The People Circus
Page 4
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“Tell me about the elf!” she chirped. Ralik smiled wryly at her. He found it easy to look into her eyes. They were kind and seemed to take accept people and things as they were.
“I’m not allowed to talk about that,” he joked with mock seriousness. Her face fell at the statement and she stared at the table in silence. “That is, unless I know the person’s name.” She raised her eyes and they smiled as widely as her painted lips.
“My name is Mira,” she laughed. Ralik watched her as she waited expectantly.
“I met him on the way to the Guild. His name is Jander,” he explained at last. “He’s a fantastic warrior and serves as an assistant to many of the guildmasters.”
“You met him on the way to the Guild? The Guild?” her eyes sparkled with pleasure at the thought. “I’ve never met a Darkwater Apprentice before.”
“I’ve never met an acrobat before,” smiled Ralik. “How long did it take you to learn how, how to fly?” She giggled.
“I’ve never heard of it described like that,” she smiled. “I’ve been training since I was very small. Tell me what your favorite training at the Guild is!” Ralik recollected his many experiences, trying to decide which ones were his favorites. It was a hard choice, as his interests were many and varied. There was Animal Training, and the horse he cared for, Kynhon. He remembered with pride his triumph over Studus with the quarterstaff, but there was one type of training he enjoyed more than the others.
“My favorite training is from the survival guild,” he responded. “I enjoy learning how to track, how to build a shelter, and how to find water where it appears there is none.”
“So you are a Ranger of sorts then?” she inquired. “That’s very noble. One of my uncles led several men like that back in our home village. I don’t remember him very well, but my mother tells me he used to patrol the wilderness around the town, driving off wolves and goblins and other horrible monsters.”
“I enjoy watching the animals I track as well,” he continued. “There are a lot of fascinating animals here; the Count must be very rich to be able to keep them all.”
“Oh, he’s not a real Count,” Mira replied. “He just calls himself that so he will sound more important.” There was a hint of disdain in her voice as she spoke.
“So, what were you doing last night?” asked Ralik after a few moments silence. “I’ve seen all the animals here, but none that would eat bread or be able to drink from a cup.” She visibly tensed at his question and glanced away into the surrounding crowd milling about them. Something about those animals disturbed her greatly. “Mira, what’s wrong? You weren’t doing anything wrong feeding the animals, you know.”
“They, they aren’t animals,” she whispered. Ralik was confused. Maybe she had grown overly attached to them. Ralik had formed a very special bond with Kynhon, but he still viewed him as a horse, with a horse’s needs.
“I can understand how you feel,” he started. “There is a horse that’s very special to…”
“No!” she cut him off suddenly, and then lowered her voice again. She looked him straight in the eye as she spoke. “These animals are not really animals; they are people!” Ralik was speechless as he attempted to wrap his mind around her revelation. How could they be people? He could see the tiger, still pacing back and forth in its cage, over her shoulder. It still looked like a tiger. “If you treat a person like an animal long enough, they begin to act like animals. Evil magic does the rest. Algernon treats them horridly, beating them and only giving them horrible food to eat. I try to ease their suffering by stealing from the stores of our food.” A crystal tear rolled down the white side of her face.
“How is it that you can see them?” asked Ralik. She shook her head, indicating that she didn’t know. “Have you told anyone else?”
“I tried to tell my father once, but he wouldn’t listen to me,” Mira answered heavily. “He thought as you did, that I was just becoming too attached to them. You believe me, don’t you?” She grabbed his hand in hers, pleadingly. If felt soft and warm. He wasn’t sure if he believed her or not, but he could tell she believed what she was saying, so he nodded. If it was the truth, he would find out, and Algernon would pay for his crimes. If there was anything Ralik had grown to hate in his short life, it was men who made slaves of others.
“I have to go,” she stated. He nodded wordlessly. “Thank you for the stories, and for believing me.” She smiled weakly and then vanished into the crowd.