Chapter Text
Tonny was gone.
Nobody knew exactly when, why, or even how. He simply vanished. All he left was a note leaving Sahed in charge in his place. Dotty studied the note thoroughly and confirmed the handwriting as definitely Anthonn’s, but it didn’t sit right with Julia. Naturally, it didn’t sit right with anybody in the circus troupe for obvious reasons, but what could they do? As intensely suspicious as the whole thing was, the letter was marked with Tonny’s signature and seal. On paper, it was all very legal. Stranger still, Sahed suddenly and inexplicably knew the ins and outs of the inner workings of the circus. He made for a oddly competent caretaker. Not that it made much difference; there wasn't a single soul in the circus who trusted him anymore after the abrupt takeover.
Everyone suspected foul play, but only Julia knew for a fact that Sahed was behind Tonny's disappearance. On the day following Mr. Finnegan's permanent death, she had gotten a little too enthusiastic while talking with Sahed concerning what to do about Tonny and accidentally blurted out the specifics of her contract, including her one year cutoff.
Julia clapped her hands over her mouth and stared at Sahed silently. She watched as several emotions crossed his face, many of them indecipherable. 3 nervous eyes darted around the room as he began pacing and muttering to himself. Why did he look so... terrified? He wasn't the one with a deadline. (That would have been a pretty funny pun, she had to admit, if her life wasn't literally in danger).
After what felt like hours, Julia finally built up the courage to reach out a trembling hand and tap Sahed's shoulder. He jumped slightly and whipped his head around to face her. She blushed deeply, and stuttered out a meek,
"S-Sahed...?"
He didn't say anything for a moment, staring at something apparently pretty interesting on the wall behind her. He opened and shut his mouth, attempting several sentences then abandoning them at the first word. Finally, he let out a heavy sigh, plastered on a particularly fake reassuring smile, and whispered,
"I'll take care of it."
Julia blinked once. Twice. What on earth did he mean by that? Didn't she just finish telling him that that the spirit asked her to kill Tonny? She was pretty sure it wouldn't count if Sahed killed him in her place. But Sahed didn't give her time to ask as he turned her around by the shoulders and briskly walked her to the door and out.
"B-but-" she turned around and stuttered to a now closed door. And that was that. Julia pouted, her face still beet red and heart pounding.
In the following weeks, she watched Tonny more closely than usual, not sure exactly what she was watching for. She thought up all sorts of strange "fixes" Sahed might put into place. Strangely enough, Tonny didn't suddenly fall dead to the floor. He didn't begin acting like a meat puppet controlled by Sahed from afar (Blessedly. Julia wasn't sure she could have coped with that one). Nor was there any grand reveal of some heinous plan Tonny had been plotting, followed by an intense duel in the big top ring wherein Sahed, his shirt slashed open to reveal his broad chest, bravely took Tonny out with his own knife as Tonny cried out a raspy, "Noooooo!." Julia was too embarrassed to admit even to herself how in depth she imagined that particular scene.
Everything carried on as normal. Until it didn't.
Overnight, Tonny was gone and a new leader was in his place. It was so anticlimactic that Julia felt almost disappointed (Not that she was hoping for some bloodbath, mind you.) The troupe carried on in shock, performing their tasks as if weighed down by an invisible, immense force. A handful that were particularly loyal to Tonny tried to start a riot, a coup, anything to force Sahed to reveal the truth. But nothing came of it. They had no proof of anything. Strictly speaking, Sahed's hands were squeaky clean.
A thick silence hung in the air all over the circus. The bonfire parties slowly died out. Management of the circus became much more mechanical in nature, instead of the casual carryings-on as before. In his defense, Sahed was fair in all of his dealings, paying everyone their earned wages, keeping the needs of the circus members met, properly stocking and preparing the circus, and so on. Things weren't bad, per se. But they definitely weren't as colorful.
Julia waited and counted the days, arriving finally at the end of her contract. One year had passed since she unwittingly joined this circus of the undead. She sat in her bed, heart pounding painfully, on the eve of her impending death, staring at her pocket watch without blinking as midnight approached. Was she actually released from her contract? Or had Sahed doomed her? He never even had the decency to tell Julia what would happen to her. His sudden radio silence unnerved her, and she found herself quite alone as Sahed became "much too busy" to enlighten her.
The clock struck 12 and... nothing happened. Perhaps her pocket watch was a little fast? She gave death an extra 20 minutes, yet still nothing happened. Perhaps the contract ended after the final day? The following night, however, Julia met with the same... letdown? Surprise? Disappointment? At exactly midnight, Julia did not keel over, and she did not know what to do with herself.
The following day, Julia sat in her and Kamille's shared wagon, idly carving a puppet head with her eyes fixed on no particular point in the distance. With death no longer looming over her, she had questions. So many questions. What could she do now? Was she stuck in the circus indefinitely? Was her contract completely voided? If so, what did it say now? Wouldn't she have to sign a new contract in order for it to go into effect? Do magic contracts even work that way?
As Julia's head swam with questions, her chisel slipped and landed squarely in the center of her palm. She stared dumbly at the tool stuck in her hand before unceremoniously pulling it back out. Wounds no longer bothered her after a year of instantly healing, but this one... really hurt. In fact, it kept hurting. The cut gushed with blood and the hot, red stuff quickly pooled in her palm and began dripping to the floor. Julia's heart stopped. Wait. Was she... alive again?
What on earth had Sahed promised the spirit in the attic to make this happen?!