The Princess By The Lake
‘The princess by the lake,’
The river was calling to her.
It had been faintly calling her name ever since she set foot back into the Moon River Park.
Faded tapestries and moth-bitten tents flapped in the wind, still clinging futilely onto the grandeur of the Hullabaloo Circus that had long burned away. Everything was just as Margaretha remembered it, and also uncannily different.
Perhaps it was the atmosphere, or maybe the people, that made the difference. Once upon a time, the grounds were always bright and bustling with movement. During the day, the amusement park would be packed with eager children and harried parents. Even as night fell, and all the rides closed and the tired children began to leave, the Moon River Park was still filled with activity.
That scant period when night had just fallen, but it wasn’t quite midnight yet was when Margaretha truly believed the Moon River Park came alive.
The lanes would blink to life with bright, tinny lights dangling from railings, lampposts and strung up on walls. All the performers would come together to pitch a hand in helping build a campfire at the centre of their residual area, and sing jaunty songs and tell horror stories. That was also the time Margaretha felt most alive.
The Hullabaloo Hour, as the performers had dubbed it then, was a time where everyone could forget about everything and just enjoy being there, and being alive.
But of course, there is no banquet in this world that does not come to an end.
When night truly fell, that was when all the bad things in this life came out.
‘Wears a gown so fine.’
Margaretha shivered and drew her fur coat tighter around her body. She stepped onto the bridge, ignoring the gentle, lilting call that seemed to linger in the air.
Margaretha… Margaretha…
Of course, trailing behind her like a lost puppy was Joker. Margaretha was amused by his pathetic act. She knew just how dangerous Joker really was. It was ironic that he’d pretend to act so innocent after being the catalyst of that disaster .
The Hullabaloo Massacre was sickening, but also gratifying, in an odd way. She didn’t condone Joker’s actions, by any means, but seeing Sergi’s face was… so satisfying in a way Margaretha had never felt before. The rest of the deaths had been tragic, yes, but Margaretha was content to leave all that far, far behind her.
She was aware that in doing so, she would not be a ‘good person’. But she hadn’t been a ‘good person’ for a long time. Not since she met Sergi, that man, and her entire life was ruined. So Margaretha escaped from the Hullabaloo Circus and freed herself from any memories of the dreadful day, changing her entire being into someone else.
So no one would be able to find her again, least of all that obsessive maniac Joker.
But Margaretha was not a bad person either, at least she didn’t think so. She hadn’t indulged in people’s miseries like Bernard seemed to do, or intentionally caused someone pain for her own gratification, like Sergi did. Nor had she gone mad and killed people randomly like Joker had.
She had a heart. At least, for the good people in her life, she had a heart. Margaretha was sorry that Violetta had died. Violetta had been one of the only people who had the ability to openly comfort Margaretha when Sergi was in a violent fit. Margaretha was also sorry that she couldn’t save her , the girl by the beach she had met all those years ago.
For everyone else, Margaretha was content with being the cold, ‘heartless’ dancer who had ‘deserted’ them. It was a good contrast to remind everyone that she wasn’t Natalie anymore.
The warm hearted Natalie, who used to steadfastly care for everyone. The gentle Natalie, who wouldn’t retaliate over anything. The quiet Natalie, who had no eyes for anyone other than Sergi, her husband.
Because she couldn’t have eyes for anyone else.
If she did…
“Natalie…” Joker said in his hurried, wobbly tone. He peered over her shoulder to look at the cardboard slip she was holding, and the cipher machine she was trying to decode.
Margaretha ignored him. No matter how many times she tried to hammer into his head that she was called Margaretha , not Natalie, that fool didn’t seem to remember.
There were more important things she needed to dread over at the moment. Such as, the song - her song - that was going to be played when she finished decoding the cipher machine according to her clue. Mike and Murro had already played out theirs, and it was… some short narrative of their life story, or something.
Margaretha didn’t particularly fancy having her entire life shortened into a fantasy song and blared over the crackly speakers for the entire park to hear.
It was her only way to escape, however. So maybe she’d just have to suck it up and deal with it for now. She just had to wait it out. After the performance finished, she could just leave with her ‘winnings’ and forget everything. She’d disappeared once before, she could do it again.
‘She fades away as she steps,’
Margaretha only wished Violetta could’ve been here to witness and take part in the performance as well. It was the poor girl’s only wish.
As if it too was lamenting Violetta’s untimely demise, the voice in the lake lamented her name like a mourning tune.
Margaretha… Margaretha…
As the light above the cipher machine slowly blinked to life, a haunting melody played, resonating across the Moon River Park.
“Come on. They’re waiting for us.” Margaretha instructed Joker.
She didn’t wait to see if he followed along, she just started walking to the Bigtop Tent, resolutely ignoring the wraithlike singing of a woman who sounded oddly like Violetta. Maybe it was Violetta, come to get her revenge-
Margaretha shuddered. No, surely not. The poor girl was dead. Dead and gone. Violetta was never coming back. All because of Joker.
She shot him an accusatory glare while he wasn’t looking. Joker had been the cause for… everything , but he had also been a crucial tool in making sure she could leave ‘Natalie and Sergi from the Hullabaloo Circus’ behind. And this time, he too would get what he was due.
Margaretha had a faint idea of what was going to happen at the Bigtop Tent, but she would not say anything. Today, Joker would reap what he had sowed. Murro and Mike would make sure of that. All she needed to do was stay quietly behind the scenes like she always did.
˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱‧₊˚
She knew… but she wasn’t expecting this .
Margaretha was frozen in shock as Sergi paraded around the audience seating area, pointing an accusing finger at Joker. She knew it wasn’t him, that it was only Mike pretending, to catch Joker off guard, but it was so real. Too real. It was like Sergi was back again, as vengeful as he had been the day he died.
“Sergi…” Margaretha muttered.
There was a shrill scream behind her. Joker stood on the stage, clutching at his head as he screamed a rant that sounded like it had been bottled up for far too long. “You shining, stupid puppet, Morton!” Joker yelled. Margaretha tuned out his entire rant, crossing her arms and looking away as a few certain points of argument hit a bit too close to home.
It was only when Joker turned away to reach for something that Margaretha realised that a certain object was still abandoned on the stage, in the same place it had been when Joker set fire to the circus during the massacre those countless years ago.
‘Into the water’s shine.’
A large, rusty chainsaw laid behind one of the raised platforms on the stage.
It might not have been the exact chainsaw that Joker used when he had gone insane, but it was still a chainsaw. A chainsaw that Joker, being a professional woodcutter who constantly fixed things in the circus, knew how to use very well .
Murro and Mike dispersed into different directions as Joker grabbed the chainsaw and charged at them. He wouldn’t chase after her, would he? Not when he’d spared her last time, when he’d incited the Hullabaloo Massacre because of her.
Margaretha was proved horribly wrong. She turned and scrambled out of the Bigtop Tent, sprinting all the way back to the bridge where she’d first heard her song.
“Natalie? Natalie!” Joker called, limping along with the chainsaw in his hand. He spread his arms out like he was innocent, slowly inching towards her with a sick grin on his face.
Margaretha stumbled back, bumping into the wrought iron railings that separated the bridge from the river below, still running despite the cold.
A sudden idea came to mind.
The first thing Margaretha had been told when she joined the Hullabaloo Circus, when Sergi had still been a ‘nice person’, was that the Moon River connected to Lakeside Village, Margaretha’s hometown.
Margaretha rested her hand on the railing. She… had no other option, did she? Margaretha looked back, hoping to find a reason to stay. Instead, she saw Joker’s manic expression, slowly walking towards her like Sergi had.
That alone gave her the conviction to continue.
Margaretha slipped over to the other side of the railing, balancing precariously on her high heels. “Natalie…” Joker whispered, reaching a hand out. He had a pleading expression, and finally tossed his chainsaw aside. “Please… Natalie! Don’t go!”
‘Stumbled upon,’
“I’m never going back.” Margaretha said quietly. She took a breath, and fell.
Through the freezing water muffling her senses, she heard Joker scream again. As she drifted downwards, she vaguely saw Joker trying to clamber over the railing as well. Two figures pulled him back, the Morton brothers, probably. A slow smile spread across her face. Good. Joker wouldn’t be able to follow her into death.
Margaretha! Margaretha!
˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱‧₊˚
Margaretha was not dead. That was the only thing she knew. After she fell, she’d let herself drift, content to leave her ending up to fate.
Fate, it seemed, had unanimously agreed with Lady Luck to keep her alive. Her coat fluttered in the water around her, the only source of warmth in the freezing water. It was a miracle she’d kept afloat with the weight of her fur coat around her.
The night sky shone with stars as Margaretha gazed up. If she ignored the biting cold, she could pretend like she was stargazing on the beach at Lakeside Village, talking quietly to her ‘imaginary friend’, Grace. A sudden sense of melancholy hit her. She wondered if she’d ever see Grace again.
Maybe once she died, she’d be able to see that ‘beautiful girl’, the one that had compelled her to escape from her own tragic life.
“Natalie!” She heard Joker scream, his voice muffled and quiet, sounding like it was a long distance away. “Let me go to her! Natalie! Natalie!”
Margaretha hoped Joker didn’t try to jump into the water after her. The last thing she needed was to be tied down to him even in death. No, she would not allow it. Not when this was the one reprieve she would get in her life. Not when she could go back.
The water lapped against her skin, oddly calming, as Margaretha took a deep breath. “I’m free.” She said quietly, tilting her head back to look at the Bigtop Tent in the distance. Her vision was obscured by darkness as she passed under the wall surrounding the Moon River Park, and she used that time to think.
What was she going to do now? She had meant to die, but Margaretha really couldn’t care less. As long as she could get away from Joker, and the memory of Sergi and Natalie. Perhaps she’d just let the water carry her for a while longer… just a little while longer. She was so tired, perhaps she’d sleep a bit… Yes, she’d do that. And when she woke up, she’d be with Grace.
That’s when the Moon River Park exploded.
Fireworks flew into the air, bursting in a grand array of colours. Yellow, pink, green, red. There were stars, flowers, balloons, roses, the usual swirling shape fireworks made. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and it would’ve been a wonderful ‘last memory’ for Margaretha, had it not been for the next incident.
Flames shot up from the ground, towering over the walls angrily. Margaretha watched in shock as the fire crawled its way up the rails of the Hell Rider coaster, making it creak with a terrible groaning noise. Before long, the flames completely overwhelmed the tracks.
The billboard sign at the top was first to go, falling to the ground with a booming crash. Next came the rest of the tracks, breaking off in pieces and chunks. The cacophony from the falling rails sounded like they had taken more than a few tents down with it.
There was nothing Margaretha could do except watch the Moon River Park burn, taking the once-grand revelry of the Hullabaloo Circus with it. There was nothing Margaretha wanted to do except watch the Moon River Park burn, taking the nightmares of the Hullabaloo Circus with it.
“Goodbye, Sergi.”
‘An exit in time.’
˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱‧₊˚
Margaretha couldn’t feel her hands, nor her legs. She felt oddly drowsy as well. Why was that? What… had she been doing before? On second thought, where was she? A wave of nausea washed over Margaretha as she pushed herself up, glancing around blankly.
The sight that greeted her was off putting, to say the least. There was a village in ruins around her. Rotting wood shacks were positioned everywhere, thoroughly waterlogged and stinking of brine. The vegetation had crept in after god knows how long of being untending, and trees and sprouts of weeds grew on every available surface.
Margaretha recognised this place, she thought. But from where? She was sure she’d seen this pathetically drowned village somewhere .
The answer came to her as she gazed at the carcass of a large wooden ship bobbing delicately on the water. Lakeside Village.Her Lakeside Village. But when had it been so horribly destroyed and flooded?
“What…” Margaretha murmured, collapsing onto the ground as she tried to stand. Her body felt so weak and cold. She’d lost her fur coat somewhere. She had a coat, right? Was it fur, or had it been cotton? Did she even have it on her when she was at the Moon River Park?
Through her trembling fingers, Margaretha saw something.
The water lapping at the sand seemed to rise and twist itself in the air. Margaretha felt like she was dying. No, she knew she was dying. Of what, she didn’t know. The water slowly transformed into a blurry shape, with beautiful red hair and a flowing blue dress.
The figure - the girl, maybe she was a goddess, come to take her soul to heaven - walked over to Margaretha, dress rippling behind her. “Nata- Margaretha…” The figure murmured, gentle voice filled with an incomparable sorrow. “I’m sorry, Margaretha.” The goddess said, cupping Margaretha’s cold face with her similarly cold hands.
Maybe this was for the best. Margaretha could die here, free from her torment, as Margaretha Zelle, not Natalie Zelle. But… she just… wished that Grace could… “Grace… Where’s…” She gasped, raising her hand weakly.
Yes, Margaretha remembered now. Grace was here, in Lakeside Village. By the beach. She had to get to the beach. She had to say her ‘farewell’ to Grace one last time. “Please. Take me to Grace.” She begged the goddess, whose face she did not seem to be able to see. She needed to perform one Last Dance.
The benevolent goddess complied, carefully carrying Margaretha to the beachside.
As Margaretha stood shakily, she felt her body seize up. “One… Last Dance. For Grace.” She muttered to herself, steadfastly forcing her body to move.
And as she raised her arms, it was like all was okay again. The spotlight was on her as she twirled, on Margaretha, the dancer who was not from the Hullabaloo Circus. The audience cheered and clapped, eyes wide with wonder. The skies were blue, the sun was shining, and everyone was happy.
Standing a bit away from the crowd, Margaretha saw her. A girl with long brown hair wound in a neat plait and dressed in simple fisher girl's clothes, smiling at her with eyes of love. “Grace!” Margaretha called, smiling truthfully for what seemed like the first time in forever.
When she next moved, she moved for Grace, for the poor sacrifice girl that had never done anything but what she thought would bring the village and her family to prosperity. Margaretha danced, sometimes sorrowful, sometimes overjoyed, and through her dance, she conveyed her one final wish. Her wish for Grace’s eternal happiness.
With her last curtsey, Margaretha’s dance ended.
Grace’s face rippled like a drop of water upon a still lake, and for the first time since she’d gotten to Lakeside Village, Margaretha saw the red haired goddess’ face clearly. A small, sad smile graced Margaretha’s own frozen face. “It’s nice to meet you in person at last, Grace .”
‘Forever entwined…’
˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱‧₊˚
Grace buried Margaretha by the sea, erecting a gravestone for her using the rocks and seashells she’d found on the beach, and wreathed in the faded presents Margaretha had brought for her decades ago. She wished… she could’ve helped Margaretha more, both when she was Natalie, and now. Maybe then, she wouldn’t have died here, alone and cold.
Grace felt like she was drowning in waves of regret. If only she’d been bolder, less cowardly, more trusting. Maybe she could’ve granted Margaretha that dream of hers, instead of watching helplessly as that man whisked her away under the pretence of ‘love’. Maybe if she’d…
Grace cast one last maudlin glance at Margaretha’s gravestone before walking back into the sea, her shimmering blue dress slowly merging to become one with the waves.
The only trace of Grace and Margaretha ever being on the beach that night was the heart-wrenching sobbing that was carried on by the wind, and the out of sight gravestone decorated with clematis.
From that day onwards, Lakeside Village’s Weeping Goddess did not only weep for the drowned people of Lakeside Village, but also for her first love, her drifting moonlight. Her Margaretha.