Tranquilla

Eugo sat silently, still watching the two women dance in a joyful song. He didn’t know who the girl was, nor did it really matter, but at least Fiz was smiling. 

In it he saw so much emotion, yes there was joy but also a sadness. One that she seemed to overcome with each passing second, and it brightened. Unlike a dreaded candle.

Eugo amused himself with the idea that Fiz could surpass the existence of all candles. She never extinguished; her vivid shine twinkled even from afar. Eugo saw the young girl leech from it, not out of cruelty but on a quest for joy. A joy which could only be found in someone brighter than yourself.

Sometime later Eugo carefully balanced is way over to the pair. While Fiz might have practice, and the girl, a small stature. Eugo had his thin body which had never practiced the art of balancing. Flipping and flopping across the metal minefield Eugo’s feet attempted to dance their way to Fiz.

With a hop, skip and jump his feet were trapped in seemingly invisible gaps that swallowed him whole. Eugo could have sworn this was the path Fiz took… at the very least he hadn’t taken it successfully.

“…”

Eugo realised he couldn’t move; his leg was properly wedged inside the abyss below him. He felt a mix of embarrassment and a very primitive disappointment. “One day” thought the boy “one day I’ll actually be able to traverse these bloody potholes.”

Across the way Fiz had heard Eugo crash through the metal and was now bounding towards him with a small child bouncing behind. “How the hell does she do it…” muttered the boy this time looking down in envy. 

He did take some further time to admire the pair though, each with coal hair and a seemingly endless supply of energy, they were similar to a pair of shovels.

“How ya going there Mr…” Fiz said doing her best to stifle a laugh

“I’m going great Fiz, how about you.”

“Ah, well I found this here lil missy, cute as one o my steam engines.”

“That’s great… My leg is getting kinda sore here.” Said a still embarrassed and now grimacing Eugo.

“Well, I’d better help you out then Mr. Hey lil missy, want to help out the nice Mr over here?”

Eugo saw the girl nod happily, and the two did their best to drag him out. They succeeded after only a few scrapes and bruises, the loss of an eye and with Eugo’s amputated leg. That’s how Eugo imagined it at least.

Reality was far more boring, Fiz simply lifted him out within about five seconds and plopped him down somewhere more stable. With a suitably satisfied look she placed herself, and the child atop her lap.

For some time Eugo wished to simply rest, let the warm silence wrap around him and grant the pleasure of peace. Fiz seemed to want to do the same, her eyes slowly flittered shut as she laid back into her bed. 

Although before Eugo fell asleep he was poked in the side… and again… and one last time for good measure.

The girl beside him observed Eugo as though he were a dust-mite, her growing eyes scanned him seemingly wanting something. Eugo was slightly inexperienced in this department so he kinda just stared back. 

The girl’s eyes kept growing and Eugo kept staring, until eventually the girl blinked. This staring competition would go to Eugo, but maybe next time he wouldn’t be so lucky.

At some point Eugo noticed Fiz’s face gently looking at him, nothing overly optimistic or bright. Her smile had thinned but it still creeped up at either edge to form the two largest dimples he would see throughout his day. 

There was something more natural about it, as Eugo was almost thankful to know that Fiz could relax. He never once believed her bright smile was a façade, whether out of goodness or ignorance he knew not. Either way, it meant that whenever he saw her true smile it was “beautiful.”

Eugo saw the girl’s cheeks brighten for a few seconds, and her eyes most definitely widened. Whereas Eugo himself felt the sufficient need to permanently sentence this habit of his to the fiery flames of candelabra hell. 

Still, in a way Eugo seemed content with her reaction and similarly drifted off to sleep.

§

It didn’t feel like he had been sleeping long, in fact Eugo was quite enjoying it. Although a sudden jolt cause by something crushing his stomach woke him up. 

A very bored and slightly needy girl was asking for his attention, she had already woken up Fiz, who was sitting groggily attempting to restart her optimism.

“Morning Fiz.”

“G’morning to you too Mr.”

“How was your sleep?” Inquired Eugo, ignoring the girl on his chest.

“Mine was good, and yours Mr?”

Eugo let out a small grumble muffled by a young girl kicking his stomach.

“Where’d you find her Fiz?”

“Out somewhere… I think she’ll be staying with me for a while. Oh, and the missy’s name is Til.”

Upon hearing her name, the girl proudly posed… crushing the human beneath her into a flat shovel

“So what have you been up to Eugo?”

“I went and saw Ilken.”

“The white-haired kid?”

“Yep.”

“The kid who wants to start a revolution?”

“That’d be the one.”

“So how’d it go… you convince him out of it.” 

“No.” mumbled Eugo staring vacantly into the distance. “What do you think about it Fiz?”

“About what?”

“A revolution.”

“Well… I ain’t very opinionated about those things, I kinda just live here. I don’t really do much, but I guess I’d be sad if I couldn’t come back here. I’ll be watching from a distance though, I have the lil missy here now, and you Mr?”

Eugo thought for a second, what did he think about the revolution. He couldn’t say he wasn’t curious about the castle, or of the outside. Although was it worth possible damnation to get there? He wasn’t sure. 

What he did know is that Ilken shouldn’t be the one leading it, and it was for that sole reason that he was opposed to the idea. After all, as of recent, Eugo had stopped worrying about his own life, and more about others… not that it worked out for him in the case of George, or Ilken for that matter. 

It was at this moment that Eugo came to a realisation, he was completely useless.

“I’d say that even if I did care, I wouldn’t be able to do very much.”

“Oh I’m sure that ain’t true Mr, everyone knows that at some point, steam will save the day; and you can build steam engines!” exclaimed Fiz passionately. 

Though before she could begin rambling, her attention was drawn to the pouting child beside her.

“Mr, come and help me entertain lil missy here.”

“…Ok, sure thing Fiz”

The trio were about to wander deeper into the scrap heap but were interrupted by a shockwave vibrating throughout the dome.

Eugo knew what it was before he turned to see it, but the rising smoke proved his hypothesis. Leaving Fiz and Til behind he ran in the direction of the smoke, possibly faster than he ever had in his life. 

His thin legs seemed to crack as they hit the ground, each leap or bound was followed by a slip. The castle didn’t grow any closer. It just stood there, frozen in time. Eugo’s mind seemed to warp at the thought and his eyes boggled from the pain in his legs.

Almost collapsing he dragged his way to the castle entrance. It had been blown wide open still with fresh gas bellowing out from inside, countless people saw the carnage. 

Some just stood there, unsure of what they should do. Others seemed confused, while some ran in. There were tears, screams and cries cascading their way around Eugo, and in the centre was Ilken.

He walked inside the castle, backed by his small army. He stood solitary, holding a single weapon in the air, a gun. Seemingly as a sign of protest he walked forwards into the castle. There were no Spotless in sight, either hiding or perhaps already dead.

Eugo crept slowly forwards, but before he could say or do anything Ilken ran inside. They were out of sight before he could even blink. At the same time, he saw George, similarly starstruck at the turn of events. Both dropped to knees, pleading for a peaceful resolution, yet it was not to be.

The revolution had begun.