I peered through the red and white striped curtains. The tiered seats were filling up fast. I looked over towards the entrance and saw Nekane, the ticket collector. Coincidentally, she happened to glance over at me at the same time, and winked. I smirked, knowing that throughout the evening, there would be several men AND women drooling at her.
They were justified through - there was a reason we had a seductive ticketer. There are always people who pay more if they like what they see, in hopes of something in return later. These people, however, are always left disappointed. They never suspected that she had a daughter, and had no interest in anyone else but her little fairy princess.
I checked my pocket-watch. 5 minutes till beginning. I strode over to the mirror that had been placed just before the fabric entrance to the ring. It had been a worthwhile investment and was used mainly to check costumes before entering onto the stage.
I adjusted my crimson Ring Mistress' jacket so that the golden decoration lay in the middle of my collar bones, below my neck. The pale silver waistcoat underneath covered my assets, and there was a flash of olive skin between the shimmering item and my black shorts as I reached upwards and angled my top hat.
Checking my pocket watch again, I counted down the seconds until we started.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1...0." I whispered, eyes transfixed on the second hand. As I mumbled the last number, the drums began to roll, soon followed by a trumpet fanfare.
I stepped through the curtain.
"Signore e signori, Ladies and Gentlemen, Bambini! Welcome to Il Circo di Sangue!"
* * *
Just over an hour and a half later, the circus had finished, and the crowd was filing out of the tent. I was at the material door, giving accented farewells. "Arrivederci amici! Come again!"
I laughed to myself as I saw the last of the crowd leave. Even after years in the business, I couldn't believe how easy it was to clamp a chloroformed hand over someone's mouth and to drag them away in a crowd. I'd spotted at least 4 fall victims to my talented circus freaks. I strolled back into the tent, and towards the curtain that led to the living area. My hand was reaching for the striped material when I heard a cough behind me.
"Cessair Ragno. 25 years old, Irish Mother, Italian father, only child, grew up in Italy before moving to England to escape a certain persistent Mafia hitman, and is now owner and ring mistress of the Circus of Blood."
As I turned round, the female voice added one more item.
"Oh, and is a 34D."
I looked the intruder over before looking her directly in the eye, ignoring the fact that I was obviously starting to blush at her last comment. She was sitting on the second row from the front, legs resting the chair in front, wearing a double-breasted burgundy coat, plain black jeans and thigh high leather boots, not too dissimilar from my own.
She smirked at my studying eyes, and my suspicious reaction.
"Am I right? Don't leave me in the dark here, honey!" She smiled gleefully.
"I thought your type liked the dark."
She giggled at my comment, making her strawberry-blonde curls bounce on her shoulders.
"Oh sweetie, more than you know."
There was a moment of silence as I considered my next move. Depending on who this woman was, this could be my making or breaking.
"Seeing how you seem to know everything out me, may I, at least, have your name?"
"I was wondering when you'd ask. I'm Stella Fforde." She stood up and elegantly stepped over the first row, and then into the ring. Stella reached into her back pocket and pulled out a card and passed it to me with a wink. "You can have my number as well."
As I read the card - which simply held her name and number, along with the royal crest, she pulled out an iPhone, and lazily put on a song, skipping a couple before getting to one she agreed with.
"Ah, I love this song." It took me a moment to recognise the song. KT Tunstall, Suddenly I See. She wasn't my favourite artist, but then who was? You don't really have time to listen to music in my business.
Next thing I knew, Stella had taken my hand in hers and was dancing.
I was not one for dancing. It was just something that did not happen.
So I stood there, my arm being swung from side to side as the woman in front of me danced and sung along to the music. Noticing that I wasn't going to dance, Stella let go of my hand, leaving a cold feeling where her warm hand had been. She turned off the music. "I'll make you dance next time, honey."
"What do you mean, next time?" I tilted my head in alarm. Of course; I hadn't even questioned why she was here, I just assumed and was waiting for her to make her move.
"Didn't I mention it, sweetie?"
"Mention what?" I questioned frantically.
"I'm staying with you till I need to leave."
I stared at her with an open mouth. There was only one word on my mind now:
Shit.
