"I hoped so."
A hand tilted her chin up and all Evelyn felt was the pair of lips pressing against her own before she melted away in a moment of pure bliss.
After what felt like an eternity she opened her eyes, savoring the euphoria of the kiss as she slowly moved her head half-lidded eyes Evelyn looked up to Joker, who had a soft smile on his face as he looked down at the girl, reaching up a hand and brushing a stray piece of hair out of her face. She blushed at the sudden movement, tearing her eyes away from the redhead's face and clasping his hands in her own.
"It's... quite late, I should get to bed," Evelyn murmured, extending her arm and caressing the ringleader's face lightly, relishing the touch. Joker smiled again, albeit rather sadly this time, giving a nod. Evelyn slowly let go of his hands, standing on her tiptoes and pecking him lightly on the cheek before whispering a "Goodnight," and turning to head to her tent.
Bending under the entrance, Evelyn kicked off her shoes, falling onto her bed and grasping a pillow tightly. A grin began to stretch across her face, and she flipped over, stuffing her head into the pillow. Letting out a loud squeal of excitement, Evelyn kicked her feet excitedly, eventually resurfacing from the pillow and holding her hands to her heart.
"This is unbelievable," She whispered to herself, closing her eyes and letting out a contented sigh, quickly and happily falling asleep.
The following morning was bustling, loud and hurried, as many of the performers hurried to prepare their things in order to move on from their current city. The day was moving day, and every trapeze artist, silk dancer, and acrobat rushed to shove all of their belongings into their old suitcases and get ready for a long carriage ride to their next destination - London.
Carriages lined up along the streets as the second tiers piled in, fitting eight to a coach. A single, larger carriage sat at the front for the first tiers to enjoy, with more leg-room and a small back area for them to pile in their belongings. It was quite the caravan - large wagons and float-like vehicles moved along the front, ready for the circus' arrival parade the moment they got to London. Once they crossed into the city, the performers would rush out of their carriages, jumping into place on the street and atop the wagons as they presented themselves to waiting crowds. It was a large affair that the performers loved - the moment of pure bliss as men, women, and children alike clapped and cheered at their arrival.
Evelyn rushed towards the first-tier carriage, having stopped to make sure the younger entertainers had all their belongings with them (many a time had passed when a child began to cry hopelessly, realizing a stuffed animal or cherished blanket had been left behind.) Swiftly she jogged towards the vehicle, the coachman giving her an aggravated look as she apologized to him, handing up a few pounds in an attempt to soften the man's anger.
Out of breath and huffing, Evelyn clamored inside the carriage, plopping down across from the trapeze artists after tossing her bag into the storage area. Smoothing out her skirt, she gave an exasperated smile to the rest of the first tiers as the coachmen shouted orders from outside, the horses beginning to trot along the pavement of the streets. "Sorry I'm late," Evelyn panted, smoothing back her hair. "One of the little ones forgot a hairbrush and refused to leave until we found it - a hairbrush, would you believe it?" She laughed. Peter shot her a strange look from across the aisle and Evelyn quieted down, clearing her throat and feeling rather awkward. Joker gave her an encouraging smile.
Evelyn smiled back, her cheeks reddening slightly as she looked away, clasping her hands together in her lap. Joker laughed quietly, finding the girl's embarrassment amusing.
Then she heard the "tch." The irritating, tiny sound that can make blood boil within minutes.
Evelyn's head snapped up, and she looked to her right, noticing for the first time Beast sitting beside her, looking extremely vexed. "...What?" Beast snapped, her head whipping towards the brunette as she noticed the illusionist looking at her.
"Wha-? Sorry?" Evelyn asked, looking (and feeling) extremely confused. The black-haired woman huffed, turning her head away and staring at her lap. Sick of the woman's attitude, Evelyn finally shifted, staring at the woman. "Beast, I just - you've been glaring at me and huffing under your breath for the past two weeks. What's wrong?" She finally asked, rather pointedly.
"What's wrong?" Beast asked loudly. "What's wrong is that two weeks ago, I walk in and you two -" The animal tamer gestured wildly between Joker and Evelyn. " - are practically having at it on the ground!" The first-tier snapped, slamming her hands onto the seat and gripping it harshly.
"E-excuse me?!" Evelyn practically shrieked, her face turning ruby red as she stared at the animal tamer in disbelief. "That wasn't the case!" She bit back, wanting to go and bury herself alive at the looks the other first tiers were giving her. "That was a simple mistake and you know it, Beast!" Evelyn spat, crossing her arms and hugging herself tightly.
"A mistake," Beast snorted, pressing her fingers to her temple. "And I guess it was also a mistake last night by the tents, huh? Oh, I saw it," She warned, glaring at Evelyn's astounded expression. "All over each other, the pair of you. Disgusting," the woman grumbled, looking understandably upset.
"Beast, let's just... let's just sort this out when we get to London," Evelyn muttered, embarrassed. Beast practically blew up at that.
"Sort it when we-? No, we're doing this now," Beast snarled, standing up in the wide, roomy carriage. "I am sick, absolutely sick-" She said nastily, spitting out the last word. "-Of you acting like you own the damn place. Ever since day one you were fawned over, treated like a bloody princess - and it got to your head. Now you act like you're running things when you shouldn't even be here in the first place." She finished, giving the illusionist a fierce look.
"Beast-" Joker's voice sounded from the edge of the carriage, warning in his tone.
"Oh, pardon me for intruding upon your life!" Evelyn said heatedly, her eyes flashing as she stood, sizing up the busty woman. "If you didn't like me being here, why didn't you say something in the first place?" She snapped, giving Beast a nasty glare.
"Agh!" Came the screech of frustration from Beast, as the animal tamer shoved the girl towards the carriage doors, striding towards her and grabbing her by the shirt, holding her to the door as her emotions overpowered logic. The other first tiers immediately jumped up, a chaotic mix of voices screeching together as they tried to reason with the woman."And you feel like you're the one being persecuted!" Beast ranted, pushing the girl close to the wall. "How do you think I feel?" Her voice dropped down to a whisper. "I've been ignored by him for so long, and suddenl-" Beast cut herself off with a scream as the carriage door fell open from the pressure of both females pressed against it.
Along with it fell Evelyn and Beast, the girls slamming into the pavement, their bodies flopping like rag dolls as a large crack sounded in the air.
Everything was so blurry.
Evelyn blinked, squinting in the midday light as voices spoke frantically around her, muffled by the ringing in her ears. Somebody stood above her, with a mop of black hair and a worried face, from what she could tell. They waved a hand in front of her face, and she tried to follow it, objects mixing together in the girl's haze.
Evelyn tried to push herself into a sitting position, an agonized scream ripping from her throat as white-hot pain pulsed through her arm. Cradling her limb, she dropped back down on the street, closing her eyes and feeling a throbbing headache from behind her lids. "Evelyn," The person said urgently from above her, the girl recognizing the voice as Doc's. "Can you open your eyes for me? I need to see if you have a concussion." He said, leaning over her from his wheelchair and holding up two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?" He asked, as the girl blinked away the haze, squinting at his hand.
"Hell if I know," Evelyn mumbled, closing her eyes once again and crying out as Doc lifted her aching arm.
"Yeah, that's a break..." He muttered, stretching the limb so it would lay straight and tying a splint around it, bandaging over the wooden contraption. Quickly he assessed the multiple scratches and bruises scattered over the girl's body, before pressing a hand down on one of her legs. Evelyn whimpered quietly, tears pricking her eyes as she raised her other, bruised arm and pressed her hand to her mouth, trying to keep from shrieking. Doc began to bandage her leg up as well.
"Where's Beast?" Evelyn slurred, despising the girl more and more every second for getting so worked up as she struggled to speak. Doc gave the illusionist a small, stressed smile.
"She's alright, her prosthesis is a bit banged up because she rolled off of you and landed on it. Scratched it up, I might add," Doc sighed. "She only has some bumps and gashes. She's over with the others." He pointed to the side.
"Lucky her," Evelyn grumbled, feeling extremely sore as she sat up, her head spinning. With half-lidded eyes she looked to the side, seeing first and second tiers alike swarming the streets, loud voices rising up and mixing together to create a chaotic mix of tones. With a small grunt she struggled to her feet, accepting a crutch that Doc offered out to her as she slowly made her way towards where the first-tiers sat.
Dagger was the first to notice her, hopping up from his seat on a sidewalk and running over to see her. "Illusion!" He called, heaving a sigh of relief as he came to a stop in front of the woman. "You're okay!" The knife-thrower grinned, throwing his arms around the girl before drawing back at the small grunt of pain she gave. Evelyn gave the fellow first tier a small smile, gesturing down at her casts.
"If this is 'okay' to you, then I'm a bit worried for your sanity," She gave a short laugh, abruptly stopping at the ache that erupted across her skin as she did so. "Damn..." Evelyn muttered. Doll started to pipe up.
"Do you need anythi-?" She began, a loud voice cutting her off.
"Evelyn!" Was all the illusionist heard before a body slammed into her own, knocking her crutch to the floor as she was enveloped in a tight hug. Evelyn let out a cry of pain, looking up at the source. Joker immediately loosened his grip, looking horrified as he stared back down into the girl's green eyes. "Did I hurt you? I'm sorry!" He yelled frantically, starting to pull away.
Evelyn's broken leg crumpled beneath her as she gave a screech, her backside hitting the ground as she fell. Rubbing her hip, she tossed a slightly baleful look to the ringleader who gave her a terrible guilty look, pulling her from the ground and wrapping an arm around her waist to help her stand as he picked up the crutch, handing it to the illusionist and apologizing profusely. "It's fine, I'm fine, honestly," She reassured, although Joker didn't look too certain.
"So, should we be on our way to London, now, then?" Evelyn asked, and the first-tiers nodded, trekking back to the large carriage. Evelyn limped alongside Joker, sliding into the seat beside him in the vehicle and leaning her head on his shoulder.
Battered, bruised, and broken, Evelyn slipped into sleep as the carriage rattled its way into London.
I'm going to formally apologize for this chapter right now, because I'm suffering a bit of writer's block so therefore, this chapter isn't very good. At least, to me it isn't.
Here's a couple of notes: I based Beast's reaction off of how she acted with Sebastian - she seems to get pretty physical when she's mad. Therefore, holding Evelyn against the carriage door.
I feel so bad for Evelyn, honestly. It's just her luck that she's finally going back to London, and manages to fall out of a carriage.
Anyway, I'll see you in the next chapter! This is where the manga bit begins - it's easier to fill some pages, but even better because I get to spin it with Evelyn being included in the fun!