A/N
Hellooo! This story is adopted from SuperiorDimwit's Smoke and Mirrors story, which is an exciting teaser that I based this off of. Enjoy!
Dusk had darkened the evening sky, highlighted by a calming river of white dots. Yukio gazed up at the blanket of stars in comfort, almost reluctant to turn away. Busy bodies hurried about behind him, rushing to prepare for the evening. Monsieur Blanc had spared no expense for tonight's performance, and the weight of the circus' fate rested on tonight's outcome. A grand show it would be.
Cirque Le Blanc had never been a popular act, compared to the few others that travelled across Japan. The circus had a bad history, one that the ringmaster Bernarde Blanc was desperate to eradicate. And now his golden opportunity had arisen. A travelling illusionist, a famous performer under the name of 'Mephisto' had come by the Cirque not weeks before. With a well-mannered bow and clever words he offered to stay with and train the circus until they were ready to perform his renowned acts onstage. Everyone had heard of Mephisto the Illusionist. To a different circus he travelled each turn of the season, training the members for a show that would send the audience booming with applause. Monsieur Blanc hired him in a heartbeat, and so began the instruction of the illusionist.
For the first few days, nobody minded Mephisto. He was an excellent tutor to work with, always congratulating the actors when they performed his exercises well. The circus members learned fast, and after a week had already perfected a particularly tricky act. But gradually, Monsieur Blanc began to regret his immediate decision.
Mephisto had finished teaching the actors the first part of the performance. The 'defining opening', as he had announced several times. What reeled the audience in to the show. Everybody was delighted with their progress, and things were going perfectly. Until they moved into the next stage of the show. If there was one thing Monsieur Blanc would not tolerate, it was the mistreatment of his favourite performer.
For nearly two years now Maria Rouge had been a member of Cirque Le Blanc. From the moment she auditioned for the circus, Monsieur Blanc had been infatuated with the woman. She was beautiful, and turned out to be an excellent dancer; both captivating the meagre audience the Cirque drew in and Monsieur Blanc himself. She quickly assumed the lead role in every performance thereafter, with any objections over the matter earning the other actors a serious scolding, occasionally even a suspension in their pay. But Mephisto did not request any form of payment, save that of "the wonder of the audience".
Maria had instantly made her way to the centre of the stage for the following act. With an amused smirk, the illusionist made a grave mistake; he ordered her to stand to the side with the rest of the actors. This brought about a silence from absolutely everyone in the area, including Maria herself. Yet Mephisto remained unperturbed. He continued instructing the shocked performers, drawing the evening to a close after they'd practised their positions onstage. Maria retreated to Monsieur Blanc's tent, bringing out with her a slightly drunk and downright furious ringmaster.
No one knew how he did it. The actors waited for ages after Mephisto had disappeared into Blanc's tent, futilely trying to eavesdrop on the conversation. It was as though the illusionist had laid a spell on the ringmaster. An hour or so passed, and Mephisto walked free from the tent, with not a word from Monsieur Blanc or Maria in complaint. The performance continued where it had left off from yesterday, and the issue was never spoken of again.
Now, only minutes before the night they'd been rehearsing for for weeks, Yukio felt extremely uneasy. It couldn't have been pre-performance nerves; he'd conquered those years ago, after his first few performances. He pondered the odd sensation as he shuffled past the other actors toward his caravan. To most it was a simple wooden box with barely enough room for him and his brother, but to them it was home. Rin sat crouched on his sleeping bag, rummaging through their few possessions with a frustrated frown.
"Where the hell is my outfit?" he grumbled angrily. Yukio laughed and chucked a pair of white trousers and a singlet at him. "Oh… thanks."
"You always forget to pick yours up," he commented, already dressed and waiting. "Come on, let's get our paint done."
Felma was one of the more eccentric characters of the Cirque. Both Yukio and Rin thought of her as their mother, since she was the only actor to have been with the circus longer than they. She had a very motherly aura about her as well. Always taking care of the meals for everyone, ensuring they all got plenty of rest each night. Yukio put it down to the fact that she was not from Japan, and that she felt very much accepted within the family of the circus, where she might not elsewhere. As a rule, she never spoke of her hometown. The mere mention of it brought a pained look to her eyes and silence from her usual friendly chatter. Out of both love and respect for the woman, nobody ever pressed the issue.
Felma took care of the face-painting before each performance, too. Normally there would be a line to her caravan, but the pressure of impressing their new trainer had sent everyone to her early, and only the twins were left. The old woman gave them an expecting look when they arrived at her tent. "Always you two last." She finished positioning her feathered headpiece onto an elaborate hairdo and beckoned Rin forward. "Right, you're 'the lost jungle kid'… ah, here we go."
Felma flicked through a stack of papers until she found the right design, and dipped the end of a brush into the green paint pot. Once finished with Rin, she moved on to Yukio. They called out a thanks as the twins ran into the circus marquee and made their way backstage. Their largest audience yet was already filing through the entrance and into their seats.
Every actor was in place, just as they had rehearsed. Mephisto would walk onto the stage, introduce himself and the performance, and then the curtains would lift for the show to begin. Yukio stood facing Rin, who was on the other side of the stage. Beside him, Snowpea shifted into her starting pose.
Yukio was proud of the young girl next to him. Having joined the Cirque only fourteen months ago, at roughly eleven years old, she was quite talented for someone so young. Even he wouldn't have been able to perform the complicated acrobatics she could at that age, and Yukio had been performing his entire life, along with Rin. They'd never known a world outside of the circus. But then again, neither did many of the other actors.
Mephisto's lilting voice brought the audience to silence. Yukio could feel himself fidgeting anxiously. He tried to drown out the discomfort that Mephisto's words had come to bring the more he heard them, instead focusing on his beaming brother. Ever since taking Maria's role as the lead performer, be it only for tonight's show, Rin had been ecstatic. He utterly adored the illusionist that seemed to have taken an interest in him, something that set Yukio very much on edge. Mephisto's entire persona set him on edge, for that matter. The way he kept to himself whenever they weren't rehearsing, forever in his own caravan with a single candle that never went out. It certainly made one wonder what on earth he was up to in there.
The crimson curtains rose at a horribly taunting pace. Sweat beaded at his forehead as the stage lights spilled onto the actors, brightening Yukio's vision. Behind them, the musicians broke into the opening song, and the show began.
Felma was the Cirque's one and only hooper. She strutted on to centre-stage, three large silver hoops held high in her hands. With the swift motion of years of practice, she twisted herself through each hoop as the acrobats danced around her, smiles on every face. Mephisto stood above on a raised platform, God knows how he got up there so quickly each time, holding another ring directly over her. With precise timing, she jumped upwards the moment he dropped the hoop. The crowd gasped, followed by immense applause as she dove cleanly through the ring, landing into a graceful curtsy. Yukio mirrored his brother's movements as they crossed by each other in front of Felma, handspringing their way to the opposite end of the stage. Maria followed suit along with Liza, another acrobat of the Cirque with quite a shrouded past.
The lights dimmed as they ran into their spots for the next act. Rin stood at the top of the pyramid on the shoulders of Liza and Maria, who stood on Yukio, Felma, and their last acrobat; Tristan. One of the backstage handlers pushed a large, decorated crate in front of the group.
A spotlight centred itself on Rin. Yukio could imagine his brother's expression; the widest, cheesiest grin across his face as he basked in the attention. The drumroll began. Many of the people in the audience held looks of worried confusion as they watched the teenager hold his hands up in preparation to dive. From the platform above, Mephisto waved a gloved hand, and a gong shattered the crescendo, Rin springing off from the pyramid down toward the crate. Closer, closer-
*Bang!* Confetti exploded across the stage when he reached the crate, with the audience staring wide-eyed in anticipation. This time the applause was drowned out by roaring amazement as the confetti dissipated, to reveal Rin standing where the crate had been moments before, his arms outstretched in a triumphant pose. The rest of the acrobats leapt out of the pyramid formation and took their places on the sides of the stage as Snowpea twirled out to the front, performing a breathtaking dancing duet with Rin.
Everything had been done to perfection. Upon the final act, the audience were on their feet and clapping wildly, shouting "Encore, encore!" to the acrobats. Yukio's unease had long since been buried beneath the thrill of performing onstage. The crowd virtually lost it as the actors leapt into their finishing poses, the adrenaline-fuelling sense of accomplishment filling them with pride. Finally, the curtains were lowered over the stage, once again shrouding Yukio and the others in darknes
Everyone was exhausted. Well, everyone aside from Rin, who skipped over to Yukio with that grin he'd envisioned earlier pasted onto his face. The twins made their way with the rest of the actors offstage, cleaning off the paint and changing out of their costumes. They huddled around a small celebratory bonfire, sharing congratulations and relishing in the fulfilment of an exceptional performance. It was the sole goal of a circus actor to leave the audience in awe of their show, and tonight they'd achieved what had once seemed impossible.
All thanks to the illusionist, who was nowhere to be found.
Reviews are very welcome! Hope you like the story so far!