Chapter 1: Viktoria
"Viktoria…it's time, my little butterfly…" I heard the man's voice call.
My eyes fluttered open. I was 14 years old again. The carnival music was playing in the background. I was in my trapeze costume. The laughing clowns guided me towards the big top stage as I was introduced as 'The Little Butterfly'.
"Sing sweetly for them my little butterfly," the voice cooed.
"Yes, ring-master," I nodded obediently.
"NO!" I screamed at myself, "Go back! You know what happens next! Don't go through it all again! RUN!"
But my younger self's body stepped forward, to soar through the air high above the crowd, the clowns performing flame tricks below. I began to sing in that haunting tone.
'High, high, above the sky,
The ring masters calling you to play,
Oh my, oh my,
What a day!
The children must come to play,
Dum and Dee, go and collect,
The children must stay.
The ring master must select,
Our sacrifice…for the best.
"DON'T SING IT!" I screamed at myself.
But it was too late; rough hands pulled me from my place. A sacrifice had been selected. Their blood was forced down my throat as the big top burned, the laughing clowns pinning me down as I was hooked up to tubes and wires. The strange substances that burned my body being pumped into me while I screamed in agony from the electric shocks. I heard laughter among the screams, glass shattering, shouts. My limp body was pulled away from the wires.
I shot up in bed and looked around. I was panting and sweating. My adoptive father Jin came running into my room.
"Viktoria! What happened?" he cried, "Did you have another nightmare?"
I hugged my legs and numbly nodded.
He wrapped a protective arm around me, "It's over now, that was 3 years ago now. Take your medication. You should probably get dressed, it's nearly time for you to go to your new school."
I glanced at the alarm clock: 5pm. That's right. When we moved back to Japan, I'm attending a night-school called Ryoutei Academy, to fit better with my abnormal sleeping schedule.
I climbed out of bed and proceeded to get ready. I could only hope I could lead a stress-free life from this point on, and I could leave all the bizarre aspects of my life behind me…