( chapter twelve ! )
"Whoa, you brought two really cute fellows, huh."
A calm breeze swishes through the air of the Noah's Ark Circus grounds, creating a faint chill in the February air. Despite the cold season, the sun still shines down bright upon the people, working to make it harder to see for Leah's sensitive eyes.
Standing before a group of performers, Leah and Ciel are dressed inconspicuously to perform an entrance exam for the circus. Both teenagers wear clothes in muted shades of brown and white, far from the prestigious clothes they are used to that adorn their bodies on the average day.
Leah herself stands in a simple dress and shoes, shifting uncomfortably against the material but trying to brush it off to not blow her cover. Her hair is not styled this time, lying straight across her back. The only thing to see is the hardly noticeable waves that naturally work through the strands of brown.
Observing the two, Joker stands with his hands on his hips and looks closer at Ciel. "Are you a boy?" he asks.
"Yes, I was a pageboy at the manor," Ciel pauses for a brief moment. "My name is Finnian."
Joker shifts his gaze to Leah who stands tall beside her fiancé, engagement ring no longer sitting on her finger. "You're a girl?" he asks.
"Yes.. My name is—" Leah struggles. "Anna.."
"Are you sure? Your shoulders are a bit broad. And you're quite tall!" Joker comments, earning a look of hurt from the brunette.
Pursing her lips, Leah swallows hard. "I'm sure." she forces a toothy smile.
"Alright.. Well if you join, we'll give you stage names. But cuteness isn't enough to join the circus. If you can't perform, that is," Pulling away from their faces, Joker takes a step back. "What are your strong points?"
Ciel's face blanks, a small bead a sweat dripping down his face. "...Darts?"
"I am good with a sword. I'm flexible and good at mounted archery as well. Or music.. perhaps languages, I'm not sure.." Leah stammers, trying to recall anything she is capable of that could be of use for a circus.
Stopping to think, Joker presses a finger to his jaw, showing off the checked waistcoat he wears. There isn't any silence to accompany these thoughts though, as they are surrounded by small chatter of the people around them to observe.
"In that case, let's do knife-throwing for the boy and contortions for the girl. Dagger, lend him a knife," Joker smiles brightly.
Retrieving a set of pointy knives, Dagger drops them in Ciel's hands with a friendly grin. "Here ya go."
"Hit that target from over here," Joker says, pointing his prosthetic finger in the direction of a board at least ten feet away.
The air goes still when everyone hears this, observing the setup as crickets threaten to fill the tension. Ciel adjusts his stance to hold his knife in the manner he would when fencing, but that hardly helps his case.
"Ah, ah, Boss. you're mean," Dagger grins with a small sweat. "With those skinny arms, he can't reach that."
Joker smiles passively, allowing Dagger to lean on his left shoulder. "It's not mean. It can't be closer for the show," he explains, cockney accent shining through.
Pointing the knife before him, Ciel takes in the encouraging smile from Leah and flings the pointed object with all his might. But to no one's surprise, the knife begins to fall short of its target by a few feet.
"Aaaaaah, yep.." Dagger — and the others surrounding him — give a pitiful smile.
Just moments before the Phantomhive can accept defeat, the knife diverts from its path and slams into the target.
All of the people observing stare in shock. "No way!" Joker and Dagger yell.
Ciel smirks and eyes the smiling Sebastian, once again throwing another knife to which the butler flicks a pebble to change its course. They continue this until thirteen knives have cluttered the area of the target.
"Is this all right?" Ciel asks with a smirk, holding an arm out in gesture.
Walking over to stand before him, Joker crosses his arms with an impressed smile, Dagger behind him observes the target in a sweat. "Seems like you've got control over it. Now let's have the girl do some contortions." he claps his hands together.
Leah shifts uncomfortably in her spot, "But I'm wearing a dress.." she mumbles.
"What was that?" Joker cocks a brow and leans his face in closer.
"I'm wearing a dress!" Leah repeats, albeit a bit too loudly.
Blinking a few times, Joker begins to chuckle. "Oh, don't worry about that! No one's looking, just do your stuff!"
Pressing her lips together, Leah eyes Ciel who only gives her a look to go ahead and fights back a sigh. She starts by pulling her right leg up and positioning it straight next to her torso, Sebastian steps in to move her dress around to ensure that it is covering what it needs to be.
Bringing her leg around behind her, she lifts it to put herself in the needle position. Leah finishes her warmup and moves to the ground, trying not to grimace when she touches the grass and dirt and does a back bend with pointed legs, head nearly touching her behind.
Situating her body in a couple more strange positions, Leah is met with applause and a smiling ginger. Ciel on the other hand, stares in mild surprise that someone of her status is capable of such an act.
"Good job! You can really move your body," Joker nods. "All right, next!"
"Tightrope walking!"
Atop a tall platform sit Ciel, Leah, and Doll. Ciel is standing with his shoes no longer on, clenched hands as he stares down at the ground many meters beneath him. Behind the Phantomhive, Doll tightly secures a rope around his torso while Leah sits beside her, tightly holding onto the bar in fear of falling as she awaits her turn.
"Doll~ Tie the lifeline tightly!" Joker yells up with a closed-eye smile. "It's dangerous if a beginner falls!"
Taking another glance down below, Ciel tries not to sweat out of nervousness. "Can't I do some sort of music test instead?" he asks, raising his voice so he can be heard.
"Hmm? D'you wanna retire already boy~?" smiles Joker teasingly.
"N—No! But if there's something else.." Ciel trails off.
"If you're serious, don't deandre and do it fast!" Joker calls out, singing his final words.
Releasing a noise in aggravation, Ciel hesitantly moves forward on the rope, leaving Leah and Doll behind him. For a split second, he holds himself upright before nearly losing balance, shaking with barred teeth until he's hit in the side with a pebble by Sebastian in an attempt to keep him up in the air.
"He recovered, he recovered."
Watching as her fiancé drifts further from her, the young Barrett turns to face Doll with an awkward smile in reluctant anticipation for her turn. Doll — dressed in her flowery costume — gives a kind smile in return that reaches her eyes, feeling a faint sense of recognition when she sees Leah's pools of dull blue.
Leah is so caught up in her thoughts that she hardly notices that Ciel has gotten down from the tightrope. It's not until she feels a tightening sensation around her waist that she looks down and sees the rope being fastened, Doll uses most of her strength to make sure it's tight enough.
Clearing her throat, Doll looks at the back of Leah's head. "Sorry.. Needs to be tight," she whispers.
"It's alright," Leah uncomfortably smiles, showing off a nice set of teeth. "Just uncomfortable is all.."
Standing on her feet, she stares down at the ground beneath her and eyes her fiancé who stares back up at her, grumbling as he rubs his behind. Leah takes a deep breath and settles her gaze directly in front of her before moving her bare feet to take her first steps, wobbling on the rope.
Pushing forward, the brunette does surprisingly well with her first couple of steps and only seems to wobble. But on her fifth step, Leah begins to tilt and fights back a scream until she feels something pelt her side and shift her back into place. 'What was that?!'
Leah shakes her head and decides to not dwell on it, going across the rope faster to get the activity over with. Some more wobbles and near-deathly falls later, she finally reaches the other end of the tightrope's platform and releases a victory sigh. Peering down beneath her, she can see Ciel with relief painted over his face as everyone else around him claps and smiles.
"That's great! I didn't really think you'd be able to do it!" Joker claps happily, watching as Leah climbs down from the platform with the rope no longer around her.
Striding over from the ginger's side, Dagger leans on Ciel and aggressively pats his head. "So don't demote these cute lil' kids, Boss!" he smiles, not seeming to notice the look of pure aggravation on the Phantomhive's face as he stares forward.
"Not yet. The boy hasn't done something real important," Ciel perks up in surprise when a bony prosthetic finger is pointed his way. "A big ol' smile!" Joker smiles brightly along with his words.
Ciel's eyes widen, "Wha..."
"C'mon, smile!"
Off to the side, Sebastian is shaking in an attempt to control his laughter that threatens to spill. Leah also giggles but in response to seeing Ciel clench his cheeks and fist, shaking in anger. A pregnant pause fills the room before Ciel lifts his head and flashes his best closed-eye smile, sweating as he tries to not think about his gushing fiancé or laughing butler.
Only half an hour later, Leah shifts uncomfortably outside of the main tent as she glances down at her new attire.
Her outfit consists of a clean white base. The main piece is a corset that has golden stripes going from the top to the bottom. It displays a heavy amount of skin including her larger-than-average bust and her behind, hardly covered by fabric, stockings that cut off at the top of her thighs come up and sit secured with red ribbon.
The detached sleeves are in a similar style to the corset and are flared near the wrist, with little red hearts sitting at the top near her upper arm. On Leah's lower back is a large red bow with black stripes, and a short top hat having a similar accessory wrapped around its middle. The brunette has tied-up hair that sits low enough to cover the back of her neck while simultaneously showing off a white choker with gold stripes at the top and bottom, accompanied by a simple white beaded necklace. Finally, on her feet are heeled boots in a shade of gold, similar accents dancing across the plane, and a small red gem sitting center of where her foot sits inside the shoe.
As good as Leah looks in the outfit, she's naturally an aristocrat. To be seen in an outfit this revealing is much too scandalous, the style of a prostitute. 'If someone were to me like this—'
"What's taking ya so long?"
Silencing her train of thought is none other than Joker, walking towards her in slow strides under the moonlight. His face is one of confusion as he looks down at the teen, tilting his head as he observes how Leah can't seem to sit still.
"I— I can't go out there like this!" Leah stammers, flushed face taking over her once porcelain skin.
Furrowing his brows, Joker pouts his lips. "Why? Ya look great!" he smiles in an attempt to reassure.
Leah furiously shakes her head, "No! Not at all!"
"Don't be silly, c'mon!" Joker grabs ahold of Leah's wrist and walks her around the tent, dragging her inside with her horrible attempts at protest.
Kicking her feet and trying to remove her arm from Joker's grasp is hopeless for the Barrett, as she is not naturally strong without a weapon the majority of the time. Her fighting only amplifies when others — especially a certain blue-haired boy — come into view.
"Look, your friends are doin' fine! Nothin' you need to worry about!" Reassures Joker, pushing Leah into place beside Ciel.
Cautiously eyeing her fiancé, Leah notices how Ciel's face is just as red as hers. The Phantomhive tries hard to not let his eyes wander and keeps his gaze trained on Leah's own blue eyes, clearing his throat at the awkward exchange and nature of her clothes.
"Everyone! From today on, we have some new friends," Joker announces, looking out towards the other circus members. Dagger observes with a snicker while Doll keeps a more straight face, gaze trained on Leah and Ciel, and Beast looks away in annoyance with crossed arms at Sebastian's presence.
People's eyes settle on Sebastian who kindly smiles in a suit, holding a hat in front of him. "New-comers Black."
"I'm Black. It's a pleasure," Sebastian introduces himself.
Pointing a finger at the brunette dressed rather promiscuously, everyone's eyes follow. "This one is Diamond."
"Hello.." An embarrassed wave leaves Leah with minimal eye contact.
Finally getting to Ciel, Joker smiles brightly. "And this one is Smile!"
Ciel's face contorts into one of aggravated shock, "Sm..."
"Let's get along well, everyone!" Joker wraps his arms around the three, facing them off towards the crowd of mixed reactions.
Smiling in feigned kindness, Sebastian gazes at Ciel who sticks close to Leah's side. "Come on, Smile, greet your elders."
"Eh?" Ciel's eye twitches as he looks out at the people and back and Leah who gives him a faint encouraging smile, still trying to hide her embarrassment. "It's— It's nice to meet you.."
"C'mon, Smile, smile!" Joker nods and raises his voice, a bright smile flashing to show his teeth.
Not long after their introductions, the crowd disperses to go about their typical daily activities. Some stretch and some immediately get to work on their routines but Joker stays behind.
"Now I'll take you on a quick tour of the backstage area," he says, holding out a cane-like item to point at the exit. "Follow me."
Heading out of the main tent, the group of four trudges through the circus grounds under the starry sky. There's a still silence that falls upon them, only being broken by Joker's welcoming voice to point out different locations.
"First, these're the rents you guys'll sleep in. It's where the backstage workers an' newcomers — the 'second tier' members — live," Opening up a tent flap, Joker invites the trio to take a peek inside. The two nobles stare incredulously at the sight. "'About two or three people share a room."
They all take a step back from the tent and continue, Leah sticking close to Ciel's side. However, unlike all the times before, she doesn't firmly attach herself to his arm, instead choosing to let hers occasionally brush against his.
"An' that's the mess hall and the storeroom. S'an important job of the new recruits to provide the grub, so good luck!" Joker points his thumb over before switching to his can, pointing it at a new tent. "The center one is this area's first aid tent. An' the most central ones the main cast's private tent."
Sebastian's gaze darkens when he takes a look over at the tent in the distance behind Joker, casting an askew look at his master. Leah, unsurprisingly, is hardly paying attention and keeps her gaze towards the ground.
"Private?" Ciel asks.
"S'a private room you get if you're real good. Ah, an' that's snake's tent, so stay away from it for your own good. A buncha poisonous snakes're roaming free, so if you get bit even once, you're off to the Underworld," Joker doesn't notice the brief look Ciel and Sebastian share, the younger nudging Leah to make sure she's paying attention and pushing her away from the tents general direction. "Snake an' his friends're still shy, y'know? Careful of their poison, you three. Now, let's move on~"
Continuing about their tour, the four leave the other tents behind them as they turn around. Thin light poles illuminate the area as they pass them by, adding a soft atmosphere to the dark grounds. Their single-file formation is broken by Leah who walks to Ciel's left, judgingly glancing at the tents they pass.
"...By the way. What happened to your right eye, Smile?" Joker questions, not bothering to look back as he asks.
"Eh?" Ciel reaches a hand up to his eyepatch, painted nails on display. "Ah.. This is.. There was an accident.." he murmurs.
"Is that so," Lifting his prosthetic hand, Joker brings it to Ciel's left cheek and looks at him solemnly. "So young, but you've been through a lot."
Ciel watches as the ginger's expression changes to a small smile, patting him on the head.
Sneaking around, Joker places an arm around Ciel and gives a wide grin, showing off a singular sharp tooth. "Well everyone here's been through something, so you'll get along well with 'em."
"Y—Yes," Ciel sweats and removes himself from Joker's grip, opting to take ahold of Leah's wrist and drag her along. "I can't with these people.." he mutters, leaving Joker and Sebastian behind him.
Giggling, Leah falls into step beside her fiancé. "Well.. They're quite nice, I'll give them that."
Approaching a much larger tent, Leah stares up at the top, almost intimated by its size.
"Right, this's the practice tent." Joker opens the tent flap to allow them inside.
Throughout the tent, many individuals fill the inside to practice their acts. Some are on the trapeze while some are on the tightrope, with quite a few practice juggling, and some balance on balls. Even off to the side, there is a caged tiger that only serves to intimidate the young Barrett even more.
"New people practice over an' over here. Aiming at making their debut in a real public performance," Explains Joker, shows off some people climbing poles, jumping on the trampoline, and going through hoops. "Work on the basics first. Warm up carefully and—"
As Joker attempts to get the trio accustomed to their surroundings, noting how they all stare around in wonder or bemusement, he is promptly interrupted by Beast entering the tent.
"Joker! It's almost your turn!" she calls out.
Surprised by the sudden entry, Joker makes no complaints and starts on his way out. "Go ahead an' go all out, you three!"
Ciel and Sebastian both stand as straight as a stick, unlike Leah who is off behind them and staring at an extremely low-hanging chandelier. Reluctantly, the pair begin to stretch. Following in their footsteps, Leah does the same and practices her contortions while hearing bits and pieces of their conversation.
"—Enter the private tent— First-tier members..?"
"—Feel any sign of the children's presence—"
"She wishes for the children's safe return."
The young Barrett never seems to truly know what's going on, only understanding that they are meant to be searching for missing children. 'Perhaps I should stop visiting Ciel if this is the kind of thing I have to do..'
"Hey! Don't stretch so sluggishly, you guys!" Dagger peers down at Ciel who is currently lying against Sebastian's back.
A couple of feet away, a man glances over in surprise. "Boss Dagger, what about your performance?" he asks.
"Today I was the top batter! I'm already done and observing practice," The blonde smiles, tilting his body at the waist before turning to Ciel who is no longer on Sebastian's back. "First you gotta decide your program. What're you hoping for?"
"A program that doesn't involve using my body for something like tightrope walking would be good.." Ciel deadpans as he recalls himself earlier that day. "Seriously."
Stepping up beside her fiancé, Leah can't hide her flush when he looks at her, still holding a hatred for her outfit. "Contortionist," she mumbles.
"Then, I'll be earnestly teaching Smile knife-throwing," Dagger smiles eagerly. "What about you, Black?"
Sebastian's expression hardly moves, "I don't have any particular preferences."
"You've got good reflexes, don't you? If there's something you see and it looks like you can do it, give it a try." Dagger encourages, not expecting Sebastian to speed past him with a simple 'yes.'
Running across the tent, the demon butler is quick to get up on the trapeze and perform a flying blanco. Mere moments later, Sebastian is juggling, followed by pole climbing, passing through fire, high wire, and trampoline. Though, just as he attempts to perform sword-eating, Dagger is quick to cut in.
Waving his hands in a sweat, the blonde stares up at the butler clad in black. "Enough, enough!"
"Show off.." Leah mumbles. "Just like Thomas."
Ciel stifles a giggle, though that isn't hard when he's now aggravated with Sebastian. "Hey! You're getting too carried away! Act a little more like a new—"
"C'mon, honestly! Another super newcomer appeared? I won't lose, y'know!" Dagger smiles brightly with crossed arms.
"See, he already has his eye on y.. Hm?" Ciel turns his head around to look at Dagger with knitted brows. "..'Another'?"
"There's this amazing guy who just joined. Look, over there. He was some sorta government worker and he's totally serious, see." Dagger points up at a tall man on the tightrope. "Hey! Come down for a sec, Suit!"
William, under the name of Suit, glances down and releases a breath of air. "I thought I sensed an unpleasant aura. So it was you, was it? Honestly." Stabbing his death scythe into the floor, Ciel nearly throws Leah out of the way before she can be impaled. "What did you come to fish around for this time? You devilish fiend!" he points the scythe to Sebastian's neck, now gaining a crowd of scared individuals.
The demon remains unexpressive, keeping himself in front of the two nobles. While Ciel is staring in dread, Leah is quick to fix her clothes around to hide any piece that came out of place when she was moved, determined to show as little skin as possible.
"De..vil?" The crowd begins to talk amongst themselves with wide eyes.
"Even under the best of circumstances, in this time of Grim Reaper shortages.. With a demon appearing like this, I suppose it will throw off my schedule." William complains.
Leah pauses and tilts her head. 'Demon?'
Stepping forward, Ciel begins to come undone at the idea of Sebastian's true nature being revealed. "H..Hey, what the hell are you talking abou.."
Dagger stares incredulously, "Grim.. Reaper.. you.."
"N—No, this is—" Ciel tries to explain.
"Give it up, forehead! You said it with such a straight face, I couldn't tell you were joking!" The tent erupts in applause as Dagger slaps a hand to the side of William's forehead. "Since the first day he came here, this guy's been telling jokes. Stuff like 'How about this soul.' He's a real hardcore occult fan!" he points a thumb to William, who is now smoothing down his hair with a comb.
Lifting a hand, William adjusts his glasses. "Though they're not actually jokes."
"I'll introduce you. These guys just joined today. The blue hair who won't leave the girl's side is Smile," Dagger points at Ciel. "The real pretty girl is Diamond and the serious one is Black."
Confused but keeping her manners intact, Leah gives a small smile accompanied by a wave. Letting yet another person see her in such a way hurts her but the teen has accepted her fate. 'Kill me now..'
"Well, bond over your hopes and get along well!" Smiling brightly, Dagger claps a hand on William and Sebastian's shoulders.
William swiftly turns around and begins to stride back towards the tightrope, "Sorry, but there's no way I'll get along with a savage beast."
Listening to Ciel and Sebastian whisper, as well as the other voices filling her ears, Leah sighs in exhaustion no longer has the will to keep up.
"So am I meant to be left in the dark on this one?" she asks, posture slipping.
Turning his head, Ciel gets a good look at his fatigued and sluggish fiancé before being interrupted just before his eyes can drift, and before Leah can hit him.
"Hey! What're you doing, Smile?! You can't just just stand with Diamond the whole time, you gotta practice so you don't lose to Black! Practice! Both of ya!" Dagger appears behind the two teenagers, wrapping an arm around them before dragging them off to another section of the tent.
'Men are so lucky it is impolite to slap them.. So lucky.' Allowing herself to be dragged, Leah looks to Ciel and drags a finger across her throat, mimicking her want to die in the moment.
Standing uncomfortably in the corner of the tent, Leah waits impatiently for Ciel and Sebastian to return. The butler had left to follow after William, her fiancé leaving as well to fetch them upon Dagger's request.
After only a few more long moments of waiting, the young Barrett has had enough and walks out of the tent. Shivering under the cold air of the night, she walks until she hears a voice that sounds awfully like Ciel.
"—Hear from some glasses who can't even sneak in properly."
"It's not Glasses. It's Suit."
Rounding a corner, Leah comes across William, Sebastian, and Ciel in a staredown. Under the average circumstance, she would care but the poor girl is beyond tired and not willing to take place in her fiancé's typical shenanigans.
"What is taking so long?" Leah puffs her cheeks. "Hurry back inside before we start seeming suspicious."
Surprised at Leah's sudden entry, Ciel whips his head around before his eyes soften. "Let's go, Sebastian."
With that, the four all go their respective ways and walk back inside the tent, thinking over their interaction.
"Thanks for waiting! It's time for the new arrivals' room assignments!" Joker sings a bit too cheerfully for the dark atmosphere of the night.
Seated on a crate, Ciel is doubled over in exhaustion while Leah leans against him, struggling to keep her eyes open. Beside them, Sebastian stares down at them with Dagger behind him, arms behind his head.
"Huh, Smile's not very cheerful~ Smile, Smile!" Joker pulls a smile of his own to try and brighten the younger boy's mood, only receiving a struggled 'yes' in response. "For fairness, these're the results of a lottery. Smile's in tent eight. Here's your roommate."
Putting a hand on Doll's shoulder, Joker brings her forward for Ciel to see. The girl is no longer dressed in her circus attire, letting her brown hair down and wearing comfortable daily clothes with two hands in her pockets. She could almost pass for a boy.
"Black's in tent nine," Joker announces.
Ciel nearly gasps. "Seba.. Black and I aren't rooming together?!" he shouts.
Dagger laughs, "Smile really sticks close to Black, huh? You'll be independent soon."
"T—That's not it—" Ciel protests, sweating. "Black and I should be together after all—"
"Black's roommate is Suit!"
The air goes still for a moment when Joker says this, both William and Sebastian giving each other a deep and unsettling glare.
"Wha?!" Ciel yells.
"Black and Smile already get along well, so this is your chance to make new friends!" Dagger smiles, standing close to Joker.
Preparing to walk off, Joker is promptly stopped by Leah approaching in slow, small steps.
"Wait.. I didn't get an assignment," she bites her lips, not looking the ginger in the eye.
Tilting his head, Joker double-checks his paper with surprised eyes. "Huh. How'd I forget about ya? Well, no worries, just go with Smile!" he nods.
This immediately causes Leah to perk up from her half-asleep state, "But Ci— Smile is a man?!" she fights back a yell.
"So?" Joker asks.
"So I'm a woman! I can't sleep in the same room as a man!" Leah nearly shakes in her spot. 'Sleep in the same room as a man?! That is even worse than the clothes. If anyone were to find out about this.. I'd surely be ruined! No one would ever want to be seen with me again. I'd have to demand Ciel to marry me and protect my name.. That—'
A laugh sounds from Joker as he pats her head with his prosthetic. "Nonsense. Now, let's split up!"
Leah barely has a moment to fight before both Joker and Dagger walk off, leaving her in a state of dread and reluctance to move. However, she ignores her reluctance and slowly approaches Ciel and Doll, keeping her gaze trained on the ground.
"It's nice to meet you, Smile! Diamond!" Doll smiles brightly, holding out a hand.
"..Yeah.." Ciel responds warily, shaking her hand. Leah on the other hand refuses, caught up in her thoughts and trying to not contemplate killing herself.
"I will be ruined by the end of this.."