Before Cirque Mystique began their show, they agreed to do the escape act for the brothers. The centaur, Adeline, Colossus stood in shock as a large feather pit was unearthed and Jocu only smirked confidently!
"Welcome to the feather pit," he crooned, now pointing down. They all saw many multicolored and wiggling feathers waiting for them.
"Brothers place them down gently. If they can escape, we will release them…if not…they are ours to tickle." Jocu smirked.
"This won't be impossible we can do this!" the centaur said, now feeling them placing them down. Adeline gulped. The feathers seemed to wait until all of them were settled. But once they were placed in the pit, Jocu bellowed.
"NOW!" Jocu said. And within a second, they were all laughing hard and trying hard to climb out the sides as the feathers wiggled everyone on their body.
"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA TRY TO CLIMB OUT!" Colossus said, now becoming large. The problem? Even though he was becoming large, the brothers were waiting to tickle him and keep him from getting out too fast! "HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEY NOAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"We were ready for you giant!" Vivo smiled, now climbing up on his shoulder and tickling his ears.
"We knew you would use your size to escape, so we decided to make sure you enjoyed the pit longer," Jovi said, now throwing a potion at him. It then shrunk him back down to the size of an average human!
"Got him! Now get the others!" Jape said, now hanging upside down by his tail by a vine! The others followed suite!
"PLEAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH CUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHT IT OUT!" Adeline pleaded, now feeling Jocu and Blithe get her ribs and sides in addition to the feathers' wiggling!
"Oh I don't think so!" Blithe crooned in her ears.
"YOU SAID WE WOULD HAVE A CHANCE OF ESCAPE!" The centaur laughed out, now feeling Amio jump on his back and tickle him.
"Tickle tickle tickle!" Amio cooed.
"Gotcha!" Jovi said, now tickling the centaur behind his ears.
"Yes we did promise that didn't we," Jest said, now motioning everyone to stop. "Give them five minutes to escape my brothers."
"FIVE MINUTES?!" The three said in shock.
"Now four minutes," Jape smirked.
"Better hurry…." Jovi crooned, now watching them with a smug smile.
Adeline immediately tried to climb up the vines, but she was soon eye to eye with Jocu who winked at her.
"Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock…" Jocu teased, now counting down with his fingers and still hanging upside down.
"Go away!" Adeline laughed without heat, now trying to get out! The centaur and Colossus were almost out too when Lauhin walked over and gave a devilish smile.
"Times up…" he said, now hanging upside down too and tickling them too!
"NOAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Adeline laughed, now feeling a large feather pull her back down and wiggle under her shirt.
The other feathers then grabbed the others and pulled them down into the pit and the princes and king only laughed. Even the other circus performers were chuckling and laughing at the cute sight. As tears poured down their faces, Lauhin held a hand up.
"Enough now. Let them up." He commanded gently. The brothers nodded and helped them each out of the pit. Once they were out, Jocu gently bit them in the neck with his recovering venom. Once they felt better, Adeline jumped up and glomped Jocu happily.
"You guys are hilarious, but that was fun!" she giggled.
"Speak for yourself," the centaur said without heat.
"I know! I can barely walk now," Colossus laughed.
"Oh there is plenty more to come," Jocu winked, now tickling Adeline's sides.
"But we will let you all have a chance to perform," Lauhin laughed, now leading them to the rest of the circus troupe. It was about to be a magical night!
Later that night…
Adeline smiled proudly as the others performed their acts. A centaur just jumped through five rings of fire and Adeline performed her griffin act again! She then performed the rings of fire act!
"I'm going to throw you some fire balls! Be ready to juggle them!" the firebreather said.
Adeline nodded and began to juggle the balls of fire that were being thrown at her! Everyone began to cheer, including the brothers!
"She's very talented!" Jocu said.
"I know! They trained her well!" Vivo answered.
"Do you think she will always stay with them?" Jovi asked.
"Hard to tell. Evander said that he had a surprise for her later," Jocu grinned. The others nodded and began to clap as the show continued! They cheered even more as Shell chanted some words and turned the lake she was in into a water dragon that sprayed the entire audience!
"MORE! MORE!" They cheered.
"And that is from the Jewel of the sea! Shell!" Evander said, now pointing at her and grinning. Shell then did a few flips and dove back in the lake.
Colossus then stood and began to juggle a few large boulders as if they were softballs! Everyone marveled at the strength of the giant and that wasn't all! As he was juggling, he was balancing five of the other performers on the top of his head! It was marvelous!
"GO COLOSSUS! GO SHELL!" Adeline cheered in glee! She was having the time of her life! As she was cheering, Evander came and walked up to her.
"Want to do one more act Adeline?" Evander smiled warmly.
"What is that?" she smiled.
"Well…this one is very special. I want you to be part of the grand finale. This is an act where we all stand on each other's shoulders and we form a very large pyramid that touches high into the sky. I want you to be at the top." Evander smiled.
Adeline's mouth dropped open. Climbing at the top of the performer's pyramid was a great honor, but she was nervous. She would need someone's powers in order to reach the top.
"You won't be alone," Evander replied, now gently touching his forehead against her stone. Adeline then watched as all of the performers lined up behind Evander and took turns touching her stone.
"For your friendship," Shell said, now placing her forehead against the stone.
"For your bravery," the centaur said when it was his turn.
"For your loyalty," the minotaur said, now touching it too.
"For your love," Colossus said, now touching it as well.
"For your strength," Silverbeak whispered, now touching it.
"And…for being you…" Evander whispered, now touching the stone one more time since he did it before. Adeline's eyes welled up with tears as she hugged each of them when they touched her stone. Soon, every performer had given Adeline a small portion of their power. She could feel the love and strength of them all soaring through her blood! She felt invincible! She then watched as each of them formed a large pyramid that began to reach the sky!
When it was her turn, Adeline took a deep breath and within a few minutes she made it to the top! Once she was at the top, she yelled at the top of her lungs! "CIRQUE MYSTIQUE! THE GREATEST SHOW IN EXISTENCE!"
And with that, the entire tickle realm roared in pure glee and joy! So much so that Adeline's eyes widened as shooting stars began to swirl past them in the sky! The show was making the entire realm burst in happiness and joy! Adeline felt tears of joy fall down her face! What a place to live in and be! She was finally apart of something real! A real family!
As the night slowly came to a close, Evander pulled Adeline aside. He told her that he wanted her to see something. Nodding, she went with him. But as they walked through the forest, the feather trees became more and more green-like. She then gasped as she was now looking at a new realm. But it wasn't just any realm…it was Earth! She was standing in the same field where they first met!
"W-What's going on?!" she said, now looking down and noticing that she was wearing the same clothes too as the night she met the circus. It looked like nothing changed at all.
"I brought you back here Adeline to give you a choice. I brought you with us to make sure you could keep our secret. You proved that you can and now you are free to go back home if you want to." Evander replied gently. Adeline's eyes opened wide. She felt her forehead and noticed the jewel was gone too! "Yes…you are truly able to go back now if you wish."
Adeline didn't know what to say. She knew that she was taken by them when they first met, but they had been nothing but good to her. They treated her like family and now they were giving her the option to go home.
"If you do go, we will miss you. But you have a right to choose your home Adeline." Evander replied, now gently touching her face. "Regardless, we will always think of you as one of us."
Adeline looked at him and then quickly hugged him around his waist, not wanting to let go. Within a moment, she let go and looked up at him strongly.
"I thank you for releasing me and giving me a choice Evander. But I want to stay with you all. You all are my family now. Even if I went back, there is nothing that I want there. I want to stay with you all…" she said. "It honestly didn't feel like I was taken. You all were kind to me and took care of me. I-I felt like I was with a family."
"Well, my intention was not to kidnap you. My intention was to make sure you could keep our secret. If so, you would have a choice. If not, I would have erased your memory," Evander smirked.
"B-But you could have erased my memory all that time." Adeline said.
"I could have…but there was something about you that made me want to learn more about you. After all, few humans are brave enough to enter my circus," Evander chuckled, now gently ruffing her hair. Adeline only giggled and hugged him.
"Evander…" she said gently.
"Yes?" he replied.
"I'm ready now." She smiled.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Yes…to go home. Let's go back to Cirque Mystique…my new home," Adeline smiled. Evander chuckled and picked her up and spun her around.
"Yes little one. Let's go home." He smiled. And with that, he waved his wand and they went back to the tickle realm.
Meanwhile…
Oberon growled from his castle. Sensing that Adeline's jewel was gone, it ruined his plan for the young girl. But then he let out a small laugh
"Do not fear young one…I will always be waiting for you. Always…" he whispered, now letting his green eyes peer from the darkness as he let out a deep chuckle that rang through the halls of his castle.
Back at the Tickle Realm…
Once Evander and Adeline arrived, everyone was waiting for them with tickle treats and Jocu walked over to greet them.
"Welcome back! We were going to take a ride on the tickle dragons!" Jocu said, now whistling. The large dragons came and laid down, ready for their passengers.
"Where are we going?" Adeline asked.
"We knew that Evander was giving you a choice little one," Jest said.
"And because you chose us, we asked the brothers and king for a small favor," Shell grinned.
"And what is that?" Adeline smiled.
"Hop on and find out," Lauhin winked, now motioning for her to climb on his dragon with him. Adeline giggled and felt the large king help her up.
"Hang on and close your eyes," he said, now feeling the dragon rise off the ground.
Adeline was about to ask, but Lauhin arched an eyebrow and gave her a knowing look. She then smiled and closed her eyes. When she was told to open them, she let out a shout of surprise! There was a sign written in the stars! It said:
"Welcome home Adeline."
Adeline burst into happy tears and Lauhin cuddled her to his chest. She couldn't stop thanking them all!
"You all are so wonderful! Thank you! THANK YOU SO MUCH!" She called out, now blowing kisses to everyone and hugging everyone in reach once the dragon landed back on the ground. Everyone loved her and embraced her, happy that she decided to stay.
Once Adeline got to Evander, she ran and tackled him to the ground.
"Hey!" he chuckled.
"What's the matter? Can't handle a tackle!" she teased.
"That does it," he said, now gently wiggling his fingers in her side. Adeline's eyes hot open and she began laughing! She had no idea that he would retaliate like that! He was known for being serious, not playful!
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! NOAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! DON'T!" She laughed out.
"Why?" he smirked, now wiggling his claws into her armpits.
"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I-I DIDN'T…IHIHIHIHIH DIDN'T…" She laughed.
"You didn't know I'd get you did you?" Evander said evilly. "Well we are in the tickle realm and you deserve this for tackling me."
And with that, he lifted her and literally went to town on her stomach! Everyone was laughing and smiling at the cute sight! Evander was the last person anyone expected to engage in a tickle fight, but he had Adeline in an adorable embrace as he then wrapped his arms around her and tickled her stomach!
"PLEAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA EVANDER NOAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Adeline laughed, now getting his abs as she turned to face him. Evander let out a chuckle and grabbed her wrists.
"Oh no you don't!" he said, but he laughed as she then pulled free and attacked his neck and his pointed ears. For a stoic and serious ringmaster, Evander was letting her tickle him in a playful attack.
"Well, well…who knew Evander would grow soft," Colossus smiled.
"It just took the right one," Lauhin grinned, now watching them.
Within a moment, Evander sat up and Adeline slunk down in his lap, now looking up at the tall ringmaster.
"You are something young one," he said with a genuine smile.
"Evander I love you!" Adeline smiled, now hugging him hard around the waist. Evander's eyes shot open and a slight, very faint blush grew on his cheeks. After a second, he snapped out of it and looked down at the young girl hugging him.
"And I love you too Adeline," he said, now nuzzling the top of her head. "Welcome home." And with that, he hugged her tightly back.
Adeline's journey with Cirque Mystique had come to an end, but she gained more than experience and self confidence. She was now part of one of the greatest circuses and families in the galaxy….Cirque Mystique!
COME ONE COME ALL, COME TAKE A PEEK!
COME SEE AND LEARN FROM CIRQUE MYSTIQUE!
OUR STORY NOW HAS COME TO A CLOSE,
CRY AS YOU MIGHT,
WE WILL STILL CLEAR YOUR WOES.
WE LIVE IN YOUR HEART AS WELL AS YOUR MIND
TO BRING JOY TO YOU AND ALL OF YOUR KIND!
FOR NOW, WE BID YOU GOODBYE AND GOODNIGHT!
BUT LOOK TO THE MOON
WE WILL SEE YOU IN THE LIGHT!
guestsurprise: I hope you all enjoyed this grand adventure of Cirque Mystique! And do not forget to look out your window and stare at the moon from time to time. You never know if Evander and his troupe are looking back at you. ;) (*takes a bow and tips my ringmaster hat*)
newbienovelistRD: Lol! Hats off to you indeed, Amiga! This was an incredible story! :)