Hi everyone, here's the next chapter :) You are invited to see the circus of the century :)
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for visiting the Phantomhive manor today. Ah, but what unfortunate timing! I'm afraid the young master and I must be off to London on business. By which I mean…"
"Will you stop with the monologue!" I snapped at the butler as we stepped out the front door and made our way down the stairs towards the awaiting servants.
"How nice that the weather has cleared up. It's the perfect day for a circus!" Sebastian exclaimed, a too cheerful smile on his face. It looked almost unnatural for the demon to smile in such a way.
"Circuses are held in tents. The weather is irrelevant," I muttered as I walked towards my awaiting carriage. I couldn't muster much enthusiasm for the coming weeks, or any at all really.
"Bard, Finny, MeyRin," Sebastian called the servants to order, "the young master and I will be staying in town for a while."
"Take care of yourself, young master!" Bard said as I climbed into the carriage and took my seat.
"See you later!" Finny called out, almost as if I were miles away and not a few short feet from him.
"Please come back soon!" MeyRin said softly, a handkerchief raised to wipe her eyes as Tanaka waved behind the threesome.
"You three," I said as soon as MeyRin had wiped her eyes, "look after the place while I'm gone."
"Yes, my lord!" the three called out for me as the carriage door was closed behind Sebastian, and I tapped the roof to alert the driver we were ready to go.
The driver moved the reins and I felt the gentle motion of the carriage moving off the property. It would be two or so hours before we were in town itself, and we had a few errands to run before we could return to the townhouse. One of those errands involved attending the blasted circus. I wasn't much looking forward to it, considering I still had Jack the Ripper to contend with.
I took the letter the Queen had left almost a week ago from my pocket and broke the temporary seal I had put on it yesterday. I saw the tickets and sighed before taking out the note to read. It might explain why I had to attend this circus.
"My dear boy, I hope this letter finds you in good health. In regards to the enclosed tickets. Did you know a circus is expected to arrive in London soon? I'm told it's a travelling troupe, and a large number of children are missing from towns they've visited. Although the police are doing all they can, they still haven't been found. They are beginning to worry that the murderer has taken a liking to children as well as those poor women. It seems the children always vanish without a trace in the middle of the night. It's as though they've been lured away by the Pied Piper of Hamelin…that is what I hope is the case. The sorrow of losing a family member is difficult to bear. I sincerely hope the children will return safely to their families soon. Victoria."
I put the note back in the envelope with the tickets, then returned it to my inside pocket for safekeeping. Would Jack turn his attention to children? It didn't seem to fit his current pattern, and what could he have against children? Were they a particular group? It would need investigating before we attended the show tonight.
"Where will you go first, my lord?" Sebastian asked as I glanced at the demon.
"Hmm, first of all…we should go to Scotland Yard. We need to gather information on these missing children."
I hoped that they were just missing, and not another victim of the Ripper's…it would be too messy to cover it up if that were the case…
"It's very convenient that Sir Arthur is out," I said once we had entered the file room of Scotland Yard.
We weren't alone however, and a very timid man had been yammering for the last ten minutes about our entry.
"Please, stop! If the Commissioner finds out…" the man had been repeating those words for the last little while, much to my annoyance. How could one man talk so much?
"Just make sure he doesn't, then," I repeated, having said those words to make him go away for the last while.
"Listen, this is the third floor! How did you get in here?!" he asked and I cast a sideways glance towards the open window. It had been a tight squeeze…one I didn't wish to repeat. So I decided to ignore the grumbling man and find out how my butler was doing.
"Well, Sebastian?" I asked the butler who was scanning through files.
"No bodies have been found that match the missing persons reports," Sebastian replied as he stood and glanced down at the book he was holding.
"We'll leave when you've finished copying. And we might as well borrow the photos."
"You can't do that!" the man said quickly.
"If you get found out, just say I took them," I muttered as I walked towards the demon.
"That'd get me in more trouble!" he snapped, his hands balled into fists.
"Listen…hmm, Underline, isn't it?" I asked the man, only now looking him over.
He was average looking and non-threatening. His hair was a very light brown and his eyes were the same. He had his moustache recently trimmed and looked agitated. He must have already been in trouble before this, and that was why he working in the file room. It wasn't normally watched as thoroughly as this.
"It's Abberline!" he shouted at me.
"You've been a great help. We appreciate your cooperation," I said, knowing he had done nothing but complain. I motioned for Sebastian to give him something for his…troubles.
Sebastian caught Abberline's hand and put some coins in it, much to the annoyance of the latter. He pushed it back into Sebastian's hand, finding this new thing much more annoying than us being in the file room to begin with. Interesting.
"I'm not for sale!" he snapped at the butler, "I just want to do whatever it takes to bring them home!"
""Whatever it takes", eh?" I repeated as I made my way to the door, thinking we could leave via the main entrance this time, "very flexible of you. You have a bright future."
I heard Sebastian follow, the money put back into his pocket as he stood near the door. A clatter of something hit the floor and I glanced back to see the butler had put a mop in Abberline's hands. Very amusing indeed.
"H-Hey!" he shouted.
"Hurry and get yourself promoted, Abberline," I called to him as Sebastian closed the door behind us.
I took the stairs down to the first floor, a copy of the notes in Sebastian's hands. It was a little busy with criminals coming in to be questioned. A few patrolmen were discussing their night adventures when the door opened and a young girl walked in. She was wearing pauper clothes, a coat over one of her arms and she had tied her hair in an awkward style. Behind her was a man with orange hair, too odd a sight to be normal. She made her way slowly to the front desk, and I saw what was wrong with her.
Her eye was bruised badly and her nose was bandaged. Some of her neck was covered which told me something had happened to her recently. Maybe she was the girl who had been attacked on Osborn Street over the last few days. She walked to the front desk, catching the attention of the officer there.
"What can I do for you, miss?" he asked her gently.
"I'm looking for Fred Abberline," she replied and he nodded.
"I'll fetch him for you immediately," he answered before moving away from his desk and up the stairs we had just left. He returned with Abberline who looked less flustered than before. He even had a smile, but looked tired.
"Hi," the girl said as Abberline said, "Vanessa?"
She didn't look like a Vanessa to me, but what did I know?
"Young master?" Sebastian called as I watched her hand him the coat, a smile on her lips as I turned and made my way to the front door and out onto the street. My carriage was waiting for me and I looked back over my shoulder, wondering about that strange girl. She had looked too pale to be normal, and I wasn't sure if that was make-up.
"It seems they're all still being treated as missing persons," Sebastian stated and I was reminded of why I had gone to Scotland Yard to begin with.
"By respectable society, perhaps, but someone in the Underworld may have already disposed of them," I stated as I got into my carriage and removed my hat before Sebastian sat opposite me.
"Will we be visiting him again to find out, then?" Sebastian asked.
"I'd really rather not, but needs must," I muttered as I tapped the roof of the carriage and the driver pulled away from the road, "let's go."
"Very good," Sebastian answered.
I glanced out the window and saw the door of Scotland Yard open, the girl stepped out with the orange haired man. She was talking to him about something, and then turned away from us, towards some other part of London. She seemed rather interesting, at least her hair was. It hadn't been like a normal blonde…more white than honey. She looked too young to be white haired unless that was another type of blonde I hadn't come across before. But it didn't matter…we had other things to do…
I stood outside the Undertaker's parlour, wishing I could be anywhere else but here. Sebastian had checked his watch to inform me we were four hours off the circus starting, and as I stood there, I could hear people talking about it.
"I heard Gerald got free tickets during the parade!" they said, as the parade had happened already.
"Him and his little girl are probably so excited," a woman stated before they faded from earshot.
I sighed heavily, wanting this case finished soon so I could move onto other things. I opened the door slowly and saw it was pitch black, the only light available were candles scattered around the room haphazardly. Sebastian stood at my back, taking everything in, looking for threats.
"Are you here, Undertaker?" I called out in the darkened parlour.
I stepped further in, hoping I was walking in the general direction to the back of the parlour when the door closed behind me. I blinked, adjusting to this sudden difference only to see the candles had been rearranged in a lane down the middle. Something glittered up ahead, but I couldn't make out exactly what it was. A maniac laugh echoed around us, informing me the Undertaker was somewhere in here.
"Welcome, my lord!" he called out, followed by the sound of something rolling. I had enough time to move out of the way as it rolled passed us and towards the glittering object ahead of me. It hit it, making it fall to the ground with an unceremonious clatter. He was bowling?
"Is today the day you'll condescend to enter one of my special coffins?" his voice echoed.
"Look you-!" I shouted as I turned, seeing something move from the doorway.
"Please, have a seat. I have a batch of cookies fresh from the oven," he said, his voice now coming from in front of me.
He walked away and into the back, no doubt to retrieve these cookies as I located Sebastian.
"Rearrange a few of these so I can see him, Sebastian," I ordered and the butler went to work moving the candles so it surrounded us, showing me what the Undertaker classed as a desk these days. He returned, setting the cookies down on his desk and sat behind it, not offering us anything.
"Have any of your clients delivered children's bodies to you recently?" I asked him once he had settled in.
"Children's bodies, hmm?" he questioned.
"Regular society regards them as missing, and no corpses have turned up," Sebastian informed him, holding the information we had gathered so far.
"Well, dead children are an everyday affair in the Underworld," Undertaker commented quietly as he bit into his cookies, "I'm sure you know that well, my lord."
"I've brought their information," I said, deciding to ignore what he had said to me, "did you take care of any of these children?"
Sebastian set down the information in front of him and he glanced over it, giving it about a quarter of his attention before glancing back up at me.
"Hmm, did I?" he asked as he looked at the first picture, a little girl not much older than six, "I feel as though I could remember, if I saw something entertaining…You know what I want, my lord. Give it to me! Give me prime laughter! Do that, and I'll tell you anything!"
He had moved, now lying on his back across his desk, glancing up at me through his hair. Could he really see me? He then moved his fingers like you would if you were tickling a child, but coming from him, it only rose goosebumps on me.
"Sebastian!" I said, looking towards the butler.
"Very well," the butler replied as he adjusted his gloves.
"Oh, you're relying on him?" Undertaker questioned, the fingers stopped moving, "aren't you able to do anything without your butler, my lord?"
He slid off his desk to his knees and held his hat to his head before glancing back at me.
"Well, anyone entertaining enough will do, really," he said in a blasé type of way.
He was starting to annoy me, and I knew the only way to prove I could do something without Sebastian was to entertain him. I set my walking stick down by his desk and felt my annoyance growing.
"I'll do it!" I snapped at him.
"Will you?" Sebastian questioned.
"You get out! And do not peek inside! That's an order!" I snapped at him before turning to point my finger at him.
"Yes, my lord," Sebastian answered as he bowed and turned to leave.
It took some time before he started laughing, and once he did, I heard the front door open. I was breathing heavily, not sure why I had done that.
"Ah, I never imagined the Earl Phantomhive would go that far!" Undertaker chuckled.
"What in the world did you do?" Sebastian asked as he straightened my hair and clothes. I was too embarrassed to repeat it or say what I had done…
"Don't ask," I muttered.
"Still," Sebastian whispered, fixing my tie, "if you're willing to put on a show for the Queen's sake…you really are a dog."
"Shut it, you!" I snapped, "all right, I've paid your fee. Tell me about the children!"
"They're nowhere," the Undertaker replied, now giving me his full attention.
"Sorry?" Sebastian asked, as he put my coat back on me.
"None of them were my customers, and there aren't any rumours, either," the Undertaker continued, holding up one of the missing persons reports for me to see as I walked towards him.
"In other words, you don't know a thing about this?" I asked.
"I beg to differ, I know that I don't know," he retorted.
"True, if you don't know, that would mean no one in the Underworld killed them," Sebastian stated.
"If their bodies haven't been found in either circle, they're still alive," I stated, finding the news slightly surprising, "in which case, I suppose our only choice is to personally investigate that circus."
I gathered my hat and my walking stick as Sebastian took out his watch to check the time.
"The circus is set to begin soon, my lord," he said to me.
"We'll go there straightaway, Sebastian," I said to the butler as he put his watch back in his pocket, "Undertaker, contact me if you hear anything."
"My lord…" Undertaker said as I reached the door, "each of us only gets one soul. Take good care of yours."
"I know that," I muttered as I stepped out into the darkened street.
"Do you really?" I heard him say before the door closed between us, ceasing any further conversation.
He had given us some useful information. All prior victims of Jack the Ripper had been delivered to the Undertaker, and I had been informed. To know the children weren't there…it was possible Jack wasn't involved. That left a whole new group to worry about, and something told me the circus was directly responsible.
The driver dropped us at the main entrance of the circus where are tickets were checked by a man with flaming red hair. He looked rather disgruntled as did a man near him, his hair black with streaks of grey. Did they not wish to help the customers?
As we entered, a sign above our heads welcomed us to the circus. Lights shun brightly as children cried for their parents to see specific things that were otherwise obvious. Clowns handed out balloons to those children and people juggled for their attention. There was a lot happening in such a small space, it was almost overwhelming. Vendors had set up with foods and drinks for people to buy. But nothing interested me and I kept walking on.
"So this is it," I said in a low enough voice that the demon would hear.
A man motioned for the crowds to enter a tent, lit by green lights that seemed welcoming. Is this how the children had been lured in before? It was a short walk until we were near the seats and I took the lead and sat near the top. It would allow us a chance to investigate the other people in attendance. A young girl sat in front of us with her father, a pink balloon dog in her hands as she scanned the stage below. Was she seeking out a particular entertainer?
"It's quite elaborate," Sebastian commented as I spotted the chandelier hanging from the ceiling, rows of rhinestones adding to its charm. How could a circus buy such a thing?
"Yes…but no more so than any other circus," I replied, trying not to take into account that chandelier.
As we took our seats, the lights dimmed until the room was darkened. Everyone who had been talking prior to that stopped to look at the ground below. One light lit and shun down on a man, his hair bright orange and reminded of the man from earlier. But this man wore more elaborate clothes, clearly in the role of a clown this evening.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!" he called out, "Welcome to Noah's Ark Circus! My name is Joker. Please to meet 'ee!"
He threw six balls in the air and proceeded to juggle with them before taking a bow. That bow meant he stopped watching the balls and they each fell on his head with light taps. He opened his mouth to reveal a ball which he removed and closed a hand over…or was that skeletal? It didn't matter as the ball disappeared from sight with a flick of his wrist.
"A prosthesis?" I asked, certain that was what the skeletal hand was.
"Tonight you'll see performances to stun and amaze 'ee!" he said in a loud voice, as people ran out.
The light illuminated three people moving out on the tightrope, two sitting together in the darkness while one sat alone, one leg raised on the wire while the other dangled. I looked back to Joker and saw people had run out to join him. Lights flicked on to show everyone's silhouette and I saw the person who simply sat on the tightrope with ease. It looked like a woman, but the shadows hid her albeit her costume which was a short skirt and a top hat that I could make out. The crowd clapped and cheered for their appearance.
"And now, with a great broze from our fire-breathing Jumbo, the show of the century begins!" Joker called out as a shape rose from the ground, taller than Joker and blew out a gust of fire towards the ceiling. It gave the performers a few seconds to make their escape before they were set on fire. The threesome on the wire sat still as the lights dimmed away from them and they disappeared.
Or rather, the girl had disappeared as the other two took their spots near the tightrope, and started swinging through the air in a careful manoeuvre so as to avoid hurting each other. Joker stood nearby to announce them.
"First our trapeze artists, perfectly in tune with each other: Peter and Wendy!" Joker called out.
Peter had been standing on his swing and dropped to put his hands out. As he was returning to the middle, Wendy let go and he caught her, holding her by one hand as her other was out almost in wonder. People clapped for the pair and their act went on in a similar fashion. It was standard, nothing impressive. I glanced to the demon who was watching them, and I wondered if he had ever attended a circus before.
The lights dimmed as a net was retrieved for Wendy and Peter to drop away and allow the next act to perform. Once the pair were gone, a turning wheel was pulled out with a young woman, scantily dressed, with a man. He had blond and black hair, and held daggers in his hands. The women bowed before being strapped to the wheel, which another man turned so she spun. So this man with the daggers was to hit a moving target? He threw his knives, missing her each time before turning back towards the crowds for a bow.
"Our knife-thrower, the perfect shot who never misses his target: Dagger!" Joker called out as Dagger finished his routine.
The woman was removed from the wheel and led elsewhere as two handymen took the wheel away. Dagger followed, and appeared to cheer. The next act received a green lighting, and stood bare-chested as snakes wrapped around him, along his arms and waist. He looked completely at ease with them, and that was his act. Also pretty standard for a circus.
"And now, a beautiful dance, by the rarest of rarities, our own serpent man, Snake!" Joker called out for the audience as he had with the previous acts.
"Their acts are fairly standard," I said in a low voice for Sebastian.
"Yes…and they don't seem to be forcing the children to perform," Sebastian commented.
"And next, look above ye, ladies and gents!" Joker called and we all did, seeing a girl dressed in white as she walked across the tightrope, "a death-defying tightrope walk by the circus princess, Doll!"
The girl moved slowly, holding an umbrella up before doing the splits on the wire.
"If they didn't intend to force the children to perform…could it be a coincidence that the disappearances were along the circus's route?"
Sebastian didn't answer and instead focused on centre stage. Joker stood there, unmoving as Doll descended and disappeared, her act concluded. Joker said nothing and looked down at his prosthetic, and wrapped around his wrist was a ribbon. It was too far away to determine a particular colour. Joker looked over everyone in the audience, his eyes moving up to the higher seats before he started walking towards the barrier. He climbed over it before moving towards the stairs. He walked up those slowly, counting in his head, his lips moving to mark numbers before he stopped on our level and turned to look at the people sitting on the same bench as Sebastian and I. I hadn't noticed that a women had taken the end seat as Joker looked her over and shook his head before looking at Sebastian.
The demon must have been what he was looking for and leaned forward to get closer. The woman moved out of his way as he held out the ribbon to Sebastian.
"Keep this in your hand," Joker said as Sebastian took it from him.
Joker pulled away with a smile, and walked down the stairs, casting no one a glance on the way down. He didn't return to the stage and instead stayed near the entrance. Worry appeared to crease his brow as he crossed his arms and leaned back. The lights turned off, and the audience groaned. They believed the show was over, and a few got up from their seats. But the sound of something hitting the ground and being rolled made them stop.
The sound stopped and the lights, now dimmed, turned on and pointed towards a cage. It was set in the middle and looked brass in colour. Water rippled underneath and added to the shapes cast on its surface. It looked like stars and spirals, and then I saw the white dress. It was dripping in water, no longer able to keep its previous shape. A shimmer showed there was a netting on the dress's hip, almost as if something belonged there. But it didn't look like someone was wearing it. Was this intermission?
I had never seen an intermission quite like this one, so I looked to Sebastian for guidance. He watched the cage, as if expecting something to move within. He did not say anything to me and simply leaned forward to get a better view. I looked back to the cage and the dress within, certain that was all there was. It was then I saw something twitch and I rubbed my uncovered eye to see if it was a trick of the light. No, it twitched again and the dress seemed to have gained a life of its own. Had a breeze caught it, making it move? I leaned closer as Sebastian had, watching this dress twitch before I realised the error in my previous assessment.
The cage was empty of everything but a person. The bodice, one marked with crystals moved a few inches as if the person were breathing before it parted and revealed itself to be hair. White blonde hair the same as the dress, giving the illusion the dress was the only thing in the cage. The girl moved, her face leaned back towards the bars as her hair fell across her chest and back in delicate curls. There appeared to be something wrapped around her eyes, preventing her from seeing the audience.
She put her arms behind her, linked them through the bars of the cage before pushing her legs up, forcing herself to stand. The light couldn't tell me what she looked like without the shadows, but she seemed small in size. The audience chattered for a moment before silence wrapped around us, with only a disgruntled baby crying making any noise. But the mother quieted her child and the girl held everyone's attention. She unthreaded her arms from the bars and put her hands on the front of her dress, showing how long it was.
She stepped forward slowly, her feet invisible as the dress hovered a few inches to compensate for the water. The silver netting I had seen earlier appeared like a cage and it held three butterflies to it, as others gathered around her bodice and skirt. She kept walking forward slowly, as if her intent was to walk through those bars. She stopped a foot from the bars, put her hands out in front of her to wrap long fingers around them. She then turned her head, as if she had heard something. I listened for something, anything that would distract the girl. A roar echoed through the tent and I sought it out, finding a white tiger running the perimeter of the barrier, the light glinting off its black stripes. It didn't seem to have an origin before it moved closer to the cage. I looked away from the tiger to see the cage was empty now, the girl gone from within. Where did she go?
"Can I have my ribbon back, sir?" a soft voice whispered and I turned to face the speaker.
The blindfolded girl stood there, her hand outstretched towards Sebastian. Where had she come from? I should have heard her climb those stairs, I should have seen her! Sebastian lifted his hand above hers and let the ribbon fall into her open palm. With a flick of her wrist, the ribbon moved and wrapped itself around her wrist lazily. How had she done that, without using her other hand?
"Thank you," she whispered and lifted her other hand to touch her left eye, running her fingers over the blindfold. The blindfold disappeared and she dropped a small amount of glitter to the floor, showing her hands were free. Where had the blindfold gone?
She turned and descended the stairs slowly, her dress leaving streaks of water on the steps before she made it to the barrier. She lifted her skirt revealing bare feet as she walked onto the stage where the tiger was still running. She walked to the front of the cage and watched the tiger. The circles the tiger was running grew tighter until it was charging at her and she was running at it.
The crowd held its breath as the tiger jumped, its mouth open wide to bite her. The girl jumped as well, her hands out as if she were diving and we watched as the tiger ate her in one bite. I hadn't thought it was possible as a woman screamed. A young child fainted in her seat as the tiger moved to face us, a piece of fabric hanging from its teeth. The beautiful creature seemed cruel all of sudden to me. The tiger turned to look at its right, and something moved.
There, by the barrier, was the girl in different clothes. Her hair was still free, her feet were bare. She had a black skirt that stopped mid-thigh and revealed her stomach. A blouse was underneath with straps that hung off her shoulders. A waistcoat, like one I would wear was all that covered that blouse and she walked towards the tiger, touching its head before removing the scrap from its mouth.
Her hand left the tiger's head and showed the ribbon from earlier was still fastened there. It was a part of her costume by the looks of it, and she was watching the audience, almost assessing their reaction so far. A man walked towards her, a handyman by the looks of it, who draped a black cloak along her body. She held onto either side and turned slowly, as a girl would if she were trying on a new dress. The tiger disappeared and the girl said something to the handyman who watched her as she stepped forward, lifting the cloak up and viewing it from all angles…until the tiger jumped through one side and ran around her. The cloak looked undamaged but the girl sighed, took it off, and handed it back to the handyman.
The tiger continued to pace around her, moving slowly as she touched its head in passing. She then walked back to the cage, her hands touching the bars slowly before she started walking…up. I couldn't see anything under her feet as she walked up thin air and I watched as it levelled out. How was she doing that? She twirled, like a child dancing to a song before she stepped backwards…and started falling. The handyman was down below and caught her, setting her on her feet slowly as she dusted down her unblemished skirt.
She then stepped away from the man and moved towards the cage, which during her walk up, had been turned onto its side. The man disappeared and she looked over everyone before turning her attention to the roof of her cage. She touched it gently and tapped it, assuring it was metal. The man from earlier appeared with another, and they put a blanket out that covered the cage. The girl walked to the barrier, her movements light and gentle before she turned to view the cage once more. She started running for it as the tiger did, both of them jumping at the same time at the cloth before they too disappeared. The blanket was dropped and the cage returned to its upright position, showing it now held the girl in clear view, her tiger walking around her.
She sat down and the tiger followed, sitting near her before the blanket was wrapped around the cage, obstructing its view. A minute later, it was removed and the girl was gone, as was the tiger. I looked for her and saw her, dressed differently in a pale pink dress that seemed to move. She had the tiger beside her, who was watching her carefully before raising a paw and swiping her, forcing her image to separate and reveal butterflies. Those butterflies flew around the audience and the tiger watched them, obviously wishing it could catch them all.
"Our illusionist, whose tricks make the mind wonder: Angel and her tigress, Mei!" Joker called out as he walked to the centre again as the cage was pulled back the way it must have been brought in.
Joker watched as more things were assembled, a ring set near the middle which Joker lit. A woman walked forward, a whip resting on her hip as another cage was carried out. It contained a normal tiger, one I would see in the paper that Lizzy often brought to the manor. Angel's Mei, had seemed the unusual exception.
The cage was opened and the tiger was set free to run around the barrier. I watched it, and spotted Angel on the side-lines, her arms crossed over her chest. Mei sat near her hip, watching this new tiger with an apprehensive gaze. Was something wrong with this tiger?
The whip hit the floor and the tiger ran before jumping through a flaming hoop, its body untouched by the heat. It moved around the woman before lying flat on its stomach at her feet. She raised one foot to put on its back, like a master with a servant.
"Last but not least, the star of our troupe! I bring 'ee the famous tamer of wild cats! Beast!" Joker called out.
That was also a pretty standard act, one that followed most circuses. I was starting to think the only unusual thing about this circus was Angel and her illusions. The crowd didn't seem to care and clapped for Beast nonetheless. They were clearly entranced by her and her performance so far.
"We'd love some audience participation for this act," Joker called out to us, "are there any volunteers?"
"No children in the final act, either," I muttered, wondering where those children could be at this point. Was it all just a coincidence, "this was a waste of time."
I had been talking to Sebastian and saw him move. I glanced at him, wondering if he had spotted something I hadn't.
"What is it? Did you find some-" I began as I looked at Sebastian, he was now standing straight.
"This gent in the tailcoat sure looks eager!" Joker called out as he pointed up at Sebastian, "please come on stage!"
The audience clapped for him, as if to encourage him to move. Why was he getting up to begin with? His eyes were facing forward and gave no indication as to what he was seeing.
"Step right up, sir!" Joker called out for his attention.
"So that's it – This is a chance to make contact. Go. The only way to find a clue to these mysterious disappearances is through this circus. Still, you may have made contact, but how exactly do you plan to investigate while all eyes are on you?"
As I thought that, I watched as Sebastian made his way down to the stage, jumping over the barrier to walk towards Joker. It looked oddly robotic in my opinion.
"Now, if you'll just lie down here-" Joker began with those instructions and Sebastian walked right passed him, and then Beast to the only member still on stage…the tiger. He put his hands on either side of its face and smoothed out its whiskers.
"Ah, what lovely round eyes you have!" Sebastian said as he looked at the tiger, "soft ears…"
I then realised the error of my thinking once more:
"Oh, blast! Tigers are cats!"
"I've never seen such vivid stripes! They're adorable. Oh dear," Sebastian commented as he lifted one of the tiger's paws, "your claws have gotten a bit too long…we'll have to groom them. And your paw pads are full and plump. Very attractive!"
The tiger decided to show Sebastian what it thought of the contact and rose up…to open its mouth and bite down on his head. The crowd screamed around me, and Beast seemed to snap out of her daze. She removed her whip from her hip and went to hit the tiger, to stop it eating Sebastian. Though at this point, I thought the demon deserved it.
"Betty, let him go!" Beast snapped as she snapped the whip towards the tiger, only for Sebastian to catch it in his hand and remove himself from the tiger's mouth gently.
"She hasn't done anything wrong. I was so overcome by her charm that I behaved rudely, that's all," Sebastian stated as he looked at Beast, releasing the whip for Beast.
"And…indiscriminate whipping isn't enough to train her properly," Sebastian continued and Betty decided to conclude this show and bit Sebastian on the back of the head, her paws resting on his shoulders. The crowd screamed again and Joker tried to calm them down.
"Betty! Spit him out this instant! He's dirty!" Beast yelled at the tiger.
"Goodness, aren't you a tomboy, my dear?" Sebastian asked the tiger calmly.
"Mei!" a voice called out and the white tiger jumped over the barrier to charge at Betty before jumping, catching the other tiger off guard as Sebastian pulled free.
Mei pulled Betty to the ground and pushed her onto her back, where Betty slashed out at Mei and Mei went for her throat. Beast used her whip and hit Mei multiple times, but the white tiger didn't seem to notice or didn't care. Betty pushed Mei off and stood staring at her as Beast hit Betty with the whip. Betty moved back slowly, watching Mei as the white tiger held her position, her body angled to take Betty again should the latter attack. Beast managed to get Betty into her cage and the door was locked.
Beast then moved forward, her whip raised to scold Mei as Angel moved forward, her arms outstretched to protect her tiger. Sebastian had moved away from the pair, the tension was heavy in the air. It didn't seem like the pair liked each other very much and only tolerated the other.
"Enough," Angel said, her voice carrying and it sounded like steel, "the act is over, the show complete for another night. Put down your whip, Beast."
Beast didn't and stomped away, clearly annoyed at Angel who kept her position and watched her disappear. The crowds watched as Angel turned to touch Mei's head carefully and then looked at Sebastian who was on his knees. She walked slowly towards him and put out her hand, helping him to his feet. No words were exchanged as Angel brought Mei out of the tent and into the grounds. It was then, Joker stood up and looked out on the shocked audience.
"I hope 'ee enjoyed the circus!" he called before running after Beast.
The crowds exited the tent, their enthusiasm about it only stained by the shock of Sebastian being attacked. The butler, however, appeared undamaged, much to my dismay. I thought he would be left with a mark at least.
"I didn't tell you to go that far!" I snapped at him as we exited the tent and viewed the circus grounds once more.
"My apologies, my lord," he replied, clearly in a chipper mood than before, "I've lived many years, but cats are such whimsical creatures, I still can't quite read their moods."
"What was the point of attracting unnecessary attention-" and I started sneezing, so I turned with my walking stick up to push the demon back, "you know I'm allergic to cats! Stay far back."
I walked ahead of him, certain he would follow once a good distance had been put between us, when I heard someone calling. I turned the corner and looked back, seeing Joker reach Sebastian.
"I'm so sorry about what happened, sir," Joker called out.
"No, please, I apologise," Sebastian stated.
"Gave me a scare, traipsing right up to the tiger like that! All right? We have a doctor on staff. Better let him have a look at 'ee, I reckon. Please, come on back."
"Go," I whispered to Sebastian and he nodded, informing me he had heard.
"I don't mind if I do…"and I watched as they departed. There was nothing for me to do except wait in the carriage.
I found the carriage and the driver, the latter reading a paper. I opened the door myself and sat down, before I started sneezing again, wondering where the cat hair was now. A gentle knock on the door told me I had company and the door opened to reveal Angel. She was wearing a blanket around her shoulders and an envelope was in her hands.
"I'm here to offer you and your friend compensation," she said as she held out a letter to me, "they're tickets to any of our future shows. Along with our apologies."
"I saw you," I whispered, now remembering her from Scotland Yard.
"That was the point," she stated with a forced smile, thinking I meant the show, "I hope to see you soon for another performance."
I looked her over and saw blood was on her blanket and her hand. Her tiger stood near her, its chest wrapped up in cloth. Angel seemed to notice my looking.
"Betty is vicious when she wants to be, part of not being trained properly. Mei won't hurt you," she said to me, "she's a little hurt but a steak will help her sleep tonight."
I didn't comment and Angel stepped away from the door to give me another smile.
"See you soon, sir," she whispered as she closed the door and walked away from the carriage.
It had been a long day and all I wanted was to go to the townhouse and sleep it off. But that girl had seemed like she wanted to say something else…I wondered what it would have been? Maybe I would find out, the next time I attended a show…as soon as Sebastian returned that was!
"What the hell is keeping him?!" I snapped at no one and returned to sneezing. Damn allergies!
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the show :) What did you think of the acts? Please leave a review and let me know what you think so far :)
