Chapter Text
December 13th XX27- Two young women; one with short black hair, the other with blonde, were sitting in a crowded and boisterous bar, hands clasped tightly around their warm drinks- their only defense from the cold and harsh winter night.
Inside, faint music of jazz records was nearly lost in the busy tavern, making their voices barely audible over the chatter. Christmas was coming soon in the City of Ardhalis, and everyone was in a merry spirit. The two leaned towards each other, each hoping not to miss a single word the other said.
Sophism (or simply Soph), the black-haired woman, looked at her friend Ephemerys (who all knew as Eph) straight in the eye across the table.
“Okay, so at least hear this out...”
Skeptical but intrigued, Eph sat there watching Soph’s dark, soul-consuming, pupils dart around as she frantically explained herself. Her idea was risky and, quite frankly, insane.
Who would ever want to see a collection of strange- no, broken kids performing?
No-one would be interested in a few deluded kids running around… or would they?
Compared to Soph’s spontaneous and emotional decisions, Eph was a woman of reason and hard logic, so she assessed her unprecedented situation; either this would fall, drain all resources until they were forced to give in or they would fly, soaring above the others and their safe ideas with something radically new.
Yet, this idea… is peculiar… and attractive. It’s original for sure and such a bizarre idea will make at least a little from the mere curiosity and boredom of people.
“I find it rather intriguing. What’s your plan- tell me what you need?”
Soph smiles.
It was on.
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February 15th XX28-When Alaila Eden was invited to the circus by her best friend, she nearly had choked on her coffee. As a reporter of the city, her job was to cover the trending stories to help encourage the financial growth of the economy- basically a promoter for the government, who had started going into debt because of the upper-class families. Her partner, Carmina Anmar, a passionate investigation journalist, had spoken highly of the performance that she had visited the night before.
“Come on Alaila! I know, the circus always seems so broken, but I swear, it’s breathtaking .”
What now?
A circus, hosted by the freaks of the city. She scoffed at the mere idea of it.
Who would want to see those delusional… things- not even people but mad creatures- prance around the stage?
But being the good friend she was, she showed up with her notepad, coffee in hand as she escaped from the smell of peanuts dwelling at the entrance. Tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear, she waved at Carmia, who was already perched in a seat at the very front of the stage. Her eyes were twinkling with excitement and Alaila couldn’t help but chuckle at her friend.
While looking around…
The building or auditorium they were in was rather shabby considering the lack of funds the circus had. The backstage was somewhat visible, but she couldn’t see any of the performers. The benches creaked as people filed into the room, chattering away the stress of the day.
The room went dark and the chatter faded out.
For a few brief moments, it felt as if the tension in the air could be cut with a knife- Alaila held her breath as she saw multiple figures moving in the darkness. Suddenly, two bright spotlights flicked on, carefully trained at the center. Two figures emerged from the shadows into the shining light, their silhouettes cut perfectly as they stood perfectly still. They wore white dress shirts, black pants, short purple capes, and most striking, different flowers in their hair.
Not a normal circus, huh?
Their footsteps were quiet, the audience holding their breaths- they strained their ears to try and hear the faintest sounds, even a whisper, but they couldn’t. Even with a crowd so huge, a pin drop could easily be heard from the very back of the room.
Abruptly, the two figures elegantly raised their heads up to address the audience. Their words were loud but natural and cut through the silence like sharp blades.
“ Welcome, to the Fleur du Cirque. ”
Two voices, one high, one low, in harmony with each other as the audience hears the distant sounds of drums.
They help up their hands together, Shining gold and pitch-black locks slipping from beneath their flowers gleaming in the bright lights. The other spotlights lit up in myriad colors and rainbows and flowers filled the tent as it all began to blur together.
“ We hope you have a special night… ”
Alaila didn’t know what really happened at the night of the circus.
Colors blinded her eyes as each performer glided through the air like a petal caught in the wind.
They were beautiful.
Beautiful, elegant creatures… still not humans but now so much more, living up to their true talent, their passion as they laughed their lives away…
And then just like that, they exited after they bowed.
Was it only 30 minutes? It felt like a lifetime, a moment frozen in time.
Her pen frozen on her notepad, eyes locked on the stage, she managed to breathe out a sentence as her friend observed her expression with amusement.
“ ... this is the greatest show. ”
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