"I'm afraid this area's off limits, my friend," Snake said in a husky voice as he stared down Sebastian and Lilliana, who were about to cross the area with special tents. He was wrapped around by various snakes of different breeds, both poisonous and not. "That's what Wilde says, at least," he said in a different tone. The snakes kept poking their heads sharply at the duo as if they were about to attack, but never made contact with their flesh. However, it was starting to annoy Lilliana.

"Hey, stop that," she said to one of the snakes before hissing at it. The snake seemed to understand her and recoiled its head to Snake, who was a bit surprised it listened to her. Sebastian noticed this as well and knew that this wasn't an accident.

"'Anyway, you'll find the exit that way'," Snake said with a higher pitch tone that was quite different from the other voices. One of the snakes even used its tail to point the way, but Snake returned to his normal tone as he said, "Yes, that is correct, Goethe."

"You're too kind. We had lost our way," Sebastian said with a kind smile and bowed. Lilliana did the same as they both started heading to the exit of the circus. They could try fighting him, but it would cause too much of a scene and if they wanted to stay on good terms with at least Joker, they had to not anger any other performers or get into trouble before the auditions.

As the two were some distance from Snake, they could hear him say in the high pitch voice, "'Ta-ta for now!' Cheers, says Goethe."

As they walked further away, Lilliana broke the silence as she said, "So, he speaks for his snakes. I've never met a human who actually could do that. The people who claimed they could usually are lying."

"I'm assuming you can speak to snakes, then?" Sebastian said, finally getting the chance to ask her.

"I'm a bit rusty, but yes. Being raised by demons has its perks," she said with a smile.

"I'm surprised that a Grim Reaper like you could even obtain that skill, but then again, learning snake tongue is a very easy skill for demons who communicate with animals," he teased.

"Hey, I worked hard to learn the tongue!" she said as she lightly pushed him, but he didn't budge. "Anyway, if we are heading back to the townhouse, then I should be heading to work before William kills me. I'll be sure to be back before auditions in the morning."

"Of course," he said with a nod. "You could also give us confirmation if the children are deceased."

"Aw, really? I was hoping the young lord would torture himself again trying to get information out of someone," she said with a laugh. Sebastian let out a chuckle as well and once they reached the exit, she rushed off into the surrounding forest and was out of his sight. He had to explain to Ciel, who was waiting for them in their carriage the entire time, that both she had gone to work and that they needed a further investigation of the circus, followed by the special request. Hopefully the young lord's pride won't get in the way for some quality entertainment.

Lilliana reported for work an hour and half later than she was supposed to, but it wasn't unusual. When Ciel investigated late at night and it required his head servants, she always came to work late. At this point, her coworkers accepted it, but that never stopped William from scolding her whenever she came in. She could practically recite his entire lecture to him if she wanted to, but she didn't feel like pushing his buttons. Nope, that was reserved for the red cretin she worked with, but because of a certain Jack the Ripper incident, Grell was sent to rehabilitation to retrain him on what it takes to be a Grim Reaper. She had to admit it was very quiet in the office without him, which wasn't a bad thing. Though, it did get boring fast.

When she walked to her desk, she was certain she was going to find William, but only saw files on her desk. This was a nice surprise for her, but it did make her suspicious. However, she did see Ronald pass by, assuming he just finished his daily quota of souls. Lilliana was one of the few Reapers who took the night shift, but sometimes, if needed, they'll ask unlucky Reapers to do a double shift. He saw her and smiled. "Hey, Lils! You're pretty late to work."

"Yeah, but I had some business to attend to at my other job. You understand," she said as she grabbed her files. "I'm surprised William isn't here to chew me out."

"Oh, I guess you haven't heard. Mr. Spears is on an undercover mission and will be away from his desk for a bit," Ronald said with a cheery smile.

"Huh, that's unusual for him," she said, but remembered that he had a file on his desk that he refused to show her. Now she knows partly what it was about. "I'm surprised he's willing to do this in the first place. I thought he would assign this to someone else."

"Yeah, but I guess after everything that happened with Mr. Sutcliff, upper management got pretty pissed and this is their way of punishing our superior."

"Sucks for him," Lilliana said as she looked through the files on her desk.

"Yeah, but I'm surprised he was willing to work undercover at a circus. Could you imagine? Hope he doesn't have to walk a tightrope or anything."

Her eyes widened as she looked at him and asked, "Did you say a circus?"

"Yeah, the one that came to town recently. I have been meaning to go to one of those shows whenever I get the time off, but who knows if I'll ever get that chance with our schedule." She stared at him for a bit, making him a bit uncomfortable. "Uh, did I say something wrong?"

"No, but my young lord has to investigate that circus due to a case of missing children."

"Oh, serious? Oh man, Mr. Spears really missed an opportunity! Why didn't you tell him?" Ronald asked in a surprised tone.

"He never told me so I never said."

"Well, I guess if you see him, you should help him out. I'm sure he'd appreciate the help. I was assigned one more assignment tonight, so I'll catch ya later," he said as he was left her side. She was still in shock that William, out of all people, was doing an undercover mission at the very circus they were investigating. That could only mean one thing: something was up with that circus. If she could get her hands on the file, she could get more information that could be beneficial to them, but she bet that if she broke into his office, she wouldn't be able to find it. She had a habit of sneaking around his office and he knew it, so he knew to hide things from her.

She sighed as she said in frustration, "A little communication would have been nice."

After a few hours, she managed to collect her quota of souls and do the proper paperwork for them. It was tedious work, but anything to keep her superiors happy. Besides, she couldn't break that protocol if she didn't want to go back to rehabilitation, that godforsaken torture. She shuddered at the thought, but soon arrived at the townhouse where the three of them were staying. However, before she could knock on the door, hoping Sebastian would answer this late at night, she was not only surprised that the door opened, but a man that wasn't Sebastian opened it. "Hello Ms. Kiliamo. What were you doing out so late?" Agni asked. That's right, Ciel had Soma and Agni "in charge" of the townhouse to get them out of the manor. Ever since the curry battle, Soma refused to stay away from Ciel, which annoyed the shit out of him. There was a point that Agni wanted to turn himself in for his crimes of vandalism and assault towards other curry competitors for the Harold-West company, but they managed to convince him not to. That was a time when Lilliana actually asked Katia to fill in for her since she got injured on the job and needed some help that came in the form of her brother, Bastille, but that was cut short when they learned Katia's true nature and fired her. Soma said to Lillian that he started to fall in love with Katia, but she had to keep her mouth shut about her whereabouts. Ever since then, Katia and Sebastian hadn't been on good terms since then, but she never understood why.

"N-Namaste, Agni," Lilliana said with a slight bow and a surprised, yet polite tone as she entered the townhouse. "The young lord had me do an errand for him. I don't want to trouble you with the details. Is Prince Soma asleep?"

"Oh, yes. For a man his age, he needs plenty of sleep. Lord Phantomhive should be resting as well," he said, returning the bow.

"That's good to hear."

"Though, he seemed upset when he arrived. Have any idea why?"

"It's possible that a lot of stress is getting to him. He's working on something very important that required a lot out of him."

"Perhaps my prince could be of some help—,"

"That's kind of you to offer, but I'm afraid we must decline. These are matters regarding the Queen herself. I hope you can understand," she said as politely as she could, but still being assertive enough for him to back down, otherwise he will persist.

"Well, if you think that is best, then we shall keep watch of the townhouse Lord Phantomhive has graciously provided for us."

"Thank you," she said as she walked upstairs to find her room, or at least, the room the head servants secretly shared. She made sure Agni didn't follow her, but luckily, he and Soma stayed in the rooms on the first floor. She gave a sigh of relief as she found the room and quietly entered.

"Good evening, Lilliana," Sebastian said. She looked over to him and saw that he wore his night clothes, which was just him not wearing a vest or tailcoat. "Or should I say good morning?"

She chuckled a bit. "I'm here, at least. How did our young lord take the news that he has to audition?"

He smiled as he said, "He was reluctant, as expected. He only expected you and me to join the troupe while he stayed out in the sidelines, but this is his game, not ours. We are merely his chess pieces and following his plan would be moving without orders. Eventually, he agreed to at least audition for the sake of our investigation."

"But aren't circus performers supposed to do tricks? I can easily pass, but how is he going to with no extraordinary talents?"

"Don't you worry about that. He will simply do his best and succeed. That is the Phantomhive way, after all. I will remain by his side as a good butler should be," he said with an innocent smile.

She smiled too, knowing exactly what he meant. "I'm just curious what he'll be wearing since performers like them are known for their . . . colorful outfits."

"Same goes for you," Sebastian said as he walked to her. "Knowing how women in this line of work dress, you'll be in an . . . enticing outfit to catch everyone's attention."

"Let's hope not since—," she tried to say, thinking of the information Ronald gave her, but was soon pulled close to Sebastian.

"If you're concerned about looking indecent in front of the young lord, you shouldn't be since there will be other women there wearing those types of outfits. Besides, I think you would look quite alluring in whatever outfit they decide to put you in."

"Yeah, I'll look good in your eyes, but—," he said before he kissed her, cutting her off a second time. However, she was fine with it and put her hands around his neck as they began to kiss more passionately. He tried to take it further as he put her hands on her ass and started to squeeze, but she stopped him. "Not tonight, all right?"

"Are you sure?" he said as he tried to rub his hand on her crotch to entice her, but she grabbed his hand before he could.

"Yes. We have a long day tomorrow and I don't want to exhaust myself before my audition," she said with a playful smile before she walked away from him and proceeded to a closet where her nightgown was stored.

"You do realize you'll be just as amazing regardless of what happens tonight," he said as he watched her undress, her back facing him, trying his best to control himself in front of potential prey.

"I know, but better safe than sorry. I don't get much sleep as it is," she said as she slipped a nightgown on. "Besides, if we can find the time, we can work something out at the circus."

"If we find time."

"Knowing us, we'll find some," she said as she fixed her nightgown and slid into bed, waiting for him to join her. He did and slipped into bed close to her.

"You know-,"

"You can rub your boner on my ass all night if you want, but it's not going to change my mind," she said as she closed her eyes, trying to get a good sleep for once.

"Fair enough."

Early the next morning, the trio arrived to the circus grounds, ready for their auditions. Ciel was dressed in lower-class clothing to disguise himself, even putting on a medical eye patch instead of his usual black one, while Lilliana wore her Reaper outfit and Sebastian wore his usual tux. Other performers gathered around as they saw them, but especially Ciel, who would be the youngest performer here if accepted. The women gathered around Sebastian in aww, wearing their predictably revealing outfits despite the cold winter air surrounding them. Lilliana couldn't help, but be a little jealous by it. Soon, Joker, Dagger, Doll, and Eris arrived to the scene, happy to see Sebastian and Lilliana, but were surprised to see the newcomer's short stature. "What an adorable little child you brought us," Joker said.

"You are a boy, aren't you?" Eris asked. Ciel was not told about her appearance and had to look at Lilliana to make sure they weren't the same person. The only differences were their eyes and clothing. She noticed this and smiled. "I guess they didn't warn you about me."

"N-No, they didn't. Well, I-I've been in service as a page boy for some time now. My name is, uh, is Finnian. It's a pleasure to meet you all," Ciel said in a humbling tone, compared to his usual superior tone. He couldn't let them know he was a nobleman, especially when he was a recognizable one due to his age.

"That's quite an imposing name for a sprat like you. No worries. We'll give yeh a proper stage name if yeh make it into our troupe," Joker said before getting close to his face and whispered, "Are yeh really sure that yer a boy, though?"

"Quite sure," Ciel said, trying to not visibly show how insulted he was to be asked that not once, but twice. Sebastian and Lilliana hid their chuckles so the young lord wouldn't be able to see.

"Well, being adorable won't see yeh through a circus, lad. Yeh got to have talent, too." Joker said as he backed away from Ciel's face and Eris gestured Lilliana to join them.

"The same goes for you, dearie," she said. Lilliana walked to them and the crowd seemed to be amazed by the striking similarities.

Lilliana got irritated and said suddenly, "We are not long-lost twin sisters. This is just a strange coincidence." Eris giggled at the crowd's disbelieving responses.

"Getting back to the auditions, what are you two good at?" Joker said with a smile.

"I don't know. I'm good with darts, I suppose," Ciel said in contemplation.

"Well being a maid, I had to be skilled at many things, so just assign me something and I'll see what I can do," Lilliana said. She figured if they assigned her with something impossible and she completed it, then she would be given instant acceptance to the circus.

"Well, aren't you confident in your skills, miss? Very well. Hmmm, knife throwing might be the closest to darts. Dagger, give them some of your knives." Dagger nodded as he gave them an equal number of knives each and Joker guided them to a practice board in the shape of the top half of a person and guided them several feet away from it. "All right then, let's see if yeh can hit the target."

Ciel looked discouraged to try since it was far for him, even if he was playing darts. She sensed it and decided to throw her knives first. Dagger and Joker were discussing with each other about how impossible the shot probably was for her, but especially for Ciel with his scrawny arms, but she threw a knife very close to their heads, but aiming for a nearby post holding up a tent. The whole crowd ooo'ed and aww'ed in wonder, but the two potential targets looked fearfully at the knife before turning back to her as she said, "I would much prefer if you two would keep quiet." She then proceeded to throw her knives on the board with ease, most hitting the head while one landed right on the tiny heart painted on the target for more difficulty. The crowd cheered and Lilliana smiled.

"Oh, she's quite talented, isn't she?" Eris said as she looked at Joker and Dagger, who were still a bit fearful from the near-death experience.

"Sh-She sure is. Congrats, Lilliana. You've passed the first test. Now it's the pipsqueak's turn. Go on, then. Have it a go," Joker said, but this time, he remained quiet to not repeat the incident.

"You can do it, Finnian," she said with a slight chuckle before standing next to Sebastian, who congratulated her for her performance. She was curious how Ciel would be able to pull this off. Sure, he was decent at darts, but he couldn't throw a knife, not to mention at this distance. It would take a miracle to impress them. With doubt in his eyes, he threw a knife towards the board, but it was clear it wasn't even going to land based off the curving angle. Miraculously, the knife seemed to angle upwards to hit the target with force, as if something guided it that way. Everyone, even Lilliana, was amazed by the display, trying to figure out how he did it. Ciel gained confidence as he began to throw knives freely, each one of them looking like they would never hit the target, but miraculously changing angles and not only landing on the board, but all landing bull's-eyes. However, she swore she could hear a certain snapping sound and looked down to Sebastian's hand, where she could see that he had been secretly flicking small rocks towards a knife's handle, forcing it to land on the target. Now it all made sense.

Once he was done, Ciel cockily asked, "Shall I throw another set?" The crowd cheered and clapped for the performance, even his servants, who played along.

Dagger was still in shock by what happened since even he couldn't pull off what he had done, but Joker said, "Well, that was an impressive feat, ain't no lie. You're more talented than I reckoned, sprat. Arguably as talented as your female companion, but this is only the first part of the audition. Next, we'd like to see your tightrope walking skills."

"T-Tightrope?" Ciel asked, but Lilliana's face didn't show fear. In fact, she smiled.

"Of course! It's a very basic skill here that every performer should be familiar with," Eris said with a smile, but her expression turned a bit sadistic as she continued, "Unless you're too scared to continue."

"W-Well, I've never done anything close to that with my previous employer—," Ciel said, but was interrupted.

"Oh come now, Finnian, you should have a positive attitude about this," Lilliana said before she leaned in to whisper into his ear. "If you give them any doubt about your skills, they might not be as certain to accept you."

"Right," he agreed. He looked at the performers and said, "Lead the way."

"Excellent!" Joker said as he guided the newcomers to the main tent with Dagger, Doll, and Eris following them. Soon, they walked inside and climbed the very tall poles that were connected by a tightrope. Doll followed them up and offered to tie them up with a safety rope in case they fell, which Ciel accepted, but Lilliana declined, making Doll a bit fearful for her safety, especially since there was no net underneath to catch them.

Doll proceeded to put a rope around Ciel, but it was too tight for Ciel's comfort. "It's a bit tight, don't you think?"

"Tight is what you want. Less likely to die," Doll said nonchalantly, making him gulp nervously.

"How's it coming? Don't be shy with those knots, all right, Doll? Little chap would be mangled up right good if he fell. He's a novice, after all," Joker yelled from down below.

"Is there any other test you could devise for me?" Ciel asked, hoping to find a way around this.

"Oh, you're not giving up already, are yeh?"

"Come on, Finnian, it isn't that hard," Lilliana said as she began to walk on the tightrope, but had no trouble keeping her balance, as if she was walking on regular ground.

"Wow, she's an amazing, yet daring one, ain't she?" Dagger said with amazement.

"She is. She'll fit nicely here. I can just feel it," Eris said.

"Is that one of your predictions?" Joker asked.

"Well, I didn't make three costumes for nothing last night," she said.

"So you make the costumes as well?" Sebastian asked, not forgetting their mission to gather information whenever they could, even if it was trivial. Little details could become big clues sometimes.

"Oui, it's a favorite pastime when I'm not busy with customers."

"All right, enough yapping. The little chap needs to chivy along," Joker said before yelling at Ciel. "Haven't got all day, have we?"

Ciel was visibly nervous about crossing the tightrope, afraid of getting hurt, but not too much since he knew Sebastian would catch him before he would plummet to his death. Plus, Lilliana was on the rope in front of him, hopefully being able to catch him if he did start to fall. However, Doll noticed this and said, "I'll untie you."

"No, leave it on. I'm going," Ciel said, regaining his composure before extending his arms and proceeding to walk on the tightrope. Lilliana walked backwards to make sure she would be able to catch him, but even she had to be careful to not be too amazing at keeping her balance while catching him. However, to her surprise, he did pretty well by himself and managed to walk a quarter of the way before stumbling and looking like he was gonna fall. Everyone was expecting the worst, but before Ciel could fall, he could feel something small and hard hit his side, making him stand up back on the tightrope. Everyone was shocked by the miraculous recovery, but the two newbies realized what happened: Sebastian was using the small rocks from earlier to help him keep his balance.

"Blimey! I don't know how he recovered after that," Joker said in amazement. With Sebastian's help and not wanting to endure any more rocks being thrown at him with full force, Ciel practically ran across the tightrope, making Lilliana match his speed, but backwards. However, she had no trouble keeping up, but made sure to not go too fast in case Sebastian somehow missed, though she had doubt he would. Soon, both of them made it to the other side and quickly climbed down the pole to reunite with the audience. "That was very impressive. I didn't reckon he would make it after that first wobble, but here yeh are," Joker said.

"Guess Eris was right about these guys," Dagger said with a smile as he put a hand on her shoulder. "But when are you ever wrong?"

"It's not quite over yet, though. There's something of the utmost importance that the little one is missing still," Joker said in a serious tone as he walked up to Ciel. "Yes, I'm talking about . . . a big smile!"

"Wait what?" Ciel asked in surprise.

"Come on, then. Smile for me! Lilliana has a cute smile, but we haven't been able to see yours." Ciel was too distracted to notice that the two servants were doing everything in their power to not die laughing, especially Lilliana, who had already had a couple of laugh attacks during this investigation. "This is the easy part. Don't look so gutted! Go on! Big smile! Just one, that's all!" Despite his building anger and humiliation, Ciel had no choice, but to let out a childlike smile that was so adorable that they audibly aww'ed. Lilliana and Sebastian only laughed a tiny bit harder, but still not noticeable to the young and prideful lord.

"Well, I believe they have passed all the tests, wouldn't you agree?" Eris asked.

"Indeed they have. I guess it's time for you to get their costumes. They'll need them when we introduce them to the cast."

After some time, the rest of the cast gathered inside the tent with the promise of being introduced to the new recruits. Two of them were wearing their new costumes and makeup looks, all provided by Eris, who had to go back to get Lilliana's outfit. Sebastian was dying to know what she would be wearing. Ciel was wearing a very blue outfit that matched his eyes perfectly while Sebastian seemed to wear his usual tux, but with some purple touches to still make it unique. "Everybody, lend me your ears! We have some talented new mates joining our great show. Allow me to introduce Black," Joker said as he gestured towards Sebastian.

"Hello, I'm Black. It is a pleasure to meet you all," Sebastian said with his playful smile.

"Then there's the wee one over here. Say hi to Smile."

"Smi—?!" Ciel said in shock and humiliation.

"Come now, Smile. Wouldn't you like to say a few words to everyone?" Sebastian said, barely hiding back the chuckles behind a fist.

"Yes, I, er . . . am so happy to be here. I look forward to working with you," he said rather reluctantly.

"And finally, the lass at the end is Lily."

"Oh come on! They get totally different names and I just get a nickname?" she asked, feeling disappointed by her new name change.

"Well, Eris had a floral vision for your costume and that nickname seemed to fit best," Joker said with a smile.

She shrugged as she said in tranquil defeat, "Whatever, I guess. Happy to be part of the cast."

"Well then, now that we got introductions out of the way, you'll need a backstage tour before we get down to work. Follow me if yeh please. I hope Eris will find us in time to give Lily her new costume. I'm sure you'll love it," Joker said as he guided the trio out of the tent.

"Can't wait," she said, hiding her dread. It was already pretty cold with her fully-covered Reaper outfit; she couldn't imagine how cold she would be in a revealing outfit.

They proceeded to walk a few feet away before stopping. "First stop: the tents that you'll be sleeping in." He pulled back a curtain to give them an idea of their living conditions: a bunk bed with a desk and closet. "This area's for second-tier folk, such as newcomers, stage hands, and the like. The sleeping arrangements are about two or three people per tent." He closed the curtain and guided their attention to behind them. "Over there yeh have the storage tent and the mess tent. Cooking's a big part of the job while you're here, so best be ready to work hard." They proceeded to walk down further as he continued the tour, pointing out important tents for them to remember. However, as they reached the different tents Sebastian and Lilliana saw last night, Joker said, "These tents in the back are the private quarters for the main cast."

"Private tents?" Ciel asked.

"Of course. Big names get big places of their own. They expect it, don't they? Once you make it big, you can get one as well. Oh, and the first tent's Snakes, so you best keep your distance. I'd hate for yeh to come to grief. Snake lets his poisonous beauties run loose, you see. A bite from one o' them, and ye'd be stone dead." The trio looked at each other, noting the suspicion in that last statement. "You'll discover that Snake and his serpents are mighty shy of strangers, so I tell newcomers to be extra careful-like."

"We'll make sure to—," Ciel was about to say, but was interrupted.

"Sorry for intruding, but I was wondering, what happened to that right eye of yours?"

"Oh, well, there was a . . . an accident," Ciel said as he touched his covered eye. He should be used to people asking this question, but the thought kept slipping and obviously, he couldn't tell the truth.

"Ah, how terrible," Joker said in a genuine sad tone. "And you're so young for such an awful thing to happen." However, he gained his cheerful smile back as he said, "Well, we're all damaged in our own way here, so you should have no trouble fitting in. It's good friends, we'll be."

"Uh, right," Ciel said, uncertain how to get himself out of this, but luckily, Joker continued the tour around the circus as if this talk never happened or really mattered much.

As they walked back to the resident tents, they noticed one of them had a sign that said FORTUNES AT NEGOTIABLE PRICES. "Our fortune teller is the rare exception here. She is a first-tier performer, but due to her limited talents on the main stage, she is only popular offstage, so we put her in charge of the second-tier performers. She usually lives on her own, but when we have an odd number of female performers, she happily takes them in and mentors them until another newcomer arrives." He pulled back the curtain to reveal the same living conditions as earlier, except there was a table covered by a purple cloth at front with a crystal ball, tarot cards, and other mystical props and another table with various cloths and a sewing machine. "Huh, I guess she's looking for us. Hope we run into her soon."

They began walking around some more, but Sebastian asked his own question. "Did all the performers join at various stops during your travels as we did?"

"Aye, most did anyway. Though, we first-tier performers all come from the same place. We're childhood friends, see," Joker answered.

"So you've all known each other for quite some time, then," Lilliana inquired further.

"Well, almost all. Snake and Eris are quite a bit newer than the rest of us, actually. His snake-handling is tops, and we needed a snake man, so even though he wasn't part of the original crew, he made the jump to first-tier quickly. And Eris, well, she came here when Doc did. They're quite a cute couple, if I do say so. She acts all lovey-dovey to that man, though I must admit that he does seem to be too involved in his work to fully acknowledge her at times. However, she'll remain loyal to him until the very end. I honestly don't know what she sees in him, but who am I to get in the way of true love?" Joker smiled as they proceeded back to the main tent, where they saw many performers practicing their various acts for the show. "Being one of the primary performers has its perks, to be sure. You get to eat first, which means we aren't fighting tooth and nail for the best food and the private tents, of course. So, as you'd expect, there's friendly competition among the other performers for first-tier status. You see how hard they're working? There's some time before we open, so the newcomers spend all the moments they can practicing and hoping to earn a prime spot in the show. To move up, you have to master the basics. Just work on building a solid foundation and—,"

"Joker, you got a moment?" Beast asked out of nowhere as she entered the tent.

"Of course," he said, but his usual smile seemed to fade away. She looked at the newcomers, but was still pissed by the humiliation she received from Sebastian and refused to look at him in the eye. "Right then, I have to go. Best get to work."

The trio was relieved as he left with her and were finally able to have some time alone so they could discuss their next move. "So, let's gather what we know: there is a tent of poisonous snakes protecting the first-tier tents so no one can enter and snoop around." Ciel said as the three of them started stretching to not stand out.

"I guess some people have guard dogs and some have guard vipers," Lilliana joked as she held her foot in the air behind her to stretch it out and show how flexible she could be.

"That seems to be the case, my lord—oh, not my lord, though, is it?" Sebastian said teasingly. "I must learn to call you Smile. If you got a touch more activity, your muscles wouldn't be so frightfully tight," Sebastian said as he tried to push Ciel forward as he sat in a V and extended his arms in front of him, but barely moved much due to his inflexibility.

"I don't believe I asked you," Ciel barked back. "We could try to gain first-tier status. That would give us the access we need. A few poisonous snakes should prove no challenge for you two, though. After all, we need to find those children."

"We won't find them here," Sebastian said frankly. "We explored as much as we could after our visit last night and then there was our tour today, but neither time did I sense the children."

"Well, the fact that they aren't on the premises is hardly proof that the circus isn't involved in their disappearances," Lilliana said as she and Sebastian linked arms and faced away from each other so they could stretch each other's back.

"Regardless, we must conduct a thorough investigation. We stay until that is done," Ciel said.

"Yes, of course. After all, it's entirely possible they're already in such a condition that I could not sense them," Sebastian said rather grimly as he bent down so she could stretch her back, but he was surprised to see how flexible she actually was. He needed to keep this in mind for the future.

"Well, we must hope that isn't the case. Her Majesty desires their safe return, and I don't want to disappoint."

The two servants nodded, but Sebastian continued, "And while I don't sense the children, there is something a bit unusual around here."

"Oh!" Lilliana said as she practically pushed Sebastian off of her, surprising them. "I forgot to mention something to you both. Apparently—,"

"What are you newbies doing?" Dagger said as he approached them suddenly, cutting her off. "That's enough stretching. It's time to practice!"

"Y-Yes of course," Lilliana said, waiting for her next opportunity to tell them.

"It's your first day, so I'll be helping you along. We'll need to decide what your acts will be. Any requests?"

"If we're allowed to make requests, I would prefer something less physically demanding than the tightrope," Ciel said, remembering the acute pain he had to go through to just pass that test. "Anything but that."

Dagger laughed as he said, "Good idea. You are pretty frail. All right, I'll teach Smile here everything there is to know about knife throwing. Lily?"

"Oh, well, I wasn't able to demonstrate this during my audition, but I have an uncanny ability to tame snakes," she said. Ciel was surprised she would request this, but Sebastian had a smile on his face. So this was her way of getting around the snakes. Clever girl.

"Really? Wouldn't imagine you being so close to those things willingly. Well, we can see if Snake is willing to teach you some things, but it might be difficult at first gaining his trust, not to mention, his snakes," he said with a hand behind his head. "And you, Black?"

"No preference. Anything will do for me," Sebastian said in a tone that was somehow humble, but cocky at the same time.

"Oh yeah, that's right. You're a natural, aren't ya? Go on then and try whatever you think you can manage and I'll observe."

"Very well," Sebastian said as he ran up the pole to work on trapeze. Of course, he was rather skilled at that and caught people's attention already. It didn't take long before he started a new act, one after another, all with skill that couldn't be human. Ciel and Lilliana only shook their heads, hating the fact that he was bringing so much attention to himself. He could practically do everything before Dagger had to cut him off, feeling like he had seen enough. The other performers gathered around him to congratulate him and ask how he was able to do everything.

"You might be getting yourself carried away there, Black," Lilliana said playfully, but genuinely meaning what she said. "I thought you were supposed to be a newcomer."

"Blimey! I did not expect that! Another wickedly talented new performer! I'd better keep my act fresh" Dagger said.

"Another?" Ciel asked.

"That's right. Black here is not the only new bright star to join our troupe recently. Look, up there," he said as he pointed to the tightrope. The trio looked behind them and was shocked to see who it was. He was wearing a colorful outfit, which contracted to the usual suit and tie they were familiar with. However, the glasses and pruner Death Scythe were unmistakable. "He's a former civil servant or something and he's very serious. Hey! Come on down here, would ya? Oi, Suit!"

"No, that can't be—," Ciel said, but before he could truly piece together who it was, Lilliana started to laugh her ass off, even falling to the floor.

"I've been meaning to tell you about Will," she said in between laughter. "But I would never imagine in a million years he would be a circus performer and wearing that!"

"You know him?" Dagger asked, startled by her laughter.

"Yes, we used to work together before I became a maid," she said, still dying of laughter, finding it hard to breathe.

William blushed a bit, not realizing it was her at first, but then sighed as he said, "Out of all the people to see me like this. I'll never hear the end of it." He looked down at the trio as he said, "That explains it, then. I thought I sensed something foul. How unfortunate." He aimed his Death Scythe at Sebastian and tried to strike him, but Sebastian dodged just in time. He started to lower himself to their level as he said, "I didn't expect to meet you two ever again, but I guess I'm destined to be disappointed. What prey are you in pursuit of this time? Answer me, vile demon!" As he finished, he pointed his Death Scythe right at Sebastian's face. However, he left the crowd confused with the title and Ciel knew this was bad. If they figured out what the two of them were, then pandemonium would occur and their investigation would be compromised.

"I say, what is this madness?" Ciel asked, trying to play along.

"It's bad enough that we Reapers are in short supply, especially when a good number of them are incapable of doing their jobs efficiently, without demons popping up all over the place. At this rate, I'll be stuck working her another late night."

At this point, Lilliana was able to catch her breath and walked to William in a giddy mood as she said, "Hey now, what have we talked about? You do these bits with a straight face and no one can tell you're joking." Ciel and Sebastian were surprised how naturally she acted, especially since she was laughing just seconds before. She walked passed him and up to Dagger as she said, "This bloke has always been after my heart ever since we worked together, but when I changed jobs, he always viewed Black as a demon and called himself a Grim Reaper thanks to a book that both of us liked back in the day. However, he's taken the Reaper persona a little too seriously, so don't be surprised if he calls me a Reaper and talks about souls and stuff like that."

"It's no joke," William said, "And what is this nonsense about—," he tried to say in a stern tone, but she gave him a death glare that honestly scared him and forced him to shut up.

She then turned to Dagger with the same smile she had earlier. "I hope you can understand."

"Ah, that makes sense. I'm glad you cleared this up. So he is just crazy," he said with a relieved smile. "Well, now that's settled, let's introduce you to our new—,"

However, he was interrupted as they heard Eris walk in with an outfit in hand. "There you all are! I was looking for you, but even my psychic powers could not pinpoint exactly where you were." Lilliana looked at William, thinking he would be surprised to see a doppelgänger of her, but he wasn't that shocked. She figured he saw her before and figured out the truth right away. Though, she had to wonder how he reacted at first. She handed Lilliana her costume, but she noticed the small amount of fabric used. She picked up the purple top, only to realize it was only a silk, long-sleeved crop top that barely covered her breasts, which even then wasn't covering much since there was a lace front that was tied with a flimsy knot. She blushed, but picked up the green lace skirt, which was so short that it would practically showing off her ass. Lastly, she was given fishnet stockings and tall purple heels that seemed taller than any heels she'd seen worn on a woman.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" she practically yelled. "I can't wear this!" She looked at Sebastian, who was intrigued by her outfit, making her angry. However, she was more embarrassed to have to wear this in front of William more than Ciel.

"Oh, don't be so modest. We want to get the men's attention, don't we? Unless you prefer the pretty blonde lasses," Eris said teasingly. Lilliana was taken back a bit; to any other person, her statement would be random, but to her, it reminded her of her coworker, Katia. "Go on, try it on. There are changing rooms outside. I'll meet you there just in case you need help changing," she said as she left her side.

"Meanwhile, our rising stars need to play nice. We're a family here, after all," Dagger said, mainly addressing the two deities, but William walked away rather rudely.

"I don't see how I can possibly play nice with vermin like that."

"How can you—Circuses run on teamwork, ya know!" Dagger yelled.

Ciel walked to Lilliana, who was still flustered by her outfit, and said, "You have a lot of explaining to do. For example, I would like to know what a Grim Reaper is doing here."

"And undercover, no less. It's most unusual for them to do that, is it not?" Sebastian said, not quite letting the lie she told Dagger slip by so easily.

"I know, but I don't know all the details. I just learned he was here last night and I've been meaning to tell you, but we've been preoccupied. I need to ask him some questions of my own. However, there is no doubt about one thing, at least: something's going on at this circus. Something deadly."

Will the trio be able to pull off being cirucs performers? What does William's appearance mean? Will Lilliana have to do a double investigation? Reviews are appreciated!