"You're what?"
Evelyn stared at the ringleader in disbelief, not quite believing what had just reached her ears. Joker, adorned in a braided scarf and a deep purple cloak, met her eyes and nodded seriously. "I think it's for th'best," He said briskly, straightening his scarf around his shoulders. "Considering everything that's happened as of late, I'm a bit obligated t'do it. I'll miss you," He told her, leaning down and pecking her on the cheek. Looking sad, Evelyn stayed silent for a moment, before a thought crossed her mind.
"Why don't I go with you?" She suggested, clasping his gloved hand. "Since I know about the... secret, it's only fair that I get to meet this "Father" fellow, eh?" Joker considered her offer for a moment, before shaking his head.
"No," he replied, kindly but firmly. "Not a good idea. Just leave it be, Evelyn."
"How about I rephrase that?" Evelyn smiled slyly, dropping the redhead's hand. "I'm coming with you," she repeated, with an air of finality. "Besides," she added. "I won't get anything done while you're gone - you'll be on my mind the whole time." Joker studied her face for a moment before sighing heavily, and running his skeletal fingers through his hair.
"Well, guess I can't say no to that, now, can I?" The ringleader smiled softly. "Alright, then - go get yerself a cloak. It'll be chilly, so dress warm," he told her, grabbing her hand and pulling the illusionist to her feet. "I'm goin' to say goodbye to the others, I'll meet you at the front gate." Evelyn smiled, leaning up and brushing her lips against his before departing.
Quickly she hurried to her tent, pulling an old, emerald green cloak from the recesses of her wardrobe. Pulling a pair of thin, black gloves onto her hands, she tied the cloak's strings around her neck, straightening the fabric out and emerging from her tent within minutes. "Oh!" Evelyn gasped, knocking her palm against her head and turning to head towards the second tier tents. "Need to say goodbye to Freckles..." she muttered to herself, taking a shortcut between tents to shorten her travel time.
"...Know we can make a living!" Beast's voice echoed from the corner.
Stopping short, Evelyn looked around curiously, before stepping over to a row of tents. Hiding in the folds of the fabric, Evelyn was met by the sight of Beast and Joker standing a little ways apart from each other, looking at each other in a way that Evelyn couldn't identify. Curiously she stayed rooted to her hiding spot, listening to the pair's conversation.
"So let's wash our hands of this," Beast said earnestly, walking towards the ringleader with her hands outstretched. "Run someplace where Father can't touch us!" The black-haired beauty sounded desperate as she finished. Joker observed the woman for a moment, before chuckling quietly.
"Over the hills and far away, eh?" He asked, sounding amused for only a second before his face hardened. "We can't. And I ain't got no time to talk about it." He sighed, turning and beginning to walk away.
"Wait!" An anguished cry came from the woman's mouth as she jumped forward, wrapping her arms around Joker's waist. The redhead looked surprised, then smiled, looking bitter.
"You alright? This isn't like ye," Joker shook his head, looking... pleased? Evelyn couldn't tell. "Didn't we decide together?" He asked, piquing Evelyn's interest. "We said we'd do whatever it takes to protect what's dear to us." He said firmly, with an air of finality. The animal tamer's grip on the man visibly tightened.
"But..." She said, sounding close to tears. "I can't stand to watch you suffer anymore! B-because I...!" Evelyn felt sick to her stomach as she backed away from the scene, feeling warm, jealous tears beginning to prick her eyes as she turned on her heels. She began to run, somewhere, anywhere, just to get away from the two, feeling nauseous as her feet pounded against the cold, hard ground.
"Ow!" She yelped, getting knocked onto her behind as she slammed into something rock hard. Shaking her head, Evelyn looked up, seeing the inquisitive face of Black peering down at her. A small frown on his face, he held out a white-gloved hand, pulling the illusionist to her feet.
"Miss Illusion, whatever's the matter?" He asked, producing a silken handkerchief from his coat pocket and offering it to the woman. Taking it, she gripped it tightly in her hand, staring at the fabric and willing herself not to cry. "A young woman such as yourself shouldn't have any reason to be upset," he continued, smirking mischievously. "Nor should she be tearing through the fairgrounds at such a late hour."
"...Suppose you're right," Evelyn sniffed quietly, using the handkerchief to scrub furiously at her face. Black looked confused for a moment, before his face slid back into his regular, cool demeanor.
"My, no snappy response? You must be quite upset," Black noted, taking the handkerchief back from the girl and placing it on a nearby crate with a grimace. Gritting her teeth, Evelyn composed herself, straightening her shoulders and smoothing out her skirt.
"Yes, well, that may be - but it's none of your business," She replied swiftly, smoothing back her hair as the sound of footsteps neared them. A nasty thought struck the illusionist at that moment, anger bubbling through her as her face dawned with realization. Turning to Black, she gave the tall man a sweet smile, reaching up to his neck and undoing the ribbon around his collar.
"Pardon me-?" Black began to ask, looking rather intrigued. Evelyn retied the ribbon into a bow as Joker came into view, patting the finished product and clipping a tiny skull back onto it as a finishing touch. Looking rather pleased with herself, Evelyn tilted her head slightly and gave the second stringer a dazzling smile, stepping back to survey her work.
"Well, we can't have your bow looking messy, now can we?" She asked, satisfaction filling her heart as she noticed the look of disbelief crossing the redheaded ringleader's face out of the corner of her eye. "Looks fine now. You're welcome," Evelyn added cheerily, stepping back and turning on her heel, feigning surprise as she saw Joker standing in front of her. "Oh, are you ready to go? I was at the front gate a bit ago, but I realized I hadn't said goodbye to some friends, so I came back around."
In false gratitude, Black gave the woman a smirk, placing a hand over his heart and bowing slightly. "Thank you, Miss Illusion. I was having trouble with that." He said, before turning and heading in the opposite direction. Evelyn watched the black-clad gentleman leave, before turning and passing Joker to get to the front entrance.
"Evelyn!" Joker's sharp voice followed her, as he sprinted towards the woman, hurrying alongside her. "What was - he - what the hell are you playing at?" He sputtered out, his cheeks a deep shade of red.
"The same game as you and Beast," Evelyn countered, huffing slightly and coming to an abrupt stop, crossing her arms. Joker came to a stop in front of her, staring down at her with a look of incredulity.
"...What are you talking about?" He asked, his voice filled with such confusion that Evelyn faltered. "What game?" He asked, sounding frustrated.
"Like you don't know!" Evelyn burst out, sounding close to tears. "Her holding you tight, saying that she loves you - I just-" The illusionist's voice cracked as she spoke, causing her to go silent, for fear of beginning to cry. She ducked her head, staring at her feet and trying to pull herself back together.
"Oh..." Joker's voice dawned with comprehension. "You saw us saying goodbye, didn't you? Oh, Evelyn," He murmured, pulling the girl close to his chest. "'M so sorry, that was completely one-sided. I understand how y'could take it out of context. I told her off after that, y'know - she needs to understand that it won't happen, that it can't. But you and me, we can." He ran his gloved fingers through her dark hair, sighing heavily.
Evelyn felt horrified.
"Oh... my god..." Her breath hitched as she lay her head on the redhead's shoulder, her eyes wide as a terrible feeling settled into her stomach. "I'm... I'm so sorry!" She cried out, bursting into tears without warning, the hot liquid spilling down her cheeks and dropping onto the ringleader's cloak. Joker looked alarmed as he held the girl close, unsure of what to do. "I'm so awful! Lord above, I am so, so sorry! I reacted so badly to that, I..." She sniffed, pressing a palm to her cheek and wiping the liquid away. "I... I don't even know what to say. Let's just leave," Evelyn muttered, feeling horribly guilty as she pulled away. The redhead looked at her in concern before nodding slowly.
"...Let's go," he agreed quietly, taking the illusionist's hand and squeezing it gently, giving her a small smile as the pair headed towards the gates.
"Father, I'm home." Joker's voice echoed in the empty darkness as he pushed open the ornate doors to the front of the mansion.
Evelyn squinted into the shadows, feeling uneasy as she stuck close to the redheaded man's side. The blackness seemed to envelope the pair as they stepped inside, pressing into their skin and making the illusionist feel perturbed. Quickly Joker picked up a lantern, pulling a set of matches from a pocket and lighting the inside candle, blowing the match out with a small puff and beginning to ascend the stairs.
Coming to the end of a long hallway, Joker stopped, closing his eyes and exhaling slowly. "Pardon me, Father," he called out, pushing the white door open with a small creak as he entered. "I'm sorry for calling so late. I'd like to speak with -" He began, only to be cut off by a gravelly, weak voice.
"Oh, Joker, welcome home!" The voice said, delight obvious in its tone. "What a good lad you are, coming back so soon!" The voice praised, clearly pleased. "Now, where is he? He's with you, isn't he?" Evelyn felt momentary confusion as she stuck to the shadows, feeling more anxious by the minute as she listened to the voice. Lightning struck outside of the mansion, causing Evelyn to jolt slightly. The blue light illuminated the room for a moment, allowing the illusionist to see the form of a man, sitting in a chair, with two small figures beside him.
"Ah, n-no, not yet..." Joker stammered, sounding hesitant. The room was quiet for a moment, before the man spoke again.
"Oh, so you're a bad boy." 'Father' said, sounding less delighted than before. He addresses Joker like a child - who is this? Evelyn wondered, feeling bewildered. At the man's statement, the ringleader began to visibly sweat, placing his lantern on the floor with a quiet click and kneeling.
"I'm so sorry!" Joker said, sounding rather desperate as Evelyn clasped her hands, looking worriedly to her partner before bowing her head as well. "The Yard may have identified us as suspects." He said, his tone low.
"Tell me," Father said, sounding almost... bored as he placed a hand on his own knee.
"One of the new recruits apparently snuck into our tents," Joker informed, placing a skeletal hand over his heart. "We're afraid he may have seen your letter, Father." The ringleader's words struck a new type of fear into Evelyn as her heart began to race. Letter? But I saw a letter... She thought wildly, pressing her lips together in a thin line. "If they're with the Yard... we can't just dispose of them," he said, despair filling his voice as he stared nervously at the ground. "It would put the circus itself into danger! I always thought that pair was odd, but that child..." Joker trailed off, his eyes narrowing.
The tinkling of shattering glass caught Joker and Evelyn's attention. "Child?" Father asked, the word sounding almost dreamlike in his tone.
"Father...?" Joker asked cautiously.
"A child? Not one with an eye patch, surely?" More shattering reached Evelyn's ears as she stared in the general direction of Father's seat. She and Joker glanced at each other in alarm, and Evelyn began to wonder if coming to the mansion was such a good idea after all.
"Y-yes... He did have one..." Joker replied timidly, gripping his good hand into a fist.
"A pair, you said?" The old man sounded breathless at that point, exhilaration laced throughout his voice as he spoke.
"Yes, the other was a man in black-" Joker began, only to be cut off by Father once again.
"A boy and his butler!" Father practically shouted. Joker looked unnerved at the sound.
"He did say he'd been a butler-" Glass shattered once again as another item broke, causing Evelyn to flinch.
"It must be him! It must!" Father exclaimed. His voice rose to a shout as he looked gleefully to Joker, raising his hands as lightning struck once again outside the windows, thunder rattling the glass of the windows. "Huzzah! It's him! Ciel, the Earl Phantomhive!"
Phantomhive? Evelyn thought, very confused. She furrowed her brow, wracking her brains for the name as she struggled to remember.
Why does that sound so familiar?
Another chapter!
If anyone's confused, let me clear it up - Evelyn saw Beast and Joker, how "friendly" they were being towards each other, and got extremely jealous - and a bit upset, seeing as how Beast's advances and Joker's reaction made the pair seem like something more. In the heat of the moment, Evelyn got extremely touchy-feely with Black, knowing full well that Joker could see. Then felt guilty about it later.
See you in chapter 14! (Wow, it's weird to type that - I've never gotten so far with a fanfic before.)