So, here is the first part one of my suggested fan fics. This one seemed to be the fan favorite so here it is. Now, I don't really know exactly what steam punk is or how to do it exactly but I'm going to try it. If I botch it up please tell me and explain to me exactly what I'm doing wrong. So...enjoy. (Please don't kill me)


Chapter 1

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

She was scared. She was always scared. She didn't know why but she knew she was. She had done the same thing her entire life and yet even now she could feel the butterflies flipping in her stomach as she waited for the smoke to burst and the light to blind her.

She was Duck, part girl and part bird. You can guess what bird she was and you can bet it mixed in with her personality. She was shy and skiddish. She could never talk to anyone without her oldest friend, Rue, by her side and she could never look anyone in the eye. Her least favorite part of everyday was the show, the endless taunting from normal teenagers, the blinding lights from the big top, and the horrible words of Drosselmeyer, the ringmaster. He was always yelling at her and putting her in her place even when she never stepped out of it and he scared her even more than the crowds of wide-eyed on lookers.

She was the main attraction at the Circus of Wonders. She was a one of a kind wonder with feathers for hair that went all the way down her back and two small yellow wings that jutted from her upper back. She was made to wear a cream colored halter top that tied around the back of her neck and right below her wings so that they weren't hidden. She also wore a faded pink skirt that had long feathers poking out over the top of it. She was skinny and short for her age and if you didn't know she was 15 you would have thought she was 12. All the other performers thought of her as a younger sister especially Rue.

Rue was the fortune teller and Duck's closest friend. Rue had been with her for as long as she could remember and she was always trying to help Duck fight her fears. Rue did all she could to comfort her when the normal children teased her or when Drosselmeyer abused her and it was because of Rue that Duck could find the strength to continue.

Duck had a few other friends but they weren't as kind as Rue. There was Pique who had the ability to transport things or make things disappear or even create portals to other places and she and Duck had an act together. Liliae was super flexible. She could bend her body into positions that shouldn't be plausible or capable for the normal human but this circus wasn't for the normal human. Then there was Mytho. He had no emotion and he couldn't die. It always confused Duck how he could be standing in front of her and not be killed by…almost anything. She once over heard that he didn't have a heart but she didn't understand how that was possible.

She sat silently, waiting for her cue and she thought of all these things. She wasn't sure why it bugged her so much but it did and she wanted to know the answers. Soon she heard the change in mechanical music and Pique say her magical words.

"Vocidy-romady! Turn this duck into a girl!" she called and the smoke exploded around Duck.

She waited a few seconds then stood up and looked at her body as if she had never seen it before.

"Quack!" she said and looked at Pique confused.

"Hello little duck. How do you like your new body?" Pique asked as she helped Duck walk forward.

"I…I…like…it," Duck said, pretending to struggle with the words.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Duck, half girl and half duck!" Pique said proudly. "Bow Duck, like this."

She showed Duck how to bow and she copied, slowly bending her body so she didn't fall. She heard the claps and her nerves got the better of her. She nearly fell forward and she hid behind Pique.

"Oh, Duck it's okay. They won't hurt you," Pique said reassuringly.

"How do you know!?" a voice called from the stands followed by several other people laughing.

"You do and I'll send you to the other side of this world," Pique said. "I've done it before and I'll do it again."

"Yeah right! I'll believe it when I see it!" the voice called again.

"Come on Duck, let's let Mytho and Liliae take the show the rest of the way," Pique said.

She raised her hand and brought it down quickly. Duck and Pique vanished in a puff of smoke and standing in their place was a small blonde haired girl next to a tall white haired young man.

Pique and Duck soon reappeared in a back tent and Duck hugged the pink haired girl.

"I don't like this," she said as she felt hot tears build up in her eyes.

"I know, but we have to do this or you know what will happen," Pique said and pealed the somewhat shorter girl away. "I don't understand why Drosselmeyer seems to hate you so much but I'm glad he doesn't take anything out on me."

Duck knew what Pique meant. She usually said things like that but it wasn't meant to be mean, she just didn't think before she spoke and so she usually said some insensitive things. She did it to everyone, even Drosselmeyer but like she said, she never got in trouble for it. Duck didn't think it was fair how she was always Drosselmeyer's scapegoat and she didn't like it at all. Life for Duck was hard but she was always able to find comfort in her dreams and imagination.

"Duck, are you okay?" Rue asked, rushing into the room.

"Uh-huh," she said and wiped a rogue tear off her cheek.

"I don't understand why those people are so mean to you all the time," she said and hugged Duck. "I just hope that once you get older you won't be frightened so much."

"I'm sorry Rue, I tried but…I can't help it," Duck said.

"It's not your fault Duck. Remember nothing is your fault," Rue said and looked into Duck's big blue eyes. "Soon your life will change. You will meet someone who will give you more strength than you can imagine and he will help you through the hard times without fail."

"He?" Pique asked. "She's gonna meet a guy or are you talking about Mytho?"

"What?" Rue asked as she looked up. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, she just had one of her flash forward episodes," Pique said and rolled her eyes. "Duck, don't pay attention to what she just said, she doesn't even know what she just said."

"I know that," Duck said.

"What did I say?" Rue asked.

"Something about Duck meeting some guy who will help her through hard times or something like that. I wasn't really paying attention to the first half," Pique said and shrugged. "Well, I'm gonna go before anything else weird or not happens."

"We'll see you around Pique," Rue said and watched as Pique left.

"Rue?"

"Yes, Duck?"

"Do you really think my life will change?" Duck asked.

"I think it's a possibility," she said and grinned at the bird-girl.

"Not unless you live for another hundred years," a voice boomed from behind them.

They turned to see Drosselmeyer standing there, blocking the entrance. He had long, completely white hair that curled just like his long beard and large piercing eyes that could see right into anyone. He had a tall black top hat with several differently colored feathers sticking out of the brim and a big dark red cape. He had a dark red suit on with a matching vest and black undershirt. He was definitely a sinister sight to see and Duck instantly hid behind Rue.

"Hello Drosselmeyer," Rue said calmly.

"Rue, why are spreading lies about Duck's life changing? We both know that will never happen," he said and walked right up to the brunette.

"I had one of my accidental flash forwards. I didn't know I was saying it," she said, still keeping her calm disposition.

"You had better be telling the truth, Rue, or else the duck gets it," Drosselmeyer said.

"Don't you dare! It's not her fault! She didn't have anything to do with my flash forward," Rue cried.

"Like I said, you'd better be telling the truth," he said and grabbed Duck's arm. "or she'll get it."

"Let her go," Rue said, glaring at the ringmaster. He complied and Rue said, "Duck, go find Pique. I'll be there shortly."

"O…okay Rue," Duck stuttered and ran out of the tent.

"What is your problem, Drosselmeyer? Hurting her was not a part of the deal," Rue said angrily.

"What do you mean? I'm not hurting her," he said with an evil grin.

"Yes you are. You are using your magical torture on her just because you can. Our deal was that we stay here and you use your magic to keep us hidden, not use your magic to make her life miserable," Rue said.

"And how will you stop me? I own both of you. What could you do to stop me? All you can do is see the future, you have no other magic," he said grabbing her arm. "I can do whatever I like and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"We signed a contract. You have to follow it," Rue spat and struggled out of his grip. "You had better follow the contract or you will lose two of your acts. You wouldn't want that would you?"

She walked out of the tent without waiting for a reply and headed straight for the tent that Duck was in with Pique.

"Rue! Look what Pique did," Duck said and held out a flower. "She made a flower appear from a field miles away. Isn't that cool?"

"Yes it is," Rue said smiling. She would make a great parent but she couldn't just leave Duck and she only knew one guy her age and that was Mytho, but he had no heart.

"Actually, I was trying to get some bread from the local baker but I got some flowers instead. So, what did you and Dro-sell-my-soul talk about?" Pique asked.

"I just told him to leave Duck alone. I doubt he'll actually listen but it's worth a try," Rue said and plopped down on the old chair with a sigh. "If only I could actually make him stop all this."

"I know, but none of us are strong enough to stand up to him without getting the pain," Pique said. "I'm sure Duck is used to it by now."

"No I'm not. I still don't like it and he just won't stop," Duck said and hunched in her chair. "Why does he hate me so much?"

"Maybe it's the wings," Pique said and poked at her right wing. "He probably doesn't like all the feathers you leave whenever you freak out."

"But I can't do anything about them. I can't make them disappear and I have no magic to hide them. There's nothing I can do," Duck said with a sigh.

"Oh, Duck," Rue said and rubbed the bird-girl's back. "Something will happen soon, I just know it."

"When will it happen? When?" Duck asked.