The Ruler's Rift

The Yearning

Celeste frowned to hear that her troupe would soon depart from Sharcandia. She left the circus tent and retreated to foggy woods, considering a departure of her own. With each crinkly step crushing leaves and twigs, Celeste neared her lover's home and grew more eager to boast about her plans. She wanted to pursue a life with Lucy, but first she would eat.

A rabbit fell victim to her claws. She bit its squirming form, injecting a hefty dose of venom. She could strive for greater, for more. The once thunderous applause of a circus crowd now sounded like light drizzle on a roof. Her long, colorful tongue burrowed into the rabbit's flesh. It coiled around a thick artery. And as she indulged, slowly, achingly pulling the red wires out of her prey, she only hated Lance more. He had no right. For one awful, sinful moment, Celeste wondered what his veins would taste like. How would they resist when she pulled on them?

The shriveled rabbit husk hit the forest floor and Celeste shook that thought out of her head. With hardened resolve, she marched back to Lucy's house for their promised date.

Returning to that cozy home rewarded Celeste with eggs and toast. The Sharcanid presented the food on fancy china, white with orange swirls that matched the kitchen's autumn theme. Salty fragrances teased the Mystearlian's heightened sense of smell, begging Celeste for compliments. She dug in with Lucy, who wore raised eyebrows and a grimace. "Dinner is fantastic! Don't look like that," Celeste said.

"Um...there's blood on your mouth," Lucy chuckled nervously. "Are you okay?"

Surely Lucy wouldn't mind if Celeste slammed her own head into the table so hard that it snapped it two.

Celeste wiped her mouth with a napkin, then lied, "I bit my lip. How could I notice when I smelled this awesome food?"

Fluffy ears folded down and their owner's face turned a light pink. "Heh, you flatter me. It's just eggs and bread. More suited for breakfast than dinner."

"Well, I want seconds."

Lucy's gaze shot to Celeste's clean plate. "Whoa! Sure, I'd be happy to make us more."

As Celeste ate every helping she was offered, she contemplated the reveal. Second thoughts launched an attack; perhaps her plans were too hasty. She wrestled with anxiety through several dishes of eggs and toast until she was rendered unable to eat, picking at her food with her fork.

"Are those ones burnt?" Lucy asked with a voice like cracked glass.

Bolting from her trance, Celeste said, "not at all, I was just thinking."

"About?"

Celeste set her fork down with a metallic click. She looked aside. "I'm...probably going to leave my circus troupe," she muttered.

Lucy leaned over the table and rested her hand on her girlfriend's. "What? Aren't you really good at it?" She gasped, eyes wide and ears tall.

"Oh yes," Celeste answered, "they are lucky to have me but I'm not lucky to have them."

"What do you mean?"

"My boss is a jerk, remember?" Celeste rolled her eyes, feeling sick thinking about Lance and the others. Their selfish smirks and arrogant attitudes poked her brain like needles in a pincushion. "Ugh, and the others don't even appreciate me."

"I'm sorry, Cel... I appreciate you."

Celeste stood from the table and paced, gesticulating as she ranted, "I do everything for them, carry the troupe on my back, basically...and they treat me like anyone else. It's infuriating."

With pivoting ears, Lucy took the dishes to the sink. Running water and scrubbing served as music for Celeste's speech. "I think I'm meant for better, you know? Besides..." she continued, "If I stay with them, I will have to leave Sharcandia. And I don't want to be away from you."

"I don't want that either," Lucy said, drying her hands. She hugged Celeste. "But think hard about this, it's a big decision."

Celeste stiffened. "I've considered ditching them for a while, actually...but I've decided now." She prepared herself for the risky reveal. Despite Lucy's kindness and motherly personality, she may react to the fast pace with hesitance. Asking to live together was a big decision, too.

Lucy squeezed the demon tighter. "Well, if you need a place to stay I'd be more than happy to welcome you here," she hummed.

Blue eyes widened - that was easy. "Thank you...I would like nothing more," the demon whispered. She rested her chin on Lucy's shoulder as they hugged.

"I guess you should tell them soon, huh? So they aren't waiting on you?"

"I suppose..."

Anxiety buried fresh roots. It must've sprouted up on her face, for Lucy cooed, "It's gonna be okay! Even if your boss is a jerk about it, he can't do anything to you. You'll never talk to him again after this." She smiled and wagged her tail. "It's just like ripping off a bandage."

The swishing tail eased Celeste, but not enough to keep her from ruminating on the couch while Lucy tidied up, readjusted vases, and took calls. Over the choir of her thoughts, Celeste heard Lucy discuss payments and schedules with various clients. She spoke about colors and themes all of which blended into the demon's chaotic painting of a psyche. Hues ran down the canvas of her mind like blood, each one a different emotion - the troupe had been her entire life. She still recalled when Lance's father took her in, but nothing earlier. As if someone had stolen it, her memory seemed to be missing days before that moment. For several hours she pondered her choices but she knew her decision long ago. Applauses faded into white noise, and that white noise into falling snow. Celeste didn't need them.

Lucy swept with a shabby broom, her paws deftly combing the floor and her tail swishing like a broom itself. Celeste smiled. Taps teased the window as a deep shadow crawled over the land. The sky's tears fell, and they would cleanse the demon of her troupe's arrogance. She stood from the couch. "I should get going before the rain picks up," she said, raising her hood over her head. "Be safe, Lucy."

"Good luck!" The Sharcanid pecked black lips before letting the jester go and relinquish her role.