4. Twisted Tea, Twisted Dolls
Rebecca let out a small groan as she spotted Emile enter the room.
"You're late," She complained, crossing her legs as she sipped some tea, without any care for manners. "The tea is starting to cool down already..."
"Sorry," The boy responded, shrugging a little as he sat down opposite her. "I got busy dealing with some sinner earlier. Apparently he was an arsonist and ended up blowing himself up somehow!" He let out a few laughs at this, leaning back in his chair a little after nabbing a cookie off a tray. "The Ringmaster told me to do what I wanted-so I thought I'd put on a little knife-throwing show. Practice my skills, you know."
"And should I assume you cut him open in the process?" Rebecca responded. The other merely nodded and grinned, taking a bite out of the cookie in his hand. "Thought so. It would be like you to do that, considering you're the one collecting dead insects all the time."
Emile frowned a bit. "Hey, I'm not the only one who collects dead things-you're the one going and making dolls out of all the human corpses!"
Rebecca merely brushed off the comment with a small smile. "Well, Jolene was worth it," She mused, glancing at a doll of a woman, eyes completely devoid of any possible life it once held. "It's too bad I had to wait for a while until she was up and walking again-" She looked down at a certain carnie, almost glaring at him. "It didn't help that you had to go and just devour her like she's your next meal! You had plenty to eat beforehand, you glutton!"
The Beast growled in response, stuck sitting on the floor while the others sat in real chairs. The older carnie was currently chained by his wrists, ankles and even his neck, the links too tough for him to break and too restraining for him to go and try to attack Rebecca or Emile so harshly. Instead, he ignored her comment as best as he could, trying to reach for a nearby cookie tray.
Slapping his hand away roughly, Rebecca only sharped her glare towards him. "If you want a cookie or something, at least say please," she huffed, turning away from him.
"He hasn't eaten anything all day for the past few days." Meridianna spoke up, sitting to Cassandra's left and to Rebecca's right. "Please, Rebecca, at least give him something-he can't even speak properly at the moment in his Beast form, remember?"
"Oh, right..." The young girl rolled her eyes, before plucking a cookie off the tray and dropping it into Cassandra's reach. "Eat that, you glutton..."
Meridianna didn't say anything as she watched Cassandra devour the cookie, crumbs flying like organs did when ripped from a corpse's torso-
Meridianna swallowed, shaking her head a little. No. She did not want to remember the mutilation of all those corpses Cassandra ate up days ago, dark blood staining the ground underneath his feet and splattering itself all over his body as he pulled the flesh apart. She really didn't wish to remember...
She had to remind herself, though, that Cassandra was the Beast. It should be perfectly natural for him by now to be acting in such animalistic ways (at least, that was what the Ringmaster said to her earlier when she voiced her concern about Cassandra's increase of more inhumane interaction with her). There was only going to be more bloodshed the more he played his role in Hell, and it wasn't going to stop anytime soon.
A thump shook her out of her senses, and she looked down to see that the Beast had fallen onto his side, eyes closed as he lay there, lifeless.
"Beast-" She tried to listen for a heartbeat somehow, and then she glared at Rebecca. "What did you do? I swear, if you just poisoned him-"
"Poisoned him?" Rebecca repeated. "No, I didn't-it's just a sleeping potion. I thought I had enough of his company, but I know I'm not allowed to kill him. The Ringmaster did order against that, after all, unless he decided to say otherwise."
"And you expect me to lug him all the way back to his tent?" The older woman demanded, frowning a bit still as the glare lessened slightly. "You have no idea how difficult it is to drag him-he's far heavier than you think."
Emile let out a sigh. "At least you didn't have to drag him all the way from the Big Top to his cage, like I had to do when he joined as the Beast." The boy muttered quietly. "He was so heavy! And he was still twitching, too-it wasn't fun, really. It really wasn't fun..."
"Anyway," The girl continued, "I thought that, well, an act is coming soon. And apparently I'll be involved in that act. So...why not add a little excitement with the Beast?" She looked up at Meridianna, trying to look as innocent as possible (though Rebecca was far from innocent as everyone knew). The Fortuneteller didn't get the hint at first, until she looked at Cassandra again.
"You want me to let you use him for the act that will be arriving, don't you?" She spoke, making eye contact with the younger girl, who nodded. Meridianna paused, before nodding once. "Alright. I'll let you use him-though you're going to have to feed him afterwards. I can't have him starving on the job for too long, alright? And," She added, "No drugging his food. I'd like him to stay awake and well, thank you."
"Fine, fine..." Rebecca paused for a moment, before turning towards Emile. "Hey, wait a minute...didn't the Ringmaster say that there were going to be two acts? Wouldn't I usually deal with one?"
"Well," The boy stratched the back of his left ear with one hand as he continued, "The other is actually someone who is already dead. She's been dead for a long time...but apparently she broke out of the fiery pits of hell for the six-hundredth time now- most likely to try to find her lover, who is probably burning in some other pit of hell. Apparently she poisoned him and herself as well-suicide and murder at the same time. Can't remember her name, though, but I guess it doesn't matter if you're not dealing with her."
Meridianna paused to think, before suddenly remembering-
"Suzette."
"What?" Emile asked, turning towards her with wide, curious eyes. "Suzette's her name?"
Meridianna nodded. "Yes, it is. I've seen her running around Hell's Carnival before-calling out for the lover she murdered. She wouldn't have done it if he dug her out of a coffin instead of leaving her in there-it's cruel of him, and I assume that she murdered him and herself because she wanted to be with him that badly-"
A dagger flew past her face, hitting the wall behind her. She blinked, before Emile let out a groan.
"Come on, Meridianna, do I have to imitate the Ringmaster to make you understand how Hell works?" He asked, twirling another knife in his hand. "No matter the reason why, a sin is a sin. That's how things work, no matter what."
Meridianna just shook her head, before she looked at Cassandra. "Can we discuss this later, please? We have an act to perform."
Rebecca smiled, hopping out of her chair to bend down and gaze at the unconscious Beast. "Of course..."
Mikalia was really unsure as of where she was, and she was determined to find out how, when and why she was here.
"Hello?" She called out as she wandered the grounds, looking left and right at all the strange tents, all in different sizes. "Is anyone there?"
There was no response. She let out a groan. Of course there wouldn't be any response-who would want to answer someone who was a stranger to this place, anyway? But then-
"No! No! Someone-"
A young woman came rushing around a tent, looking behind her, and before Mikalia could get out of the way-well, the two collided. The two of them went sprawling to the ground, and Mikalia couldn't help but snap at her.
"Hey, watch where you're-"
She stopped mid-sentence as soon as she saw the other woman's face. She had to do a double-take to make sure she was confirming that whoever was right in front of her was real. The hair colour wasn't quite right, and the outfit was different, but her facial features-those eyes, the lips, the cheekbones...it was very much familiar with Mikalia, and she knew that there could only be one good idea for who this could be.
"Are you...Suzette?"
"Hm?" Suzette looked at Mikalia quietly, observing her similar features. "Who...are you? And why do you look like-like-"
Before she could finish her question, two clowns suddenly appeared out of nowhere, bloodied smiles plastered on their faces. Each of them rushed towards Suzette, grabbing her by the arms, and began to drag her away. The young woman struggled and kicked, but neither of them loosened their iron grip as they continued to drag her.
"Unhand me!" Suzette screamed, eyes filled with desperation, grief, as she continued to struggle against their grasp. "Miles, Miles, save me! Miles!"
Mikalia had no idea who this 'Miles' was. What she did know, however, was that she wanted answers now.
"Hey, wait!" The Delilah Doll shouted as her look-alike was dragged around the corner. She didn't hesitate to follow, to try to catch up.
As soon as she turned the corner, though, she realized that she was alone again.
In a room, there was a collection of dolls. The pretty, porcelain ones lay in glass cases, and perched on wooden shelves, tenderly taken care of day by day. Plush dolls littered the floor, taking over the nearby couch as many toy soldiers stood in a perfect formation on a table, holding their fake stick guns as they looked ready to march into the imaginative battle awaiting them.
There were much bigger, more life-sized 'dolls' that were posed at various places in the room. In one corner, the men were all piled on top of each other, neglected completely as dust enveloped their silent forms. In another corner, the women were placed at tables, posed as if ready to have a tea party.
And finally, in a gigantic pile of stuffed bears strewn on a queen-sized bed, the Beast lay there, silent as the dead that lingered around him.
A moment later, the Beast's hand twitched...
"Hello?"
Mikalia still couldn't find Suzette, and gave up on the effort. If she couldn't find her now, those strange, creepy clowns from earlier must have sent her someplace else in the carnival, perhaps to be locked up. Mikalia couldn't be sure-she barely knew anything about Suzette, other than the fact that she was someone Cain loved dearly, after all.
"Looking for someone, dear madam?"
Mikalia turned to find the source of the sing-song male voice, which happened to belong to a tall, blond man. Mikalia admitted to herself that he was faintly handsome (of course, he didn't hold a candle to Cain, but still), and that he looked absolutely odd in the striped waistcoat he wore over the crimson silk shirt, with black trousers and shoes to finish it off as well as a blazer of white.
"Who are you?" She demanded, keeping a fair distance away from the man. She didn't trust him-there was something about him that wasn't to be trusted, despite the kind demeanor he was exhibiting at the moment. "What do you want?"
The man merely smiled. "Gilford the Gamemaster, at your service." He introduced himself with a flourish of his arm and a graceful bow. "Should I assume that you're a visitor to this lovely carnival, Miss..." He frowned a bit, scratching the side of his head a bit. "I'm afraid I'm at a loss of a name, though the Ringmaster did inform me of your arrival. Would you care to tell me, madam?"
"No." Mikalia snapped back, glaring daggers at him. "Should I bother?" Not even giving him time to answer, she stomped away from him before he could say something about how unladylike she was acting towards him. She didn't like this man-why should she bother talking with him, then?
"If you're looking for that woman that looks a lot like you-well, she's already not here in the carnival."
Mikalia froze. "What?" She turned to face him as she spoke. "How do you know about-"
Gilford merely grinned. "The Ringmaster was kind enough to tell me about it, dear madam. That's how I know..."
She dared to raise an eyebrow. "Who is this Ringmaster? Tell me!"
The other frowned. "Not when you're displaying such unladylike behaviour, madam." He scoffed lightly. "At the very least, say please."
She gritted her teeth, before speaking again. "Can you tell me who this Ringmaster is? Please?"
He smiled. "Much better." He paused, before continuing. "No one truly knows who the Ringmaster really is-except for my dear, dear, Fortuneteller, but she doesn't let out a peep about him." He frowned a bit at this. "You think one's lover would tell you everything about themselves, but ever since I pushed her off that tower, she refuses to confide in me."
Mikalia scowled at this useless information. "Of course she wouldn't. She would hate you for killing her."
He didn't respond verbally, and instead he merely shrugged and walked away, turning the corner of one tent and disappearing from her view.
"Hey, wait! Don't just go and-" She started, rushing after him again-
And she realized that she lost him, just like she lost Suzette.
"This is just convenient..." She muttered sarcastically to herself, before she took view of a nearby dollhouse, with black and red strips all over it.
Of course, this wasn't just any ordinary dollhouse. In fact, it was much taller than a regular, child-sized dollhouse. No, this one was taller, as tall as the houses that she had seen in the streets of London. Bright light illuminated the windows, and Mikalia took notice of a small sign, hanging just above the doors to the dollhouse.
The Dollhouse.
In smaller letters, she read a notice below it.
Please do not take anything-dolls, food, or other objects-in the house. You will regret it if you try to.
Mikalia let out a sigh. "Isn't that obvious...?" She murmured quietly, before walking inside.
This dollhouse was extremely decorative, as she soon easily discovered.
One room-the parlor, that is-was completely full of a frilly, feminine pink, with ruffled cushions lying on the darker pink couches and chairs. The only thing that had a contrast in colour was the low, black, table with a glass surface and ebony legs holding it up. On the table lay a tray of cupcakes, another tray of cookies, and there was a teapot with a small jar of sugar beside it. There were plush white rabbits lying about as well; they were on the bench of a nearby upright piano, on the floor, even on the table where all the food was. Three teacups were filled with tea, and the plates accompanying them were covered in crumbs. Mikalia suspected that there must have been others that existed in this room previously, before she came in here.
Perhaps they were still here in this house, even now? Mikalia wasn't sure what to do if she ran into those people.
Looking around the room, she stepped on what appeared to be cookie crumbs. She scoffed at the mess in dismay, shaking her head. Obviously, whoever had eaten here were not neat eaters. There was nothing else that really caught her attention, and she decided to go into the next room.
The next room was far different. This one was in all different shades of blue and white. Watercolour paintings lined the walls, with various porcelain dolls scattered all over the ground. Mikalia was tempted to pick one of them up to take a closer look at it, but then remembered the warning on the sign. If she was really going to regret trying to take anything, it was best not to try to do so.
It was only then that she realized something was missing.
Where were her beloved spiders? She hadn't realized until now that they were not with her. She didn't know if she could summon them, either-maybe if she was lucky, they were somewhere in this house, or someone could be nice enough to aid her in figuring out what exactly she had gotten into. She didn't know, for sure. All she wanted to do now was find those spiders of her and get the hell out of this house.
The reason why she wanted to get out of this house was simple: There was something about this place that was starting to become unnerving to her. The dolls, perhaps? Some of them were far larger than regular dolls-in fact, perhaps life-sized-and it felt like they were all watching her, despite the fact that dolls were supposed to be inanimate. Mikalia had a feeling that it would be best to get out of this place as soon as possible. She walked a little faster, hoping to get through all of the rooms as soon as she could.
The third room she walked into looked like some child's toy room, every inch of it almost completely filled with porcelain dolls, those life-sized, creepy ones, and teddy bears and tin soldiers alike. Mikalia shivered a bit-this room was strangely cold, for some reason. She let out a breath, before she took a step further into the room.
She could hear them, her spiders, skittering about. But where? Letting her eyes adjust to the light, she soon caught sight of the thing she had been looking for.
In a tiny cage, black tarantulas skittered about inside. A life-sized doll's arm-the arm of an older man, with greasy brown hair and ragged clothing-hung loosely around the cage. Both were surrounded by what seemed like hundreds of teddy bears, resting on a large queen bed. Mikalia hesitated for a moment. What if that man was alive, and not lifeless like the others? She shook her head. Of course not. That wouldn't be so. Dolls are not alive-they are just dead, dead things that would never have life.
Holding her breath, she slowly grabbed the handle of the cage, before giving it a slight tug to pull it out of the doll's grasp.
The 'doll's' eyes opened, a snarl escaping its throat. Mikalia let out a gasp of surprise, pulling the cage away from the 'doll' completely as she backed away. The so-called doll was not like the others-this one was alive and moving. The disfigured, scarred face made her grimace in disgust, but yet it was all too familiar. She had seen this man before-they had never really talked with each other, just glanced at each other occasionally as they passed by.
What was this man's name, again? She couldn't remember, and it was bugging her worse than the situation she was currently stuck in...
Before the man, now standing as he plucked a teddy bear off himself, could move any closer to Mikalia to attack, an unknown female voice came out of nowhere.
"Cassandra, wait!"
A young woman, a blonde, had appeared from who-knows-where and pulled ex-Head Priest Cassandra Gladstone back by the arm, in an attempt to restrain him. Cassandra just stared at the woman holding him, unsure of what to say as his attention was now focused on her. Mikalia decided to take this as a cue to run-and turning towards the door, she realized that a little girl with crutches blocked her way out.
"Hold it!" The girl snapped, a neat bow resting in her ravened black hair. "Where do you think you're going, you thief?"
Mikalia glared back at the girl. "These spiders are mine!" She snapped back, holding up the cage in her hand for emphasis. "You're the thief, not me!"
"Liar!"
Mikalia felt a crutch hit her side, causing her to tumble to the ground and let go of the cage. As she heard a loud crack, she was hit again with the girl's wooden crutches, and she let out a scream of pain.
"Rebecca, stop it!" Mikalia heard the blonde woman scream. "The Ringmaster-"
"Shut up!" The raven-haired girl, Rebbeca, shouted back as she hit Mikalia with the pair of crutches again. "She tried to steal from me! She deserves to be burning in a fiery pit already!"
Mikalia closed her eyes, expecting to be hit once more with the crutches. Instead, everything just seemed to stop as another voice appeared out of nowhere.
"Cease this at once, Dollmaker, or I'll just break your crutches and all the dolls in this room."
Mikalia opened her eyes, looking up to see a tall figure, cloaked in nothing but black from head to toe, matching his wavy, disheveled hair. His dark eyes looked down at Mikalia, before they looked at Rebecca with the sharpest glare she had ever seen, like razor blade pressed against skin. "I'm not going to repeat this warning." The man responded, his gravelly, deep voice full of rage. "Understood?"
Rebecca looked at Mikalia, before looking up at the Ringmaster. She let out a breath, somewhere between a sigh and a groan, and finally nodded in agreement. "Yes, Ringmaster..."
The Ringmaster glanced at Mikalia, before taking out a black notebook and reading. "Delilah Doll Mikalia. Brought to life by the science of the organization Delilah, right? Yes...Hm. Sins consist here of attempted rape, stalking, attempted murder on several accounts, actual murder on several accounts..." He looked up from the notebook, an apathetic look on his face. "And now you're stealing. Rebecca has a point...though I have better plans for you. Be thankful that I'm in a better mood for once than usual, Mikalia."
Mikalia picked up the spider cage in her arms, eyeing the Ringmaster carefully. "What sort of plans are they?" She asked, clutching the spider cage close to her chest. "I don't want them taken from me!"
The Ringmaster merely grinned, albeit faintly.
"Don't worry," He started, "If you follow by the rules, those spiders will never be out of your grasp again. That I can promise you here in Hell's Carnival, Cobweb Mistress..."
Author note: Thank you to all that have viewed and reviewed this fic so far. Hopefully the next chapter will come up a little sooner than this one did (though it's not guaranteed...) and I hope this made up for the delay in updates for this fic. Thanks for your patience!
Also, I have a poll on my profile! Votes would be well-appreciated! Thanks!
