I Dreamed of Angels
Part Two A
"Trowa, stop talking to those lions and get
dressed for our performance already. We don't want to keep our audiences
waiting."
A girl with curly brown hair and gray eyes
appeared from behind Trowa and pulled him up from his position by the cages and
shoved him into one of the dressing rooms.
"... and try to be nice to the children
today. We wouldn't want to have them growing up scared of clowns, now would
we?" she said as she laughed heartily, about to add another remark when she was
quickly pulled over to the side.
"Was he telling those lions about his
little angel encounter again? It's bad enough that he wanders around trying to
find a church everywhere we go just to look at those angel paintings."
A large man dressed in a red coat,
presumably the ring master looked sternly at the young lady before him.
"You know how he is. He isn't exactly very
social with other people. Just let him do what makes him happy." the young girl
explained.
"Catherine, this isn't normal! He's been
doing it for years. This little obsession of his is getting out of hand and
..."
"So, you say my heir is still dreaming of
angels?" a deep voice suddenly interrupted the conversation between Catherine
and the man, startling both of them.
"Mr. Winner!" It was as if the wealthy
businessman appeared out of nowhere.
"Don't worry about him. I, admittedly,
still dream about *my* angel and I doubt that I've gone insane." he said,
reassuring them.
"I'm sorry. We shouldn't even be reminding
you of these things." Catherine immediately interrupted, hoping that their
recent conversation did not cause their new visitor any grief.
"My son's memory will always remain with
me, but ... I believe that it is time to move on and take care of my *other*
son. I know that my angel would have wanted me to." he said solemnly.
Catherine looked at him and understood what
he meant. She was very grateful that she had found her brother and somehow, she
believed that the young blonde was *really* Trowa's angel.
"Mr. Winner, I can't thank you enough for what you did for my
brother. Please, if there's anything you need, just ask." she said.
"Well, I was hoping to get vacant seats for
tonight's show. My daughters have been begging me for weeks to come here. They
really want to see Trowa." he suggested, remembering his daughters' antics the
night before.
"Excuse me, Mr. Winner, you didn't happen
to bring those foot soldiers with you, did you?" The ring master, quiet for so
long, suddenly interjected, afraid of the answer.
"Eh... umm.. you wouldn't mind, would you?"
the man asked hesitantly while scratching his head, a bit embarrassed.
"Nonsense!" Catherine exclaimed. "He
wouldn't mind at all! The thirty seats for you and your daughters will be ready
and ... I'll find a way to get another forty vacant seats. That won't be a
problem."
The ring master's eyes widened but
Catherine quickly calmed him down by reassuring him that she would take care of
everything.
"Well, as long as Catherine promises to do
it, I wouldn't mind." he said, addressing Mr. Winner.
Meanwhile, from one of the far tents, Trowa
was watching the exchange. His movements were focused on dressing himself, but
his eyes and ears were concentrated on the interaction he was observing.
True, he had been deemed insane by many,
but nobody had the heart to confront him. He knew what was happening, but
didn't mind at all. All his thoughts were focused on the more important details
of his life such as the gifts his angel from long ago had given him.
It came as a great shock to the five year
old to see something as horrid as the execution of his angel. He never believed
the scene he witnessed before him, thinking that it was all just a bad dream.
Even after ten years, he still hoped that his angel would return, not
understanding that *his* angel was a deceased being named Quatre Raberba Winner.
His beliefs, of course, had some ground to
it. After all, his angel had given him everything he had promised. He now had a
family, ... two families even. He lived with his true family, his sister
Catherine and often, his adopted family would visit him. Not only had his angel
granted him his wish, he also got an extra family out of the deal. That wasn't
bad at all.
Now, Trowa never remembered asking for
candy other than the ones offered to him that glorious night, but he was given
that anyway. True, his abundance of candy could not be eaten but it sure was
useful when he wanted to buy something. He was the new Winner heir, one of the
richest beings in the universe. His credibility was never contested and nobody
tried to harm him because of that. What more could he ask for?
"I still want to see my angel." he thought,
never believing that magnificent being from long ago had actually left him.
After all, how could he grant Trowa's every wish if he no longer existed?
Trowa started to debate with himself yet again as a hoard of women came pouring in his room, unaware that their little brother was still not fully dressed.