Disclaimer: I don't own anyone but Esther! Yay! I love Larten!
So yeah, remember, so far, I've only seen the flick but I will soon work on the books! lol!
So yeah, I'd like to thank everyone for the wonderful reviews and I hope you all keep it up! Thanks a bunches! I really like this chapter and I don't own the song I used for it. It's called 'You'll be in my heart' by Phil Collins, it's one of my favorites and I cry almost every time cuz I think of Larten every time I hear it! Anyway, enjoy this awesome chapter! Also, I won't have intro's for all my chapters!
Feelings Not Felt
Chapter 3: Subjects Not Covered
"Come on, it's time to go to the bonfire!" said Darren to Esther, who was hanging back hesitantly in the tent. Her cat tail hung low and her ears weren't as perky as usual. "Are you nervous?" asked Evra. Esther nodded sadly. "I mean, what if they don't like me! I don't want to be a misfit." Esther said, hanging her head a bit as her tail was dragging against the ground. Darren rolled his eyes."You'll fit in just fine, you don't have to worry about people judging you here." Esther seemed to think about this. "I guess." she said, drawing out the word. "It'll be fine, I really don't see what you're so worried about, believe me, if Mr. Crepsley had the heart to take you to the Cirque, odds are, everyone else would just adore you." Evra laughed. "Yeah, if you get Crepsley's approval, you're definitely in with everone else." Esther traced a circle on the ground with her foot. "I suppose I could go." Darren chuckled. "It's not like you have a choice anyway! Come on, it'll be fun, just trust me!" Darren said nicely, holding out his hand for her to take. Esther took a deep breath and took his hand. Darren, Esther and Evra left the tent and walked towards the center of the camp where a huge fire was blazing.
Mid-way there, Esther dug her heels into the ground and held Darren back. "What?" Esther just shook her head. Darren rolled his eyes. "What are you so worry about? I don't remember anyone being nearly as nervous as you when they joined." Esther sighed. "I know they won't like me." Darren's jaw dropped. "How could they not?! Look, we're all freaks here, you're actually one of the more normal people." Esther growled against her will, her cat side was kicking in. "I'm not going." she hissed. Darren jumped back a bit as her tail began to wag back and forth impatiently. Suddenly, a hand rested on Darren's shoulder. "Do you mind if I speak with her?" asked a familiar voice. "O-of course, Mr. Crepsley." said Darren, leaving the two.
Esther had calmed a bit but eyed Larten warily. "Why not go? Did you not just say you wished to join?" Larten questioned in a quiet tone. "Well, no one I meet likes me, I don't want them to... y'know. I mean, that would be one more place where I would be treated as a wierdo." said Esther hesitantly. Larten made an 'are you for real?' face. "If you had not noticed, Ms. Hill, we are surrounded by freaks, I highly doubt you'll have to worry about 'fitting in'." Larten said dryly. "Well, I know that, but even before I had ears and a tail, people always treated me like a virus that was to be avoided, I never fit in anywhere. I don't know if it's a personality issue or looks or what, but there's just something about me that acts like a person repelent." Esther's ears drooped and her tail sagged and she stared at the ground. Larten looked at her with pity in his eyes, yet understanding as well. He reached out with his hand and caressed the side of her pale face. "I understand, but you have nothing to worry about here. The people here are probably the nicest people you will meet. Just be yourself." he said, gazing into her large green-yellow eyes that sparkled with interest. "I suppose. Thank you, Mr. Crepsley." Esther smiled softly and her ears twitched with satisfaction. Larten chuckled at her ears and Esther made a face. "These things can be a pain at times. Do you know how many times I sit on my tail in a day?" she said humorously before heading towards the bonfire. Larten looked after her leaving figure that glowed in the shine of the crackling, ever-growing fire.
A few moments later, Esther had found Darren and Evra through the crowd of freaks and had bounced up and down happily like nothing had ever happened. "Hi, guys! Lovely bonfire!" she stated cheerily. Darren's jaw dropped. "Not two seconds ago you were complaining!" he said disbelievingly. "Mr. Crepsley just so happens to be very encouraging!" Esther said in a matter-o-factly voice. "Ooh, Evra, did you hear that? Mr. Crepsley is 'encouraging' her." Darren said with a sly grin, elbowing his snake friend in the ribs.
"Darren, feed the wolfman and clean my coffin." Darren swallowed hard and turned on his heels to face Larten. "But I just fed the wolfman not fifteen minutes ago!" Larten leaned down to Darren's eye level. "Well do it again." the vampire hissed. Darren took off and Evra laughed. "Go help him." Larten said to Evra who's face changed dramatically and he took off after his companion. "I am sorry about them." Larten said to Esther with a slight bow at the waist. "No worries, they can be crude if they wish, I just hope they're happy when I shed on their beds." Larten raised an eyebrow. "You shed?" Esther laughed. "Only my ears and tail, but it can still be a nuisance." Larten nodded and the side of his mouth quirked.
Esther glanced around and saw several different, interesting freaks. Her eyes widened and became yellow again and her tail flowed in the air, showing interest. After a few moments, Mr. Tall stepped up onto a platform and got everyone's attention. "Ladies and Gentlemen alike! I would like to introduce a new member of the Cirque!" he thundered. Everyone quieted and Esther stood frozen in her spot. "What are you waiting for? Get up there!" whispered Larten, giving her a gentle nudge towards the stage. She stumbled forward and all eyes turned towards her. Her ears flattened to her head and her tail pressed close to her body. She timidly climbed onto the stage and stood next to Mr. Tall. She glanced up at him and she felt so small. She turned her attention to the crowd of people and she felt even smaller. "I find it a pleasure to welcome Esther Hill to Cirque Du Freak!" Mr. Tall boomed. The crowd cheered and applauded. Esther shrunk back a bit but Mr. Tall nudged her forward. "Um... hi." she said when the crowd silenced. "Er... I'm Esther and I have cat ears and a tail." The crowd laughed a bit and Esther smiled. "Er, I can do anything a cat can do, although, now I think I'm banning all yarn from the camp." she said. The crowd laughed again and Mr. Crepsley laughed into his sleeve. "You certainly did have fun with that string!" came a voice from the back of the crowd. Esther turned her head and saw Evra smirking. "Shut up, Evra!" Esther yelled, getting a few more laughs from the Cirque. "Er, I have had the talent of having awesome cat skills for a year now and I hope I can be a valuable member of the Cirque!"
"And she cannot start a sentence without saying 'er'!" spoke a voice from the crowd, which got them a lot of laughs from the group. Esther scanned the audience and saw Mr. Crepsley standing there with a smirk on his face. She gave him a playful smirk.
"So, how did you get your... 'extra features'?" asked Mr. Tall so everyone could hear. Everyone paused and all eyes were on Esther again. She froze. She really didn't want to answer that question. She didn't know the answer really, to tell you the truth. Esther shrunk back and her ears flattened again. The Cirque members looked at her with confused looks on their faces. Esther became uneasy with all of these eyes watching her every move.
Suddenly, a beautiful noise came to Esther's furry ears and a peaceful melody began to play. Everyone turned their heads and Esther focused her eyes on the source of the wonderful noise. She found Mr. Crepsley playing his flute. He began to walk to the stage and he stepped up onto it with one easy step due to his long legs. He closed his eyes and he played a tune that seemed oddly familiar to Esther. It wasn't the exact tune, but it was close enough to pass off as one of her favorite songs. Should she sing? She wanted to, but the crowd... she made a decision and took a deep breath.
"Come stop your crying
it will be alright
Just take my hand, hold it tight
I will protect you
from all around you
I will be here
Don't you cry
For one so small,
you seem so strong
My arms will hold you,
keep you safe and warm
This bond between us
Can't be broken
I will be here
don't you cry
'Cause you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more
You'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be in my heart, always
Why can't they understand
the way we feel
They just don't trust
what they can't explain
I know we're different but,
deep inside us
We're not that different at all
And you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more
Don't listen to them
'Cause what do they know
we need each other,
to have, to hold
they'll see in time
I know
When destiny calls you
You must be strong
I may not be with you
But you've got to hold on
They'll see in time
I know
We'll show them together
Cause you'll be in my heart... always."
Esther sang, she wasn't the best or anything, but she sang well enough to hold the audience in a trance. "So it's decided!" said Mr. Tall. "You shall perform with Mr. Crepsley and Madam Octa at our next performance. "What?!" shouted Larten and Esther in unison. Mr. Tall nodded. "Yes, you two will prove to be wonderful. Now, let's have Ms. Hill to get to know everyone." Mr. Tall said as he grabbed Esther by the wrist and leading her towards the audience. She followed but stared over her shoulder towards Mr. Crepsley who stood there with a shocked, sad look on his face.
The next thing Esther knew, she was being approached by anyone and everyone. "Gertha Teeth, feel free to stop by my tent anytime, hon!" said Gertha, shaking Esther's hand. Esther smiled. "What can you do?" asked Esther, tilting her head slightly. "I can bite through anything if you want the short and easy answer!" Esther smiled, Gertha seemed really nice. She then came across... well, rather, bumped into, a large man. "Rhamus Twobellies, at your service." said the man. Esther looked at him curiously. "Wow." was all she could manage. Twobellies chuckled and she moved right along to the next person. "Alexander Ribs, miss." said Ribs, bowing slightly. "You seem normal, what's your deal?" asked Esther nicely. Alexander unbuttoned his shirt and Esther jumped back about five feet. "Holy crap!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide and curious as ever. "Y-y-y-you don't have any- any... wow." Esther said, her jaw dropping in mid-sentence. Alexander laughed and buttoned his shirt back up. "See you around!" he said before walking off.
Esther ran into several other people and everyone was very nice and accepting, she couldn't help but feel welcome, they treated her as if she'd spent her whole life there and she just got back from a six-month-long trip. Esther spent another hour with Evra and Darren, taking a look around camp and meeting everyone.
After a while, Darren and Evra walked Esther to her tent. When they arrived, she just stood there staring at it. "What?" Evra finally asked. "Nothing, it's just, these people must be ninjas or something because I didn't even notice them set up tent for me." said Esther. Darren chuckled. "Yeah, the initial plan was for you to stay with us, but the tent would be a bit small and you are a girl." Esther smiled. "Thank you guys, you've been real sweet." she said. "No problem, if you need anything, you should know where our tent is." said Darren. "And if you don't, we could always leave a trail of yarn out so you know where to go." laughed Evra. Esther glared at Evra and opened her tent flap. "Well, goodnight you guys. Thanks again." Darren nodded. "Mr. Crepsley will take you to your house tomorrow night in case you need to get some stuff or whatever." said Darren with a careless wave of his hand. "Wait, why not tomorrow?" asked Esther. "He's a vampire, remember? He doesn't do sunlight and if you wake him up early, he's a real grumpy a--"
"Darren. Go feed the little people." came a voice from behind Darren. "I'm not even going to say anything." said Darren. "Come on, Ev, we'll see you tomorrow, Esther." Esther nodded and turned her attention to Mr. Crepsley.
"I'm sorry about earlier, if you don't want me to go on with you in your act, I don't have to, I didn't know that... I mean, I don't know why Mr. Tall put me in your act when I didn't really do anything but sing... not quite well either. Also, I don't want to intrude on your act, I mean, it's yours and I really don't want to ruin it and--"
"Stop rambling, and you need not worry about the act, it is fine by me and if Mr. Tall thinks that we would make a good act together then I trust his opinion." Esther shook her head. "No, that's unacceptable. It's your act, has been your act and will be your act, and to tell you the truth, I don't know if I'm up for performing, at least, not so soon anyway. I'll talk with Mr. Tall, I don't want to seem like a nuisance." Mr. Crepsley opened his mouth to detest but Esther raised a hand. "Don't. It's your act, and I look forward to seeing what you do well at, I don't want to hold your talent back. Just don't worry about it, alright?" Larten gave a serious nod. Esther kicked at the ground and looked down nervously. "Also, I wanted to thank you for saving me when I was up on stage, I was getting a bit of stage fright, but I want to know how you could tell I was getting frightened." Esther said. "Your ears say it all my dear." Larten said with a quirk at the corner of his lips. Esther smiled. Larten cleared his throat and began to back away. "Good night." he said before walking briskly away, not taking his mind off of his destination, even though he found it hard to not have his thoughts stray to her.
Please tell me what you think! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter, Esther will deal with life at the Cirque, and the gang is getting set up for the next show! Also, Larten teaches Esther a thing or two about vampires!