The Angel and Her Cirque

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We have a girl coming.

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Magnus says she's special

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Maybe even be the star of the show.

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I wonder when she'll arrive

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She must be beautiful.

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The whispers could be heard, everyone was ecstatic to have a new recruit, 'the fresh meat'. Said girl had yet to arrive but the Ringmaster, their boss, Magnus had said she'd be arriving at any moment. Everyone ran around doing their best to make their home presentable. Everyone but Marcus, he sat on a bench in front of his tent carving wood into the shape of a star. He heard the whispers and many came to him with the news but he did nothing to show he acknowledged it with their same enthusiasm.

A girl walked up to him dressed in a bright pink corset and a neon green tutu, her pink curly hair was decorated with flowers of all kind while her pale complexion made the colors she adorn stand out completely. Her eyes however were cat-like, precise and tantalizing as her pink coated lips turned up into a grin as she sat by him.

"You seem down," She began cheerfully. "Penny for your thoughts?" And like magic she slipped a penny through her fingers and passed it to him. Marcus with amused brown eyes smiled at her and grabbed the penny.

"I'm just fine, Lily." He chuckled, running a hand through his short curly brown hair.

Lily seemed unconvinced and glared suspiciously.

"Then why aren't you excited about our new freak?" She questioned with an arched brow.

He scowled. "Why do you call us that? We aren't freaks."

She waved him off and stood up to walk towards a small grill he had across the way. His tent was gated–as was every other tent to every performer separating each other for their own of privacy. Their homes were kept hidden in acres of woods under massive tents, held up by the sturdy trees over the whole area. All of this and the famous Madame Magnus' Cirque Fantasia, was owned by their ringmaster: Magnus Ducille.

"You never use this thing," Lily commented lifting the lid of his grill before staring at him. "When will you?"

He shrugged. "When the occasion calls for it."

Lily's cat eyes widened. "So today!"

He shook his head and she groaned. "You are so boring, Marc."

"No, I'm calm," He retorted, but Lily wasn't amused one bit and he sighed. "Alright, when the new girl comes and gets situated, I'll grill up some food."

Lily grinned, "I'll tell Royce and Shia. Oh this is gonna be so much fun!" She squeaked, satisfied as she skipped along out through his open gates and down the stone pathway. Marcus shaking his head went back to his small carving, lifting his jean covered legs to rest his elbows upon them and examine the work he's done.

"Is she gone?" A voice asked from within his tent.

Marcus rolled his eyes but answered. "Yes, Daxter."

A male walked out letting out a breath of relief. At first glance you'd be astounded, almost shocked at the sight of him; his blue metalic skin stood out like a sore thumb with bright yellow eyes and long dark black hair. He was a sight to see but despite his strange appearance, looking closely you could tell how handsome he truly was; strong jaw, angled features, tall toned body glistened with a green sheen with a sharp stare that glowed.

"Thank god, I thought for sure that she saw me." Daxter complained as he sat next to Marcus before he staring at him with a smirk.

Marcus frowned. "What?"

"You're excited about the girl, aren't you?" Daxter wiggled his dark brows knowingly.

Marcus scoffed. "I don't even know who she is."

"Neither do I! I'm pretty excited too man, I wonder what she looks like. I heard the pixies talking, apparently Rush was there when Magnus met the girl. He said she was gorgeous, an angel even." Daxter's eyes were wide with thrill as he shook his legs with anticipation.

"I'm sure she's pretty." Marcus hummed softly, sharpening out the ends of his star with a knife.

"Oh come on!" Daxter exclaimed. "You've gotta be a little bit excited! You're too calm to not be excited." He eyed Marcus suspiciously but he didn't dare stare back because secretly Daxter was right. Marcus was beyond curious to know who this girl was and to see her for himself. It was taking more than all of him not to run through the whole camp to find her.

When he got news of the new girl, Marcus couldn't stop his heart from nearly beating out of his chest. Even before word got out about her, deep inside his gut, his soul, he felt something was about to happen, something life changing. Marcus believed in fate more than anything, he knew that this girl coming was to be a gift–a blessing. Only he didn't know to who or what.

Marcus smirked. "I am a bit curious." He confessed causing Daxter to grin foolishly.

"I knew it. But hey, maybe she might be into blue guys." Daxter boasted himself with a hand running through his hair.

"At least she'll be seeing you." Marcus muttered, Daxter heard and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"We all see you, Marc."

He snorted. "When you want to, yeah."

Daxter rolled his eyes and stood. "Fine, be that way, jackass. But don't let that stop you from getting close to her." He pointed a stern finger at Marcus.

"What makes you think I wanna get close to her?" Marcus inquired with a raise of his brow as he dropped his knife and star down beside him to cross his arms. Daxter walked backwards out the gate with a shrug.

"If what they say about this girl is true, you'll definitely be at her beck and call." He said in a fruity tone before walking off, leaving Marcus gaping at him.

"What's that supposed to mean!" He shouted after him but was ignored. Daxter nah the bad habit of acting as if he knew something he didn't and that left Marcus more curious than ever, wondering who this mystery girl was. Biting his lip nervously he glanced at the empty pathway looking around for anyone. When the coast was clear he stood up and walked off; his star carved perfectly held tightly in his hand, Marcus made his way between a set of tents and into the woods through a shortcut to the front of the camp.

Having spent years memorizing the woods and camp grounds, Marcus knew every inch of it like the back of his hand. He knew where to hide, how to get to point A to point B faster than others and all the while going places no one else knew about. Unlike the others Marcus enjoyed time to himself, even more so causing him to venture off alone on multiple occasions, introverted and mind wandering off someplace else. For many reasons Marcus stayed alone, but for the most part he enjoyed the silence of of solitude. Living a life of entertainment and showmanship required standing center in rooms filled with loud crowds, screaming children and booming music of long periods of time, day after day almost none stop.

Silence was needed.

Marcus made it to the front of the camp that lead to the back of the cirque grounds. The area was surrounded by large tarps to hide the glory that was inside, a single cut entrance was open for performers to enter and exit without being noticed. But today everyone remained at the opening, every performer: the acrobats, pixies, mermaids, beautiful oddities and fairies. Everyone stood waiting, murmuring and whispering amongst each other till the new recruit would show.

"Magnus is showing her around the cirque." Lily found her way to Marcus and stood by him as he leaned against a tree far from the crowd and in the shadows as he preferred.

"That so?"

Lily nodded her head smiling brightly. "Any second now she'll be walking through those curtains." She pointed a graceful finger to the tarp opening that remained torturously closed. She hadn't noticed but Marcus's eyes were glued to those tarps, his heart beating so fast he'd thought it'd hurl through his chest. His star clutched in his hand he could feel the perspiration begin as his palms got clammy and his leg softly began shaking with anticipation.

"How did you get here so fast?" Daxter asked incredulously as he found and stood by his two friends yet careful to send a nervous glance towards Lily who glared at him.

Marcus shrugged, his attention some place else. "I have my ways."

"Hello, Dax." Lily said tightly, no sign of contentment in her words as she crossed her arms and stared at him with blazing cat eyes. Daxter gave a flirtatious smile before sliding next to her and wrapping an arm over her shoulders.

"You aren't still mad at me are you, doll face?" He chimed with a bat of his long black lashes that soon had her seething and shoving him away before he could affect her.

"To hell with you, Daxter Shaw!" She shouted in his face, pale skin going red as she stomped away fuming. Daxter however stood frozen like a deer in headlights.

Marcus raised a brow. "I told you not ditch her." He warned his friend.

Daxter snapped his head towards him and glared. "Alright, Mr. Romantic, keep talking."

He raised his hands in defence. "I was right, wasn't I?" He looked at him pointedly causing Daxter to grumble before going after Lily. Marcus alone once more let his focus fall back onto the curtains, the stillness of them torturing him as he wished they'd open. Glancing up at the sky the day was falling and the sun was beginning to set sending a glow of orange, red and yellow over the sky; the sight was lovely, beautiful and truly breathtaking.

But nothing prepared him for the gasps that erupted through the crowd. Breath stopping, Marcus snapped his gaze down and immediately everything around him stopped as his eyes fell upon a sight unlike the sky or world before him. The whole cirque in it's beauty could not compare, no precious jewel could match. Marcus felt his heart ache at the sight of the most beautiful girl he's ever seen.

Light brown waves of hair cascaded down the middle of her back. A white summer dress made her light honey skin glow, beige wedges gave her small size height. Her face too far to define but Marcus could see how flawless it was was, how timeless she looked. Marcus couldn't deny the pull he felt towards her much like anyone else here in the cirque, the pull she had on his heart and the light she poured into his soul. Her beauty left the crowd speechless as she now stood in front of them, watching as they all were frozen in awe of her.

Beside her Magnus stood tall and overbearing; dressed in a bright red tailcoat and black pants, black hair jelled back and black eyes starring out into the crowd with a smirk. He had a hand placed upon her back he noticed and for some reason it bothered Marcus the way Magnus looked down at her. Next to the girl was a woman, middle aged and dressed in men clothes that looked big on her despite her short built size.

Magnus lifted his chin and spoke. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to our newest member of Fantasia, Mia Gerabaldi!"

And to her surprise, the crowd cheered. Everyone applauded her causing her to jump back startled . He saw that and smiled, he saw how shocked she was. He even noticed the ghost of a smile on her face she forced herself to hide as Magnus lead her through the crowd towards the camp entrance where Marcus realized he stood by. He watched with a struggling calm as they approached, her face coming into view and he saw how painfully mesmerizing she was.

Before he knew it the three of them were walking by him. His eyes locked on hers, wide doe brown eyes looking around in wonder and as if fate designed it; their eyes met. His breath hitched as did hers and all that seemed to exist was them. Marcus was paralyzed but slowly as she smiled a warmth went through him when she gave him a small wave before walking away. He couldn't help but tumble back as the wind seemed to get knocked out of him.

He couldn't believe it. She saw him. She truly saw him. Blinking back into reality his arms dropped to his sides as he now seemed able to breathe. Looking at her retreating back she flipped her hair, and unmistakably he caught glimpse of two long marks parallel going down between her shoulder blades. Scars, but before he could really examine them her hair hid the scars once more and he frowned.

From the crowd Daxter walked up to him, watching his friend as he seemed lost in thought. "So," the blue man began with a smirk. "What did you think?"

Marcus looked at his friend, eyes wide and lost in a haze."About?"

Daxter frowned. "Mia, obviously."

Her name was as sweet as her, he thought.

"Mia." Marcus whispered, pronouncing her name as it slipped past his lips, "Mia, Mia, Mia."

"Oh shit, I knew it!" Daxter rejoiced. "You're completely whipped!"

That knocked some sense into Marcus and he scoffed. "All she did was wave at me."

Daxter gasped. "What? She acknowledged you? I was stuck in the middle of the damn crowd trying to get her attention. Lucky." He grumbled bitterly. Marcus waved him off as he watched Magnus lead the two ladies away through the camp grounds, the string lights hanging from each tent guiding them through.

"Rush was right," Marcus mumbled to himself. "She's an angel."