The acts continued along with the clowns, acrobats, animals, and performers. The acts were breathtaking to every person in the big top. Intermission came, and everyone gathered for their water, snack, and smoke breaks.
The Ringmaster came up as Sandy gave Dumbo and Samson treats for their rewards of a well-done performance. Dumbo munched on peanuts and fruit, and Samson gorged down on his fruit. Rosie fed apples to her horses as their reward.
"Well done Sandy," Harold said, smiling to her and took her hands into his own. "You, Dumbo, Rosie, Samson, and the horses did a fantastic job."
"Thank you Uncle Harold," the blonde said, smiling.
"Yeah, thanks Mr. Williams," The dark-haired woman added, petting Winter's forehead.
Soon act two started as the lively music played. More clowns performed their silly antics, and then it was time for Paige's act. There was a long thin wire and below it was a safety net to catch anyone from falling incase they lose their balance. The brunette climbed up the ladder and heard the Ringmaster announcing her to the audience.
"Introducing the most loveliest tightrope walker, who can walk across the high wire and has the most perfect balance I've ever seen. She will cross from this side of the platform over to the other with her parasol. Please welcome, the daughter of fortune tellers, Joshua and Esther Larkin, Miss Paige Larkin."
Paige stood up on the high platform and curtsied up above, the audience below her clapped. She took out her parasol and opened it. Her tiny delicate feet stepped on the thin wire. She shook for a moment as she nervously stood still, as she held out her arms with her parasol balancing.
The brunette took a deep breath, as she slowly walked across the thin wire, her legs almost shook. She looked straight ahead and continued her walk across the wire. Her heart continued to pound in her chest.
After lightly walking across the wire, she reached the middle and her balance began to grow unsteady. She tumbled over to the right and gave a scream, but grabbed onto the wire just in time. The audience gasped in shock.
The brunette struggled and managed to get one of her legs over the wire. She slowly stood up straight and continued her walk, but she continued to shake. After reaching the other platform, she took a breath and went back the other way.
Suddenly, her balance went unsteady and she fell off the wire and fell down, landing on the safety net. The brunette sucked in a few breaths, and the systole and diastole of her heart was beating faster. Joshua and Esther gasped and hurried over and helped their daughter off the net.
"Sweetheart, are you okay?" Joshua asked.
"Papa, I feel faint," she replied, as she drew a shallow breath.
The brunette grew so weak, that her legs buckled and she fainted in her father's arms. Joshua caught his daughter in his arms in princess style, and he carried her to the back, with his wife following them.
After they entered the curtain, Sandy, Rosie, Roy, James, Robert, Martha, and Harold hurried over and gathered around. Martha came up to help the girl.
"Is Paige all right?" Sandy asked.
Martha examined her and felt a pulse on the brunette's wrist.
"What's her condition Ms. Baker?" The Ringmaster added.
"She's in shock. We better bring her to a bed, and let her rest," Martha suggested. "Follow me."
The nurse led Joshua and Esther to bring Paige over to the recovery tent. The man laid his daughter down on a cot, and Esther pulled a blanket over her. Martha grabbed a first aid kit and pulled out a white washcloth and soaked it in cool water. She dabbed the damp cloth on the brunette's forehead to wipe away the perspiration.
Dumbo came up to Sandy and tugged on her hand with his proboscis. The blonde looked down and gave a sad smile.
"Sandy, is Paige okay?" the calf asked.
"Yes, Dumbo," She said, kneeling down to the ground. "Paige will be fine. Accidents happen, and sometimes acts don't go planned as we expected. Unlike what happened with the pyramid of pachyderms from last year. But in the end, everyone makes mistakes, it's all part of growing up and they get better."
Both Dumbo and Sandy frowned at the memory, when they (along with Timothy) attempted to make Dumbo a star, he accidentally tripped over his ears and caused an accident. The accident made the big top collapse, making things worse for both the calf and the girl. They both shook their heads, and decided not to think about the accident and think more on the future.
"We'll help out with Ms. Larkin's act in the future," Harold said. "But the show must go on."
They all left the recovery left, except for Joshua and Esther who stayed by their daughter's side until she woke up.
The show continued on, and it was time for the Lakatos knife act. The Ringmaster headed to the ring and stood in the middle as the spotlight shone on him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, at last it is time for another amazing act that will blow your minds away! Not only one, but also four people who use knives for throwing and have the best skills ever! This quartet will bring down the house with sharpness and agility. And now, let us welcome the Lakatos siblings!"
The lights on the ring dimmed down and the spotlights lit over to the ruby red curtains. Suddenly, they blew apart like the waves of the sea and two people emerged. One boy with brown hair, tan skin, and hazel eyes appeared. He wore a red vest, with red pants with golden lining and gold boots; held two knives in both of his hands.
The second one, a tall girl had long red hair tied in a braid, pale skin, and green eyes, wore a teal blue leotard, a green translucent sarong, and flats. She spun around, twirled and flipped, and stood up straight pulling out her knives.
Next, came the eldest sibling. He was very tall and muscular, and his curly auburn hair reached past his neck and his blue-gray eyes were the color of ice. He wore a dark blue unbuttoned vest with ice blue outlining revealing his muscular midsection, a green belt, dark blue pants, and black boots. Around his neck was a necklace with a blue gem. He pulled out a knife from his belt and swung it among his fingers.
The youngest came out, a girl in her early teens with her brown hair in a braid, fair-tan skin, and blue eyes. She wore a lavender dress with a short puffed shirt with lacing at the end with green vines embroidered with light blue flowers and light purple dots. Her legs had white tights and purple slippers. For accessories, she wore a sky blue choker with a violet gem and a sky blue rose in her hair. The quartet lined up and stood still and straight.
"Welcome!" The siblings announced in unison and each stepped up.
The eldest son in blue said, "I'm Viktor."
The eldest girl in teal blue said, "I'm Josephine."
The younger boy in red said, "I'm Hans."
The youngest girl in lavender said, "And I'm Anyu."
"And together, we are the Lakatos siblings!" they announced in unison.
"Welcome to our knife performance," Josephine announced. "Tonight my brothers, and I will perform our famous stunt, with Anyu assisting us."
"I request that all of you be very silent," Viktor said. "The feats that my siblings and I are to perform are very dangerous. Josephine will be blindfolded and Hans and I shall perform with our knives without harming each other."
The audience grew quiet and kept their eyes on the siblings, watching with curiosity. Josephine walked over to the wall, and pulled out a green blindfold, wrapping it around her eyes. She leaned against the wall, and kept her posture very still. Anyu came up and held up a box of knives. Viktor and Hans took two knives each from the box, with the girl stepping back. The two brothers turned their backs away and blindfolded themselves. They took deep breaths and with the turn of their arms, they threw their daggers straight towards the redhead. Josephine stood perfectly still as the first knife landed above her head and the second one, inches near her waist.
The crowd clapped wildly, amazed that the woman was not hurt or injured. Josephine tore off her blindfold, giving a grin to the audience and gave a bow.
Anyu came up with a shiny red apple in her hand. She stood in front of the wooden stake and placed the apple on top of her head. The thirteen-year-old stood very still with beads of sweat building on her head.
Viktor looked into a mirror held up by Josephine, and held one knife in his hand. He looked straight at his reflection taking a deep breath, making silent prayers not to injure his youngest sister. His middle and pointer fingers held the sharp blade that threated to cut his thin skin. His arm bend down to the air and he threw his arm up and the knife flew in the air, and cut through the apple, slicing it in half! Apple juice squirted above Anyu and a few splashes landed in her hair.
The audience burst into ovation as mad as an earthquake and all stood up to their feet. Dumbo and the animals watched too and were amazed to see a young girl in the act with knives.
"Holey moley!" exclaimed Godfry.
"How does he even do that?" asked Alice.
"Beats me," Penny said, hiding her expression that was indeed impressed. "But they're really something."
"Why?" Dot asked.
At the other side, the lady elephants, the ones who had shunned Dumbo, Mrs. Jumbo, and Sandy were indeed impressed by the knife performance.
"Never saw that coming," Prissy said surprised.
"These siblings are something," Catty added.
"I think the tall boy in blue is really cute," Giddy said, giggling.
"Oh Giddy," the Matriarch sighed, rolling her eyes.
Then all four siblings picked up a knife each and in a vertical line, they each threw their knives towards four targets and landed at the centers. The audience cheered again and the siblings and each gave a bow and a smile.
Soon after, the performance concluded and every performer, animal, and clown entered the ring and gave a bow to the audience. Sandy and Dumbo stood on top of a podium and both gave a bow. Everyone cheered for the star attractions and everyone who did a wonderful performance for them, and the curtain went down.
