10. Valentine

Summary: The Fortuneteller and the Illusionists decide to make a banquet of desserts for all of the carnies for Valentine's day. A night of eating and laughter ensues, and for once everyone can feel at peace despite the animosity going on between them at times.

Characters: All of the carnies

Valentine's Day usually would have been a normal day for the carnies, save for maybe a couple carnies running into the nearest town to buy chocolates or a nice gift for their friends or loved ones.

But today was different.

As soon as everyone in the morning had woken up, they all found invitations to a dessert night in Mirania's tent.

And as far as desserts went, they were all sure that if Mirania was the one hosting it, it probably meant that there was going to be lots and lots of lovely, tasty, obviously sweet desserts. Mirania was always a good cook, but they generally didn't put her on cooking duty because she kept eating all the food she made.

But now they were in for a surprise.

Sweets and sandwiches of all sorts lined the long table in the Fortuneteller's tent, sweet tarts neatly placed on everyone's plate. Cakes and fruit were scattered about on the table, and Mirania sat at one end of the table, obviously trying to restrain her herself from going and diving into the food and eating it all before everyone arrived. The Fortuneteller smiled to see Zael and Calista, the first guests, enter the room.

"Welcome!" She giggled a bit, pouring cups of tea for the both of them, Zesha and Zepha placing the cups where Zael and Calista seated themselves. "We were just about to get started. You're both on time!"

Zael stared at the sweets in awe. "D-did you bake all of these yourselves!?" He exclaimed. "You must have put so much effort into this, Mirania..." He smield. "Thank you. We appreciate it."

Mirania smiled, nodding. "Thank you, and yes, we made it all ourselves. Zesha, Zepha and I planned this a week ago, bought all the ingredients a few days ago, and we were basically baking day and night to make sure everything was prepared!"

Calista giggled, looking to Zesha and Zepha. "You both bake? Since when?" She asked.

Zepha appeared to blush slightly. "Many instructions, much observation. She is delicate when she bakes."

Zesha was blushing even more. "Very, very pretty. Our cupcakes in comparison were the dirt to her flowers."

Zael chuckled a bit. "That must have been cute."

Mirania grinned. "It was," She replied, and both Gurak brothers blush. It's not often that they see the Gurak brothers embarassed, so it's fun to poke and tease at them sometimes in a playful manner.

Jirall walked in, his eyes wide at the table of desserts, unable to believe that what he sees in front of him is real.

"How..?" He's left absolutely speechless.

Zepha seemed to smirk as he levitated the pot pouring tea into Jirall's teacup. "It's all magic, magic, magic..."

Jirall blushed. "That...makes no sense."

Zepha chuckled. "Does it have to?"

Ariela and Zoran are the next to shuffle into the tent, the two just as awed as everyone else had been.

"So many sweets..." Zoran trailed off. "Do you think we'd be able to eat them all?"

Ariela giggled at this. "I wouldn't be surprised. Mirania does eat quite a bit as it is, after all."

Mirania blushed slightly at this. "True..."

Lowell, Syrenne and Dagran were the next to enter the room.

Syrenne blinked. "No booze? Seriously?"

Dagran facepalmed himself. "Syrenne, not every party needs to have booze."

"Alright, alright..."

Lowell chuckled a bit. "Syrenne, dear, there is plenty of food. And it's always nice to see you sober for once."

She whacked him in the back of his head. "Shut it!"

Therius and Yurick arrived moments later quietly, sitting down. The Contortionist was sweating slightly, and Mirania passed him a napkin to wipe his forehead.

"Thank you, Miss Mirania." Therius spoke quietly, wiping his forehead with the napkin before discarding it. "I appreciate it."

Mirania smiled. "You're welcome, Therius...though why are you sweating?"

Yurick shrugged. "He and I were practising just now, for future shows."

"Or were you?" Syrenne piped up, causing both Firebreather and Contortionist to blush of embarrassment while the rest of the table shared in some laughter.

Zesha looked around. "Is everyone gathered?"

Zepha shook his head. "No, we miss two still."

The Contortionist cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. "The Ringmaster said that he simply needed to speak with Arganan for a few moments. They said they would come straight here afterwards."

As if on cue, Arganan and Ringmaster Asthar entered the room. Calista noticed that her uncle looked slightly pale, but alright. She figured she would ask him about it later.

Mirania smiled, raising her cup of tea after tea was poured for the two men. "Happy Valentine's day, everyone!" She cheered. Everyone happily responded, toasting in response and sipping their tea.

The rest of the night would follow with laughter and cheer for once, everyone forgetting about love woes and diseases and all of those horrid things. All they wanted to focus on was the happy occasion they had together, for tonight.

"Did you enjoy the party, Ringmaster?"

Asthar smiled as he removed his coat, letting it rest on the nearby chair. Therius had asked to speak with Asthar immediately following the party, to ask him a few questions. "I did, Therius, thank you. I trust you enjoyed it as well?"

Therius blushed, thinking of Lowell and Syrenne pressuring Yurick and Therius to kiss. Both of them didn't want to, but eventually Yurick gave in and pulled Therius in for a liplock, causing everyone to cheer. "Y-yes, Ringmaster, I did as well, thank you."

The Ringmaster chuckled, sitting opposite him. "That's good...so, what is it that you need to ask?"

Therius hesitated, before speaking. "Forgive me for being meddlesome, but what did you need to talk to Arganan about?"

The Ringmaster took a deep breath, thinking. "Ah, I see. So it was that you were wondering about. Well, Therius, Arganan was asking me of whether he could have his own tent to start his own...laboratory, of sorts. He wants to find a cure to the disease soon. I promised I'd help him with that. I have a good reason to."

"And...what reason is that, Ringmaster?"

Asthar blinked. "Do you want to know, Therius?" His voice was a little low, which usually only happened if he was upset or angry about something.

Therius' eyes widened. "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't-"

Asthar shook his head. "No, it is fine. But do you promise not to tell anyone about it?"

The other man nodded. "Yes."

Asthar stood, turning around so that his back was facing Therius, and slowly removed his shirt. Therius' eyes widened in awe. The Contortionist was...speechless.

"...What?"

Author note: So, this bonus/filler/kind-of-related-to-plot chapter was put in to celebrate Valentine's day! I know I put it up early, but I did so just in case I couldn't put anything up on the actual day of. XDDD Happy Valentine's day, everyone!

...Also, if anyone wants to guess exactly WHY Asthar has agreed to help Arganan find a cure for the disease, go ahead and guess in the reviews. XD Good luck, and thanks for reading and reviewing so far! XDDD