Cirque Du Freak: Merla's Story

Prolouge

It had been about a year since Merliana, also known as Merla, fled from her home and moved into a circus known for it's side shows.
She had been abused at her home, to the point where she hit her foster mother in the head with a skillet for self defense. After she saw blood, she fled from the scene after calling 911, not wishing to actually kill her abuser.
She ran, past the town, past the forests, until she came upon a circus. It was a decent size, but there was evil inside of the tent, an evil no one would expect unless they saw or witnessed it.
She felt at home for a good while, using her aerial skills to perform gracefully on the silks.
Many came just to see the young female perform. They adored how she was able to move so gracefully, especially at the young age of fifteen. She acted like she had performed forever, spinning and dancing as if she was older.
It was her passion, and she adored every second she was able to be up on stage, all eyes on her, while she was on the silks or just doing different tricks with her body. It excited her, and every time she heard the crowd gasping or clapping and cheering, she could not help but smile and get an adrenaline rush. It did not take long for her to be addicted.
Sadly that addiction did not last long...
When she was practicing one evening, she accidentally caught her earring on her sleeve, and it refused to let go. She glanced about before pulling her ear off, a weird talent she found out when she was only four. When she got the earring unstuck, she noticed the ringleader watching, as if she was a freak.
Afterwards, she was the 'freak' show. People would come to watch her show off her talent, and if she refused, she would be whipped or beaten. No matter how much she pleaded or cried, she was the freak of the circus, used to bring visitors from all over, to bring in more money.
No one saw how much she was struggling. She was not eating enough, to the point where she would pass out off and on, nor cared if she was bleeding or bruised.
They were just interested in seeing her odd talent, that she now viewed as a curse.
After a few weeks though, someone in the distance watched, and noticed clearly the young female was struggling. He knew she was hurting, and that she was in need.
That night, he went and aided her out of her cage, the one her ringmaster forced her in at night to make sure she would not flee, and took the weak woman to another circus, without her knowledge her previous master was murdered in his sleep.