A - Chapter 1 Beneath the Big Top (First Draft)

With a roar, the tiger bounded toward the man in the kahki shirt.
Holding a chair in one hand and a coiled whip in the other, Alfred
hurtled to his knees as the animal leaped into the air. The tiger
sailed over his head, landing behind him with barely a sound.

Alfred sprang to his feet and whirled to face the predator. He kept the
chair between them as the tiger circled. Cautiously he moved closer,
thrusting the chair back and forth as he attempted to master the beast.
A powerful paw swiped the chair, but he held on.

And the tiger roared.

Alfred cracked his whip and the sound echoed like a firecracker. "Oohs"
and "ahhs" permeated through the crowd as the tiger leaped through a
ring of fire. Again the whip cracked. The tiger stood on her hind legs,
towering over over the liontamer. Alfred threw the chair away and the
crowd gasped in protest. Once more the resounding crack of the whip
exploded throughout the arena. The tiger jumped onto a podium where she
sat motionless, waiting and watching.

Tossing his whip to the ground, Alfred backed away. Deafening applause
rewarded him as he turned to the audience. He raised his hands in
triumph and with one last deep bow, moved to exit the enclosure.

Suddenly, he heard someone cry, "Look out behind you!"

Alfred wheeled around, only to find the giant cat already airborne. She
landed on his chest, knocking him backwards to the ground. Man and
beast wrestled together in a struggle for survival as fifteen hundred
people viewed the scene with disbelief.

Pinned beneath the tiger, Alfred tried desperately to gain the upper
hand. He brought his legs up underneath the cat and with all his
strength kicked upwards, tossing her over his head. He scrambled away
as she hit the dirt, flank first.

In less than a heartbeat the wildcat pounced. Her death cry chilled the
very marrow of all who watched. In a blur of hands and whiskers, fur
and elbows, Alfred grappled with the beast.

Time turned sluggish for the onlookers as they held their breath,
afraid to watch but unable to look away. They prayed for a miracle and
after what seemed an age, their prayers were delivered. Alfred finally
had charge of the situation, exhausted but unscathed. The audience
continued to watch with nervous anticipation.

Both adversaries lay locked together on the ground. Alfred's legs were
wrapped around the animal from behind, his arms curled tightly around
her neck. The tiger fought back fiercely, far from subdued.

"Ringmaster," yelled Alfred.

Immediately, the Ringmaster blew his whistle and a spindly,
pocket-sized clown hurried in, carrying a diamond studded collar
attached to a leather leash. He skidded to a stop when he saw the
tiger.

"I'm not going in there," he said, pointing at the large animal
enclosure.

"The liontamer needs the halter," the Ringmaster said into a
microphone.

"He can come and get it then," said the clown.

"Bernard," said the Ringmaster in a warning tone.

"Nope," said the clown, shaking his head.

"I'm counting to three," said the Ringmaster.

The clown stubbornly folded his arms.

"One -- "

The clown inspected his fingernails.

"Two -- "

The clown yawned.

"Three."

The Ringmaster's whistle shrilled. An ugly, barrel-chested giant ambled
into the arena. Graced with an overgrown nose and protruding jaw, he
must have stood over seven feet tall.

Bernard forgot all about the man and tiger in the cage when he noticed
the giant bearing down on him. Bounding into action, he skipped around
the human mountain, dodging, ducking and side-stepping as meaty arms
tried to catch him. He darted between tree-trunk legs, pulling faces
and cartwheeling like a pesky gnat.

Without warning, the tiger roared inside the cage.

The clown squealed and vaulted into the giant's arms. Grunting, the
giant pried Bernard away with one arm, lifting him by the suspenders so
they were face to face. The clown's little legs raced as he tried to
dash away in mid-air. But he was too high off the ground to gain any
momentum.

"Put me down," cried Bernard. "Help! Help!" He tried to run faster as
he dangled in the giant's grip

"Don't make Gustav angry," said the giant in a deep, rumbling
voice.

"Bernard," said the Ringmaster, "do we have your cooperation?"

"Yes, boss," cried Bernard, "anything you say. Just tell this behemoth
to put me down."

The giant growled and tightened his grip on the clown. Bernard put up
his fists defensively. From a distance the pair were the image of
puppet and puppeteer and the audience roared with laughter.

"Gustav," said the Ringmaster, "let him
down."

The giant grudgingly released his prisoner and Bernard scampered to
complete his chore. He opened the cage door and hurled the leash at the
liontamer. Within a minute the tiger was tethered and sitting meekly at
Alfred's feet. The crowd bellowed their approval.

A team of roustabouts entered the ring as Alfred led the tiger outside
the cage. They began dismantling the animal enclosure, preparing the
arena for the next act.

The Ringmaster took his place on the dais, smiling and waving to the
audience. "Let's give a big thank you to our performers tonight," he
said, commencing the introductions. "Bernard the clown."

The crowd cheered as the little clown danced about like pugilist. They
laughed as he ran around the giant, and they applauded with gusto as he
finally rode out of the arena on a tiny unicycle.

"Gustav, the giant from Bulgaria," came the Ringmaster's voice through
the sound system. The giant puffed out his chest and curled his lip,
striving to appear mean and repugnant. The crowd hailed him with
adulation as he too departed the arena.

"Alfred the liontamer," cried the Ringmaster, "and everyone's favourite
tiger, Topaz." The crowd went wild. Alfred and Topaz paraded around the
arena before disappearing through the backdoor.

The Ringmaster was left alone with the crowd beneath the Big Top.

"Ladies and gentleman," he said, "coming up in our show is probably the
most exciting act you'll see anywhere this year. In just a short while,
the lovely, the incredibly beautiful Melody Blister will perform her
death defying trapeze act. Blindfolded, and with no safety net, she
will twist and turn above our heads with the grace of a dove." He
waited for the whistles and cheers to subside before continuing his
speech. "But first, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce our very
special stunt riders. Please put your hands together for the richly
radiant Ruby Rhinestone and her talented daughter, Marie-Claire."

Beyond the backdoor of the main arena, Ruby and Marie-Claire stood on
the backs of their horses. Their colourful costumes were laden with
plumes and sequins, their smiles plastered in place upon heavily
made-up faces. Alfred stood aside as they rode past him into the Big
Top. The applause was thunderous as they entered, and he caught a
glimpse of the pair cantering around the arena before the tent flaps
were thrown closed by the circus attendants.

He glanced down at the tiger waiting patiently by his side. He leaned
down to remove the collar he knew she hated. "Come Topaz," he said
absently as his thoughts turned to more important matters. He had to
find his wife.

He moved away from the Big Top, the tiger following like an obedient
puppy.

********

Inside the smaller training tent, the little girl watched in awe as the
circus' star somersaulted some thirty feet off the ground.

Melody Blister looked dazzling in red. The sequins and rhinestones of
her costume caught the light as she twisted through the air.

A handsome man, similarly dressed, hung by his knees from one of the
three trapezes which swung from the roof. He caught Melody easily as
she stretched out in mid-air. More twists and somersaults followed,
until finally the beautiful star stood safely on a narrow platform,
high off the ground.

A second man in a similar red costume stood by her side. His name was
Anton and he placed a black, silken blindfold across her eyes.

The little girl watched wide eyed as Anton assisted Melody to the
trapeze. She looked as though she were born in the air, her performance
just as spectacular and graceful without her eyes to see.

Alfred and Topaz entered the tent as Melody somersaulted toward the
dangling man on the trapeze. Alfred watched breathlessly as she went
through her routine without incident.

"Charlotte," he called softly.

The little girl looked around to see her father. "Daddy," she said
happily, throwing herself into his arms. "Isn't she beautiful?"

"Yes, she is," he said. "I think you're up next, peanut. Why don't you
find your brother and head over to the Big Top?"

"Okay, dad. Wish me luck." She planted a kiss on his cheek. "Are you
going to come and watch?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. Go on now, I have to talk to your
mother first."

Charlotte extricated herself from her father's hold. She saw the tiger
sitting behind him. "Topaz," she threw her arms around the giant cat,
burying her face in the animal's fur. The tiger purred in the child's
embrace.

"Charlotte," her father said sternly. She grinned at him and ran from
the tent.

Alfred looked up just as Melody finished her routine. She sat on her
own swinging trapeze and removed the blindfold.

"Thanks Sergei. I think we're ready," she said. "How do you
feel?"

"Melody," called Alfred from below.

Melody's face lit up when she saw him. "Alfred."

She fell backwards off the trapeze and allowed the safety net to catch
her, something she'd done a thousand times before. She made her way to
the edge of the net, then dismounted by rolling over the side. Alfred
met her as she dismounted.

They were a stunning couple. Alfred was tall and athletic, with a
rumpled mop of sandy hair. Melody was small beside him, her violet eyes
sparkling like a morning sky after a storm. Her glorious mane of thick,
raven coloured hair was fastened high on her head. A single
diamond-crusted comb was the only adornment she wore there. It had been
her mother's before she died and was the most precious thing she owned.
It brought her good luck, she always said.

"What is this foolishness about removing the safety net?" Alfred
asked.

"Alfred, we've been over this."

"Yes, and I thought we agreed you weren't going to do it."

"The circus is going under. Mr. O'Leary thought it would be a huge
drawcard."

"Listen to me, Melody," said Alfred, "I don't want you to go through
with it."

"It's too late to back out now."

Alfred gripped her shoulders, pleading, "Please, Melody."

"Are you questioning my ability as a performer, Alfred?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Well that's what it sounds like to me."

"You are the most talented trapeze artist in the country, maybe even
the world," said Alfred. "And I love you. Our children love you."

"We'll both be out of a home and a job if I don't do this."

Alfred sighed. "You don't have my blessing on this."

"I have to go," Meldoy said crossly, pushing away from him.

She left the training tent alone.

********

Beneath the Big Top, Charlotte and her older brother Caleb were in the
final stages of their performance. Caleb caught Charlotte as she
somersaulted through the air, a smaller version of her mother. Their
trapeze act was a lot simpler than the one Charlotte had witnessed
inside the training tent but both brother and sister were well rounded
acrobats, trained in trapeze, tumbling and trampoline. At just six
years old Charlotte was drawing crowds of her own, and Caleb who was
four years older, had already been hailed a sensation by the British
press. One day they would be headlining stars just like their
parents.

At the end of their act, Charlotte and Caleb waved to the crowd from
the high platform before descending the ladder. Charlotte scanned the
arena for her father.

"Where's daddy?" she asked Caleb.

"I don't know," he answered.

"He promised to come," she said, disappointed.

Smiling, waving and bowing they left the centre ring.

The roustabouts removed the safety net from the arena as the Ringmaster
introduced the next act. Melody entered to the sounds of pandemonium
from the crowd. Here she was in the flesh, the star of the show. She
was the sweetheart of an entire nation, and the audience were beside
themselves with anticipation.

Melody tried to calm her frazzled nerves as she greeted her fans.
Smiling and waving like a queen, she cried on the inside. She wasn't
sure she could go through this alone. This was the first performance
her husband had missed in their twelve years together.

At the foot of the ladder, Sergei and Anton took the red, velvet cape
she wore, revealing the sparkling, figure hugging costume beneath. She
began her ascent of the ladder, dying a little with every rung she
climbed.

Outside, Alfred sat on the grass a short distance from the Big Top.
Topaz lay by his side. The night air was clear, and the moon shone
brightly in the sky. He could hear the crowd bellowing from the Big
Top. Deathly silence soon followed and he knew Melody had begun her
performance.

Closing his eyes tightly, he prayed to the mighty Lord to remain
vigilant at her side.

Because Alfred himself could not bear to watch.

********