Okay so I've had this idea for a long time and it keeps interfering with my other stories so I had to write it down. Basically, this is a prologue so you can see how certain things happened and get a little insight into how things went down that day. So Richard is going to be eight in the beginning and his sister is seven, don't question it. Okay now onto my story.
The atmosphere around the big top was almost palpable as two impatient children peeked out from behind the curtain.
"Avis, Richard, come here." A mediumly tall lady with blond hair and bright eyes called from the dressing area. Exchanging quick glances, the two children turned and ran towards the women.
"Ce este mama?"(What is it Mother?) The boy asked
"I have a present for you two." She answered with a smile, "Follow me." Both children quickly fell into step behind their mother as she led them out of the tent and and round the back. There, waiting for them, was a tall man with very dark hair and dark brown eyes and a large smile on his face.
"Ce este papa? Care e surpriza?" (What is it papa? What's the surprise?) The little girl asked with excitement. Slowly, the man pulled something out from behind him. The little boy gasped in excitement and raced forward to grab the gift. The girl followed more hesitantly until she could clearly see what her father was giving them. As she took hold of the beautiful fabric, she turned towards her brother. Bright blue eyes met dark brown and the two let out an identical giggle before racing off to try on their new costumes. The boy, not forgetting his manners stopped and turned back before scrunching his face up in concentration.
"T-thank you mami și tati."
"Very good Richard!" His mother said excitedly and smiled when Richard beamed at her
"You're welcome son." His father said. With that, the young boy turned back around and sprinted to the dressing area where his sister was currently examining her new getup.
"Nu sunt aceste noi costume uimitoare?" ("Aren't these new costumes amazing?") She asked as he arrived
"Am vorbit engleză!" ("I spoke english!") He said, "si da, ele sunt destul de cool." ("and yes, they are pretty cool.") After changing into a new outfit of his own, he took a moment to really look at it. It was a silvery white with an elaborate design sewn into it with blue thread. His sister's was almost identical to his except that the design on hers was shaped more like a sparrow and had gold thread whereas his resembled more of a robin. His sister looked up at him after finishing her own examination and smiled broadly at him. Her brown eyes twinkling with anticipation and her blond hair dancing with circus lights.
"Știi ce înseamnă acest, drept Avis?" ("You know what this means, right Avis?") He asked. Avis nodded excitedly as she stared into her brother's bright blue eyes.
"Vom ajunge pentru a efectua. Vom ajunge pentru a acoperi real!" ("We get to perform. We get to fly for real!") She responded. As the two siblings looked at each other, they couldn't help but let out a joyous laugh. They were going to be allowed to do a quadruple somersault for the first time in front of a real audience. Avis and Richard startled when their father and mother appeared behind them.
"Are you ready?" Mary Grayson asked and then smiled when her kids both gave vigorous nods "Well then, we had better get to the big top." As the family of four made their way to the tent, the adults looked at each other and exchanged slightly worried expressions before letting the rush of the circus take control. A few minutes later, they were gathered in front of the curtain and waited for the last act to come through before heading out and making their way to the trapeze stands. Richard went up first on one side and Avis started up the pole parallel to his. Once all four members of the act were standing on the two platforms, they heard the familiar words and began to wave to the crowd.
"-The only aerialist group to complete a quadruple somersault, Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, The Flying Graysons!" The crowd roared in anticipation as the Graysons began to jump off the platforms and complete a rather impressive looking routine. After the opening, the parents took off and completed a duet before handing it off to their children. As Richard flipped himself forward and grabbed his sister's hands, he couldn't help the broad grin that split his face. Avis had a similar smile as she launched her brother towards the other trapeze and then jumped after him doing a somersault in the process. The crowd roared in amazement and awe as the two youngest seemed to fly. Really fly. The parents were amazing but the kids were….they could fly. Finally, it came time for the big finale. The audience cheered as John Grayson did a quadruple somersault and latched onto a swinging trapeze before readying himself to catch his wife. Mary gracefully jumped into the air and completed her trick before catching her husband's waiting hands and then spun her body so that he was holding her feet. As Richard moved to jump, he heard a strange creaking sound and glanced upwards only to realize that the bolts were gone. Whipping his head around, he locked eyes with Avis and saw his own horrified expression reflected there before both kids lunged forward in a vain attempt to catch their mother's outstretched hands as both of their parents fell to their deaths.
"Mami, tati no!" Avis screamed as she collapsed onto the platform and began to sob. Richard couldn't help his own cries as he held his sister tightly. What happened after that was a blur. Somehow, he ended up on the ground with his sister's hand clenched tightly in his own as police and EMT's flitted about the scene. As Richard's shocked eyes roamed the scene, he noticed a strangely dressed man and was confused when he beckoned for Richard to come to him. Still holding his sister's hand, he slowly made his way over to the man. He was too confused and shocked at the moment to think clearly and so he walked until he was right in front of the man. The guy just looked at him strangely before turning around and walking out of the big top. Richard wasn't really sure what happened next but somehow found himself outside the tent. Alone. Somewhere he had let go of his sister. As Richard's sluggish brain realized this, he turned to go back towards the circus tent where he assumed his sister was. He needed her right now. Unfortunately, before he could take a step, a hand grabbed him from behind and pressed a cloth against his face. Richard gagged and tried in vain to escape but soon he admitted defeat as his vision darkened and his eyes closed.
Inside, the tent, Avis was panicking. Her mami and tati just died and now she had lost her brother. As she spun in a circle her breathing picked up until she was almost to the point of hyperventilating. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see a tall man in a fancy suit with dark hair and blue eyes. He kneeled down and looked at her before saying something in english. Avis was too scared and confused at the moment to try and figure it out so she just stood there and, to her shock and amazement, felt tears start to stream from her eyes.
"Unde e fratele meu? Nu pot să găsesc pe fratele meu. De ce au murit? De ce au murit?" ("Where's my brother? I can't find my brother. Why did they die? Why did they die?") As Avis began to cry harder as she repeated the last phrase the man seemed to realize something.
"Ești fratele lipsește?" ("Your brother is missing?") He asked, and to her amazement, in romanian. Nodding her head she confirmed his statement before the weight of that statement actually sank in. Her brother was missing. Her. Brother. Was. Missing.
"Trebuie să-l găsesc! Vă rugăm să trebuie să găsiți fratele meu!" ("You have to find him! Please you must find my brother!") Avis realized that she was breathing hard again and tried desperately to calm herself.
"Nu -ți face griji, am să-l găsesc" ("Don't worry, I'll find him.") Avis met the man's eyes and saw the promise there before allowing herself to calm down as much as possible. Slowly, her mind wandered back to the image of her broken parents and she found herself crying again. Only this time, she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder and, desperate for physical comfort, latched herself onto the man in the fancy suit. He was surprised to say the least but soon found himself returning the hug, if only halfheartedly, and making a silent vow to find her brother. In fact, he needed to get started right away and search the area for clues but…..the little girl needed him for right now, so, he would stay. But right when he got home, he was going straight to the batcave to work his magic. He would find the boy.
Okay before people start to freak out, NO, I am not bailing on my other stories I just couldn't write them cause I had this floating around in my head and have already created a whole storyline for this (I just haven't written it yet) so I needed to get it down on paper. I know this was a bit unclear and ruched? at parts but it was because I wrote in about an hour and had to take a few breaks during the process. Once again, I am not bailing on my other stories, in fact I plan to have an update for What Lies in The Shadows (WLITS) by the end of the week, and Let fly Loose (LFL) will soon follow. Review button is down there so please tell me what you think and I don't care if you yell at me for writing three stories at once I just like getting reviews.