Later in the evening, Sandy, Dumbo, Timothy, and their friends and family gather in another tent to celebrate the success of the performance. Lively music was playing in the corner and refreshments were served for all the performers. Everyone was chatting, clinking glasses, and having fun.
The Lakatos siblings entered and they were all dressed in their normal attire. Viktor wore a green shirt, blue pants, and brown boots. Josephine wore a dark pink-buttoned shirt, a purple skirt, and purple heels. Anyu wore a green blouse, a darkish blue skirt, and pale blue boots. Hans wore an ice blue shirt, a teal vest, dark blue pants, a brown belt, and black boots. Josephine was the first sibling to hurry towards the blonde with a smile.
"And you must be Sandy," the redhead said giving a big grin, hugging the blonde and kissed her cheeks. "My family and I have read all about you and Dumbo in the articles, and you are so amazing!"
"Oh thank you, Josephine." The blonde shrugged with an embarrassing smile, blushing from the redhead's kisses. Josephine began to James, Robert, Roy, and Rosie.
Viktor came up and gave a gentle smile. He shook the blonde's hand and replied calmly, "Szia Sandra. You were wonderful in your act with Dumbo, Rosie, and Samson."
"Thank you very much Viktor," she replied. "So were you."
Viktor nodded. James, Robert, Rosie, and Roy joined and greeted the Lakatos siblings. The only person who stood out from the group was Hans. He gave a look of disdain and was not clearly interested in greeting the other circus members. In the meantime, Giddy came up behind Viktor and used her trunk to sniff his shoulders and wavy hair. The tall man turns back to see Giddy flapping her proboscis on him and giggled. He gave the elephant a look and turned away, but the elephant gave a sigh and a funny smile.
"I gotta say, how did you learn to do all these amazing stunts?" asked Roy.
"Well, we have our secrets," Josephine replied, giggling. "It was Viktor who started as a young boy and would throw knives at targets when he had anger issues. Then I joined in, then Hans, and finally Anyu. Soon after, we joined on vaudeville and began our sibling act."
The youngest girl came up, and crossed her legs placing her hands behind her back. Anyu's eyes traveled down to her boots, looking very shy.
"Hi there," Sandy said, coming up to the young girl. "You must be Anyu, you did a job well done with the last part of your act. You're very brave."
"Thank you, Miss Sandy," said Anyu, blushing. "I'm glad you liked our knife performance."
The brunette noticed Dumbo coming up towards and sniffed her hand. Anyu knelt down to her knees and petted the calf on the head.
"This must be Dumbo," Josephine grinned as she knelt down next to her sister and began to pet him.
"Aw, he's so sweet," Anyu said.
Timothy popped out from Dumbo's hat and waved to the sisters.
"Hey ya, Anyu! Hiya Josephine" he cried.
Anyu jumped back and let out a scream, and crashed into her sister. Josephine landed on her rear and stared at the mouse.
"Josephine, Anyu, it's okay," Sandy said, lifting up her hands and reassured them. "This is Timothy, and he's a friend."
The brunette girl relaxed and held out her palm, and Timothy climbed up. The redhead came up and smiled at the mouse.
"Oh so this is the mouse who was helping you from last year right?"
"Mm-hm," Sandy nodded.
The mouse tried to apologize, but all the sisters could hear were squeaks. Josephine raised her eyebrows, confused what the mouse was doing.
"Hmm, what is Timothy doing?" asked the redhead.
"Timothy said, he's sorry for spooking you, and that you and your siblings did a job well done on your act. It may sound odd to you, but I can speak to animals."
"Oh, so that's why you're friends with Dumbo and Timothy," said Anyu, amazed by the explanation. "Is their a way we can hear him talk?"
"Well, Sandy has a spell that can help you guys communicate. She did it for me and Paige today, and we were able to talk to the other animals," Rosie said.
"Would you girls and Viktor like to try it out?" Sandy asked.
"I think that would be great," said Viktor.
Hans walked up and still had a look of disinterest and irritation. He looked down at his sister and scowled.
"Oh Anyu, do you have to make a scene like that by petting some nitwitted animal and getting scared by a stupid rodent?" Hans said in an uncaring tone. "Especially speaking to animals under a spell sounds ridiculous!"
Anyu flinched from her older brother's comment and her face turned to hurt. Sandy gave him a sharp glare and stormed up to him. Hans backed away as the blonde leaned into him, grabbing him by the wrist.
"Excuse me," she said sternly. "But why would you call a circus attraction a nitwit? You should watch what you're saying to someone and be more respectful."
Rosie, Robert, James, and Roy came up to the blonde, and took her by the shoulders. They were aware that Sandy had a temper, and would snap at anyone if they were to say or do anything hurtful to her, Dumbo, Mrs. Jumbo, or anyone who was close to her.
"Now Sandy," Roy said, trying to calm her down. "Let's not jump to conclusions and take it easy."
"Hans," Ambrus said in a strict tone towards his son. "That was inappropriate. You know better than that."
"You ought to be ashamed of yourself son," Elsa reprimanded. "We all have to follow the must important rule, respect."
Hans scoffed and turned away and walked to a corner to be alone for a bit. He pulled out a box of cigarettes and took one out, lighting it with a match and took a drag. Elsa gave a sigh, wishing to bring out the good side of her son.
"Pardon Hans," she said to the group. "He doesn't usually interact with others, ever since we moved to America. But he does have a good heart on the inside, once you get to know him. Perhaps, this circus act would be a good opportunity for him and try to soften his heart."
"When will that happen Mama?" asked Anyu.
"Soon, I hope."
Elsa gave a small smile and hugged her youngest daughter close to her. The celebration continued and then, the Ringmaster stood up on the podium and cleared his throat. Everyone stopped talking and looked at the man.
"Everyone, I have a very big announcement, due to the success of our show. We will be going to New York City in two weeks!"
Everyone gasped, but then turned to excitement and they all cheered. Sandy felt excitement beaming in her chest and grinned. She hugged her friends and her brothers. Soon every performer, clown, animal, and worker were all talking about the famous city of all time and felt it was a dream come true.
"My goodness! I can't believe were traveling to New York City!" said Sandy.
"Me neither," added Rosie.
"Boy, am I glad we're traveling across the country," Roy said.
"Now that's a city to put on a show!" James added.
As the others were commenting about the surprise trip, Robert was thinking about Paige. He couldn't help but be concerned about her.
"I wonder how Paige is doing?" Robert asked.
As he said that, Joshua and Esther entered the tent and came towards the group. The group noticed the couple's presence and gave their concern for their daughter.
"Mr. and Mrs. Larkin," Rosie said. "How's Paige doing? Is she okay?"
"She's all right Rosie," said Esther. "Although a little shaken up from the fall."
"I'm sorry to hear about what happened," Sandy said. "I wonder if there's anything we can do to help?"
"We can pay a visit to Paige, and see if we can make her feel better," Josephine suggested.
"I think that's a great idea," Rosie agreed.
"I just hope she can use some company," Robert muttered.
Paige was lying in her hospital bed and felt shaky all over. The fall from the high wire caused her blood to pump faster in her veins and perspiration was building up on her forehead. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around, Martha was walking towards the girl with a cup of tea. The woman placed the tea on a nightstand and helped the brunette sit up in bed.
"How are you feeling Ms. Larkin?"
"All right, but really weak."
"I've checked you vital signs and they are working in progress to recover. All you need is a few days of rest."
Paige nodded giving a weak smile and sipped her tea. Martha walked away to talk to the girl's parents, and Sandy arrived, wearing her robe
"Hi Martha," the blonde said. "I was just checking to see if Paige is okay?"
"She's fine, what brings you here?"
"We wanted to check to see if it's okay to visit?"
"Hi Paige," the blonde said sitting on a chair. "How are you?"
The petite brunette looked at her best friend and gave a small smile.
"I'm feeling a little okay," the girl's hazel eyes were then filled with tears. "Oh Sandy, I can't believe I screwed up on the high wire. I feel that I've disappointed everyone!"
Sandy leaned over and hugged Paige close. Her arms wrapped around her best friend closely. The brunette sobbed harder in the blonde's shoulder, and she accepted the hug.
"It's okay Paige," the blonde said, trying to comfort the girl. "These things happen sometimes. But when we get to New York, we'll help you practice. Let's take it one day at a time."
"I made some dumb mistakes too Paige," Robert admitted. "Even my siblings and I pulled some practical jokes on my uncle. Including the time Sandy was about to dump itching powder on Uncle Harold, but the thunder roared and Sandy jumped, causing the itching powder to land on me and James."
Sandy rolled her blue eyes, remembering the failed prank she attempted to pull when she was a young girl.
"Thank you Robert," she said sarcastically.
Paige looked at them, as her hazel eyes drained her last tears. She gave a small hug and with a little hesitation, she gave a small smile.
"I'm not so sure about this," she replied. "But maybe I should have a little faith in myself to work a little more harder."
Rosie nodded and took the brunette's hand.
"In fact, if tightrope walking doesn't work out for you, there are other acts you can try out," the dark-haired woman suggested.
"I'm sure that even Dumbo and Timothy can help you out too," Robert added.
"I hope so," Paige nodded and allowed Rosie and Sandy to hug her.
The brunette felt a sense of comfort and relief. She never felt this much comfort and relief. Before meeting her best friends, she never had that many friends, due to when she and her parents traveled around the countryside. The brunette used to feel lonely and had social anxiety, making it difficult for her to make full-time friends. When she first met Sandy and Rosie, she wasn't too keen on being around them, but with encouragement from her parents, she slowly started to come out of her shell.
After spending time with Paige, the entire group decided to get some sleep and prepare for the trip to New York City. After three days of performing, Casey Junior was packed away and gone. Little did anyone know, that someone from the other side of the earth was devising a plan to pay a visit and do something very unpleasant to Dumbo and Sandy.
Hello fellow readers! It feels great to update the sequel, and I apologize for the delays. I have started a new semester on Anatomy and Medical Terminology, and they are both online. Sometimes, I get faced with writer's block and get distracted with other things outside of Fanfiction, and will often work on my other fanfics. But I'm going to do my best and work more on this story. Have a good day!
