Chapter 4
Posing as brother and sister again, the duo decided to check out the new venus the first day it opened.
Most of the little town was there, enjoying themselves as they wound through the various tents. Nobody had heard of this travelling circus before, but one thing was clear: it was not like other circuses that had passed through. There was no performance schedule for the various tents that had performances, it would just start at will. Some attractions weren't even in tents, but scattered around any free space for passing entertainment.
Merlin and Lance approached the first performer they saw in the circus. He was throwing knives at a small target, narrowly missing passing patrons.
"Excuse me," Lance began talking. "We saw your circus was hiring, and we were wondering-"
The performer laughed, keeping his eyes fixed on the path he was throwing. "It's not my circus by a long shot, first off. And what makes you think I'd have the power to hire?"
They exchanged looks, then Merlin spoke up. "Well, you'd know the guy who could."
He stopped, knife at the ready, and turned to face them. "You two siblings or something?" They nodded. "We have two spots open, one for performing in the magician's tent, and one for logistics. Meet me back here at closing, and I'll see what can be done."
They nodded again. "Thank you." Lance added.
"Be sure to check out all the tents while you're here." He went back to systematically throwing his purely silver knives.
They walked a distance from him before Lance spoke again. "Did you recognize him at all?"
"No, but I feel I should have," Something about this circus felt off. "Let's check out what everyone else is doing in this life."
The first tent was lofty, with thin wires and ladders hanging from the ceiling. A poster showed four familiar-looking girls, each doing some gravity-defying trick on said wires.
"Acrobats. Must be on break." He speculated.
They popped over to the next tent: a small, dimly-lit one, where a fortune teller sat. Almost instantly they recognized Gwen sitting behind the table, speaking to a small crowd that had gathered how she could use any form of communication to talk to the spirits, read the stars, or change the outcome of that year's crop yield. While everyone else in the tent was convinced she was telling the truth, Merlin could tell it wasn't real magic.
There were a few other tents with entertaining concepts: a lion tamer, a girl who juggled fire on a unicycle, and a terrifyingly-bendy contortionist. There were some sideshows outside of the tents of different sorts, including a guy who had been underwater for over an hour. None of them were recognizable. It all seemed to be leading to the biggest tent there, where the air felt electric with magic.
The poster outside the tent boasted their group's name. The Four Suits,it read, This isn't your everyday blackjack was tastefully scrawled underneath it. The picture wasn't of people, but of the four Aces of a deck of playing cards, each suit clearly visible.
There were no chairs inside the tent, but a ring lining the space. Everyone was standing behind it, so Merlin and Lance followed the crowd.
Suddenly, the tent went dark, and Morgan's familiar voice rose above the crowd.
"Uh-oh you guys, looks like these folks here want a show."
A spotlight rises quickly on the center of the circle, where he had appeared. His costume was a three-piece suit, a lot classier than expected. Come to think of it, everyone's outfits here were classier than expected.
"Frederick, did we ever promise a show to these lovely people?"
A second spotlight goes up to the left of Morgan, where Frederick suddenly stood, dressed just as classily. "I don't recall ever saying we'd give them a show. Do we even do shows here?"
Morgan shrugs. "Do we?" He looks to his right, where another spotlight was emerging.
Moria was in the light, dressed in what looked like a ball gown. "We tell stories, gentlemen, not shows. But I daresay they deserve a story. Unfortunately, our fourth suit could not be with us today, so us three will have to tell it without her." She looked back at her two fellow performers.
It was all clearly scripted, but it was a good way to start a show. And it was a good show too, with authentic magic to really wow the audience. The ending of it was the best part, in Merlin's opinion: All three dissipated into differently-colored smoke, each leaving behind an Ace card. There was a club, a spade, and a diamond left. It was a shame the fourth performer couldn't make it.
Not one person left that tent without having applauded for a solid five minutes after the performers had left. When they had left the tent, Lance and Merlin noticed that it was about closing time. They returned to where the knife-thrower was and, sure enough, he was waiting for them while sharpening a knife.
"You two ready?" They nodded. "Alright. Let's go see the boss."
Already the tents were packed up, the performers changed into street clothes, the air of magic slowly fading away. Merlin and Lance followed the knife thrower, who had a peculiar limp, back to one of the train cars that wasn't alive with chatter.
The train car had been converted into an office for the circus, everything neatly organized into a big desk where "the boss" himself sat. Arthur was dressed more like a businessman than a circus manager, but everything here was formalized anyway. He half-glanced at the three figures in the doorway.
"Sir," the performer stepped forward. "These are the two I told you about."
Arthur rose from his chair and circled the desk to face the two patrons. "Yes, thank you Kaleb, I can take it from here."
The knife thrower nodded quickly and exited.
"So, you two are interested in the circus business," He beckoned them further into his office, staring at them in turn. He looks directly at Lance. "You look like a logistics man if I ever saw one. How do you feel about numbers?"
Lance perked up at the sound of math. "I like the sense of it, sir."
He held up a hand. "Call me Arthur, please. He was just trying to make this little business look professional by calling me 'sir'. So that means you," His gaze switched to Merlin. "must be the magician."
She nodded and proceeded to give a slight demonstration. It was an impressive trick, but not not enough for anyone to think it was real magic.
He smiled, impressed. "You'll fit in with the other three right away. And you'll fit the costumes the other girl wore. So what, can you two start right now?"
The two exchanged a look of understanding, then turned back to Arthur. "We'd love to." Merlin replied for the both of them.
"Good, because the train leaves in five minutes. Girl's car is two to the front, boy's is one up."
The car was surprisingly more roomy than expected. All the girls seemed nice enough: the acrobats seemed to section themselves off in a clique, while Gwen read some thick novel in her bed. The only other girl, Moria, was tinkering with some piece of machinery at a table in a corner. Since they had to work together, Merlin figured it would be beneficial to introduce herself.
As soon as she walked up, Moria started talking to her. "You the new magician?"
"Yes. I'm Merlin."
"Moria. So, is it real?"
She recoiled slightly. "Huh?"
"You heard me. Your magic tricks."
"Uh, yea, but that's not supposed to be public information."
Moria looked up from her work, smirking. "I know, I have it too. All the magicians here have it, that's why our tent's the best. A word of advice: your tent here is your group. Any significant others can join the group if desired, but you should stick to what you know. Got it?"
Merlin nodded. "So nobody else knows?"
"There are five of us in this circus with magic, and we are the only five that know. If Arthur found out, he'd- well, I'm not sure what he'd do. We still don't know what happened to Morgouse- she was in our performance. The Ace of Hearts, or, what you'll be using. I'm diamonds, Morgan's spades, and Frederick's clubs."
"Okay. Wait- who's the fifth guy with magic?"
She inclined her head towards whatever it was she was fiddling with. "My boyfriend, the knife thrower. I've been using magic to make some enhancements on his fake leg, because he hasn't been able to work with stuff that immense since his accident."
Looking down at the piece of machinery, Merlin could see how the various gears and pulleys could function as a limb. Moria carefully hummed something under her breath and a wave of gold energy shot through the appendage.
"If you don't mind my asking, how did he lose his leg?"
"He was young, it was a hate crime, what more can we do?" She shrugged, "Before everyone goes to bed, I should probably warn you. Arthur's gonna want to meet with you tomorrow or the next day 'cause you're new. Don't worry about it, it'll be fine."
She made a confused face. "What does that mean?"
"I've gotta run this over," Moria grabbed the machinery and headed for the door. "Don't worry, you'll be fine here."
The next day was filled with travelling to their next location by train, so the magicians all practiced their show in one of the compartments. Merlin had no trouble catching on, and soon it looked like they had been performing together their whole lives.
Frederick and Morgan were showing Merlin the whole train when suddenly Gwen appeared, in a trance-like state.
"Is she okay?" She asked the two men, circling the fortune teller.
Morgan looked at Frederick. "It's happening again. Come on, nobody can see her like this."
The duo quietly moved Gwen into a nearby room, which turned out to be a storage compartment for the acrobats' props.
"About a month before Morgouse was- well, a month before that, Gwen started going into these weird trances at the oddest times," Frederick explained. "We know she doesn't have magic, but we think magic is compelling her to do this."
Morgan had helped her sit down, and he was asking her simple questions, none of which were being responded.
Merlin sat next to Morgan. "Does this happen often?"
"Only about once a week," He replied, worried. "She usually says something, though."
Suddenly, Gwen's head snapped to face Merlin directly.
"The cracks of fate can show us the brightest sun," She said, her eyes aglaze. "but it can also show the harshest night. Another is slipping through the cracks, one of the nighttime. You must prevent it!"
Then she fell backwards, having passed out. The three were silent for a minute, then Frederick spoke up.
"What the hell was that all about? She looked right at you!"
Morgan stood up, motioning for Frederick to help him pick up Gwen. "We better get her back to her room. Another thing," he turns to Merlin. "She doesn't remember these little outbursts, and we don't tell anyone. Only the magicians know, okay?"
Merlin nodded but couldn't speak for fear of what Gwen had just prophesied. If what the guys had said were true, and she was interpreting it correctly, then she had to go talk to Lance.
It was almost nighttime again, and the train had stopped for the evening. Merlin knocked loudly on Lance's door, then came in without waiting for a response.
"Well hello," He looked up quickly from some papers. "How's circus life treatin' ya?"
She shook her head. "We need to talk."
She explained the incident with Gwen as best she could, emphasising the part where he wasn't supposed to know about it. Lance nodded along empathetically, then gave his input at the end of the story.
"So I lived from an accident? The cracks of fate, or whatever they may be, somehow I eluded them in my inevitably-looping death?" He looked close to sick.
Merlin nodded. "I think so. I also think that it's going to happen again this time, based on what Gwen said. But, if it does happen again-"
"-it won't be a friend." Lance finished.
"Precisely. But so far, everyone's been nice here."
He winced slightly. "Well, not everyone."
Just then Arthur popped his head in the doorframe. "Lance, where are those papers I gave you?"
"Right here." He walked over to the door and handed them to the boss.
Merlin stood. "I was just leaving. If you'll excuse me."
"Actually," Arthur put a hand up, still looking at the papers. "I was wondering if I could meet with you in my office for a minute."
She looked at Lance who gave her a look laced with confusion. "Um, sure."
The next morning, Merlin walked in the girls' room to find everyone still getting ready. For the first time in so many years, she got to talk to the former Knights again.
"So," Eleanor casually states. "How was your meeting with Arthur?"
She stepped back. "How did you-"
"It always happens when someone joins the circus." Glorianna cut in. "So, how'd it go?"
"Well, I think I've done something terrible."
Immediately all the girls moved in closer. "What'd you do?" Leon asked nervously.
She sighed. "I- I slept with Arthur."
The girls breathed a collective sigh of relief and went back to their tasks. Only Victoria stayed behind to explain.
"It's okay, honey, we all have."
"Wait, what?!"
She nods simply. "Yeah. It's happened to every one of us when we joined. Nobody's ever really sure how it happens, it just does. Don't fret it."
And then she left to finish up whatever it was she was doing, leaving Merlin in a state of confusion. "What the hell is wrong with him?!" She finally states.
The acrobats leave the tent quickly, and Gwen and Moria both approach Merlin cautiously.
"It's kind of his way of keeping us in line," Gwen tries to explain. "if he ever makes advances on you again, it's okay to refuse, he understands."
She gave Gwen a look. "He'll keep asking you guys to sleep with him?"
"That's not really how he does it, actually," Moria points out. "it's not obvious, and it's hard to tell what he wants. But if you're dating someone, he won't try. Arthur trusts that your boyfriend will keep you in line." She began wringing her hands nervously.
Merlin turns to look at the other magician. "Keep you in line? What does that even mean?"
Gwen backs away and leaves the room, leaving the two magicians alone.
Moria sighs heavily. "He doesn't mean it. None of them would ever mean it, it's just what Arthur wants." She sits on her bunk, and Merlin suddenly notices her right wrist has become about six shades darker than it normally is. "Magic can hide it well, but if I were to heal myself he'd just do it again."
She walks to her friend slowly, taking her wrist and inspecting it carefully. "Did Kaleb do this to you?"
Moria quickly pulls her hand away and stands up. "Like I said, he doesn't mean it. Anyway, nobody else can know, alright?" She closes her eyes and all signs of a sprain disappear. "Like I said, it's to keep us in line. We need to practice with the guys."
Merlin is left alone in the room, wondering how such a small circus can hold such terrible secrets.
Morgan had asked Merlin to help him move some "equipment" for when the train reaches its final destination, so the two found themselves in a small compartment.
"Quick question," he began, surveying the pieces of machinery. "Do you remember some of the sideshows?"
She thought for a minute. "Yes, I do. I haven't seen them this whole trip. Where are they?"
"They're right here." Morgan smiles, and holds out a small box. He presses a button and it transforms into the contortionist that had captivated so many. Other boxes spring to life, creating the other sideshows that made people do a double-take.
"Robots?" Her voice was small.
"Kind of. It combines technology and magic, creating the closest thing to life anyone has ever seen. Moria helped build them, but they're ultimately my creations." He was beaming with pride.
She grinned at all the robots that moved with such elegance. "Let me guess, this stays between magicians?"
"You guessed correctly."
The circus was setting itself up for the next day when it happened.
Merlin was practicing with the other magicians, which was going better than ever, when Lance burst into the room with a worried look on his face.
"Arthur's called a company meeting in the acrobat tent. Now." He motioned frantically or the four to join him, which they did.
"What's going on?" Frederick asked, giving Moria a concerned sideways look, which she refused with a head shake.
Morgan looked like he was going to vomit. "The last time we had a company meeting…"
Lance stopped abruptly, causing the others to crash into each other. "Morgan, do you know what this is all about?"
The remaining three performers looked at each other with different levels of panic in their eyes. "The last time the whole company met like this," Frederick explained softly. "Our fourth member was publicly executed."
Merlin almost jumped out of her skin. "What?! You mean Morgouse-"
"Arthur found out about her magic," Moria cut in. "The night before, he had almost broken her arm, and the next day she was fine. It was a stupid mistake and it cost her her life." She automatically looked down, her wrist returning to its sprained state of purple and blue.
"So if he knows about one of you guys…" Lance trailed off when he noticed the three performers staring at him in horror and shock.
Merlin stepped in front of him. "It's okay, guys. He knew I had magic, and kind of figured it out from there."
They all breathed a sigh of relief. "We need to get to the tent." Morgan reminded everyone, and they set off again.
The rest of the company was already there, fidgeting nervously without any chatter whatsoever. The magicians automatically split up to gather different vantage points. Frederick stood by Gwen, who looked happy for the company, while Morgan inconspicuously stayed near the acrobats. Moria went and stood next to her boyfriend, who just gave her a suspicious look, and Merlin stayed near the back to take it all in.
Lance had moved to the front, where Arthur was standing impatiently. "Now that you're all here," he began in an irritated voice. "I'd like to draw attention to a little something I discovered recently."
Arthur throws a small metal box down in front of him. The five people with magic in the room suppressed their gasps: it was one of the robots.
"Does somebody want to tell me who the hell has been using magic around here?!" He asks angrily. "Because I thought I made it very clear what type of circus- nay, family- we were when I took care of that other magic-wielding siren!"
Nobody dared move a muscle. The tent was so quiet one could hear a sequin flutter to the ground.
"Whoever this is," Arthur scanned the crowd with an unnerving calmness. "I will find you. Everyone's dismissed."
The five people with magic in the circus met up outside of the tent and began walking to a safe place to talk.
"He found our robots. How did he find our robots?!" Morgan was in panic.
Frederick began wringing his hands. "We all knew about it, so we're all accomplices. He'll string us all up."
"Well, I haven't really spoken with Arthur all week, and neither has Frederick. Merlin didn't even know about them until this morning, so…" Morgan turned to his friend. "Did you somehow let the truth slip?"
"What?! No!" Moria responded in defense.
"She's been with me every time she wasn't with you." Kaleb put an arm around her shoulder, which caused Merlin to shoot him a dirty look.
"There's always the chance he just stumbled upon them." Merlin offered.
"He never goes about the storage rooms!" Morgan denied.
"Well, what if he decided to today?" Moria pondered.
"He doesn't care about us enough to do that." Frederick stated simply.
Suddenly everyone was talking over each other with worried predictions of the following days. It was then that Lance found them and quieted them down.
He stood before them. "Arthur wouldn't even tell me how he got this information, but somehow he knows about the magic going on here. From the robots to Kaleb's leg to the show itself, he's suddenly aware. He'll kill you all for what you've done, I know he will."
The group had gone silent. Nobody knew how to react to this news.
"Well then, the answer's right there, isn't it?" Moria said suddenly, surprising everyone. "We kill him before he kills us."
Morgan audibly gasped. Frederick looked like he was going to be sick. Kaleb looked at her like the "happy" stage of their circular relationship was about to end. Lance and Merlin shared a look that said "this can't be happening again".
"Come on guys," She tried to make her case. "He's been abusing us for years, now's our chance to do something about it!"
Morgan found his voice. "You're hardly one to talk about leaving a situation like that."
She looked at him like he had just stabbed her in the back. "Fine," She replied with an icy tone, her goal affirmated by her friends' rejection. "Do what you want, but that's my final solution."
Moria ran off. Kaleb said something that was the equivalent of "Well shit" and followed her.
"Now what?" Frederick asked.
"We've gotta find everyone else, we've gotta warn them." Merlin replied.
Morgan nodded in agreement. "I won't let Moria hurt anyone, I don't care how much she's been hurt herself."
Lance started for the tents, which were ready for tomorrow. "We've all but lost the sun, but we can still navigate through the circus. Come on."
The four decided to split up and round up everyone to formulate a plan on how to deal with Arthur. Merlin knew that it was her duty to try and keep him safe, but with all that had transpired in this circus, she wasn't so sure she wanted to this time.
Lance went to talk to Arthur in case he could change his mind, while Morgan decided to go fetch Gwen and make sure she wasn't having one of those weird visions. Frederick volunteered to go find the acrobats, which left Merlin with the task of convincing Moria to not kill anyone.
She started winding around the tents as quietly as possible, trying to find a trace of magic anywhere. Once she picked up a trail, she followed it to the side of a tent where she hid, hearing a tense conversation on the other side.
"My god, can't you understand I'm doing this for you?!"
"Oh,so now it's for me and not for the greater good?"
The first voice sighed. "What did we always say? It was so Arthur wouldn't suspect anything. That's why you can't heal yourself with magic, he'll notice! God, you're such an idiot!"
"Don't- don't call me an idiot." The second voice became softer, breaking under the pressure of what the first voice was accusing.
"I'll call you what I damn-well please!" The first voice was more angry than before. "Now stay here while I go handle some last-minute business."
Merlin hears the sound of a cracking bone and a slight whimper, then te noise of boots almost stomping away.
She cautiously rounds the corner of the tent to find Moria sitting on the ground, like she had been pushed, holding the previously-injured arm carefully.
"Are you-"
Moria jumped back. "Please. Go away. I can handle this."
"Not on your own," Merlin walked over to her fellow performer, kneeling next to her. "not anymore."
"You mean well, but really-"
"He snapped your arm," She carefully inspected Moria's arm, noticing her wrist was still sprained. "why the hell would he do that?!"
She sighed, then let a wave of magic fall over her broken arm. "At first it was just to convince Arthur that he had control over me. Then it really became about control, I guess." She shrugged."What can I do?"
"You can get out of it, and you don't have to do it alone," Merlin added some of her magic to her friend's arm, watching the fragments of bone reassemble themselves. "you'll have Morgan, and Frederick, and Lance, and myself behind you."
She smiled for the first time in a while. "Thank you."
Just then, Kaleb rounded the corner of the tent from whence he had left. "God dammit Moria," he exclaimed, frustrated. "what did I say about magic to heal yourself? Now you know what we gotta do." He pulls out one of his throwing knives, sharp as can be.
Moria begins to back up, the fear of God in her eyes. "You don't have to, you know. You could treat me like an equal for once." Merlin nodded towards her in affirmation.
"Excuse me? What the hell did you just say?!"
Her voice was smaller than usual but firm. "You heard me."
He laughs a little bit, then returns to his state of pure anger. "You dumb bitch, I'll kill you!"
Just then, Moria says something under her breath, and the knife Kaleb was holding turns and sinks into his throat. As he falls to the ground, his blood on the grass looks almost black in the moonlight.
Both girls are in shock of what just happened. Finally, Moria speaks up.
"I just killed my boyfriend."
Merlin can only nod.
"I didn't mean to."
She finds her voice. "I know you didn't."
"Oh no, he's gonna know I used magic!" Moria breaks out of shock. "He's gonna kill me!"
She runs off, Merlin snapping out of shock and running after her.
Frederick, Morgan, and Lance had gathered all but Arthur in the heart of the circus. Merlin ran into their small clump.
"Have you guys seen Moria recently?" She asked, breathless.
Lance shook his head. "Nobody's seen Arthur either. Where's-"
"He's dead," Merlin interrupted. "She killed him."
Everyone stood around quietly, waiting for something to happen. After a few minutes, Moria pops through a small opening between two tents. She runs up to the group. "Is he here?"
"No," Morgan approached her. "and as long as you're here, he won't be. I can't let you hurt him."
"But- but you said he was scum, you said his revolutionary ideas were insanity!" She starts to babble.
"What?!" Apparently Morgan hadn't said that… at least in this life.
"I don't know if it was a dream or not, but each time we die, and each time we come back. Can't you see what's going on?" She shifted her attention to the rest of the group. "Can't any of you see what's going on?"
Lance shoots Merlin a sideways look.
Suddenly, Arthur appears from a nearby tent, and drives a metal rod into Moria's intestines.
"You should've kept your mouth shut." He says with no remorse.
She falls to the ground, and Merlin rushes over to her. "Hey, it'll be alright. You'll get better."
"I don't mind dying, Emrys," Moria says quietly, using a name she shouldn't know. "It's beautiful over there…"
Morgan is almost instantly at her side, covering his mouth with one hand to suppress his sobs. He stands and turns to Arthur. "This is all your fault. You couldn't even see magic when it was staring you in the face!" Morgan lifts one hand and all the tents are set on fire.
Everyone is in panic when the world freees.
Lance and Merlin survey what is about to happen. "They'll all die in the fire, there's no way out." Lance concluded.
Merlin nodded. "All but one, apparently"
"Do you really think-"
"Lance, when she wakes up, if she wakes up, she'll have remembered absolutely everything, like you did. I don't want to be around when that happens."
The two depart from the burning circus quickly, while in the still-frozen scenery, Moria painstakingly pulls the metal rod out.
After a few years, in 1912, Merlin and Lance decide to go on a luxury vacation across the ocean. Posing as brother and sister again, they happily board the Titanic with many other patrons.
Merlin was walking to her room when she accidentally collided with another passenger, sending both parties' things flying.
"I'm so sorry." Merlin said quickly.
"Oops! Let me help you with that." Morgan said at the same time.
