For the life of her, Evelyn could not sleep.
A mixture of things kept her awake as she lay in bed - the excitement of the day (The man traipsed right up to a bloody tiger! Evelyn thought half-excitedly, her heart beating loudly in her chest as she thought of what could have happened.) The adrenaline filling her body from shock at Joker hiring the black-clad gentleman on the spot. The fact that she just could not find a comfortable way to sleep. And then...
There were the eyes.
The gentleman's eyes glowed in her brain, sending a chill of fear running down Evelyn's spine. Red eyes, she thought. I've seen lavender, emerald green, even gray - but never red. The man's eyes thoroughly scared her, popping up in her mind every time she closed her eyes. The color was simply unnatural - unlike anything the illusionist had ever seen.
It scared her.
Evelyn huffed loudly, flipping onto her stomach and burying her head in her pillow, feeling vulnerable in the darkness. The way he looked at me... she recalled, the butler's intrigued face slipping into her brain. It was almost as if he...
Recognized me...
Evelyn shot up from her bed, feeling more frightened than before as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, sliding her un-bandaged foot into a slipper and grabbing her crutch. Steadying herself on her feet, she hobbled out of her tent, making her way quickly and quietly towards another in the light of the moon. Noiselessly she crept into the tent, slowly and cautiously laying her crutch against a night table and slunk into the bed.
"Mm..." her sleeping partner yawned, sleepily opening his eyes. "Evelyn, wha's wrong...?" Joker mumbled, rubbing his eye with his non-skeletal hand.
"Couldn't sleep," Evelyn replied softly, edging forward and pecking the ringleader on the nose. He smiled tiredly, opening up his arms and allowing the girl to curl up close to him. "And... well, that gent from earlier is quite unsettling, to be honest... 'specially the eyes..." She muttered drowsily. Joker chuckled quietly, leaning down and placing his lips atop her head.
"Well, you've got me now, so get some sleep, a'right?" Joker mumbled, wrapping his arms around the illusionist. Nodding, Evelyn closed her eyes, falling asleep in the man's warm embrace.
"What a lovely little tacker! A boy, I reckon?"
Evelyn peeked over Joker's shoulder as he spoke, looking down at the small, skinny boy standing timidly in front of them. He couldn't have been more than thirteen - with dark gray hair and an eye patch, Evelyn could safely say this was the most depressed-looking child she'd ever seen. Something akin to pure, sour sorrow radiated off of the boy, and Evelyn nearly flinched at the dullness in his voice as he replied.
"Yes, I've been in service as a pageboy," He replied, briskly and clearly in an authoritative tone. "My name is...er... F-Finnian." Evelyn stared the boy down as he spoke, noticing the small hesitation in his tone. Wonder what that's about, stuttering over your own name, she wondered, smoothing her skirt and giving the child a kind smile.
"That's an imposing name!" Joker said, stepping towards the child and putting his hands on his own hips. "Well, I'll give you a stage name if y'pass." He allowed a small grin to make itself home on his face, before leaning in close with a serious expression. "Are you a boy, though?" He asked sternly. The child looked confused as he answered with a swift 'yes.'
"But just being adorable won't see y'through a circus," Joker announced, as women began to crowd towards the black-clad gentleman from the day before. "We must do tricks, too. What's your specialty?"
"Well..." The boy thought for a moment. "...Darts, I suppose." Just like me, what a cute little one, Evelyn thought to herself, chuckling. Joker hummed and hawed for a moment.
"That'll be knife-throwing, then," Joker decided, turning to Dagger, who was talking with Doll. "Dagger!" He called, catching the attention of the first tier. "Give him some knives." Dagger immediately complied, pulling a few out of his belt and dropping them into the child's hands. Polite, Evelyn noted, as the boy muttered a grateful thank-you.
"Now aim for the target!" Joker grinned, pointing at a target much too far away. Evelyn immediately felt bad for the kid - nobody but Dagger could hit a target that far away. Hobbling her way to Joker's side, she watched curiously as the child aimed.
"You're a mean one, sir, his skinny arms couldn't even throw far enough!" Dagger muttered to the ringleader, snickering.
"I am not!" Joker said defensively. "It's no show if the target's nearby, is it?" Evelyn nodded in agreement.
"Lord, that kid's taking a while to aim," She muttered to the first tiers, causing them to laugh as the boy finally threw the knife. It spun wildly in the air, aiming straight for the ground.
"See? I knew i-" Dagger began, before screeching in disbelief. All three of the first tiers shrieked "Blimey!" as the knife slammed into the target, right on point. Other performers gasped and cheered, an air of excitement coming over the crowd as the child kept throwing the knives. Every single one darted into place, loud thunks coming from the target as they hit. Evelyn stood there, her mouth agape in disbelief, as the child gestured to the target.
"Will that be all?" He asked simply, a triumphant look crossing his face.
"Well, that's fine control!" Joker said, looking impressed. Dagger looked back and forth from the target to Evelyn, his mouth opening and closing in bewilderment as he gaped. The knife-thrower rushed towards the target, examining it closely as Joker continued. "You're more talented than I reckoned, but the test isn't over yet!" A sly look came over the ringleader's face. "Next is..." He trailed off, beginning to lead the black-clad gentleman and the boy towards the training tent.
"...Tightrope walking!"
Joker gestured upwards with his bony hand, as Doll took the boy's hand and began to lead him up to the top of a landing. She began to tie rope around him tightly, Finnian coughing and wheezing as she squeezed the air out of him with the support. The pageboy began to protest loudly, arguing back and forth with Joker until he gave up, starting to walk across the rope as Dagger made concerned noises.
Evelyn leaned on her crutch, gazing up at the boy in worry. What if he falls? What if the rope breaks? She wondered, multiple scenarios flooding her mind. Reaching down, she took Joker's hand, squeezing it tightly and giving him a scared look. The ringleader smiled back down at her, shaking his head and looking back up to the pageboy.
Finnian seemed to be alright for the most part, Evelyn noted - He walked slowly and carefully, his arms thrown out to help him balance. He did fine until he got a quarter of the way through - he wobbled, and with a sinking feeling Evelyn watched as the pageboy began to fall.
With small grunts, he regained his balance, to Evelyn's surprise. "He... regained his balance?" She questioned, sounded confused. The boy mumbled something angrily as he began to walk again, grunting and yelling as he walked along. Throwing a tantrum? Really? She thought, rolling her eyes as Finnian carried on until the end of the rope, reaching the landing and scurrying down the ladder.
Joker began to clap as Finnian approached, the boy rubbing his side with a disgruntled look on his face. "Amazing!" Joker praised. "I didn't reckon you'd make it across!" The pageboy looked grumpy as he glared up at the redhead, mumbling his thanks.
"This cutie passes then, eh, Joker?" Dagger grinned, slinging an arm around the boy and looking to his superior.
"Not yet!" Evelyn jumped a foot in the air as Joker spoke sharply, losing her crutch - and her balance - at the snappish remark. She fell backwards, only to land in the arms of - oh, great.
The black-clad butler.
He smiled slyly, helping her back to her feet and handing her the crutch as she grumbled her gratitude, turning away to watch as Joker walked towards the boy, who looked awfully nervous. "There's something important you're missing," Joker said solemnly. Evelyn nearly laughed as the boy looked halfway frightened.
"A great... big..." Joker leaned in, giving Finnian a dazzling smile. "Smile!"
"Wha-?" Finnian looked practically affronted as the man began to coax him, the pageboy's partner beginning to shake with laughter in the background.
"Come, come. Smile!" Joker dragged out the last word, grinning himself when the boy finally smiled. Oh, he looks quite nice when he smiles, Finnian... Evelyn grinned, nodding her approval at the child. Finnian gave her a strange look, his eyes lingering on her bruises and casts as she laughed.
"See something you like, Finnian?" Evelyn joked, unsteadily walking herself over and patting the boy on the shoulder as he began to stammer out an apology. "Please, you're fine! People are bound to look, so have a gander at the bandages if you like," She laughed. The boy looked away, seemingly angry.
"Everybody!" Joker called, as all the performers gathered, Evelyn hobbling over to join them. "We have some new mates joining us!" The ringleader announced, gesturing towards the newcomers. "This is Black..." He turned to the butler, who greeted the performers with a cheery smile. "And the wee one here is Smile!" Finnian looked as if he were about to explode.
"Smi-?" He stuttered, looking panicked. Black grinned, and leaned down to the pageboy's ear, muttering something. "P-p-pleased to meet you," Smile said lamely, looking down as soon as he said it. The performers began to scatter as Joker turned to the pair.
"Well, Black, Smile, shall I give you a tour?" He asked energetically. The ringleader turned to Evelyn. "Will you be coming along?"
"Oh, no," the illusionist declined. Evelyn gave a weak smile. "Leg's hurting a bit, I think I'm going to go see Doc," She informed him. Joker looked sympathetic for a moment.
"Oh, alright," He said. "Get on your way to feelin' better! We need you as an act!" Joker laughed, leaning over and pecking the girl on the cheek as she blushed slightly, nodding and excusing herself.
So we have a depressed knife-thrower and a jack-of-all-trades, Evelyn mused as she staggered away. This should turn out to be interesting.
New chapter! Everybody scream in delight!
I'm absolutely terrified - I start at a new school in six days, can you believe that? Oh, this should be a nice trip...
As it turns out, I'm busier than I thought, because I failed to notice that instead of two summer assignments - I have three. Oops. My bad. So I have to do the third one, and study for my AP test, all while sick because I can't seem to keep myself well this summer.
Anyway, here's chapter 10! See you in the next chapter!