AN: This story is based off my other story Joker's Sacrifice. If you have not read it, I highly recommend that you read it first before reading this. This will be a collection of short stories that will lead to Cuinn and Amari leaving the Circus. Most will not follow any sort of order.

For those who have read JS here are ideas for other stories I'm planning on doing. I want to get your opinion on which one you would like to see me do next. These are the current ones I have:

1. Cuinn and Amari get caught in the middle of a prison break.

2. Cuinn learns some tricks from the circus illusionist (a grandfather type figure will play a major role).

3. How the prisoners ended up having to wear stuff animal masks.

4. Amari, Cuinn, and Cynthia (A jester girl who will play a role in here and JS.) end up posing for a picture after an embarrassing chain of events for Cuinn and Cynthia.

5. A family picnic at the blue rose garden.

6. Cuinn and Amari face their fears.

7. For those that read ch9 of JS: The bet Cuinn lost causing him to lick a tiger.

Post which story you want next in your review.

Caucus Race

"Cuinn. Cuinn. Cuinn!"

Cuinn set down the book he was engrossed in and looked up into the angry, yet identical face of his sister standing over him.

"Is there something you want, sis?" he asked from his spot on the floor.

In response Amari glared at Cuinn before tackling him onto his back. Amari straddled his stomach with her arms crossed and cheeks puffed out while glaring down at him.

"What was that for?" Cuinn asked while rubbing the back of his head. Cuinn was lying on top of the pile books he was leaning against, before Amari tackled him. The corners of the books were digging into his back making him squirm in discomfort.

"You didn't hear a single word I said to you, did you?" Amari asked after a long drawn out silence.

"Said about what?" Cuinn asked confused. Amari groaned in frustration while pulling on her short, blond hair.

"The Caucus Race. I've been explaining my plan for it, for the last five minutes, but you have been to busy reading that book to pay any attention." Amari got off Cuinn and made for the door. "Since you don't care for the race, I'll do everything myself." Amari slammed the door behind her leaving behind a dumbfounded Cuinn. After a moment of sitting in silence, Cuinn realized what was going on.

"Wait. There's going to be a Caucus race today?!"

~X~

Cuinn found Amari surrounded by a dozen circus children, while she explained her plan for the Caucus race.

"Because we don't have the key that means that certain hallways are closed off, so we'll have to avoid them."

"Not anymore," Cuinn cried triumphantly, startling everyone.

Amari looked at Cuinn surprised. "I thought you weren't coming."

"I never said that. You thought I wasn't going to show and…what are you wearing?" Cuinn asked doing a double-take.

"Oh, this? The twins gave it to me," Amari replied doing a twirl.

Amari was wearing a skin tight, yellow acrobat jumpsuit. When she mentioned the twins, Cuinn glanced at them and regretted doing so. The acrobat twins, Abby and Lilly, were wearing the same outfit, but in matching colors of a blue and green mix.

When Cuinn saw the outfits, he immediately turned away, bushing a deep shade of red. It was common knowledge around the circus that when it came to girls, with the exception of his mother and sister, Cuinn was extremely shy. It was a fact that many used against him.

"Are those the warden's keys?" a small, timid, voice asked.

The voice belonged to a small jester girl who is hiding behind one of the older jester boys. Compared to Cuinn and Amari, who are short, this girl is tiny. Her name is Cynthia, though some people call her Cindy. She also happens to be very shy around people.

"Yep," Cuinn replied happily as he twirled the key ring on his finger.

"Well done Cuinn!" exclaimed a jester named Bruno. He was the oldest in the group and a knife juggler. "Now that it seems that all problems are taken care of, shall we start this race, because I am ready to win."

"Shouldn't you be ready to lose?" Cuinn asked, teasing Bruno.

"I'm not worried about losing to a pip-squeak," Bruno replied smugly.

"I'm not a pip-squeak," Cuinn replied pouting.

"How old are you?"

"I'm six."

"Well, I'm twelve so that means you're a pip-squeak compared to me." Bruno smiled as Cuinn pouted unable to come up with a response.

"Are we going to race or not?" Amari asked, trying to get everything back on track.

"Of course. Does everyone remember the rules?" Cuinn asked. Everyone around him nodded. "One last thing, if any of you run into our parents, Good luck!"

"We'll make sure to give you a proper funeral," Bruno added mischievously, causing the others to gulp in fear.

"Ok then, are you ready, set, go!" Amari cried. In a flash, everyone scattered in different directions, leaving Cuinn standing alone. He laughed mischievously.

'I never said that I unlocked all the doors,' he thought. Cuinn started walking at a leisurely down the hallway. A few minutes into his stroll, a series of shouts echoed down the hallway. He could even hear Amari's shout of outrage among them. Cuinn snickered before sprinting down the winding hallways, passing through dozens of cell blocks.

'Can't let them catch up.' As Cuinn raced down one particular hallway, he noticed something lying on the ground at the end of it. As he stopped to ponder what it was, a yellow blur flew passed him, laughing.

"Too slow Cuinn," Amari cried.

It was then that Cuinn realized that the object was a rope, but it was too late to warn Amari. The rope sprang up from the ground catching Amari's legs. She fell with a shriek. Cuinn ran by Amari laughing. As he passed by he noticed two jester children hiding in crevices in the walls holding the ends of the rope.

"Who's slow now?" Cuinn taunted as he rounded the corner. Suddenly, he struck something that felt like a wall. Cuinn bounced back and barely managed to recover his balance to keep himself from falling. He looked up to see that the wall he had run into was really the warden half of his dad.

"Cuinn, you mind telling me why there's a bunch of brats running around my prison?" Black asked menacingly, while holding his whip in front of him. His eyes lit up on the key chain clipped to Cuinn's belt. "And do you mind telling me how you got my key ring?"

"Well that's a funny story," Cuinn replied with his hands raised defensively as he back away slowly. Cuinn spun around and ran back the corridor he came from.

Standing in the middle of the corridor was Amari who was scolding the two jester boys.

"Run!" Cuinn cried gaining their attention. "It's the devil!"

Amari and the jesters looked at Cuinn confused until they saw Black come running down the hallway, roaring after Cuinn. Cuinn grabbed Amari as he ran by dragging her with him. As they ran, Cuinn heard a shout followed by something heavy hitting the ground. He stopped and turned around to see Black on the floor, spewing curses, as the two jester boys ran away down the hallway he came from. They caught Black with the same rope they used on Amari.

"Come on!" Amari shouted, grabbing Cuinn by the arm and pulling him along. She did not want to wait for Black to get on his feet. The two of them raced down the winding hallways where they eventually encountered Bruno who began running along side them.

"Still think you can win?" He taunted.

"Right now, I just don't want to be caught by the devil behind us," Cuinn replied. Bruno's face paled as he understood who Cuinn was referring to. Before long, all the children running in the race ended up running beside the three. The crowd of children turned sheet white when they heard the familiar stream of curses coming from behind them. The prisoners looked on in confusion as they saw a mass of children run by their cells followed by Black.

"Look!" cried Amari, pointing. "There's the finish line." The yellow tape marking the end of the race was at the very end of the hallway. Everyone put what energy they had left into their legs. Amari and Cuinn edged ahead of the others so that they were neck and neck. Just when they were about to cross the finish line, Cuinn noticed something slide out from behind the wall in front of their feet. It was too late to shout a warning. It tripped them and the others behind them causing them to fall into a giant heap. Cuinn and Amari were unfortunate enough to end up at the bottom. Both were groaning from the weight on their backs when they were startled by a scabbard hit the floor in front of them. They follow it up to the face of their mother, Alicia Spade. At normal times her bright crimson eyes, full of life, short chestnut color hair, that frames her face so well, and flawless porcelain skin would give her the appearance of an angel, but at times when she was angry, that same appearance made her look like a mad devil. And unfortunately for Cuinn and Amari, that was exactly what she was.

"What are you children doing running around here?" Though her voice was even and calm, the irritation and threat of punishment behind it were clear. Cuinn's eyes widen in fear as he noticed that she was not wearing her usual read dress, but instead her sparring outfit. It consists of a pair of bright red leather trousers, matching long sleeve undershirt with a near-black crimson vest on top. Her hands wear encased in leather gloves, with red spade designs on the back, rest on the hilt of her sheathed sword.

As everyone became aware of her outfit, they all understood that she had just came back from sword practice and was no doubt exhausted and when she was exhausted she was much more irritable. They all gulped knowing their fates were sealed. Amari and Cuinn heard Black as he finally caught up to them panting.

"Finally…caught up… to…you brats," he said between breathes.

"Don't think I didn't hear all your cursing, Black," Alicia stated. Black winced, knowing he was going to get it later. Returning her attention to the pile of children in front of her, "Have anything to say for yourselves?"

They replied simultaneously, "Have mercy."

~~X~~

Cuinn let out a sigh as he lay on bed. His sister was changing into her pajamas in the bathroom. He heard the bathroom door open as Amari came out wearing a matching yellow, footie pajama. They were even identical in the way they dressed, having matching pairs of every outfit. It was rare when the each wore something different. She crawled into bed next to him. Both were confined to their room for the next three days after receiving a harsh scolding. The others were escorted out of the prison to be dealt their punishment from White. The two boys were lucky that their mom was there or Black would have locked them both up in a cell for who knows how long.

"Ready to go to bed?" Amari asked with a tried sigh.

"Yeah," Cuinn replied yawning as he felt exhaustion creeping in on him. Amari yawned too, showing that she too was also feeling tried. Amari turned off the bedside lamp before curling close to Cuinn, facing him. Cuinn did likewise.

"Sweet dreams," Amari whispered.

"You too," Cuinn replied as he fell asleep. They fell asleep with their foreheads touching; hands clasped between them and their breathes intermingling, as they plunged into the world of pleasant dreams.

AN: Ahhh. Now that ending was very sweet. What do you think? Love it, hate it? Leave a review with your thoughts and what story you want to see next. By the way I chose Alicia's name for a reason. Can anyone guess what it is? Well I hope you enjoyed.

Cuinn: We'll see you again soon.

Amari: Please review. Bye.