[Sherlock] Circo de Pastel - 3/13
Title: Circo de Pastel
Author: Mesita
Words: 4440/6898/50,000+
Pairings: Sherlock/John (Eventual) Lestrade/Mycroft (Implied)
Warnings: Slight torture, kidnapping, violence, death
Summary: John Watson runs away to join a circus where he is forced to live with the resident consulting psychic. After one of the circus members is murdered, it's up to John and Sherlock to solve the case.
First Chapter
CHAPTER THREE
CIRCO DE PASTEL
Once inside the massive circus tent, John found a seat near the front. As he was by himself, he had no problems locating a decent seat. The families and children and couples that surrounded him munched noisily on their food and the amount of voices trapped inside the tent was deafening.
John made himself comfortable and looked around breathlessly. All thoughts about his mother seemed very far away. It was hard to think that he had just been delivering her dead body to the morgue only five hours ago-it seemed like a lifetime away. He was glad to be here, away from his drunk and abandoning sister, away from his abusive father and away from his unwelcoming home.
He would never go back. Nothing in this world would make him go back to that life.
Things in the circus looked much more appealing. The bright colors, the happy atmosphere, the screaming children… everything seemed much better in comparison. He looked out over the three rings in the center of the tent and smiled. There was a tightrope, several pedestals, trapeze swings and nets… Everything began a stir in John’s belly that made him feel as though he was going to witness something truly spectacular and that was not just the advertising talking.
After some time, the lights began to dim and the crowd’s voice levels dropped significantly. John leaned forward in his seat in anticipation.
There was an explosion of smoke and a man with silver hair and a top hat seemed to appear in the middle of the largest ring. He had the tell-tale signs of a ringmaster-coat tails and all. He took off his hat and gave a sweeping bow to the members of the audience.
“Good evening, Ladies and gents! Boys and girls! I am Lestrade and welcome… to the CIRCO DE PASTEL!”
The tent exploded with cheers and calls from the audience, with John joining in with full enthusiasm.
Lestrade walked around the largest ring in a circle as he addressed the crowd with his booming voice. “We are the Circo de Pastel, we waste no time in pleasantries. We bring you the biggest and the best right from the start. As you may well be aware, we have the greatest Chinese acrobats on this side of the dateline. May I introduce you to our Spider Acrobats!” The ring leader raised his arms in the air, indicating some figures clad in feathers and sequins that had appeared on the high platforms well above everyone’s heads.
As the acrobats went about their performance, John found he had become star struck. Everything he saw in this circus continued to amaze him. The way the acrobats held themselves with absolutely no fear gave John the chills. They danced about the trapeze swings and along the tightrope as if this were the most natural thing for them in the world. The net at the bottom of the tent almost seemed it was there just to satisfy health and safety codes and less like it was there for the acrobats. They never fell. Not once.
In between acts, a group of clowns dressed as policemen went about their silly shenanigans as they set up for the next act. This circus really thought of everything. There was not one dull moment the entire show.
As far as circuses went, the Circo de Pastel had everything a generic circus could ask for. John had never in his life been to a circus before, so he had nothing to compare it to. To him, everything was new and exciting and perfect. For all he knew, he could never see another circus again, because nothing could be as great or as wonderful as the performance he was seeing at that moment in time.
There was a roar offstage and several members of the audience gasped. In seconds, a monster of a beast bounded onto the stage. John jumped back in surprised when he realized it was a lion. And what a magnificent lion it was! Lestrade kept his distance as another man ran past with a whip.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, behold!” Lestrade motioned toward the lion and the tamer. “Anderson has tamed this mighty beast, and will show you just how much he has accomplished!” The crowd cheered and Lestrade soon held his hands up again to quiet them. “We must all stay very still. This beast of a lion may lash out at any time!”
To demonstrate this, Anderson held out a hefty slab of meat and the lion tore it viciously from his hands. The crowd gasped.
Anderson’s handling of the lion was impressive. He had trained it to behave much like a dog. It could sit, roll over, pass a ball back and forth and shake. Anderson even showed the lion’s impressive ability to hold back its primal urges by sticking his head in its mouth. For a grand finale, Anderson lit a hoop on fire… and just went John thought the lion was going to jump through the hoop, the lion picked up a bucket with its teeth and doused the fire. The crowd erupted into fits of laughter.
The clowns came out again to clean up the mess and John settled back in his chair. Really, this was impressive. He would not mind becoming a part of something like this-but he had no talent. He knew this. He envied all of these great performers with their exceptional abilities. More than anything, John wished he had been given the opportunity to build upon a talent or ability in his childhood, rather than having to deal with everything he had.
What skills had he even possessed, he wondered. He thought briefly of taking care of his mother. He certainly had some admirable bedside manner qualities. He worked well under pressure, that was a given. Why, they could work him so hard here and he would never break. His father had certainly trained him well in that area, even if he did little else to improve John’s quality of life. Perhaps he could work in the background… clean up after the animals or stay after to clean up all the dirt and trash left on the grounds by the patrons. It was possible!
Lestrade’s commanding voice broke John from his reverie. His eyes widened when he saw what the circus had in store for him, next.
“And now, for your mystical treasure, we have the Magnificent Professor Moriarty and his lovely assistant, Molly!”
The audient erupted in cheers so loud, John was afraid the tent would collapse. Clearly the selling point of this circus was this act. The Magnificent Professor Moriarty took the center ring and held his white gloved hands up for all to see. In one swift motion he took off both gloves, threw them into the crowd and then rolled up the sleeves on his suit. It was an expensive suit, too, John noted. Probably from some impossibly expensive company he had never heard of. At least he was proving that he had nothing up his sleeve so to speak.
Molly, however, was absolutely stunning. She had a beautiful smile and her brown hair was pulled to the side in a messy ponytail. Her hair was adorned with peacock feathers and the colors matched her sequin outfit. This circus certainly had its flashy bits down.
Nearly all of the other performers had been silent. Only Lestrade had spoken thus far. Even Anderson with his lion taming abilities only mimed actions and grunted a bit when he instructed the lion to do anything. The Magnificent Professor Moriarty, however, was able to speak.
“Hello, there, little ones…” the magician spoke, his unmistakable Irish accent lilting across the audience like a spell, holding each and every one of them captive. “My my we have such a lively crowd tonight. Have you all been enjoying this little show?”
The audience cheered in response; John cheered right along with them.
The Magnificent Professor Moriarty smiled and pulled his assistant, Molly, closer to him. “We have quite an amazing show for you all, tonight.” His eyes glinted with a sort of mysterious charm.
John wondered if he would do some card tricks or pull a rabbit out of his hat, but it turned out that Moriarty had a more refined and detailed act that really set him apart from other magicians. He seemed almost immune to the fear of death and that gave him a sort of dark edge.
To warm the audience up, he had a bit of a teleporting act where Molly stepped in and out of boxes located within the three rings. John was astonished as to how he could pull it off. Surely there was nothing but solid ground beneath them! There was not even a platform on the stage-just circular rings directly on the grass.
He had a few slight of hand tricks in the interim, just to keep the audience going, and he was surprisingly camp throughout the entire act.
“First you have a bit of flowers here, yes? It’s a trick we all know but-what?” He threw the bunch of flowers into the air. The trick had obviously been one of those wands that flicked out vacuum suppressed flowers in an instant, but the minute the flowers left his hand, they turned into a white dove. “I’m sooooo changeable!” The audience cheered again.
After a while Moriarty had Molly roll in a large chamber and the magician held his hands up to quiet the audience down again. “For my last act, I will attempt a feat of bravery. My lovely assistant Molly here will place me in this straight jacket; tie me in chains with several locks to keep me in place. I will then be lowered upside down in this tank of water. Greater magicians than I have died performing such a feat! Will I make it? Shall we find out?” He flipped his cape off and threw it into the air where it burst into flame and smoldered harmlessly on the stamped down grass in the next ring. Moriarty was clearly no stranger to theatrics.
John watched as Molly helped Moriarty gear up for his show stopping final act. In the moments that Moriarty was being lowered upside down into the tank of water, John did not realize he was holding his breath. It was not until he could feel his heart beating in his throat that he finally let out the air. Moriarty seemed to struggle fruitlessly in the water, trying to get the locks undone.
A minute went by, and then another. John grew increasingly anxious with each passing second. Moriarty appeared to be making no progress whatsoever on his situation.
Then, as if the lights had been turned on without warning, several of the locks broke away. Moriarty had unlocked them somehow, and he was moving then to untie the straight jacket. In seconds, he was undoing the locks at his ankles to free himself and pull himself into an upright position.
Clearly he had been training to hold his breath for a long time. He was under for three or four minutes at the very least. John wondered how long a human could effectively hold their breath, but the thought died quickly as Moriarty emerged from the tank to a round of deafening applause. John stood up just before the entire audience followed in suit, clapping so hard his hands hurt.
He was more than impressed! The entire show was worth the measly eight pounds he had spent on a ticket. Clearly much more when into this circus than he realized. That or they managed to find some incredibly talented people and lucked out. John wondered if they were paid at all, or if they worked here just to get by.
In either case, he stood for far longer than many of the other patrons and was not ashamed to sit down audibly. When Lestrade came out to give the final farewell to the audience, John was nearly ready to give another standing ovation. It did not matter that he was by himself. He more or less had forgotten. He was so enthralled in the performance.
“That is all the show we have for you, this evening!” Lestrade raised his arms for one last time to address the audience. “We will be here for the remainder of the week, so please, come back and see us again! Our show is always changing! And be sure to see some of our side shows just outside the tent. The fun here at the Circo de Pastel never ends!” Lestrade’s voice echoed loudly over the heads of every man and woman, boy and girl in the audience. For a moment, John appreciated the acoustics of the tent.
As people slowly began to file out of the tent, John held his seat. Some of the performers had come out to tear down pieces of the “stage” and to clean up after The Magnificent Professor Moriarty. John watched them with a growing interest. Even just as a cleanup crew, the acrobats still held their agility and grace. John was starting to see himself as more and more prone to mistakes now that he compared himself to these flawless human beings. He began to think it was silly of him to even believe for a moment that the circus would take him.
He stopped himself there. Was he serious about trying to join the circus? Surely there were applications or auditions or something. The days of children running away to join the circus had long since passed. John was nineteen, and he would be twenty in a few months time. He was no run away. He would have to go about this in a professional manner. He was a dignified young adult who had left his home and was now seeking his fortune. He repeated this fact in his head a few dozen times until he was sure that he believed it.
With that in mind, John stood up and hefted his belongings back over his left shoulder again. He swallowed hard and set out to find someone he could talk to. He scanned the tent. The performers and clowns were busy cleaning up the stage, and John felt it would be wrong to bother them. The stands were emptying out quickly as each of the patrons moved outside to see more of the circus. John looked around hoping there would be people cleaning the seats. Spilled popcorn and drinks were everywhere, so surely this was a concern for the circus.
He saw someone, finally: a tall, thin man with curly hair and a serious face. He looked out of place for a patron, but he also was not dressed as flashy as the other circus performers. He had black slacks and a dark purple shirt. There was a grey overcoat and a blue scarf draped over his arm casually as if he were going to leave the tent into the bitter cold any moment.
John quickly scrambled to get out of his row to head toward the man. Something about him seemed odd. This was not a particularly bad odd, either. John felt that same pull toward that man as he had when he first saw the circus from the cab.
Unfortunately, the man looked up at a most inopportune time, saw John coming for him, frowned and turned away. Someone passed in front of John for a moment and when John managed to get by, he looked back to where that tall man had been standing and was astonished to find that he was no longer there. Frustrated, John picked up the pace and began to rush toward where he had seen the other man. There was absolutely no sign of him and John was beginning to wonder if he had even seen the man at all.
Suddenly, a voice with a heavy accent sounded beside him, “Hey there, mate. You a bit lost?”
John turned around to see one of the heavier set clowns giving him a bit of a stare. John swallowed hard. “I was uh… looking for someone, is all.”
“Oh, really,” the clown raised a painted eyebrow and nodded toward John’s bag of belongings. “Going somewhere, mate?”
John followed the clown’s gaze to his bag and shifted it a little bit on his shoulder. “I’ve uh… you’re going to think this is a bit silly…” John trailed off a little bit, swallowed hard and licked his lips. “I’ve just left home for good you see. I thought maybe this place looked interesting and I’m really very impressed with the whole circus. And really, I’m just looking for someone I can talk to about… possibly… working here?” John gave the clown a hopeful glance.
Instead of judging him outright, the clown actually chuckled in good humor and held a hand out to John. “You look strong and decent. The first is a good trait to have around here. The second will be wiped from you soon enough. I’m Mike. Mike Stamford.”
“John Watson.” John shook the clown’s hand and withdrew quickly as he felt a shock on his palm. He rubbed the offended appendage with a scowl.
Mike the clown threw his head back and laughed, “Oh, that trick always gets the best of them!” He held up his hand to show John the buzzer and removed it to put it back in his pocket. “Ah, no but seriously.” Mike’s face went from laughter to seriousness in less than a second. John was impressed. “You’re looking for a job?”
“More or less,” said John as he clenched and unclenched his hand. It still tingled a little.
“Follow me, then,” said Mike. John wasted no time in following the clown through the stands and toward the doors of the tent. He thought briefly that it was strange for him to be following a clown with just a simple name. If anything, Mike could have given him a stage name like Boppy or Mr. Fluffpants or whatever it was that clowns called themselves. John decided not to question it and simply follow Mike.
“Do you really think you could get me a job?” John asked after a while.
Mike turned back to him. “In a way. In this circus, you can’t just go up to the big boss and ask for a job. You have to prove yourself. If we don’t leave you behind when we pack up, things will look up for you.”
“So this sort of thing happens all the time?” questioned John.
Mike stepped out into the cold night air. John hadn’t realized the sun had gone down already. “A bit,” said Mike. “We get loads of runaways. Most of them are crap, to be honest. Hadn’t worked a day in their lives. Spoiled brats from upper class families mostly.”
“I see,” said John, nodding. That gave him a bit of hope. He definitely did not match that description. “What sort of people do you need?”
“We’re always in need of a bit of manual labor if you’re up to it. Waste disposal, errand running, cleaning up after patrons… you know, the dirty work.” Mike said casually as he led John through the throngs of people, past the exhibits and toward the back of the circus.
“I can do that,” offered John. “I can do anything, really, so long as I have a chance.” Life at the circus certainly beat life living in a motel and trying to find a job bussing tables.
“Great!” Mike said. He opened a gate near the back of the grounds. Beyond the gate was a mass of trailers which held what John could only assume were the performers and other members of the circus. John felt a wash of nervousness come over him. Surely he would not be allowed to sleep in a trailer without someone noticing! Would he have to sleep outside? He hadn’t actually thought this far, and he hadn’t even thought he would get a job in the circus so easily.
Not that he even had a job, yet. Mike was giving him a chance, but Mike was also a clown with probably little to no social or political standing in the entire circus. Now, if someone like the Magnificent Professor Moriarty were to offer him a job, the offer would have much more weight. John just wished Mike would take him to Lestrade or something.
Instead, Mike led John to a homely looking trailer and knocked on the door. In a few moments, a kindly older lady opened the door. She wore a strikingly normal purple blouse with a matching skirt. With all the over-the-top costumes going around, John was relieved to see someone looking so normal.
“Mrs. Hudson,” Mike began, “This is John Watson.”
Mrs. Hudson must have known exactly why John was there. After all, there probably was not any other reason for him to be behind the gate in the first place. She smiled warmly and took his hand in hers. There was no shocking mechanism and her hands were warm and inviting. “Why, hello there, dear,” she smiled. “You’re the first we’ve gotten since we’ve come to London. Thought we’d get a few more but it seems like the circus isn’t as popular as it once was…”
“I, uh….” John fidgeted a little. He had never been in a job interview situation, and he had certainly not met very many adults who were so accommodating. “I have no where else to go, to be honest, but I promise I will work very hard.”
“Oh, you poor dear,” Mrs. Hudson tutted. She placed a hand on John’s shoulder and ushered him inside. She turned once toward Mike, “Thank you, dear. I’ll take him from here.”
Mike tipped his little hat and disappeared back toward the gate as Mrs. Hudson closed the door to her trailer. John looked around with amazement.
Mrs. Hudson’s trailer looked like it belonged to a little old lady who was obsessed with tea parties. There was an excessive amount of doilies and flowers everywhere. John almost expected there to be a cat on the premises. It was not unwelcome, however. He found it very comforting and warm.
“You can just take a seat on the sofa over there, Mr. Watson,” Mrs. Hudson said and hustled over to the little kitchenette. “Would you care for a cuppa?”
“Yes, thank you,” John began and then added, “And please, call me John. Mr. Watson is my father.”
He must have said the latter statement with an amount of distaste in his mouth because Mrs. Hudson turned to him just after she put the kettle on. He could feel her eyes resting on the bandage on his forehead. “John, dear, if anything terrible has happened… you can talk to me if you like. I’m a bit of an old mum to many of the employees here at the Circo de Pastel. Well, I say employees. We’re more of a family, if you will. And if you are to be staying with us, you’re part of the family as well.”
John hugged his bag to his chest. “That’s very kind of you, Mrs. Hudson.” He forced a small smile. The excitement of the circus was definitely wearing off and he was beginning to feel the sadness of his situation set in. He was essentially homeless, and he had all but disowned his father. For all intents and purposes he was now an orphan. His father was as good as dead.
He did not know why, but Mrs. Hudson’s presence was so kindly and her tea was so lovely, that after a few sips, John opened up to her. He told her of his father’s attitude and his sister’s betrayal. He told her all about his mother and how he hoped he had made the last moments of her life worth all the terrible moment she had had to endure. He broke down and told her everything that had happened that day: the morgue, the fight with his father, the mug, and the running away.
“I’m not sure why I even came to the circus. I saw it in the cab and just… went with it.”
Mrs. Hudson smiled and placed a calming hand on John’s leg. “It’s all right, dearest. We all have our moments of epiphanies, even when we least realize it. You are here, now, and that is what matters. Finish your tea. Has Mr. Stamford told you much about how things work around here?”
John shook his head. “He told me I might be doing some manual labor… but that’s it.”
Mrs. Hudson stood to clean up after the tea mess. She talked over her shoulder to John as she worked. “The Circo de Pastel is, like I said, a family. Many of us share trailers. Most of the cleanup crew and non performing employees bunk together, but I am afraid there is no more room in that trailer.” She turned toward John with pursed lips. “It’s like I said before. We haven’t taken anyone in for a long while, and certainly not since we came to London. I’m afraid there’s a chance you will have to bunk with one of the performers.”
John felt a bit squeamish. To him that felt like he would be sharing a trailer with royalty. “Won’t that be unfair to the performer, though? Who would want me for a trailer mate?”
Mrs. Hudson giggled and took John’s finished tea mug from him to wash. “Believe it or not, only myself and one other person have our own trailers. I’m one of the oldest members of this family and due to the need for my own workspace-“ She indicated what looked like a spare room that was filled to wall to wall with makeup and costumes. “I look after the wardrobe for the entire circus, and keep up with the catering. I need the space.”
“Who else has the extra room, then?” John asked. He hoped to high heaven it was not the owner. That would be beyond awkward. He could even get a tent and stay outside, himself. It was a bit cold outside, but if he bought himself a thermal one, maybe the temperature would not be so bad. He could make it work.
Mrs. Hudson smiled a bit oddly, as if she were unsure of how to proceed. After a moment, she opened her mouth to speak, her lips curling almost into a smirk as she said, “Have you heard of Sherlock Holmes?”
Next chapter
Author: Mesita
Words: 4440/6898/50,000+
Pairings: Sherlock/John (Eventual) Lestrade/Mycroft (Implied)
Warnings: Slight torture, kidnapping, violence, death
Summary: John Watson runs away to join a circus where he is forced to live with the resident consulting psychic. After one of the circus members is murdered, it's up to John and Sherlock to solve the case.
First Chapter
CHAPTER THREE
CIRCO DE PASTEL
Once inside the massive circus tent, John found a seat near the front. As he was by himself, he had no problems locating a decent seat. The families and children and couples that surrounded him munched noisily on their food and the amount of voices trapped inside the tent was deafening.
John made himself comfortable and looked around breathlessly. All thoughts about his mother seemed very far away. It was hard to think that he had just been delivering her dead body to the morgue only five hours ago-it seemed like a lifetime away. He was glad to be here, away from his drunk and abandoning sister, away from his abusive father and away from his unwelcoming home.
He would never go back. Nothing in this world would make him go back to that life.
Things in the circus looked much more appealing. The bright colors, the happy atmosphere, the screaming children… everything seemed much better in comparison. He looked out over the three rings in the center of the tent and smiled. There was a tightrope, several pedestals, trapeze swings and nets… Everything began a stir in John’s belly that made him feel as though he was going to witness something truly spectacular and that was not just the advertising talking.
After some time, the lights began to dim and the crowd’s voice levels dropped significantly. John leaned forward in his seat in anticipation.
There was an explosion of smoke and a man with silver hair and a top hat seemed to appear in the middle of the largest ring. He had the tell-tale signs of a ringmaster-coat tails and all. He took off his hat and gave a sweeping bow to the members of the audience.
“Good evening, Ladies and gents! Boys and girls! I am Lestrade and welcome… to the CIRCO DE PASTEL!”
The tent exploded with cheers and calls from the audience, with John joining in with full enthusiasm.
Lestrade walked around the largest ring in a circle as he addressed the crowd with his booming voice. “We are the Circo de Pastel, we waste no time in pleasantries. We bring you the biggest and the best right from the start. As you may well be aware, we have the greatest Chinese acrobats on this side of the dateline. May I introduce you to our Spider Acrobats!” The ring leader raised his arms in the air, indicating some figures clad in feathers and sequins that had appeared on the high platforms well above everyone’s heads.
As the acrobats went about their performance, John found he had become star struck. Everything he saw in this circus continued to amaze him. The way the acrobats held themselves with absolutely no fear gave John the chills. They danced about the trapeze swings and along the tightrope as if this were the most natural thing for them in the world. The net at the bottom of the tent almost seemed it was there just to satisfy health and safety codes and less like it was there for the acrobats. They never fell. Not once.
In between acts, a group of clowns dressed as policemen went about their silly shenanigans as they set up for the next act. This circus really thought of everything. There was not one dull moment the entire show.
As far as circuses went, the Circo de Pastel had everything a generic circus could ask for. John had never in his life been to a circus before, so he had nothing to compare it to. To him, everything was new and exciting and perfect. For all he knew, he could never see another circus again, because nothing could be as great or as wonderful as the performance he was seeing at that moment in time.
There was a roar offstage and several members of the audience gasped. In seconds, a monster of a beast bounded onto the stage. John jumped back in surprised when he realized it was a lion. And what a magnificent lion it was! Lestrade kept his distance as another man ran past with a whip.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, behold!” Lestrade motioned toward the lion and the tamer. “Anderson has tamed this mighty beast, and will show you just how much he has accomplished!” The crowd cheered and Lestrade soon held his hands up again to quiet them. “We must all stay very still. This beast of a lion may lash out at any time!”
To demonstrate this, Anderson held out a hefty slab of meat and the lion tore it viciously from his hands. The crowd gasped.
Anderson’s handling of the lion was impressive. He had trained it to behave much like a dog. It could sit, roll over, pass a ball back and forth and shake. Anderson even showed the lion’s impressive ability to hold back its primal urges by sticking his head in its mouth. For a grand finale, Anderson lit a hoop on fire… and just went John thought the lion was going to jump through the hoop, the lion picked up a bucket with its teeth and doused the fire. The crowd erupted into fits of laughter.
The clowns came out again to clean up the mess and John settled back in his chair. Really, this was impressive. He would not mind becoming a part of something like this-but he had no talent. He knew this. He envied all of these great performers with their exceptional abilities. More than anything, John wished he had been given the opportunity to build upon a talent or ability in his childhood, rather than having to deal with everything he had.
What skills had he even possessed, he wondered. He thought briefly of taking care of his mother. He certainly had some admirable bedside manner qualities. He worked well under pressure, that was a given. Why, they could work him so hard here and he would never break. His father had certainly trained him well in that area, even if he did little else to improve John’s quality of life. Perhaps he could work in the background… clean up after the animals or stay after to clean up all the dirt and trash left on the grounds by the patrons. It was possible!
Lestrade’s commanding voice broke John from his reverie. His eyes widened when he saw what the circus had in store for him, next.
“And now, for your mystical treasure, we have the Magnificent Professor Moriarty and his lovely assistant, Molly!”
The audient erupted in cheers so loud, John was afraid the tent would collapse. Clearly the selling point of this circus was this act. The Magnificent Professor Moriarty took the center ring and held his white gloved hands up for all to see. In one swift motion he took off both gloves, threw them into the crowd and then rolled up the sleeves on his suit. It was an expensive suit, too, John noted. Probably from some impossibly expensive company he had never heard of. At least he was proving that he had nothing up his sleeve so to speak.
Molly, however, was absolutely stunning. She had a beautiful smile and her brown hair was pulled to the side in a messy ponytail. Her hair was adorned with peacock feathers and the colors matched her sequin outfit. This circus certainly had its flashy bits down.
Nearly all of the other performers had been silent. Only Lestrade had spoken thus far. Even Anderson with his lion taming abilities only mimed actions and grunted a bit when he instructed the lion to do anything. The Magnificent Professor Moriarty, however, was able to speak.
“Hello, there, little ones…” the magician spoke, his unmistakable Irish accent lilting across the audience like a spell, holding each and every one of them captive. “My my we have such a lively crowd tonight. Have you all been enjoying this little show?”
The audience cheered in response; John cheered right along with them.
The Magnificent Professor Moriarty smiled and pulled his assistant, Molly, closer to him. “We have quite an amazing show for you all, tonight.” His eyes glinted with a sort of mysterious charm.
John wondered if he would do some card tricks or pull a rabbit out of his hat, but it turned out that Moriarty had a more refined and detailed act that really set him apart from other magicians. He seemed almost immune to the fear of death and that gave him a sort of dark edge.
To warm the audience up, he had a bit of a teleporting act where Molly stepped in and out of boxes located within the three rings. John was astonished as to how he could pull it off. Surely there was nothing but solid ground beneath them! There was not even a platform on the stage-just circular rings directly on the grass.
He had a few slight of hand tricks in the interim, just to keep the audience going, and he was surprisingly camp throughout the entire act.
“First you have a bit of flowers here, yes? It’s a trick we all know but-what?” He threw the bunch of flowers into the air. The trick had obviously been one of those wands that flicked out vacuum suppressed flowers in an instant, but the minute the flowers left his hand, they turned into a white dove. “I’m sooooo changeable!” The audience cheered again.
After a while Moriarty had Molly roll in a large chamber and the magician held his hands up to quiet the audience down again. “For my last act, I will attempt a feat of bravery. My lovely assistant Molly here will place me in this straight jacket; tie me in chains with several locks to keep me in place. I will then be lowered upside down in this tank of water. Greater magicians than I have died performing such a feat! Will I make it? Shall we find out?” He flipped his cape off and threw it into the air where it burst into flame and smoldered harmlessly on the stamped down grass in the next ring. Moriarty was clearly no stranger to theatrics.
John watched as Molly helped Moriarty gear up for his show stopping final act. In the moments that Moriarty was being lowered upside down into the tank of water, John did not realize he was holding his breath. It was not until he could feel his heart beating in his throat that he finally let out the air. Moriarty seemed to struggle fruitlessly in the water, trying to get the locks undone.
A minute went by, and then another. John grew increasingly anxious with each passing second. Moriarty appeared to be making no progress whatsoever on his situation.
Then, as if the lights had been turned on without warning, several of the locks broke away. Moriarty had unlocked them somehow, and he was moving then to untie the straight jacket. In seconds, he was undoing the locks at his ankles to free himself and pull himself into an upright position.
Clearly he had been training to hold his breath for a long time. He was under for three or four minutes at the very least. John wondered how long a human could effectively hold their breath, but the thought died quickly as Moriarty emerged from the tank to a round of deafening applause. John stood up just before the entire audience followed in suit, clapping so hard his hands hurt.
He was more than impressed! The entire show was worth the measly eight pounds he had spent on a ticket. Clearly much more when into this circus than he realized. That or they managed to find some incredibly talented people and lucked out. John wondered if they were paid at all, or if they worked here just to get by.
In either case, he stood for far longer than many of the other patrons and was not ashamed to sit down audibly. When Lestrade came out to give the final farewell to the audience, John was nearly ready to give another standing ovation. It did not matter that he was by himself. He more or less had forgotten. He was so enthralled in the performance.
“That is all the show we have for you, this evening!” Lestrade raised his arms for one last time to address the audience. “We will be here for the remainder of the week, so please, come back and see us again! Our show is always changing! And be sure to see some of our side shows just outside the tent. The fun here at the Circo de Pastel never ends!” Lestrade’s voice echoed loudly over the heads of every man and woman, boy and girl in the audience. For a moment, John appreciated the acoustics of the tent.
As people slowly began to file out of the tent, John held his seat. Some of the performers had come out to tear down pieces of the “stage” and to clean up after The Magnificent Professor Moriarty. John watched them with a growing interest. Even just as a cleanup crew, the acrobats still held their agility and grace. John was starting to see himself as more and more prone to mistakes now that he compared himself to these flawless human beings. He began to think it was silly of him to even believe for a moment that the circus would take him.
He stopped himself there. Was he serious about trying to join the circus? Surely there were applications or auditions or something. The days of children running away to join the circus had long since passed. John was nineteen, and he would be twenty in a few months time. He was no run away. He would have to go about this in a professional manner. He was a dignified young adult who had left his home and was now seeking his fortune. He repeated this fact in his head a few dozen times until he was sure that he believed it.
With that in mind, John stood up and hefted his belongings back over his left shoulder again. He swallowed hard and set out to find someone he could talk to. He scanned the tent. The performers and clowns were busy cleaning up the stage, and John felt it would be wrong to bother them. The stands were emptying out quickly as each of the patrons moved outside to see more of the circus. John looked around hoping there would be people cleaning the seats. Spilled popcorn and drinks were everywhere, so surely this was a concern for the circus.
He saw someone, finally: a tall, thin man with curly hair and a serious face. He looked out of place for a patron, but he also was not dressed as flashy as the other circus performers. He had black slacks and a dark purple shirt. There was a grey overcoat and a blue scarf draped over his arm casually as if he were going to leave the tent into the bitter cold any moment.
John quickly scrambled to get out of his row to head toward the man. Something about him seemed odd. This was not a particularly bad odd, either. John felt that same pull toward that man as he had when he first saw the circus from the cab.
Unfortunately, the man looked up at a most inopportune time, saw John coming for him, frowned and turned away. Someone passed in front of John for a moment and when John managed to get by, he looked back to where that tall man had been standing and was astonished to find that he was no longer there. Frustrated, John picked up the pace and began to rush toward where he had seen the other man. There was absolutely no sign of him and John was beginning to wonder if he had even seen the man at all.
Suddenly, a voice with a heavy accent sounded beside him, “Hey there, mate. You a bit lost?”
John turned around to see one of the heavier set clowns giving him a bit of a stare. John swallowed hard. “I was uh… looking for someone, is all.”
“Oh, really,” the clown raised a painted eyebrow and nodded toward John’s bag of belongings. “Going somewhere, mate?”
John followed the clown’s gaze to his bag and shifted it a little bit on his shoulder. “I’ve uh… you’re going to think this is a bit silly…” John trailed off a little bit, swallowed hard and licked his lips. “I’ve just left home for good you see. I thought maybe this place looked interesting and I’m really very impressed with the whole circus. And really, I’m just looking for someone I can talk to about… possibly… working here?” John gave the clown a hopeful glance.
Instead of judging him outright, the clown actually chuckled in good humor and held a hand out to John. “You look strong and decent. The first is a good trait to have around here. The second will be wiped from you soon enough. I’m Mike. Mike Stamford.”
“John Watson.” John shook the clown’s hand and withdrew quickly as he felt a shock on his palm. He rubbed the offended appendage with a scowl.
Mike the clown threw his head back and laughed, “Oh, that trick always gets the best of them!” He held up his hand to show John the buzzer and removed it to put it back in his pocket. “Ah, no but seriously.” Mike’s face went from laughter to seriousness in less than a second. John was impressed. “You’re looking for a job?”
“More or less,” said John as he clenched and unclenched his hand. It still tingled a little.
“Follow me, then,” said Mike. John wasted no time in following the clown through the stands and toward the doors of the tent. He thought briefly that it was strange for him to be following a clown with just a simple name. If anything, Mike could have given him a stage name like Boppy or Mr. Fluffpants or whatever it was that clowns called themselves. John decided not to question it and simply follow Mike.
“Do you really think you could get me a job?” John asked after a while.
Mike turned back to him. “In a way. In this circus, you can’t just go up to the big boss and ask for a job. You have to prove yourself. If we don’t leave you behind when we pack up, things will look up for you.”
“So this sort of thing happens all the time?” questioned John.
Mike stepped out into the cold night air. John hadn’t realized the sun had gone down already. “A bit,” said Mike. “We get loads of runaways. Most of them are crap, to be honest. Hadn’t worked a day in their lives. Spoiled brats from upper class families mostly.”
“I see,” said John, nodding. That gave him a bit of hope. He definitely did not match that description. “What sort of people do you need?”
“We’re always in need of a bit of manual labor if you’re up to it. Waste disposal, errand running, cleaning up after patrons… you know, the dirty work.” Mike said casually as he led John through the throngs of people, past the exhibits and toward the back of the circus.
“I can do that,” offered John. “I can do anything, really, so long as I have a chance.” Life at the circus certainly beat life living in a motel and trying to find a job bussing tables.
“Great!” Mike said. He opened a gate near the back of the grounds. Beyond the gate was a mass of trailers which held what John could only assume were the performers and other members of the circus. John felt a wash of nervousness come over him. Surely he would not be allowed to sleep in a trailer without someone noticing! Would he have to sleep outside? He hadn’t actually thought this far, and he hadn’t even thought he would get a job in the circus so easily.
Not that he even had a job, yet. Mike was giving him a chance, but Mike was also a clown with probably little to no social or political standing in the entire circus. Now, if someone like the Magnificent Professor Moriarty were to offer him a job, the offer would have much more weight. John just wished Mike would take him to Lestrade or something.
Instead, Mike led John to a homely looking trailer and knocked on the door. In a few moments, a kindly older lady opened the door. She wore a strikingly normal purple blouse with a matching skirt. With all the over-the-top costumes going around, John was relieved to see someone looking so normal.
“Mrs. Hudson,” Mike began, “This is John Watson.”
Mrs. Hudson must have known exactly why John was there. After all, there probably was not any other reason for him to be behind the gate in the first place. She smiled warmly and took his hand in hers. There was no shocking mechanism and her hands were warm and inviting. “Why, hello there, dear,” she smiled. “You’re the first we’ve gotten since we’ve come to London. Thought we’d get a few more but it seems like the circus isn’t as popular as it once was…”
“I, uh….” John fidgeted a little. He had never been in a job interview situation, and he had certainly not met very many adults who were so accommodating. “I have no where else to go, to be honest, but I promise I will work very hard.”
“Oh, you poor dear,” Mrs. Hudson tutted. She placed a hand on John’s shoulder and ushered him inside. She turned once toward Mike, “Thank you, dear. I’ll take him from here.”
Mike tipped his little hat and disappeared back toward the gate as Mrs. Hudson closed the door to her trailer. John looked around with amazement.
Mrs. Hudson’s trailer looked like it belonged to a little old lady who was obsessed with tea parties. There was an excessive amount of doilies and flowers everywhere. John almost expected there to be a cat on the premises. It was not unwelcome, however. He found it very comforting and warm.
“You can just take a seat on the sofa over there, Mr. Watson,” Mrs. Hudson said and hustled over to the little kitchenette. “Would you care for a cuppa?”
“Yes, thank you,” John began and then added, “And please, call me John. Mr. Watson is my father.”
He must have said the latter statement with an amount of distaste in his mouth because Mrs. Hudson turned to him just after she put the kettle on. He could feel her eyes resting on the bandage on his forehead. “John, dear, if anything terrible has happened… you can talk to me if you like. I’m a bit of an old mum to many of the employees here at the Circo de Pastel. Well, I say employees. We’re more of a family, if you will. And if you are to be staying with us, you’re part of the family as well.”
John hugged his bag to his chest. “That’s very kind of you, Mrs. Hudson.” He forced a small smile. The excitement of the circus was definitely wearing off and he was beginning to feel the sadness of his situation set in. He was essentially homeless, and he had all but disowned his father. For all intents and purposes he was now an orphan. His father was as good as dead.
He did not know why, but Mrs. Hudson’s presence was so kindly and her tea was so lovely, that after a few sips, John opened up to her. He told her of his father’s attitude and his sister’s betrayal. He told her all about his mother and how he hoped he had made the last moments of her life worth all the terrible moment she had had to endure. He broke down and told her everything that had happened that day: the morgue, the fight with his father, the mug, and the running away.
“I’m not sure why I even came to the circus. I saw it in the cab and just… went with it.”
Mrs. Hudson smiled and placed a calming hand on John’s leg. “It’s all right, dearest. We all have our moments of epiphanies, even when we least realize it. You are here, now, and that is what matters. Finish your tea. Has Mr. Stamford told you much about how things work around here?”
John shook his head. “He told me I might be doing some manual labor… but that’s it.”
Mrs. Hudson stood to clean up after the tea mess. She talked over her shoulder to John as she worked. “The Circo de Pastel is, like I said, a family. Many of us share trailers. Most of the cleanup crew and non performing employees bunk together, but I am afraid there is no more room in that trailer.” She turned toward John with pursed lips. “It’s like I said before. We haven’t taken anyone in for a long while, and certainly not since we came to London. I’m afraid there’s a chance you will have to bunk with one of the performers.”
John felt a bit squeamish. To him that felt like he would be sharing a trailer with royalty. “Won’t that be unfair to the performer, though? Who would want me for a trailer mate?”
Mrs. Hudson giggled and took John’s finished tea mug from him to wash. “Believe it or not, only myself and one other person have our own trailers. I’m one of the oldest members of this family and due to the need for my own workspace-“ She indicated what looked like a spare room that was filled to wall to wall with makeup and costumes. “I look after the wardrobe for the entire circus, and keep up with the catering. I need the space.”
“Who else has the extra room, then?” John asked. He hoped to high heaven it was not the owner. That would be beyond awkward. He could even get a tent and stay outside, himself. It was a bit cold outside, but if he bought himself a thermal one, maybe the temperature would not be so bad. He could make it work.
Mrs. Hudson smiled a bit oddly, as if she were unsure of how to proceed. After a moment, she opened her mouth to speak, her lips curling almost into a smirk as she said, “Have you heard of Sherlock Holmes?”
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