The Raven & The Spider (CURRENTLY UNDERGOING HEAVY EDITING)

Chapter 8 - A World Of Wonder

Your POV (Second Person):

You woke the next morning to the sounds of many people talking and rushing around. You wondered what was going on, and decided to look for either Joker or Doll.

You stepped out of bed, but only fell right back down again. You looked at your leg which was still wrapped up and winced. You sighed. How were you supposed to get around now? You looked around and saw some crutches that someone must have left for you.

You gave a relieved sigh and picked them, and started making your way out of the colorful tent.

People in festive clothes of all colors were milling about outside. You saw the man who had swallowed the sword carrying a big pile of ropes and you saw some horses being led by a woman toward one of the biggest tents.

You figured you should follow the crowd of people to see if you could find Joker or Doll.

Once you arrived to the big tent, you realized how big it actually was! It was the biggest thing you had ever seen! Definitely much bigger than any of the villagers houses!

You looked down in sadness. Maybe it hadn't been such a good thing that the fire had happened after all...

You walked inside the huge tent, wondering what you'd find inside.

You followed behind some young girls dressed in bright tutus, but suddenly stopped in your tracks. The whole room was packed with performers of all types. Most were dressed in bright colors and were doing some sort of amazing stunt. You gazed up in amazement at two young kids who must've been around your age who were jumping from rope to rope and catching each other, and you saw this one woman who was cracking a whip at a huge, striped, orange animal!

"Well look who wandered in here." Said a familiar cheery voice.

You turned around as best as possible with your crutches to face a smiling Joker.

"Um, thank you for helping me." You said shyly.

He reached down and ruffled your (H/C) hair gently. "No problem, missy." He responded.

"So, what is all this?" You asked with awe. "Is this the circus?"

Joker laughed. "Well, all the tents, and all the people, and basically everything you see in this area is the circus. We all make up one big family."

You smiled with a slight blush. A family.

Hurry up, Luka!
I'm coming! Jim, wait up!
(Y/N), Let's go!

A small tear fell from your eye as you remembered the only family you'd ever had. Fortunately however, Joker didn't notice, as he was instructing some of the performers to hang extra ropes from the ceiling for backup.

You wiped away your tear as Joker looked back at you. "Why's it so noisy though?" You asked. "Is it always like this?"

"Well, normally it is pretty loud." He responded. "Especially since there are so many of us. But right now its extra noisy because we're preparing for one of our big shows tonight!"

"Really?" You asked with excitement. You looked around taking in more of the sights and sounds around you. It was like being transported into another world. A world full of color, and excitement, and amazement. A world that you had never experienced.

Joker looked at your astonishment and chuckled. "Why don't you come to the show tonight, (Y/N)?" He asked.

"Really? That would be amazing!"

"Alright." He nodded. "We'll get you a seat right up front. For now though, you should go get some breakfast. You probably haven't eaten in a while. I'll introduce you to the rest of the cast members later."

You nodded, realizing just how hungry you were. "Um, where should I go?"

"I'll call Doll to take you." Joker said.

You smiled, glad to know that you'd have a familiar face with you.

"Doll!" Joker yelled up toward the ceiling.

You looked up, but didn't see Doll anywhere. There were a bunch of circus performers in colorful clothes and strange wigs, but you didn't see any brown haired girls with freckles splashed across their faces.

Suddenly, a girl with a white, sleeveless dress, decorated with a striped bow and roses dropped down in front of you. She also wore a wig that appeared to be made of white roses as well, which covered her left eye. She wore long socks with ballet shoes and had two feathers coming from out of her wig.

"Doll," Joker started. "Will you take (Y/N) to get some breakfast?"

"Wait, Doll?!?!" You asked astonished.

She looked at me. "Yes...?"

"But - but you look so different!" You pointed out.

Joker emitted a laugh that sounded like a bark. "That's the magic of the circus, lass." He informed you with a smile. "Here in the circus, you can be whoever you want. You can do things you never thought you could."

You stared up at him, with eyes wide of amazement. They were together. They were a family. All doing the things they loved, and being whoever they wanted to be. It sounded too amazing to be true.

"Hurry up now!" Joker said. "Doll. Get her to breakfast before she starves to death! She's only a little more than a pile of bones!"

You laughed at Joker as the two of you waved goodbye and headed off to get something to eat...

Joker's POV (Third Person):

"Who was that, Joker?" Asked Dagger as the two girls left the tent.

"Hmm?" Asked Joker turning around to face his friend. "Oh, she was the little lass I told you about that we saved from those human traffickers."

"Oh. That's why her leg's broken, isn't it?" Dagger asked.

"Yeah..." Joker nodded with sadness. "She's a sweet one though. Despite all it seems she's been through at such a young age, her eyes are still full of hope."

Dagger chuckled. "Well don't get too attached, Joker."

"Hmm?" Joker looked curiously at him.

"Well, I was just assuming we were going to give her to father like the other children." He stated blankly. "I mean, she's still young enough."

Joker looked down with sadness. "She's different than the other children we've taken, Dagger. She's like us. She was rejected. Lost. She had no where to go..."

Dagger nodded. "True." He agreed. "But we can't very well just keep her here. We already have too many mouths to feed. Plus, she may be like us, but she can't just decide to join The Noah's Ark circus like that. Does she even have an act?"

Joker thought about it. "I'm sure we could find something for her. But in any case, I doubt father would want her anyway. Her leg's injured, remember? He prefers those who can actually be of use to him."

Dagger nodded again. "Fine. How about, we wait till she heals and then we find her an act. If she can't find an act soon, then we ask father if he wants her. If he doesn't, because of her injury, we'll take her out to the village and see if anyone else can take care of her. How about that?"

"Fine." Joker agreed solemnly. He just really hoped that (Y/N) would be able to find some sort of act she could do... If not, she could end up like the other children...