The circus people got up early Monday morning. They normally got up just before dawn. It came from living in camps where they became attuned to the natural rhythm of the sun. People who normally lived inside spent much more time in torchlight and tended to wake for breakfast, but not before. The two Venetians thought they were being extra early and would not be seen as they arrived at the circus site when the sun still touched the horizon. They were seen by plenty of workers in the growing light, not the least being the roustabouts who were preparing to set up the big tent with Mombo’s wonderful help.
The Venetians scooted carefully through the shadows, from tent to tent, trying to hide though they were seen all the way. By the time they reached the tent where Leonora went in to do her face for the day, Giovanni got the word and he ran. The two Venetians slipped into the tent there, though Giovanni saw them from a distance. He had no doubt who they were and found himself trading places with Kirstie as he, or rather she ran. Kirstie found a sword in her hand.
Leonora screamed as the big one grabbed her. The short one placed the gold crown of Germany on the table before the mirror. “The watch will find the crown in the circus, accuse them of being the thieves, and shut everything down. It should be easy then to see the Kairos condemned.”
“No,” Leonora started to scream, but the big one clamped his hand over her mouth so she could hardly breathe.
“Stop playing with your tart. Let’s go before we are found with the goods.”
“Why does this one look familiar?” The big one asked.
The short one stared for a second before his eyes got wide. “Lady Leonora,” he gasped. “Bring her.” The man turned to the tent door and found a scimitar slice across his throat, nearly taking his head off.
Kirstie said, “Three,” and added the man’s name. “Lind… and Gruden,” she said, looking at the big man. That man tightened his grip around Leonora. Kirstie found her scimitar gone so she pulled her battleax and shield. Gruden had his sword out, but he was not about to let go of Leonora who he used as his own shield. Leonora, however, was not one to be so easily used. When she came to herself, she stomped on Gruden’s toe, wiggled out from his grip, and rolled away from the man.
Gruden tried to rush out from the tent, but Kirstie caught him with her axe in his shoulder. He howled as the axe fell out. He waved his sword generally at the people coming in response to Leonora’s scream, and he ran off in the only way open to him, his arm hanging limp by his side.
Kirstie did not give chase. Instead, she traded places with Giovanni and he hugged Leonora. They were kissing when the others arrived, but quickly Leonora began to cry and pushed Giovanni away. “It’s too late,” she said. “If Gubio gets back to the palace, they will know.”
“They will know?” Rosa asked as she pushed forward to take Leonora’s hand.
“Luigi and Gubio recognized me. They will tell the emperor and they will come looking for me.”
“Lind and Gruden,” Giovanni said, pointing to the man at his feet who was almost decapitated. “Luigi and Gubio? I thought it was Luigi and Mario.” He smiled at himself, but this was no smiling matter.
“I’m serious,” Leonora yelled and slapped him softly in his upper arm.
“Quite right,” Giovanni agreed. “The only thing we can do is take the crown back to Otto and explain how they were trying to plant the stolen goods in order to accuse us of the crime, but we caught them in the act.”
“I’m going.” Oberon said, and many voices echoed that, but Giovanni shook his head to the crowd. “Constantine, Madigan, Oberon and myself…”
“I’m going,” Rosa insisted and Leonora hung on to Rosa’s hand.
“And Rosa. That is enough people to be thrown in jail in one day.”
“Optimism,” Constantine teased. “That is what I like about the circus.”
Sibelius had to come. With Madigan and Constantine they carried the stretcher with Luigi’s body on it. Giovanni wanted to hold on to Leonora’s hand, but Leonora would not let go of Rosa’s hand and Rosa walked between them. When they arrived at the palace, the guards appeared to be waiting for them, and one suggested guards were sent to the circus to fetch them. They got escorted to a big room, an audience chamber, where Otto, some king, possibly from Poland, and the Venetians waited. It turned out Leonora’s father, Lord Stephano headed the Venetian delegation.
“Father…”
“Leonora…”
“Quiet! Quiet for a minute,” Giovanni interrupted and held out the crown to Otto who was grinning before he saw and looked quickly around the room at all his advisors and such. “I believe this is yours. We caught Luigi and Gubio in the act of trying to plant this at the circus in order to blame us for the theft. The question is who hates the circus enough to want to blame us for the crime?” He looked hard at Lord Stephano.
Leonora’s father pleaded innocence. “No secret that I don’t like you, and all the more now that I see you held my daughter prisoner, but I would never do such a thing. You are guilty in my book of too many things to mention. And now that you have despoiled my innocent child…”
“I despoiled no one,” Giovanni objected. “Leonora is in the same virgin state she was when she came to us. I haven’t touched her.”
“I’ll say you haven’t touched me,” Leonora harumphed and turned on her father. She pointed to the young girl that stood to the side. “What were you thinking bringing my little sister Honoria on the road? The road can be dangerous.” They all noticed Rosa who slid over to the girl closer to her age and they were whispering.
“Untouched?” both Otto and Lord Stephano wondered about that one.
“I have reformed,” Giovanni said with his hand up like he was taking a sacred pledge.
Otto frowned but kept to the subject. He asked, “Well, If Lord Stephano did not set you up, who did?”
A woman’s voice came from the back of the room. “It was the bishop. He heard lies about the circus and lies about Don Giovanni and he believed them.” She stepped forward and pointed at the man, much to Giovanni’s surprise because he did not know Madam Figiori came with them.
The bishop proved to have no spine whatsoever, even less than spineless Umberto the saboteur. He did not even imagine denial. He immediately fell to his knees and wept. “Lord, forgive me. I heard the circus was a pagan shrine full of witches and demons trying to entice people away from the faith. Forgive me.”
“So you had the crown stolen, planned to plant it to accuse innocent people of the crime and then planned to lie about it,” Giovanni said quickly. “I think tears are not enough for lying, stealing, and cheating. I think some penance is in order. What do you think?”
“Penance,” Otto agreed. “But I will leave that up to the church if you don’t mind.”
“One thing I like about my friend. You are not only smart you are also wise.” He grinned for his friend and turned to the weeping bishop. “You should come and see the show for yourself. We have some tricks up our sleeves, but it is all human. No witchery. No evil things allowed, and Leonora drags me to church every chance she gets. Anyway, come see for yourself. You don’t want to miss the Don Giovanni Circus…
…The Greatest Show on Earth.” Otto and Leonora joined him on the tag line.
“So, people. We have to get back and get ready for the show,” Giovanni said before the repentant bishop began to confess all the evil things he heard.
“I can’t go back,” Leonora said, and when Giovanni gave her his questioning look she explained. “Now that I am caught, I’m afraid there is no going back for me.”
“What do you mean?” Giovanni asked. “Where else will you go?”
Leonora shrugged. “Back to my father’s house where I will be miserable for the rest of my life.” she shrugged again. “Maybe I’ll marry your best friend, Otto, so we can both be miserable together.”
Otto did not like that idea. “Can’t,” he said. “I am re-engaged to a girl from the Eastern Romans, Zoe something.”
“Porphyrogentia.” The voice came from the back of the room. “Her name is Zoe Porphyrogentia.”
“You see?” Otto said. “Zoe something-or-other.”
‘So, I guess it is home for me,” Leonora said sadly. “Maybe I can make everyone around me miserable too.” She gave her father that mean look. “As I always say, share the misery.”
“But, you always say share the happiness,” Constantine found his voice.
“Makes me want to cry already,” Madigan whispered.
“But what about the circus? What about your family?” Giovanni prodded her.
“Father and Honoria are my family,” Leonora said with a big sigh.
Giovanni reached out for her hand and suggested that he would drag her back if necessary. She got loud as she extracted her hand from his. “Forget the circus. I quit your circus.”
“You can’t quit your family.”
“I don’t care. I quit. Do you hear me? I quit.”
Giovanni growled at her. “Is that your final answer?”
“Yes,” she shouted.
“In that case, will you marry me?” he shouted back.
“Yes,” she growled and threw her arms around his neck and they kissed like they intended to be there still kissing when the sun went down.
Everyone smiled except Leonora’s sister and Rosa who gushed at true love, and Leonora’s father who frowned and put his face in his hand before he seemed to shrug like his daughter. That caused the foreign king who did not quite follow everything to let out a good belly laugh.
“Well, you are not getting my other daughter,” Lord Stephano groused.
Otto got the man’s attention. “Both Giovanni and I have agreed to support your nephew as the new Doge at whatever time your brother passes away. Be content that he is not against you.”
“Father,” Honoria spoke into the silence that followed. “Can I go with my friend Rosa. She has promised to show me the elephant.”
“What a wonderful idea,” Otto said. “Let’s all go see the elephant.” They trooped out of the room. As Otto went by he taped Giovanni on the shoulder and said, “Take a breath.”
Lord Stephano’s comment was more pointed. “Just wait until you have a daughter.”
Giovanni pulled his head back an inch though his eyes and Leonora’s eyes never left each other. He said, “I’m looking forward to it.”
She whispered, “So am I,” and turned red thinking about it before they went right back for kissing round two. That got another belly laugh.
END
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Beginning Monday
If you have read the Avalon stories that have appeared regularly on this blog, seasons one to nine, you might recall that much of the trouble the travelers faced was the result of a demon-goddess who once invaded Avalon and used the Heart of Time to try and change history. The Golden Door is that story.
The Kairos is deathly ill. Avalon is slowly falling apart. History and time itself is threatened, and the four children of the Kairos, Beth, Christopher, David, and James are the only hope of overcoming the demonized goddess and saving the Heart of Time. Don’t miss it.
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Storyteller Tales & Thoughts 