The Pretty Poison

.PART 6 - Chapter 4

.PART 6 – Chapter 4

I storm away angrily, frustrated with the days that have been going on around me. Walking through the nearby forest, I almost had my neck punctured an hour ago by an arrow. My scream of terror was followed by laughing and the hunched over figured of Westley barely able to breathe. Beside him, Feather was lowering her empty bow and smiling at the arrow five inches from my head in the tree next to me. Now I’m trying to calm down but that feels harder to do with every stride.

I guess she’s found her talent. This week feels like it cannot get any worse. The ranting continues inside my head while the door to my trailer slams.

Not only being attractive, Feather’s gift for archery will put her at the top when our new show begins. My dance will look like a little girl playing with fire after her masterpiece. And the stories she tells to the cast leave everyone in awe at her abilities. She remembers hunting with her sister but not with guns. Oh no, that would be too simple, she said. Feather takes the primal approach with knives and spears and, of course, bows and arrows.

With no glimpses or warnings, her memory comes back in large amounts. The worst thing that she’ll be nonchalant about them. It’s as if going back to her old life wasn’t important to her. All the same, it’s important to me! The sooner she is gone, the sooner I can have my entirely Westley back. But Feather thinks that even if her past returns, she will consider staying with us. That worries me most.

I sigh, trying to think of the positive sides of this day. At least Westley is talking to me again. I breathe out slowly and slide down the back of the costume trailer’s door. I shouldn’t be like this. I’m not the jealous type and I never have been. Stress. It has to be stress. My body is shaking so much from exertion, not only I can feel but I can also see my hands tremble.

My comforter and blankets are inviting after the cleanup day. Yesterday’s performance went splendidly but as usual, I am worn-out. My LED dance before the show hit it big time with the audience so extensively, Mr. Huntsdale has changed me to one of the middle acts. He winked and said I’m the one that brings the attention back to the ring after the clowns.

With my ranting taking over my mind, I can’t help but fall into a troubled sleep. But this time I don’t think I’ll dream. I guess I should be thankful for that. I can handle the sporadic bursts of sleep but I can’t take anymore nightmares. They leave me groggier than the short bits.

My eyes close and I drift off. I sigh, content at last. Life will get better. It has too.

*~*~*~*

Bam, bam, bam, bam!

The hammering on my trailer door rudely wakes me from my much needed sleep. My half lidded eyes look to the glowing red digits on the clock. 4:00AM. I bet whoever is at the door heard me swear loudly in their direction. Even though my mind screams at me to ignore my visitor and carry on with my nonexistent dreams, I stifle my groan under my pillow and push my body up. The insistent knocking makes me swing my legs from the bed and move my drowsy self over to the door.

“What?!” I open the entrance to my trailer and see the infuriating Feather. Reddened eyes stare back at me making my anger diminish a little. The quiet around us slithers into the air with the awkward exchange of pleading looks. Her hair cascades past her shoulders, looking very well put together for the first time that I’ve seen it ever. No wonder Westley takes notice of her. She’s gorgeous.

Feather sniffs and coughs at me, raising a bottle of suspicious liquid. “Can I come in,” she asks. “I really need to talk to you.”

Without even waiting for my answer, my newest cast mate pushes her way past and into my trailer. Who does she think she is? I move over boxes just to stand next to her yet she hardly looks in my direction. She just examines my trailer, making me feel more self conscious than ever in my messy place and my unflattering pajamas.