25. Overcome

Brooke was afraid and no one was there to encourage her or whip her out of this fear. Not Rogue. Not an academy. She was here, alone, and she had to take this risk for the princess and the baby.

 The orcs brought Brooke in and set her cage by the rink. Brooke saw a thousand seats filled with orcs and blue skinned creatures cheering. It was a grotesque sight. Desdemonia was an ugly kingdom. The smell of popcorn made Brooke sick, her tongue numb with butter and salt. If she ever returned home, she promised not to eat popcorn ever again. Then the question came. Did she want to return home? She doubted her so-called crime would just vanish because of her absence. She still hadn’t convinced Meredith that she was a good person or that she had not killed her little sister. Just when she scoffed popcorn, Ferra arrived and gave her the metal bowl overflowing with popcorn. She set it down and left without a word.

Lights centered onto the rink, flashing about like comets in a night sky. Orc stilt walkers strolled around the rink with orc acrobats flipping alongside them wearing rainbow leotards. They appeared brightly, leaping into the air. They created the illusion of a passing rainbow. A blue creature juggling bowling pins rode a unicycle after the stilt walkers. Brooke’s attention diverted when she heard an orc drop the cage with the tiger beside her. The little blue creature unlocked the cage and hooked a leash around the tiger’s neck. The creature gave the tiger a stern look and Brooke watched them walk into the rink following the circle of performances. Half of the crowd cheered louder, and the other half appeared annoyed to see the little creature. The performances kept circling the rink as the creature and tiger entered onto the center of it. He raised his hands and the crowd went silent. “Behold the singing albino tiger!” Brooke heard a few orcs snort in disbelief and some mock him.

The little creature stepped aside. Brooke, the crowd, and the little creature waited for the tiger to perform, do something, but instead the tiger licked her paw and laid down. The crowd booed and began throwing food at the little creature. He frowned and his skin darkened with anger. He took a whip out of his belt and snapped the whip across the tiger. She roared, snatched the whip from the little creature, and went berserk. She ran across all across the rink and attacked the acrobats. She bit their flesh and left one of them bleeding. Then the tiger attacked the stilt walkers, biting the wooden stilts, making the creatures atop of them fall. It took a few orcs to subdue the tiger and walk her back to the cage. As she strolled by Brooke’s cage, she spat out parts of the stilt near it. Brooke arched a brow at the tiger.

More orcs catered to the injured performers and helped them away from the rink. Grayer walked down the isles with a microphone wearing shades. “Well that wasn’t very entertaining, but the light show will be.”

The crowd cheered and Brooke wondered what he meant. He left the rink and an orc carrying Meredith set her down in the middle. Brooke grabbed the bars and watched intensely. Meredith sat on her hands and knees. She looked like she was heaving. A red light shot from her body and she yelped in pain. The red light vanished into the tent ceiling and the crowd awed at it. A green light shot out, then a yellow, blue. White. Black. Brooke heard agony in Meredith’s scream. Her body lifted as it released a bright display of power exploding from her.

The crowd cheered this on and Brooke groaned. She kicked the metal bowl in frustration and Yoko cried fiercely. Meredith released another agonized scream and Brooke kicked the metal bowl again. She heard something pop up. Brooke glanced at the metal bowl and saw the nail in the corner of the cage rose. Her eyes widened as she looked all around the cage. There were four main nails holding it together. Brooke could loosen them and escape. Brooke’s blood rushed and she smiled to herself. Wait, but what about Meredith, Brooke thought. And what about Yoko, the tiger, and the other elves. She wanted to free them too, but she couldn’t save the whole world. She had to find something else to do. Brooke jumped when Grayer approached the cage. “Well, it’s about time for you to go on and you’ll be using this.” In his hands was a sword sheath. “A dead body can’t entertain a crowd, so don’t die, kay?”

Brooke rolled her eyes. He set the sheath by the audience stand and left. Brooke then noticed the pieces of stilt below her cage. Brooke pictured fire and she smirked. She had an idea. She laid Yoko on the floor as he continued to cry. She used the edge of the bowl and placed it underneath the edge of the nails. She kicked the upward side of the bowl and pulled each of them out. She grabbed Yoko and climbed from under the cage. Brooke reached for the stilt, but before she could get it, her skin jumped. “Hey, you, get back in your cage!” An orc raced for her and the crowd turned their attention to her. Brooke’s heart thumped as she grabbed the sword by the audience stands. She used her fingers and dropped the sheath. Its blade was blunt, but it would have to do. Brooke took the orc down in one strike. More ran after her. She had a baby in her hands with odds of one against twenty and more. Brooke didn’t know how to overcome this with so many disadvantages.

Brooke heard screaming from the audience and looked up. The tent ceiling was on fire! Embers rushed along the cloth and Brooke struck down the orcs in their distraction. She ran to the tiger’s cage and unlocked it. “Thank you, Human,” she said. Brooke nodded. She heard more screaming and panicking. The orcs in the audience scrambled and divided, running out of the circus tent.

Meredith laid there in the rink. Brooke had to get her, but how could she carry both Yoko and Meredith while fighting too? “Hop on!” the tiger commanded, snapping Brooke out of her thoughts. She stared at the tiger for a minute, now realizing the tiger was as large as a white stallion. Brooke picked the sheath up, stashed the sword, and hopped onto the tiger. “I am Athena, and to whom do I owe my service to?”

“My name is Brooklyn.”

“Guide me, Miss Brooklyn.”

“Go to Meredith, quickly!” The tiger roared and jumped into the rink. She stopped by the exhausted princess. Brooke got down and lifted the princess onto the tiger. Brooke wondered who attacked the circus, but figured she had no time to ponder that. Brooke’s body twitched and she unleashed her sword. A man moved to attack Brooke and she deflected him. Her eyes widened when she looked at him. He stood across from her shaking his familiar blonde hair. It was Dorian. Brooke stepped back. What was he doing here? Why was he attacking her?

“Hey you, attacking my circus!” Grayer called with ten orcs behind him.

Brooke didn’t stick around to hear the rest. She sheathed her sword, and hopped onto Athena. Where would they go? Where would they escape? Brooke directed Athena to leave the circus. The ship they traveled in was gone. Brooke was at a loss and she knew that the orcs would soon chase after. “Miss Brooklyn, if you are pondering direction, guide me into the Wilderness.”

Brooke’s stomach twisted. She was afraid of Alagracia’s Wilderness. Of course, she was more afraid to go into Desdemonia’s Wilderness. She looked back at the drained princess who’d fallen asleep, and then at the baby who was quiet. Now was the time to overcome her fear. No one was here to encourage her or whip her out of this fear. Not rogue. Not an academy. She was here, alone, and she had to take this risk for the princess and for the baby she wanted to save. She gulped and steadied her breathing. She replied, “Athena guide me into the Wilderness.”

Athena turned right and Brooke faced the dark woods of Desdemonia’s Wilderness. 

 

Author's Note

Dear Reader,

I hope you got the change happening within Brooke. I wanted Brooke to come across as a real person. She didn't start off totally afraid or totally unafraid. She had certain fears and shortcomings that she will overcome as she progresses through the story. As she grows, she becomes aware of her care for others, trust, and her relationships and self. Hope you enjoy and read through the madness.

Sincerely JazzSoulKeke,

God bless