Welcome, dear Visitor, to the Cirque du Freak. What is the Cirque du Freak, you say? I'm glad you asked. Allow me to show you. But be careful. Don't get too close. Because if you do…
Bad thIngs will hapPeN.
Do you see that, dear Visitor? That shiny glint? We're at our first exhibition. Behold. The 'Metal Handed Freak'. The arms go rather well with his silver hair, no? Oh look, you woke him up. It's alright, don't be scared. He begins to roar at whomever comes near him.
They cut off his arms up to his elbows and connected a pair of mechanical ones to his nerves. They're beautiful. His job is to battle the animals; that's where all his scars come from. Oh dear, some stitches are coming loose. I think I should inform the ringmaster.
We replaced his left eye with a blue one. It looks quite authentic on him, I think. I quite like it. They burn with a fire almost as strong as his green one. He's a good act, that boy. It's a shame he can't speak properly. They removed his tongue.
Next, this is our sword-swallower. It's a good thing his black hair was already short or we'd have to have cut it. Oh, that blindfold? It covers his eyes. Or rather, his lack of them. Don't be dejected if he backs away from you, he has a problem with being near people.
It's a lesson well learned, I suppose. After all, he deserved it. He tried to escape with his friends. Thought that they, at least, could escape. Now he knows that if he does that again, he gets thrown in the lion pen before lunchtime. Oh, don't look so grim. Do you really think anyone would have wanted him anyways?
That scar down his cheek… ah, that was memorable. That was when he was put on guard duty and was attacked by a serial killer. I believe he used to enjoy baseball. Then they cut off two of his fingers. He was wailing for weeks after that. He couldn't pitch a ball ever again.
Our third act is our twin dancers. Look at how much they look alike! Even their hair is the same shade of indigo. The twins have the dancers' act. It is quite amazing to watch. It's a shame that only one is a girl, but no matter. Their hands have been sown together so now they can't leave each other. Honestly, I thought they'd be glad about that.
The boy's eyes were incredibly strange when we first got him: red and blue. The girl only had one eye, so we gave her a new one. It looks remarkably like a tiger's, doesn't it? Pretty and golden. Their outfits are beautiful. The boy wears a suit and a purple shirt (which do conceal the burns marvelously) and the girl's dress is wonderful. Violet and frilly, they almost hide her legs.
We gave her different ones and sewed them on. Very interesting, and I must say that it turned out quite nicely. I believe that she's developed another personality, you see, so I would like it if you tried not to get too close to the cell – oh dear. She's awake. Please stop yelling, dear girl, or I will punish you. Don't yell in front of our Visitor, dear girl, it's been so long since we've had one. I would advise that you do not say that to our Visitor, please.
Fine then. I will deal with you later.
Oh, I'm quite proud of our trapezist, you know, seeing as he was my work. He's quite talented. He used to talk so much, so loudly. He gave hope to the other acts. But now he can't speak at all, oh dear. I took out his vocal cords. He only has one eye; the other was impaled with a metal bar on his first try. I had to replace his shirt, it was covered in blood. So was his white hair.
He used to have a younger sister, but she died in an accident. Tragic. Apparently she fell into the piranha pit. I believe one of our other acts tripped and pushed her in. We had to get rid of the piranhas later. Anyways, I'm getting off track. Oh, his hand? I switched his ring and middle fingers around after he tried to escape the first time. Tsk, tsk.
Please calm down, child. Trying to break through the bars won't work either, you know. And I know you think that it was my fault, but it wasn't. Don't look at me like that, boy. Do you want to be punished again? Has your bone healed from last time? Ah, no matter. Please, dear Visitor. Let's continue.
Oh, this one was fun to break, he fights all the trespassers we find. He can't see anymore because of the acid they put in his eyes and those stitches on his cheek hold everything in. He didn't even scream, so I suppose I have to respect him for that. He was the strongest of them all and incredibly hard to discourage. I think he could have probably escaped if he hadn't wanted to leave with his 'family', he called them.
We only managed to break him after we showed him what we'd done to the others and killed his beloved pet bird. Then he stopped speaking at all. He only talks to them now. He tried to botch up the acts every time he could, but then – oh you see them? Yes, those burns were his punishment, and they implanted fangs into his gums because he wouldn't stop ruining everything.
He seemed most torn when he saw their leader – but you haven't seen him yet. No matter, he's coming up soon. He tried to hurt any staff member who came near him. He even killed a few. They all tried once they saw their beloved leader. I don't honestly understand why… but let's get back to the point. Only two more left, Visitor dear, no need to take a break. We're almost done here.
This one is quite young, younger than the rest, at least, about twelve, so he doesn't have a job yet. He just feeds the animals. He used to be quite handsome. But we made him look better! His hair looks much nicer when it's all choppy like that. They taped his mouth shut. He cries too much, so we have to let him go into the others' cages so that he stops.
I don't think he can see out of that left eye, which would explain why it's all foggy green instead of bright, and his ear is all torn up after he got attacked by a… a wolf, was it? It was when he tried to rescue the 'Metal Handed Freak' from the lions and he tripped into the wolf pen instead. It was quite peaceful for a while, even though all the acts attacked the animals for hurting him. There was quite a lot of blood.
We spent quite a lot of time and money replacing the animals and training them. But we managed. I made him take up the job to train them, that's why he has all those bite marks all over him. He did it, though, and he did a good job, I suppose. These ones listen now. But he seems to resent everyone here even more than the other acts. I think he had a more 'big-brotherly' connection to their leader. Oh, the leader is up next, so don't worry!
A dull caramel eye glinting in the flickering torchlight, matted brown hair obscuring their depths. This is our pride and joy, our lead act! Oh, those things on his back? Those are a pair of wings they sowed on from an eagle, I think it was. I wanted to sew his mouth closed, but it doesn't seem to affect anything, unfortunately. One eye turned orange when we exposed him to a certain chemical and it won't go back.
It suits him, though. Quite a nice shade of amber. Don't glare at me like that, insolent boy. Your family is at least better off than you are, so don't complain. I don't care if you try to stab me with your claws, be grateful that you're the worst off here. Don't start crying or else I'll blind your other eye. You can't see out of the orange one, am I correct?
Your wings are beautiful though. Lustrous and feathery, the epitome of perfection. I don't see why you hate them that much, child. But don't worry. If you work hard enough, you'll be set free. You'll have trouble with your appearance though. Don't look at our Visitor like that, please. The Visitor will think you're trying to warn them or something. Ah, don't worry, dear Visitor. You'll be perfectly fine…
Well, we've reached the end of our tour. It's been oh, so long since we've had Visitors, you know? Oh, no, I'm fine. But still… the last Visitors we had… they're our new acts. And I think we've really been needing a clown recently… you'd be perfect for the job! Don't you think so too, Visitor dear?
Now, now, don't fight. If you do…
Bad thIngs will hapPeN.
A/N: A brief exposure to my psychotic side in this wonderful one-shot! Well, it took me a while on this one, but I think the injuries weren't bad enough. Any ideas?