Chapter Ten, Jokester
Leo walked around the small section of the tent, pacing over each dimension. He was not walking impatiently, however. He was measuring the size of the tent. Giving a run start, he practically ran up the vertical pole and touched his foot to the tent roof. He flipped around and twisted, then landed gracefully on his feet. He looked over at the object in the middle of the room. The egg. It was so incredible. Leo walk over to the Brown orb. He touched it, tracing the faint lines where it had cracked. It reminded him of the cracks in grandfather's skin. The old dwarf had been one of Leo's best friends as a child.
Flashback:
The old Knurlan held his grandson in his arms. The shriveled little creature giggled and burped. "What is his name, Daughter of mine?" he asked the Knurlii standing nearby.
She looked at her son with admiration. "Leo. After his father"
"His father?!" The Knurlan said indignantly, "Catina! That scum-bag deserted you!"
Catina scowled at her father. "He did not. He was murdered by an Urgal! There was sufficient evidence of the murder, and I believe it!"
The old Knurlan humphed, but let it go. "So that's it? Just Leo? No naming him after his dear old grandfather?"
Catina smiled, amused. "Sorry father, he is Leo, and nothing else. I want his life to be simple and un-confusing." She reached over and picked up her son.
"What does his name have to do with that?" The grandfather asked, reluctantly giving up the child.
"Well, with your name being Orikundavarfrior..."
"Which is why they call me Orik," He replied with a smile.
"Yes, but Leo is a nicer name, and I want him to fit in"
"Fit in? He'll fit in fine here with that name!"
"I'm going to live in the human Capital, father."
"What?! You cannot... You would not..."
"I can, and I will," She replied. "I want my son to experience many cultures, and he cannot do that if he is cooped up in the mountain!"
"But the human capital!"
"It is happening, father. I have a job as a maid for a rich dwarf lady living there, and will be safe enough"
End Flashback:
Leo's mother had told him this tale many times, of how she convinced her father that going to the human city was for the best. Leo had visited the dwarf mountain a few times over his life, to visit grandfather, who refused to come to visit Leo and his mother in Illyria. Illyria. The city of shining white spires, where dragons once roamed. Not anymore though. Mother had told him about that. There was some sort of dragon plague, killing all the dragons. The riders died too, because their minds were so tightly connected they couldn't live without their dragons. Leo put the egg back down and did another flip, and twisted in the air. It had taken him months to perfect the move. And when he had auditioned before the master of the traveling entertainment troupe, he had used that move...
Flashback:
Sakai smiled as the young dwarf finished his acrobatic routine. He would be a good addition to the jester troupe of his circus.
"And I can juggle too," Leo said, picking up three beanbags and juggling them.
The man chuckled. "Yes, it seems you can," He replied. He had lost one of his jester troupe to sickness a few months ago, and the group was incomplete as a group of two. So he needed a replacement. That was what the dwarf boy was here for. The only non-human to apply. It was odd, but the man found oddities charming, amusing, and most of all, interesting. especially for a traveling entertainment group. "That is enough, child. I have seen your talent. You will know in a week whether you have acquired the position"
"Thank you, Sir" Leo said with a bow. He politely left the room, then ran home. "Mother! I may have gotten the job! He liked my routine!"
Leo's mother looked up from the vegetables she was chopping. He had grown up so much in the past twelve years. "You are still obsessed with that job...?" she said tiredly.
"It's not an obsession! I'm genuinely interested in being a acrobat. And it is a good interest! I will work, and you can travel with us! A nomadic lifestyle will be much better than living in this sinkhole."
"This 'sinkhole,' as you call it, has been our house for twelve years, son."
"Exactly! It has been our house! Not our home. Home is where the heart is, according to Miss Pennywide, and my heart is with the traveling entertainers!"
"Pennywide? Who is that?"
"The lady who does Madame Libo's laundry."
"Oh, yes. I remember her" His mother said. Then she looked at her son once more. "Are you absolutely sure about this, son?"
"Yes!"
End Flashback:
Leo landed perfectly. As always. He had gotten the job, but his mother had refused to go with him. He had had to chose between his mother and his passion. It had been hard, but he had to join the circus. It was the right thing, he reasoned. He could send home all his paychecks. So he had joined the circus, and left home.
Leo plucked three balls out of his pack and juggled them. The balls twirled round and round. They reminded him of the Great Bronco, juggler extraordinaire. Bronco had been one of three acrobats in the troupe, Leo being the second and Janina being the third. When he had first joined, Bronco and Janina had swung on the high swings and tossed him between them, but as Leo got stronger, Janina and him switched places. He remembered the first day they switched the routine publicly. He had just turned fourteen...
Flashback:
Leo stood backstage, palms sweaty. Beads of sweat were washing away the chalk powder he has brushed onto his hands. He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure about this, Leo? You don't have to do it today," Janina said softly.
"No," Leo said, trying to keep his voice steady. "I'm gonna do this. We've practiced hundreds of times, on the low and high swings"
"Okay. Don't forget to reapply your chalk when you get to the top," Janina said, her light accent bleeding into her words. Janina was from the wandering desert tribes, her skin as black a the beautiful ebony carvings she always kept in her tent. The troupe-master said her name, and Joanna ran into the arena, smiling. She climbed swiftly up the poles and grabbed the first swing. She swung nimbly, then Bronco entered. He joined her, and they flipped and twisted in complex maneuvers. Then it was Leo's turn. He heard his name, "Leo! The one and only, Acrobatic Knurlan" again, he said it wrong, but Leo had no time to think about that. He ran onto the stage, and the show began.
... Later ...
Leo laughed with relief as he washed up. The show had been a total success, and Janina and Bronco said he was brilliant. He walked back into the meeting tent, and lay, relieved, on the ground.
"Hey! Leo! Great job!" A middle aged man said. The animal handler.
Leo sat up. "Thank you, Riko. It wasn't all me though. Janina and Bronco had a lot to do with my success. You could say it was a three man job, except with one man, one woman, and a Knurlan, which would make it not quite a three Man job, but it's close enough, don't you think?"
Riko laughed. "You are entertaining, young man. Very funny." Then he left.
End flashback:
Leo's concentration was lost, and he dropped the juggling balls. He sighed and packed them back in the bag, pulling out a small bag of dried meat. His dragon would be hungry when it hatched, so he wanted to have something to feed it. Digging a bit further into the pack, he pulled out a small wooden box. Inside the box was a photograph of his Mother. His mother.
Flashback:
Leo was speechless. He had lost the ability to think coherently. "My mother?" He asked, horrified. "Are...? Are you...? You're lying! She... She can't be... Be... Dead!" Leo struggled immensely with the fact that his mother had died. His mother. Dead. Dead and gone. Forever. For the first time in two years, Leo cried. He cried long and hard, weeping for the loss of the woman who had loved him, raised him, given birth to him... His mother. When the tears stopped, Leo went to the circus manager, a fat man called Sakai. "Sir?" Leo asked.
Sakai turned to look at him, looking up from the letter he was writing. He laid down his quill. "Leo, how many times have I told you? Just call me Sakai, son"
Leo swallowed. "Sir, I am sorry for this, but I must, regretfully, post my resignation. My mother has died, and there are many things I have to take care of. I'm sorry"
Sakai looked into Leo's eyes. "Your mother is dead?" he asked quietly, sensing the sadness in the boy's posturing.
"Yes, Sir," Leo answered.
"Then it is I who is sorry, Leo. Sorry that you must go through this at such a young age. Fifteen" He sighed and pulled out a piece of parchment from a large case. "Here is the contract you signed at the beginning." He turned at around. "Here is the ending contract. Would you like to read it?"
Leo nodded and took the parchment, reading the words carefully. It seemed to all match out. He signed on the line. "I'll miss the circus, Sakai," Leo said with a sad smile, and went to pack his things.
End Flashback:
Four weeks later, Leo had heard of the Hatching, and went to honor his mother's memory. An egg had chosen him, and he had accepted the challenge. After all, how better to honour his mother, than on a dragon's back. She had always dreamed of flying, and Leo wanted to give her that, even though it was after her death. He looked at the picture again, smiling, then stuffed it into his pocket as he heard a crack. He turned to the brown egg and picked it up, curious. If he listened carefully, he could hear other cracks going on at the same time. Holding the egg carefully, he sat down, laying it in front of him. When that head popped out and those big brown eyes looked up at him, he sighed with happiness. He moved his hand to pet the hatchling, and nearly screamed from the pain. But before he could act, he lost consciousness.
