Aquarius [COMPLETED]

The Freak Show

After Claudia had surprise-splashed him, Todd had spent the rest of the day drying off and talking. He had even managed to catch a fish on his pole for all his trouble- a nice, tender trout that didn't have any extra eyeballs or fins. He travels back to Alston with a smile on his face, practically skipping through the long-abandoned fields on his way home, his large fishing pack bouncing off his gangly body. He makes himself slow when the dirt path turns into cobblestone as he gets to town, or people would ask what had put a poor fisherman in such high spirits. However, when Todd arrives, everyone's attention is not on him.

Hoof beats resonate off the path, and a pair of large, black horses with dull red tassels in their manes are pulling a single wagon. As the wagon keeps down the path, more wagons and horses soon follow, and at the very back there are covered cages being pulled by malnourished oxen. Purple banners and posters with images of people with too many eyes and fingers are crudely attached to the wagons and cage-covers, and they all say:

MASTER GODFROY'S FREAKSHOW: COME AND SEE THE GROTESQUE IN ALL THEIR HORRID SPLENDOR.

Todd shakes his head at the signs, and looks around to see everyone else staring wide-eyed at the sight, while other people are chasing behind the last wagon. Once the caravan gets to what used to be the town square, and is now just a large dirt space, it halts. The horses whinny as the front wagon's side opens up into a platform.

Inside, stands a tall, wiry man in a dirty black coat, top hat, and a monocle without the lens. He also has a light, scraggly mustache that has been twisted to turn up at the ends, and it bounces as the man gives a crooked-tooth smile, "Greetings, my good people of Alston! I am Master Godfroy, and this is my freak show! We have many horrifying sights to behold, and for the right price, you may enter the Tent of Freaks and partake in the splendor of the grotesque, such as this one!" He raises one arm out to his side, and a little boy is pushed on stage. His right arm is bent and mangled in front of him, and he is missing a large chunk of his nose and upper lip. The people watching gasp, and some begin to laugh at his misfortune, and the boy holds his good arm in front of his face and turns away. Master Godfroy pulls the boy's arm back down so that he cannot hide, and he grins and makes flourishing gestures to show him off.

"You see! This boy is but a minor deformity compared to the rest of those we have!" He pushes the boy off the stage and into the arms of a worker. "We shall set up our tent just outside of town. We shall be here for a month, for those who wish to save up and come see what is inside. Oh, and I almost forgot." He holds a finger up and waits for the murmuring to die down. "I am always looking for new additions to my show. If you know of anyone worthy of being called a freak, bring them to me, and you shall be rewarded handsomely."

With that, Master Godfroy gives another smile, and the wagon closes back around him.

The people around Todd begin to talk amongst themselves excitedly, and some start rushing home. But Todd can only stare at the little boy who now has large tears running down his face as the worker escorts him into another wagon. 'E's jus' a kid, Todd frowns to himself.

As the caravan begins to pull away, Todd heads home. His house is small, and the shingles on the roof are all cracked or falling off. The dirty windows are all closed, and the door sticks when Todd tries to open it. He jams his shoulder up against it, and it releases, the hinges giving a loud squeak as it swings open, revealing the only three rooms in the house: the sitting room with two chairs and a table, the kitchen with a counter, creaky cupboards, and a table and chairs, and the bedroom with just a small double-bed.

Anne stands by the small, unstable kitchen table with her blonde hair tied up, fashioned to cover up the patches where her hair has fallen out. She looks up at Todd with her blue eyes shining for the first time in months. "Todd, di'ya see all that?" She grins at him.

"What? The freak show?" Todd asks.

"Aye! We should see it!"

He shakes his head and grimaces, "Why d'ya wanna see that? They're jus' people bein' laughed at 'cause they look different."

"Oh, those ain't people," Anne scoffs, going from their meager kitchen to the dusty sitting room, "Their brains are fried- they can't think like you an' me." She plops down in a chair with uneven legs on it.

"We can't go, anyway. We barely 'ave the money to support ourselves, much less go see a show," Todd sighs, putting his bag down and going to her to gently caress her dirt-covered face with his thumb.

Anne sighs as well, and casts a glance towards his fishing bag, "Aye, I s'pose you're right. You always are." She looks up at him hopefully, "But can we try t'save up t'see it? If we don't make it in time, we can jus' use the money to plug up all the drafts in the house!"

He shrugs, "I don' see why not. I tell you what, I'll travel to Warden's Rock every day to where the bigger fish are, and I'll try to catch as much as I can."

"You mean it?" Anne's eyes widen, "But what about yer lungs? Will you be okay gettin' there an' back?"

"I'll be jus' fine," he smiles at her.

"Oh, thank you!" She jumps up, wrapping her arms around his neck. Then she chuckles, "Now if you could only catch a real freak in that river, we'd be well-off."

"Aye," he gives an awkward chuckle as he holds her, "We certainly would be."