Something was covering Evelyn's face.

Groggily, she reached up and felt around, her fingers grazing a cold, wet cloth situated on her forehead and beginning to droop over her eyes. With a slight groan she pulled it off, letting it slide to the floor with a resounding plop. Sighing deeply, Evelyn slipped back under the covers, stretching out over the soft, warm bed.

...Bed?

Evelyn's eyes flew open and she immediately sat up, staring at the woolen covers splayed over her legs. Her eyes darted from the white divider to her right, up to the tan fabric cascading from a support on the ceiling, then back to the 'wall' on her left - merely a thick, tan curtain. With a rush of dizziness Evelyn threw her legs over the side of the bed, her feet touching the... dirt floor. Stumbling to the edge of the divider, she peered over the white drapery.

At the far side of what Evelyn now recognized as a tent, there was a man with spectacles and wild dark hair hunched over a desk, settled into a wheelchair. In his hands he held, with a jolt of realization from Evelyn, a shiny-looking limb. The hand of the limb flopped back and forth as the man moved it, then set it back down onto the table, pulling out a screwdriver and lowering it to the fingers.

Grasping the metal support of the divider, Evelyn unsteadily pulled herself into the aisle, staring at the man and clearing her throat. "H-hello...?" She rasped out quietly, her throat raw from disuse. The puffy-haired man jumped violently, whipping his wheelchair to the side to face her. Recognizing her, his face calmed, and he placed a hand to his heart, muttering something and shaking his head. "Gave me quite a fright, there," he said, wheeling up to her. "Back into bed, you're ill," he scolded, wheeling closer to her as she stepped back, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Where am I?" Evelyn asked hoarsely as the man took a clipboard from the end of the bed and pulled a pen from his pocket.

"Noah's Ark Circus, medical tent," He informed her, positioning the pen over the clipboard. "I just need to ask you a few questions, alright? Just call me Doc. Everyone here does," he gave her a reassuring smile, pushing his glasses back over his nose. "Now, what's your name?"

"E-Evelyn. Evelyn Anne Glassow." She replied, as the doctor nodded.

"And your age?"

"Nineteen."

"How do you feel?"

"Terrible," Evelyn whispered, leaning back against the headboard. "My throat feels raw, my head is spinning, and I feel like I'm going to vomit any minute," she added, as Doc looked up at her as if to ask for more. After a few more questions, the man clicked his pen and surveyed the clipboard, finally looking up at her once again. "Seems like you've got a mix of things, Miss Glassow - probably pneumonia and a mild case of influenza. Nasty stuff," he mumbled, pressing a hand to her head, then pulling out a stethoscope and listening to her heart and lungs. As he went through the motions, Evelyn couldn't help but to blurt out questions of her own.

"Pardon, but... why am I at a circus? How long have I been here?" She asked, utterly confused.

"I don't know the exact reason why you're here, but I can tell you that Joker brought you here two days ago. You looked as if you were on death's doorstep, bleeding from your head and a nasty sickness wracking you with coughs," Doc replied, a small smile appearing on his face as he began his next sentence. "You do owe the man an apology, though - you woke up once a day ago, absolutely delusional, while I was checking on you. He'd joined me and for some reason you began to flail. You kicked him in the head," he began to laugh, whipping off his glasses and wiping tears from his eyes. "I apologize, it's terribly rude of me to laugh. It wasn't funny at the time."

He buys me medicine, acknowledges me as a human being, and I kick him in the head, Evelyn thought, putting her hands to her face in embarrassment. I am a terrible person.

"Well, you seem to be... stable for now, so I'm going to go back to my work - just call out if you need anything, rather than getting up. You need to rest." Doc told her, before wheeling himself behind the divider. Evelyn laid in bed for a while after that, staring up at the draped ceiling, before finally closing her eyes and falling asleep once again.

Sweet, precious sleep. It truly was the best medicine.

Stretching out her arms and letting loose a long yawn, Evelyn opened her eyes, blinking the sleepiness away...

But not blinking away the face that was inches from her own.

"What the fu-?!" Evelyn screeched, launching herself backwards and instantly regretting it as the back of her head banged against the metal backing of the bed. Feeling the slowly growing bump, she shook her head, furrowing her brow into a glare as she stared up at the face of her intruder. Her face relaxed as she realized who it was.

"Oh, lord! You a'right?" Joker asked worriedly, straightening up into a sitting position on the side of the bed. "Why... why would you do that?" Evelyn asked in exasperation, lightly rubbing the painful welt on the back of her head. Joker shrugged. "Was going to wake you to a smile, but it seems you weren't quite pleased with that," he grinned. Evelyn put her head in her hands.

With a loud squeak Doc wheeled himself around the divider, giving Joker a disdainful look. "Didn't I tell you not to terrorize the patient?" He asked, looking irritated. "Aw, Doc, don't think of it as terrorizing! Think of it as shining some sunlight on a cloudy day," Joker protested, slapping a hand on the man's shoulder. Evelyn shot the two men a look, sitting up and shaking her head as Doc wheeled away.

"So, how're you feeling?" Joker asked. "Really gave us a scare the other day, flailin' around... still got a bruise from your kicking," he grimaced, pushing back his bangs and showing Evelyn the dark, circular mark taking up most of the skin on the left of his forehead. With a short gasp, the girl stared at the ringleader in horror, before dropping her head and staring at her lap. "I am so, so, so sorry," she mumbled, feeling rightfully ashamed after looking at the injury on the man's head. Joker, to Evelyn's surprise, laughed. "It's all fine, really!" He objected. "'S not sore or anything. Just looks nasty," he said reassuringly. Evelyn was still uncertain.

"So!" Joker clapped his hands together, causing Evelyn to jump. "How're you feeling?" He asked with a grin.

"Oh, uh..." Evelyn stammered. "Much better, now that I've had some proper sleep. Not as feverish, either," she added hopefully. Joker's grin widened, if that were even possible. "Great! So you'll show me what you can do?" He asked eagerly.

"...What?" Evelyn wanted to hit herself over the head at the confusion dripping from her tone.

"What y'can do! You said you had some special talents and such," He replied. "And yer feelin' better, so that's something, right? Come on!" He said, grabbing the girl's hand and helping her up. "I'll ask you t'do some stuff for me, and afterwards I'll decide if yer able to fit in at Noah's Ark." Slowly, Evelyn nodded, though rather wearily. Joker practically beamed at that. "Great!"

"What first?" Evelyn asked, immediately regretting the answer.

"Juggling!"

And thus began a long-winded road of tricks, illusions, and performances.

It may not be the best chapter, but hey, what can ya do? Writing is all about getting better as you go along. Hope you enjoyed!