by Dyan Chick
Evangeline was staring at me. She'd been the one to wake me. "Time to get ready."
I looked around the room at the faces staring at me and tensed up. Evangeline rolled her eyes. She let out a loud sigh. "They're not going to hurt you. They all know, everything."
She offered a hand to help pull me up. I hesitated, then took it.
Evangeline leaned in to me. "I saw you turn him down. He was testing you. You did the right thing."
That was a test? The flirting and the hand on my leg? I felt so foolish. How did I keep getting sucked in with him? I pressed my lips together, trying to contain the anger I was feeling. Was it all just a game to these people?
The horse-legged man came over to us, unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth. He had a basket in his hands. "We made you this. Thought you might be hungry."
I took the basket. It was full of fruit. I was hungry and the gesture was very kind but I hadn't quite gotten over the fact that they had all wanted me dead not too long ago. A fruit basket. Was that the standard gift you gave when you felt bad about trying to kill someone? "What's this for?"
He took the cigarette out of his mouth. "You're not all that different from us. A Sayge without her magic. In hiding from the the same crazy bitch as the rest of us." He pointed to himself. "A tree nymph without his magic." He pointed to Evangeline. "High Fae." Then he started pointing to all the people around the room, listing off what they had been before the curse. "Faerie, sprite, water nymph, faerie, faerie, troll, goblin, sprite..."
All this time, I kept thinking I'd never fit in here, that I was so different from the members of the Rose Circus. But all of them were here because they were hiding from Terra. I might not be under the same curse as them, my damage wasn't external. It had hit me deep inside, causing a darkness that I almost didn't survive. "Thank you."
"Mike," he said. "Pleased to meet you."
"Let's get you ready for the festival," Evangeline said. "No bumblebee costume this time."
25
As I followed Evangeline, I realized the train wasn't moving anymore. The cars were full of life as people ran in and out of open doors. The energy was optimistic and upbeat. The members of the Rose Circus didn't seem to have a care in the world as they prepared for the party. I wished I could feel that way, but Tristan's threat that Terra would be looking for me loomed over me. "Why parties? Especially with Terra looking for all of you."
"We spent years hiding and running. Then we learned that the curse that stole our magic kept us very well hidden from Terra. She can't find us unless somebody who is part of the circus was to lead her to us. When you have an eternity to live, you have to find a way to enjoy it. Brenon always enjoyed lavish parties before the curse. It was part of his downfall. It's his way of rebelling against it all." Evangeline stopped in front of Goldie's door, then knocked.
Goldie opened it before the third knock. "You're back!" She gave Evangeline a dirty look. "I'll take it from here."
Before I could say anything further, I was ushered inside and the door closed behind me. Bella was gone, leaving Goldie and me in the room. She grabbed the basket from me and raised an eyebrow. "A gift basket, seriously?"
"Yeah, Mike gave it to me," I said.
"Huh." She set the basket on the bed. "Surprised it isn't full of Marlboro's. Guy's got a serious problem, you know."
"I could tell," I said.
Goldie clapped her hands. "Never mind all that right now, let's get you ready for this party. I'm going to put you in something that Brenon won't be able to resist."
"Hold on there." I lifted my hands up in front of me. "Nothing is going on between Brenon and me. And I am not dressing in anything for his benefit."
Goldie shook her head. "Whatever you say, love."
My eyebrows furrowed. "Do you want the curse broken? Everybody else treats it like the end of the world."
She shrugged. "I'm human, what do I care. If the curse is broken, I don't get any magic back. I'm not immortal. I could die if they break the curse, I could be back to a 19-year-old servant girl. None of that seems to matter after nearly 500 years of watching all the people on this train change and grow."
I couldn't imagine what it would be like to know someone for that long. What kinds of things would you see? "What do you mean?"
"Brenon used to be an ass, I'll give you that. One of his favorite things to do was chase after village girls. Because he could. When Terra came for us, Brenon gave up everything to keep his court safe. All of us. He could have escaped on his own but turns out, he wasn't as much of an ass as I thought. For the last few centuries, he's kept this group together. He's watched as people around him fell in love - the one thing he was denied to keep us all safe."
"Couldn't he just be with one of you? Or another supernatural being?" I asked. "There had to be love interests over the years. And there's Evangeline."
Goldie started digging clothes out of a trunk. "He and Evangeline have their back and forth. Mostly because it's familiar. And because neither of them has ever found someone they were willing to bring home, you know what I mean?" She looked up, brow creased. "That is, until you. He brought you home, didn't he?"
"Not exactly.” I thought back to the way he dismissed me as soon as anybody else came around. How he tested me while Evangeline watched. "I was a curiosity, and now I'm a liability. Nothing more."
Goldie walked over to me and held an orange bodice top with lacing down the front up to me. "If you say so." She tossed me the top.
I pursed my lips. Goldie seemed to want to create a fairy tale between the two of us in her head. I had a feeling nothing I said was going to stop her from continuing to imagine it. I looked down at the metallic gold shorts she was holding up to my legs. "Those are way too short."
She smiled and held up a cheetah print mini-skirt. "Would you rather wear this?"
I grabbed the shorts from her. "What are you wearing?"
Goldie spun around and grabbed what looked like a bikini off of her bed. She held up the red bra top and matching red bottoms. "Want to trade?"
I shook my head.
She took off her clothes and pulled on the suit over her shiny gold skin. I wanted to look away, to be respectful, but when I realized her entire body was gold, I couldn't take my gaze away.
She seemed used to it and didn't even comment on my obvious staring. Instead, she chatted with me while she got dressed. "It's Fire Festival night, my favorite party of the whole year. Just wait until you see the tent."
"Tent?" I pulled down the sweat pants I was wearing and traded them for the shiny gold shorts. The shorts just covered my butt cheeks and they had cutouts at the waist. I was pretty sure I had more modest swim suit bottoms. At least I'm not wearing what Goldie's wearing.
"Yeah, a big top tent. We used to use it all the time but it got too hard to build it as the cities got larger. So now it's reserved for festival days in the middle of nowhere. It's the most epic party of the year. Supernaturals come from all over for this party." She grabbed a brush and got to work on her hair.
It was odd to see such a regular routine, getting ready for a party. I turned away, not confident enough to take the tee-shirt off in front of Goldie. As quickly as I could, I pulled the orange top over my head. The lacing on the front went the entire way down the shirt, again showing much more skin than I was used to. I pulled it tight to hold me in place as best I could, really missing my bra about now.
The next hour went by while Goldie told me stories about the past Fire Festival parties while doing my hair and makeup. My face was still bruised, my eye still black from the time spent with Terra, but makeup covered most of it. If this party were as dimly lit as the other one, most people wouldn't notice the injuries. There weren't any mirrors in her room and the part of me that would usually take control in a situation like this had been muted. I felt a bit defeated, worn out. Not really in the party mood. Goldie's stories about the high energy party that was to last until dawn just made me feel tired.
"There." Goldie took a step back from me, makeup brush still in hand. She opened a drawer and took out a hand mirror and passed it to me. She looked so proud.
I grabbed the mirror and looked at myself. I didn't recognize the girl looking back at me. Cherry red lips, dark smoky eyes, gold shimmer all over my face. I would fit right in with all the other creatures of the night. Not wanting to upset Goldie, I smiled. "You're amazing at this, you know?"
She bobbed into a little curtsy. "Glad you like it."
Outside a horn blew.
Goldie jumped and grabbed the mirror from me. She tossed it and the makeup into the drawer. "It's time for the tent raising, You don't want to miss this."
The door to Goldie's room swung open and a breathless Bella entered. "Come on! You're going to be late."
It was hard to stay feeling down with the energy emitting from the two of them. Goldie grabbed my hand and led me through the hallways and out of the train. The air was crisp and cool. It was that perfect time of night, right before the sun set, when there was still light but you could just barely see the sun. We followed the crowd to a huge open field still in view of the train tracks.
A massive pile of orange and white striped canvas covered part of the field. Two tall poles stood in the center of the fabric and a team of people were stationed around it. I watched in awe as they pulled and worked together to raise the tent. The work went quickly and in no time, the tent was standing.
"Amazing, isn't it? We've done it a million times, but I still get chills every time I see that tent go up."
My shoulders dropped as the good feelings faded. I turned to see Brenon standing behind me in his full Ringmaster costume.
"We should go see if they need help with the lights." Goldie grabbed Bella's hand and pulled her away.
I stood there in silence for a moment before remembering how exposed I was in this outfit. I covered my chest with my arms while I watched Brenon step closer to me. After our last few encounters, I didn't know how to react to him or what to say. I never knew which version of him I would find.
"You'll want to leave the tent when I light the sign tonight," he said.
I looked up at him, trying to read him, but his gaze stayed locked on the tent ahead of us.
Evangeline darted up from behind us. "Tent's up. You ready, Brenon?" She slid her arm through his and pushed her body against him.
As I watched them walk away, a terrible feeling tugged at me. It was part jealousy and a whole lot of self-loathing.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Goldie and I ran toward her. She was all about having fun, enjoying life. If anybody could help me find a way to dull the emotions reeling through me right now, it was her.
26
I was breathless when I reached Goldie near the now fully-raised tent.
"So," she grabbed my hand. "What did he say?"
"He told me to leave the tent when he lights the sign," I said.
"Oh?" Goldie turned away from me.
"Why would he do that?" I tried to read her expression, she seemed to be hiding something.
"Well, it's Fire Festival night, and things can sometimes get a little crazy. Maybe he's trying to keep you from getting hurt? I mean, you're human. You don't react the same way we do to things." She tugged on my hand and dragged me to the tent. "Come on, I want to show you inside."
I wasn't sure I understood what Goldie was talking about, but I didn't want to be involved in anything that could harm me. Maybe he was just looking out for me.
We entered the tent to find a flurry of activity. Giant industrial lights set around the tent filled the space with a harsh white light. People in costume were running around hanging lights and other decorations, but the sides of the tent were already covered in the signature orange roses. I took a deep breath, letting the scent of the fresh flowers overwhelm me. "It's beautiful."
I let go of Goldie's hand and spun around in a circle, taking in the sight of the huge tent lined with flowers. "Where do they all come from?"
Goldie brushed her fingers over the flowers. "All of the magical folk were drained of their magic, but Brenon seemed to have some left. He creates these roses for us whenever we stop as a reminder of what our life used to be like and what we all gave up to stay safe."
I lowered my voice so the others in the tent couldn't hear me. "I still don't understand why anyone would stay cursed."
She moved closer to me. "There are things out there that are worse than being cursed."
The industrial lights shut down and the inside of the tent grew silent without their buzzing. The sudden darkness took my breath away and I lost track of what we had been talking about. Just as my heart started to pick up the pace and fear began to seize me, lights flickered on above us.
I looked up to see the top of the tent crisscrossed with tiny, sparkling white lights. I gasped. It was the most magical sight I'd ever seen. The lights made the flowers look even more beautiful. Shadows danced across the walls as the lights twinkled above us. It was almost like starlight.
"You thought it was beautiful before," Goldie said.
I nodded, unable to find the words to describe the scene. Goldie pulled me closer to the wall as a group of people came in carrying long boards. I watched them walk to the back of the tent and begin to build a stage. The set up would be similar to what it had been in the warehouses.
Watching all the people work made me feel useless. "Is there anything we can do to help?"
"I usually help build the bonfire," Goldie said. "Wanna help?"
A bonfire sounded fun. It was also something familiar. I’d been to bonfires before. "I'd love to."
We headed back outside where a circle of huge stones had already been set out to contain the logs for the fire. A bunch of wood lay around the pit, but none of it was stacked yet. Goldie and I got to work stacking the logs and filling in the ring of stones. It was going to be a massive fire.
The sun was gone from view completely and the sky was darkening quickly. It was almost too dark to see what we were doing. We managed to get the last of the wood moved from the pile.
Somebody with a flashlight walked toward us. "Time to take your places."
I recognized the voice as Evangeline. Of course, she was running things while Brenon was wherever.
Goldie pointed to me. "I'm ready, but where do you want Ara?"
The flashlight moved up to my face and I raised my hand to shield my eyes.
"Ara, you're on the trapeze," Evangeline said. "Let's get you ready."
I ran over to her. "What? You have got to be kidding me. I don't know how to use a trapeze, and I don't like heights."
Evangeline picked up her pace, walking faster as we neared the tent. "I don't make the rules, I just deliver the message."
"You know if I fall, I'll die," I said.
"Then you better not fall," she said.
I was still trying to argue with Evangeline as we entered the tent. Goldie tugged on my arm. "You'll be fine. Just try to have some fun, okay?"
My mouth dropped open with the intent of protesting her words. How was Goldie okay with this? What if this some trick by the members of the circus who wanted me dead? I thought we were finally past all of that.
As I watched Goldie go in the opposite direction, I caught back up with Evangeline. "Is this some kind of payback? I swear, I'm not trying to steal Brenon away from you."
She stopped and raised her eyebrows. "Who do you think assigns the jobs? You think it was me? Brenon's the one who wants you there."
I stopped walking. This was a punishment for something, I was sure of it. I'd upset him somehow and now he was going to take it out on me. Or maybe he wanted to prove to his whole circus he didn't care if I lived or died.
"Come on." Evangeline took my hand and dragged me across the tent.
We stopped in front of a ladder that went straight up. As I stared at the platform above me, a wave of dizziness overtook me and I swayed on my feet. This was a terrible id
ea. I wasn't an acrobat. I'd never even taken gymnastics. There was no way I was prepared at all for this task.
"Up you go," Evangeline said.
"This has to be a joke." I put my hands on my hips. It was the only thing I could think of that made any logical sense. Even if Brenon was angry with me, he wouldn't let me die. If he wanted me dead, he'd have handed me over to Tristan or Terra. He wouldn't have had Jasper break me out. "I'm not going up there."
"Oh yes you are," Evangeline said. "You do this, you're in."
My brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"
"You have to do something to prove to the circus that you are a team player. That you don't think you're better than us. This is it. You do this, I bet they cancel the plan to haul you from your bed tonight and throw you from the train."
I swallowed. "They were going to do that?"
She nodded. "You thought you could change their minds, just like that? This group has been working to keep the curse intact for 500 years. They aren't about to see that break because Brenon brought a human home with him. Even if she used to be a Sayge."
How could they expect me to know how to use a trapeze? "What if I fall?"
She shrugged. "Then you'll die. But you might not fall. If you don't do this, I doubt you'll be alive tomorrow."
I took a deep breath and looked up at the platform again. "What do I do once I'm up there?"
"You'll swing across, then let go in the middle. The other performer will catch you and take you to the other side. That's it." She said the words like it was the same as walking across the street.
"That's it?" My words were sarcastic but she either missed it or ignored it.
"You got this," she said.
I put a hand on a ladder rung and tried to tell myself it would be okay.
"Wait!" I spun around to ask who the other performer was, but Evangeline was gone. How did I know that the other performer wasn't going to miss me on purpose? What if it were one of the people planning to throw me from the train tonight? It would be much easier to just miss me and let me fall.