It was just another friday afternoon for Francis Bonnefoy. Work for the day had finished, but after what seemed like decades, Francis was able to swiftly escape from the office before his boss could find anything else for him to do. The wind blew briskly through the French man's long blonde locks whilst he trudged down another dark and empty road; the street lights violently flickered and cast an eary luminous orange glow across the gravel. They created peculiar and rather distorted shadows in which Francis diverted his stare away from and he began to take larger strides, instead of continuing to pace mildly.

His apartment was only another five or so minutes away. Turning down yet another road, Francis relaxed a little as the atmosphere didn't seem to feel as daunting. However, there was an unpleasant chill in the air that clawed fiercely at every bit of skin Francis had exposed. Francis momentarily glared at the cracked pavement as he strode, before lifting his gaze and widening his eyes in surprise. He stopped walking.

A young girl, with a petit figure and a look of no older than 20 years old stood underneath one of the many lampposts and just stared straight infront of her, not reacting to Francis' presence. She had extremely long hair, which was of a murky blonde colour; a striped white and black bow sat atop her head. Her eyes shimmered a mixed shade of purple and blue and her dark eyelashes feathered outwards. The girl wore a puffy black and crimson lacey frock that rested just above her knees. Her hands were unnoticeable under sleeves and she clutched a pile of extravogantly designed flyers to her chest.

After blinking a few times and drifting back into reality, Francis gingerly tapped the strange women on her shoulder a couple of times, before she twisted her head to face him.

"I-Is everything alright, Miss?" Francis spoke in a stutter and recoiled his hand. She smiled widely and bowed her head slightly.

"Everything is perfectly normal, Sir." She replied with a smooth tone before she tilted her head to the left. "A man of business, are you not?" The girl indicated Francis' pressed black and white suit and formal appearance; her tone seemed dangerously patronising. Pursing his lips lightly, Francis also nodded as a reply and ran a hand through his locks. Her beam turned into a alluring smirk and she plucked one of the many flyers from the dozens she had.

"I wonder if you kind of people are interested in this kind of entertainment..." Peering down at the advertisement in wonder, the girl mumbled the sentence as if she was questioning herself.

Was she?

Francis was soon handed the slip and he proceeded in scanning the parchement. Starting at the top in big bold letters, it read:

"CIRQUE DE MONDIALE."

"One of the greatest travelling circus' in history."

"Only one nights worth of performances. Saturday 14th. Places are limitted."

That's tomorrow...Francis thought as he continued to look over the flyer, his nose scrunching up a little at the concept. He continued scanning.

"Get your tickets while you can. £13.00 each."

"Souvenirs and momentums will be sold between acts."

"IT IS STRONGLY ADVISED THAT ANY PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF 17 SHOULD NOT ATTEND AS SEVERAL OF THE PERFORMANCES ARE DISTURBING AND INHUMAN."

'This is blatently not a traditional circus. 'Francis wondered to himself, rereading each sentence over and over. Hmm...it is very similar to that of a freak show...

"So, where is it being held?" Francis inquired as casually as he could, in an attempt to not appear interested in such a ridiculous offer... The girl flipped the flyer over in Francis' hands and her soot black nail pointed to the bottom right corner.

"There should be a large, open field, opposite the abandoned warehouse a few blocks from here." She elaborated and leaned back from Francis and the paper. "Are you interested? It is a once in a lifetime oppertunity...Sir..." Once more, she responded in a mocking manner. Feeling incredibly intreuged by the offer, Francis bit down on his bottom lip and fiddled with the corners of the sheet in thought. A subtle eye contact was made between Francis and the girl, whose pupils appear to dilate as she waited for an answer. Fracis nibbled his thumb nail as he processed his thoughts.

On one hand, it could be, as said, a once in a lifetime oppertunity and the circus may never bypass him again. The whole event could be extravagent and unique, something Francis would be able to talk about to all his acquaintances. Plus, maybe he could persuade a couple of his friends to join him, and share the experience together...

Alternatively, the entire event could be a travesty and completely disgusting. The warning on the flyer wasn't there for no reason. Although Francis was over 17, being 25, any of the performances could be enough to damage him mentally if they were everything the flyer made them out to be. It could be a hoax, a waste of money and the entire circus crew may be frauds.

But as they say, you only live once.

And Francis continued to play with the sheet in his suddenly clammy hands as the bizarre girl still stared at him intensely. With a sigh of what was a mix of relief and regret, the French man plucked his worn leather wallet from one of the many pockets in his suit, grasping it tightly as he brought it out in front of himself. Chuckling deeply, a captivating smirk spread across his face and he opened the metallic latch of his wallet with a CLACK.

"Hmm, 3 tickets s'il vous plait..."

And the girl mirrored the grin with satisfaction and success in her eyes.

End of Part 1