Hunter's Daughter

Chapter One ~ Alice

I had been a liar for a long time. An expertise I had developed throughout my teenage years, honed to perfection. But now? Now, it was used for a completely different reason.

Before, it was to keep up with my lifestyle. The Popular Act. My father's obscure and strict rules didn't allow for this, and forced me to adapt. So I was the one to discover the loopholes, to use fake alibis, strangers, anything to evade detection. I hated how hard I worked to do what others did without permission. But I couldn't give it up. Everyone encouraged it, looked to me, wanted to be me.

Being that girl, the one most would bend over backwards for, to be... I would not let go of that position. I had an iron grip and ruled with an iron scepter. That's why it happened.

In exchange for a crown, I received a curse.

A bit melodramatic, right? But it's true. My life had a built-in switch; and one day, it flipped. From the top of the social food chain, to the bottom. No explanation. No catalyst. Just one big mystery.

Hence, its name: "the curse". Its effects were far-reaching, over ninety percent of people avoiding me, like I was the creepy crawly in the corner of a room. That was the best case scenario. Facing the ones I had been closest to could tipple a bad day into a dark, dark day. They often reminded me of what I'd lost, what I would never have again. At first, it stung. Just like my eyes, constantly sore from the tears, voice hoarse from pleading, hands stiff from being balled up in my laps. Each week, I would ask for my mum's masseuse, sometimes more.

Then one day — I flipped. I took a long, hard look in the mirror, metaphorically shaking myself, and decided enough was enough. This had all happened for a reason. Status meant nothing to me anymore.

I'd rather be in rags and have a friend, than be a queen with hundreds who pretend.

I was reborn. I had a new purpose. For the first time in my life, I would find a friend who genuinely cared about me, and I would genuinely care about them. I would not remake myself for them. They would not change for me.

Eighteen months later, that became a reality.

I went to the circus. A place of wonder and delight, of mystery and magic... of moments that change your life. A place I'd never been to before. For some reason, my father didn't even want me to mention them, let alone visit one. Something to do with "illegal activity, mischief and trickery" yadda yadda. His imagination often got the better of him. Which explains the rules.

There was no explanation why I chose that specific day to break it. I just reasoned that this would help in finding the "new" me. Maybe I'd run away and join the circus, finally accepted. Finally accepting I'm a freak.

This particular one was part of a chain, multiple shows bouncing up and down the country. No show the same!, apparently. Each unique due to its ever increasing "family". That appealed to me. Ever since I was small, I knew things were different for us. Family comes in all shapes and sizes, but the key ingredients were missing from my home. I clutched at straws, still thinking that the strangest of places — like those candy-cane tents — could teach me what I needed to know. It didn't matter what the curse said.

Those moments are as crisp as ever...

"Hotdogs! Get your hotdogs!" an attendant shouted over the chatter. I eyed him up, quite mesmerized that this actually happened beyond the tv screen. Many trivial, day-to-day things were my first time experiences. Getting a hotdog from a fast food server at the circus — check.

The man showed me a warm smile before leaving, and my heart gave off a dramatic thump. Sometimes I forgot what it was like to be normal. It was nice to have these glimmers.