I love weekends. Not just because they are weekends, but I have time to write. :) Anyhow, onto a new arc of the story! I'll put a little recap whenever the arc of the story has changed, for I feel that will be helpful, especially if this ends up being longer than my notes are anticipating at the moment (it happens XD).
I must also apologize for not thanking my lovely reviewers in the last chapter! Thank you to April Marciano, Badee Badaa Doo, TheParidoxicalOtaku, and Alice Nyte! I would also like to thank all four of them again for adding this to their favorite stories along with KHFFROKSMISOKS XD. On with the chapter!
Discalaimer: You know the spiel by now. I don't own it.
Recap: After the disappearance of his youngest brother, Mana Walker has left his childhood home with the child servant Gitano to keep the clan of Noah from discovering the true nature of the disaster in the basement. Now completely on their own, Mana must learn from Gitano how to survive in the harsh reality of the outside world.
Part Five: Zueignung
"Once I yearned for freedom's pleasure, held on high the wine-filled measure, thou didst bless the crimson wine, thanks be thine!"
Richard Strauss
They did not stop running until daybreak. Finally too weary to keep going they sat down in a clearing in a forest. Gitano looked at the trees surrounding them. From looking at the moss he could tell they were headed north. That seemed to be the right direction to go from what his memory told him. Walker Manor lay to the south of London, so north would be about as far away as they could get. He'd love to get out of the country if at all possible, but he'd have to talk with Mana about that first.
Speaking of the other boy he sat on the ground panting like he'd run some great race. Sure they had run all night, but that was out of fear. Mana had never been one for physical exercise. It was a miracle that the boy had made it this far. Then again, thought Gitano, there was a chance that he was now out of shape having lived inside a fancy house for the last two years. Mana looked up at him with two very round golden eyes like a puppy asking to be fed.
"How far-" began his travel companion.
"Don't even ask," huffed Gitano. He blew his messy auburn hair out of his eyes. If there was any question that he hated most in the world then it had to be about location. It wasn't like he had some sort of meter stick in his mind ticking off the kilometers. "I'm sure it's not nearly far enough by the standards of running away."
"But we ran all night!" Mana protested.
"Look, just because Rhian gave us a potion so your family can't find us doesn't mean that other people can't," snapped Gitano. Mana appeared to be a bit taken aback. He probably had not expected the normally sarcastic and quiet servant boy to snap out at him. "You've got to keep things in perspective. Other people could be looking for us. It probably won't take Lord Adam a long time to figure out that he can't track us. They'll most likely hire other people to look for us. Plus this clearing we're in. We don't know if someone owns this land or not. If some rich landowner bastard found us here without his permission we could end up in jail or even dead."
Mana stared at Gitano like he was seeing the servant boy in a new light. Gitano just felt good that he finally had a chance to yell at someone without the fear of being reprimanded. "So what do we do then?" Mana inquired.
"Well, we've got to rest, but we also must keep an eye open for any trouble. Since there are two of us, one of us can sleep for two hour and the other can keep watch," said Gitano. He watched as Mana worked this out in his mind. The elder Walker brother had always been gifted in academics. It didn't take him long to agree to his suggestion with a curt nod.
"I'll take first watch this time," stated Gitano, "but don't expect to be so lucky the next time."
Mana sighed his thanks and leaned against the tree trunk behind him. Gitano was just about to open his mouth to suggest not sleeping against the tree, but he stopped mid-breath. God, he thought, he was being way too nice. Mana would never survive in the real world if he kept doing this. He looked at the bags at his feet and suddenly a brilliant but terrible idea popped into his head. Gitano took Mana's bag and threw it as hard as he could towards his dozing companion. Mana snapped his eyes open as all breath escaped his lungs. He looked at the bag sitting in his lap and then proceeded to glare at his auburn-haired companion. Gitano looked away to keep himself from laughing. This was going to be fun.
"Believe me, you don't want to sleep propped up against a tree if you don't have to," said Gitano. "Use the bag as a pillow."
"Alright," Mana replied, apparently too tired to argue. The raven-haired boy laid his head down on the bag and immediately fell asleep.
Gitano leaned against the tree that Mana had previously used as a pillow and thought. If they rested there for about six hours then they should be able to continue on to London. They should reach the city in the middle of the night as long as nothing happened along the way. The chance of nothing happening, however, was about zero percent since he was travelling with the third weirdest kid on the face of the planet (Neah and Road taking first and second place respectively).
They would have to find work once they reached London since he had only packed enough food for a week. He wanted to be out of the city by the time the nobles arrived for the winter season. The Camelots were sure to be among the aristocrats staying in the city at that time, and Gitano did not want to risk the chance of running into them. Rhian's potion would protect them from any of the clan of Noah looking for them. He didn't know what that would mean if they should happen to run into the Camelots, nor did he want to find out.
Now he would have to figure out how to tell Mana later that he would actually have to work for the first time in his life. Gitano could already feel the headache that this conversation would cause. He decided to think about that part later, instead watching the red summer sun rise over the trees and fade to a more pleasant yellow. After two hours he woke a very groggy and grumpy Mana and took his turn at sleeping.
oOo
They were very very lucky. Rhian's potion must have worked better than he thought because not once did they run into another person. They saw plenty of animals and fronts of houses, but not a hide or hair of any member of the clan of Noah. Gitano breathed out a silent sigh of relief as they reached the outskirts of London very late in the night.
Mana was all but dragging himself along behind him. Several times the boy had asked to stop and rest, but Gitano kept reminding the brat that they were running away and not taking a pleasant stroll away from Walker Manor. Every time Mana would hang his head in defeat and mutter darkly under his breath.
The streets were empty, letting Gitano know for the first time in a couple years that the day of the week was Sunday. Any other day there would have been drunken men staggering home at this time, but drunks would tone things down for Sunday. Anyone could tell you that one of the worst feelings in the world was going to church with a hangover. This was possibly the best situation that they could have arrived in since now he would not be forced to give Mana a lesson on how to deal with belligerent drunks or pickpockets.
Gitano found a suitable looking doorstep and sat down. Mana looked at him from the street. "Aren't you going to sit down?" he asked the raven-haired boy.
"What are you doing?" inquired Mana in return.
"Going to bed," he replied. "What else would I be doing at this time of night?"
"You can't sleep there! That's someone's house!" hissed Mana. He looked up and down the street anxiously. "We can't just sleep there."
"We can and we are," Gitano responded. "Were you expecting to stay in an inn? I don't have any money, and I doubt that you have ever needed to carry any with you before now. Besides we must save any money we have so that we can keep moving."
Mana sat down on the doorstep with a huff. "This is ridiculous," he grumbled.
"Welcome to London," said Gitano. He laid his bag on the stoop and laid down on top of it. "Now we must be gone before the owner wakes up, so we're leaving in four hours. You get the first watch this time." He fell asleep soon after to the constant mutterings of a very pissed Mana Walker.
oOo
"You've got to be kidding me," groaned Mana. As predicted the boy was not pleased to hear that they'd be working on the streets.
"It's the only way we will be able to move on from here. Personally I don't want to be waiting here to roll out the welcome mat for the Camelots or any of your other family members, so we're going to work," stated Gitano. "Since nothing is open today, I thought it would be a good time to practice manners."
"I have manners unlike you," spat Mana. He crossed his arms and looked away.
"Alright, Mr. Civilized, but I mean manners on a streetwise basis. No one is going to ask you to pass the salt out here," he said. Mana rolled his eyes. "First off, you can't always be giving people that attitude if you're asking for work. They'll send you away or beat you."
"Beat me?" inquired the raven-haired boy. His eyes were wide like saucers now.
It appeared as if Gitano finally knew how to get the brat's attention. "Yes, or they might even call the constable," he continued, doing his best to suppress a wicked grin. This was going to be fun. "Now you should be nice to the people who can employ you, but if people are nagging you about buying their wares or giving them food then just ignore them. And if someone asks you to come back to their place then run away as fast as possible or you might find yourself up someone's chimney with needles in your feet."
"They stick needles in your feet?" questioned Mana incredulously.
"How else are they going to persuade anyone to climb up a dirty, cold, tight chimney?" asked Gitano. "Keep your food hidden too, and don't eat it all in one sitting. We have only got enough for a week and after that we may have to start begging."
"Begging?" shouted Mana, clearly outraged. "That's preposterous! I will not bend down to such a level, Gitano!"
"You will if you must," he mumbled. He looked up the street at a gang of little kids wandering aimlessly while looking at fat hams and fresh bread in the store windows, hunger plainly seen on their faces. "You can't go hungry all the time."
Mana scowled and scuffed his shoes on the pavement. "What can we do for work, though?" inquired the raven-haired boy.
"We don't want anything too permanent like a factory job. Kids lose fingers doing that kind of work anyways," he said. "We can see if anyone needs an errand boy. That's generally a one day type of thing. Catching rats is also an option, but we'll have to be careful about who's house we're working inside."
"That's disgusting!" cried out Mana. "I'm not touching rats."
"Suit yourself," replied Gitano. "The cooks will feed you if you catch enough rats. That's good money and good food. If all else fails then we'll have to do street entertainment."
"Street entertainment?" questioned Mana. Gitano was beginning to wonder what kind of books the brat read because he was beginning to believe that he did not know anything about real life.
"You know, playing an instrument or tumbling or juggling or doing magic tricks-"
"I must have died and gone to hell," moaned Mana, turning his golden eyes up the smoggy London skies.
"Don't go wishing that on yourself," he responded. "Now let's see how good you are at tumbling."
oOo
They were doing pretty well for the first week. Despite the lack of physical exercise for the last eight years, Mana Walker was pretty good at tumbling. After a few days of instruction the golden-eyed boy was better than most of the other children on the streets. This meant more money, but it also meant more attention.
Gitano didn't want the constables to become too interested in them. He was sure that one of Mana's relatives would send fliers up to London any day now with the brat's face all over them. They would have to move onto another city like Birmingham or Liverpool if they didn't have enough money for a boat soon.
He had spoken with Mana about future plans, and the brat had surprisingly agreed with the idea of leaving Great Britain. Maybe the kid was finally becoming curious about the world outside the clan of Noah. It was only his mutterings about how much he hated humans and wishing that Rory would come back already and awaken so that the Innocence in his arm would be destroyed that kept Gitano from being certain. He himself, however, was also very moody at the end of the day whether he had been tumbling with Mana or working some other odd job.
It was at the end of one such day that a man approached them. Gitano didn't see him until he wiped the steady afternoon drizzle out of his eyes. He stepped back in shock as he saw two blue eyes staring into his brown ones. "That was very good!" exclaimed the man very enthusiastically.
Gitano was pretty certain the man must be crazy. It could have been the fact that he had almost slipped and broken is skull open on the wet cobblestone or the man's child-like grin. He was also dressed very oddly. He wore a saffron velvet evening jacket over a white shirt with lace cuffs and large cravat. Gitano would not have been surprised if the man had made it from some lady's petticoat that he found in the garbage. The overly-large pants were even stranger, being made from some sort of red and purple striped fabric. A pair of rainbow suspenders held up the baggy pants to complete the strange attire.
"Um… thanks?" said Mana, rubbing the back of his head. He was also carefully scrutinizing the man with his golden eyes.
"Have you boys ever thought of joining a circus?" asked the man.
Circus people, thought Gitano. It figured. At least the man wasn't completely off his rocker. "Not really," he replied truthfully.
"Well, if you ever change your mind, then stop on over at Ziegler's," stated the man. He procured a business card from his front pocket. "I'm sure the boss would love to have some up-and-coming tumblers like you two. Take care now." The man walked off through the crowded street.
Gitano looked at the card that Mana now held. "Ziegler's Circus," he read. "Shows every day at 14:00 and 18:00."
"What a strange man," muttered Mana, but he was also examining the card. He turned the card over to its back side. "'Don't miss the last performance before Ziegler's moves onto the continent.'"
So the circus was touring in Europe. Gitano continued to read the card. From the looks of it Ziegler's would not be back in England for another two years. "What do you think?" he inquired.
"Joining a circus? Mother would die of a heart attack," replied Mana. He blew a lose wet strand of black hair out of his face. It fell back into his face as the rain began to fall harder.
"It's about 17:00 right now," said Gitano, looking up at the clock tower (he still had no idea why people insisted on calling it Big Ben).
"Let's go," stated Mana. "It'll be a good way to get out of the rain at least."
He heard the bells begin to ring as they ran off through the pouring rain to Zieglers.
oOo
He had to admit that he was impressed. Gitano had never been to a circus himself, so all he had known beforehand was from the things Rhian had mentioned or from the stories that Road would tell the brats when she came back from the winter season. They found the manager of the circus inside the big top.
"Zat Pierrot," he sighed, running a hand through his thinning gray hair. Mr. Ziegler was a short beefy man with a thick mustache and an even thicker German accent. "He vould tell anyone to join ze circus."
Mana and he stood dripping and shivering before the manager. Gitano doubted that this would help their case. "Mana is a really good tumbler," he said. "He's a natural."
"So ist everyone else who comes looking for a job," replied Mr. Ziegler. "I'm afraid zat I already have enough tumblers, boys. Vy don't you try another circus."
"We could do odd jobs," suggested Mana. "That way if you don't have enough tumblers in the future then we'd be there."
"I don't really need two errand boys," stated Mr. Ziegler. "I hate to turn you two avay-"
A very tall and hairy woman (or it could have been a man) ran into the tent. "Mr. Ziegler!" she (or he) called. "I don't think Balthasar will be going on today."
"Vat?" groaned the manager. "Not only ist the dummkopf incompetent at best, but now he can't perform? Vat ist the matter vith him?"
"Ormand thinks it might be the fever. What would you like us to do with him?" she (or he) inquired.
"I can't have all my performers getting ze fever. Tell him to go see a doctor. Until zen he ist not to return," responded Mr. Ziegler. The hairy woman (or man) left the tent. Mr. Ziegler began to pace around in circles. "Now I don't have a magician…"
"Mr. Ziegler," said Mana. The manager gave him a very bitter look.
"I zought you two vould have left by now," spat the very frustrated manager.
"I was going to say that my friend can do magic," grumbled Mana.
Mr. Ziegler turned to face Gitano. "You do magic?" he asked.
"Yes," he replied.
"Let me see zen," stated the manager.
Gitano gave it some thought, for he doubted that potion making would be very exciting. After a moment he decided on making birds appear out of his hands. That seemed like a very circus-like trick. He put his hands together like he would if he were begging or praying and then pulled them apart. Gitano was very surprised when twenty birds appeared out of his hands. He had never tried that spell before, but he was apparently better than he thought.
Mr. Ziegler gave out a barking laugh. "I have no idea how you did zat, but zat vas incredible!" he exclaimed. "So much besser zan Balthasar. Matilda! Jacqueline! Get zis boy some dry clothes. See vat we have for a little boy. Ve're going to make him a magician."
The woman (or man) was back with another woman who wore nothing but a sparkling leotard. "This little thing?" asked the practically naked woman.
"He made all zese birds appear. I don't see vy not," stated the manager. "You zere- vat's your name?"
"It's Mana," responded the golden-eyed boy.
"Get zese birds out of here," ordered Mr. Ziegler. "Zen go tell Trevor to clean out Balthasar's trailer. If zat man has ze fever, zen I doubt ve'll ever see him again."
"So I'm the errand boy now?" asked Mana.
"Yes," replied the manager. Mana turned on his heels and began shooing the birds.
The two women took Gitano to the dressing room of the tent and handed him a towel. He gladly accepted it and dried himself off. The hairy woman (she really was a woman apparently), Matilda, left for a little while to rifle through a trunk for a child-sized costume. The other woman, Jacqueline, took a brush and began to go through his hair.
He winced as she hit every knot. "You really should invest in a comb, kid," she said. "My horses take better care of their hair than you do." When she finished she took a black ribbon that was tied around her wrist and tied a bow around his hair. "There you go! Doesn't it look nicer now? You wouldn't be too bad looking if you took care of yourself."
Gitano looked at himself in the mirror. His short auburn pony tail fell just below his shoulders. God, if he kept this up he'd start looking like Mana. He wasn't sure he wanted that.
Matilda returned with a pair of black pants, a black cummerbund, and a white ruffled shirt. He ruffled his nose in disgust. Only rich brats like Mana and Neah wore ruffles. "Don't complain, kid," stated Matilda. "Magicians where fancy stuff. You're lucky that I even found stuff close to your size. Now change."
He did as he was told. Gitano was glad there was no lace on the shirt, otherwise he'd start looking like Lord Camelot. That would be even worse than looking like Mana or Neah. He felt stifled in the fancy clothes, but at least they fit.
"Now you're starting to look like a magician," declared Jacqueline, nodding in approval. "Where's the hat."
"I couldn't find one that would fit," replied Matilda. "The clowns are still looking."
The man from earlier ran into the tent. Gitano would not have recognized him if he had not still been wearing the goofy coat and striped pants. "We've only got about five minutes," he gasped between breaths. "The only child-sized hats we have a bowler hats with flowers springing out of them."
"That won't do at all," said Jacqueline through pursed lips.
"I do have this mask from when I was in the theater business," stated the man. It was a white half face mask with two holes for eyes. A red cross that ran across the entire mask was the only decoration.
"That's good enough," replied Matilda, snatching the mask from his hands. She put it on his face. "It fits him, too. Thanks, Pierrot."
"Anytime," responded the clown with a large graceful bow. "Break a leg out there, kid."
"Ist he ready?" asked Ziegler. It appeared that he like the clown Pierrot had been running all over the circus grounds. Mana was close behind him.
"Yes, Mr. Ziegler," said Jacqueline. "What do you think?"
"Zat ist very good," stated the manager, giving a nod of approval. "Let's go boy."
Gitano followed Mr. Ziegler and Mana through a narrow passage to the wings of the big top. Mana and he watched a group of men tumbling and building an inverted human pyramid. He now understood why Mr. Ziegler had not wanted more tumblers. The ring master came to greet them.
"What should I introduce him as?" asked the ring master.
"Vat ist your name, boy?" inquired the manager.
"Gitano," he replied. The two men wrinkled their noses.
"I don't like it," said the ring master.
"Probably because it sounds like git," muttered Mana. Gitano had to refrain himself from hitting Mana across the face.
"It needs to be somezing more bold," mused Mr. Ziegler. The audience applauded as the tumblers finished their act. The manager looked at the mask on his face. "Call him Cross, ze Magnificent Magician Cross. It vill give him more of a sense of mystery."
"Right," stated the ring master. He walked out of the wing as the tumblers exited the ring.
Gitano thought about this new name. Sure, it was cheesy because of the mask, but at least Mana wouldn't be able to come up with any dumb nicknames like 'Git.' He actually kind of liked it.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls!" cried out the ring master. "I would now like to introduce a boy of many mysteries. Watch as he amazes you with astonishing feats of magic. I now introduce the Magnificent Magician Cross!"
He walked out of the wing into the bright lights and the light applause of a hundred people he could not see. It was much easier than he expected to wow them with appearing birds, dancing orbs of light, and bursts of small fireworks. By the end of his act the audience was whistling and thundering with applause. He took a bow and walked off into the other wing where a beaming Mr. Ziegler and a grinning Mana were waiting.
The next day Mana and the Magnificent Magician Cross left London with Ziegler's Circus on a boat bound for France.
Alright, so now you all know why I don't own Gitano. XD Props to my account partner the Polka-Dotted Sock and Badee Badaa Doo for guessing that beforehand. ;)
Anyhow so for names in this chapter: I chose Ziegler randomly, but I'm pretty sure the guy in Moulin Rough has the same name. I didn't do that on purpose and they are vastly different in character. Pierrot is the name of a character from Commedia dell'Arte that is often thought of as the first white-faced clown. Balthasar, Ormand, Matilda, and Jacqueline are names that I thought had a circus feel to them. Please review!