I was once an avid participant on this site. I stopped due to work, relationships and just life in general. Long story short, I recently came across some of my stories. I shrugged and thought, "Why not post it?" Also... I am sure I have repeatedly spelled Madellaine's name wrong. I do apologize. I had it spelled "Madeline" until realizing that was not the correct way.

She was only six when he caught her stealing.

In the years that followed, Madellaine often asked herself why she was even there in the first place. What would her life have been like if she had just turned away when the circus came to her village? But she was curious, and that curiosity got the best of her. She heard people talking about the circus. Madellaine had never been to a circus before. She didn't even know what a circus was, but it sounded exciting and so she followed the crowd. There was a makeshift stage standing there on the outskirts of town, and Madeline expected some minstrel to start singing. Suddenly there was an explosion of red smoke. A man appeared; Madellaine at first thought he was a prince. He was dressed in green velvet even though it was hot outside, and there were gold rings on each of his fingers. The man bowed and welcomed them to the show. There was a graceful wave of his hand and suddenly he was holding a bouquet of roses. The man smiled again, and the women in the audience cheered. They were also blushing and smiling. Madellaine did not understand why they were acting like that. She did not like his face. His chin was too pointy, and his eyes were too mean. But she did like how he made roses appear out of thin air, and so she clapped like everyone else. Other circus performers took the stage after he disappeared behind the curtain. There was the woman with the talking scarlet bird, followed by an acrobat wearing a black-and-white jester costume, and then a man who danced with a pair of swords. The audience tossed coins at the stage after every performance. The princely man reappeared. He was wearing green before; now his outfit was red. A pretty woman led a cow onto the stage, but by then Madellaine had stopped paying attention. She could only look at the coins twinkling there on the ground: copper, silver and gold. There was an inn about twenty feet away, and Madellaine could smell the delicious smells of hot bread and roasted goose. Her stomach rumbled. There was so much money… and no one would ever notice if any of it went missing. Madelline knelt down to quickly snatch a small handful of coins. She looked up and saw that the princely man was staring at her. His intense glare lasted only a fraction of a second, and he looked away to address the crowd, "I will make this cow disappear!"

Madellaine decided to leave before anyone else saw her, but suddenly one of the acrobats was there, the one wearing the black-and-white jester costume. Why was he now in the audience? Madellaine stared up at the man, backing away, but his gloved hand shot out and snatched hold of her wrist. The coins fell on the dirt like raindrops.

"I'm sorry!" Madellaine cried out.

The man held his finger to his lips with his free hand, staring straight ahead of him and watching the performance. Madellaine tugged once to free herself, and the acrobat's grip tightened. She pulled again, harder this time. Nothing. The crowd cheered wildly. Trembling, Madellaine looked away to fix her gaze back at the makeshift stage where the princely man was bowing, the cow no longer in sight. He disappeared again and a masked man playing a stringed instrument took his place. Tears flowed from Madellaine's eyes. She didn't know what they were going to do with her. Would she be beaten? Jailed? Dragged through the streets and put in the stocks?

The performance soon ended and still the acrobat held on to her. They stood there silently while the crowd departed. No one seemed to notice the oddly-dressed acrobat or the blond child wearing a raggedy garb.

"Please," Madellaine whispered hoarsely. "I didn't steal very much. I know I was wrong, but I'm so hungry!"

The man did not respond.

"Please, let me go. I'll never steal again, I promise! Please, believe me!" The man only stared at her. She again tried to free herself, her bare feet digging into the ground as she pulled away. Madellaine did not know why, but his silence unnerved her. It would have been better, so much better, if he just shouted at her and called her a little thief.

"What is going to happen?" Madellaine demanded. "Why won't you talk to me?"

"Muto does not say much," said a voice that Madellaine instantly recognized. "Muto has not said a word since the Minster of Paris ordered his tongue to be removed." She cranked her head to see the princely man gliding towards them.

"He had gone to Paris," the man continued silkily, "thinking he would be more successful if he ventured out alone. Poor Muto… Instead of finding fame and fortune, he got arrested. Have you ever been to Paris, little one? It is a magnificent city, but people like us- acrobats and clowns and magicians- are not welcomed there. I do not know why Muto was arrested. The stories tend to vary, but they all end the same way. Apparently the minister did not appreciate Muto's defiant attitude." The man chuckled. "Do you know that I cannot even recall Muto's real name? But speaking of names… I am Sarousch."

He did not ask Madellaine for her name. He only looked down at her, not quite hiding his disgust. Madellaine noticed that he was immaculately clean. There was no dirt on his shiny shoes. Even his fingernails looked polished. Suddenly Madellaine was ashamed of her ugly clothes and the dirt caked between her toes.

"Let me guess…" He clasped his hands together and mockingly asked, "You're some poor, hungry little orphan?"

Madellaine did not respond.

"Your silence tells me that I am correct… MUTO!" Sarousch snapped his fingers and the acrobat let go. Madeline rubbed her wrists. She should have fled at that moment. That was something else that Madeline would come to regret. "I could give you to the town authorities… But I am much too kind. You will instead work for me. You will earn your clothes and the food you put in your belly."

"You want me to perform in your circus?"

Sarousch laughed. "Such a stupid little girl! I doubt that someone like you has any real talent! But…" He tilted his head a bit, studying Madline, rubbing his hand along his narrow face. "You certainly look better than those other vile, little wretches that I've rescued. There just might be a nice face hidden underneath that dirt, and if you grow up to be pretty… Well, I could use an assistant when the one I have now becomes old and ugly. You will even earn money."

Sarousch ordered hot water. A half dozen children shuffled forward, and they were the ones who carried the buckets down to the river. Madeline watched as they lit a fire underneath a cooking pot, and then poured the heated water into a large wooden tub. They were like her, she instinctively knew. They were children who got caught stealing. Madeline wanted to talk to them and be their friend, but they only gawked at her when she said hello. The children worked in silence and afterwards they crept away like spiders. Sarousch told Madellaine to wash herself. She did what he said and bathed behind a curtain, scrubbing herself again and again because something told her that things would be worse, so much worse, if she didn't follow his orders. The curtain moved briefly aside, and Madeline sank into the tub even though it was now almost too dark to see anything. It was the pretty assistant, the one who had led the cow on the stage. She wordlessly left a gown and a pair of slippers there for Madeline, and then scurried away. The clothing turned out to be a bit too large, but the clean fabric felt nice against her skin. Madeline could not remember the last time she wore clean clothes. She used her fingers to comb through her tangled yellow hair.

"Much better," Sarousch said when he saw her. "Now you can eat."

Madellaine could see that the circus performers had already gathered around a bonfire, eating and laughing amongst themselves. The children were there too, away from the others, crouched together in their own little cluster, as they noisily slurped at their bowls. The noise made Madellaine cringe and she, to her horror, began to feel some disgust towards them. One of the performers tossed a half-eaten apple in their direction. The children, who until now seemed like empty shells, suddenly turned savage. They lunged forward and fought one another for that discarded piece of fruit. Madellaine could not blame them because she had almost joined in. She wanted to taste that beautiful red apple. Sometimes the baker would leave a bowl of discarded apple slices behind his shop. Madellaine loved sitting there while he cooked batches of cakes and pies. But Madellaine now saw how a few of the circus performers were laughing. She remained still. She would rather go hungry than be laughed at.

She did eventually receive a hot bowl of soup. Madellaine stood there, not knowing where to go. She did not want to sit with the children and she did not think that the circus performers would welcome her. So she sat on the steps of the stage, alone, and ate. The meal made her feel a bit better- it had been ages since Madellaine had a hot meal- but she wondered about her future. What was to become of her? Would she become like the children, wordlessly obeying orders and battling for scraps? Or would she become a performer? Madellaine liked the idea of being on stage, but Sarousch said she had no talent. Why would he say that? He didn't even know her!

Madellaine set her bowl down and stood up. She ascended the creaking, wooden steps and imagined a cheering audience. She lifted her arms like a dancer and twirled. They would love her, and the people would toss coins at her. She could then buy her own food and sleep in a soft bed instead of curling up on the cobblestoned streets. Madeline saw herself in a dress even prettier than the one she wore now. She continued to flounce across the stage, performing for a make-believe audience. They were smiling at her and she was smiling back.

"YOU STUPID GIRL!"

Madellaine stumbled clumsily, lost her balance and fell. She looked up. The imaginary audience was gone. There was only Sarousch, and he was glowering at her. "Get down from there! You are making a fool of yourself!" Embarrassed, Madeline hurried down the steps. Sarousch grabbed her arm before she could even reach the bottom step. "You are talentless. Never forget that. The only worthwhile thing about you is the fact that you are not ugly.." His lip curled. "You are stupid and you are talentless. You can't even steal correctly… Which reminds me…."

Sarousch dragged her towards the circus performers. They had all been watching. Madellaine looked back at them. Some were smirking. Others appeared uneasy. The children, Madellaine noticed, retreated, but not before she saw their looks of terror.

"MUTO!" It was said with a snarl. The acrobat stepped forward out of the shadows. "How many coins did she steal earlier today?"

Muto held up ten fingers.

"Ten. Very well." He turned towards Madellaine. "Palms out."

"Please," she began, but Sarousch cut her off with a smile.

"Ten coins. Ten lashes."

Before Madellaine could again protest, Sarousch hissed, "If you complain, if you make a sound, your punishment will be doubled." There was a flick of the hands and a switch magically appeared. "Now, hold your palms out. Don't make me tell you again." Madeline, trembling, obeyed. "Ten coins. Ten lashes," he repeated.

"One." The switch struck her right hand. Madellaine cried out. "You made a sound," Sarousch said quietly, the corners of his lips curving into a smile. "Now it's twenty lashes. Did you want to make it forty?" Madeline frantically shook her head no. The switch immediately landed on her left hand. "Two!"

Madellaine bit her tongue. She inhaled sharply, and then held her breath, afraid that Sarousch would again increase the punishment if he thought her breaths were too loud. She cringed each time the switch was brought down. Sarousch continued to count. "Twenty!" He dropped the switch after the last blow. He smiled when Madellaine fell on her knees. There were angry welts on her hands and her arms.

"You could always run away," Sarousch said, again speaking quietly. "But you will never survive on the streets. You think getting struck with a switch is bad? Imagine getting flogged. That's what they do to thieves." Madellaine knew he wasn't lying. She had seen her fair share of floggings. "Now, be a good girl, and never steal from me again."