Sorry this came out later than I wanted. First, I lost my flashdrive (which is where I keep all my stories. I swear, I will probably be buried with that thing) and then my internet timed out, and then my laptop screen cracked. Life just keeps throwing curveballs I swear.

Anyway, enjoy this chapter. I own nothing except for Thalia!

Show-Time Plans

Morning came quicker than it should have and, although I was used to waking up early as a maid, that didn't mean that I really liked it. According to Flair, however, newcomers had to wake up really early to make breakfast for everyone else.

I quickly dressed in my ordinary clothes and stepped out of the tent, stretching my arms in the cool, January morning air. Several people walked past me carrying baskets of vegetables and potatoes. There were other people a few metres away peeling and chopping at the foodstuffs. As I lowered my arms, I felt a presence behind me.

"Did you sleep well, Red?" Sebastian came to stand at my shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess," I placed a hand on one hip and turned slightly to face him. "I won't ask you the same question, but how was your night anyway?"

Someone else knocked past me impatiently, and I lost my balance and fell against his chest. "Careful darling," Sebastian wrapped a loose arm around my waist to steady me. My face flamed at our close proximity, the new pet-name, and the fact that there were people around watching us. I pushed myself away from him and whirled around to face the other direction.

It is far too early for this! Flair's words from last night suddenly returned to me, and I scoffed internally. "Oh look, there's Ci-Smile!" I spotted Ciel's shivering form among the mass of people preparing breakfast. "Good morning Smile," I walked over to him and placed both my hands on my hips. "Wow, you look terrible." He did look a right mess. Was this how he dressed whenever he didn't have Sebastian to help him?

"I guess you can't even dress yourself without help," Sebastian smirked down at Ciel.

Ciel huffed and turned his back on us. "Shut up," he snapped. "I was in a hurry, that's all." I clucked my tongue, and leaned forward to loosen the shoddy knot of his eye-patch so I could do it again. "What are you doing?" He hissed.

I frowned and pulled the knot free. "You won't be able to tie the strings again if you do them in such a complicated knot," I pointed out, deftly retying the strings into a more suitable knot. "There, see?" I didn't notice that we were being observed until Ciel's eyes shot to the side, and childish giggles broke out behind us.

That kid, Ciel's new roommate, was laughing teasingly at Ciel. "Cor, Smile, Red isn't your mum you know!" He, or she (I really had to decide on a gender soon), chuckled.

"No, it's just a habit! – I mean, it's just a coincidence!" I smiled blithely, finding Ciel's fumbling rather cute. It was nice to see him around people his own age. The only other person his age I knew was Lady Elizabeth, and he rarely ever saw her. "Oi, stop it you two!" He hissed at us under his breath. "Don't treat me as your master while we're here!"

"Alright," I nodded, even though I wasn't.

"Very well," Sebastian straightened. "I'll start right away." I stared up at him with confusion, which quickly changed to surprise at his next words. "Smile! How do you plan to use those potatoes?" His voice rose, taking on a mocking, condescending sort of air. "You've 'peeled' them to bits!"

True. Ciel clearly had never done anything like that before. He had wasted more than half of the potatoes in peeling, and what was left were just thick strips, some still with the skin on. I sweatdropped, and nudged Sebastian in the side. Oi, you didn't have to be so mean and embarrass him like that! I glared up at him, and he met my glare with an innocent smile.

"Smile, what is wrong with you?" Ciel's roommate – who I had decided to dub as being probably male, going by all apparent evidence – stared at the decimated potatoes in horror, along with everyone else.

"I'm sorry!" Ciel apologised quickly.

"Ugh," the boy rubbed the back of his neck wearily. "Now I don't even know which part to eat!"

"Well, it can't be helped," Sebastian picked up a strip of potato skin and eyed it. "I know I saw some fish somewhere, so let's fry these up and make fish and chips!"

That idea seemed to cheer up everyone, and Ciel's mistake was quickly forgotten. I was engaged in the peeling of more potatoes, while Sebastian disappeared to the food tent to cook. Soon the delicious smell of frying potatoes and fish filled the air. Flair found me hacking away at the roots just as a shout rang through the air. "Food's ready!"

At that, the entire contents of the circus began to surge towards the food tent in a crowd of hungry circus people. Flair grabbed my wrist. "What are you waiting for?" She snapped impatiently. "If we don't go now, we'll miss all the good stuff!" We didn't. I was hungry, and in no mood to be shoved around by the amassed crowd of people. I more or less bullied my way to the front and came back with a plate laden with bread, sausages, bacon, eggs, chips and fish; all of it drizzled with ketchup.

Flair eyed my plate over her more modest selection, and whistled. "You sure eat a lot, don't you?"

I tossed a bit of bacon into my mouth and smiled. "You haven't tasted Black's cooking before," I replied.

She arched a dubious eyebrow, and took a bite of her fish. "Wow!" her eyes widened in surprise. "This is amazing! I've never had fish and chips this good before!" We both tucked in with gusto. She finished before I did, seeing that she had taken less than I had, and stood up. "When you're done, come to the big tent," Flair told me. "We have practice right after breakfast, so hurry up!"

"Okay!" I watched her go for a second, and then went back to my breakfast. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see some men staring at me. I could read their expressions perfectly, having seen them in the faces of so many others: curiousity, lust, and a sense of pride in one's own physical appearance.

I quickly shoved the last few bites of food into my mouth and picked up my plate to drop in the front. I couldn't risk the chances of any of them coming over and trying to talk to me. Sebastian would probably unleash hell on them (pun not intended) and I did not intend to be responsible for whatever trauma, or death, might occur.

oOo

Although I had decided that I didn't mind not working with the tiger, Beast was being rather rude about it. She didn't want anyone else working with Betty, and she seemed to make a point of repeating this whenever she saw me.

I had a feeling that this was because of Sebastian's actions that first night in the ring, or because of Sebastian himself. She did not like him, which was new for me, as I was the only female I knew who had not succumbed (wholly) to Sebastian's charms.

Anyway, she did not like him and, by extension, she did not like me.

At any rate, I had decided to focus on other tricks. I was currently practicing walking on the tightrope. Although I was actually quite terrified of heights, I was only terrified when the chances of falling and potentially dying were quite high. I had a lot of faith in my balance, and I was pretty agile, so I was able to not only walk across the rope, but also perform back-flip, splits and execute handstands on it.

"Nice going, Red!" Dagger praised me as I climbed down from the tightrope. "You're very talented at this! Maybe we should put you in tonight's show as a treat!"

I smiled back at him, blushed a little at the praise, and then wandered away. I ran a hand through my hair and exhaled softly. While all of this was fun, it was also really tiring, both physically and mentally. I paused for a second, and stared up at the sight before me with a massive tick sign on my forehead. "Could you guys at least pretend like you're not obviously trying to outdo each other?" I called up to the supernatural duo.

As far as I could see, they both seemed to be having a contest of sorts, seeing who could balance on the most things. Sebastian was balanced on several giant and colourful bouncing balls, while Suit balanced on several metal cylinders and a plank.

"Black is brilliant!" Someone cheered.

"But Suit is keeping right up!"

"They're bloody superhuman!" I heard someone else say. Well you're not wrong there. I rolled my eyes and made my way back to the tightrope. The whole morning, up until the early noon hours, was spent tumbling and jumping and telling Sebastian to tone down the competitive stunts. Every time I spoke to him, however, he just said something inappropriate. Or, at least, inappropriate to me anyway. I could see Flair giving me curious looks of the side of her gaze.

"Nothing between you, huh?" She hummed when break was called. I stopped wiping my face with my skirt and stared at her blankly. "I don't know, Red. He seems to like you quite a lot."

I waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, he's just teasing me," I told her. "He does that a lot."

"Mmm," she hummed with clear disbelief in her tone, but she didn't push it. "Do you want to head to the showers now?" She asked me. I lit up at the prospect of a bath. "Girls get to bathe earlier, and the female showers are a lot cleaner than the male ones," she told me as she led me to the shower area. "But they're still pretty open. There's little to no privacy on the road. We have to make do with what we can."

I nodded, already feeling a bit nervous. Although I was a bit wary of being naked in front of other people, it's not like it would be too horrible. The only thing I was worried about was that all my scars would be on display. While most of them had faded, there were still a few obvious ones, especially the one on my hip.

Besides, I reached up and touched the nape of my neck. They'll see this thing. Even I don't know what it is. We reached the shower area, which was just a really large, plastic folding screen arranged to form a circular encampment. "The only thing we really need to worry about are peeping toms," Flair told me, and then she pulled the door of the screen away.

I had never seen, and probably would never see, so much female flesh on display again in my life. There were several buckets of water on two sides. The women soaked a towel in the water from one side, cleaned themselves with some soap and the wet towel, and then rinsed the soap and dirt off with the water from the buckets on the other side.

"What are you waiting for?" Flair had already started stripping. "Break won't last forever, you know."

"Alright, alright!" I turned my back to the others and began loosening the strings that kept the dress tight. I could hear the other females talking behind me, and I heard my name or, rather, my stage name pop up a few times along with Sebastian's.

No One's POV

Sebastian made his way towards the male bathing area with some towels. Although Ciel had ordered him and Thalia to not behave in any way like they were his servants, he still had his duty to the boy. However, as he walked, he passed by the female area and his supernatural hearing picked up the conversation of several men standing a bit too close to it.

"Mmm, I was right. She does have quite the body, doesn't she?"

"You know, I wasn't sure about the newbies at first, but if we're going to be getting pretty girls like Red all the time, then I don't mind."

He froze. Those men were talking about Thalia, about his mate. And, if his suspicions were correct, then they were also watching her and the other women bathing. His eyes began to glow as rage flared up inside him.

The men looked up angrily as a shadow fell over them. Sebastian smiled down at them with a look of mock cheer and politeness. "Excuse me gentlemen, I believe you're doing something you shouldn't be."

"Oh yeah?" One of them men, the largest one, snarled back. "What?"

"You're staring at my mate."

oOo

I finished bathing quickly, leaving little to no time for anyone to ask me any questions about any scars or wounds, although I saw the way they all stared at me curiously. I threw a towel over my wet hair, and made my way from the bathing area to my shared tent, shivering slightly due to the frigid water and weather.

Unfortunately, I bumped into Sebastian on the way past the male baths. "Oh," I blinked up at him. "Where are you going?" I asked him curiously, and then I eyed the stack in his arms. "And why so many towels?"

He just smiled down at me. For some reason, he seemed highly pleased with himself. There was this aura of smugness around him that made me feel suspicious. "You ask far too many questions, Thalia," he said.

"Yeah, well, you're far too evasive," I rubbed my hair vigorously with my towel, and then combed my fingers through it. "So, where's Smile?" I quizzed. "Is he in the bath with the other guys?" I was going to ask why Sebastian wasn't with them, and then I wondered if he even needed to bathe at all, or if he just went around looking perfect and sparkly.

Before Sebastian could answer me, I heard a thud, and someone cried out. Suddenly, door of the bath flew open and Ciel ran out, clutching himself like he had been hurt. He was soaked, completely soaked to the bone. I don't think he even see us, he just raced past us in the direction of the woods.

"Smile!" I took off after him, not even sparing Sebastian a glance. At that moment, my worry took precedence over my arguably growing feelings for the butler.

Ciel had run in the direction of the trees, near where the circus people kept the caravans which stashed their spare things. I finally found him huddled up beside one on the ground, his legs drawn up to his chest and his forehead touching his knees.

"Ciel," I walked over to him and knelt down in front of him. He was shivering pretty badly. "Hey, Ciel..." The towel I had was a bit damp, but it would have to do. I unwrapped it from around my neck and started drying his hair and his shoulders. "You're going to die of pneumonia if you don't get dry soon," I told him. "I wish I'd brought a dry cloth or something..."

Suddenly, a large, grey-green blanket landed over Ciel's shoulders, courtesy of Sebastian. "You'll catch a cold, my lord," the butler knelt down on. "I also brought a change of clothes."

I should have done that, I felt a twinge of shame. I should have actually done something to help and not just run after him without any form of assistance. "Enough..." Ciel muttered.

"What?"

"I said I've had enough!" Ciel raised his head and glared at Sebastian. "I'll go mad if I keep living like this."

"My, my," Sebastian raised his eyebrows. "Your fortitude ran dry fast," he noted. "Are you giving up already? It's not like you to let such trifles drive you mad, young master."

I wrapped the blanket around Ciel a bit tighter, and saw the way his eyes widened at Sebastian's words. If he has truly been through what I think he has, I mused. Then this isn't the worst thing that has happened to him. These aren't the worst conditions he has been subject to. I leaned backwards to rest on my calves and I watched the way his fingers tightened on the cloth.

He isn't going to give up. I watched him exhale a puff of crystallized air. "Not like me, eh?" He murmured. Ciel suddenly stood, still dripping wet, but no longer shivering. "Quite right. I am the head of the Phantomhive house," he said. "Naturally, it is not like me to live in such conditions." I got to my feet as he turned back to us. "We'll get this over with and leave quickly!"

I couldn't help smiling and nodding. "Yes, young master."

"Understood," Sebastian got to his feet as well. I followed the two of them behind the tents and perched on a crate while Sebastian dried Ciel. Why didn't I do it? Because when I offered, Ciel glared at me with a red blush and sputtered a no very adamantly. So, there you have it.

Said boy was now warmer, and considerably much drier than before. "I'd planned to work our way up the ladder," he said. "However I can't go on living in these conditions for much longer. I'm at my limit," he donned the dry shirt I'd quickly fetched from his tent. Luckily his roommate hadn't been there.

"Personally, I find brute force better that infiltration," Sebastian commented. I arched an eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything. "Since the reaper keeps me from moving freely at night." Suit didn't want Sebastian roaming around without Ciel. I could understand that, but it did make our job considerably harder.

"The reaper's presence doesn't prove them guilty," Ciel said shortly. "Behave yourself," I jumped down from my seat and wrapped another blanket around Ciel. He was still a bit damp, but he was good to go. "If we could search the first-stringer's tents, we can go home. The time to strike is during the show tonight, when they aren't in their tents," he sat on the crate I'd previously been sitting on. "First I need a way to shake off that freckled chap who follows me everywhere."

I hummed quietly, and placed a hand on his shoulders. "You're still shaking," I murmured worriedly. "You're going to catch a cold if you don't get warm." I wished we were back at the mansion, in front of a warm fire. With the way he was shivering, he'd be lucky if he didn't come down with something.

Ciel shook me off a bit roughly. "I'm fine, Thalia," he snapped. I sighed and folded my arms across my chest. "I wish I was back at the mansion. I want something sweet to eat…" He grumbled.

Sebastian looked up at him. "I'll prepare you some hot tea as well."

oOo

During the show that night, all the second stringers were involved in the preparation. I was sent hither and thither all over the place to find props and costumes and headpieces and all manner of things. We were all required to be in our costumes, and so we all were, with the exception of Ciel. I think he hated his costume and stage name.

"It's almost show-time!" I heard Joker's voice from the front of the tent. "Look lively!" Finally, the show was starting! The tent quickly emptied of people. I leaned against the wall and giggled quietly as some guy wearing a giant rabbit head over his own staggered past me and out of the tent.

I glanced around. There was no one else in the costume tent, except me, Ciel, Sebastian and – for some reason – Suit. "Sebastian! Thalia!" I skipped over to Ciel and leaned over so he could whisper to both of us. "Freckles isn't watching," he hissed. "Let's check the tents now before everyone comes back. We'll be able to get it done in ten minutes!"

Sebastian smiled. "Yes, my lord." I nodded quietly, eying Suit out of the corner of my eye. I was sure he had overheard us (did Reapers have the same supernatural hearing as demons?) but he didn't make a move to stop us in any way. I suppose he was keeping his end of the bargain and staying out of our business.

We exited the tent quietly. Ciel peered around to make sure that no one was in sight, and then took a step further out of the tent. Before we could take more than a few steps further, we heard someone yelling. "Black!" Joker. And he was carrying Wendy on his back with Peter at his side. "We've got trouble!" He told us. "Old Wendy's twisted 'er ankle! The show's already on so I need one of you to take her place!"

Tightropes? Yes. Trapezes? Heck no! There was no way I was going to do anything that involved flinging myself into space several feet above the ground! I shook my head hurriedly but apologetically. "It can't be me, then," I told him. "I'm not good at trapeze art."

Joker turned to Sebastian pleadingly. He tried to back out of it. "But, surely I'm not a fit substitute…" If the situation had different, I would have given a bark of ironic laughter.

The situation was probably very desperate. If the show was on, they couldn't cancel an entire act and risk disappointing and/or angering the audience. Joker shook his head. "Fit and ready, me 'ansome," he said. "We'll count on 'ee both! 'Ee haven't much time, so be quick!" He called over his shoulder and continued on his way, probably to the medical tent.

Peter glanced back at me. "Oi, Red, Dagger wants you. He said you're supposed to help him with something in the show!"

I blinked. "Help him with-?" I suddenly remembered his cheerful, offhand comment from earlier, and scowled. "Oh for the love of-!" How was I supposed to know he was being serious? Talk about short term notice. I huffed and placed a hand on my hip. "This couldn't have come at a worse time."

Sebastian stared after them, and then turned back to Ciel. "Nothing for it, I'm afraid," he said. "It seems we'll have to find another chance to do this, young master. Young master?"

Ciel folded his arms across his chest and looked contemplative. "We don't know when we'll get another chance," he said. "This may be the only time that he isn't with me," he spotted a timetable hanging from one of the lanterns. "You may both be in the show, but I have some time. The only trouble is the snakes." We watched him study the timetable silently, and then he muttered to himself. "Thalia, you'll be late if you don't go now. Sebastian, come with me!"

I had no idea what Ciel planned to do, but I couldn't stick around. If I hurried through the routine (and I had little to no idea what it was, but it wasn't supposed to be more than twenty minutes long) then I could hurry back and meet Ciel at the tents. I hurried over to the main tent and slipped backstage.

"Red!" Dagger grinned at me cheerily while flipping a knife up and down in one hand. "Just in the nick of time, eh?"

"You should have told me this earlier," I glared at him pointedly. "One offhand comment in the afternoon is not a warning." I felt someone's eyes on me, and I turned around. Beast was glaring at me with irritation. What did I do? Or, at least, what did Sebastian do that's causing you to direct your anger at me?

Dagger pouted. "The girl that's normally part of my act got sick," he explained. "You're the only other second stringer that I could use as a replacement.!"

I arched an eyebrow at him, and then I sighed and nodded. "Fine," I muttered. "What do you want me to do?"

The act he described to me was one that I had read in a book. To put it simply, he was going to have me adopt several random poses, and then he would throw knives at me to form an outline of my form.

"That sounds…incredibly nerve-wracking," I blinked. "I don't know if I'll be able to do this properly."

Dagger patted me on the shoulders cheerily. "Don't worry!" He winked. "I'm a pro at this!" And indeed he was. The knives pierced the board just shy of my skin, not close enough to hurt me, but just enough to give the audience a thrill. I wonder where he learned to do that?

I bowed quickly, with as much flair as I could squeeze into the hurried motion, and then disappeared backstage. The trapeze act was up next, and I spotted Sebastian and...Suit? Why was he there? I thought only Wendy had gotten injured.

Well, obviously you can't expect Peter to be able to support Sebastian's weight.

So they'd decided to have the two of them do it? Well that would have made perfect sense if the two of them weren't staring at each other like they'd rather chop off their own hands than make actual contact, even with gloves. Sebastian caught my gaze. "Why don't you let Red do it alongside me?" He suggested.

I froze, and glared at him. "Ha, yeah, well I'm pretty bad at the trapeze." I was marvellously terrified of being thrown up at great height with little proof that I wasn't going to miss the swing and kill myself. I threw Sebastian a look that said you may not like him, and I may not like him, but just do it! Besides, I have to go help Ciel, remember?

That was a long message. I don't know if I managed to covey all of that with a glare, but he must have gotten it because he stopped staring at me and exhaled loudly. Suit grunted. "I can't believe I'm expected to collaborate with vermin."

I paused by the door of the tent and glared at him over my shoulder. "Why don't you try sucking up that bitter personality and do something for a change?" I snapped at him, and then I let the fabric of the entrance fall shut behind me.

I do not like the ending, but I just couldn't think of any other way to end it! *covers face and sighs* Please read and review! I've finished typing out the entire Circus Arc now, so I guess I can focus on everything else.

By the way, when is the Book of Murder going to be available to watch? Apparently it's out in Japan but I cannot find it anywhere online.