𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘

1) Jungwon

The roar of the crowd is deafening as I stand in the centre of the ring, the cane in my hand raised up high.

It's hot in the huge striped tent, my hair clings to my forehead and I blink the sweat from my eyes.

Inhaling, the unmistakeable scent of the circus fills my nose. Popcorn, toffee, hay, rubber.

I can also practically smell the excitement in the air, the anticipation.

The spotlights above me are blinding, but I grin towards the dark silhouettes of the audience and strike my cane downward.

Cries of awe sound as fireworks explode and my troupe of performers re-enter the arena to accept the applause and adoration of the crowd after another successful show.

And when they're done, they all turn to me, holding their hands out to their ringleader. Both the performers and the audience chant my name.

I'll give them what they want, what they came here to see.

I hand my cane to one of the acrobats, then throw back my long jacket to pull the pistols from the belt at my hips.

I don't even need to look round, because I hear the roar of the lion as it enters behind me, my oldest friend mounted on its back.

Sunoo has a way with animals unlike anything anyone has ever seen, they adore him just as he adores them. This particular lion he named Hercules because of his gigantic frame, and Sunoo's weight is hardly even noticeable to him.

The tension and fear is palpable in the tent as the audience gasp and murmur at the sight.

I relish it.

The lion stops at my side and Sunoo slides from it's back, brandishing an eye mask and holding it up for all to see before coming behind me to secure it over my eyes.

"Ladies, gentlemen, people of Akra," I address the now silent arena.

"Thank you for visiting us tonight, for coming to witness the amazing, the fantastic and the impossible with your own eyes."

I click off the safety on my guns.

"Before you go, allow me to give you just one more spectacle."

Drums begin to pound, and even though I can't see, somehow I know what's happening around me. I visualise it clearly in my mind.

Some people say that my ability is supernatural, and maybe they're right, or maybe I'm just very, very lucky.

Because I know that in those moments after the drums stop, when targets start swinging and popping up around the ring, that I'll be hitting the bullseye with every shot that pours from my pistols.

I fire 11 bullets in swift succession, and then Sunoo shouts.

"Catch!"

I stash one gun back in the holster and count to 3 in my head as an apple is thrown high in the air above me, and then I raise my arm and take the shot.

The silence is deafening as I rip the blindfold off, and catch the apple in one hand, a perfect bullethole tracked through its centre.

Everyone in the tent loses their mind as I raise the apple up, and one look around confirms the precise shots I made through the rest of the targets.

I live for their applause and feral screams of delight, and for a while we bask in the glory, bowing before the crowds.

I'm about to turn away in triumph, but then I see him.

Someone who isn't stomping their feet or clapping their hands or shouting, or even smiling. He's just observing from his spot in the front row, completely still, like a cat watching a mouse.