Part One: The Circus of Dreams

Chapter One: The Circus

I guess I had always wanted more than a life in little No-Name Kansas Town. In my mind, I had envisioned myself going to college for four years and then coming back and marrying some guy that I went to highschool with. I never really thought of the possibility of leaving. Leaving my parents, my little brother, my twin sister. Somewhere deep down, I knew that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to go see the world, meet people that hadn't always lived in the same place I did. I had tricked myself into believing Killington, Kansas was my sanctuary, my place of peace. Everyone else wanted to leave.

Of course, the law of of Killington was that once you were there, you left forever or stayed forever. I guess there wasn't really any other way around it. I thought I would be among the stayers, the people who never left. I never dreamed that something could change that. But... Things happen and sometimes those things just happen to change your plans. Even if those plans were simple and easy.

Spring break. We had finally made it to our Junior spring break. I smiled, humming to myself as I opened the mailbox and removed the stack of letters. Junk. Junk. Junk. Cirque des Rêves. Junk. Junk. Wait... I hurriedly went back to the letters addressed to my family. Five of them, all tied together with a red bow. I looked at the sender again. A circus? I stared at the mail in my hands in disbelief. Seriously, a circus... "What is it, Anne?" a voice asked from behind me, making me jump. I glanced at Evelina and glared at her.

Evie and I were fraternal twins and every time I looked at her, I could see why the guys at our school fawned over her the way they did. She was tall and lithe with vibrant blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Her skin was a perfect pale tan and she had the assets everyone wanted. I, on the other hand, was short and had little to no sex appeal. My hair was long and wavy like hers but it was a strawberry blonde color and dull gray eyes with too pale skin from hiding away in my room most of the time. Sometimes I was jealous of her, but most of the time, I was content with my appearance.

She laughed, "Jeez, you're such an easy scare."

I pouted, "Am not."

"Yes, you are," she said, rolling her eyes before looking at the mail in my hands. "What's that?"

I handed one of the five invitations to her and she handled it up, "Cirque des Rêves? A circus is coming to Killington?"

I nodded, "Guess so... We don't have anywhere to hold a circus though."

"Rodeo grounds, maybe?"

My head swung to look at her incredulously. "What?" she shrugged. "It's possible."

I sighed, shaking my head, "Let's just get to these to Mom. I doubt we can go anyways."

She nodded sadly as we began our ascent up our driveway. Evie and I had never been to a circus before and the prospect of one in our town was... Amazing, in a sense. It seemed like going to one would add an essence of excitement to our monotone lives.

We entered the house to find our mom, cooking as usual, and my dad watching television with my little brother, Thomas. They all looked up when the door closed behind us. "Momma!" Evie exclaimed, running up to our mom with the letter in hand.

My mother seemed to be a bit wary as she opened it and pulled out the letter. "What's that?" my dad asked, glancing over at her.

She stirred the soup cooking in the pot as her eyes scanned over the letter. She finally turned to all of us, her eyes gleaming with joy. "We've been invited to a circus!"

"Invited?" my dad seemed confused.

She nodded enthusiastically, "Yes. Here, I'll read it."

As she said that, I opened another one of the letters.

Dear Seville Family,

You have been invited to six days and five nights at Cirque des Rêves, free of charge. The circus is a wonderful opportunity to connect with your family as you explore one of the most mysterious places known to man. We urge you to come on Monday, March Fourteenth. Thank you for your time,

President of Cirque des Rêves,

Jeremy Fisher

My dad looked at my mom skeptically, "It seems too good to believe, Marie. Is there any fine print?"

She shook her head, "This looks hand-written, Richard. I think we should go."

Evie and I turned to look at my dad. He sighed after a minute, "I'll think about it, guys. No promises."

"Oh come on, Daddy," I pouted. "We don't have anything planned for spring break and this is free."

He watched me defiantly, "I said I'd think about it, Annabelle. I'll let you know tomorrow."

Evie and I looked at each other excitedly. If he thought about it, he might just say yes. "Thanks, Papa!" we exclaimed simultaneously before hurrying to eat.

As it turned out, most of the town had been invited to the circus, which seemed to charge no fee for entry. My dad finally said yes and on Monday morning, we were packed into our truck and headed for Cirque des Rêves. Little did we know how much that one trip would change our lives.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I saw the circus. Maybe a huge tent surrounded by smaller tents? That's what the circuses on T.V. had always looked like. I had not been expecting the circus that was there, in a large empty field outside of Killington. It was like a small town, smaller than ours, but much more amazing. There were tents as big as my school and they were red with black and white stripes alternating between them. There even seemed to be a small forest of trees. None of that held my attention for very long the moment I saw It.

At first, something like It seemed impossible. It was too huge and too amazing. Too... Wonderful. I had no other way to describe It. "A Lighthouse?" my dad asked in disbelief.

I must have nodded because someone said "Impossible". It was without a doubt as Lighthouse; a huge, towering, beautiful Lighthouse with red and white stripes running up the side. It wasn't lit, but it's beauty held the same sereneness. For a minute, I just stood there, staring at the Lighthouse until Mom herded me away.

The next thing I noticed as we approached the circus were the Gates. They were huge and made of black wrought iron. The bars twisted into beautiful designs; some of them so detailed that I could see images of fairies and small animals. The Gates took up a large amount of the front area and people filtered through them steadily, each of them awed by the beauty the circus held. When it was our turn, Mom handed the woman the letters. She smiled softly at us, her ebony eyes holding the same tenderness. "Let me see your hands."

I held out mine when it was my turn and when I pulled away my name was written in calligraphic letters. I turned to ask the woman how she knew my name, but we were practically swept through the Gates and into the circus. My jaw nearly dropped to the floor. I was right to assume that it was like a small town, with stores and booths set up in an orderly line. I gasped in glee and surprise when a person on stilts walked by me. He stopped, doing a pirouette and bending down to hand me a white rose with red edges. "For the beautiful lady," he said, smiling, and I was shocked to see that he was about the same age as me.

He bowed gracefully before walking backwards. I watched him, awe filling me when he shimmered like water and vanished. I turned to my family, whose eyes were as wide as mine felt. "How are we supposed to do everything in six days?" Evie wondered next to me.

I laughed, grabbing her arm, "We start now!"

I raced with her to the nearest booth, where there were beautiful necklaces on display. "Whoa, girls," Dad came up behind us. "We can't buy too much."

The woman, or should I say girl, who had been talking to another customer practically danced up to us. "Everything is free of charge," she sung in a melodious voice. "Everything in the circus is free of charge. Only one per person though."

She nodded her head and moved away with impeccable grace. My parents looked at each other skeptically as Evie and I excitedly began deciding which of the glass-beaded necklaces we wanted. My mom finally gave in when she found a green and blue necklace with small deer painted on the surface of the beads. Thomas declared that he wanted one and picked out a bracelet with trash trucks painted on them. Evie settled for a plain orange one that turned gold when it was in the sun.

We moved away quickly. The rest of that day passed in a blur. I couldn't remember any of it. We were ready to drop when a kid popped out of nowhere with our bags and led us to a small house-like structure and informed us that it was where we would be staying during our time at the circus. Mom tried to pay him, but he declined. "Wait," I stopped him as he was about to leave. "Is the Lighthouse open for tours?"

He gave me a funny look before shaking his head, "No, miss. The Lighthouse is not open for tours. Good night."

With that, he skipped away. I looked up at the Lighthouse as the sun set and the moment it's warm glow had turned to darkness, the entire circus went dark. For a moment, everyone that was in the circus panicked. I was even beginning to think something was wrong when the Lighthouse suddenly lit up and all of the lights in the circus twinkled on, making it look like a small glowing night sky.

"Anne! There's dinner in here!" Mom shouted.

I forced myself to look away from the Lighthouse and go eat some of the food that had been laid out for us. My family talked about the circus while I quietly ate the turkey leg, each and every thought directed towards the Lighthouse.

I was running, my legs carrying me away on their own accord. There was someone running next to me, but I could barely make out his face in the dim lighting. He suddenly stopped and I also forced myself to quit moving. My breath came out in short, shallow gasps as I felt him move closer to me. "Anne, go on ahead. Okay?"

I shook my head, "I'm not leaving you."

Why wasn't I leaving him? I wasn't sure. I knew I had never met this guy before... so why did my chest ache at the idea of leaving him behind? He pushed a stray hair out of my face, his hand lingering on my cheek. I felt the warmth of his hand on my face and reveled in it's feel. He came closer until his face was only inches from mine. I was willing him to kiss me. I don't know why, but I was mentally begging him to kiss me. I wanted him to kiss me and tell me he loved me. I wanted him to tell me that everything would be alright.

My legs felt weak as my breath hitched in my throat. I didn't want to leave him. I felt an attachment to him that I had never felt with anyone else. After what seemed like an eternity, he moved away. His hand still lingered on my cheek as he watched me with gentle chocolate brown eyes. "I can't leave you," I tried to say defiantly, but it only came out as a whisper.

He nodded in the darkness, "I don't want you to leave me."

I suddenly heard the sound of more footsteps and for some reason, the sound filled me with dread. The boy looked in the direction of the footsteps before pulling me towards me. And he kissed me. He kissed me with a passion that seemed lost to my dreamworld. Then, he wrenched himself away, "Hurry, get to the Lighthouse and don't stop. I'll try to hold him back."

Him... I felt like I should know who 'he' was. Then, the boy turned on his heel and ran towards the footsteps. A scream froze in my throat before I turned in the opposite direction and ran. He would be okay... He had to be. "You have to be, Cl-"

I woke up to the sound of horns blaring and the smell of eggs and bacon. I snuggled into my pillows more, noting how soft they were. I didn't want to get up, but I had to. Today was our second day at the... Circus!

I jumped out of the bed and raced down the stairs, cramming breakfast into my face as fast as possible. The rest of my family was doing the same. "Today," Dad said suddenly. "We're splitting up. If we find any really good attractions, we'll trade and go to those ones tomorrow. Sound good?"

Evie and I nodded. We were hoping to see the acrobatic acts. After that, we finished eating and left with a quick goodbye to our parents. Of course, being the clumsy person I am, I rammed into somebody only ten minutes after we raced out of the house we were staying in. I looked up at the guy I had rammed into, immediately blushing with embarrassment. He was probably one of the most handsome guys I had ever met with impossibly green eyes and long black hair pulled into a ponytail. Curiously enough, he had a top-hat on his head and was wearing a black and red suit. "Are you quite alright, Miss?" he questioned, holding out a white-gloved hand to me.

I turned even redder when I saw Evie watching on with amusement. After a moment's debate, I grabbed his hand and let him pull me up. "S-sorry about that," I stuttered.

He smiled warmly, "It's not your fault, Miss. I should have been watching where I was going. What might your name be?"

I blinked at him, wondering if he was trying to be polite or if he was actually curious. "Anne," I finally answered. "Anne Seville..."

He smiled even more brightly, "What a wonderful name! Well, you enjoy the circus, Miss."

I nodded numbly as he dropped my hand, stepping around me. Evie bounced up next to me, "Well?"

I glanced at her, "Well what?"

"What's his name?"

I looked at the retreating back of the guy. "I don't know..." I answered quietly. Evie pouted before hitting me on the head. "Ow!" I exclaimed before covering my head. "What was that for?"

"The most sexy guy to ever walk the earth helps you up and you didn't even bother to ask his name?!" she shouted at me.

I noticed people watching us and dragged my sister away before she could gain us anymore attention.