Nano 13

It took three more days to reach Elyria, with very brief stops in towns and villages along the way. The road was busier as they neared the city, and towns became larger and more crowded, with frequent traffic between them and the city. It was all new to Art, but Mr. Sept and the other two were rather bored by the evening of the first day.

‘We travel to Elyria three times a year,’ Iris said, yawning. It was night, but Mr. Sept had insisted that they would only stop when they reached Elyria and found a quiet place to rest for the night.

‘Yeah,’ Jonas piped up, ‘and the performances here get a very big audience. Usually we earn the most here.’

‘It’s tiring,’ Iris continued, sighing happily, ‘but you get to see so many people. And the clothes and shops and everything.’

‘I’ve never been here,’ Art said. He had been subdued for the most part of the journey, and the others had rather left him alone with his thoughts. He didn’t mind that – he thought it was considerate of them – but Iris frequently got on his nerves.

‘Funny,’ Iris remarked innocently. ‘I thought everyone came here, except those from…the rural areas.’

Art rounded on her, seething with pent-up irritation over the days. ‘Yeah, so what’s wrong with that? Think you’re queen or something, huh, getting to travel everywhere with the circus – ‘

‘What do you mean by that?’ Iris shrieked in retaliation.

‘You’ve been getting on my nerves for days! Days and days and days, you – ‘

‘Say it!’ Iris shrieked even louder over Art’s words. ‘Say it!’

‘Stop it.’ Mr. Sept stepped between them and pushed at both of their shoulders. ‘Listen. You’re behaving like kids. Stop it!’

‘Sorry,’ Art muttered.

‘And you too, young lady,’ Mr. Sept said, eyeing her shrewdly, ‘learn to control what you say.’

‘Sorry,’ she said, rolling her eyes.

‘Er – Mr. Sept?’ Jonas said hesitantly, raising a hand.

‘Yes, Jonas?’

‘There’s someone staring at us. I think he wants us to go over to him.’

Mr. Sept glanced over his shoulder at the man leaning against the hedge beside the road. ‘Don’t bother him,’ he murmured.

‘Mr. Sept?’

‘Come on.’ Mr. Sept walked off, heading towards the city. The gateposts could now be seen, a mere fifteen minutes’ walk ahead.

Jonas shrugged and followed him. Iris glared at Art, who stubbornly refused to look at her. She flounced off angrily. Art followed behind, subdued and gloomy again.

And then they were in the city – that was the main road, made of worn bricks of a curious yellow color – they were passing shops and large mansions now, with cars and horses jostling with each other in the streets, together with the large number of people strolling along the pavements and going in and out of the shops. There seemed to be lampposts and lights everywhere, and men and ladies were going past with their own lamps too, lamps with green, blue and orange flames. Art kept completely silent, staring wide-eyed at the sights. Iris had been temporarily shut up by the extreme noise coming from all sides, and even Jonas had to shout into her ear to make his words heard. Mr. Sept waved over his shoulder to them, leading them along quieter alleys and smaller streets.

‘You said you’ve never been here before,’ Art remarked quietly to the man.

‘Did I?’ Mr. Sept said genially. ‘I must have forgotten I said that. One can never be too careful of what one says on the road, you know. This way, come on, hurry up.’

Art ducked as Mr. Sept led them beneath an archway overhung with dead leaves and vines. They were in a courtyard now, still and silent compared to the main part of the city they had just come from. There was a pool in the middle of the courtyard, trickling weakly from some unknown source. The calm surface reflected the lights from the houses around the yard. Mr. Sept pointed across to the house with most of its windows lighted up.

‘That’s the place,’ he said. ‘It’s my friend’s place. Don’t think he’d mind me putting up for the night.’

A young girl opened the door to their knock. She stared at them in surprise and gaped wordlessly. Jonas grinned and waved hesitantly.

‘Is your father home?’ Mr. Sept asked. ‘Or your mother perhaps?’

‘He’s not home,’ the girl replied after a pause. ‘But my mother is. Who are you?’

‘Mr. Sept and his wards,’ Mr. Sept said. ‘I hope it won’t be too much trouble for us to put up here for the night? We just arrived in the city tonight…and there are some urgent matters we have to deal with immediately.’

‘I’ll be right back.’ The girl shut the door and they watched as the light dimmed slightly, as though she had taken a lamp with her.

The door opened again within a minute. This time the girl was accompanied by a middle-aged lady with a toddler on her hip. The lady raised her eyebrows coolly.

‘And so you’re Mr. Sept?’ she said, in a not too friendly manner. ‘I see. My husband did not receive any news that you were stopping by soon.’

‘Yes, I am, Mrs. Lee. I do apologize for the inconvenience.’ Mr. Sept smiled reassuringly. ‘I did not expect to reach here so soon, but I had to change my plans due to unavoidable circumstances. And as you can see, I have my three young charges here with me – I’m taking them with me to my shop tomorrow, but we need a place to stay for the night.’

‘I suppose you can stay for one night,’ the lady said grudgingly. ‘My Liz can share her bed with the girl, I suppose.’

Iris nodded and tried to smile gratefully. Art knew she didn’t like the look of Liz, from the expression he could discern in the dim light. He bent his head and smirked.

Mrs. Lee handed the toddler over to Liz and busied herself in the kitchen preparing a small dinner for the four of them. Iris wandered into the kitchen to help but was shooed out again in a very short while.

‘Said I was useless in the kitchen,’ Iris said humorlessly. ‘And why would I be any use there anyway? I’ve never cooked. I was just trying to help.’

‘I’m sure she just wants to get dinner ready as soon as possible,’ Jonas said soothingly.

‘I’m sure it was because she was a bloody nuisance in there.’ Art opened his eyes very wide and smiled innocently.

‘Yes yes, very funny, har har.’ Iris tossed her hair over her shoulder and wrinkled her nose.

‘By the way, Iris,’ Mr. Sept said, ‘there’s something I have to ask you. About your hair – is it possible to get it cut tonight?’

There was a horrified silence. Jonas gulped, very quietly, and buried his face in his hands. Iris’s mouth hung open for a few long seconds before she remembered to shut it.

‘Cut it?’

‘Yes, to hide you,’ Mr. Sept continued as though she had agreed. ‘I’m still worried about those two men who kidnapped you. Who knows but they’re still after you? And I don’t want any harm coming to Art either.’

‘But – but – not my hair!’

‘It will be the best way to disguise you,’ Mr. Sept said firmly. ‘I’m sorry Iris, but things have taken a serious turn. What with the fairy’s death and the glams’ involvement, I’m getting very worried about what might happen next. And we don’t know where the lady went, or whether she would be coming back to us.’

Mrs. Lee entered the room just then, bearing a large hot pot of soup and bread. Art sprang up and followed her into the kitchen, emerging with a stack of bowls and spoons. Iris stuck her tongue out at him to relieve her shock.

‘It’s not much,’ Mrs. Lee said, ‘but I hope you’ll be happy with it.’

‘I’m sure we will,’ Mr. Sept said. ‘Thank you.’

‘I have to put the baby to bed,’ she said, drifting out of the room.

‘You absolutely cannot cut my hair!’ Iris whispered angrily, glancing at the doorway where Mrs. Lee had gone through.

‘It’s a necessary step, I’m afraid,’ Mr. Sept said. ‘I can’t risk putting your life and the two boys’ in danger!’

‘I can plait my hair or something! Wear a hat! Bonnet! Do anything but cutting it off!’

‘But it’d still be obvious.’ Art blew carefully on his soup and sighed. ‘All that hair, it must be so hard to hide it.’

Jonas bit back a snigger and snorted ungracefully into his soup. Art thumped his back helpfully.

‘But – but – but –‘ Iris spluttered and dropped her spoon. It landed on the floor with a muffled clunk.

‘It’ll grow back in time,’ Art said, patting her hand sympathetically. ‘I’m sure all the energy you get from insulting people will help it grow.’

‘Art,’ Mr. Sept cut in sharply, ‘enough of that. I’m really sorry, Iris, but I think it’s for the best.’

‘Is there anything you would need?’ the girl asked suddenly. They turned, not realizing that she had been hidden in the doorway for some time.

‘Ah yes,’ Mr. Sept said. ‘Do you have a pair of scissors? And perhaps some skill with cutting hair?’

‘I – I think so,’ Liz said, puzzled and surprised. ‘What do you want me to do?’

‘Cut her hair.’ Art nodded towards Iris and bent his head over his soup to hide his widening grin. ‘Dear dear.’

It was much later, about midnight at the very least, when Iris rolled over and sniffed into her sleeve. Art glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and pretended to shift in his sleep so he didn’t have to look at her crying. Beside him, Jonas was already asleep, mumbling incoherently in his dreams. Mr. Sept had dozed off beside the fire in the only armchair in the room.

When Iris continued sniffing for the next fifteen minutes, Art sat up and nudged her gently on the shoulder. She buried her head in her arms, the head with the shorn hair looking astonishingly pathetic in the firelight.

‘Hey.’ He nudged her again. ‘Sorry for what I said earlier.’

‘Whatever,’ she sniffed. ‘I don’t give a damn.’

‘Okay then.’ He lay back down and pulled the blanket over his head. ‘I was trying to be nice.’

‘Right.’ She sat up and tugged at his blanket. ‘Sorry. Sorry sorry sorry for being so sarcastic. It hasn’t been a good time for me.’

Art said up and stretched. ‘Me neither. I’m starting to wonder about Mr. Sept. And that fairy…ah well.’

‘And I still don’t know why those men wanted me or Jonas.’ She sighed and ran a hand through her hair ruefully. ‘Damn. Look at my hair. I’ve never had short hair in my life.’

‘Must be annoying to have all that weight on your head though,’ he joked. She rolled her eyes at him, but she was smiling.

‘It’s part of the circus tradition,’ she explained. ‘Girls are expected to have long hair…not a must, but we just do. There’s this girl my age with really gorgeous red hair.’ She sighed. ‘She’d kill to see me look like this.’

‘I think you look fine.’ He shrugged and tilted his head to look at her hair critically. ‘Seriously, Liz did a good job.’

‘Yeah yeah.’ She waved a hand and giggled. ‘It’d grow back anyway. So. Tell me about yourself.’

‘Not much.’ Art drew his knees up to his chin and clasped his hands around his ankles. ‘Funny how I came here…woke up in someone’s garden and was carried home by some farmer. Mr. Lefroy and his family were really nice to me, and his daughter Laurel’s one of my best friends now. Not that I have many friends…but she’s been close to me and all that. Then Mr. Sept came and said that he wanted me to be his assistant in his book-trading business. Guess I left to seek my fortune, like young men are wont to do.’ He chuckled and shook his head, almost in disbelief.

‘What happened before you woke up in someone’s garden?’ Iris frowned, curious. ‘How did you get there?’

‘I don’t know.’ Art made a face. ‘It’s funny…but…I don’t know. I had no memory at all of whom I was before that; I couldn’t even remember if I had a name!’

‘Ah, I see.’ Iris held her hands up to the fire and watched the flames through the gaps. ‘So why did you choose Art?’

‘Eh?’

‘How come your name is Art then? Did the Lefroys give it to you or what?’

‘It’s…er…short for…Arte – Arthur. It’s a respectable name.’ Art hoped fervently that she wouldn’t notice how pink his ears were by now.

‘Better than Artemis,’ Iris said absently.

‘Yeah, much better,’ he agreed, much too heartily.

Iris shook her head and let loose a loud laugh. Jonas snuffled in his sleep and turned over. Art watched apprehensively as Mr. Sept grunted once and settled deeper into sleep.

‘Okay okay, it was Artemis at first.’ Art rubbed his cheeks and groaned. ‘Don’t tell anyone.’

‘Fine.’ Iris pointed upwards at some object on the mantelpiece. Art followed her gaze curiously. It was a plaque, painted prettily with flowers and birds. It reminded him of the flowered plaque on the Lefroys’ bathroom door. He stood up and handed it down to Iris.

‘”When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade”,’ Iris read out solemnly. She turned a solemn face to Art and pulled her lips down with her fingers. ‘Stupid saying.’

‘No it isn’t,’ he protested, taking the plaque from her. It really did look a lot like the Lefroys’. Maybe the same person had made it.

‘It doesn’t make sense, you know.’ The girl tutted and clicked her tongue. ‘I mean, how the hell are you supposed to make lemonade with just a lemon? Don’t you need water, and something to stir it in, plus something to stir it with, and don’t you need to include sugar too, or else it’d be too sour?’

‘You can be very literal, can you,’ Art said, raising his eyebrows quizzically.

‘Yep, of course I can. When you’ve lived as long as I have in the circus, you tend to be. It’s not that romantic, you know, being in the circus. It’s boring. Very. Oh yeah, and you know that other saying: “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get”?’

‘Er…yeah – what about it?’

‘They should have added: “Mind the nuts”. Not nuts as in…real nuts, but the figurative nuts, you know, crazy people. I’ve noticed that chocolate wrappers tend to have “May contain traces of nut” on them, especially those very sweet ones from factories.’ Iris shuddered. ‘I hate those kinds, the factory ones. My father used to get real chocolates from his clients, those rich people who would invite us to their functions to perform, and the kids would be rewarded with chocolates too.’ She sighed and added dreamily, ‘Those were the days. Chocolate was bittersweet, and creamy, and some had fillings…’

‘You were saying about the nuts,’ Art prompted. ‘Crazy people. It’s an interesting thought.’

‘Well yeah, crazy people,’ Iris said, waving a hand dramatically to emphasize her point. ‘Those nutters who are out to get you, like those two men. We should be looking out for them, mind you, and not worry all the time about the unexpected aspects of life. Mind the nuts, see?’

‘Right.’ Art shook himself to loosen the tension in his feet. It felt like old times back in the Lefroys’ home, where Laurel would make him listen to her wild mind-boggling scientific theories after dinner every evening. Iris was very much different than Laurel – Laurel would never have denounced any saying as nonsensical or “stupid”; to her, every fact had to be investigated and verified before one could finally pronounce it as “rubbish” – but Iris was fun in her own way. She was sarcastic, definitely, and she did have a pretty odd sense of humor. Besides, she was being nice to him now, and that was an improvement over the past few days –

‘Art. Psssst.’

Art shook himself again and sighed sleepily. He must be drifting off. Iris had definitely not said ‘Psst’, because she was now bent over the plaque, murmuring to herself as she traced the delicate flowers and artwork.

‘Oi, Art. Pssssst!’

There was the voice again. Someone tapped softly against the glass of the nearest window. Iris’s head snapped up, alert and wary. Art turned sleepily to look.

‘Hey boy, finally, let me in!’

Art’s scream was abruptly cut off when Iris clamped a hand over his mouth.

‘Hush,’ she hissed into his ear. ‘I’ll let him in. Don’t wake the others.’