Author's Note: I decided to write about Ludwig/Germany this week. How is he holding up after his visit to the Dark Circus? I may have dropped a hint at what is coming for Halloween. There's also a little bit about the Dark Circus. I don't know if I want to go into full detail about it or not. Maybe just enough for everyone to get a picture in their minds. You are going to have to go along with me for the answer. I don't know who I am going to write about next week. I will see what I feel like. For now, enjoy this week's match.
Match Seventeen: Nachtkrapp:
Ludwig doesn't know how to get his friend back. It's been getting worse lately. Feliciano stopped going to the world meetings. Well, not many countries were showing up anymore. Those that did show up didn't have more to contribute. It was depressing, really.
"What has become of us?" Ludwig asked. Gilbert didn't have an answer. Or rather, he didn't want to answer that. Because to do that would be to admit defeat. Now, they might not have a choice.
That isn't the only thing on Ludwig's mind.
He had been looking up information about the Dark Circus. Ever since that night, the German couldn't get it out of his head. He could still hear the music in his dreams. When he did Google the information, he ended up going down a rabbit hole about missing people across Europe. On the surface, they all appeared random. But Ludwig started to notice that they all had a thread in common.
"What do you know about the Dark Circus?" he asked Gilbert one afternoon. The Prussian man looked up.
"What did you say?" he asked. There was a tremble in his voice as he spoke.
"You saw it too?" his brother asked.
"Saw what? I don't know what you are talking about," Gilbert lied. Ludwig opened his mouth to speak.
"No!" the Prussian man shouted. "Don't ask me anymore questions. I don't want to hear it! Just no more!" Ludwig sat staring at him. Gilbert took a breath and cleared his throat.
"Just don't," he said. "Please." Ludwig stood staring at him. Gilbert marched down the hall without saying a word.
Ludwig couldn't let it go. Turns out, he wasn't the only one. The Dark Circus is even starting to make the local news. In fact, that story was on in the background. Gilber turned off the TV.
"What did you do that for?" Ludwig asked. Gilbert sat calmly in his chair.
"I don't want to see that," he said. He started to eat his breakfast again.
"So… What are you doing today?" the Prussian man asked.
"Is something wrong?" Ludwig asked.
"Wrong? What do you mean?" his brother asked. "Why would you ask something like that?" The German man leaned back in his seat.
"Is something bothering you?" he asked. "You've been acting strange ever since I asked you about that circus." Gilbert tried to think of an excuse to get out of this. Suddenly, the phone rang. The Prussian man leaped to his feet.
"I'll get it!" he said. Gilbert hurried over to the phone.
"Hello?" he asked. Ludwig sat there more frustrated than before. Gilbert clearly didn't want to tell him something. The German man just had to find out what it was.
The sleeping dog wasn't going to lie. In fact, it was up and looking for blood. And it was going to get one way or another. Even Ludwig didn't have an answer for this curiosity. Something inside of him wouldn't let the matter rest. That mindset can lead to going down some unsavory rabbit holes.
Meanwhile, Gilbert tried to pull him back. But he knows that isn't going to last long. He doesn't know what to do.
The Prussian man picked up the phone at his desk.
"Hello?" Elizabetha asked on the other line. Gilbert sat back in his chair.
"Are you starting to see it too?" he asked. There was a long pause.
"Hello? Are you still there? Hello? Hello?" Gilbert asked.
"Which one of you went there?" Elizabetha asked in a whisper.
"He did," the Prussian man said.
"Oh…" she said quietly. Gilbert looked over his shoulder at his office door.
"He won't stop talking about it," he said.
"Do you have your email up right now?" she asked.
"No, hang on," Gilbert said. He reached over and turned on his computer. He logged into his email.
"I'm going to send you something," she said. "Let me know when you get it."
"Okay," Gilbert said. He sat back in his chair and waited.
"Refresh your screen," Elizabetha said. The Prussian man refreshed his screen. One new message. Gilbert clicked on the message. It was a news article about a traveling circus around 1915.
A chill ran through his body. Right away, he didn't like where this was going.
"Elizabetha," he said. "Please don't tell me…" He didn't want to finish that sentence.
"Yes," she said. They traveled across the continent every fall. No one knew where it came from. Some people feared this mysterious circus. Gilbert scrolled through the faded details. The word "fire" caught his eye. Did the circus die in a fire?
"But why him?" Gilbert asked.
"I really don't know," the Hungarian woman said. "I wish I did. I really do." The Prussian man wanted to close the article.
"Isn't there any way to stop it?" he asked.
"You already know the answer to that, Gilbert," Elizabetha said.
Meanwhile, Ludwig went out to check the mail. Bills, flyers for sales, junk mail, letters from other countries, and…
Hm? What's this?
The German man reached inside and pulled out a black envelope. It was addressed to him. His name was written in cursive red letters. Ludwig looked at it front and back. There was no return address. A deep red stamp held the envelope shut. He could smell that charcoal on the paper. Ludwig ripped open the envelope. The smell of charcoal hit his nose, even stronger. Just touching the paper made him shiver. Reading the contents made him even more confused.
You are invited to the Dark Carnival on Halloween around midnight. Come alone to the abandoned fields. We look forward to seeing you.