That morning the boy woke up with a sore throat and cold feet. Nia was asleep in her cot next to him. Despite her convincing snores, her face seemed conscious, aware of everything that happened. Cemented.
He walked outside of the tent and instantly regretted it. In front of him, a snowy desert spread out. For miles and miles, that was all there was. And it came with an eternal certainty that this was all there would ever be. The snow was glistening like little shards of glass, the sunlight reflecting from albedo. To his right, there were more tents like theirs, each of them circled around the Master's tent in the middle. When he looked left, he could see pieces and parts of a town in the distance, jutting out of the land like children's toys. The tavern they'd been at last night was somewhere out there on the snowy blanket. They were travelling today. Some of the performers had already packed up their tents and were sitting groggily in the snow waiting until it was time to move. The majority of the Master's tent was still up, although parts of it were now falling to the snow as people went around with hammers, uprooting it. Arctic air burned at his insides every time he breathed, and with a shiver he walked back inside. Nia had woken up and was completely dressed as she bent over to lace her boots. The boy wondered which idiot had made up the notion that girls took long to dress.
"What did you see?" she asked without looking at him.
"Snow. Lots of it. Everywhere. Not that interesting to look at really."
She glared at him. "You know that isn't what I asked about."
He thought of the rolling plains and blue flowers and slippery, scarlett blood. Unconsciously, he reached up and touched his nose. "Some family."
"And?" she said patiently although he could tell she was aggravated.
"I really don't want to talk about it so early in the day, Nia."
"And?" she asked as if oblivious to his protests.
He told her what he had told the Master. "They were murdered. Mutated. Tortured. Bent. There was blood everywhere. Everywhere, Nia."
Her mouth made an O shape.
"They got them. Left their mark," he said with a shrug.
Nia knew he was talking about the Carac Empire, for it was their symbol that had been drawn in blood. The family was a meer target marked that had to be dealt with. And so the question rose up, Why? What had the family done? And why did the Empire itself feel the need to deal with it?
Nia's face was periwinkle and taffy pink as she got up and began folding her cot. Though she said nothing, the boy heard her answer to the questions settling in his mind, over other thoughts like the frozen and latching snow on the ground outside. Soon, she seemed to say.
✵ ✵ ✵
The Circus had stayed longer than they'd meant to. Their stop at the frozen western border of the country had meant to be a quick one, about a week or two. A break in their journey to quickly acquire shiny gold coins to hold warm in their splintered hands as they headed east to Esterham to spend the rest of their winter months until the clock's hands started turning warmer with summer heat and the Solis Circus (A fantasy land where you and your loved ones can escape to and catch a glimpse of magic. There has been nothing like this. And there will be nothing like this) resumed its magical performances. Instead, their stay had lasted for about two months, the performers hibernating. Nia performed but not in the circus for fame and glory to the shiny people of Esterham, she performed in broken, smelly taverns to the common people of forgotten towns. She was one of the circus's main sources of revenue and thus an invaluable asset to the Master. The boy was kept more as a paper-thin, ink-soaked, piece of contract - if Nia stayed, so did the boy. It did no wonders for his self-esteem to be seen as a piece of luggage and bargaining chip but he didn't mind as long as he was with Nia. She was the only piece of home and family that he had left.
✵ ✵ ✵
Author's Note: Hope you enjoy!! Come back soon for the next part!!
Love,
Cora. ✮
YOU ARE READING
unraveled
Fantasy"I've seen rats with better attention spans than you," she said onto his face. And then the boy was there pulling her onto her feet and off of him. "But have you seen them with such beautiful faces?" he asked, standing up, brushing off th...
