The Tiny Ringmaster (5 page)

The pudgy man turned around exasperated. “Well, come on child! Let’s pick up the pace!”

Ruth obliged and hurried after the quick-stepped man. She reminded herself that she should feel brave. After all, she was the great Ruth that they had all been waiting for.  “Sir, I’m sorry, but what’s the rush?” Ruth hoped this question might slow him down for a minute, but he kept the pace down the hallway.

He began to talk over his shoulder. “The rush, my child, is that we’ve waited years for you! There is no need to waste time now that you’re here!”

Ruth nodded in agreement, even though he couldn’t see her. Rather than slowing down, the little man sped up. Ruth was out of breath from having to hurry behind him. They began to round corners and sprint down hallways faster than she thought her legs could go. The hallways turned into a Labyrinth, winding in and out of each other. She gazed ahead at the servant man, who picked up speed at every turn, and she tried desperately to keep up. She didn’t want to lose him or she might not ever get out.

The walls of the hallways whipped past her at an incredible speed, even though she wasn’t running. The glimmers of gold in the carpet became much more frequent. Ruth didn’t know what was going on, but she didn’t like it. She began to feel motion sickness, and she was dizzy and disoriented. Just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, they reached the end of the hall and came to a screeching halt.

Ruth instinctively held her arms out to prevent her from crashing into the wall. She looked around confused. She didn’t see any doorways or curtains. She tried to catch her breath. She opened her mouth to ask if they had taken a wrong turn somewhere, but the little man spoke again. “Child, why don’t you step back a little? I don’t want this door harming you.”

She looked at him with disbelief. This man obviously spent too much time under these tents. As Ruth soaked in her surroundings, tried to locate her patience, and wondered how much longer it would be until she could hang out with Ginger and Eritol again, the small man began banging on the wall randomly. Three knocks here, one knock there, four knocks quickly in the middle. He repeated his little routine three times before Ruth realized it was some sort of pattern. He paused. The deafening silence broke with a great rumbling. Ruth jumped back.

A large metal door lifted from the ground. Ruth gaped and blinked multiple times. The door was not there minutes ago. It had simply been a wall covered in the red and gold wallpaper. Ruth wanted to pinch herself again to see if she would wake up because this wasn’t fun anymore. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest.

The little man looked back at her with exasperation once the door opened. “Well... come on! What are you waiting for?!”

Ruth followed him cautiously through the doorway, and they walked into a copper room. Ruth was so amazed that she didn’t notice the seven Elders sitting on thrones in front of her. When she saw them, her eyes widened in surprise. A man in the middle, who looked like her grandpa, stood up. Ruth noticed he was older than the others.

He spoke first, “Lucin, that will be all for you. Go and fetch Eritol and Ginger. We will need them shortly.” Lucin clicked his heels, bowed, and ran out the doorway. The electronic door closed behind him. The old man began to speak again, “My child, we hear that your name is Ruth. Is this correct?”

Ruth spoke in the most polite voice that she could muster. “Yes, sir. It is.”

The old man nodded. “Before I give you our story, I must ask you a few questions, so we can be sure that you are who we think you are. Is that ok?”

Ruth swallowed. “Yes, sir. I’ll try my best to answer any question you give me.”

The old man chuckled. “Just the truth, Ms. Ruth. That will be good enough.”

Ruth blushed in embarrassment. She felt like she was saying all the wrong things. She hoped that she could answer the questions this man was about to ask, but she felt off balance after the weird happenings in the hallway.

The old man turned, walked over to his chair, and grabbed a rolled up piece of paper. He was also tall, though not as tall as Eritol. He had curly white hair and a thick white mustache. The suit he wore looked a little like silk purple pajamas. He walked back over to Ruth and cleared his throat. “Alright then. Let’s see. What is your father’s name?”

Ruth was relieved at the easy question. Maybe all the questions would be this easy. She answered strongly, “David.”

The old man nodded. “Very good, very good. How many siblings do you have?”

“One younger brother.”

The old man nodded again. “Do you play any musical instruments?”

“Yes, sir. I play the drums.”

A low murmuring erupted among the other Elders. A lady Elder spoke first. “Tryfod, she answered the Triple Corolect correctly!”

Tryfod hushed his audience. “Yes, I’m aware of this. Calm, everyone... let’s remain calm.” Tryfod walked over to Ruth and knelt down to get closer to her level. “The other Elders are correct. You have answered our questions correctly, but I don’t want you to be fearful. We will never ask you to do anything you don’t want to do. Do you trust us?”

Ruth hesitated. The old man had a kind face, and the questions he asked were simple. Things were easy enough so far, so she decided to go along with it. After all, she’d be waking up soon enough. “Yes, sir, I trust you. You all have been extremely nice.”

Tryfod smiled widely. His expression reminded Ruth of her dad. Tryfod carefully lifted himself from the floor, and he began again. “Well, my child, I’m sure you must be quite curious as to why these large people are so amazed at such a tiny person. Are you ready to learn?”

Ruth nodded excitedly. “Yes please!”

Tryfod chuckled. Ruth liked his laugh. “I appreciate your enthusiasm. Let’s get you a seat so you can be comfortable. Lucin!”

Lucin scurried out from behind a curtain in the back of the room. Ruth didn’t know how he got back there. She was positive he just left out the door not even five minutes ago.

Lucin bowed at Tryfod’s feet. “Yes, Master Tryfod?”

“Lucin, go fetch Mistress Ruth a comfortable chair.”

“Of course, Master Tryfod.”

Before Ruth even had time to blink, Lucin returned with a chair that was a miniature version of the copper thrones the Elders were sitting on. She hadn’t noticed the intricate design molded into them. If her eyes weren’t deceiving her in the dark room, she’d swear the tiny little designs were people. She snapped back into the present as Tryfod dismissed Lucin. “That’ll do Lucin.”

Lucin bowed and scurried off into the darkness. This little servant man confused Ruth. He was grumpier than the rest of the crew, but Ruth figured she might be grumpy too if she had to be a servant. She looked up at Tryfod who was fooling with some books.

He noticed her staring and began to chuckle again. “You must forgive me, dear child. I know youth is an impatient being, but in my old age, details aren’t easily remembered. I haven’t told this story in a very long time, so I want to make sure I get it right.”

The lady Elder that spoke earlier stood up and walked over to Ruth. “Mistress Ruth, my name is Eliza. I’ll be your secondary adviser, second to Tryfod, of course.”

Tryfod looked sternly over his shoulder. “Eliza, let’s not get ahead of ourselves and scare the child.”

Eliza huffed gently. “I was just introducing myself, and I was just wondering if the child needed anything to drink to warm her up. It’s drafty in this blasted room.” Eliza looked down at Ruth again. Ruth noticed her gentle eyes. “Well, my dear, can I get you a blanket or something warm to drink?”

Ruth nodded. “I would appreciate something warm to drink. Thank you.”

Eliza smiled. “Lucin!” She didn’t bother to wait for Lucin to appear before she started her command. “Fetch Mistress Ruth some hot chocolate, will you?”

Lucin appeared by Ruth’s side with the hot chocolate before Ruth had time to figure out which direction he was coming from. He handed her a mug filled to the top with little white marshmallows, just the way she liked it. She took it and tried a small sip. She stopped. It was simply the most delicious hot chocolate that she had ever tasted. It was like drinking a chocolate chip cookie, and the marshmallows were little, sweet pillows of fluff on her tongue. She swallowed the cup in big gulps. She licked her lips.

Eliza winked. “I see you enjoyed the hot chocolate. It’s one of our family recipes.”

Lucin appeared by Ruth’s side, took the empty mug away, and disappeared. Ruth could not figure out that little man. She started to get annoyed with him, but she knew she had bigger things to worry about.

Tryfod shut the book he was holding. He had a worried smile on his face. He nodded to Eliza, who went back to her seat. He walked over to Ruth. “Mistress Ruth, now we can begin.”

Tryfod waved his large hand, and the room dimmed. Ruth peered around uncomfortably. Tryfod waved his hand again and a blue cloud appeared in the middle of the room. Ruth searched the room for a projector or a screen, but she didn’t spot anything. Her heart began to beat a little faster as Tryfod began to tell the story as a movie appeared in the cloud...

“Long ago, our people were simple people - farmers, bakers, and blacksmiths. They lived in a beautiful town on the top of a hill. They weren’t governed by a king or a parliament. They were peaceful and kind, and they worked very hard. At night, they would perform little shows for each other. 

One night while everyone was asleep, a group of bawdy vagrants made their way into the town. They began breaking into people’s houses and slaughtering people’s animals. The townsmen quickly gathered and chased the vagrants out of the town. The next day things returned to normal, and that night there was a special performance to lighten everyone’s spirits.

While our people were enjoying the show, a large army of the vagrants made their way into the town again. They pillaged, stole, and destroyed. Eventually, they made their way into the tent on the edge of town. The townspeople were now outnumbered and had to surrender.