned their backs to him briefly, taking the time to toss a coin to see which one was going to have to deal with getting Alaric back into his cage.

Alaric lay in wait, his eyes glossy from mentally storing away his pain. The tent flap fluttered in the breeze and Alaric caught a glimpse of the outside. Instinct to flee overpowered him and Alaric jumped up, kicking both men's legs out from under them, a move he had learned from watching street fights a year ago. The boy ran for the opening, but he didn't get far. One of the men grabbed him and began to roughly haul him to his cage, bet forgotten. The boy wasn't about to go down without a fight and he thrashed. Unfortunately the man who held him was enraged beyond all belief, having a bloody nose thanks to his sudden face plant into the ground, courtesy of Alaric's kick.

He was backhanded for his trouble. Alaric went sprawling across the tent and slammed into the snake glass. The table it sat upon began to sway and creak, far too old to have been used to begin with and without further ado it collapsed. Glass and wood flew every which way, giving every human at least a dozen cuts and a few splinters.

Hissing filled the air and the men panicked, fleeing after seeing the giant serpent lying free from its confines and upon the sand. Alaric, however, was not so lucky, and the monstrous reptile began to encircle him. Trapped within the coils of the creature, Alaric began to thrash. He soon realized that thrashing wasn't helping him this time. Usually when he moved so much, grips were loosened. But not this time. With every movement, Alaric became more entrapped and the boy began to panic, feeling utterly defenseless and that scared him. Being defenseless meant that he was weak and that he could not have. Survival was the main thing.

The snake began to squeeze the boy and Alaric let out a shrill scream as he felt his body being pressed. Alaric looked up to see the snake looking at him and he fidgeted. Yellow eyes, burning like a pair of sickly orbs. Alaric could see his own death in those cold eyes and he felt deeply afraid. He grew still staring at the cold eyes of death and Alaric began to wail when the snake flicked its forked tongue at him.

"What in the Seven Deserts!?" Manito snarled. "Get the boy free." Courageous men began to unwind the snake from the small boy and Alaric fled hiding and whimpering behind Manito who looked at the boy in shock before smirking.

When everything was settled down and the snake put in a proper container elsewhere, Manito visited Alaric. The boy was shivering in fear, watching the corner the snake had been in earlier. Manito chuckled aloud.

"You didn't like that, did you?" Alaric shook his head, coming closer to the bars. The boy's fingers reached for him and Manito sneered.

"Now you listen and you listen good. You best start doing everything I say or I'll stick you back in there with Serpantina got it?" Alaric whimpered, nodding his head. "Yes, I gave her a fitting name. She fancied you, didn't she?" Alaric sniffed as tears of horror appeared in his eyes and Manito laughed in the boy's face. "Remember boy," Manito warned. "If you step another toe out of line I was personally let that snake have you!" Alaric nodded and satisfied Manito left, leaving the boy alone.

Alaric hoped that he would never see such an awful creature like that ever again.

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