"Wendy!" A loud thud from backstage caught the Noah's Ark crew's attention, accompanied by a panicked shout.
Evelyn, who had been adjusting the lavender ribbons threaded throughout her hair, jolted as the yell echoed through the tent. There was a momentary pause as the other performers in the room fell silent, all eyes flitting towards the middle of the area before all hell let loose.
There sat Wendy, clutching her leg to her body as Peter knelt down beside her on the floor, looking stricken. The girl's face contorted into an expression of pain as she struggled to her feet, collapsing against her brother as her leg buckled beneath her. Murmurs of "What happened? Did she break her leg?" floated throughout the pandemonium as all the performers rushed forwards, all trying to help in some way. A boy in a tight leotard offered a bag of ice, while two twin aerial dancers suggested that they carry the girl, as others all offered their opinions in some way. The commotion died down as Joker pushed through, the redhead kneeling in front of the teary-eyed trapeze artist as Evelyn shoved her way through the second stringers.
"Wendy," she said breathlessly, skidding to a halt in front of the child and leaning down. "Are you alright? What happened?" Evelyn demanded, looking over the girl in concern. The small girl opened her mouth to speak as a bell chimed in the distance.
"It's seven forty-five... We're supposed to be on in five minutes," Peter said desperately, eyeing his sister's slowly swelling ankle. "She can't perform, not like this!" He snapped, stress overtaking the small boy.
Ushering the trapeze artist onto his back, Joker stood up, grunting slightly under the child's weight. "I'm taking her to Doc," he announced, as all eyes flicked towards him. The ringleader looked to Dagger, who had run up behind him and was practically shaking with worry. "Dagger, try an' find a replacement for their act. I'll be back soon!" He promised, before rushing out of the tent.
A moment of silence followed as the performers wondered what to do, before Evelyn straightened up, clapping her hands together. "We've had a bit of a setback, but the show must go on!" She barked, whipping around and jogging towards the entrance to the stage. "Dagger, you work on getting those replacements - I'll carry on for a while. Improv," She noted, before snapping her fingers and disappearing onto the stage, ideas and illusions flooding her mind as she appeared on the trapeze to the delight of a roaring crowd.
"You've got to be kidding me," Evelyn stared at the scene before her, feeling bewildered, angry, and hopeless all at once.
Up on the trapeze swung Suit and Black, the two looking exceptionally irritated at each other as they moved back and forth on the two poles. "What are those two doing?" Beast huffed, staring up at the two with a hand on her hip. Looking ruffled, she started forward, only for a small snap to grasp her attention. With a gasp, she turned her head, looking down at the free-floating, torn strings hanging from her back. "My strings-" Beast began, as Evelyn looked worriedly to Doll.
"M-miss!" Dagger stammered, gasping loudly. "Please go change - we've got time before the encore." The blond pleaded, giving the woman a light push as she sighed. "I suppose I'd better," she griped, grabbing a spare cloak and wrapping it around her shoulders. With a shake of her head, Evelyn turned to look up at the replacement trapeze artists, only for exasperation to quickly switch to bewilderment as Black's expression caught her eye.
The man actually looked panicked for once, as his lips moved to mutter something unintelligible, his face turned towards the sight of the animal tamer leaving. Quickly he whipped his head back towards Suit, thrusting out his hands and yelling. "Stop this nonsense and put out your hands!" He shouted, as Suit raised a strange pole he carried.
"I told you-" The stern-looking man roared back, pushing the pole - now identified as a weapon - towards Black. "Never!"
The two went back and forth for a moment before a sly look came across Black's face. The darkly-dressed man grasped the pole, pulling Suit off the trapeze with a mighty yank as the crowd gasped, a fearful noise that made Evelyn flinch. "Look out!" Dagger yelled furiously as Suit clicked a button on the pole, kicking off of a support beam and flying back at Black. Another smirk played on the red-eyed man's face, as he swung the pole back -
- And let go.
Evelyn almost shrieked alongside the crowd as the two men went flying, her heart beating wildly in her chest as each landed perfectly upon the two platforms. "Oh... my god," She muttered breathlessly, placing a hand over her heart as the audience screamed with excitement. "Never let them perform again," she mumbled to Dagger, who shook his head.
"What're y'talking about? They're great!" The knife-thrower grinned excitedly as Black neared the backstage. "Oi, Black, good j- wha-?" The blond asked, looking confused as the man hurried past with a sharp look in his eye, not even stopping to acknowledge the first tier.
"Wonder what that was about?" Evelyn wondered aloud, as Doll shrugged.
"Who knows? Let's not get preoccupied - it's time for the encore," the tightrope-walker said, adjusting her headpiece as she started towards the platforms.
"So Black throws the bloody man back, and I swear, he must've pissed himself!" Evelyn choked out, her eyes raw with streaming tears of laughter as the other first tiers erupted around her.
The group of eight was gathered by a small bonfire, passing food around as they relaxed in the late hours after the show. Show nights were often like that - the first tiers would all meet by a fire, collapsing next to each other and recounting funny stories of the hours beforehand. Evelyn was busy telling the others of Black and Suit's performance, causing fits of giggles to come from the other entertainers who had been too busy to witness the pandemonium.
"Black must've been shaken, too - rushed right out after the performance, didn't even stop to breathe!" Dagger chimed in, a contagious grin at home on his face. Evelyn's face hurt from smiling as she plucked an apple out of a small basket by her feet, a loud crunch echoing through the chilly night air as she bit into it.
"I love nights like these," Evelyn grinned, speaking between bites. "It's so nice to relax with you all." She smiled fully, before the look was replaced with a thoughtful expression. "Well, not all... where's Snake?" At her question, Doll - de-costumed and now known as 'Freckles' - looked around curiously.
"You're right, where is he?" She asked, looking back and forth from the other circus members. "He usually joins us-"
"He was getting some peculiar information from us..." a quiet, unintentionally silly voice cut in. "...Says Emily." Snake finished as he came to stand in front of the bonfire, the light dancing across his dull, expressionless features. All eyes came to rest on him as his snakes slithered to and fro on his shoulders, hissing quietly. "I saw Black and Smile in the first tier tents, I did!" Snake exclaimed in a comical tone, before reverting back to his own. "...Says Emily."
Joker looked alarmed. "What?!" He asked sharply. "Black and Smile snuck in? What were they after?" He demanded. Evelyn shrunk back, looking uneasy - at the news or the dangerous tone in Joker's voice, she couldn't tell.
"That, I don't know." Snake replied. "...Says Wordsworth." Peter looked skeptical.
"Can you really talk with snakes?" He asked suspiciously, not quite believing the white-haired boy's words.
"Do you doubt me, you simpleton?" Snake bit back. "Says Wordsworth," He added, looking uninterested.
"Why didn't you say so before?" Joker wondered aloud, resting his chin in his palm. The snake circling Snake's shoulders hissed vehemently.
"See? I told you to report it straightaway!" Snake said, glancing towards the open-jawed creature that hissed next to his face. "Says Emily."
Joker thought for a moment, then sighed. "Well, nevermind. Thank ye, and off to bed now." He muttered absentmindedly, as other first tiers began to leave. Confused, Evelyn sat, rooted to her spot in bewilderment, going seemingly unnoticed by the other first tiers. "...I reckon they might know," Joker said abruptly, scowling. "That fool, Doll..."
"Doll's such a little twerp! I told you we shouldn'ta brung her!" Peter snapped, looking aggravated. Feeling rather angry, herself, Evelyn jumped in.
"Excuse me?" She retorted, causing Joker and Peter to jolt, whipping towards her in shock. Did they forget I was here? Evelyn wondered, before continuing. "I don't know what the fuck your deal is, but she's a young girl! She makes mistakes! I don't even know what she did but you don't have to talk about her behind her back! What does she even have to do with Black and Smile?" She ranted, stopping short at the look Joker and Peter gave each other.
"Go to bed," Peter said abruptly, glaring at the illusionist. "This doesn't concern you."
"I'm sorry, but does it concern you, either?" Evelyn snorted, finally breaking. "I'm tired of nothing being 'concerned' with me! I'm a part of this place too, and while I might not be as important, I still have a right to defend Doll and know what we're talking about! I-" She stood up angrily, stopping her ramble as Jumbo placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Illusion," he said, his calm, rumbling voice causing some of her rage to die down. "It really doesn't concern you. You wouldn't like it. Please don't pry."
"No, she deserves to know." Joker finally cut in, his violet eyes downcast as he slid his hands over his hair, sighing quietly. Peter stared at him in disbelief, his mouth opening and closing but with no sound coming out. Finally the boy pulled himself together, looking exasperated and furious at the same time.
"Are you serious? You know what it means if this all goes wrong, right?" He asked, sounding incredulous. The redheaded ringleader's eyes flitted towards him, looking tired and weary.
"Of course I do - but really, she needs to know. Y'know as well as anyone that 'm tired of acting innocent and lying, especially to her." A moment of silence followed, as Jumbo, Peter, and Joker all looked to one another, before the redhead launched into a series of reasons, explanations, and unearthed truths. Evelyn listened without saying a word as the ringleader talked, telling of a man named "Father" and what they had to do to pay him back for his kindness.
"So, y'see, we have to. This is our livelihood, Evelyn. We've built up so much, we can't let a single mistake tear it all down." Joker finished, watching the illusionist closely as she stared blankly into the fire, wondering how on earth she'd gotten herself into the mess. The group of four sat in silence as Evelyn unclasped her hands, heaved a great sigh, and looked up, taking a bottle of wine leftover from the earlier dinner into her hands as she spoke.
"I can't back out now, can I?" She ran her fingers through her hair, exhaling slowly. "I don't like it, and I can see you don't, either. I'll do whatever I can to pay you back in kind for all you've done for me, but I'll let you know now - I will never, ever become used to it." And with that, Evelyn grasped the wine tightly, pulling out the cork and downing half of the bottle, allowing the drink to melt her troubles away.
And she's finally told!
Evelyn's reply really just speaks for itself. She doesn't like what the troupe does, but realizes that they don't, either - so she hesitantly agrees to help them with whatever she can, but she'll never condone it.
Sorry for the wait on the chapter. It took me a long while to figure out where I was going with this one, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I did have some help from a friend with the process of figuring out how Evelyn's told about the kidnappings! Thanks, VampireSiren!
See you in chapter 13!