Sterling stood above a burning bandwagon, shadowy people standing all around her, screaming among the raging flames. In the wreckage was the burnt corpse of a horse. Sterling felt that familiar sting across her skin, sweat pouring down her body. She gasped for air, opening her eyes to find herself boxed in by wooden crates with white tarps tied over them. Around her and the crates was a small tent. At some point in the night, she hid in the storage tent to escape the scenario her nightmares could potentially make a reality. It had only been a few hours after Dolly had shown her around the bandwagon, she called home. They had gone to sleep, but of course, there was no rest for Sterling.
The Bandwagon wasn't what Sterling expected for a horse. It had a large bed with a small loft bed above it, a vanity with everything a horse would need to style her hair, a storage area, and a small kitchen where Dolly's handlers kept her food stored just in case, she got hungry while they were gone. Dolly lived like any normal human; except she was a horse.
Sterling hesitantly stepped out of the tent after she made sure no one was around. As she looked around for Knights, she saw a variety of attractions from carnival games to amusement park rides. A Ferris wheel loomed overhead, and a twisting roller coaster zoomed by, sending a cool breeze across her body. Her skin was still overheated, but it felt nice. Sterling passed a shooting gallery, whack-a-dragon, and a ring toss game where kids were trying to land the rings around real swords. Sterling sighed as she once again noticed the unicorn plushie hanging on display above the throwing dart gallery. It was Sterling's favorite game and she used to play it a lot with her dad. She would bring home so many plushies, but nowadays that was impossible. Sterling was taken away from her flashback by the screams of excited people mixed with the clanging of bells from someone winning a prize at the booth nearby.
It was time to go before she got randomly checked by a guard.
After skillfully blending into the crowd, Sterling found herself near the largest tent in the entire circus. It was where all the major events took place. Sterling knew about a blind spot where the knights rarely patrolled, so she used this chance to slip under the tent and into the darkness. Nobody was there performing or practicing, so she easily found her usual spot under the benches. A poster hung from the back of the bench, showcasing the tent and the Ringmaster. Embarrassingly, Sterling had drawn a heart around Grey-Anthony. Near him, in large letters, was the name of the circus. "The King's Fairytale". Under it was a jug full of blue and purple feathers that Sterling had collected over the years. They came from the headdresses of Dolly and the other horses. The jug used to hold fuel for the fire breather but was cracked during one of the rehearsals, so he threw it out.
Sterling sat back on the board that was her bed when suddenly she heard the familiar sound of a trash can wheeling itself toward her. She looked over to see an old man pushing up the tarp that kept her hideout hidden. On his head was a slouching hat with shaggy brown hair with hints of gray underneath. He wore a simple tunic and trousers and his long beard covered most of his face. In his hand was a broom. "Oh, you're here, Sterling. I was wondering what happened when you didn't come back last night. I have something for you."
"I couldn't make it back without being seen... and what do you mean?' Asked Sterling. The old janitor pulled out a brown, paper sack.
"It's not much, but it's fresh... and hasn't touched the trash." The janitor tossed Sterling the bag. She excitedly opened it up to see a pumpkin burger and a juice pouch inside. The sandwich was huge and smelled like it was just cooked.
"Thank you, I was thirsty...!" Sterling slurped up the juice inside the pouch which helped her fever a little. She tried to quickly eat the sandwich, but she slowed down when she remembered she was wearing new clothes and was worried the sloppy hamburger meat would ruin them. It was so good. She could tell by the taste and smell that it came from her dad's favorite pumpkin burger booth.
"No problem... I wish I could do more for you, but they don't pay cleaners very well." Said the janitor.
"No, no. It's okay. You didn't even have to do this. Thank you so much." Sterling said, wiping away the orange sauce from the side of her lips. She tapped her feet, happily.
"Where'd you get the new garb?" Asked the janitor. He was dusting around the benches for cobwebs and dust.
"Oh, I met a new... friend. She gave them to me."
"That's great you're meeting new people." Said the Janitor. As usual, Sterling chatted with the Janitor for a while until he was done cleaning. She didn't understand why he went so above and beyond for so little coin.
"Thanks for keeping it so clean under this side. It really saves me time." The Janitor said suddenly.
"Well, I can't lie and say I don't benefit from cleaning up the spilled food, but you do work very hard for this circus, I feel bad." Said Sterling.
"Don't feel so bad for this old man. I'm only doing what I can for this circus." Sterling was taken aback by his words. Everyone she met here always seemed to love the circus just as much as her. She smiled.
"Well, thank you anyway... and thank you for not telling on me."
"You deserve to be here at this circus just as much as anyone and you don't harm fly. If you ask me, the King is too greedy. I wish more people like you could enjoy it." The janitor tipped his head at Sterling as his usual way of departing, dragging his trash can and broom behind him. The man stopped suddenly. "Oh, I almost forgot. I heard there will be an inspection on the seating soon to ensure there won't be any cave-ins during tonight's show. There's supposed to be a huge turnout tonight, so I would lie low somewhere else for a while." Sterling's eyes widened. She was thankful the Janitor was on her side, or she would never know when those sorts of inspections were coming. After he left, Sterling grabbed the old torn-up satchel, the only thing she had that was actually hers. She rolled up her poster and grabbed her jug of feathers, and the singed teddy bear, putting them inside the satchel. She tossed the fabric she used as a blanket aside, so it didn't look like anyone was living there since it was too big to fit in her bag. I hope nobody throws it away.
Sterling walked out of the tent, thinking the coast was clear. The grassy paths were overrun with people by now. A yell and the sound of steel-plated boots coming toward her interrupted her moment of triumph. It was never always that easy and she feared getting caught a second time would result in high security around the outskirts of the circus. It wasn't easy getting in the last two times. A knight had spotted her coming from the tent when nobody, but the cleanup crew should be near it. Sterling tensed up and darted into the crowd, zigzagging between each person, hoping eventually she would be lost to the knight. Thankfully the crowd was dense, allowing her to get away. Sterling lifted up her hood, but during the chase it had slipped too far over into her eyes, making it impossible to see where she was going.
Standing at a booth was a lone figure in a black cloak. His focus was solely on the dart and the board that taunted him from across the way. Several darts were imbedded either outside the rings or miraculously, in the ring with the lowest number of points, making it clear he had a bad aim.
During the collision, the man's dart was thrown to the ground, beyond the half wall. "Whoa, there. Careful." Sterling gasped as she fell into the arms of somebody she didn't know. Her face reddened from the embarrassing moment, causing her to leap away from his grasp like a scared cat.
"Oh, my god! I am so sorry!" Sterling bit her lip, expecting to be scolded by the man, but he just stood there quietly with his hood over his face. All Sterling could see was the lower half of his pale face.
"It's okay. Today is a bit more crowded than normal. I almost didn't come out here." said the man, not noticing Sterling was being chased by knights. Sterling's heart almost jumped from her chest as the knight sped past. She hoped that the man wouldn't call attention to her once he saw the knight, but he just pointed his nose in the direction of the man, watching him until he disappeared into the sea of people.
"Sorry, buddy. The dart passed the wall, so that counts as a loss. I would just take this as a sign this isn't the game for you." Said the woman managing the booth, taking their attention away from the knight. Sterling's eyes widened as she realized the dart in the man's hand had been lost during the run-in and it was all her fault.
"Ugh, you guys really are slimy." The man scoffed and placed a few more coins on the wall in front of him. Wait, is he really trying to play again? Sterling looked over the dartboard, seeing the countless misses. You only get four darts each turn, but there were at least twenty-four in total, and most of them either landed on the ground or out of the bounds of the rings.
"Hold on, I have to clean up the darts. I'm already running low." The woman rolled her eyes and accepted the man's coin. She looked almost guilty taking his money, but quickly cleaned up the darts and handed him five out of pity.
"Hey, wait," said Sterling before the man could throw the dart. He stopped and looked at her, curiously. "Your stance is all off," Sterling called out to him. She felt guilty over making the man lose his last dart. Not that it would have mattered from his history of failing on his own. Sterling played this game countless times with her dad and wasn't good at first until he gave her some good pointers. Sterling felt the least she could do after making him waste a dart, was to try and help him.
The man turned to her, making her nervous. Did she say something wrong? But the man just laughed. "Then how should I stand?" Asked the man. Before Sterling knew it, she began coaching the man on his form and how to throw the dart properly. His first five darts didn't win him anything, but he did improve with Sterling's suggestions, so he bought a few more rounds.
"Well, I'll be... You actually won something. There's enough for our smallest plushie. It ain't much, but better than the last few train wrecks." Said the woman after she counted up the points.
'That's awesome, congratulations!" The guilt melted away from Sterling once she heard the news. Finally, she could leave without feeling so bad.
"This guy is here almost every day and usually only wins the little candies or nothing at all. Thanks for making me not feel bad taking all of his money again." Sterling stared wide-eyed at the woman. Did he really spend that much time here at the booth?
"Come on, you didn't need to embarrass me like that." The man scratched his face and looked away from them both.
"Sorry, sir, but I think you do enough of that on your own." The woman smirked. "So, which do you want? The unicorn or the gobbling holding a treasure chest?" Sterling was ready to leave, but her eyes were drawn toward the small plush of a white unicorn with a rainbow mane and tail. Her mind was completely cut off from everything else the moment she saw it again. The plushie she would pass by every day, wishing she could win.
"I'll... Take the unicorn." Sterling stirred from her daydream when she heard the man's voice.
"Here you are. Come again now that you know how to play. Maybe you can win something bigger." The woman said with a smile before she turned away to help someone else.
"Here." Sterling was left speechless when the man held the stuffed animal out to her.
"Wh-what?"
"I'm going to be completely honest; I'm not the kind of guy who's going to get much enjoyment out of stuffed animals. The look on your face says you might, though." Sterling reluctantly accepted the plushie. She couldn't believe he was actually giving her this.
"Are you sure? You spent so much money here. I assumed you really wanted something from here if you were playing this persistently."
"There's only one other person I could give it to, but it might offend her." The man shrugged, smiling. "I only played because I simply hate being bad at something. Overcoming a weakness is a reward in itself and I wouldn't have gotten to this point without your help. You seem like you know a lot about this game."
"Y-yeah. My dad and I played this a lot when I was a kid." Said Sterling.
"Well, thanks for the help. I'll be thinking of you when I play this game again." Sterling was about to ask him what he meant, but a familiar voice echoed across the crowd. Standing amongst the people was a white horse. It was Dolly.
Panic ran through Sterling as she remembered the bad dream she had. She was happy to have met Dolly and appreciated everything she had done for her, but she knew getting close to anyone was dangerous. Sterling turned back to see if the man noticed Dolly too, but he was no longer there. What? If it wasn't for the plushie in her hands, Sterling might have thought it was just a figment of her imagination.
Sterling wasn't ready to face Dolly yet and took a page out of the man's book, fading into the crowd.