The next morning, Adeline jumped out of her bed and raced outside. Her eyes widened at what she saw. She saw a large circus tent already up and fliers being placed around the field. Many people were already crowding around, but the gate was closed so no one could enter. Of course, that didn't stop Adeline. She raced around the back and saw a group of circus performers putting on their costumes.
"This is amazing!" Adeline squeaked in glee, now watching them. But as she got closer, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Sorry little one. You cannot be in this part of the area," a voice said. Adeline turned and saw the ringmaster smiling at her. The same young man from earlier.
"Oh sorry. But I would love to come and see the show! How much for a ticket?!" she smiled happily.
"10 dollars," the ringmaster smiled.
"Oh! Perfect!" Adeline grinned, now pulling out her money. The ringmaster chuckled and took the money from her.
"You are definitely an excitable young one." He chuckled, pulling a ticket from his pocket and handing it to her.
"Thanks!" Adeline smiled, now running around the corner and to quickly stand in line. She had not been to a real circus in years and she couldn't wait to go in!
But as she got up to the door, she was disappointed. The show didn't begin until that night.
"Man! I was ready to see one now," she whined. But as she turned to walk back to her home, she heard some of the performers talking. Curious, she leaned against the tent and peered into a small hole.
"These humans are curious beings. I hope they are not frightened too badly," one of them said, now stretching and revealing a long fluffy tail.
"They will be fine. After all, they will not know what is fiction and what is reality," another chuckled. Adeline's eyes opened wide as she saw one of them stretch and reveal long wings on their back!
"Woah! They must have some kind of cool make-up or costumes or something!" Adeline grinned, now becoming more excited. This was definitely going to be the best show ever.
As she walked away from the tent, she noticed something. There was one wagon that was covered with a red and gold cloth and it said 'Do Not Disturb!' Adeline knew that she could be caught at anytime, but she couldn't stay away from this circus! It finally brought life and something new to the town! As she creeped closer to the quiet wagon, she slowly lifted a small part of the cover that was over the lower window and was met with a gentle snoring sound. Squinting, she got a glimpse of another young man's face. He appeared strong, but very handsome. He had brown hair that covered some of his eyes, but the back was shorter than the front. He had a thin vest on and shorts.
The being slowly opened one eye and then another and then looked at Adeline with curiosity as she gazed at him through the window. Adeline gasped as he slowly rose up from his resting position and crawled closer to her. Now scared because she remembered the do not disturb sign, she quickly dropped the curtain and moved back!
"Oh no! I woke it up!" she squealed in horror, now moving back so bad that she fell on her backside.
But all she saw was an arm reach out from the window and begin feeling around for her. Letting out a shout in horror, she scrambled to her feet to run. She had done enough!
Later that night, Adeline happily sat in her seat and grinned widely as the curtains opened! Elephants, lions, and tigers began prancing around the arena and clowns began tossing candy and peanuts to children!
"Come one come all and enjoy the wonderful show!" the ringmaster called out. "Ringmaster Evander at your service!"
And with that, he did a flip where he landed on the side of the arena and all of the crowd cheered, but Adeline was stunned! He just did a double flip that could have easily killed him if he landed wrong. It was…inhuman!
"How did he do that?!" one girl asked.
"THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!" They cheered.
"More! MORE!" The boys thundered!
"EVANDER! EVANDER! EVANDER!" The crowd said, now getting more and more excited.
"You are too kind. Now let's continue with this show!" Evander smiled, now flipping back into the center of the ring and waving his wand. "Pegasus! Centaurs! Minotaurs! Come to me!"
And with that, everyone gasped as the room began to be filled with prancing, dancing, and flying beasts of legend! Everyone was ooing and awing about how the costumes were magnificent but they looked real to Adeline!
Just to take a stab in the dark, Adeline got really close to the edge and put her hand out. As a centaur passed by, she felt the gentle hair! She gasped in shock because it was no costume…it felt REAL!
"Y-You're…" she said in pure shock. The centaur only smirked at her and continued to prance around the arena. But soon she felt a rough hand tough her shoulder and saw an angry security guard.
"Little lady! No touching the exhibits!" he snapped.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly. The guard nodded and walked away. But as she turned back to the arena, she saw the Ringermaster Evander then pointed to the darkness!
"Come forth being from another world! Come forth!" Evander called. The entire room then went quiet as they heard grunts as some of the clowns escorted a tall young and muscular man into their midst. He was unusually tall and wore a golden collar around his neck. Adeline's eyes widened as she noticed he was the same young man in the cage from earlier.
As the young man was placed in the middle of the ring, the top of the tent was opened and the moonlight began to shine inside the room. The entire crowed ooed and awed again, but then went silent as Evander pointed to the collar and his eyes and wand glowed.
"Colossus…show them what you can do!" Evander thundered, now walking backwards and watching him smile.
"As you wish," came the quiet reply. Soon, Colossus closed his eyes and stretched. The entire audience then began to scream as he began to grow and grow and grow! Soon he reached all the way outside the tent!
"GIANT!" A boy screamed.
"He's a giant!" Another lady wailed, now fainting.
"Mommy!" A little girl screamed.
"No honey, it's just special lighting! It's not real," the mother comforted, but everyone then began clapping as the large giant winked and with a splash of light, he was back to his normal height!
"MORE! MORE!" They all screamed in glee.
"BEST SHOW EVER!" The kids called out.
"Thank you! Thank you! And now for the grande finale!" Evander grinned, now making his wand set off fireworks and the flying Pegasus' flew around the room dropping balloons and confetti! The Minotaurs then began throwing out fliers about the next town the show would be in!
Adeline happened to grab one, but was shocked when she read it. The show would only be in their town for one more night!
"They're leaving so soon!" She said. "I wonder why!" Truth be told, it was a strange circus but she loved it! She enjoyed the mysteries and fun!
After the show was over and people began heading out, Adeline tried to stay inside. She wanted to speak to the Ringmaster. As she walked to the back of the tent, she heard someone behind her.
"Looking for someone?" the voice asked. Adeline slowly turned and saw Ringmaster Evander behind her. "You know you really should head home."
"I know that but I wanted to talk to you," Adeline said.
"Oh?" he asked, now sitting down on a nearby bench. "Speak on, young one."
"I know you all aren't just a regular circus," she said.
"Really? And why do you say that?" he asked, now adjusting his black top hat and his red Ringmaster jacket.
"Well you just did a flip that easily could have broken all of your bones," Adeline said. Evander only chuckled.
"Are you sure?" he asked. "I'm sure others could have done it."
"I don't think so," Adeline said with a smirk, now walking closer. "But why are you all leaving so soon?"
"That's just how the show is. We move around consistently," Evander grinned. Adeline gave a visible grimace of sadness and he noticed. "Would you like to come and walk around with me for a bit?"
"Yes!" she said happily, now making him chuckle as he stood and walked with her.
He then motioned for her to go through the curtain and she smiled as she saw a few of the performers watching her. The clowns and the trapeze artists were the first to greet her and then she met some of the jugglers and fire breathers.
"This is amazing! But what happened to the others?" Adeline asked.
"Which others?" Evander asked.
"You know? The ones that weren't like the others?" Adeline asked.
"Hmmm…you must mean my workers in the costumes. I'm sure they have undressed by now," Evander replied nonchalantly, now walking towards the end of the tent to the exit. "Come…the moon is high in the sky."
But as she was walking towards the exit, she noticed the large wagon again. But this time the blanket was lifted up from the window and she once again saw the young man eyeing her carefully. She tilted her head curiously and he did as well.
"I see you've met Colossus," Evander smirked.
"Well, sort of," she said timidly.
"He is a guest of ours. He comes to help out now and then with the show," Evander smiled. But he noticed Adeline's curiosity and even her concern. Colossus arched an eyebrow and gave a small smirk in amusement. "You know…if you have not formally met him, why not meet him now? After all you may not be able to meet him tomorrow."
"B-But he's the giant!" Adeline squeaked as Evander pushed her towards the wagon.
"Oh now don't be concerned. We are a humble circus…do you really believe that Colossus or any of us could be 'magic?' After all, in this world, magic does not exist," Evander smirked, now pushing her closer.
Adeline's eyes widened as she saw Colossus sit up and lean out his window to see her better. His light brown eyes peered at her as she approached. Once she was in front of the window, the young man looked down at her and gave her a warm smile. He then spoke in a language she could not understand.
"W-What did he say?" she asked.
"Oh…she is from this area Colossus. She would not understand your native tongue or any of ours for that matter," Evander said gently. Colossus nodded and then looked at her again.
"I apologize. And what is your name?" Colossus asked.
"M-My name is Adeline," she said softly.
"Nice to meet you." He greeted. He then stood up and began to stretch. "Please excuse me. I need to…take care of something."
"Yes, we all do. Come Adeline. Time for us all to get some rest," Evander whispered, now turning and showing her the way back home.
Adeline nodded and began to walk back to her home, but as she turned to glance over her shoulder, she saw Colossus leaving his wagon and entering deeper into the forest. Even though she knew that she shouldn't, something inside of her told her to follow.
And that is exactly what she did.
guestsurprise: What do you think will happen?
newbienovelistRD: Something tells me this is where the story really begins...