A quick update! Enjoy :)
Miku was ushered into the tent by the curly haired clown. "Come on, come oooon!" She hummed cheerfully, pushing Miku along. "I see a perfect spot! Gotta hurry before someone snatches it up, yeah?"
"Really, I'm fine towards the back –" Particularly if someone tried shooting flames at her again, although Miku didn't voice that particular concern. The clown girl was having none of it, however. Her little arm around Miku's shoulder was surprisingly strong.
"Don't be silly! You're gonna want to have a great view, trust me! This is the kind of show you're never gonna forget!" She laughed, the sound seeming to fill up the entire tent, no matter how large it was. Miku was suddenly sure that everyone was staring at her.
Her stomach clenched, and she tried to wiggle out from underneath the clown's arm. "I'm really – I'm fine, I –" She stumbled, trying to keep pace with the excitable clown. Her skin crawled under the weight of all the eyes she felt on her. The sensation was entirely new to her … But she still felt the oddest sense of familiarity.
"There you go!" Speaking as if she hadn't heard Miku at all, the clown deposited Miku at an aisle seat, far too close to the stage in the center ring for her comfort. "You'll thank me later!"
"… Right." Miku shrank in her seat, glancing around furtively … And found that no one was looking at her, at all. People were talking with their friends, or pointing at the trapeze above the stage, or watching as the clowns corralled people into place, but no one was paying any attention to Miku, at all.
You imagined it. Of course you did. The sensation of being watched was already fading, but even as the clowns scurried onstage and began their act, the feeling didn't go away completely. Miku did her best to ignore it as the curly-haired clown clapped her hands together. Although she didn't carry a microphone, her voice carried easily.
"Okay, okay, okay! Roll call, let's go!" She struck a pose as the other three clowns fell into a formation around her.
Beside her, a clown who wore a bright outfit that appeared to be half dress and half suit waved. When they spoke, their voice was perfectly androgynous. "Ruko!"
Next, a clown who wore a frilly tutu and long hair gave a dramatic curtsy. "Ritsu!"
Finally, a clown with sleeves too long for her arms looked out at the audience with an expression that didn't seem to match the bright smile painted across her face. "Tei," she said, in a voice that didn't carry as well as the others.
The curly haired clown clapped enthusiastically. "Whoo! And I'm Teto! Let's go!" The stage lights, which had been plain all this time, suddenly burst into color, vibrant blues and reds and yellows. Cheerful music started, sounding like a more upbeat version of the calliope that had been playing earlier. The clowns began to leap across the stage, balancing on stands and rolling around on plastic balls.
The act was short and underwhelming. Miku couldn't help feeling like they were doing this on purpose, leaving the audience wanting more.
If she could say one thing for the clowns, it was that they were very committed. Their falls, while as dramatic and silly as any clown act, seemed more violent and painful than she would have expected. At one point, Ritsu made a big show of kicking the stand out from underneath Ruko while they were doing a handstand, causing them to land hard on their head. They responded by chasing the other clown around with the stand, swinging it around wildly.
After maybe ten minutes of this, Teto clapped her hands together wildly. "Okay, okay! Did you like that? Aww, I bet you did! But now it's time to welcome the amazing … the incredible … the beautiful … Miss Lily!" The clowns stopped their antics and scurried off into the shadows, watching the show from the edges of the circular stage. The brightly colored lights turned yellow and dimmed, until the objects left onstage were indistinguishable.
Then, a single, uncolored spotlight trained on the trapeze. Standing there was a beautiful blonde in a black leotard that was sheer in more places than it was opaque.
She raised her hands high above her head, striking a pose as the audience applauded her politely. The cheerful music that had played during the clown section retained the same melody, but slowed down and became more dramatic.
Once the music was done changing, Lily leapt.
She twirled in the air, leaping from trapeze to trapeze, twirling herself in such a way that any harness would have been tangled. The only things keeping her from falling to the ground were her own hands and feet.
But the acrobat didn't seem frightened. She flung herself through hoops and hung from one hand off the trapeze, waving at the audience from stories above their heads. Her act was short, but during the time she was onstage, she commanded attention.
Finally, she grabbed at a scrap of red fabric hanging from the ceiling. It unraveled in a long piece of aerial silk, taking the acrobat down with it. She ended her performance hanging upside down, feet locked in the fabric.
The audience clapped wildly, Miku included. Inside the main tent, with the melody that never changed despite the varying genres of music it was put to, it was becoming easier to get lost in the magic of things.
Lily grasped at the fabric with her hands and pulled herself into an upright position as she was lowered to the ground. She stood triumphantly in the center of the ring as the clowns came back onstage, clapping along with the audience. "Thank you! Thank you!" She soaked up the applause until Teto was beside her, flinging her arms out.
"Yes, yes, yes! Give it up for the Incredible Miss Lily!" Two of the other clowns escorted Lily off into the shadows around the ring as Teto addressed the audience. "Yeah, you liked that, huh? Well, you're going to like our next act even more! Give it up for the Daring … The Dangerous … Miss Mayu!"
The music went low and ominous, but the girl who came out didn't seem to fit the description. Not when she was short girl with dip-dyed rainbow hair, a sweet Lolita dress, and a stuffed rabbit hugged tightly to her small frame. But when she smiled, there was something unsettling about it, just the same.
She looked out at the audience for a moment, then held out the rabbit, giving it a sweet smile. "What do you think, Mimi?" She spoke directly to the plushy in a sweet voice. "Should we give these people a show?"
The stuffed rabbit did not answer, but a good portion of the crowd cheered its assent. Mayu smiled.
"I think so too!" Tei approached, and Mayu handed off the rabbit to her without a word. The clown set the rabbit on a stool on the other side of the ring, arranging its limbs carefully. A wall sat behind it.
Once Tei seemed finished, she stepped backwards. Mayu surveyed the scene carefully, tapping her chin. "Ready, Mimi?" She paused, as if listening to the rabbit respond, and then grinned sunnily. "Alright!"
In one fluid motion, the girl pulled a knife from her skirt and threw it across the ring. It embedded itself in the wall behind the stuffed rabbit, right in between its ears.
The smile never left Mayu's face as she threw knifes in rapid succession. Even with her thick skirts, Miku had no idea where she could be keeping all of them.
By the time she was finished, the stuffed animal was completely surrounded by knifes. Tei stepped forward again, then gently pulled the rabbit off the stool and held it in the air. It hadn't been hit even once.
"Whaaat?" Mayu giggled as the audience applauded. "Did you think I'd hurt my best friend?"
As Tei removed the knives from the wall, Ritsu and Ruko wheeled out a large cart, covered with a black sheet. Mayu took no notice of this action, instead focusing on the audience. "Mmm, I think we can make things even more exciting, don't you?"
Teto appeared, holding Mimi at her side with a smile. "I think we can, oh yes, I do!"
"Well, then, let's show them!" Ritsu and Ruko pulled the cloth off the cart with a flourish. The audience gasped when they saw countless knives and axes, some of them bigger than Mayu herself.
Teto made an exaggerated gulping motion before scampering back over to the wall that was now clear of knives. She stood with her back against it, holding the stuffed rabbit above her head. Mayu examined the weapons in front of her before choosing a long, large knife.
"Ha!" She threw it with ease, and it embedded in the wall right in between Teto's arms, under the rabbit but above the clown's head. "Easy," she hummed, and selected a small axe.
The weapons got progressively bigger as she threw them, but she never seemed to struggle with the weight. Miku wondered how she could possibly manage them with her small frame.
Finally, there was one axe left, a weapon that was easily taller than Mayu herself. She hefted it over her shoulder as though it hardly weighed anything and looked out at the audience. "Teto's running out of room, there." She gestured at the clown, who stuck out her hand to wave cheerfully from her place, surrounded by weapons. "What if one of you come down for the final act?"
The audience gave a nervous twitter, but no one seemed willing to volunteer. "Aw, come on! What about you?" Her eyes fixed with sudden good cheer on Miku. "You look like you belong up here, that's what I think!"
"But it's time, time, time for the next act!" Interrupting Mayu before she could continue, Teto stepped away from the wall, leaving her outline in knives and axes. She laughed cheerfully. "Sorry, Mayu!"
Mayu shrugged, giving the audience a final wave before skipping off into the shadows. Teto addressed the audience as the other clowns cleaned up. "Okay, okay! We have just a feeeew more acts for you tonight! First up, I'd like to welcome our enigmatic and fascinating magician, Mr. Gakupo!"
A man with long purple hair walked onstage, wearing white gloves and a black top hat. A girl with green hair and a sparkly outfit walked by his side, pushing a cart covered in a thick red cloth.
"Thank you, thank you." He spoke in a low, polite voice. "I would like to introduce you all to my assistant, the lovely Miss Gumi." The girl blew a kiss at the audience. "She's going to help me make some magic tonight."
The music in the background became big and dramatic, like something out of a stage show. Gakupo made a show of looking in his sleeves and showing the audience that his hat was empty, before pulling out a familiar stuffed rabbit.
"Hey! That's Mimi!" Mayu scurried back to the center of the ring and snatched the rabbit back with a scandalized expression. The audience laughed.
Gakupo did a few more tricks after that, but they seemed underwhelming and cheap. All around her, Miku could feel the audience start to shift and grow bored. The dramatic music seemed fake, lacking the ethereal quality the melody had once carried.
Finally, Gakupo looked at the audience with a smile. "You've been wonderful tonight, ladies and gentleman. I'd like to leave you with a final trick … A final act. And remember, magic can be found even in the most dismal of places."
Someone behind Miku muttered something unintelligible, earning a laugh from their companion. If Gakupo and Gumi heard it, they paid no mind. Instead, both of them produced matchbooks from their pockets, and in unison, they one match each. Stepping back, they threw the matches at the red-draped surface they had done their act on.
Immediately, the table was engulfed in flames, far higher than anything Cul had produced in her tent. The audience gasped as the flames climbed higher and higher, seeming to reach the top of the high tent … And suddenly, they disappeared.
In the wake of the bright flames, it took Miku's eyes a moment to adjust. The red-draped cart was gone. Standing in its place was a beautiful woman in a red dress. The music, which had been overpowered by the roaring of the flames, had become quiet, the same tune that had lured Miku into the circus in the first place. Inside the tent, it was even more powerful. The audience immediately went silent, almost awestruck.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to our ringmaster … Meiko." Gakupo and Gumi exited the stage, but Miku hardly noticed them. Meiko seemed to move with the music, and she was just as captivating and hypnotic.
"Good evening," she said in a low voice. "I hope you've enjoyed your night … And I hope to see you all again." The music swelled, she looked into the audience, and she began to sing.
Her voice echoed alluringly through the tent. Not a single person spoke as she sang of the circus, hidden far back in the woods. And as she sang, she made magic … real magic, not the slights of hand Gakupo had clumsily pulled off. As she sang of the fire-breather, flames followed her footsteps. As she sang of the fortune-teller, stars sparkled across the floor of the ring. As she sang of the sad but fascinating fates of those in the tattered brown tent, wretched shadows seemed to writhe at her feet.
When the song finished, no one clapped, but Meiko didn't seem to take it as an insult. "Thank you," she said in that deep, alluring voice. "For our final act of the night, I would like to present to you my own … personal triumph. Here for your listening pleasure, please enjoy the mournful voice of our own deformed diva."
The clowns wheeled a cage to the center of the ring. Huddled on the floor of it was the mass of yellow and white flowers that Miku had seen being taken out of the freak tent earlier. To her horror, the mass appeared to be moving. Her stomach dropped to her feet as the mass sat up … and opened its bright, captivating blue eyes.
It was a woman, Miku could see now. If she looked closely, she could see a few patches of bare skin, and strands of long pink hair coming from the patches of scalp that hadn't been taken over by flowers. She wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing, but nothing obscene could be seen amongst the mass of white and yellow blooms.
The music distorted, changed its key until it was another melody entirely, for the first time that night. The diva raised her head and looked into the audience. Miku wanted to be outraged by the state of her body, but she was too captivated by the mournful look in her eyes. They seemed to be looking right at her … to recognize her, to know her in a way that no one tonight did.
"This song," she said, "Is dedicated to the one who is most special to me. Even if the sun was to vanish, and every star was to fall from the sky, my love for you would never dim." With that, she began to sing.
Her voice was mournful and slow, singing of the fate she had to carry alone, without her loved one by her side. She mourned the fact that everyone laughed at a circus monster like her … But Miku couldn't hear a single giggle, and she had never felt more like laughing. In fact, the back of her throat hurt, like she was about to cry.
The diva's voice faltered. She lowered her head, trembling. For a moment, as the music swelled, Miku had a powerful urge to leap to her feet, to run to the center of the ring, to comfort that poor woman. She thought she would do anything, just to see that mournful look leave her eyes for a moment.
Then, all along the few bare patches of her skin, red flowers bloomed. The diva let out a soft, almost musical cry.
The audience gasped, then burst into applause so loud, Miku couldn't hear if the diva finished the last few lines of the song or not. She raised her head and her lips moved, but no sound reached through the noise of the crowd.
No sound, that is, except Meiko's voice. "That's the end of our show. Goodnight." The lights went down suddenly, leaving them all in pitch black. They came up again just a moment later, but when they did the center ring was completely empty. All of the performers, including the diva in the cage, had disappeared without a trace.
So, we meet the rest of the circus members! Things are bound to pick up from here. I know this chapter was a little bit longer, but I hope you enjoyed it! And chapter 5 is already ready for the revision process, and that one is much shorter.
I am going to try to stick to a regular update schedule for this — my goal is to upload a new chapter ever Sunday! That will be contingent on how busy I am, of course, but I think that's a reasonable standard to hold myself to.
As always, please, please reply! Seeing responses to this story always makes my day.
- Jillian Maria