1. Sorrow has No Company like Laughter
This is set in a land called In Between, in between magic and not, like a railroad station, some pass through to the otehr side, some don't and some stay there. Not a big land, about half the size of ours, but rich in culture and species. Of magic and non.
Madrie walked along the road, stifling the tears that kept threatiningly rising up, and letting out silent sobs without letting the girls behid her see. They were the toughest gang in the city, or so they claimed. Their name was The Tormentors, and no truer name could have been found for the mean gang of girls. There were three gangs in the city, well four, see supposed but they didn't count. The Dragons, The Tormentors and The Motorcyles. The motorcycles didn't torment, they just rode aroung and were annoying. And well, The Laughter, well they didn't count, They rode around, but on horses, some strange beasts that came from the mortal world. They wore jesters clothing and sang as they rode. They were considered themselves dooing a service to the own, by cheering them up. At first the gangs tried to mess with them but they were just as tough as they were giggly, and they were always laughing about something.
This whole town was weird, in her opinion, but she couldn't go back to the elves. They had found out she was a half elf, half human. She had always refused to go swimming so the hair dye that made her hair look pink instead of the mortal brown wouldn't wash off. But at the theme park the bucket of water came down on her and the dye washed out. She couldn't go to the mortal cause her eyes were purple, which wasn't normal for mortals aparrently. So she was in this stupid city. With the crazy gangs and the idiots and all of them hating half bloods. At least they didn't hang them here, only tormented them.
She saw the Laughter ride by. The Tormentors quicly scattered, pretending they weren't scared. She was about to follow suit but they had already noticed her and were motioning her towards them. She sighed and waited as they rode up. One of them dismounted and held out hi hand, "Nores Wells, also know as King Arthur" she shook it and remembered that they each thought they were a member of King Arthurs court and King Arthur was the leader. It was one of the few stories that was told on both sides of the border. She smiled weakly thruogh her tears, which had come freely when The Tormentors left and added, "I'm Madrie" He smiled back, the smile fo a king to his saddened subject. He lifted her chin up and said, "Were they bothering you? why? he asked and then saw her eyes. Put together with her hair, it became painfully clear the answer the to his question. "Dont' worry, we'll deal with them" he said and he remounted his. "Stop" said a man next to him, "she's coming with us." Arthur loolked at him as if he was crazy. "Why? She'll only bring trouble, that's why we stayed away from halflings before. Plus we have no more spots on the round table left, and we don't even know if she's funny or musical." The man shook his head in argument, "She stays, she can be Morgan Le Fay. or something. I know. She has laughter in her eyes" "that's just tears" he respondeed uncompirmisingley.
The man must have had a reputation for being argumentative, since much to her bewilderment she was mounted on one of the beasts and was taken in with the Laughters. She was given a room, and dinner. Dinner was a confusing affair, with everyone calling her Morgan and joking. Then after dinner the man who said she was to stay decided to test her to see what she could do. "I'm Lancelot, or Lance, informally" she remember Lancelot's opinions were weighty in King Arthurs tales, maybe that was why she could stay. "So can you sing, tell jokes, juggle, do acrobatics, play an instument?" he questioned. "I don't know?" she answered truthfully, "What are jokes, or juggles or acrobats?" He sighed and explained them in detail. "Oh" she exclaimed when he got to the exlamtion of acrobatics. "Like this" she asked and did a handstand. Then she knelt down and put her head between her legs. Then she did a backflip and smiled and stood up. He clapped and said, "That was exactly right, you're in the show."
That night she slept peacefully and felt so happy to have finally found a place she belonged. The next morning they rode as a group to the park where they would do their show. On the way she slowly learned her companions names, names like Guinevere, and Percival and Galahad. She had reviewed the act that Lancelot had tought her before they left adn she was ready. She was completely happ till tey entered the slums. This was where she had lived for the past 8 months, and many people, their lives. She saw babies starving, peoples dead bodies rotting. And her happiness fled. How could she do an act about happiness, and smile and act when these people were starving. It seemed cruel to everyone who saw it, such a farse, a fake, pretending that everything was okay, when it wasn't.How could her companions be so happy! By the time she got to the show area she was desolate. Lance took one look at her toook he aside.
"What is wrong, you're up next why the glum face? We need you to be happy?" "You liar" she said, turning angrily, "You all think everything is alright that there is nothing wrong with the world, and go along singing about fields and flowers. HOW?" He put a hand on her back and sighed, "We don't think the world is fine, or try to disguise it. What we do is give them something to think about, something cheerful, none of us are happy, but we pretend, so the people can forget for even just an hour or two, about how bad it is out there. Didn't you sometimes forget how bad it is, thinking abut how sillt The Laughter looked?" "Yes..., but even if they forget, nothing happens to make it better. It isn't enough so why pretend?" she sighed sadly. "Because it gives people hope to try to make it beter, to try to make it a place with flowers and happiness. People who can do something, whose talents can do that sort of thing. All we're good at is pretending to be happy" he said.
Most people would like to hear that immediatly it made her happy,a dn enjoyed her work, and the world improved. But that is not the way of this world, or any other. But she did the act, with a faked smile, which was a struggle to keep up. But even if her mind wasn't totally cleared of doubts, her mind used every spare moment to mull over the new ideas. And although the sorrow wasn't gone, it had company, for all around the Round table, she heard jokes and banter, so that even her sorrow couldn't keep a smile from her face. And just as often as she was sad, she was happy. And her laughter rang out true, just as the people who watched their acts did. And even if the world didn't change uch over those years, if you had asked her she would have said the entire world had changed it's frown to a smile. Fot the best company to sorrow is Laughter.
I tried not to make it to long. But then it turned out rather short. Oh well.
