(A/N: i tried to continue the accent thing reader had from last chapter but oh man it looks so confusing just bear with me <3
also, i reordered the chapters a little bit ack
lol it took me way too long to give y'all a part 2 to "My Fair Lady" but here it is~~~! )
Splash!
A cascade of water slammed down onto his shaking form for the third time. He shivered violently, curling tighter into himself. I hate this place. I hate these people. Why are they doing this to me?
"He might as well be made of dirt, Rowan. Let's stop." a cold voice rang out from somewhere in the room. Akira exhaled in relief.
The bucket was thrown to the side, making a resounding clattering noise. "Not like we need 'em for the skin, anyway." his assailant chuckled darkly, eliciting a couple of other laughs.
A strong hand grasped his arm and yanked him to his feet. Akira gave a surprised yelp from the action, unknowingly amusing his captors moreso. He was dragged across the polished floor to one of the large cages. This one was empty. The hand threw him in easily, and he hit the bars of the other side painfully. The door shut after him with a clang.
And with that, the four of five people in the room left him.
They left him...
And them.
He pulled himself out of his long-held fetal position and stole a look at the others. The children in the other cages. They seemed not to notice him and stared blankly at the walls, some mouths agape, some not. Their eyes were glazed and unfocused. Their bodies didn't move very often, either. It was a frightening feeling to be trapped with them. At least I get my very own cage.
Akira remembered running from her and the other freaks, but even that memory was fuzzy. How he got here was certainly a mystery. Not to mention why he was the only one who still had his wits about him.
... My fair lady...
A part of that... song rang out. He whipped his head around, looking for the source. He didn't hear it again.
It was in his head.
His eyes started to sting. He wasn't allowed to have a moment of peace even with his own mind? How long would he stay sane, with remnants of her song swirling around in his head? Akira didn't understand exactly what properties this song had, but he knew for a fact that it changed his whole mindset. His thoughts would no longer be his own, and he'd be none the wiser. That's what scared him the most.
He curled back into a ball, knowing his sleep would be tainted with her voice. Nice as it was, it was still haunting.
A creak resounded throughout the hall.
He squeezed his eyes shut. Not again. His body still shivered from the freezing water.
The door closed with a creak and he stupidly hoped that the person had just peeked inside at the attractions and left. Of course he wouldn't be so lucky.
Footsteps approached his cage, so light that he almost couldn't hear them. He frowned. Most of them are heavy and loud. Maybe it was one of the women, there to ogle him or whatever.
His cage door creaked open, louder than the first door. He winced. Of course they were coming for him and not anyone else.
Maybe they'll just think I'm asleep and they won't bother me. He mentally slapped himself. Like they would care.
The person crept into the cage with him and draped something onto his small form. His frown deepened, and he looked up.
It was her.
Her features were marred with horror and guilt but that stupid song made him see her as no less beautiful than before. She had brought him a blanket. The blanket provided a small bit of comfort, but her presence brought more. He battled that feeling. He would not fall victim to her magic again.
Akira looked up at her but she wasn't looking at him. She was staring, horrified, at the scene around her. This was where the children went? She thought to herself, staring into their deadened eyes.
"Admiring your work?" he spat bitterly.
Her eyes fell on him again and he felt his breath catch in his throat. She was beautiful, but also terrified. He ignored that first part. "I... I had no idea, I swea'." she choked out the words. "But... I'll fix 'at later. I 'ave to 'elp you first." She knelt down and held out her arms invitingly. "Another person is warmer 'an a blanket."
His body moved of its own accord but he stopped it. "No!" he yelled. She blinked in surprise and a slight twinge of fear showed in her eyes. Her head whipped around to see if anyone had heard and come into the room. "No... you won't have this control over me anymore!" He wrenched the blanket off of him and threw it at her. His eyes sparked with hatred and he scooted away from her. He shook his head, "Get out."
Her lips parted in sadness and he had to focus as hard as he could on her eyes. "But-"
"Get out!" he whisper-yelled, not wanting to alert those people anymore than she did. She pursed her lips and looked ready to retort, but instead pushed herself to her feet.
"I'll be comin' back fer you." she reassured him.
"Don't bother." he said, turning away from her.
He heard her pause before her footsteps took towards the door and faded away, the tell-tale creak of the door closing behind her.
~ le time skip brought to you by a sexually frustrated little man ~
(Y/N) growled softly, frustrated at what she had seen the night before. Her hands worked expertly to fold the just-dried clothes in them as her mind focused elsewhere. All that time and effort put in and they turned out to be the bad guys all along. She hadn't told anyone else about what she had seen---too busy thinking about that boy.
She could save him.
But not the others. The thought pulled at her heartstrings and she tried to hide the pain from showing on her face. The other children she'd seen were too far gone, it'd be pointless to even try to save them.
She organized the clothes into separate piles for each person, placing each pile neatly into a basket. (Y/N) picked it up with not much difficulty, easily carrying it over to Wendy and Peter's tent. This was where she made her rounds of laundry, cleaning and folding and putting away each person's clothes into their respective tents. Her act was fairly small, so she figured this was a good way to make up for it. Besides, she felt like a freeloader sitting idly while others slaved away at various chores. A circus wasn't an easy place to keep up with.
She placed their clothes into their tent, moving on to Beast, Dagger, Jumbo, Snake (it'd taken awhile, but the snakes warmed up to her), Doll, and last but not least, Joker. She parted the flap and entered, her basket much lighter than it had been at the beginning. She exhaled heavily, dropping the basket down with a thud. Her hands reached towards the sky and stretched, relieving her back of the strain put on it. "Ah..." she sighed, hearing the familiar pops.
Lowered down to her normal height, she reached for the pile of clothes and brought it over to his trunk. She bent down and placed it inside, making a conscious effort not to ruin her careful folding. Closing the lid over the chest, something caught her eye from under Joker's bed.
Frowning, she turned around and looked closer. It was the corner of a book, stuffed hastily underneath so it could still be partially seen. She shrugged and pulled it out. The cover had no title. (Y/N) teased open the book slowly, not wanting to rip anything.
Surprisingly, an estimated half of the pages were torn out. One page that caught her eye as she flipped through was titled: "Counter-spell." She blinked blankly. ...What?
Underneath the title were the lyrics to the song that she sang to lure in the children. Her eyes widened. I didn't realize there was an actual book for it. Her eyes followed the familiar words until they reached the end, where another song was written. It was the same song, but... backwards? Does that mean this reverses the effects of the normal song?
She tore the page out of the book and suddenly knew how she was going to save him.
~ le time skip brought to you by an ice pick lobotomy ~
It was dark out now. The paper crumpled in her hand, she found herself back in that house, having snuck out of the circus with the excuse of a walk on her lips. Luckily, no one had asked. She approached the door again, hand on the handle, but paused. She screwed her eyes shut, the images of those poor children staining the backs of her eyelids. She shook her head, pushing those thoughts away. She opened the door.
It was the same as before, though she could have sworn that one or two of the children were missing. Her eyes locked with his. He shook his head violently, emotions warring over his face. "No. No, I told you to get out."
"'N I did!" She protested, hurrying over to his cage. She wrenched open the door and grabbed his arm. "C'mon!"
For a second he looked like he wanted to say no. He glanced around the place fleetingly before grasping her arm back and tugging himself up. He nodded curtly. She smiled, pulling him after her.
He frowned as he watched her back. She was saving him, but not the others. His frown deepened. Though I guess I can understand that, given their situations. But also, he was going to have a much harder time maintaining control over his own mind with her around.
... Her hand was warm in his.
~ le time skip brought to you by [redacted] ~
It didn't take long to run back to the city. It was larger than most, so they wouldn't be found easily. (Y/N) skidded to the corner of a building and ducked into an alleyway, slamming her back against the wall. Her breath came out heavily, each one lapsing over onto the other in its speed. "'Kay... We should be good now." she huffed, still holding tightly to his hand.
Akira was in a momentary state of bliss just standing there close to her, holding her hand. He blinked and frowned, slapping himself across the face. She jumped slightly. "What in the 'ell was 'at for?" She was now only at the edges of his mind, and he was content with that.
He shook his head. "Nothing."
They took a couple more minutes to regain their breath, each slouched against the wall and sucking in the air.
"Hah... right. I fink I 'ave somefing 'at can" she paused to gesture vaguely at him, "cure you."
"Of what?"
"Love." she winked and he frantically pushed down his blush.
"I don't need to be cured of something I don't have."
(Y/N) straightened up and stared at him. "Ye don't 'ave to lie about it. I know what 'appens." she paused again, this time waiting for him to say something. When he didn't, she shrugged and went on. "Well, 'ere goes."
She pulled out the page and squinted through the darkness. "'M gonna sing 'is 'n you're gonna 'ave to stay 'ere, m'kay?" He nodded silently.
She returned the nod and straightened up, clearing her throat. "Er... ydal riaf ym, thgin lla ekoms ot epip a mih evig..." she began, and Akira felt a feeling of calm settle over him again. His shoulders tensed but he breathed deeply, not wanting to screw it up. If what she said was true, he would be much happier to be rid of these feelings for her.
"thgin lla ekoms, thgin lla ekoms, thgin lla ekoms ot epip a mih evig... ydal riaf ym, peelsa llaf lliw nam eht esoppus... peelsa llaf, peelsa llaf, peelsa llaf lliw nam eht esoppus... ydal riaf ym, thgin lla hctaw ot nam a tes..." she continued on.
By the end of the song, her throat was raspy and he opened his eyes. His mind felt clearer but...
The feelings for her were still there, if less intense than before.
She smiled proudly, stuffing the paper back into the folds of her dress. "Well?"
He coughed. Best keep those feelings to myself. "Better. Much better, thanks."
Thus, the two stood there in the alley, both conflicted on where to continue from this point. They could part, but where would each person go? (Y/N) could not return to the circus. Akira could not return to his dead friends. "Erm... I suppose we should try and get a job together?" he proposed, biting his lip. Those... feelings made him want to spend more time with her. Of course, it wasn't him. Right. He mentally assured himself.
"Sounds good to me. But fer now..." she gestured at the alley around them and plopped down onto the ground. "We'd best settle in fer the night."
~ time skip brought to you by soup that is too hot ~
Morning came and they searched for jobs. They scoured newspapers... well, Akira did. (Y/N) could sound out words but only recognized the ones she already knew. She left that job to him and chose instead to ask around the place. When they regrouped at the alley, around noon, they shared information.
This continued for a couple of days before they finally found something.
Akira sighed. "All I read about in the papers were those Jack the Ripper murders and some Phantomhive man." he moved his desperate eyes to hers. "Did you do any better?"
She nodded eagerly, "Yes! I 'eard 'at Phantomhive 'ires any old street urchin if they're pathetic enough!" She looked so happy after days of coming back with nothing that Akira just...
Kissed her.
It was short and sweet, but it still happened, even after Akira wrenched himself from her, horrified at what he had done. "I-" he began.
She giggled, cutting him off. "I guess you liked 'at idea, huh?"
He laughed nervously. "Er... y... yeah..." he smiled. "Sorry about that, I don't usually have such awful control over myself."
"You're welcome to do it again, sometime." she winked and held out her hand. "Ready to go meet Mr. Phantomhive?"
~ le time skip brought to you by BIC for her ~
(Y/N) smiled softly to herself, watching Mey-rin and Bard argue over who really broke the plates strewn all over the floor while Finny looked between them helplessly.
An arm snaked around her waist, breath warming her neck. "Hey." a familiar voice whispered. She giggled quietly, leaning into him and holding the hand on her hip.
"Hey, yourself." she turned into his embrace and met his grinning face.
He glanced over her shoulder to look at the other three servants. His face grew both amused and bemused. "Should I even ask?"
"Probably not. Don't you have some laundry to be doing?" she asked, playing with his tie. His gaze returned to hers, his eyes dancing when he looked at her.
He pulled her closer. "Oh? Don't you have some Pluto to be washing?" he pecked her nose.
"Maybe." she teased. "Either way, Sebastian will find those three eventually and I don't think I want to be here when that happens."
"No?" he hummed. She laughed and he pressed his lips to hers softly.
Whether that song was still in his head or not... he was pretty sure these feelings were real. He parted from her, "C'mon, let's get away while we still can." My fair lady.
A/N: didn't really know how to end it, but i kinda like it like this :) hope you enjoyed!