Author's words: This has been my head for awhile now, I have always wondered what would happen if I put a element of a circus theme? I have planned this story for awhile now, so I'm like what the hell, let's do this. There will be a supernatural element to it because I love my supernatural. I would love to hear what you guys think because it means a lot.
Disclaimer: Don't own Miraculous ladybug sadly:{
Miraculous Circus
Chapter one: When Fate came to Play
"Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like."
― Lemony Snicket
In the corner of the circus tent, somewhere in the shadows of the seventh row, my friend Alya and I were watching the show with girlish excitement.
"Isn't this amazing, Marinette? Aren't you glad that I convinced you to sneak out and see this?" Alya said enthusiastically to me.
I just smiled and soaked in the bright neon lights and the cotton-candy visions before me. My friend had some trouble trying to persuade me to come, especially since my maman was so anti-circus anything. My mom seemed to think that the people at the circus were all low-life pocket-picking scum and didn't want me anywhere near them. However, I saw them more as nomads-they moved from place to place, lived on different lands and cultures, and brought happiness and excitement to audiences all over the world.
Yeah, I may have disobeyed my parents, which made my growing quilt nag at me even more. However, I kept reminding myself that I am officially eighteen now, and I've been dreaming about witnessing this wonderful experience since I was a small child.
I almost thought it was fate when Alya saw the circus ad in the local newspaper online. I found out I wouldn't be getting into the last fashion design college I've applied to, so Alya recommended that we do something a bit daring for the goody-two-shoes Marinette.
Alya was even in my shoes when she found out that she didn't get into to the college with the special journalism program. I thought of it as a little odd because Alya is great at the school newspaper. She even got one of her articles published in a real local newspaper, but they quickly dismissed her application like dirty laundry.
Suddenly, the drums started to roll, and the lights dimmed. Something really intriguing must be happening. I looked around me and saw that the audience were whispering, and they seemed to be confused by the racket of the drums and not being able to see anything.
Then finally, the ceiling were brimming with stars. Bright white-hot stars were dazzling above the entire arena, and a music-box melody is coming from somewhere in the darkness.
"What the hell is going on?" Alya whispered to me.
"Let's just wait a minute, this is bound to be good," I answered.
The spotlight came back on and was focused on a tall, pale man. He was wearing an old-fashioned pin-stripe suit, and he had a microphone in his hand.
"Come one, come all... welcome to my wonderful dream world... and your biggest nightmare!"
He cracks his whip before the light was now focused on a beautiful, chestnut-brown-haired girl; who was lounging gracefully in a half moon that was dangling from the air. Her shiny locks were so long that they're nearly to her ankles, and even in the dark-her olive green eyes were mesmerizing.
She started to play her flute to the melody in the background, and it's the most beautiful sound that I have ever heard. The ringmaster came out and announces that this was Volpina: the goddess of the circus!
Volpina was still in mid-air and blows a ring of fire from her mouth. The audience was captivated and jumped in their seats. Volpina blew another bigger ring of fire, and it was so large, that it ignited the entire room.
Poof. She's gone. She's no longer on the moon in the air. She completely disappeared and everyone is applauding. The room goes dark again and everyone is waiting for the next act of surprise and delight!
"So what was your favorite acts out of all them?" Alya piqued as we walked out out of the tent.
I put my finger over my lip as I reminisced all of the acts.
"I would have to say Volpina, because of her glittery costume, it just took my breath away," I said while feeling the designer in me pop out suddenly like a jack in the box.
"And…" Alya implied with a knowing smirk.
I huffed at this. "And I loved the wild Chat Noir, the way he did his choreography on the trapeze, was amazing," I could feel a love struck sigh escape me.
"Yeah, he was pretty damn fine because you're eyes went gaga over him," Alya laughed when I yelped in embarrassment.
"Alya!" I hissed while blushing madly.
She patted me on the shoulder. "Aww... young love, my, it's such a beautiful thing," I rolled my eyes as I swatted her hands away.
"Shut up," I meekly retailed as my comeback.
Suddenly, Alya froze before she quickly glanced back at the circus tent, and then at me again.
"What is it?" I asked her, but having a feeling on what it is.
"Do you mind waiting out here a little bit, I kinda wanted to see if I could get an interview with one of the performers or the ring master?" She asked with a hopeful tone.
"That's fine, Alya, so get yourself in there," I smiled as I gave her a thumbs up.
She smiled back before she disappeared into the circus tent.
I leaned against a tree before I started to play games on my phone. I've been playing Candy Crash for about an hour now, but she still hasn't come out. I was getting a little worried, and freaked out because the place was literally deserted now. I snuggled deeper into my light jacket, getting a cold feeling that I was being watched. I looked around, but I didn't see any prying eyes. Maybe it's just my petty imagination… I hoped.
I took a deep breath as I made the decision to go see what was taking her so long. I knew that she could talk for hours with her never-ending questions, but she always messaged me on how long she was going to be. I haven't heard anything from her.
I made my way inside the circus tent and saw a small bright light beckoning me towards the stage. Everything else was pitch black.
The light eventually led to a small, mahogany caravan with red velvet drapes over each of the windows. It looked like something out of Romania, when the Gypsies traveled in their caravans with their families and life belongings trying to find a better place to roam.
I went up to the caravan and knocked three times on the thick wooden door. I could smell some luscious smoke drifting through the cracks of the windows, but I couldn't quite place what it was. Poppies, maybe? Whatever it was, it made me feel woozy and I began to cough ferociously. I knocked again, since there was no answer the last time. This time, a very tall, gaunt man who had on a black mask opened the door very graciously.
"Ah, my child, I've been expecting you. We've all been expecting you," he rasped in a subdued manner.
"Oh, is my friend, Alya here then," I asked hopefully.
"Come in, my sweet. Take a seat on the opposite side of the crystal ball on the speaking table so I can prophesize your calling. I call it the speaking table because that's where the dead and lapsed memories speak to me," the tall man explained as he opened the door wider for me, but I didn't see Alya.
I decided to take his request because fortune tellers always intrigued me, but I made sure to put up her guard in case he pulled any funny business. I found a spot and sat carefully down across from him. There was a spread of tarot cards fanned across the table, and he asked me to select three. The first one I picked made my eyes widened like a watermelon and my mouth open like a black hole. It was a grim reaper holding a scythe in mid-air as if he was waiting to take a swing at someone.
"Ah, this is the death card. It signified a rebirth, a dramatic change coming into your life... Nothing will ever be the same for you again," he told me.
I picked another card, and this one had the jester dancing around a pit of fire.
"This is the jester, and it is very accurate for your situation. Someone has been making you a fool, the butt of their joke. Your mother has kept you in the dark from your past and your birthright, and this has kept you from fulfilling your potential."
Oh shit, I thought. How much worse could this tarot session get?
"Choose one more," the man whispered mysteriously.
The last card was a big red heart with swords slicing through it.
"Yes, burning love. You're young, so why shouldn't you have blooming romance in your future? Although from what I can tell, this love will consume you like no other and might drag you down when it perishes in flames. Love is like that, a happily ever after that's sugar coated through your eyes, but pretty soon reality has to demolish it." The tall man sighed.
"Do these cards really signify my future or are you just a big phony trying to petrify me?" I asked impatiently. I was about to answer until I went as stiff as the dead and overcome with a vision that was quick and ferocious as lightning.
I saw a woman with soft peachy skin, and she was crying into the arms of a cloaked man. I couldn't see their faces, but the woman was wearing a very familiar ladybug pendant around her neck. I recognized it immediately. It was my maman.
The fortune teller clapped his hands in front of my face, which snapped me out of my reverie.
I jumped out of my seat while giving him a bewildered look.
"All right, what was that?! You had your fun, so no more games. Just please tell me where my friend is, and I promise not to tell anyone about this blabbering nonsense you call a seance!" My patience was wavering, and I had this strange urge to run for the hills... like now. The man shook his head and looked at me with something like pity in his faded greyish/bluish eyes.
"I'm sorry, child, but your fate has now been sealed," he crooned.
Before I could even blink, the entire caravan began to shake so hard, just like a ticking clock gone haywire. I dashed towards the door but noticed a tiny blonde girl was blocking it. I growled under my breath when she wouldn't let me pass.
"Get out of my way!" I exclaimed while trying to get around her. She gave me a sorrow look as she sprayed a hazy smoke ring of performe around my face.
I started feeling a queasiness in the pit of her stomach before I could form out a syllable. The caravan seemed as far away and foggy, and I have never felt so alone in my entire life. I looked around to find the tall fortune teller, but he was no longer recognizable, and his face looked like the devil himself. The walls seemed to bleed into the furniture, and the ceiling came down toward me like a prowling spider dangling from its web
I kept hearing the fortune teller's taunting voice saying: "Simon says, Simon says," and I wanted him to stop.
Then finally, I heard his voice say Simon says sleep, and I found myself drifting into oblivion.
Good or Bad? Thanks so much for reading:} and I would love to hear what you guys think:}