Chapter Text
(Ticket taker’s POV)
The sun glares down on the circus, making me squint my eyes to see, as I step out of my tent. Adjusting my midnight blue jacket slightly, I make my way to the front gates of the circus.
“Harlequin! Pierrot!” I stride up to the two younger men as they glare at each other, Pierrot’s fist poised to attack. “All I asked was that you wait here nicely while I got the fliers,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose.
I hand them both separate stacks of printed out fliers, advertising “The Freak Circus of Horrors”. Pierrot drops his fist as he takes the papers, but he keeps glaring at Harlequin.
I nod, signaling to them to leave. They turn to go, and walk away, a wicked grin playing on Harlequin’s face as he pokes and prods Pierrot. I sigh.
“Everything going alright Bil?” a deep voice asks from behind me.
“Yes, just the usual pointless squabble between the two,” I say, turning around swiftly to meet Jester’s eye. The gold accents on his purple outfit glint as they catch the sun.
“Care to take a rest in my tent before the afternoon shows?” he asks, and places a hand on my shoulder. My face heats up behind my mask at the sudden warmth. Control yourself! I scold, slowing my breathing to a normal pace.
“Of course,” I tell Jester, and my shoulder feels suddenly cold as he takes his hand away, and begins walking swiftly towards his tent. I am quick to follow, adjusting my hat slightly.
We reach his purple and black striped tent, and he enters before me, the tent flap falling shut behind him. I take a deep breath, and step in.
The place is small, but not uncomfortably so. A circular table sits in the middle, with a wooden chair on each side. A bed rests in one corner, next to a chest of drawers, that must hold his clothes and other belongings. I sit in one chair, trying to maintain my composure, as Jester prepares tea.
You’ve been here many times before, Bil! What is different this time!?
I deepen my breathing, attempting to slow my rushing heartbeat. But whenever I glance Jester’s way, it just speeds up again, resuming its unnaturally fast tempo. What is this that I’m feeling?
I glance at my shaking hands, and fold them together in my lap. Now is not the time for such frivolous emotions. I fix a neutral expression on my face, and thank Jester calmly when he hands me a cup of hot tea.
“So Harlequin and Pierrot are out passing around fliers, correct?” Jester glances at me over the rim of his cup after sitting in the chair across from me.
“Hopefully,” I joke, knowing how the two of them get along. This gets a low, humorless chuckle out of him, and I avert my gaze towards my tea as I feel myself blush.
“Are you feeling well, Bil?” he asks, tilting his head, noticing me looking away, “Do you wish to visit Doctor? I can escort you if need be.”
His offer takes me by surprise. He thinks I’m feeling unwell? If only he knew how unwell I am.
“No, no, I feel quite fine,” I lie straight through my teeth. I quickly finish the tea in between bouts of awkward small talk, and then excuse myself.
“I should really go wash up before the guests begin arriving,” I tell Jester, needing to be out of the tent.
“I will be seeing you then,” he says, and I leave the tent, not slowing my pace until I reach my own.
I sit on the edge of my bed, and bring a hand to my chest, over my heart.
I must just be tired, I think to myself as my heartbeat returns to normal. I slowly shake my head, and stand up, noticing the light seeping through the tent folds dimming. It must be nearing sunset.
I hear the sound of footsteps, and a voice loudly teasing. Letting out a tired breath, I exit my tent to take any extra fliers from Pierrot and Harlequin.
Harlequin seems to be teasing Pierrot about a human they saw while passing out fliers. For the second time today, I stop their fighting, and take any extra papers from them. Once his hand is free, Pierrot lifts it up to graze the side of his cheek, as if remembering something.
“Thats where that human gave you a bandage isn’t it,” Harlequin sneers. “Do you miss them already?”
Pierrot just glares, unable to talk back to the green, snake-like circus performer. I shoot a pointed glance towards Harlequin, and he grins, but stops talking. I don’t know what human he’s talking about, but they have no place here, and the two performers must concentrate on their shows.
“Visitors are bound to be arriving soon, you two should go prepare your shows for the night,” I tell them. Harlequin nods, and all but skips off to his sickly green tent. Pierrot heads to his black and red tent, looking at his hand as if he were in a dream.
I shake my head once they are both gone, and walk towards my ticket booth, noticing the small line of visitors beginning to form. After setting down the fliers, I pick up my ticket puncher, and begin letting visitors in.
The sun sinks below the horizon, and I continue punching tickets. Some black, some gold, and some pink. It’s a very monotonous job.
After punching a woman’s pink ticket, and directing her towards the correct tent, a slightly younger visitor walks up to me.
“Hello, dear visitor, may I see your ticket?” I ask, for what feels like the hundredth time to me.
“Here!” They say excitedly, handing me a red ticket.
Wait…a red ticket? Could this be the human Harlequin was teasing Pierrot about?
“Oh, it seems you have a special ticket! Make sure to show it at the attractions!” I tell them, punching their ticket.
“What do you mean by special ticket?”
“You get front row seats, my dear red ticket guest!” I tell them, waving them through the entrance.
Interesting…Pierrot must have taken a liking to this human. I have to be careful around them.
I’m sure Pierrot is never far.
After punching the rest of the visitors’ tickets, I make my way towards my tent, and wait. Most nights, nobody visits my tent, although I don’t mind much.
As I wait, my mind wanders. I think back to when I was in Jester’s tent. My heart skips a beat just thinking of his name, and I pinch my arm.
This is unprofessional. You are coworkers!
I am still deep in thought, when suddenly, a visitor enters my tent.
“Well hello there visitor -” Oh, It’s the red ticket guest. “Ah, it’s you, red ticket holder. Welcome to my tent.”
I walk to the center of the room, the mirrors on the walls reflecting my action. The red ticket visitor’s eyes follow me, and I gesture towards a mirror. It folds in, revealing a doorway.
“Not many people visit my tent, dear,” I say, tipping my hat in a slight bow. “Don’t take too long.”
Their face scrunches slightly in confusion at my warning, but they walk through the doorway anyways, entering my tent of mirrors.
I slip into one of my mirrors, and watch as they walk down the hallway, stopping to look into every mirror. When they stop at my mirror, I slowly step out.
“I told you not to take too long, red ticket holder” I tell them, a small smile playing on my lips. A hand appears on their shoulder, and they freeze, moving their head to turn around.
“Don’t. Do not move,” I say sternly, and wait for their reaction. They look back at me, eyes wide, but they stay still. The hand disappears.
“Good. I like obedient visitors. It shows you know your place. Continue on. The mirror at the end of the hallway is my personal favorite - it’s intense.” I tip my hat again, and slowly back away into the mirror.