Disclaimer: I don't not own the Cirque du Freak series.
"Welcome to the Cirque du Freak." Mr. Crepsley and Ella were greeted by an abnormally tall man who was ironically called Mr. Tall. They were camped outside of a small town and were working to set everything up for the show they were preparing tonight. "We are happy you have returned to us, Larten." He told her mentor as they shook hands. He then turned to her, "and we are pleased to have you join us, Ella."
Her eyes widened at the mention of her name. She looked over to Mr. Crepsley and silently asked, how did he know my name?! He just smirked in response to her.
"Thank you for allowing me to come here!" She said with a big smile across her face.
"The pleasure is all mine, my dear." He then turned to his old friend. "I have prepared an extra cot in Truska's tent for her. I also figured it would do well to pair her with Evra on the chores." He then turned back to her. "I hope you do not mind helping out around here."
"Not at all! Thank you so much, sir!" She was excited. "When can I meet everyone?"
"I will take you to meet Evra now if you would like. He can introduce you to the rest of the performers. Larten, would you like to perform tonight? Madam Octa has missed you." Ella wondered who Madame Octa was. Must be his assistant. She couldn't help but to feel a pang of jealousy thinking that the role of assistant was her job. She quickly cast the feeling aside and mentally laughed at herself for being so silly.
"Yes, I think I would like to. I will go and pay a visit to her now. Will you be alright with Mr. Tall?" He asked.
"Yes, sir!" She ran over to Mr. Tall's side, eager to go.
As they walked through the camp Ella asked, "What is Mr. Crepsley's act? Is he a magician?" Thinking of his impossible vampiric speed.
"While he does incorporate a little magic into his act, it is not the main show. His spider, Madam Octa, is. She is quite an unusual creature, nothing like an ordinary spider, and he is able to communicate with her to perform tricks." Oh, a spider! Now she really felt silly.
"No way! I can't wait to see that!" She couldn't stop smiling.
"Ah, here is young Evra Von. He is the one you will assist in the work around camp."
Ah, this must be the snake boy Mr. Crepsley mentioned. He was green with scales on every inch of his body with yellow green hair and piercing eyes. He appeared only a year or so younger than her. She was so enamored with his appearance, she almost didn't even notice that his hand was stretched out and he was making his introduction.
"Very nice to meet you, Ella!"
He knew my name, too? She laughed nervously and she took his hand and shook. "Nice to meet you, too!"
"I have assigned Ella to assist you with your chores. I am sure you would have no objection to this." Mr. Tall said.
"Not at all!" Evra turned back to Ella. "I actually just finished preparations for the show tonight and was going to get something to eat. Care to join me? I could introduce you to the other performers, too."
"That would be great!" Evra extended an arm to her in a gentlemanly manner and she took it graciously as they walked away.
"So welcome to the Cirque du Freak! I'm guessing you've never seen the show before?" She nodded her head 'no'. "Then you are in for a treat tonight! We have a wide variety of acts that are guaranteed to amaze you!"
"I can't wait!" As they were walking Ella kept stealing glances at Evra until he caught her. She blushed and looked away in shame. "Sorry." She apologized quietly.
Thankfully, Evra laughed at this. "No, trust me, it's ok. I know I'm quite the sight to behold!" He said as he continued to chuckle.
They stopped walking and she unhooked her arm from his. "No, no! It's just.. I've never seen anyone like you before and, um I find you... Kind of beautiful."
Evra snorted and broke out into a bigger laughter. Ella turned a deeper shade of red.
"I'm sorry! I don't mean to laugh... I've been called many things in my life, but never that." He straightened himself up and looked at her again. "Do you really believe I am?" He asked seriously.
Ella then realized he must have experienced a good bit of cruelty in his life and began to feel pity for him. He could have snapped at her for staring. Instead, he was kind and patient with her and laughed it off. "Yes, I think you truly are." She said quietly as she met his eyes again.
"But I'm so different." He challenged.
Ella accepted his challenge as she filled with courage. "Different doesn't mean bad. Everyone is different in some way. I honestly think that's what makes us all beautiful. Our differences!" She smiled at him brightly.
"You sound like a Hallmark card." He joked with a new twinkle in his eye.
It was her turn to laugh. She took his arm again and pulled him to start walking again. "Come on, I'm starving!"
He led her into a large tent where they got their stew and sat down at the bench with a couple Cirque members. "Ella, this is Hans and Leah. They're both performers. Leah, is one of the assistants on stage and Hans can walk and run on his hands faster than any human can on their feet."
"Wow! Nice to meet you both!"
"Wait, so this is the Ella?" Hans asked.
Ella was astonished. "You make it sound as if I'm famous." Everyone here seems to know me!
"Well you kind of are!" Hans exclaimed.
She lowered her voice. "Is it because I'm a female vampire?"
He laughed. "It is rare to see a female vampire, but I do know a few. It's because you're such a young female vampire."
"I'm 17 though. Almost a legal adult! And I'm really only a half vampire"
"Yes, but still very young for a half vampire."
"-and you're hot!" Leah said unexpectedly, causing both Ella and Evra to choke briefly on their stew. Leah looked to Hans who was giving her an amused look. "What?" Leah questioned. "Other female vampires look unattractive and manly! Well, the one I met did. Anyway, hey! Maybe Mr. Tall would let you perform with us as another assistant! You could help us bring the wolf-man on stage. You definitely have the body for the costumes. We look sexy to peak the interest of the audience, since it is mostly males."
This made Ella slightly uncomfortable after her run in with Murlough. She didn't care to peak any male's interest after his molestation of her. Still, she smiled politely at her. Evra thankfully changed the subject and they ate their meals. They were soon talking and laughing amongst themselves when Mr. Crepsley walked up. He was pleasantly surprised to see Ella enjoying herself so far with other members. "Hello!" She greeted him, still half laughing.
Mr. Crepsley cleared his throat. "Sorry to disrupt the fun here. Ella, when you are done eating, I would like to take you to meet Truska. Perhaps she could assist you in finding new clothes for you to wear."
Ella had completely forgotten that she had been wearing the same white dress that she had been buried in. She realized how grungy she must have looked because she didn't even have a brush to tame her long wavy hair with. She eagerly got up and said goodbye to her new friends.
"See you later, Ella!" Evra said with the same grin on his face that stayed there for the past hour.
As Mr. Crepsley led her through the camp, he looked over at her and noticed she was still smiling. "I'll take it you like it here so far."
"Yes, sir! I'm so glad you brought me here!"
Mr. Crepsley returned her smile as they made their way into a good sized tent. "Hello, Madame Truska. I brought you your new roommate and I was also wondering if you could assist her in finding new clothes."
The unusually beautiful woman stood up and came over to greet her with a big smile on her face, speaking in some kind of foreign language that resembled the sound a seal makes. Ella looked over to Mr. Crepsley, hoping he would translate, but he just shrugged.
Truska grabbed Ella's hand and dragged her out of the tent, leaving Mr. Crepsley behind. She brought her to another tent that held multiple wardrobes and a divider for changing. She stood there thinking for a minute and then went to one of them and pulled out a black dress and held it up to Ella.
"Oh, uh that's nice but do you have any casual wear? Something I could work in?" She asked shyly.
Truska smiled and said something in her language and went to another wardrobe and pulled out a pair of skinny jeans and red long sleeve shirt. That's more like it, Ella thought. Truska motioned for her to go try it on, but then stopped because she had forgotten something. She came back with a bra and panties, making Ella blush. "Umm thank you!"
She went behind the divider and saw there was a full length mirror. She was really taken back by her appearance. Her white dress was dirty with stains on it and her waist length hair seemed to be everywhere. What really surprised her though was how pale and thin she was. She hadn't been eating like she used to when she turned and she didn't really consume much human blood. She was reluctant to accept the few vials her mentor would give her, but it was better than hunting someone down and drinking straight from the source. Blood was a necessary evil for vampires. She knew that, so she didn't resist.
She quickly got out of her clothes, not wanting to look like a walking corpse any more, and got into her new ones. She felt like the jeans and shirt were a bit too tight, but she didn't want to complain because she was just grateful to get something clean on.
Truska clapped as she came out and said something else. She grabbed her hand and set her down in a chair. She pulled out a brush from one of the containers in the tent and started working on her hair. It was quite the task, but she finally got all the tangles out. She then pulled the sides of her hair back and secured it with a red clip. Then she grabbed her hand again and brought her over to the mirror to see herself.
She almost looked normal again! Still pale and skinny but her hair looked soft and flowing again. "Thank you so much, ma'am!" Truska brought her in for a tight hug and Ella accepted it graciously. She then shooed Ella away to ready herself for the show that was about to begin in a half hour.
She walked out of the tent and went to find Mr. Crepsley, but had a hard time finding anyone because everyone was getting ready for the show. She spotted Mr. Tall and approached him. "Ah, Ms. Ella, you are looking well. Everyone is preparing for the show. Perhaps you would like to find a seat and wait for the show to begin?"
"Yes, sir!" She smiled. She got to the performance area and saw the audience was already almost a full crowd. There were a few seats open in the front so she took her seat right in the center. Ella looked at the crowd and noticed Leah was right, the crowd was mostly male. Eventually, Mr. Tall came onto the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Cirque du Freak, home of the world's most remarkable human beings. We present acts both frightening and bizarre. Those who are easily scared should leave now. Without further adieu, I introduce you to... the wolf-man !" Mr. Tall walked off stage and the show began. Leah and another girl came in wheeling in a large cage containing the wolf-man. The other girl started to hypnotize him while Leah addressed the audience. "You must be very quiet. The wolf-man will not be able to hurt you as long as we control him, but a loud sound could wake him up, and then he would be deadly!" She looked at Ella and winked.
When they were ready, they stepped down from the stage and walked the creature through the audience, allowing anyone who wanted to stroke him do so. When they were a few rows behind Ella, there was a loud BANG! Suddenly the wolf-man began roaring and grabbed the man in front of him and tore off his arm!
Ella stood up horrified while others screamed and ran. Then out of nowhere Mr. Tall appeared and somehow calmed the creature down. The assist that hypnotized him before took control again and led him back to the cage. Now all eyes were on the poor armless soul that was screaming for help. Suddenly, he stopped and smiled.
Ella, who was still standing, thought the man was delirious until she looked back at his arm. It was growing back! The audience gasped as the arm was complete again.
"Ladies and gentleman, Cormac Limbs!" Mr. Tall announced.
It took Ella a few minutes before she began to clap because she was so stunned. The audiences cheered loudly as Cormac walked on to the stage and Ella sat down again. This was going to be a great show!
As the acts went by, Ella was astounded more and more. She was seeing things she never knew were possible! Of course, she was always taught that vampires were a myth. It truly amazed her that there was an entire world outside her small town that held such wonderful things.
She enjoyed seeing Alexander Ribs, Rhamus Twobellies and Gertha Teeth, Sive and Seersa, and Hans Hands, but eagerly awaited Mr. Crepsley's act.
Truska's act finished and she walked off the stage. Mr. Crepsley was next! He suddenly appeared on the stage and the audience gasped, thinking he just magically appeared.
His eyes landed on Ella, sitting in the front row with the smile that had been accompanying her all night. "Good evening ladies and gentleman. I had hoped to present my usual act tonight, however, I am afraid I have bad news. It seems my spider, Madam Octa, has escaped from her cage and is missing. Use caution when retrieving your belongings from beneath your seats as she is very poisonous." The crowd got nervous and shifted in their seats and scanned the floor in search of the deadly creature. "Not to worry, tonight I will perform for you some startling illusions. First, a rabbit from a hat!" He took off his hat and let out a yelp as a giant, brightly colored spider popped out. The crowd gasped in panic for the man's life. Ella's eyes grew wide in fear.
"This is Madam Octa," he introduced nervously, "a bite from her could mean certain death." Ella started sweating and was frozen in her seat afraid that if she even breathed, the spider would attack. "If I could just get my flute, then I could-" He was cut off when Madam Octa jumped onto his chest. He tried to catch her with his hat, but the spider was too fast. Ella was about to get up from her seat, not really knowing what to do, but she had to do something! She frantically looked at Mr. Tall, who had been watching her. He merely smiled at her and gave her a discrete wink. Ella looked at Mr. Crepsley again. Madam Octa was now on the floor, narrowly escaping his foot as he stomped down. Ella's nails dug into the armrests that she was gripping so tightly. Then she noticed a rhythm in his step. Somewhere amidst the chaos, he had retrieved his flute from his pocket and was now playing it. Madam Octa crawled up his leg all the way to hang off the flute with her web and she would swing to the music. Ella was still stunned. Unsure if she was awestruck by the phenomenal creature, or angry at Mr. Crepsley for not warning her ahead of time.
Madam Octa made an upward swing and Mr. Crepsley threw his head back, making her fly through the air. Instead of landing on the floor like I thought, she landed on Mr. Crepsley's mouth! Mr. Tall appeared on stage and was now playing the flute and made her spin a web in his mouth. When she was done she lowered herself, and Mr. Crepsley ate the spider web! He rubbed his belly and said, "Delicious. Nothing tastier than fresh spiderwebs. They are a treat where I come from." Then, Leah led a goat out onto the stage where Mr. Crepsley commanded Madam Octa to bite him. First he was paralyzed, then was killed after the second bite. He then made Madam Octa push a ball across a table, then got her to balance on top of it. She did a series of extraordinary tasks that any human could.
When the act was finished and the crowd broke out into applause. When Mr. Crepsley bowed, he looked at Ella and gave her a smirk. She shook her head in disbelief, still smiling at him. Mr. Tall came back out and thanked everyone for coming. As people were getting up to leave, a scream echoed through the tent as Evra appeared. She had almost forgotten about him! People oohed and ahhhed at his unique appearance as he and his snake took the stage where he performed a series of dangerous tricks with his snake. At the end Mr. Tall came out again and said this really was the end and then disappeared into a puff of smoke. Ella was eager to find Mr. Crepsley so she jumped out of her seat and ventured off to find him.
After the show, Mr. Tall approached Mr. Crepsley while he was putting Madam Octa in her cage. "A great performance as usual tonight, my friend." He said.
"I am certainly delighted to be back. I always enjoy putting on a show for the audience." Mr. Crepsley responded.
Mr. Tall chuckled. "I am afraid you gave your new assistant quite the scare tonight."
"Oh?" He asked, encouraging him to continue.
"Indeed. She feared greatly for your life and was about to jump on the stage to save you."
Mr. Crepsley thought about this for a minute. "I did not realize she would have such a reaction towards me." She was about to attempt to save me?
"Yes, she seems to care for you a great deal. She is very beautiful." Mr. Tall watched his friend closely.
"Yes, well, I did save her life and I am her guardian now." Mr. Crepsley snapped as he put an emphasis on the word guardian. He was quite irritated that he may have been implying anything impure could transpire between him and his assistant.
"Forgive me, my friend. I meant no ill intentions by my words." Mr. Tall said.
"I know this. I just-" he stopped himself when he saw Mr. Tall's eyes focus on something behind him. It was Ella.
"I will leave you with your assistant as I must find Rhamus and discuss his consumption of our tent rods..." Mr. Tall said as he walked off. Ella chuckled and turned her attention to her mentor.
This was the first time he really got to see her since she got new clothes. She looked quite radiant wearing his favorite color..."Did you enjoy the show tonight?" He asked, distracting himself from the thought.
"Oh gosh, where do I start? It was incredible! Every act left me in awe! Especially Madame Octa. How on earth did you train her to do that?!"
"I communicate with her through telepathy." He said proudly.
"By using the flute? Then how did you control her at the beginning?"
"I do not really need the flute to do so, it just merely adds as a distraction to the audience. I was never truly in danger."
"You're a jerk!" She said slightly amused as she pushed him playfully. She didn't want to let him know how angry she actually was for scaring her so badly.
Mr. Crepsley chuckled. "I apologize. Would you like to meet Madam Octa?"
"Yes please!" She said excitedly.
He led her to the tent he kept her in and got her from her cage. Ella got closer and saw how beautiful she truly was. Such bright colors! Ella wasn't particularly fond of spiders, but she wasn't scared of them like other girls were either. Madame Octa was different. She was definitely a sight to behold!
"Would you like to hold her?" Mr. Crepsley asked.
"Is it safe? What if she doesn't like me?" She asked nervously.
"I am sure she would love you. I have asked her not to harm you."
"Ok..." Mr. Crepsley placed Madam Octa in her palm. "...wow...she's so beautiful." Ella brought her up eye-level so she could see her better. Madam Octa stretched out a leg and rested it on Ella's nose causing her to giggle.
"I've never seen her take to a person so easily. Not even with me."
"Really?" Mr. Crepsley nodded in affirmation. She played with Madam Octa for a few minutes, showering her with praises. After she handed her back to Mr. Crepsley, she looked up at him with a serious expression on her face. "Thank you so much for bringing me here."
"You are truly happy here?" He asked, meeting her eyes again after placing his spider back in the cage.
"Yes. I truly am. You have done so much for me. I will never be able to thank you enough." She now had tears in her eyes.
His heart was full. "You are most welcome." He smiled at her, captivated by her bright eyes. They held each others gazes for a few moments longer until she finally spoke
"I should probably get some sleep now. I start on my chores with Evra tomorrow!"
"Indeed you do... Good night, Ella." Neither of them not really wanting the night to end
"Good night, Mr. Crepsley." With that, she left to find her tent.
As she laid in bed waiting to fall asleep, she thought about everything that had happened since that night. Everything that Mr. Crepsley had done for her. The only thing he had ever asked of her was to try, and she had denied him that. She is a vampire now. There is no changing that. The only thing left she can do is try to be the best vampire she can be. She will learn the vampire way and even learn to fight. It's the least she can do for Mr. Crepsley. It's time for her to step up, and that is exactly what she will do. No more weak punches and no more pathetic tears. This is her destiny now.
A/N Thank you so much for reading! I'm sorry it took longer to post this chapter. I had to get it just right! Please follow and review, as it is my fuel to keep writing!