Midway pt. 7 Like Soul
When I left my room that morning I was greeted by my brother waiting for me in the hallway. He hadn't slept all night from the looks of it.
Louis - how was it
Par- how was what
Louis - don't play games , I know she was in your room last night , the guards have been talking about it all morning
Par- what
Louis - she was your first right
Par- yes , my first everything
Louis- I was worried when she went missing, imagine my surprise when I find out she was with you
Par- she's not here anymore
Louis - what
He pushed me out of the way to get into my bedroom searching around as if she might be hiding.
Par- I think she left last night or maybe this morning, sometime while I was asleep
Louis- Fuck , she's a Lady of a very wealthy house in Oboshi, we need to find her
Par- I have no idea where she is
I felt strange being the one naked in front of my brother for a change.
Louis - it's alright , I'm sure I'll find her, but in the mean time how were things with the inventor
I suppose he sensed my unease, he tossed me a pair of pants. Somehow it felt stranger getting dressed than standing naked, I think addressing my nudity was different from ignoring it.
Par- it was fine
Louis - I'll take it he wasn't very interesting if you left him to come home to Lady Yale
My brother could be very smug at times. You could hear a laugh in the back ground of his voice as he teased me.
Par- it's not like that, things were going well but we hit a bit of a snag twards the end
Louis - what kind of snag
Par- the kind that I think I'll keep to myself
Louis - fine be private about your business, I suppose I should send Non and Jin away since you've grown so close to Yale and Santo
Par- no don't do that
Louis - you still want to try the land do you
Par- Lady Yale was ... I don't think I can see what we did becoming something serious
Louis - something serious? The point of me bringing you these guests was not to become serious
Par- I know that , but I'm not like you brother , I want more than just a physical release
Louis - that must be so much easier to say after you've gotten just that
Par- I'm serious
Louis - I'm sure you are,
He took a moment to look at my bed sheets and laugh before he continued.
Louis- fine if you want to turn guests meant to be laied into relations then I have one piece of advice
Par- and what's that
Louis - as a royal you can have as many concubines as you wish, but sometimes less is more
Par- meaning
Louis - who knows, it's something Father told me once, but your the one with the brain remember
I imagined it was a warning not to give myself to too many because there would always be those who wanted a seat next to a royal. But then I imagined that maybe it meant that even if I found those who were good for me I would still only be one person limited in what I could give. Honestly the idea of being in a relationship with more than one person had yet to cross my mind until my brother threw it. I was eager to find out if any of my other guests could meld with me in a similar way as Santo seemed to. Or perhaps better than Santo did.
Par- you haven't slept with anyone have you
Louis - of your guests, no, of my own, yes
Par- of your own ?
Louis - you didn't think I only invited those meant for you did you
Par - that must be how you lost Lady Yale
Louis - they were supposed to wait in the castle gardens while I
Par- while you laied with your invited
Louis - when I returned only Non and Jin remained
Par- where are they now
Louis - Non is out in the kingdom somewhere but Jin and her performer family are in the castle courtyard
I finished getting dressed as we left my bedroom room.
Par- you know just because father says you have a heart doesn't mean you have to love everyone
Louis - I wouldn't call it love brother , what your doing may be closer to it than I
My brother left me to return to his search for Lady Yale while I went to join Jin in the courtyard. There was a circus. Music played loud dancers danced and perhaps the most notable eye flow went to the many odd performers. As I walked out of the castle into the family of acts I passed what I assumed were the main attractions.
There was a fire breathing monkey named Salvador. He juggled balls of fire like fruit. As I passed him he offered to toss me one of his flaming orbs, of course I declined . But he seemed intent to pass me the orb. He prepared to throw them all my way and for a moment I was terrified until he tossed them in his mouth extinguishing them. He then regurgitated the orbs and placed one in the palm of my hand. It was a fantastic show , so fantastic that ignored the heavy amounts of saliva that came with the orb in my hand.
I continued my walk through the courtyard and came across a woman who could change her face . Her fur was grey and her body feminine but with her hands and make up she fit her face to match mine. It was like looking in a mirror as long as I didn't allow my eyes to fall below her shoulders.
Perhaps the most curious performer was a hyena in make up. I believe he was known as Clown by the sign he wore around his neck. Not a clown, not The clown, just "Clown". Everyone else seemed to avoid him but to me he looked harmless. It's also worth mentioning that he was in an unkempt cage , a very small one at that. I began to step closer to the cage reaching my hand out to the almost depressing sight of a beaten man. Before my fingers could slip beyond the bars I was finally met by Jin as she pulled me away.
Jin- he only acts sad to draw you in
Par- he does it well , why is he in a cage
Jin- he is Clown
Par- what does that mean
Jin- he has done things outside the need of the family, so now he is clown
Par- it's a punishment
Jin- only for a week or two , he gets pie in the face and takes the lesser positions in acts
Par- and he stays in a cage
Jin- to keep him from running when it is his time to "perform"
It was a bit hard to swallow.
Par- what did he do
Jin- he stole the families money and spent it on cheap wine and entertainment of the sexual brew
Reminded me of Louis, which did not help me get over Clown being in a cage , but I could understand being punished for going against ones family. Family is all we have after all. Take away the castle the fortune and the name and all we are left with is family so loyalty has to be important.
Jin- don't worry about him I have a very special surprise just for you
Par- a surprise greater than that I've seen so far
Jin- greater and growing still as your mind can not comprehend it until your eyes have been opened
Par- you give me high expectations
Jin- we wouldn't want them low
She guided me through a sea of performers until we were on the castles great yard. I suppose I missed the tents being set up the night before because of the cover of night but even still I couldn't believe they managed to set up such high structures without being noticed. How Queen mother had yet to go into a rage over our castle being over run by a circus was a mystery, but as I entered the tents with Jin my mother was far from my mind.
It was dark , pitch black, even with day light outside. I lost Jin in the void and tried to find her. I called out for her but was denied an answer. I couldn't tell where I was and couldn't find a way out. And then I saw it. A light in the distance. I walked to it and found I couldn't see the hand holding it. As I grew near the flame It extinguished itself and once again I was lost in the dark.
I counted 5 seconds before there was an explosion of light around me. I was surrounded by dancers in clothes on lovely bright colorful fire . Jin was their center, she sat me on a seat I didn't see and it began. I was entranced by stars floating around my head pulling me into a dream. One by one fire became stars until they faded and came again bigger and bright than the last. And at the end all stars dimmed and Jin came from the above to offer me a soft kiss before she too disappeared like sparks in the night.
I spent the day with Jin and her family . The sight of Jin as the center of a fading and bright universe of stars stayed in my eyes. Out of all the acts her's was the one that spoke to me, I couldn't hear the words , but I knew they were there.
I got to speak to her alone when her family started to pack up their circus. The castle guards felt there were too many unknown faces around at time when King Father was still recovering, and recovering well might I add. I took Jin into the gardens and we sat surrounded by juniper trees stretched out to the sky.
Par- you were right
Jin- was I
Par- it was amazing, you are amazing
Jin- I am but a feather on the bird that is my family
Par- you are the eye of your family's bird
That came out differently than how I thought it would in my head , but she laughed so I wasn't too embarrassed.
Par- how did you know you wanted to be in a circus
Jin- I had no choice, I was born into this life
Par- but you seem so happy, so sure of yourself
Jin- I was born into the circus , but I decided what I would do here , my start was given to me but I created my path from it , I'm sure you must be doing the same
Par- making a path? There's only two roads for me to take as an heir to the throne , become king or don't
Jin- and which do you want
Par- your the first person to ask me that
Everyone always assumed I want to be king but I never knew for my self.
Jin- I knew I had to be in this life , but I decided how I would live it , King or no king circus or no circus what matters is how you rule your life and what you do with what you are given
Par- but what life would I have as a king