Chalant Candlelight

Chapter 1

Zatanna's POV 

Suffering through another tedious gala where everyone is proper, and sophisticated, and drinks champagne, and wears suits and big dresses, and the hall is decorated like some french opera, and everyone chuckles and talks like it's the eighteen hundreds, and discusses the aristocratic life. I don't hate it, I get to be the entertainment and dazzle the crowds with my magic show and getting to join the party afterwards is okay. I guess I've always grown up around this lifestyle that it often gets boring and dull when its repeated over and over and over. It's better than being poor, I guess, though I'd never been poor. 

I'm pulling a rabbit from my hat and the crowd is hysterical with excitement, waiting impatiently to see me lift a fluffy white bunny with rose red eyes out of a big black top hat. My eyes scanned the room as cheers erupted at my simple tricks.

I couldn't help but notice a beautiful young boy peaking out from behind a curtain, he had this shiny raven hair, eyes blue like pools of water, and skin, warm and bronze, like a vat of honey. He looked exotic and mysterious and most importantly my age. A lean and strong build for someone only about sixteen, perhaps he participated in sports. I took a bow before heading off stage to get out of my tuxedo top and black skirt, I put on my gala dress. A dark blue a-line with thin spaghetti straps.

When I reentered the party everyone was congratulating me on my amazing magic show and asking if the rabbit was okay, the answer was yes, I never would harm an animal. But I was absent minded trying to pick out that beautiful boy I had seen earlier. I still was not sure of why he was hiding behind a curtain but he wasn't there now. I took another look around hanging close to the walls, maybe he was shy.

Only then did I notice him off in a hallway detached from the gala, he wasn't even wearing a tux he was just dressed in regular clothes, jean's and a sweater. From where I stood I could see down a hall into a room where he was, talking, I think with a man in a tux. The man he was talking to was pale, like he'd never seen the sun, and his hair was slicked back and black as the night, it had to br Bruce Wayne. The younger boy seemed to be stating something while Bruce Wayne was fixing his bowtie real quick before telling the boy off and leaving back towards the party. I quickly stepped away so it wouldn't seem like I was watching them speak in private. Now I was left with the big questions, who was that boy? And what did he have to do with Bruce Wayne?

Dick's POV

"But Bruce, no one saw me, I was hidden behind the curtains." I justified myself while my guardian, Bruce Wayne, fixed his bowtie,

"Richard, we've been over this, this is a refined party, full of the most elite in Gotham and all the surrounding cities. That means-"

"I know, I know, don't let anyone see the charity case ward." I nodded.

"No, you're not a charity case, don't ever think that. It's just that, we as Wayne's need to be focusing on our image and-"

"-you can't do that if you have a circus kid running around the most elite in Gotham and all the surrounding cities." I finished his sentence ,

"No that's not what I was going to say. Look, Richard, just stay back for this one, we don't need any press." He bit before turning and walking away back into the party.

I sighed, I didn't like when he got cross, I just wanted to see the cute magician girl do her routine. Her and her flowing locks of charcoal hair, and cold icy blue eyes, and her milky skin, she was beautiful.

I understood where I stood with Bruce and the upper class. They all knew he adopted me out of pity that he watched my parents die, of course, why else would someone adopt a circus kid? They also knew I still performed for the circus which is why Bruce kept me hidden from the press and his buddies because they'd just look down at me. For some odd reason many of them had no respect for circus performers and people like me. 

I just brushed it off and left for the circus since I had a show in about an hour. Once I pulled up I finally felt at home as everyone welcomed me because we were all like a big family,

"Hey, Grayson, have you seen the fire rings?" Jack haley, the ringmaster asked while I was heading towards my changing room,

"Uh, yeah I saw the twins stick them in with the clown props."

"Thanks." He smiled before moving on,

I closed my door. I had my own little area to change and store my equipment, a lot of clowns and other ground performers had to share but since my family was very significant to the circus and they were acrobats we had our own room, now it was just mine. I pulled off my sweater to look in the mirror and stare at my tattoos that covered my torso and all down my arms all the way to my fingertips. Not to mention they covered my legs and feet as well and up my neck, some even behind my ears just none on my face. I've been getting them done since I was fourteen, the tattoos were important to my heritage and culture, the vast majority of us in the circus had them, just like my parents. Mine were dark blue and made a very intricate pattern on me. Bruce made me wear turtlenecks with long arms just to hide them anytime the press or people were around. 

It was like I lived two different lives that mixed only a little. One side of me was a flying Grayson doing flips in the air on trapeze in a tight vest and pants. Everyone in the crowd could see my arm tattoos and the ones on my neck. They loved them. I got so many compliments from people who came to the show and the kids would just stare in awe. But the other side of my life no one even knew I had them, my peers, the press, and Bruce's friends just knew I performed and assumed I smelled like peanuts and was some dirty kid. They obviously didn't come to the circus to see either, they frowned upon it. I still don't know why seven years ago Bruce came to the circus, what was he doing there? 

I laced together my vest and fixed my thick hair. It was at that medium length where it had a little bit of curl but not an overwhelming amount.

When I walked out of my room and my circus family all began our before show ritual of hyping eachother up. It consisted of a lot of jumping up and down and strongly worded compliments. I got out there and performed my soul out, it helped relieve frustration I had with the aristocratic world and made me feel like I was doing something important and bringing joy to others.

~~~~~~~~~

Zatanna's POV

I brush my rambunctious hair while stepping around on my pale pink carpet in my pale pink room before hopping into my silk bed while in my silk shorts and camisole. I took a sigh looking from my family's mansion that laid on the outskirts twenty minutes away from Gotham. I overlooked the dark city from the safety of a hilltop. For being supposedly a dark city it was truly alive at night, neon lights everywhere. And from my window I could even see haley's circus and its spotlights shinging through the sky. On the inside I found the circus very fascinating and I've always wanted to go but I'd never say that outloud, my father, Zatara, hated the circus.