what? It's been less than a month and I have been able to upload... ITS A MIRACLE! I'm getting more control over my homework and I have a small part in a play, so I'll have some down time to keep writing. So please enjoy chapter 14 (This is my best friend's lucky number so lets hope you like it!)
Hanschen's POV
Ilse looked down at me with a jesters smile, "What on earth are you doing so far away from home, Hanschen?" I pushed myself up to my feet and pointed at her face.
"None of your business," I personally had never really liked Ilse. She was stubborn, but a head full of clouds, and too adventurous for her own good. She hadn't changed much since she left the town. Her bark colored hair now fell down to her waist, knotted and woven into dreadlocks. Her skin was tanned from spending so much time out in the sun. She wore a dress of some green home-made cloth of sorts. Her feet stood bare against the spring ground. Despite how she had been hurt, her eyes still held a childish joy to them which I couldn't understand.
"It was just a simple question," She said crossing her arms, "and you should probably answer." I looked over her shoulder to see Ernst pushing himself up. He looked so frightened and shaken by the experience. He grabbed his arm shyly as the men who jumped us focused their attention on me and Ilse. I pushed past her to go to Ernst. She turned around, "Ernst Robel? You both shouldn't be here what will your parents-"
"They don't matter anymore," I said, cutting her off. I inspected Ernst's arm to make sure it wasn't broken, "Are you alright?" I said quietly, he nodded. I could hear Ilse's quiet footsteps coming up behind me.
"Don't matter? What's going on?" Celeste cut in, her trust was thin.
"He said it was none of your business." I walked back over to her, ignoring Ilse's questioning.
"How about you? No bleeding? Pain?" She shook her head and looked behind me at Ilse who still stood with a confused look on her face. I was about to say something before Ernst barged in.
"We need a place to stay." Ilse glanced at Ernst, "Please, Ilse, we need your help."
Ilse looked at me, to Celeste, and back at Ernst, "On one condition," She said, "You need to tell me what's going on." I gave an aggravated sigh. I knew that Ilse would be able to help us; but, I didn't know if we could trust her friends, especially that Loison character, or if they'd even take us in.
"Fine," Celeste said before I could speak. I glared at her, "We're going to have to tell her sooner or later," she hissed at me.
"Fine," I said to Ilse, she smiled.
We walked down a hidden goat path beaten into the ground. Isle walked out in front. Celeste walked next to her quietly talking; I strained my ears to hear but could not make out any words. I looked over at Ernst, he looked so scared. I leaned over to his ear, "We're going to be alright, Ilse's going to help us." I said this even though I did not even know if we were to be accepted.
Ilse stopped when we reached a thicket of brush. She pulled back the branches and revealed to us a clearing, "Welcome to Priapia," she said with a smile. White canvas tents dotted the clearing. Small camp fires were going outside of some of them. Music and laughter floated from somewhere inside the camp. It was so different from home. It was warm, welcoming, and safe. Ilse walked on toward a large tent near the middle of the encampment, "Follow me, you'll have to talk to Padinsky." We followed like dogs.
We walked into the large tent, an easel stood in a corner holding an unfinished painting. Paints scattered the ground. A large rug sat in the middle. A portion of the tent was cut off by hanging tarps and next to it a fire pit. This was someone's home, "Sit down," Isle said and walked off to the hidden area of the tent, disappearing behind a curtain. I sat down between Ernst and Celeste, close to the exit in case we needed to make a break for it.
Hushed discussion came from behind the curtain. Harsh whispers and aggravated sighs. Soon, Ilse came back through the curtain with a man that looked as if he was in his early thirties. His face looked like stone hardened with time. His stringy black hair fell to his shoulders in a greasy, tangled mess. A scar cut across his pale green eye which stared empty into space. His other eye was a fierce green of a snake, staring down at us like mice. I trusted this to be Padinsky.
"Who are you people?" He asked, his voice gruff from years of tobacco, his arms crossed. Ilse stood behind him, motioning for us to stand up.
"I'm Hanschen Rilow," I said, "This is my good friend Celeste Chanson and this is my-" I hesitated. Love? Boyfriend? "This is Ernst Robel." I said putting a hand on his shoulder. Padinsky's thin mouth didn't show any emotion.
"What are you doing here?"
"We left home," said Ernst.
"Well I can see that," Padinsky said harshly, "But why did you leave home?" I didn't know how to handle this situation. I could just tell him that Celeste was pregnant, but that wouldn't explain why Ernst and I were there, "well?"
"She's pregnant and needed a safe place," Ernst said quickly before I had time to think. Padinsky gave a grunt of approval.
"Which one of you is the father?" Ernst and I both went red and began to stutter. Celeste cut into our incessant rambling.
"Neither of them," She said dryly, "They're not like that." Silence fell over the tent. This person barely knew us, and to come out with it just like that was….well awkward. I tried to regain my composure as quickly as possible.
"You two are together?" Ilse said standing next to Padinsky, "I knew it would happen!" I blushed furiously, but Ernst grabbed my hand.
"You were right," He said, calling her off, "Is there a problem with that?" he said looking at Padinsky. He didn't move, "We would have been killed if we didn't leave," Ernst's eyes fell to the dirt and rug covered ground, "Can you please help us?" that silence fell over the room again while Padinsky thought. He gave a great sigh.
"Sit down, all of you," He took his place on the great round rug, we did the same, "There are…." He paused, "Some complications with you staying here." My heart fell. This was the only place that we could possibly stay.
"Such as?"
"Well for starters, we are not a charity house. We can't just take people in whenever we wish. We are firstly, an artists' colony." A light went off in my head.
"So we have to have some talent?"
"Yes, your friend here," he motioned to Ilse, who now sat beside him, "was taken in because we needed new models." I leaned to Celeste's ear.
"Do you have your sketch book with you?" She looked at me, blushing.
"Hanschen, those aren't nearly-"
"Celeste can draw." Padinsky looked at her; Celeste looked at the ground straight in front of him.
"Do you have these drawings with you Fraulein Chanson?" She nodded shyly and pulled her small brown journal out of her bag, handing it to Padinsky. He flipped it open fiercely.
"Be careful-" Celeste stated quickly as if this book was her child, "The drawings are charcoal…. They smudge." Her hands returned to her lap as Padinsky looked through the bundle of leather and paper. He paused on many of them. Then, after a long time, he handed the book back.
"You are quite talented, Celeste," He said resting his arm on his knee, "However, that leaves you two." Celeste turned to me and gave a sly smile.
"Hanschen can sing," it was my turn to go bright red. I began to ramble again, trying to say I couldn't, Padinsky held up a hand for me to stop.
"Can you or can't you?" I nodded.
"A little but-"
"Sing something."
"What?"
"You heard me, sing something." I looked down at the floor. Celeste nudged my side.
"Sing some of Amalie's lullaby," She whispered harshly, I looked at Ernst. He didn't even know I could sing. I sang just a few bars of her lullaby and sat in silence, waiting for criticism. It never came. Instead a slow, loud clap came from Padinsky.
"Impressive Herr Rilow," I winced at the name, it reminded me of my father. It reminded me of how hurt and angry he must be right now. I pushed those memories to the far recesses of my skull and tried to focus on the topic at hand.
Padinsky turned his gaze to Ernst, "and you?" Ernst said nothing for the longest time, he was thinking. I knew he couldn't draw like Celeste, for he never had the artistic eye. He stayed far away from the church choir, for he never had a voice. And he could never write, for he never had a graceful hand. There was one singular thing that Ernst was good at, and that was religion.
"I don't have anything artistic to offer you, sir," He said quietly and ashamed. He had been the most meaningful member of our… team…. And now, he threatened to break from us. I knew his talent. I knew that it was useful.
"He knows his bible," I said. Padinsky raised his eyebrows.
"The bible? Not very common for some people like you." I could practically feel Ernst's heart falling. People like you. The words seared like a hot branding iron into my skull. People like you. It made me… us…. Feel lower than low. People like you. I wanted to kill him. People like you. He had no idea what we had been through.
"Now you listen, right now." I said angrily, "Who we…" I looked at Ernst, "Love, does not contend with what religion we are." I looked at Celeste and words that she said that day she found out about us rang in my head like the bells of her country's Notre Dame, "Love is meant to be understood and accepted, regardless of who you are. If he goes, I go."
"And I as well," Celeste said. Ernst looked at the both of us and gave a shy smile. Padinsky just sat there.
"We could always use a little… religious enlightenment in our camp," He said, finally breaking a small smile, "And it's been a while since we had a small one running around. You are welcome to stay here." He said finally. We graciously thanked him and left his tent with Ilse.
The white canvas fell back into place behind us. I hugged Ernst as soon as those flaps closed.
"Thank you," Ernst said quietly.
"No, thank you, we couldn't have gotten this far without you," I placed a small kiss on Ernst's lips. Ilse stood behind Celeste quietly, she cleared his throat.
"Well," She said, "I should probably show you to your temporary home."
Once again we followed Ilse through a maze of white tents, coming to a smaller one near the center of everything. Our senses were flooded with the sights and smells of Priapia. Women dressed in patterned skirts and flowing tops sat around a fire, talking and cooking something that smelt wonderful. Music came out from another tent, pausing now and again accompanied by a curse and mumbling. The tent flaps of one such tent were open, welcoming the spring air, displaying some man in brown pants and dirty cotton shirt dotted with paint working at a piece of canvas.
"Welcome home," She said with a smile, opening the tent flaps to the small home. It resembled Padinsky's home quite closesly. Carpets lay over the exposed dirt floor, a tarp cut off part of the tent, clothes lay scattered out of a small suitcase and a fire sat in one part of the round home. It was small, but it would do. At least until we could get our own tent, "I know it's not much compared to the Rilow Estate, Hanschen," She said with a hint of resentment, "I know you're probably used to more." I didn't answer her.
"This'll be fine, Ilse. Thank you." Ernst said kindly. Ilse may have been friends with Ernst, but I still didn't like her. There was something there that I just didn't trust. I knew it wasn't where she lived, for we now lived in the same place. It might be her looks, she had these shifty eyes that, although bright, just threw me off. Maybe it was just the fact that she was female, considering the only ones I trusted were Celeste and Amalie. I set down the bags that we had carried; the others had miraculously found their way into the tent by themselves.
Ilse walked over to her over packed dressing area and dug through a pile of clothes, tossing a dress here, throwing a shoe there until she came out with another tarp. She threw it at me forcefully, "You can hang this to make a room for you and Ernst," She looked at Celeste kindly, "I can find you another cot to sleep on for now."
"What about us?" I said offended, "Why can't we have a cot?" She sighed,
"They take a while to make, and right now I only know of one that we can use. She gets priority because she's pregnant." Ilse walked out of the tent to retrieve the bed.
I turned to Celeste, "This 'pregnancy priority' thing isn't going to become a regular thing with you is it?" she giggled.
"I wasn't planning on it, but since Ilse brought it up it might," I gave an agrivated sigh. Ernst put a hand on my shoulder.
"It's alright, at least we don't have to share a room with them," he motioned to the tarp, I smiled. Privacy was something that we could finally have.
"Would you mind helping me hang this up?" I asked. He nodded and Celeste began to reorganize our things. We were finally home.
Home, something that I thought we wouldn't ever have had finally come to us. Somewhere we were accepted.
Ernst and I pulled on the ropes to raise the final tarp in our section of the tent. I secured it at the bottom, tying it around a steak thrust into the ground. I stood up and admired our handy work.
"Well," Ernst said, "that went better than I expected." I stood back and looked at the new living space. It was small, just barely big enough for the used sack of a mattress that Ilse had found and our suitcases, but it was alright. It would certainly keep us warm enough against the spring's night air. Celeste pulled back the tarp quietly.
"Nice work boys," She said with a smile, "some of the colonists have made dinner, now would you care to join us, or do you want to stay in your room." She said slyly. Ernst's stomach growled audibly, we hadn't eaten in nearly twenty-four hours, and that was reason enough.
We walked outside of the tent and into a cloud of scents from food coming from the center of the camp. People sat in a large circle around a great fire in the middle of the camp. Pots and plates of crude bread sat around the fire, staying warm and fresh. We sat next to Ilse and Padinsky. Padinsky turned to Ernst, "Ernst?" Everyone looked at him and he started to blush, he was never one for public attention, "Would you mind leading us in grace?" he said with a smile, Ernst looked at him and smiled. Ernst smiled back.
After a short prayer we began to eat. The stews and bread seemed to taste better than what I had eaten at home. Someone much wiser than I said that simplicity is happiness. And they were right. Now that we were here we both felt safe. Padinsky stood up, glass in hand, to address the people.
"People of Priapia," silence quickly fell over the crowd of bohemians, "Tonight, we welcome three new members to our colony. A toast," they raised their glasses, "To our newest outcasts: Celeste, Ernst, and Hanschen. Welcome them, Wasseo!" The crowd gave a hearty response and drank their ale. Celeste was about to raise her glass to her lips, I stopped her.
"Not for you," I pulled the water skin we had packed from my side, dumping out the ale I poured water into the carved wood glass.
"Why not?"
"Alcohol is not good for the baby." She reluctantly grabbed the water back from me. I could feel Padinsky staring at my back.
"What do you know about pregnancy, Rilow? Had one recently?" I turned back to Padinsky, red in the face.
"He's kidding, Hanschen," Ilse said calmly, swiping up the remainder of her food with a scrap of bread. Celeste laughed.
"His father was a doctor." Padinsky nodded.
"All the more reason to keep you." He took a heavy swig of ale; I looked at the fire calmly. So this is what home felt like.
As the festivities of the night calmed down Ilse, Celeste, Ernst and I all headed back to our small tent.
"Good night boys," Ilse said slyly with a wink and a smile before disappearing behind the tarp. Celeste rolled her eyes.
"Good night," She said as well, hugging both of us before disappearing behind the tarp as well. I grabbed Ernst's hand and pulled him into our closed off area.
"Hanschen what are you-" I silenced him with a long kiss. As soon as we broke for air he looked at me, "What was that for?" I brushed his bangs out of his eyes.
"A welcome home gift," I said with a smile, "Welcome home." He smiled and kissed me again. Welcome home indeed.
So.... did you like it? I hoped so.... I decided to write this chapter completely in Hanschen's point of veiw just because I feel like i haven't been giving him enough face time in this story for some reason and you people deserve some Hernst lovin.... lol. I've also been a little distracted by two other new fanfiction ideas for different catagories (Penguins of Madagascar and Hunchback of Notre Dame... how did that work out?) but don't worry, I will finish this story before I even think about starting a new one for either of those catagories. So know that this is my highest priority... and the Wasseo thing? That's just a saying from my camp.... don't ask. R&R plz!