Chapter three.

Moosty looked a bit nervous at the pussilainious sitting calmly on his bed licking a front paw. "Are you sure you wouldn´t rather be out in the kitchen beside the warm stove?" he asked. But Lula just shook her head and claimed she would like the company if it was O.K. with him.
So he undressed and got under the covers and even place the top corner gently over Lula´s back so she wouldn´t get cold. Forgetting in his sweet wish to care for her that pussilainiousses have thick fur to keep them warm in the snow and ice in the mountains they originally came from
After a bit Lula managed to get him to tell her what had happened to make him such a sad little troll. He did protest that he was big and ugly, but then he started telling.
And although he sniffled a bit telling it he also felt much better afterwards and fell asleep with a arm around his purring friend. Such is the charm - or magic, if you like - of pussilainiousses, that he felt that he could now live on without blaming himself every minute of the day - and especially every minute of the night - for not having said the right thing or done the right deed
Lula lay awake a bit after Moosty had fallen asleep. And anybody seen her bared teeth and raised furred would have thought twice before petting her or calling her cute. Felicia herself might be quite happy she was far away in Ixt that night or some claws would probably have scratched her all Lula could
Moosty hadn´t "run away with circus" as Billy Bob had laughed. He had gotten a job when the Greenbranch Circus passing by the little town of Riverton he lived in.
A job which consisted of juggling, make small magic tricks and some acrobatics and singing to the sound of his harp. In short; entertaining in between the main gigs at the show
And in the beginning that went very well. Moosty had tried to make people laugh and like him since he had been born and since he was both charming and clever they normally did both right away. Not much work in that then
But he was also good at the actually work. O.K. he suffered a bit from vertigo and would rather not do things which involved climbing up on things or people. But as long as he was on the ground everything went well enough.
Moosty thought life couldn´t be better. Yes, he missed family and friends at home. But still things were wonderful.
Then The Flying Stars joined the circus in Natiloportem - and the star of The Flying Stars was undoubtedly Felicia. ... even though it irritated her two sisters quite a lot.
The moment Moosty saw her he was sure she was the guiding star of his young life - the sun of his own private Universe. He worshiped her and the ground she trod on. And she gracefully let herself be adored and spoiled in every way Moosty could imagine. And since his imagination were bigger than Billy Bob - and he is a big troll, believe you me - Felicia got everything Moosty could afford to buy her.
He even went without food for almost two days because she so very much wanted a bouquet of bright red roses from Langistani. Which then was allowed to wilt the next day because she got tired of them. They didn´t match her new costume and she forgot to change the water
Moosty just shook his head and still thought she was perfect
Then the circus was asked to come to Ixt and perform a show for emperor Orantesh at the Rose Pavilion. The pinnacle of their existence, the circus people all thought and everybody was beside themselves with happiness
But when they arrive they had to wait a fortnight. The emperor had a new mistress. And she had convinced him he was the greatest poet alive - sensitive and refined. So he convinced himself that the coarse, vulgar - his word - entertainment of a circus would make him ill - literally - and everybody had to wait.
But empress Jalicta wanted to see the circus. And the Major Domo in charge of the huge palace wanted the circus as far as way as possible as quickly as ... well, possible. Why, one of the elephant had already sat herself down on a lady in waiting´s portable embroidery frame and ruining it completely. Driving the poor woman to hysterics.
And driving the even more to pitied elephant to run off in great fright trumpeting all the way when the lady started screaming - swearing violently that she would probably never get the smell of elephant-behind off the fine costly fabric
A court and a circus on the same relative small area was enough to drive a poor man out of his mind the Major Domo thought.
Meanwhile Felicia had set her mind on duke Ferdinand of Ombrero who was a childless widower owing a vast fortune and looking likely to die any day.
When Moosty asked her what she was doing - wasn´t she his girl anymore - she nudged him in the side and said "Oh, come on ... You are a poor troll. I´ll get the old geezer to marry me and then we can share his money when he is gone”
Moosty looked very puzzled at his beloved and then giggled a bit "Oh, you are just kidding - right? One doesn´t do a thing like that ... People only do it in books and plays and ..."
Here Felicia interrupted him and wanted to know how he thought the young women at court fluttering around the emperor trying to get to be his next mistress had got their money
Moosty said slowly "Well - I don´t know them well enough to ask them such a personal question. But I am pretty sure they haven´t marry an old man just for the sake of his money. And I don´t think you ought to do it either ... Oh, but you wouldn´t do that anyway, my lovely. You are much too sweet. You are my darling girl after all, are you not?"
But Felicia got very mad hearing this - he shouldn´t sit there thinking he was better than her! And Moosty told her that he hadn´t thought that at all. "It´s just that ... For me love is sacred. One shouldn't declare one love people just so they would give you stuff - or their whole fortune. If you asked if I would help you steal something from his house - and we could do so without hurting anybody physically I would agree and go with you at once - you are my girl after all. But one doesn’t use love - like that ..."
But apparently she wasn´t Moosty´s girl. And not only that but she also got very furious with Moosty and stalked off calling him all kind of unpleasant thing.
Moosty tried a couple of times more to persuade her not to try this. Even told her the truth; that he was a bit afraid of count Ferdinand - thought there was something sinister about the old geezer.
But that just made her even madder. She started to call him a coward and a ugly troll and tried to make life very difficult for him. Most of the circus people didn´t believe her though when she told them how Moosty had mistreated her and how duke Ferdinand had had to rescue her from the evil troll.
Some strong young men from both the circus and the court did believe her - or pretended to believe which amount to the same thing. And started to go around bullying Moosty while everybody waited for the empress to make the emperor´s mind up for him.
And when the duke gave Felicia a very big diamond ring and declared their engagement things got worse.
That night the Major Domo came down to the circus camp by the river behind the palace to announce the show was on for the next night. And five big guys found Moosty and beat him up - even called him a coward because he lost the fight.
What made the beating even worse for the poor troll was the fact that while he lay on the ground and couldn´t get up Felicia came running and yelled "Come on. Let´s get out of here!! The palace guard is coming this way!"
She had been their look out ...
The next night at the show in front of all the court the same group of young thugs and some girls they had brought along booed Moosty every time he showed himself during the show. After the last bow Moosty therefore went to the circus owner Judy Greenbranch herself and told he would leave for his hometown
Mrs. Greenbranch was an elderly maternal figure and said outraged "But then that Hellcat ... Felicia wins. No, I will not allowed that! I´ll have a talk with her. And if that doesn´t help I´ll have a serious talk with her parents. I won´t let her chase my sweet boy out of my home
But Moosty just shook his head and said Mrs. Greenbranch couldn´t fight duke Ferdinand and his big and very powerful family. The circus even had to move through Ombrero down south to get to their winter camp on the island of Rouge Chat and that wouldn't be a safe journey if they made an enemy of the duke
Mrs. Greenbranch admitted that was true enough - rather unwillingly - and finally said she would let Moosty leave if he really wanted to.
But in parting she gave him way too much gold - much more than she own him for his work at the circus. So he kissed her cheek gently and gave her some back. Circus owner are seldom rich people even when they have a kind big heart
Then Moosty picked up his pack and started walking slowly and a bit painfully down south back to his mother´s house