A/N: I'm sooooo incredibly sorry I took so long to update. Writing these stories take hours I didn't have because I was in a play (The Outsiders). However, I am now clear of schedule, so I can finish it up! Reviewers:

Fallonmarie3: Thank you so much!

Dramaqueen20000: Wow, I love your little convos. Those are so fun to both read and write.

Kaboot: When I first watched XS, the first thing I said when I saw Rai was, "He is so gay." I simply had to incorporate that.

Jack's Obsessed Fangirl: "Too-much-suspense-from-SOMEWHAT-lazy-fanfc-authers-that-take-too-long-making-you-go-bald disorder"?! Noo! That disiese is terrible! Here! tosses new chapter to you Now grow that hair back!

A/N: I heart my reviewers.

STORYTELLERSTORYTELLER

"So you stayed with her all night?" asked Kagami, turning to Jack.

"All night," he said happily.

"That's so sweet!" said Kagami, sighing girlishly.

"I'd stay with you all night if you asked me to," mumbled Faust so softly that only Clay and Limon could hear him.

Clay smiled. "Patience, Faust, she'll come around," he said comfortingly before coughing again. "Now," he said in a louder tone, "Jack did stay all night, but you must remember that Dashi still believed she loved Chase."

Flashback

"I love you, Jack," said Kimiko, burying her head in his shoulder. "Thanks for coming to me." He'd stayed with her all night, talking to her, kissing her, even braiding her hair at one point. He kissed her now.

"Least I could do," he replied. "I love you, too."

A rock tapped her window. Annoyed, Kimiko stood up and opened it. There was Rai, freezing his nose off. He looked calm enough. "Kimi!" he said. His cracking, panicked voice betrayed his stature. "Dashi is coming to your cart. Day has broken. Be careful. Watch out," he pleaded.

"One more kiss," said Jack. Kimiko crossed to him and kissed him as he'd asked.

"Now go," she said, pushing him out the back door. She smiled and sang a few lines of her favorite song to herself. "I'd like to swim in a clear blue stream where the water is icy cold,
Then go to town in a golden gown and have my fortune told."

A pair of yellow hands covered her eyes. "Guess who," said the playful, smiling voice. "I'll give you a hint. It starts with D and ends with –ashi."

"Hey, Mr. Dashi," said Kimiko, removing the hands from her eyes and half-smiling up at the taller man. Rai was standing behind him, a glum look on his face.

Dashi took on a concerned look. "Kimi, will you cry about Clay forever?" He tipped up her chin with his finger. "You couldn't bring his leg back. So stop crying." He wiped away a tear that had begun to trickle down her face with his thumb. A light lit his eyes, like he'd come to some conclusion. "You're weeping not for him as much as for the fact that the criminal who killed him is still alive."

"He's no criminal," Kimiko whispered. She raised her voice so Dashi could hear her and said, "May God pardon him! I do, with all my heart. And yet no man could make my heart grieve like he does."

"We'll have revenge for it. Don't worry about that. Stop crying. I'll send a man to Heylin, where that exiled rogue is living. Our man will poison Jack's drink."

"No, please, Dashi," begged Kimiko. "Let the police take care of him."

"Fine," said Dashi, mock-put out. His eyes lit up again. "I have good news, Kimi!"

"And it's good to have joy in such a joyless time," sighed Kim.

"Indeed, my child, with Father Fung early Thursday morning, the gallant, young, and noble gentleman Prince Chase will happily make you a joyful bride," said Dashi, sweeping his arm out.

"He will not make me a joyful bride there!" said Kim, hurt. "This is a strange rush. How can I marry him? I won't marry yet. And, when I do marry, I swear, it will be Jack, whom I know you hate, rather than Chase."

There was a long pause. Dashi slowly lowered his arms. Kimiko clapped her hands over her mouth. "What?" said Dashi carefully.

"I mean," said Kimiko, rushing, "that I'll marry someone you hate to make you mad than someone I don't know."

"Aren't you grateful for what I've done?" asked Dashi, recovering. Clearly, this wasn't the reaction he was expecting. "You live a simple circus life. Don't you want something more?"

"No," said Kimiko simply. "But I am thankful that you have found it. I can never be proud of what I hate. But I can be thankful for something I hate, if it was meant with love. Dashi, I'm begging you on my knees, be patient and listen to me say just one thing."

"Forget about you, you worthless girl!" yelled Dashi. Dashi rarely lost his temper, but when he did, he really lost it. "You disobedient wretch! I'll tell you what. Go to Fung on Thursday or never look me in the face again. Don't say anything. Don't reply. Don't talk back to me." He backhanded her across the face and she crumpled to the ground. Rai ran to her side, hugging her as she cried. Dashi towered over them, anger flashing in his eyes. The carefree Dashi of earlier was gone. "I never thought myself blessed that God only gave me this one child. But now I see that this one is one too many. I was cursed when I got you. You disgust me!"

"O deus no o céu sorriso sobre o!" Rai whispered to Kimiko. He looked up at Dashi. "Dashi, you're wrong to shout at her like this."

"Shut up!" yelled Dashi. A sneer took his face and he said, "Day and night, hour after hour, all the time, at work, at play, alone, in company, my top priority has always been to find you a husband. Now I've provided a husband from a noble family, who is good-looking, young, well-educated. He's the man of any girl's dreams. But you, this wretched, whimpering fool, like a whining puppet, you look at this good fortune and answer, 'I won't get married. I can't fall in love. I'm too young. Please, excuse me.' Well, if you won't get married, I'll excuse you. Eat wherever you want, but you can no longer live in this circus. Consider that. Think about it. I'm not in the habit of joking. Thursday is coming. Put your hand on your heart and listen to my advice. If you act like my daughter, I'll marry you to my friend. If you don't act like my daughter, you can beg, starve, and die in the streets. I swear on my soul, I will never take you back or do anything for you. Believe me. Think about it." He turned on his heel and stormed out.

"Oh God!" whimpered Kimiko, curling into Rai's lap. She had several long scratches across her cheek from the rings Dashi was wearing. Rai pulled a cloth from a drawer and held it to her cheek, crying with her. Finally, she looked up at him and asked, "Oh Rai, how can this be stopped? I can't tell Dashi about Jack. Look what he did when I refused to marry Chase. My husband is alive on earth, my vows of marriage are in heaven. How can I bring those promises back down to earth, unless my husband sends them back down to me by dying and going to heaven?"

"I don't know," said Rai, wrapping his arms around her. "I simply don't know."

End Flashback

"That's horrible!" cried Paolo. "Why did he hit her?!"

"Good question," said a voice at the door. "I don't know myself." The speaker was an old man, with wrinkles and everything, but he still carried himself quite dignifiedly. Jack and Rai scrambled up to bow at him and Clay inclined his head. "Thank you, young ones," he said before taking a seat on a chair near Clay's bed.

"Children, this is the owner of our circus, Mr. Dashi," said Clay formally.

"You hit Kimiko!" said Paolo, angrily bouncing up. "That wasn't nice!"

"I know," Dashi sighed, "and I regret it every day."

This seemed to satisfy Paolo and he sat down. However, Rin said, "But, surely Father Fung would stop this, right?"

"He'd try," said Clay.

Flashback

"On Thursday?" asked Father Fung worriedly. "That's quite soon."

"That's how my future father-in-law Dashi wants it," replied Chase calmly, "and I'm not about to drag my feet."

"You say you don't know what the girl thinks," countered Father Fung. "That's a rocky road to be riding. I don't like it."

"She's grieving too much over Clay," said Chase dismissively, "so I haven't had the chance to talk to her about love. Her father thinks it's dangerous that she allows herself to become so sad. He's being smart by rushing our marriage to stop her from crying. If she had someone to be with her, she would stop crying. That's the reason for the rush." Father Fung sighed, thinking about poor Jack. At that same moment, Kimiko walked in. Chase gracefully went to one knee and kissed her hand. "I'm happy to meet you, my lady and my wife," he said in a dignified manner.

"That might be the case sir, after I'm married," replied Kimiko, coldly jerking her hand away from his.

Ignoring her previous comment, Chase said, "Have you come to make confession to this father?"

"I'd be confessing to you if I told you," said Kimiko, praying he'd leave.

"You will confess, I'm sure, that you love me," said Chase in a cool manner.

"If I do so, it will mean more if I say it behind your back than if I say it to your face," counteracted Kim.

"You poor soul, your face has suffered many tears. Your face is mine, and you have slandered it," said Chase icily, dragging a fingernail across one of her cuts on her cheek.

"That may be the case, because my face doesn't belong to me," said Kim shakily, trying to get him to take his hand off. He did and she turned to Father Fung. "Do you have time for me now, Father, or should I come to you at evening mass?"

"I have time for you now, my sad daughter," said Father Fung tenderly, leading her over to a chair. Looking at Chase, he said, "My lord, we must ask you to leave us alone."

"God forbid that I should prevent sacred devotion. Kimiko, I will wake you early on Thursday," he said in the same icy manner before leaving.

A tear began to trail down Kimiko's face before she buried her head in her hands and said, "Shut the door, and after you shut it, come over here and weep with me. This mess is beyond hope, beyond cure, beyond help!"

"I already know about your sad situation. It's a problem too hard for me to solve. I hear that you must marry this count on Thursday, and that nothing can delay it," said Father Fung sadly, stroking her hand in a comforting manner.

"Don't tell me that you've heard about this marriage, Friar, unless you can tell me how to prevent it," whispered Kimiko. "If I have to marry the Prince, I'll kill myself."

Suddenly, an idea seemed to come to him. "Hold on, daughter, I see some hope. But we must act boldly because the situation is so desperate." He swiftly stood up and crossed to a chest where he kept various vials and mixtures. He opened it and began clinking through various bottles. "Go home, be cheerful, and tell them you agree to marry Paris. Tomorrow is Wednesday. Tomorrow night make sure that you are—a-ha!" He held up a small vial and gave it to her. "Make sure you are alone. When you're in bed, take this vial, mix its contents with liquor, and drink. Then a cold, sleep-inducing drug will run through your veins, and your pulse will stop, but you won't be dead. However, your flesh will be cold, and you'll stop breathing. You won't be able to move, and your body will be stiff like a corpse. You'll remain in this deathlike state for forty-two hours, and then you'll wake up as if from a pleasant sleep." He grinned at the ingenuity of this drug. "Now, when Chase comes to get you out of bed on Thursday morning, you'll seem dead. Then, as tradition demands, you'll be dressed up in your best clothes, put in an open coffin, and carried to the Calienta family tomb. Meanwhile, I'll send Jack word of our plan. He'll come here, and we'll keep a watch for when you wake up. That night, Romeo will take you away to Heylin. This plan will free you from the shameful situation that troubles you now as long as you don't change your mind, or become scared and ruin your brave effort."

"Don't talk to me about fear," said Kimiko, slipping the vial into her pocket.

"Now go along on your way," said Father Fung warmly. "Be strong and successful in this decision. I'll send the fire-eater, Omi, quickly to Heylin with my letter for Jack."

"Love will give me strength, and strength will help me accomplish this plan," responded Kimiko, hugging him. "Goodbye, dear Father." And with that, she was out the door.

End Flashback

"That's amazing!" said Xola. "A drug that would put you in a deathlike state! That's incredible!"

"It is, isn't it," said Jack with a touch of bitterness in his voice. At the children's questioning glances, he said, "I won't ruin the story."

"You'd better not!" said Clay. "We haven't even gotten to the best part yet."

A/N: Rai said: "God in heaven bless you" and the song is from the musical The Fantastiks. R&R, people!