All Too Well

♚ Chapter Five ♚

How the whole circus group met before us...I don't know. We all came from the gutters of England. Joker mentioned that they came together because of those who were cursed to look like children forever, parts they've been missing since birth, bodies that developed too soon, and children who deserved a better life.

I met Freckles from when I ran from the orphanage. The head of the orphanage was hot on my tails, so I took shelter in an alleyway. Freckles was there, crying from her recently burnt left eye. My right eye was also burnt from failing to steal that day. I offered her protection within my warm arms and she accepted it. I also gave her a name. We became a group together, I guess, after that. Years later, Joker offered us a place in his group. He said he wanted us to join because of how I was able to steal the bottle of painkillers. With our disabilities, stealing was hard, even after Freckles and I joined the group. Joker almost always got beat up every day from stealing.

When Father found us, I remember it was raining. We had nothing but an old blanket protecting us from the rain. Freckles was leaning on me, I was holding Beast so I wouldn't fall onto the road. Joker was by Feckless and Dagger was by Joker. Jumbo sat with Peter and Wendy. An carriage came up and Father, a well-fed man with balding brown hair, a monocle, with brown suit and an umbrella, stepped out. He offered us a hand. I glanced at Joker. He hesitantly stuck his hand out before linking it with Father's. That was the day our lives grew better.

Father took us back to his workhouse. He had this love for picking up and taking care of children who live in the gutters. He even gave me an eye patch to cover up my burnt right eye. He offered one to Freckles, but she grew bangs to cover it up. I followed her example and grew out my black hair so that it had a bang that covered the eye patch that covered my burnt eye. We still remained best friends even after living there.

*~*~*~*~*~

I sat on a cushioned chair as I tied my hair up into a bun. As I secured the hair tie, I placed some faux black roses into the bun. On the other side of the dressing tent, I saw Doll lifting her wig up slightly, exposing a little bit of her burn scar as she applied makeup underneath it. That reminded me to tie my eye patch on and pull down the bang to make sure most of it was covered.

Doll and I got up from our chair and pulled the tent flaps open, allowing us to exit. My teeth chattered as I was instantly met with the freezing night air of London. I instantly missed the warm comfort of my bed and the small lantern from the changing tent.

Doll placed a hand on my shoulder as encouragement and I nodded. Together, we trudged over the entrance/exit of the circus. Everyone was there; Beast and her tiger Betty, Dagger, Jumbo, Peter and Wendy, and Joker, who stood in front. The only one who was missing was Snake, but that's because he didn't live with us before coming here.

Joker scanned the group, taking a silent attendance to make sure we were all here. Once that was done, he nodded at us. "Let's go," he said coldly.

In a flash, he opened the circus gates and ran straight into the city. Joker lingered for a bit to check for anyone who was still up and wandering before taking off and joining us.

*~*~*~*~*~

I shivered while standing on a laundry line. Doll took her position several feet away from me and I could see her slightly shaking from the cold. Joker's hypnotic music echoed in the background from the alley below us. It was a sweet melody, turning the children's cruel reality into a place where dreams come true. That's how we were able to capture the kids and take them to Father.