Chapter Text
Silence filled the air of the vast fields as the foggy morning breeze swept through the air, the gentle movements of the branches of the forest's trees echoing each other as sunlight barely pierced through the thick leaves. Amongst the vast forest, the chipper chiming of a small bell rang through the quiet as an ornate red horse-drawn carriage rode through the trees followed behind by several empty cage carriages, the bell hanging in front of the carriage as it bounced along the dirt path. A rider was in front, holding the horses' reins as they whipped them to keep the carriage moving steadily as to not bother the occupants. The carriage was a striking crimson red, white and gold trim around the edges, and the curtains covering the inside a lovely forest green. The sides of the carriage had similarly ornate writing painted onto it, the writing reading: "Papa's Circus of the Macabre Mia!"
Inside the carriage were three passengers. On one side of the carriage, sat a young man wearing a simple white shirt, white pin-striped red vest, cobalt pants, and a matching red and blue bowler hat on his lap, and on the other, a young woman wearing a matching outfit but with a purple ribbon around her neck. In front to the two was a separate room where the ringmaster sat, a small window with a crimson curtain being the only thing separating the three...
The young man peered through the curtains on his right side, peeking through to see nothing but endless trees before letting out a small sigh of disappointment.
"*sigh*... How long until we get there," the man asked, a tad bit annoyed at how long the ride was taking and fidgeting with the bowler hat in his hands.
"Now, Roy, be patient," the woman said, holding her hand to his mouth as she spoke in a shushing motion. "Uncle said that the trip won't take long, so keep quiet will you?"
"B-But, sister, we've been on the same path for ages... It's been nothing but trees as far as the eyes could see out there. I doubt that we'll be going anywhere for a while."
"You always worry for the worst, brother. We will be just fine once we get to our destination. We always will. Now, hush! Otherwise he'll hear you."
"Joy, I am being serious. What if this whole trip isn't worth it? What if we don't get enough people to come? What if-?"
"Roy, shhh-!"
"Is your little brother bothering you, niece Joy...?"
The siblings looked over to see a gloved hand reach for the curtain on the small window separating them from his room before pushing it open. The siblings stared as an older man in an ornate red and white suit with gold trim along the edges and a tall white top hat looked through towards the two, his large handlebar mustache covering the lower half of his face while his top hat made a shadow over his eyes.
It was the legendary ringmaster... Papa Louie.
"U-Uncle Louie," Joy stammered as she looked over her shoulder, trying not to get his ire onto her or her brother. "I-It's nothing! Roy, didn't-!"
"Shhhhh...," the ringmaster shushed gently, holding his other gloved hand up to his mustache as his eyes stared at Joy. "Now, now, my niece. No need to panic. I can handle this."
Slowly, Papa Louie leaned towards Roy, who was now cowering in his seat as his uncle stretched his neck from his seat in the carriage, before stopping inches from the boy's face.
"Now, my dear nephew... What did I say about complaining?"
Fearing for his life, Roy stuttered his answer as his uncle stared directly at him. "*gulp* T-Those who c-complain...w-w-will have to r-re-educate their b-brain..."
"Very good, dear Roy..."
Slowly, the ringmaster's neck cracked and snapped as it retracted back to his body in the room, an uncomfortably wide smile on the ringmaster's face before he pulled the curtain closed. Roy was hunched into his seat, holding his chest as his heart was racing from his uncle's scolding, while Joy watched with widened eyes as she gently shook her head in disappointment.
...
After a while, the carriage stopped as the rider held the horses' reins to halt them in place, and making the vehicle come to a rest in an open field outside the forest. Roy took another shy peek out the carriage window to see that they have finally left the forest and were now in an open field in front of him. The rider got down from the carriage as they went over to the sides to place down some steps and open the carriage doors, letting the passengers out. Ringmaster Papa Louie stepped out first, the rider shaking in place as their boss went down the steps with poise and dignity, the taps of his cane filling the air. Afterwards, the siblings got out next. Joy stepped out with grace while Roy took a few steps before tumbling down all of them and landed face-first in the grass, much to everyone's annoyance. Roy readjusted his bowler hat as he got himself up from the grass, his older sister and uncle staring him down as he dusted himself off.
"Roy...," Joy said, wincing at her little brother's fumble. "Please be more dignified with your entry..."
"A-Apologies, everyone," Roy apologized, attempting to not make any eye contact with any of them, especially his uncle. "M-Must've took a misstep-."
"Nephew Roy, unprofessionalism will not be tolerated," Papa Louie spoke with a rather stern tone as he craned his neck towards the boy. "Understood?"
"Y-Yes, Uncle Louie," Roy answered, holding his bowler hat up to his face. "U-Understood."
"Lovely. Now, it's time to get to work! No time to waste!"
Papa Louie tapped his cane on the ground as several huge beams were summoned from the ground behind the group, towering over everyone. Afterwards, a huge red-and-white tarp was summoned above, causing Roy to nearly cower in fear as he feared the tarp would land on top of them. However, the tarp gently draped over the beams instead, forming a huge circus tent right behind them. Roy stared in awe before suddenly being given a huge stack of flyers in his arms, much to his surprise.
"W-What is this, Uncle Louie," Roy asked, confused by how many flyers he was holding.
"Hand these flyers out to the local town nearby here, will you, dear Roy," Papa Louie asked as he pointed towards the fog ahead of them.
"B-But, I don't see-."
With another tap of his cane, Papa Louie cleared out the fog just enough to reveal a small sign slowly coming into view reading..."Tastyville". Roy's eyes widened at the sight of it, and he was about to ask further but decided not to for his safety. Looking behind himself, he could see his sister already working on setting the tent in place, and realizing that he would be doing this alone, Roy let out a small sigh as he made his way to the little town of Tastyville to lend them an ear of Papa's Circus of the Macabre Mia...