Chapter 13: Judgement
Upon arriving in Manhattan, Erik was outraged when Nadir was unable to find anywhere that would be able to offer him and the rest of their group beds for the night... He hated that their last resort was to travel to the slum like, rundown areas in which people like himself... The freaks, oddities and outcasts resided... Erik insisted that he approach first whilst Nadir, Antoinette, Clara and Meg kept their distance, whilst little Sasha-Too slept peacefully within a wicker basket that Antoinette was carrying,
"Who runs this community?" Erik demanded firmly causing a tall man in a ragged trench coat and an equally ratty top hat to chuckle darkly,
"Who wants to know?" he demanded in return, prompting Erik to lower the hood of his cloak so that his masked face to be seen and the man in the top hat instantly smirked, pushing off the damp wall that he had been leaning against and approached Erik, offering his hand to shake,
"Gangle... What's your business here stranger?" he asked, noting Erik's reluctance before hesitantly shaking his hand,
"... Myself and my friends require a place to stay" Erik finally admitted, watching the man named Gangle chuckle once again after looking towards Nadir and three woman that he stood in front of in a protective manner,
"Normals... We don't take normals here" he sneered, turning away but before Erik could even react... A woman wearing a dress made entirely of various feathers stepped forward with a curious expression,
"Wait..." she instructed causing Gangle to sigh in frustration as she approached Erik, examining his masked face with a hard stare,
"... Hmmm..." she waited before looking towards Erik's companions,
"... Tell your... 'Friends' to approach" the lady instructed,
"Miss Fleck, Need I remind you..." Gangle tried but she simply held up a hand making him fall silent and roll his eyes as Erik hesitantly told his friends to come forward.
Rain had begun to fall from the heavens as the woman named Miss Fleck examined Antoinette, Meg, Nadir and Clara with a curious manner,
"... Interesting... Very interesting" she murmured before moving toward Clara and forcibly removed her hood and tilted her chin upwards with a single finger,
"Remove your hand from her" Erik instantly stated firmly causing Miss Fleck to smirk,
"Ahhh... I wondered why such beauty had an even deeper beauty that shined through" she said, looking towards Erik with a toothy grin,
"... What troubles you, my masked prince?... Scared I'll peel her flawless skin and steal it for my own?" she whispered and Erik glared at her, his hand moving for the sword on his belt,
"If you dare lay one..." he tried but it was Clara's turn to hold up her own hand,
"It's alright, Erik..." she assured gently, prompting Miss Fleck to look back at her,
"... Bravery... Small it may be but that is to be expected when in a completely new place surrounded by the weird, wicked and wretched" Miss Fleck concluded,
"I don't believe any of you are weird, wicked or wretched" Clara replied causing not only Miss Fleck but Gangle and the rest of the oddities to laugh,
"... Normals think only that of us, child" she sneered before clenching her cheeks in a firm grip that made Erik have to fight every urge within him not to tackle the bird woman to the ground,
"... I may be a normal... I may come from the world and society that have shown you cruelty and that means you have every right to believe and expect the worst from me... It gives you every right to hate me. It gives you every right to turn me and my friends away from this place you've made your haven..." Clara said gently before placing her hand against Fleck's wrist gently,
"... I have no right to ask anything of any of you... but... I shall respect your decision if you choose to deny our request for sanctuary" she said and Fleck looked at Clara's hand on her wrist with curiosity before slowly backing away and turning to Gangle,
"... Give her the test" she instructed making the man in the top hat develop a vicious smirk and he gave a smug whistle prompting a group of men to rush at Erik and the others, restraining them all as two of them dragged Clara forward and made her kneel on the floor,
"LET HER GO!" Erik roared but could only watch in vain as gangle moved to one of the abandoned buildings that his community had long since taken up residence in... He collected something, lifting it in his arms as he brought it towards Clara and placed it before her as the two oddities finally released her,
"Pretty words are but just that when spoken from the mouth of normal like you" Gangle sneered before removing the blanket that covered the thing that was hidden and Clara was stunned to find it to be a small trembling child... A little girl with a completely marred face... Erik felt himself grow numb at the sight... A child like himself with the curse of what some normal's would call a demon's face.
The little girl trembled, her eyes closed tightly as she refused to look at Clara,
"Look at her" Gangle instructed firmly but Clara looked up at him firmly,
"She's scared. Can you blame her?" she demanded, earning Gangle's surprise and all he, Miss Fleck and the rest of the community could do was watch in silence as Clara looked at the little girl gently,
"... You look cold" she said gently, removing her cloak before placing it around the child's shoulders despite the fact that it was far to big for her and this gesture caused the little girl to look at Clara timidly whilst the rest of the community gasped in shock... Clara smiled gently and offered her hand to the little girl,
"My name is Clara. What's yours?" she asked,
"... Lily" the child finally whispered shakily, causing Clara to smile brightly,
"That's a lovely name" she praised, watching as the little girl smiled shyly and bashfully,
"Are... Are you a princess?..." Lily asked hesitantly, causing Clara to look surprised,
"Why would you think that?" she asked,
"... I... My... My papa has a book of fairy tales... He reads it to me every night and... Every princess in it... Is beautiful like you" Lily said quietly and Clara felt her heart break and she gently cupped Lily's cheek gently causing the child to gasp in shock as Clara smiled softly, brushing her thumb gently against the marred skin... Erik felt a tear fall down his masked cheek,
"If that is true then that must mean you are the princess of this community" Clara told her, making the marred face child look up at her stunned,
"... I... But... I'm ugly..." Lily whimpered sadly but Clara shook her head,
"No. No you're not" she whispered before placing a hand over her own chest,
"Beauty. True beauty comes from within here... It shines outward when we're kind and caring towards those around us" Clara told her gently before gesturing towards Nadir, Antoinette and Meg,
"I'm sure you haven't seen much kindness from... 'Normals' like us" she continued, watching as Lily shook her head timidly,
"... I give you my word, Lily that you shall never know anything but kindness from me and my friends" Clara vowed, watching as the little one looked at Erik curiously,
"... Is he your prince?" she asked curiously making Clara smile brightly, looking at Erik before looking back at Lily,
"... In a way. I suppose he is. He saved my life... Many times actually. Much like the princes' and heroes in your papa's book I expect" Clara admitted prompting little Lily to smile brightly before turning towards Gangle,
"Can Miss Clara, her prince and friends stay? Please! Pretty please! I want her to tell me the story of how the masked prince saved her!" she begged excitedly and Clara watched as Gangle was silent for a long moment before stepping towards her and offered his hand... Clara gently accepted so that he assisted her to stand and he smiled slowly before looking down at Lily whom squealed in excited delight before hugging Clara's side, tightly and Miss Fleck once again stepped forward and smiled at Erik, Clara, Antoinette, Meg and Nadir,
"... You are all more than welcome here" she assured and they all sighed in relief as Clara looked at Erik with a bright smile and he nodded proudly as they all followed Lily, Fleck and Gangle into the community.
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QueenOfDisney96