All Too Well

♚ Chapter One ♚

I was running, the head of the orphanage hot of my tails. My right eye stung from the burn I was given. Bullets of cold rain that came down upon the ashen sky didn't help with the pain at all. I spotted a dark alleyway and ran into there. I dove into a corner in the shadows, catching my breath from running and to also hide. The head of the orphanage passed by the alley. I sucked in my breath as I waited in the shadows for her to find me. My head pounded and my lungs burned as I didn't dare make a sound even though there was a great distance between us. The only sound I heard was the beating of the rain against the rooftop tiles.

She looked around in the cold rain, her thinning brown hair falling her over face as her large body twisted around, searching for me. She growled when she couldn't find me. "Catch that girl!" She roared in anger. "She ran from us, but she can't go far!"

They passed. I sighed and released my breath. I turned to the side, embracing freedom as I became face-to-face with another girl. I squeaked and fell down, shocked at her presence. "Your eye..." she whispered. "It's burnt, like mine."

She lifted her brown bangs, showing her off her burned left eye. I see," I whispered back. The flesh of her left eye was swollen and red, as the flesh had small pockets where blisters used to be. The burned skin created a strange pattern, almost as if they were like veins. It looked as if it wasn't treated in days. The burn was so swollen that her left eye was permanently shut, never to be able to see the light of another day. I figured the girl had her eye burned shut and then tossed out of her home. She...was almost like me. Looking at her, I wanted to take her into my arms and hold her tight in a hug, assuring her everything will be alright.

I covered my burn with my right eye. The flesh was recently burned so it was slightly pink but had small pockets of blisters on it. I was simply burned by having my face forcibly held over the fire as a punishment for failing my one job. Between the two of us, I say her burn was worse than mine.

I decided to get to know the girl a bit better. "What's your name?" I asked her.

"I don't know," She shrugged. "I was never given one."

"Then I'll give you one." I noticed that there were spots along the bridge of her nose. I slowly traced the spots with my finger and smile softly. "I know; I'll name you Freckles!" I clapped her hands together. The girl's eyes lit up and she clapped her hand, smiling. Although it was an odd name, she was glad to finally have a name to go by.

I turned to leave, but Freckles grabbed my shirt sleeve. "Stay with me, please," She begged.

"Alright," I sighed, sitting back down next to Freckles. Besides, there was a hard rainstorm and hail was likely to come, so I might as well sit it out.

I sat down beside the cold and wet tiled stone floor of the alley. We managed it hide a bit from the rain under a roof of nearby apartments that fenced the alley. "What's your name?" She asked me.

I smiled at her. "My name is Violet."

*~*~*~*~*~

"Rose!" A voice called.

My head snapped up. I felt dazed and groggy from being awakened suddenly. I was sitting on a brightly colored saddle that was strapped on a elephant as I went across the cold and foggy streets of London. Doll sat next to me, looking elegant as usual and Beast sat on the other side of the elephant, smiling at the people of London.

It was a parade that we held to introduce London to our circus; the Noah's Ark Circus. Peter and Wendy, experts on trapeze were beside some trainees on stilts, help wheeling a cage that held Beast's Tiger, Betty. Jumbo, our buff and bald fire-breather, were behind them with some more trainees, occasionally showing off only a small bit of his skill by blowing the torch he held. Snake, our snake tamer, was helping some horses walk in a straight line as they carried a cage full of his snakes. Dagger, our knife thrower, proved to be no help at all to him as he was too busy waving at the people.

Doll, the tightrope walker, Beast, the animal tamer, and I, also a tightrope walker, were in the back, riding an elephant. Joker, the ring master, was in front of us, greeting everyone with his booming, joyous voice.

"Gather 'round, Ladies and Gentlemen!" His distinctive loud voice echoed throughout the streets of London as he threw confetti up into the air. The people who crowded on the paved sidewalks cheered in excitement at our arrival. "The Noah's Ark traveling circus is here. Forget the cold winter and the gloomy news. Come! It's the beginning of the show of the century!"

"What happened?" I whispered to Doll, still slightly dazed from awakening suddenly, even though I was awaken at least ten minutes ago and heard Joker's loud voice as an alarm.

"You fell asleep while we were on our parade," she explained, still remaining her cold composure. After all, she and I were our circus princesses and we have to act like one.

"Well, that's embarrassing," I scoffed, looking away from her and at the crowd of people.

"The cold probably made you sleepy," she shrugged. "I nearly fell asleep a couple of times. If I fell asleep and Beast didn't notice, we'd probably fall off the elephant and get trampled."

"Right," I shivered, grabbing my bare arms that were exposed to the cold air. They were decorated with goosebumps. "Why do we have to travel on the winter and to London, of all places?"

"You complained about the same thing during the summer," Doll rolled her eyes. "That time, you complained about that you could feel your makeup melting off your face."

"Well, I wasn't wrong, was I?" I giggled at the memory of seeing everyone's makeup running from the blazing summer heat. Despite being in England, there were small pockets where the sun showed no mercy and blaze down like a desert. We became raccoons as we ran around with rivers of makeup flowing down our face. It became vital to reapply makeup every hour or so, especially before our performances.

"True that," Doll replied, slightly chuckling at the memory of her face paint running down her face. The trainees nearly lost it at Doll's raccoon-like face as she helped them out with the circus training while keeping a neutral expression on. Even I struggled to keep mine on as my makeup ran as I helped her out.

I noticed Doll's faux roses in her wig were about to fall off. I reached my hand out and readjusted it. She looked at me, confusion lining her face. "Your rose was about to fall out of your hair," I shrugged, giving her a closed-eye smile.

"Mummy," I heard a young voice asked. Doll and I glanced at a crowd to see a young boy, no more than seven, in a dark blue winter's coat, black trousers, and black clumps point at us. "Are those two ladies in love?" He tugged a woman's hand. She wore a green dress and a dark purple shawl over it.

Doll and I blushed a deep red, the blood rushing to our pale cheeks. We looked down at our laps, our rosy cheeks that were red from the cold become darker and more noticeable. "Fred!" The mum of the young boy named Fred scolded. "That isn't a polite thing to say! You embarrassed the two of them! I'm sure they were close friends or sisters."

"That's quite alright," Doll waved off the comment, making herself appear friendly so we could sell tickets.

"That's actually a first," I smiled at the boy. "Usually, we're assumed as best friends; sisters, even!"

"I just noticed your outfits and hair contrast each other," the boy commented.

Doll and I examined our outfits. Well, he was right there. Doll adorned a white wig with white faux rises and a frilly white dress with white stockings and shoes. I had my brown-black hair tied into a bun with faux roses, a ruffled black dress, and black stockings and shoes. "You two are like the yin and yang!" He smiled, showing off his missing teeth.

"Not quite," Doll replied. We cupped our hands and held them together, forming a heart with our hands between each other. "More like..." she started.

"Mirror images of each other," I finished. We both gave the small family a warm smile. "Welcome to the Noah's Ark Circus," We said.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
New additional chapter I added go help the plot go by more smoothly.
This book is being edited, so comments may not make sense