Chapter 7

Maerwynn let out a huffy sigh. Thedrick paused his strumming on his lute, raising a questioning eyebrow at the princess, who was seated on the castle roof wall between the jester and Beowulf, looking out across the castle town.

“What’s wrong sweetie?” Thedrick asked gently, smiling down at his daughter.

“I want to go to the fair!” Maerwynn lamented, not taking her eyes off the bustle of the town far below them.

“Would you perhaps say that it’s not ‘fair’?” Thedrick offered with a stupid grin.

Maerwynn shot him a look, which seemed like she was trying to cover her amusement with annoyance. “No, it’s not fair! Why can’t I go? It looks like fun!”

It was Thedrick’s turn to sigh now, his grin falling away. “Well, the last time we tried having fun, I ended up in the dungeon for several days…” he pointed out softly.

“We’ll stay close to Wulfy this time, then we won’t get in trouble again!” Maerwynn pressed, now turning to look up at Thedrick with those big red eyes.

Thedrick pursed his lips, then exchanged a glance with Beowulf. Maerwynn quickly turned her attention to her bodyguard, looking up at him with the same pleading eyes.

Beowulf sighed in defeat. “I guess we can go ask Richard… he’s the one you have to convince to let you go,” he explained to the child.

Nodding quickly, Maerwynn set her mouth in a firm line, before getting to her feet on the wall. Beowulf quickly reached out and picked her up, lifting her to hold her against his chest as he rose to his feet. Thedrick hopped down off the wall as well, following the large soldier through the late queen’s garden and back into the castle.

They made their way down through the castle and headed to the king’s private study. Beowulf only needed one gigantic hand to hold the small princess against him, so used the other to gently knock on the door, Thedrick standing just behind him. Thedrick glanced between the two guards who were standing on either side of the door, who were watching the three of them with mild interest.

Richard’s voice called out from within for them to enter, so Beowulf pushed open the big door gently, moving into the room with Thedrick following on his heels. Once inside Beowulf placed Maerwynn down on the floor, the princess quickly running over to where Richard was sitting at his desk.

“And to what do I owe the pleasure?” Richard asked with a smile as he turned to look down at the princess.

Maerwynn stared up at him pleadingly. “I would really like to go to the fair! Please!” she blurted out, clearly unable to contain her excitement in her tiny body.

Richard’s smile fell away and he looked serious for a moment. “Maerwynn…” he started, sounding unsure.

“Please! I’ll stay close to Beowulf, I promise! He’ll keep me safe,” she pleaded desperately, giving Richard her best beseeching look. Thedrick wondered if that was what he looked like when he did that to Beowulf and others.

Letting out a defeated sigh, Richard glanced away from the princess. “How can I say no to that…” he mumbled quietly, before straightening up and pulling himself together. “Alright, you can go with Beowulf and Thedrick, as long as you let me send along a couple more guards as backup, to watch from afar.”

“Okay!!!” Maerwynn exclaimed in excitement, bouncing on the spot in a very familiar manner. Richard leaned down to give her a quick peck on the forehead, before she turned and scurried back over to Beowulf as fast as her little legs could manage. She was then reaching up towards the giant soldier, who bent down to scoop her up into his arms once more.

“Oh, and take Effie with you too,” Richard added as an afterthought.

“Aw, do we have to?” Thedrick started complaining without even thinking. “She’s no fun!”

“Exactly, she’s more responsible than the pair of you put together,” Richard pointed out as he turned his attention back down to the notes on his desk. “Now run along and find her, and then Cassian to grab some extra guards to go with you.”

Thedrick huffed slightly as Beowulf ushered him out of the study and into the hallway. “Come on now, Thedrick, Effie is nice,” Beowulf said as they started heading towards the princess’s room.

“She takes things too seriously, such a killjoy,” Thedrick grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest as he walked.

“Just because you’ve never taken anything seriously in your life,” Beowulf teased, which caused Maerwynn to giggle.

“Well, why should I? The universe keeps trying to kill me, I should try to have fun before it finally sticks,” Thedrick said in a slightly light-hearted manner, some of his grumpiness falling away.

Soon the group of them arrived at the princess’s room, and they found Effie tidying up within. Pausing what she was doing, the nursemaid looked up at the group questioningly, probably not expecting to see them here at this time of day.

“We’re going to the fair Effie!” Maerwynn announced, bouncing in Beowulf’s arms.

Now Effie looked even more befuddled, her arms falling to her sides. “Oh?” was all she could seem to say.

“The king gave her permission for a brief trip into town, as long as we all go with her, and some extra guards as well,” Beowulf explained as he set the princess down on the floor again. Maerwynn ran over to the nursemaid and tugged on her skirt, smiling up at her.

“Well then… we best get you all dressed up then, yes?” Effie said to Maerwynn, though she didn’t sound thrilled about it, a concerned look on her face. The princess nodded up at her eagerly.

“I guess I’ll go find Cassian about the guards,” Thedrick said quickly, so that he wouldn’t be stuck with Effie. He flashed Beowulf a grin before turning and walking out of the room again.

****

The princess and her entourage headed out of the castle together and into town. Maerwynn was dressed up in one of her favourite frocks, coloured bright blue and gold like the sun goddess, and was being carried by her massive bodyguard as usual. Thedrick and Effie flanked Beowulf, and the guards Cassian had assigned them followed behind, one of them being Emil.

The fair was set up on the main street of the town, which was now lined with stalls and games and performers, colourful decorations hanging from the buildings and across the street and music wafted through the air. Once they arrived, Thedrick could see Maerwynn’s eyes go wide as she looked around at all the people moving around and interacting with each other. Of course, once people noticed them, she got a lot of looks in return, and people started approaching their group to talk to the princess.

Soon there was a small crowd of people gathered around them, cooing over the child heir, talking to her and offering her gifts. Once she got to hold each thing they passed to her, Effie would take the items and put them in a basket she had brought along for this exact purpose. Thedrick noticed the looks people were giving him and Maerwynn, and he started to feel a bit uncomfortable. So, the jester quickly slipped away into the crowd, secure in the knowledge that Beowulf and the others would take good care of his daughter and keep her safe.

Thedrick started wandering around the fair, checking out the different stalls and performers. He was so small that a lot of people didn’t pay him much mind, despite his strange appearance and jesters clothing. That was until he reached the town square, where a small stage was set up. When Thedrick saw the performers on and around the stage, he froze.

The one who stood out the most was a very large muscular man, almost the same size as Beowulf. He was carrying a couple of barrels with relative ease, under the directions of a smaller woman. Standing on the stage was a figure with a cloak pulled over their head and a mask covering their face, who was juggling knives. Watching them was a short man with blonde hair covered by a hat and a curled thin moustache, along with two small children who wore colourful jumpsuits and blank expressions.

Thedrick felt like his lungs were seizing up on him as he stared at those familiar figures, his mind suddenly jolted back into the past.

****

His aching body was the first thing Thedrick became aware of as he slowly regained consciousness. He had somewhat awkwardly squished himself down in between some crates near the campfire, to help give him a greater sense of security and hide him from view in case the guards found the campsite. It was a little uncomfortable, but at least he was someone warmed by the fire and sheltered from any wind, which had been enough to allow him to relax into a light sleep.

Opening his eyes, Thedrick was startled into more alertness by the sight of two small round faces looking down at him. The faces appeared to belong to two small identical children, who were staring at him blankly. Thedrick scrambled to try and push himself further back into the space between the boxes, away from the strange children.

“Bonita, Beauregarde, what are you two looking at?” a female voice loudly called out over the campsite. Fresh fear gripped Thedrick as he heard footsteps approaching. The twins looked up at whoever was coming over, and soon there was the face of a woman looking down at where Thedrick was huddled between the crates as well. 

The woman had a round face with soft features, and mousey brown hair pulled up into two buns. Her eyes widened as she looked at the small cowering vampire.

“Oh! Well hello there little guy!” she exclaimed with surprise. “Where did you come from?”

Thedrick didn’t reply, just kept staring up at her, frozen in fear.

The woman frowned slightly, appearing concerned. “That doesn’t look like a very comfortable spot, you know. Would you like to come out? Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you,” she reassured gently.

Raising his eyebrows, Thedrick looked up at her in confusion, some of the tension in his muscles falling away. Then he started trying to get up, but he found that he had wedged himself too well in between the crates. He scrambled for purchase to try and pull himself out, but he was stuck. He looked back up at the woman pitifully.

“Oh no, are you stuck dear? Hold on, we’ll get you out of there,” she said, and then turned to look away for a moment. “Clay dearest, could you come and move one of these boxes? There’s a small, scared child hiding here, he seems to have gotten himself a little stuck.”

The woman looked back at Thedrick with a reassuring smile, and the vampire heard some heavy footsteps approaching. Soon another face appeared above him, this one belonging to a large man with short dark hair and a large moustache. His thick eyebrows raised in surprise as he looked down at the vampire, and then soon he was bending down and carefully lifting away one of the crates, freeing Thedrick. 

Thedrick sat up properly as the large man moved the crate away, and the woman quickly knelt down next to him, looking down at his face in worry. Thedrick looked back at her with uncertainty, and then tried to get to his feet, wincing in pain as he put pressure on his scraped and bruised soles.

Then the woman reached out and wrapped her arms around him, Thedrick going stiff in surprise as she picked up his small frame without much effort, holding him against her chest. “Let's get you cleaned up, shall we?” she said as she started carrying him over to one of the caravans. Thedrick clung to her for balance as he stared over her shoulder with wide eyes. 

As she moved away with him, he could see there was a small group of different people who had gathered around the crates he had been hiding between. This included the strange twin children Bonita and Beauregarde, and the large, muscular man Clay, but also three others: a girl around Thedrick’s age that looked a lot like the woman carrying him, a small man with blonde hair and a moustache wearing a hat, and a slightly taller figure with a hood on wearing a mask with a surprised expression on it. They all watched as the woman carried Thedrick into the caravan.

Once inside, the woman carefully set Thedrick down on his feet and closed the caravan door behind them. She then started grabbing and gently pulling off his dirty clothes, stripping him down to his undergarments. Thedrick just stood there, not moving or making any protests. Then she picked him up again and carried him over to a bed, which she sat him down on.

“Now sit right there dear while I get some washcloths,” she instructed gently, and then moved away to presumably do just that. Thedrick stayed put on the soft mattress, looking around the caravan while he waited. The wooden walls were painted all sorts of colours, some even having designs or pictures. All sorts of things hung from the walls and ceiling, including dried herbs and flowers, strings of crystals, and even bones. 

The woman hurried back over to him with a bucket and some cloth. She set to work, first working on cleaning his dirt and blood covered face and hands. “Look at you… such a mess… don’t worry, I’ll fix you right up little one…” she said as she worked. She was treating him as if he was one of her own children who had just come home from playing in the woods.

Thedrick still remained silent, still reeling in disbelief at what was happening to him. Soon the woman started on cleaning his feet, and he hissed slightly in pain when she touched them, trying to yank his leg away out of reflex, tears springing into his eyes.

“Try to hold still dear, I’ll take care of your poor feet,” she assured as she gently started cleaning them. “What’s your name, sweetie? Mine is Joy,” she offered, clearly as an attempt to distract him from the pain.

Thedrick opened his mouth, which felt so dry after all his exertion with no water. “Th-Thedrick…” he croaked out.

“Oh dear, you sound parched! Let me fetch you a drink,” Joy said as she finished cleaning his injured feet, quickly getting up and gathering up the cloth and bucket to take them with her. She was only gone for a few moments before she returned holding a cup in one hand and bandages in the other. She held out the cup towards the vampire, who took it carefully in his small hands, bringing it to his lips and gingerly taking a sip. Soon he was swallowing the water with more gusto, as Joy got down on her knees again and started to bandage his feet.

“There, that’s much better dear,” Joy said when she finished and rose again, taking the cup from Thedrick’s hands and placing it off to the side. “Are you hungry at all?” she asked next, and Thedrick shook his head, despite the fact he was starving as always.

Thedrick had started shivering slightly from the cold, considering he was still only dressed in his undergarments, the warmth from sleeping by the fire having now faded. Joy gave him a worried look, and she reached out to touch his upper arm gently. Her hand felt very warm against his skin.

“Oh dear, you feel so cold, let me go fetch you something to wear!” Joy exclaimed with concern, and quickly exited the caravan, leaving Thedrick alone for a moment. He wrapped his arms around himself as he trembled away for a short while waiting for her to return, examining his surroundings again to keep himself occupied.

Soon Joy returned with a bundle of clothing in her arms. She set it down on the bed next to him and then proceeded to assist him to get dressed, pulling the clothing on to cover his small thin body.

“There, that will be much better for you,” she said with a satisfied nod, looking him over. Thedrick certainly felt warmer, though the texture of the clothing was a little scratchy against his sensitive skin, which he usually wore silk against.

Joy then knelt down in front of Thedrick and took his small hands, which she had covered with woollen mittens, in her own. She looked into his eyes, and he tried not to shy away.

“Thedrick, dear, are you lost?” she asked gently, searching his face.

Thedrick was slightly taken back by the question, though he should have expected it. He slowly shook his head. Being lost implied he had somewhere to return to, but he could never go back. He was on his own now.

Joy nodded solemnly in agreement. “Of course, because you are found now, right? Welcome home dear.”

Thedrick’s eyes widened slightly, and he let out a choked sob. Joy’s expression turned to concern as he started to cry, and she quickly got up and sat on the bed next to him before pulling him into her lap and holding him.

“Don’t cry dear, I’m here for you,” she tried to comfort him, stroking his back gently. Thedrick buried his face against her as sobs wracked his small frame.

Once he calmed down and she cleaned up his teary face, Joy tucked Thedrick into her bed, and then after taking off her outerwear, climbed in with him, laying down next to him and holding him close to her body again to keep him warm. Thedrick sniffled as he laid against the soft mattress, soaking up the warmth that surrounded him, and soon drifted off to sleep again, safe and snug this time.