|The Circus|

Star steadied herself with one hand at the side of the coach, peering out the window. Joker was doing the same on the other side, trying to see further ahead. There was a large plume of smoke coming from the circus grounds, reaching towards the sky in an ominous way.
'That looks really bad, doesn't it?' she murmured to herself, looking at the way the great gray plume made its way up to the clouds. 'That's really, really bad.'
She wanted to scream at the coach driver to hurry up, to get those horses moving faster, but she knew that they were already going as fast as possible. She would have ridden a horse, if her grandmother hadn't forced them all in the coach as soon as possible. Augustine was sitting in the center of the coach, her hands folded on her cane as she looked straight ahead. Her gray hair was still stuck in an immaculate bun on top of her head. Star looked away, seemingly grim. 'It's like she doesn't even care.' But then again, the chances of Augustine caring for someone who wasn't a part of her precious family were pretty slim.

She and Joker jumped from the coach before it had even come to a complete standstill. But they were already too late to be of any use; the remains of the doctor's hut still smoldering as the circus attendants dumped buckets of sand, dirt and water on top of it. Joker made his way to the Doctor, who was sitting there in his wheelchair, looking at the smoking remainders of his tent. When his look shifted to Joker, his gaze was thoughtful and slightly sad.
'Joker… you rushed back so quickly , while there was no need.'
'I can't go about ignorin' a fire in the circus, now can I?' Joker replied, taking of his glove as he looked around the grounds in a worry. People were walking about busily, already looking through the ashes of the tent for medicines that might have survived the fire. Joker looked to be even more out of place in his rather sober dress suit here than he had at Augustine's ball. Still, the way he stood there and started to give commands was just like him, strict and just. Star looked at him with a certain pride in her eyes, before she turned to the Doctor.
'I don't see George anywhere. Where is he?' she asked him.
'Beast took him and the other children somewhere safe away from the fire. They'll be back soon enough.' He replied, gesturing vaguely. Before Star could make off in the direction pointed Jumbo pushed a big roll of tarp in her arms, sending her to take it to the seamstresses who would be starting their work on a new doctor's tent this very instance.
'I'll be back in a moment.' She said to Augustine, who stood there wearing a disgusted frown. The woman nodded curtly. Star stomped off in her fancy dress and high heels, carrying the soot-covered tarp as well as she could.

|With Beast and George, a bit earlier|

'That ain't pretty, right?' Beast murmured softly, holding George by the shoulder as they watched the fire consume the tent of the Doctor. George shifted from his weight from one foot to the other, looking from Beast to the flames and back again. The black-haired woman looked even more frightening now the flames painted her body in dark orange and deep red colors, as if someone had dipped her in paint for a few seconds. Her gloved hand held him by the shoulder, the fingers holding a tight grip on him. He knew well enough that she held no love for his big sister, and he had tried his best to stay away from her as often as possible. And now she was the one keeping him safe from the fire. George watched as Doll dumped water on the fire as fast as she could, and how Jumbo shoveled dirt on top of the fire.
'Do ye know what this means, George?' Beast asked him, her dark brown eyes on the child's face. George looked up to her, insecure of what she wanted from him.
'What are you talking about?' he asked, not sure what answer the woman was getting at. Beast looked down at his boyish face, almost as if she was kind of sad.
'If the Doctor doesn't have his tools anymore, it's goin' to be tough takin' care of everyone 'ere. And there are some people who need special medicine on a daily basis…' her voice trailed off, looking at George in a way that suggested he already knew what she was getting at.
'My medicine was burnt too, in there.' he said, looking at the fire. It was true that he needed medicine on a regular basis. He was prone to disease, and often ended up with a fever or worse. His sister had been so happy to be somewhere where they could get medicine without having to worry.
'I'll be okay! Who knows, maybe I won't get sick that often anymore!' he tried to sound confident, but he already knew he was lying. Beast said nothing, but her look told him that she knew that he was being overconfident. Without medicine, and with the hard life in the circus, he would be sick before he knew it again. And if they couldn't get the medicine soon, there was no way he'd be able to survive. He'd never be able to travel to the next city in order to get medicine.
'Lucky for ye yer grandmother lives 'ere.' Beast looked at him with a smile. The fire gleamed in her eyes. 'Ye can stay here. Won't that be better? Yer grandmother will take care of ye, and better yet, yer sister won't have to worry about ye anymore. Even if yer healthy, she an' Joker might be wantin' to start a family together. A little brother… feels like something like that would be getting' in the way.'

George looked away, worried by her words. Though his sister and Joker were a couple now, he didn't think they would want him to leave. His sister loved him after all, and Joker was just like an older brother to him. He thought him everything George asked him to teach him, and then some. Joker did nothing but look out for everyone from the group. Even if he and sis had a kid, they wouldn't abandon him. Beast continued, her dark brown eyes focused on the young boy.
'And it looks to me, that if ye were to become some young lord, all mighty like, ye'd be able to give yer sister some support. If ye were to stay here and work hard, ye'd be able to become a real Lord. Wouldn't that be convenient like?'
George's eyes grew bigger when Beast said. He hadn't thought about that before. He had heard about it from some of the stories that his sister told, and from remarks he had picked up from Joker and Dagger, how rich people sometimes funded traveling troupes, to enhance their name. If he became a real Lord, he'd have full control on how to spend his money. Like… supporting Joker's circus, and make sure that there would always be enough food and medicine for everyone here. Why, he'd be able to make the circus bigger and better than it had ever been. Even if there was some kind of sponsor right now, wouldn't a second one make everything better?

Beast saw that now she had hit the right note with the little boy. Telling him his sister would be fine without him was a no-go, but apparently offering him the tools to make life of said sister better would send him running to his grandmother. She felt an unexpected sadness at what she had just done, but just at that moment the coach arrived. When she saw Joker almost jumping out of the carriage, dressed like a Lord, all feelings of regret vanished without a trace. She was doing this for him after all. He wouldn't be able to give up little George, and that would mean the end for the circus. The end for the little brothers and sisters still at the workhouse, for which he cared so much. In the end, what she had just done would certainly be for the best. And she didn't have to care for Star's well-being at all. In the end, that woman had stolen Joker away, and she didn't have any obligation to make sure she would be happy. Losing her brother might finally topple her from that high horse, and show her some proper respect for how other people had to live their lives. She looked down, and noticed George had run of during her reverie. It wasn't a matter, she knew now exactly how the young boy would be handling things after her suggestions.

|Back with Star|

Star sat down on a pile of logs and tarp, moist with the water the circus hands had thrown over them in order to keep these too from catching fire. Augustine was standing a bit further, watching the actions of everybody from a distance, the look in her eyes as cool and unbending as freshly hammered iron. All care Star had felt for her pretty dress had faded away, and her little hat with the feathers seemed to droop to the side in sympathy with the general feeling here at the circus. Losing the medical tent was pretty much the worst thing that could happen. Without a place where the doc could store all of his tools, keeping people healthy here would be even more difficult than it had been.
'Of course, now he doesn't even have any tools to store.' Star muttered to herself, leaning back to see the stars. Smoke still trailed from the pile of ash that had once been the medical tent, blocking out a few of the stars.
'Sister.' She shot up immediately when she heard that voice. Her little brother had been safe after all, thank the heavens! She took the few steps separating him from her, falling to the ground and throwing her arms around the young boy in relief.
'George, you're safe! I'm so happy. I'm so sorry for not being here when this happened, but I'm happy that at least nothing happened to you.' She smoothed down his unruly hair a bit, and rubbed a bit of ashes on his cheek away. Pale but healthy – looking, he was as much of a sight for sore eyes as she could ever have wished. The boy allowed the adorations from his sister, but the look he had in his eyes was for too much that of an adult at this moment.

'Sister. I've decided to stay with grandmother.'
Star stopped her affections immediately. She backed away a bit, still with her knees on the ground, to get a better view of the boy.
'Stay with Augustine? Are you serious?' she put a hand to the boy's forehead, checking for a fever. Not finding anything, she looked sternly in her brother's eyes. 'What's this nonsense about wanting to stay here?'
George wiggled his feet around in the dirt, looking down at them rather than looking his sister in the face.
'Well… with the tent burned down… there's no more medicine for me sis. And… I get sick so easily…'
Tears welled up in his dark eyes when he looked back at her. 'I don't really want to stay. I want to go with you and Joker, and be happy together. I really want to stay here. It's my home.'
He fell back in Star's arms, his small frame shaking with the tears he was trying to hold back. Right now he was making the kind of choice no small child should be making. But it was also the kind of choice that, in reality, Star nor Augustine could be making for him. His small hands grabbed her back, wringing little loose strands of long brown hair in them.

'I can't go with you now, sis. If I stay, you'll be worrying too much about me. If I stay… I… I'll be able to help you too. You'll see. I'll become important, and help you… and Joker.. and all of the others. I'll be able to help everyone. It's not all that bad that I'm staying… right?'
Star wrapped her arms around the small boys, trying to ignore the shimmer of tears that was now across her own vision. Her brother was so little. So little and so strong. Much stronger than she could be. She wanted to say something, anything to make this easier on the both of them, but the words got stuck in her throat. Even swallowing was hard, and her stomach was filled with tickles and annoying butterflies as she tried to get her mind to get anything to say to this sudden decision.
'I'll miss you.' She said, eventually. 'I don't want you to go. I want you to stay. You're my kid brother, not that of anyone else. We should stay together, shouldn't we? Always, always together.'
She rested her chin on the top of his head, feeling that bony little guy in her arms. Keeping him safe had been the motivation behind so many of her decisions. She didn't know if she'd be able to keep on going if he wasn't there. At the same time, she couldn't leave Joker behind either. Her place was at his side now.
'I'll miss you too sis. But, we had to do this sometime, no? If I stay here, you won't be worrying about me every day.'
Star pressed a kiss on the top of his head, ignoring a tear that escaped from the corner of her eye. 'Well, don't think I'll be letting you get off so easily.' She warned him. 'I'll allow Joker one tour, before I force him to come back here. And when we come back, there'll be medicine again, and maybe a more comfortable way of traveling. Then you can come back with us again. That would be good, no?'

George nodded, wiping his eyes as he pulled back. 'That would be great, big sister. After all, without me, you wouldn't ever be able to remain a true lady. So, you all need me.'
She wiped a hand across his face, smiling sadly upon her little treasure. 'You better be writing me a letter every day. And mind your grandmother. She's so sour and shriveled she won't know what to do with you.'
George let out a grim smile. He really didn't want to remain here, while his sister was going to continue her travels. He let his hand slip in hers, and when they rose, suddenly it hit Star that even though he was little now, it wouldn't be long before he started to get taller and stronger than her. It would be a shame if she wasn't around to see it. She hoped he would still be her little brother when she would be coming back.

They walked towards Augustine, hand in hand. The old lady watched them approach, seemingly wary of the two siblings when they stopped in front of her. George took the word, to Star's surprise. The boy wasn't exactly timid, but he wasn't very vocal around his grandmother either.
'I've decided to stay here… for a while.' He added the last bit hastily, to make sure she wouldn't think he would be around her forever.
Augustine looked at Star, asking for confirmation. Star shrugged, gaining a second before she had to test her voice.
'It's his decision. It was wrong of us to try and decide in his place. So, he'll be staying here for a little while, until we get the medical tent back running, and get ready to return here.'

Augustine nodded, before giving George a friendly smile. 'I'll be looking forward to having you live with me, George. I already have arranged the best tutors available. Why, in only a few short months, you'll be the prime example of a perfect lordling.'
George nodded stiffly, grabbing his sister's hand even tighter. 'Thank you… grandmother.'

From a little while away, Beast was leaning against one of the poles on the circus grounds, fingering her whip dangling by her side. Betsy the tiger could be heard growling not too far off. It seemed like the boy had done just what she had expected him to do. He'd be staying here, and his sister would be safely here, away from the ugly scenes that would pass in the days after they had left.
Right behind her, Peter and Wendy were watching too, the looks on their faces unreadable.
'We're really goin' through with this, then?' Wendy said, standing closer to Peter than was normal. Peter gave her a small clap on the back. ''Course we are. That's wut we do, right?'
Both looked at Beast. In absence of Joker's participation, she was the one in charge now. She nodded once, still tracing the whip at her side. She had expected to feel joy at Star's apparent distress. But now she had a sour taste in her mouth, and only a grim resolution to continue in this path.

'We continue. Ye two, inform the others.' Peter and Wendy nodded, but before they could leave, Beast continued. 'And no word of this is ever to reach Joker. Nor Star. The two of them can never know what we are doin', got it?'
The duo nodded again, this time seeming a bit saddened. It was the first time they were doing this without Joker knowing it. Without him ordering it. It felt strange to them. And to the three of them, it also felt as if somehow this one day would be changing everything for them. None of them was prepared to say it out loud, and after a few seconds, the two left, leaving Beast to be haunted by her own mind.