As always, KS does not belong to me.

Reviews are encouraged and appreciated.

_Chapter 3_

Maryann Brass' house had been a safe place for her family more than she could count. And she was particularly proud of that fact. Not that she liked that they were often in trouble. On the contrary, that was much dreaded.

Always an early bird, she had gotten used to put on a new tablecloth and organize silverware for breakfast, while the water was heating for their tea. But as she went down the stairs, she couldn't help but notice an unusual mound on her couch. In between blankets, there lay her granddaughter. Her face was swollen, possibly from crying.

Now, if you said Mikhail was crashing in her couch for any reason, it was… Nothing out of ordinary. Not little Anna. She had been, in a way, spared from most of their family drama, receiving only slight collateral damage, when compared to the older boys, who had seen their father die. She had only met him through pictures, some videos and memories passed by those who had known Aaron.

She was wearing her adored blue nightgown, so she'd probably sneaked out in the night. Maryann wondered how, for she still wore her walking boot, and it shouldn't have been easy to do so without been noticed. She hugged an old patched stuffed bear, that had belonged to Yuri when he was a baby. She had always clung to that after he'd left or every once she was sad.

She seemed not to have brought her school material. Well, she could miss one day. The most important thing now was to message her home and say she was safe, otherwise, chaos would ensue. After that, she draped a linen over the girl's delicate body.

Then, she proceeded to her usual chores. It wasn't long before she was joined by her grandson who had an early class that day. She put a finger over her lips, motioning him to be quiet as he went downstairs, pointing at his slumbering sister.

"What is baby girl doing here?" He whispered, buttoning his shirt. "Doesn't she have school today?"

"Does it look like she brought her school stuff? I don't know what happened, but she is not going today, it seems. And taken she is holding Pyotr; you can guess it was a bad day."

"Want me to take her upstairs? There is your bed, and a free spot in mine, Layla surely wouldn't mind, being Anna. They are practically best friends now." He lifted her as if she weighed nothing, supporting her head against his chest. She didn't even change her breathing.

"Practicing, are you? Newborns are much harder to transfer from one place to another without being awaken, so don't boast if you succeed with your sister."

"Wasn't going to."

On the other side of the globe, two performers discussed how to give life to their characters in the next Kaleido Stage production.

"I just can't understand why they gave me this role, frankly. Leon was way more fitting. I mean, in technique since they adapted it for trapezes. Not that I can't do it… I just… It's the Mad Hatter! He is basically the soul of this thing, after Alice, of course."

"Well, maybe you could talk to the first Mad Hatter? I mean, we found Ms. Donna, we could see if we can find him too. We could ask Sarah or Kalos of his whereabouts." Sora stated, excitedly.

"I don't think that's a good idea… I mean, it is a good idea, it's just… We won't find him." Mia spoke, sadly.

"And why is that?" May interrupted, jolting through an open window.

"Well… Didn't you two hear Mr. Kenneth at the meeting? Aaron Brass was the Mad Hatter in the first production…"

"I don't get it; we just find this Brass guy and make him spit out everything!" May was still enthusiastic.

"May… Aaron Brass was Yuri's father. He died attempting to perform the Mystical Act."

"Hm… Ouija table? What? I'm just trying to help! But anyhow, we could talk to people who knew him? Just to get a glimpse of it? Like Donna? She was Alice… She should know a thing or two. Or maybe Yuri when he comes back … By the way… Don't you think it's weird?"

"What?"

"I mean, he was leading everything and suddenly 'Hey, I'm going abroad, Kalos is going to care for the rest.' I mean, I know he keeps being in the meetings and so, but… It's weird."

"In the end, nobody quite knows what's in his head. Kalos was just the same when Kaleido Stage started. It's going to be fine." Sarah had just joined the conversation. Really, Sora should find a way to lock her room better. "And I think you'll be a great Mad Hatter, Anna. Leon wouldn't do it the way you will. He might have been a good clown once, but the Mad Hatter is more than just comic relief, I'm sure you got that."

"Sarah… You knew him, didn't you?"

"Roughly. At that time, we still didn't have these rooms. We were restricted to basically meeting during rehearsals, and he wouldn't always come when we had outside meetings. Thinking closely… Maybe it was because he had a family to take care. He wasn't older than us. Would you believe if I told you I had a child Yuri's age? Probably not." She thought. "In work environment, he was very polite, and funny. And he always had a good advice to share. Donna was closer to him; she might have more input on that matter."

"I'll go with you Anna! I also have some questions about Alice. I want to make it as perfect as her Alice was! After all, it was important to all of us, and to Miss Layla too. I wonder how she is, by the way… And whether she'll come and watch! I just can't wait!"

She vaguely remembered Yuri whispering something about his sister before he left in the morning. Still, that wasn't enough to prepare her for waking up to the sobbing little blonde beside her. She was wearing a sky-blue nightgown and held a battered bear plushie, which had seen better days, been sewn over and over, yet still resisting. Despite the overflowing tears, she noticed the child was still asleep. She clutched the bear strongly.

"Papa, make them stop fighting, please… Don't go away, stay with us, we need you… Please."

Listening to her words shattered her heart. She was reminded of the days she dreamt of her mother and wished she were back with them, only to wake up to the same empty house, her father travelling to work, many servants, but no mother.

"Anna, dear, wake up… It's just a bad dream." She ran her fingers through the girl's long hair and pulled her as closer as her growing belly would allow. "It's going to be all right, whatever it is."

"Mama? Papa brought me to bed…" She sleepily rubbed her eyes, getting even closer to the former Kaleido Star, letting go a little of her beloved stuffed friend.

"Hey Anna… It's me, it's Layla… Are you awake now?" The girl let go, shyly, and opened her celadon eyes, once again clinging to the bear. "Hey there… It's okay."

"Sorry…" She muttered quietly, almost only to herself.

"Why are you apologizing? I know how it feels, in a way. My mom died when I was nine. I miss her too, every day. I made a promise I'd never cry not to make my father sad… But I failed… In fact, it was a promise no one could keep. It was a wrong promise. So… It's okay to cry." She smiled. "Besides, baby boy was worried about his best aunt being sad. You know, Yuri says you can hear his heart if we stay very quiet and you place your ear in the right spot. Now, I'd say, his back is around here now."

Anna lightened up a bit, resting her ear towards where she indicated, mouth slightly agape as she seemingly had been successful on her task. "It's so fast!"

"Isn't it? That's because he is growing… That takes a lot of energy. If your brother was here, he'd bring all other curiosities that I don't know from the things he reads."

They were both interrupted by the lady of the house opening the door happily.

"Good, you are both awake. Let 's rise, have breakfast and go, we have a lot to do today. Since Yuri has classes in the morning and meetings in the afternoon, and the three of us are available, I thought about us having a girl's day. How does that sound? Besides, I have realized a very important thing… Soon we'll have a little one in this house who has no clothes. And it would be a shame. So, up you go."

She was right. With so much on their heads, they'd completely forgotten about the baby's clothing. And room. And crib. And pretty much everything else. Now they had only a few weeks (luckily, she hoped). What amazing parents they were.

"Hey, don't cry, we are here to help." She was not crying… Alright, maybe she was. Damned be the mood swings. His grandmother rubbed her back.

"Also… I need you to tell me about his agenda, because we need to book you two antenatal classes."

"I don't think that would be a good idea… People could recognize us."

"It won't be a group one, silly. It can be here at home; I have a friend who does that stuff. You are going to survive, I promise. Worst case scenario, you'll have to autograph a shirt or something of that sort." She laughed. "Now, let me help you up. Both of you, change yourselves and come down for breakfast. You have 10 minutes, sharp. Anna, there are probably some of your mother's clothes still at their old room, you can borrow them. They should fit."

A while later, the girl came down wearing a simple flaxen green dress and bringing with her two small singlets, one white and another one light blue. They could easily fit a doll, maximum a very, very small newborn.

"Look, I found these in a drawer! They are so small! I used to put them on Pyotr, remember?" The old woman held the pieces delicately, smiling.

"These, sweetheart, were your brother's. Even though he wasn't premature, he was so tiny that even the doctors were worried. It's hard to believe he's grown so much. First, that, later, the haemophilia, and then, the circus. Even kids' trampolines are unadvised for people with bleeding diseases in general, imagine the trapeze! That's how serious it was when he decided to enter Kaleido Stage."

Ever since she had found out about his disease, she had wondered how he'd ended up as a trapeze artist. In her mind, it seemed highly unrecommended. And she was indeed right, then. She would never forget that night, and how much a simple cut could bleed when treatment was irregular.

And then, she understood why he would never let himself fall on the safety net during practices, to go down. And why he would often ask if anyone had more skin base during the plays, as his own would end fast.

Placing the port-a-cath earlier would have saved him many bruising from infusions, which he would often have to hide. But then, it would be more visible under his skin. Now that he was no longer performing, it was a possibility. The day she saw it, she knew he had decided to quit the stage for good and stay just as a producer.

"Well… Since we won't be there together anymore, I see no reason to keep going."

He had joked. But she had learned his joints weren't in their best health. People with his stage of disease may have spontaneous bleeding that may lead to chronic pain, or even make their joints useless, needing to be replaced with prosthetics. Which were risky for people with bleeding disorders.

He had been so glad that their son would not inherit his "curse" as he called it, sometimes. That he would be free to play, dance, swim and never wonder if he could be hurt or need a full body armour to do so.

"Have you finished your breakfast, ladies? Let's go while we can."

"Hi, Sora! I was surprised with your call… So, I heard you'll be remaking Alice in Wonderland, right? I am sure you'll make an amazing Alice, after all, you are a true star, chosen by the spirit of the stage."

Sora, Anna, and Mia had decided to meet the former artist in a café, so that they had more time to talk, and they wouldn't disturb her during worktime.

"Thank you for meeting us here, Ms. Donna. These are Mia, who is our current writer, and Anna, who will be the new Mad Hatter. And that's why we wanted to talk to you…We need some insight in how to portray them better, especially Anna."

"I see…" She looked at her cup of coffee with a sad expression. "Well, at least it won't be Leon Oswald. He doesn't have what it takes to be the Hatter."

"What it takes to be the Hatter?" The three stared at the previous star, quizzically.

"The desire to see the true smiles from the audience, of course!" She grinned. "The Hatter is part of the comic relief, as well as one of the most important secondary characters. You know, Alice has that whole dream because she didn't want to take on the responsibilities that came with growing up. His initial premise was to make his hatter as innocent and playful as a small child, urging her to step up somehow. In the original tale, he was sentenced to death by the Queen for singing and "murdering time", hence why they were forever in the tea party. Here, he just couldn't get what she asked and ended up doing various mischiefs, and she lost her patience. He was a little troublemaker if you ask me."

"I see…"

"I suppose Aaron's mother still lives in France. You could give it a try… Who knows. She used to be very kind, from what I remember."

"Yellow won't be a nice colour. What if he has green eyes? It won't work well."

"He won't have, Anna. Yuri got your dad's eyes. The only way that could happen would be if he also had her green eyes, since Layla's are also blue." Maryann reasoned, looking to a pastel green blanket.

"Anyways… I don't like yellow. Let's not get anything yellow. It makes us look sick." The teenager made a face. "Blue and white, on the other hand, always look good. Or red. Or orange. Even pink, who cares. But not yellow."

"I don't really like yellow as well, so I agree." The former star stated, rubbing the side of her belly, and deep breathing. He was very restless, which made her more tired and uncomfortable.

Something she'd learned fast as the days passed, was always to find a sitting place wherever they were out. She was happy to spot a bench right outside the store, where was a bit breezy and offered her a view of a dance school.

She could recognize the choreography – Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Grand Pax de Deux. And, surprisingly, she could also recognize the male lead: Mikhail. Of the things she imagined that lad doing, ballet wasn't the first. Yet, she had to admit he was good. Technically. But he missed one thing. Expression. His nutcracker wasn't bringing the correct feelings to the part. As a matter of fact, he wasn't bringing any feelings at all. He seemed just to be mechanically performing each step.

He and his partner were allowed to rest and hydrate by a tall man, probably their teacher. From his built, he was clearly a ballet dancer as well. He should be around his thirties. Then, another ballerina stepped up. She should be also around her thirties or younger, with her short, wavy flaxen blonde hair loose. She wore a black pinch long sleeved leotard and a black wrap skirt, with white tights, which made her snow-white skin look even paler. She had a petite complexion, yet, lean, and strong. Her body was tailored for ballet.

Layla Hamilton wasn't, by far, easily impressionable. But she couldn't take her eyes out of that woman from the beginning to the end of her rendition of the Sugar Plum variation. She'd never seen anything like that. She was perfectly timed, practically floating on stage. You could barely hear her pointes touching the floor. It was like the Sugar Plum fairy herself had stepped out of the tale just to greet you, even though she wasn't fully on costume. It was mesmerizing.

Then, the man joined her for the Coda. It was completely different from the younger dancer's atmosphere. They were in perfect synchrony, almost as if they were one dancer that divided into two now and then, just for fun.

"There you are!" She was brought back to reality by Maryann's voice. "We should go, it's almost time a certain someone comes back home, and you know he'll be worried if he finds no one there. He trusts me… Barely." The older woman helped her up. "Saw something you liked over there?"

"I never imagined Mikhail was a ballet dancer. I thought he was more prone to boxing or martial arts, something of that sort."

"My brother tried karate when he was younger, but he had no discipline. It is still surprising how ballet worked for him." Anna stated. "Especially after older brother left. But now that he's back… Things have become weird." She walked staring at her feet.

"Is that related to why you came to my house, dear?" Her grandmother asked, hands behind her back, holding some of the shopping bags.

"He is losing his temper more easily. Last night he and Мать had a discussion. She was crying. I don't like when she cries. She was trembling a lot, and it was like she couldn't breathe. When she realized I was watching, she tried to hide, but it was so bad that she could not. So, she just hugged me. Misha joined us not too long after, saying that he was sorry. I don't even understand. She had to take those pills to sleep, so she didn't see it when I sneaked out." She explained. It wasn't the first time Layla had heard that Russian word. It was the same person that never allowed Anna to do gymnastics. She wondered what kind of woman that person could be.

"I see... It must have been hard for you to see that." She sighed.

"I just… Why are we like that, grandma? If отец was here, this wouldn't have happened." The girl now had tears in her eyes. Her grandmother pulled her close, as they walked.

"I know, sweetheart, I know… It's sad he isn't. But things will be okay, your brother said he was sorry. I bet things will be better."

"Can I sleep at your house today as well? I want to be happier when I come back there, I don't want to make her cry." Layla understood that feeling all too well.

"If you let her know this time, yes. Sneaking out without telling her is the worst thing you can do, trust me."

They arrived home a few minutes before Yuri did, just enough for his sister to recompose. She proceeded to show him happily all the baby clothing they'd bought. It even seemed like she was the one expecting, Layla thought.

After supper, Anna wanted to watch a movie. They all gathered on the living room, their grandmother sat on the armchair, while the three shared the sofa, the teenager in between them. Unsurprisingly, half an hour after its start, both siblings were fast asleep.

As no one was watching the film anyways, Maryann rose from the chair, waking her grandson from his crooked spot on the couch, prompting him to go to bed, as well as her granddaughter. While the two went up, Layla helped her with the dishes, even though she'd told her not to bother. Yet, curiosity had caught her well.

"Mrs Maryann?"

"What, dear?"

"What does Мать mean?" She saw her pupils dilate. She sighed longingly before answering.

"Oh… That, my dear, would be mother. I take it he hasn't told you anything about that, has he?" She shook her head. "I imagine you must be thinking all sorts of terrible things… But she is not a bad mother. All considered, she is an excellent one. That's probably why Yuri hasn't faced her ever since he left her house, the day he ran to the US pursuing his revenge. Neither her nor I agreed, just so you know."

"I wondered who Mikhail and Anna lived with, if not you. He hasn't seen her in seven years?"

"Pretty much, yes. It would have been the same with me, if I hadn't pinned him down in the Louvre while he was in one of his classes, after he left Kaleido Stage for the first time. He had been living in his former coach's house, after he passed. As his sister said, our family is hardly a simple one. But I suppose that's a subject for another time and place." She placed a hand on the youngest's shoulder.

As they went up the stairs, before each entered their respective rooms, the woman checked on her granddaughter and made a hand sign for Layla to come and check as well. Anna was laying neatly covered, with her battered bear, her brother beside her, in a slim bit of the bed that he hardly fit, holding her close, snoring lightly. A smile was plastered to her small face.

"You know… He is a good kid, who made many wrong choices. But he is making them right now, bit by bit. He is not proud of his past either. That's probably why he didn't tell you what happened. Once he makes peace with it, who knows. Or maybe… God made things this way so that you could help him. Like with the Legendary Illusion." She winked. "My son is very pleased somewhere in heaven, knowing someone made it through and put Yuri on the right path again."

She bid the woman good night and laid on their bed. Whenever she laid on her back, baby boy would move relentlessly, so she had propped herself on the left side, poking what she assumed was his back lightly. "Your dad is a handful, you know? Seems like we'll have to help him." He squirmed in response.