Raven and Rue // Lindensea 1

Chapter 2: The Russian Rider

One afternoon a swallow spoke to Pip on its way south for the winter, telling him that in the valley it had just flown over, it had seen a great many brightly dressed people living on the common in little houses on wheels, and there were horses grazing in the grass. Pip knew it must be a circus being held in the nearby market town, and his head became filled with thoughts of seeing horses and their riders perform there.

He ran home and begged his father, pulling on his arm, "Papa, may we go to see the circus at Ash Tree Hill? Please, Papa?"

To his surprise, his father answered, "I suppose it is our duty to attend these village affairs, and be seen mixing with the common folk. Yes Pip, I think we should go. Thank you for bringing it to my attention." There was just a flicker of a wink from him when he said that last part, and Pip thought his father might be teasing him.

Pip thought they would be going that very afternoon, but his mother laughed, and said, "In a few days, if you're a good boy."

On Saturday evening, Pip's father called for a carriage to attend them. Pip took a moment to quietly tell the horses they weren't going very far and were travelling a safe road before he hopped in to sit in the carriage, squeezed between his mother and father. He could have sat opposite them, but nobody likes to face the wrong way while travelling. In a moment, he heard the driver call out to the horses, and they began moving. Pip was glad not to hear the sound of a whip.

Ash Tree Hill was crowded with sightseers. A circus was a rare treat in the small town, and it seemed as if everyone had come for it. There were courting couples in their best clothes, families holding tight to each other so nobody got lost, sturdy farmers, apple-cheeked shopkeepers, old men and women. Children blew tin horns and yelled in excitement, babies cried. Above this clamour was the music of a brass band, and a voice shouting for them to step right up and buy a ticket for the circus.

"Hurry, Papa, or we will miss out," Pip said anxiously, but his father said he had already bought their tickets.

"I take care of my family, Pip," his father said, "and I wouldn't bother travelling all this way for nothing."

Once they reached the circus on the common, Pip's father led them into the vast canvas tent, smiling at the simple folk, and pressing a silver coin into the hand of the man who showed them the way. Their seats were right at the top, and were grand and comfortable, because Pip's father was a gentleman in a fine suit.

Pip's mother was a vision in her blue silk gown, her blonde hair curling around her shoulders, so that many people turned and stared at her, as if a fairy queen had come amongst them. Pip's father was proud of having such a beautiful wife, and his smiles grew broader at the attention she drew.

Pip leaned over the velvet barrier, sucking on a stick of rock, and being careful not to get any on his lilac suit trimmed with lace. He breathed in the smell of the sawdust, the scent of animals. 

Pip had hoped for a chance to speak to one of the horses, but he was disappointed. When they walked by them on the common, his parents had hurried him past, telling him not to dawdle, and now he was in the circus tent, he was so high up in the seats for gentlefolk that there was no chance for him to get into conversation.

In later years, he could not remember most of the show. There were acrobats, jugglers, trapeze artists, tightrope walkers, clowns, and dancing dogs, but whatever impact they had on Pip was forgotten when the horses began.

There were six tiny ponies from the Zetland Isles who galloped around the ring together like a pack of excited puppies. Their trainer ran beside them, leading them around a course of obstacles, and the crowd clapped and cheered. The smallest pony of all had been trained to make little mistakes so that people laughed, and then the ponies ran in a neat figure of eight formation before trotting out of the ring, the little one half a step behind as if not quite able to keep up.