29
When the Circus Came to Town
It was the strangest thing. In all of the worry and struggle to get Rafe home and healed, Bae and Elaina had forgotten about the dead buck and had left the carcass on the forest floor. It was only when Rafe asked who had taken the buck home the next day that Elaina recalled it. But by then she figured the buck was half eaten by wild beasts and she didn't know what to say to Rafe.
Until Bae, Jack, and Peter went out to do the morning chores and found the buck, neatly gutted and skinned, hanging in a tree near the smokehouse.
No one could figure out how it had gotten there. It was a mystery, just like the three arrows that had killed the goblins and Rafe's shadowy benefactor. But whoever had done it, the Golds were very grateful to him or her. Now they had venison steaks, roasts, ribs, and sausage for a long time. And Rafe's injury hadn't been for nothing after all.
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Rafe was almost healed and Phillip had another two weeks before he got his cast off when Rumple got a message from Jefferson on his mirror. "Hey, Rum! I finally had a chance to contact you, Regina's been keeping me jumping with all her demands and I haven't had a chance to breathe. I meant to talk to you a week ago, but then I got sidetracked with damn paperwork. I have some tickets for you, in honor of Belle's birthday."
"Hello, Jeff. I figured as much when you didn't call. It was Rafe's birthday too just after hers."
"Oh, well tell them both happy belated birthday from me and I'm sending you tickets to the circus, buddy. Enough for everyone."
"What circus?"
"The one that's coming over by Valley Way. It was up here two weeks ago and by now it ought to have reached there. I went with Alice, we had a real good time. We even took Snow with us. It was fun. I'm sending them to you by carrier pigeon, you should get them in a day or two. Anything new happening with you?"
"Well, actually there is. I'm going to be a father again," Rum answered.
Jefferson started laughing. "Oh, that's a good one, Rum. You're going to be a father again, haha—" Then he stopped in mid-laugh. "Gods and hells . . . you're serious. You mean . . .?"
"Belle's pregnant, yes," his best friend replied. "And we'd like you and Alice to be the baby's godparents. I never got the chance to ask you before Bae was born or Ivy either, but now . . ."
"I will, and thanks so much, Rum. Should I tell Alice? Her company's over here for another week or so before they move on."
"Yes, if you'd please," Rumple said. "I know Belle will want to speak with her soon, but she'll probably write her on her own."
"And how many will that make? Twenty-four?"
"Only nineteen, Jeff."
"Only nineteen, he says. Rum, you practically have a merc company of your own!" Jeff chuckled. Then he sighed. "I'd better go. These days, Regina's been a bitch and the last thing I need is for her to get on my ass."
"Keep in touch, Jeff. And thank you for the tickets. I'm sure we'll enjoy them."
The mirror went dark and Rumple tucked it back inside his desk drawer and locked it. He would ask Belle, who was down in the village today, if she'd seen any signs for the circus, and when they knew it was here, they could plan when to go, once the tickets arrived. It would be a good family outing.
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The signs for the circus, called The Most Amazing Show Ever, had gone up that day, and almost every patient Belle saw that day was talking about it. Such a thing hadn't come to Valley Way in over fourteen years, not since the show Kristen's family had run. So this was big news. It would run for two weeks and it started the first week of August, a few days away.
Belle wondered how much the tickets were and thought it would be a good opportunity for the family to do something fun and get out of the castle for a night or even two. Perhaps they could split it up, with half the family going one night and half the other? Then she shook her head, she didn't like doing that, because it could start quarrels. She would talk to Rumple about it tonight and see what he thought.
Hopefully, it was as good as the show Kristen's family used to have. Belle recalled that being a fine show, full of laughs and daring and amazing stunts with people and animals. Kristen had been in the act with her father and the three bears, and her mother had been a bareback rider.
Belle hoped that seeing this circus didn't bring back any bad memories for her daughter, but only happy ones.
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Most of the children had never seen a circus before, and so were very excited when Rumple announced one would be coming to Valley Way and their Uncle Jeff had bought tickets for them all to see it.
"I hope there's an act with tigers and lions in it," said Jasmine, who loved the big cats and longed to see one again.
"I want to see the horses and those big spotted beasts, what are they called again, Kris?" asked Jack.
"Giraffes," answered Kristen.
"Yeah, those."
"I wanna see monkeys," said Nick.
"You are a monkey," Peter answered. "And you smell like one too."
"You don't even know if one does smell," Nick snapped.
"They do," answered Kristen. "Trust me."
"Will they have bears, like Baron?" asked Phillip.
"They could," she replied.
"How about dogs?" asked June.
"Or kitties?" Clary wanted to know.
"Dogs, yeah. But they can't really have cats perform, except for the big ones," Kristen told them. "But there'll be elephants, and sword-swallowers, fire-breathers, clowns, and trapeze artists."
"What's that?" asked Nora.
"Those're people who are like acrobats, only they can balance on wires and swing through the air on flying bars and do flips and stuff."
"Neat! Do they have magic?"
Kristen shrugged. "Maybe, but I never saw real magic until I met Papa. Most of the circus folk do tricks, like illusions and sleight of hand, not true magic."
"I heard they have cool treats to eat there," said Peter.
"Like spun sugar candy," Tom said.
"And ice cream."
"Lollipops."
"Kettle corn and honey roasted nuts," Jasmine said.
"And giant pretzels," Kristen recalled. "With cinnamon sugar."
"I'm getting hungry just thinking about it," Phillip said.
"Then you ought to eat your dinner," Belle told him.
"When are we going to the circus, Mom?" asked Clary.
"In a few days it'll be here, and then we can see it," Belle promised. "But for now, I want you to eat four bites of everything, Clary."
The little girl sighed. "Even the salad?"
"Yes. Eating greens helps you to grow big and strong," Belle said.
"I'd rather be little," Clary said stubbornly.
"Four bites, Clarissa. Or else no dessert," her father added.
Clary pouted, her lower lip sticking out.
"And you'll go to bed early," Belle said.
The little girl huffed. Then she reluctantly began to eat her salad.
When Nick and Peter giggled, Belle eyed them and said, "That goes for you too, boys. Nick, you need to eat all your lima beans, and Peter, I don't see any spinach on your plate."
Groaning, both boys took some of the vegetables.
"I thought we were gonna get away with it," whispered Nick.
"Fat chance!" Peter hissed. "Mom's got hawk eyes. She sees everything."
"Or like a bat," Nick refuted.
"Bats are blind, stupid," Peter snorted.
"Are not! They can see in the dark!" Nick argued.
"With sonar, not their eyes," Ivy corrected.
"What's that?" asked Nick.
"It's when they make weird clicking noises," Ivy answered. "Then they listen to them bounce back to them."
"That's cool! I wish I could see like a bat!" Phillip stated.
"I'll give you two black eyes, then you can try it," Nick suggested.
"I don't want to that bad!" Phillip said quickly.
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The Golds went to see the circus on the third night it opened, because Kristen said then it would be better, since the folk had time to polish their acts and see where they went wrong. They had three tents set up on the fair grounds, one huge one and the others had things like a bearded lady, the strong man, the snake charmer, and a three-eyed man.
The other tent sold refreshments and small toys and stuffed animals. Rumple and Belle had told the children they could each have a snack and the younger ones a toy if they wished.
Jack met Ray and his family there and the two boys and Tom went into the small tent to see strong man and other attractions.
As they were watching the snake charmer, who played a flute and made the cobra in a basket dance, Jack said, "Finn could do that, I'll bet."
"Easy as pie," Tom agreed.
Suddenly a tall man tapped Jack on the shoulder. "Hey, kid. How much you want for the mini man on your shoulder? We could use an act like him."
Jack turned and looked up at a man dressed in red and blue livery and scowled. "He's not a mini man, and he's not for sale. He's my brother!"
"Your brother?" the man sneered. "Come on, kid, I wasn't born yesterday."
"He's telling the truth," Ray spoke up. "Tom and Jack are brothers, they're the children of Rumplestiltskin Gold, the sorcerer in the Dark Castle."
As soon as Ray said that, the man shuddered and made a sign against evil. "Sorcerer's brats! We don't have any truck with their sort!" Then he scurried away.
"What a stupid ass!" Jack growled.
Tom sighed. "Some people will always think I'm some kind of freak."
"Well, you're not, and I'll punch out anybody that says so," Jack declared fiercely. "Let's go get some spun sugar candy. I'm hungry."
"Me too," said Ray and they left the tent, all of their pleasure spoiled. For now.
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They all met up at the big top around six o'clock, and Archie managed to sit by Aurora to watch the show. They held hands throughout the whole thing. It lasted about three hours and everyone was amazed at the way the trapeze artists flew and tumbled above the ground, awed at how Snaggle, the big cat trainer, made the panthers, leopards, and lions jump through hoops of fire and stand on top one another, and how graceful the bareback riders were. There were clowns and jugglers, a fire-eater, and a sword swallower. There was a parade that included giraffes, monkeys, zebras, camels, and even a small dragon and a unicorn.
There was even a dog act and everyone laughed at the clowns and monkeys, who seemed hardwired for ridiculous antics.
Jasmine was a bit disappointed that there were no tigers in the big cat act, and Phillip wanted to know where the bears were.
"Sometimes bears are hard to train," Kristen consoled him. "My dad had to work extra hard to teach Brownie, Baron, and her mate how to do tricks and obey him on command. So not every circus has them."
"I think yours was a bit better than this one," said Rennie loyally.
"Maybe," Kristen said diplomatically. She longed to go back and talk with the performers. Being here brought back a lot of old memories for her, hours of shining up harnesses for the horses, brushing out their manes and tails and braiding them, sewing trim on her own and her mother and dad's costumes, and even polishing their shoes for their acts. The smell of sawdust and the faint muskiness of the animals, grease paint, sweat, peanuts, and sweets brought it all back to her.
She felt a pang of loss in her chest that she hadn't felt in a long time. Once this had been her world, and she had lived to awe the crowds and make them gasp as she performed with her father and the three bears. They'd billed her as Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Recalling that made her get a lump in her throat.
She didn't miss the traveling around, the endless practice sessions, and the sometimes poor food, but she did miss her real parents at times, and the camaraderie of the other performers. She wondered if perhaps some of these performers remembered her mother, the graceful Lisle the Swan, bareback rider extraordinaire, and her father, Big Jake. Maybe I can come back tomorrow, before the show, and talk to some of them, just to see if they remember. She was content with her life now, as Kristen Gold, daughter of Belle and Rumplestiltskin, wielder of magic, but she couldn't resist one last glimpse into the world she had lost. It was almost like jiggling a loose tooth, you knew you should leave it be, but you kept touching it anyway.
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Half the children were sleepy and somewhat cranky when they arrived back at the castle, making Rum and Belle put them right to bed. Kristen got into her nightgown and brushed her teeth when it was her turn to use the green bathroom, but she lay awake for a long while before falling asleep that night.
And when she did fall asleep, she dreamed of standing atop Brownie's shoulders and waving, while her father bowed to the audience in the ring below her. She woke up still hearing the applause of the crowd in her ears and it took forever for her to fall asleep again.
That morning, after she had helped with chores, Kristen decided to pay a visit to the performers. As usual, Baron accompanied her. Normally, Kristen didn't take the bear into the village, because he scared some people, but circus folk wouldn't be petrified the way ordinary ones were, and Baron was, after all, a trained performer himself, or he had been once.
As she approached the line of wagons, nostalgia hit her again, and she paused to soak up the summer sun and the breeze that brought with it the smell of strong coffee, bacon, griddle cakes, salt, sawdust, and animal dung. She knew that most of the performers would be rising now, eating and practicing their acts for the next show, or feeding their animals.
Patting Baron's shoulder, she had the bear kneel and climbed on him. He hadn't been big enough to do this when she'd been in her father's act, but he was now. She rode him calmly into the circle of wagons and tents, looking for the most ostentatious or rich-looking wagon, which would belong to the ringmaster and owner of the show.
Some of the roustabouts and carneys spotted her and raised an eyebrow at her unorthodox transportation, but none of them tried to stop her. In fact, one of them ran up the steps to a large house painted in gaudy red with gold and blue trim and banged on the door.
"Hey, Master Sully, take a look at what the wind blew in!"
"What do you want now, Ethan? I thought I told you to leave me be until after breakfast," came a deep voice from inside the wagon.
"But you'll want to see this, sir!"
A tall man wearing blue trousers and a fine cream silk shirt stuck his head out of the door, scowling. He had a thin pencil-point mustache waxed until it gleamed and dark hair that Kristen was almost sure he colored with boot black, an old trick to make it thick and shiny, or appear that way.
He glanced irritably about, then he saw Kristen atop Baron and he whistled. "Hey, girlie, you looking for a job?"
Kristen tapped Baron, signaling for him to stop, and said, "No, sir. I'm not in the business any more, but I was once. Maybe you'll remember me. Once I was Kristen Swenson, my parents were owners of their own circus, called The Best Show in the Realms. Their names were Jake and Lisle Swenson, or Big Jake and Lisle the Swan. I was Goldilocks and I used to be in an act with three bears with my father. This was one of them, Baron."
Sully stepped out onto the porch and eyed her up and down. "Now that you mention it . . . this would be some years ago, right? There was a fire and someone was careless, right? Everything burned, save for a few of the folk and some of the animals."
"Yes, that's right. Then you do remember!"
"Of course I do. I was the one who bought the remainder of what was left. But I thought the Swenson girl had died in the fire along with her parents. How did you escape, Goldilocks?"
"I was taking a walk in the woods nearby with Baron," Kristen said. "By the time I saw the fire it was too late and . . . they were gone. So they sent me and Baron to Shoe House, the local orphanage. Then I was adopted by Healer Belle Avonlea, only she's Belle Gold now since she remarried."
"I see. And that bear . . . he used to be in the circus?"
"Uh huh. He was part of my act—Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Only he was a baby then."
Sully frowned, getting a strange look in his eye. It was almost like jealousy and almost like greed and suddenly Kristen didn't like the way he was eying her at all. "Why are you here now, girlie? Come back to rejoin your roots, you and the bear?"
Kristen shook her head. "No, sir. I just wanted . . . that is . . . I only wanted to talk to another performer . . . for old time's sake . . ."
"You know, when I purchased what remained of your parents' show, I signed a contract that stated that everything left would belong to me," Sully said, licking his lips.
"What of it, sir?"
"That bear you have, missy, belongs to me," Sully stated.
"What? No, you're wrong! Baron is mine. My dad gave him to me on my last birthday," Kristen cried.
"Can you prove it, girlie?" Sully demanded, his eyes hard. He needed a new act for his show, something to draw in fresh revenue, and this bear seemed like the ticket he'd been looking for. If he could get the girl to give him up.
Kristen stared at him. Her only proof now was her word. Everyone that could have backed her up was dead and gone. "I . . . I . . ." she stuttered, suddenly regretting she'd ever come here.
Then, as so often happened when she grew nervous now, her magic flared up, and she felt her hands suddenly shift into brown-furred paws, like that of a bear. Panicking, she tried to shift back, but it was difficult for her to control her power, and her hands remained bear's paws . . . and visible to Sully.
Sully gasped and his mouth curled in distaste. "What are you, girlie, some kind of witch? A beast in human shape?"
Kristen shrank from him. She had never been the object of such revulsion before and it stung. "I'm not a beast! I . . . just have magic. I'm a shifter."
Sully made a sign to ward off evil. "Beast magic! Unclean! Get off this land, beast girl! Before I drive you out," he spat. "And leave the bear, he's my property."
"Baron is mine! You have no right!" Kristen shouted, horrified.
"I have a deed that says otherwise. If you don't give me that bear by sunset tomorrow, I'll bring you before a magistrate, beastly girl! They'll lock you up for stealing and that bear will be mine. Now what's it to be?"
"I'm no thief! You are, you slimy snake!" Kristen yelled. She heeled Baron and the bear spun about, snarling softly. "Go, Baron! Go home!"
"Come back here, you little witch! I could have you arrested! And I will, unless you bring that bear to me before sundown tomorrow!" threatened Sully, shaking his fist at her. "And don't think you can hide from me either!"
Panicked, Kristen urged Baron to a lope and shot out of the camp, clinging as best she could to the agitated bear.
"Why did I ever go there?" she moaned, half-sick with the knowledge that he could take Baron, her best friend, from her. "Why?"
They reached the Dark Castle and Kristen slid from Baron's back, trembling, her hands still bear paws and her eyes leaking tears. She couldn't believe how a simple visit could have gone so wrong.
She saw Belle and Rennie working in the herb garden and she rushed over to them.
"Mom! Mom! He . . . he wants to take Baron away, and I ain't gonna let him!" she sobbed.
"Kristen! What on earth is the matter?" Belle said, upon seeing her daughter. "Who's going to take Baron?"
Kristen flung her arms about Belle's middle and clung to her as if she were six again. "The . . . the circus owner . . . he . . . he said he had a paper . . . that Baron belonged to him and . . . he was . . . was going to arrest me . . . for stealing him!"
She began bawling just like Clary, unable to help herself.
"Kris, calm down!" Belle soothed, holding her daughter. "Whoever he is, he can't take Baron away without proof. And what happened to your hands?"
Kristen shook and finally managed to say, "My . . . magic . . . I can't make my hands turn back . . ."
"That's because you're nervous, sweetie. Let's go find your father. Rum will fix this." Belle said, and she wasn't speaking of just Kristen's hands.
She led the distraught child inside, where they found Rumple playing a game of chess with Tom.
"Rum," Belle began.
"Hey, what happened with your hands?" Tom queried.
Kristen suddenly released Belle and ran over to Rumplestiltskin. "Papa! You've got to help me! I never should have gone there, but now Sully says he owns Baron and he's going to take him away and I can't shift my hands back and he . . . he called me a . . . beast girl and said my . . . magic was . . . evil!"
Rumple immediately took her by the shoulders and said softly, "Who said that, Kris? Nobody calls my daughter an evil beast!"
"His n-name's Sully, Papa, and he . . . he owns the circus down near the village."
"Just a minute, dearie. You can explain everything to me, but give me your hands first."
Kristen did so.
"Now, I want you to close your eyes and concentrate. I'll help you," Rum said, taking her transformed hands in his own.
"I . . . I can't!"
"Yes, you can. Breathe, Kris. Like I taught you. Remember? We'll do it together," Rumple encouraged. "One . . . two . . . three . . . four . . ."
The two magic wielders began to breathe in tandem, and suddenly Kristen's bear paws flickered in Rumple's and slowly changed back to her human hands.
"All right. Now I need you to sit down, dearie, and tell me everything that scoundrel said," her father said, his eyes going dark. "And what was his name again?"
"Sully," Kristen said, sitting down next to him. She described what he looked like and was about to tell Rumple what she had said to him when Tom cried out.
"Wait a minute! Was he a tall man?"
"Pretty much so, why?"
"Because a man like that . . . he tried to get Jack to sell me to him last night, before the show. He . . . he thought I was . . . a freak or something."
"That opportunistic bastard!" Rumple swore.
"Rum, watch your mouth!" Belle reproved.
"Sorry, but people like him make me want to turn them into snails and step on them," her husband sighed. "Go on, Kristen."
Kristen told him everything, tearing up again as she did so.
Rumple patted her hand gently. "Don't worry, dearie. He might think he can swindle you, but he's got another think coming if he wants to match wits with me."
"But . . . but he says he has a deed that proves he owns Baron, Papa!"
"Humph!" Rumple snorted. "He may have one, but I'd wager that deed is as false as leprechaun gold. I doubt very much it'll stand up in a real court."
"He says if I don't give Baron to him by sundown tomorrow he'll arrest me," Kristen said, sniffling.
"I'd like to see him try!" Tom said stoutly. "Papa will magic his butt all the way to the Enchanted Forest."
"I could, but why give him the chance to do anything? If he wants a trial, then by all the gods, let's give him one."
"But . . . can we win?" Kristen asked.
"Dearie, that man's a bigger liar than Hook, and I haven't met a scoundrel yet that I couldn't best in a deal . . . or in a courtroom," Rumplestiltskin assured her. "You'll see. No one's taking Baron away . . . and no one insults my daughter and gets away with it either." And there was something in the quiet tone of his voice that sent a shiver down Kristen, Belle, and Tom's spines.
A/N: Now who thinks that Sully is in REAL trouble now?
