Circus life had been very kind to Evelyn in the short weeks after she'd been accepted into Noah's Ark circus.
Rechristened as Illusion, Evelyn had been taken into the circus right after her short "entrance exam" with Joker. After making herself "disappear" and turning out the lights with a snap of the finger, the girl had immediately been accepted into the family - though first tier or second, she didn't know yet. Advised to start working on her act as soon as possible, there Evelyn was, magicking herself in a standing position onto the trapeze after the Flying Blanco an hour before her first show was supposed to start. With a small scream, she lost her balance, falling off into the net, bouncing slightly as she landed.
"Come on, Illusion, you can't keep falling! There's no net during the show!" Peter cried from his spot on the high podium, shooting the girl a small glare. "Sorry, Peter, Wendy - I'm just nervous," Evelyn called back, heading back down to the floor and in a puff of black smoke, appeared on the trapeze. Swinging back and forth, she shot a dazzling smile out to the imaginary crowd, launching herself from the trapeze and beginning her routine of appearances and lack thereof.
Finally Doll came in, flipping and twirling across the tightrope, landing with ease in her gorgeous white glory. This continued until all of the members began to disperse to their tents. Beast came up behind Evelyn as she walked away, striding along beside her and offering a word of encouragement. "I know this is your first show," the black-haired beauty began. "And it's make it or break it for you becoming first-tier off of this, but I'm just here to tell you; keep calm, keep focused, and have fun. We're all rooting for you," Beast told the younger woman, giving her a smile and walking off in the direction of the first tier tents. With the beast tamer's words in mind, Evelyn booked it to her shared tent in order to find her costume.
Evelyn's costume consisted of a white, transparent shirt with puffy sleeves down to her elbows; over which she wore a lavender corset top, a puffy black skirt that ended above the knee adorned with small ribbons at the fringe. Underneath it she wore black fishnet tights, completed with a pair of black ballet flats tied at the ankle. Her chocolate-colored hair was braided into a bun, small lavender ribbons worked throughout it and finished with a tie at the back. Thick black mascara and heavily applied eyeliner weighed down on her face, two small diamonds painted on the sides of her cheeks in the same shade of purple as her corset. Surveying the finished product, Evelyn decided she was good to go, and went to wait backstage.
Just as she arrived, Joker had run out onto the stage, calling out "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! We welcome you to..." as his voice faded the farther away he got. The large, muscly Jumbo made his appearance on the stage as Joker's voice boomed throughout the tent, announcing the different acts as they went along. Fire eating, knife throwing, flying trapeze... Evelyn counted them out in her head.
"Illusion!" Hissed Beast. "Get ready! You're about to be on!" Bringing herself back down to reality, the nineteen year old straightened out her skirt, taking a deep breath and raising her hands up, ready to go in snapping position.
"Our newest addition to the show - what's this?" Joker's voice cried, echoing through the tent as Evelyn snapped her fingers, a cold wind turning off all the lights in the tent as an air of mystique fell over the crowd. In a puff of black smoke, Evelyn appeared on the trapeze right on time, rocking back and forth on the thin pole, smiling as Joker announced "Illusion!"
Evelyn threw herself off of the trapeze, flipping, falling, and poof-ing herself away at the last moment, reappearing in a sitting position on the tightrope, her legs crossed as she wobbled precariously over the stage. With a swipe of her hand, a white cloud appeared out of nowhere, taking the form of Evelyn and allowing itself to fall backwards off of the tightrope, exploding in a cloud of smoke as Evelyn reappeared next to Joker as planned, taking a small bow and shooting lavender smoke in the air as she magicked herself backstage once again.
"Good job!" Beast hugged the girl, while signalling for Doll to go on. Evelyn couldn't keep a grin off her face as she took a bottle of water from a stage hand, sipping it quickly and thinking over the performance.
I did it perfectly, she thought with an overwhelming sense of joy washing over her. I've made it!
After the show, as the different acts separated and went to their different tents, Evelyn emerged from backstage and spotted Dagger and Joker moving throughout the rows of seats, taking the empty candy wrappers and trash from each chair and tossing them into bags. Grabbing a bag of her own, Evelyn began to shuffle through the aisles herself, eventually coming to a stop as the three performers met in the middle aisle.
"Good show tonight," Evelyn smiled, giving a nod to the two men as she tossed her bag into a trashcan, the others doing the same. "You guys were marvelous."
"You were great, as well!" Dagger said cheerily, dusting his hands off and flicking back his bangs. "Especially for a first-timer," Joker grinned, throwing an arm around the girl's shoulders. "Thank you," Evelyn said sincerely, hope rising within her chest as she looked up to the ringleader. "So? What's the verdict?" She joked, crossing her arms expectantly. "I think..." said Joker, trailing off. "...That you'll do just fine as our official illusionist." He finished, a goofy smile coming across his face.
Evelyn shrieked, grabbing Joker's hands and twirling around with the man as he laughed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she chanted, coming to a stop and enveloping the man in a hug before realizing what she was doing. With a small cough she withdrew, her face reddening as she smoothed out her skirt. "Ah - yeah. Thank you so much," she said, considerably calmer, before wishing the two men well and hurrying off into the evening air, cursing herself for acting like such a fool in the midst of her excitement. As she walked, deep in thought, Evelyn nearly bumped into Doll on the way to her shared tent.
"Oh, sorry," Evelyn said, stepping around the girl and walking beside her. "It's fine," the younger, white-clad girl said, fixing her sleeves as she strode towards the tents. "You did pretty well today, the crowd loved you," she added, glancing up at the nineteen-year-old and giving her a small smile. "Thank you," Evelyn said, fiddling with her hair. "I just talked with the boss - he said I'm the official illusionist now," she grinned, as Doll gasped.
"Oh, that's wonderful! Congratulations!" Doll exclaimed, nearing her tent, boding the woman goodnight as she disappeared behind the curtain. With a grin on her face, Evelyn practically skipped towards her own, shared tent, hoping that that night would be the last time she would be sharing a thin, unsteady mess of poles and worn fabric with another woman.
A woman, a pained look on her face, laying in a puddle of her own blood. A man, gurgling something unintelligible as he lay beside her, his throat pouring blood from the deep slit cut into it. A music box, standing on a side table, playing an all-too-cheery tune for the occasion as a dark figure hummed along to it.
"...with his pipe made such a noise
That he pleased both the girls and boys
They all stopped to hear him play..."
The figure sang softly, taking a knife and sliding it across a dark finger, before kneeling before the woman and plunging it deep into her head, blood spurting from the wound as the figure removed the weapon, turning and sawing it across the man's neck as well.
"...with his pipe did play with such skill
That those who heard him could never keep still;
As soon as he played they began to dance..."
The figure then turned, staring her right in the face. She was paralyzed, unable to move, unable to even scream. A vast, blinding white smile grew across the figure's features, as it knelt down once again, right in front of her. It reached out a hand, the smile growing ever larger, as it spoke - an eerie, echoing sound, that could belong to no human.
"Evelyn."
It moved towards her, knife in hand, ready to strike.
"Evelyn."
It raised the weapon, its hands tightening around the handle as it prepared itself.
"Evelyn."
It swung downwards, a torturous pain erupting across her body as it struck.
"Evelyn!"
With a jolt Evelyn awoke, covered in a thin film of cold sweat. Her heart racing, she looked to the side of the bunk bed, where her roommate - a tightrope walker - stuck her face over the bars. "Come on, we're going to be late for breakfast and I'm going to murder you if we don't get any. I'm starving," the woman added, jumping down and racing out of the tent. "R-right," Evelyn said weakly, placing her hands over her heart in order to calm herself. That damned nightmare again, she thought bitterly, climbing down from the bunk and slinking towards the mess hall, not very hungry herself.
The nightmare had come to her at least once a week ever since the murder of her parents - who the figure was supposed to represent, Evelyn didn't know, as more than one man had assisted in the slaughter. It pained the young woman to re-live the deaths of her most loved ones so often, but hard as she tried, she couldn't fend the nightmare off by any means. Shaking her head as she arrived in the hall, Evelyn started towards what was left of the morning's feast, as she heard a call to her left.
"Oi! Illusion!" Dagger screeched, jumping onto a bench and waving his hands to get her attention. Evelyn's face burned as all eyes turned to her, everyone curious as to why the first-tier was shouting. "Come on over here, we got you some food!" He hollered, before plopping back down in his seat and tearing ravenously into a pile of bacon.
Slowly, cautiously nearing the table, Evelyn stood by it uncertainly, looking down at the spot on the bench and back up at Dagger. "Oh, stop being so dramatic about it, sit down and eat," Peter snapped from the end of the table, looking annoyed as he dug into his own breakfast. Jumping slightly at the boy's sharpness, she immediately sat down, picking up a fork and beginning to eat from the plate set there. Beast gave her a friendly smile as she sat down, asking "How's it feel to be eating at the first-tier table, eh?" as she picked up a glass of milk, draining it. Unsure of what to say, Evelyn gave the well-endowed woman a small smile and nod of the head.
Once finished, the first tier members stayed in their places at the table, laughing and joking together. Evelyn got a strange feeling, staring around at the table while her friends bantered, until it finally clicked. "Oh, where's Joker?" She blurted out, noticing the empty place at the table. The conversation stopped, all eyes at the bench turning to her.
"...Probably back in his tent, perfecting his makeup," Wendy snickered, along with Peter. "Yeah, or fixing his hair. Bloody man's obsessed with it," Beast muttered, causing Evelyn to laugh as the woman smirked up at something.
"Or he could've been helping to set up some new livin' quarters for the newest first-stringer," a new voice suggested, as Evelyn whipped her head to the side, seeing the man himself walk towards the table, chuckling slightly. "And m'not that obsessed with it, Beast! You wound me," Joker said dramatically, placing a hand to his forehead and turning his face away from the woman's. "New... living quarters?" Evelyn asked blankly, as Wendy and Peter burst into obnoxious laughter.
"Aye," the ringleader replied, pulling the plate of (now cold) food towards him. "First tier members get their own tent, didn't I tell you?" he said, grinning at the look of surprise on Evelyn's face. "Ah... no. But that's awfully kind of you," she added quietly, earning a smile from the man. "How about I show y'around it when we're done here? Y'could be moved in tonight if you work fast," he said, spiking the young woman's interest.
"That would be wonderful."
Woo! Time skip! There's another one in store for the next chapter, but I think that'll be the last one for now. I feel really confident about this chapter. The ending's not quite what I had in mind, but hey - does anything turn out like it seems? Anyway, thanks for the support, guys! It's awesome to hear from you. Thanks a bunch~