Hey, here's the first chapter of this fic! Notes are at the end.


Mr. and Mrs. Hatsune often liked to brag about their only child. "Miku's smart," her mother was fond of saying, "A sensible girl." And Miku knew that this was exactly the opposite of what a smart, sensible girl would do.

Yes, Miku knew that there were countless reasons not to go to the circus that night. Her first big essay was due soon, she had to read the rest of Closure of Yellow for her literature class, and she still didn't know what she was going to sing for the school's musical auditions even though they were in two days. She had too many obligations to go gallivanting into the forest at night following only the word of some twitchy-looking twins who stood with their shoulders pressed together, joined hands never parting.

Even the name on the advertisement seemed to repel her. Dark Woods Circus. It felt like something out of a scary movie – the name of a haunted house, not a carnival. Miku hated haunted houses, and Momo declared in her nervous way that she wouldn't be caught dead wandering through the forest. Most of the others had agreed with her.

"It's probably not even a circus," Defoko had mused darkly, "They probably want to kidnap you, sell you. Do God knows what with you. You saw those twins, didn't you? Something wasn't right with them." Momo had gone pale and begged her to stop talking like that.

So, none of her friends wanted to go. That should have been the final nail on the coffin, sealing that idea up forever. Even if she was fanatic about circuses (she wasn't), even if the twins didn't inspire her with fear (they did), surely a smart, sensible girl like Miku wouldn't imagine wandering into the woods, at night, alone, regardless of the circumstances.

She went, of course.

Even as she followed the path, the flier given to her by the twins crumpled by her nervous fingers, Miku wasn't quite sure why she had decided to go. It wasn't like her to stray out of her comfort zone, and it certainly wasn't like her to lie to her parents, telling them that all of her friends would be at the circus and, yes, she had already finished her homework. They hadn't even bothered to check; she had always been their sweet, trustworthy daughter.

'A sensible girl,' the wind seemed to whisper in her ear, mocking her guilty thoughts.

But whenever Miku thought about turning around, she thought about the twins. About the way they had rocked slightly, back and forth, never quite still, but always pressed together. The way they stood beside each other was almost unnatural – shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm, hip to hip, with long skirts obscuring their feet. The fact that even the male of the two wore a skirt struck Miku as the least unusual thing about them.

She kept thinking of the way their eyes focused on her, never looking to Momo or Defoko or Miko. They only stared at her, Miku, and being stared at was not something Miku was used to. People were always staring at Defoko, who spoke loudly and often let her fists speak for her when that loud voice didn't work. People were always staring at Momo, who tripped over her own feet as often as she tripped over her words. People were always staring at Miko, following her with their eyes because she was always going just a little too fast for them to keep up.

No one ever stared at Miku. Even with her vibrant teal hair, even with her kind smile and high, melodic voice, Miku never seemed to matter much. It wasn't for lack of trying – she worked hard in school, practiced piano and guitar, sang in the sweet songbird trill that she worked hard to cultivate. But she was just one talented, pretty teenaged girl in a world that seemed full of more talented, prettier teenaged girls. Even her friends were more talented than her: Defoko was lead guitarist in a band destined for stardom, Momo painted pictures beautiful enough to be put in museums, and Miko was already a published author, with rumors of one of her more popular works being made into a movie.

Compared to them – compared to anyone – Miku was average. Her grades, while kept firmly on the "pass" side of the pass/fail scale, were not extraordinary. Her instrumental talents were sub-par, and she still took months to read through a piece of sheet music. Even her voice, which she tried so hard to be proud of, seemed just a bit too childish to be taken seriously.

But the way those twins had looked at her didn't make her feel average, or like she wasn't being taken seriously. And the way they had spoken to her, only her, had made her feel … well, extraordinary.

"You're here, you're here!" That had been the girl, speaking as if reciting a favorite bedtime story. "Tonight, we'll be showing the sad fate that some of this world carry."

"Drop by and see her." That had been the boy, mumbling, hardly speaking at all. "Drop by and see her in the dark woods. The dark, dark woods …"

"The Dark Woods Circus!" The girl thrust a flier in her face, ignoring Defoko's demands and Miko's curious questions, and as her friends had pulled her away Miku had heard the girl singing. "Deep in the words, far, far in the back that way …"

And then the pair had been gone, swallowed up by the crowds of people, and Defoko was declaring angrily that the two must have been insane, and Miko noted how intensely they had been staring at Miku. Momo thought it was frightening, and Miku hadn't responded, only shrugged uncomfortably.

But she had kept the flier, and now she was following this path to see exactly what it advertised.

As ominous as the entire set-up was, Miku didn't feel incredibly uncomfortable. The path was lit, for one thing, not by some mysterious ethereal glow but by perfectly normal paper lanterns strung up on the trees. And the forest wasn't silent, either. In the distance, she could hear an enchanting melody, calling to her, beckoning her forward.

Most promising of all, there were people. As she walked along the path, countless others passed her by, holding fliers just like the crumpled one in her hands and speaking of the forest, laughing and chattering with each other in a perfectly normal way. No one really noticed her walking along the path – of course – but she couldn't help noticing that she was the only one alone. Couples came in pairs, friends came in groups, but no one came to a circus by themselves. Despite the lack of attention, she found herself ducking a bit more firmly into the scarf around her neck, hiding her face.

As she walked, the music got louder. The more clearly she heard the music, the less she considered turning back. It was a simple tune, really, but there was something absolutely enthralling about it. She could have sworn that she had heard it before, somewhere, but she couldn't assign a place to it. It simply was, and she found herself humming along, anticipating the next note before she even knew for sure what it was.

When the music seemed loud enough to be coming from right next to her ear, the lanterns increased in volume, clustering together on the trees until the branches were almost swallowed whole by their bright colors. Miku turned the corner, and there was the circus.

It wasn't particularly glamorous or magical. Dingy tents were strung with more lanterns, taking up the entire clearing. The furthest tent towered over the others, lording over them. And there was something else taller than the tents, as well. At first, Miku thought they were poles, strung up at the entrance. Then, she realized they were moving – and wearing clothes. And then one of them spoke.

"Little flower, where have you wandered to?"

Miku peered up, unable to believe what she was seeing. The blond woman must have been over thirty feet tall, with long, skinny legs. She was looking down at Miku with a perfectly serene expression, though, as if they were old friends.

"A better question is, where has she wandered from?" An equally tall woman, this one with silvery hair and giant top hat, looked to the blonde with narrowed red eyes. "You're asking a question with the answer before you."

The blonde entwined her impossibly long fingers with the red-eyed woman's. "You misunderstand me, my darling! I do not wonder that she's disappeared before my eyes, but wonder at where she's been since our last meeting!"

"I … We've never met." Miku was half-sure she was dreaming – there was no way that these women could possibly exist.

The red-eyed woman knelt down, and Miku resisted the urge to grab her leg, and see if maybe she wasn't wearing stilts … Stilts that magically bent at the knee, of course.

"Oh? Surely one familiar face would call to another." Silvery hair fell across her long forehead, the ponytail down her back taller than Miku herself.

"I'm sorry … I don't know what you mean." Miku tried to walk around them, but the blonde woman stood in her path, blocking her.

"Don't you?" She cocked her head to the side, yellow eyes inquisitive. "Ah, I see. This one's dreams haven't begun." She leaned forward, the impossible size of her body making Miku a bit dizzy. "Tell me, little flower, what name does our heroine go by in this tale?"

The silver-haired woman's tone was almost conversational. "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

"And your scent is already taking root beneath your skin. I look with interest for the blooms." Finally, the two women straightened again, like marionettes under the control of the same puppet-master. The blonde turned to her silver-haired companion. "Shall we leave her to her wandering, then?"

"Such as it is," the red-eyed woman agreed. "It would only be a mercy." She turned to Miku, tipping an impossibly large top-hat in her direction. "Until next time, little flower … Welcome to the Dark Woods Circus."

The two moved away with surprisingly graceful movements. The path into the circus was clear now. Miku looked back for a moment, at the forest path lit by those cunning little lights. For a moment, she entertained the notion of just turning around, and going home. You didn't have to be particularly observant to realize that something was very amiss here, in this circus. Her friends were right, anyone with half a brain would surely stay away, and Miku was smart, everyone seemed to think so.

But that tune was still playing, and it beckoned her. So she turned around, squared her shoulders, and let out a long breath.

And the smart, sensible girl did the completely senseless thing, and wandered deeper into the circus.


I hope you all are as excited for this fic as I am! As I'm sure you've probably realized, this one is based off of the song "Dark Woods Circus." However, I'd like to note that, although I do borrow elements from the popular fanmade PV for the song, it won't be completely based off of it. I'm definitely going my own way with the story, and I hope you enjoy it!

Be sure to leave a review and tell me what you think! Also, the next chapter of my fic Going Viral is coming in a few days, so if you'd like something a bit lighter, be sure to go read that one! :)

Thank you so much for reading! Until next time!

- Jillian Maria