#noxtears

               even as she smiles, she is aware of how AWKWARD, how forced it seems to be. too much teeth, perhaps, the angle crooked for what she wants to convey. how is it that among her people she laughs and DANCES, but stands paralyzed in the midst of a court of silk and lace ? ❛ i did not mean to leave so abruptly, princess. ❜ she signs heartfelt apology, regret, shame. ❛ the ball is lovely ; i simply did not expect there to be...so much music, in PUBLIC. ❜

       HE  CANNOT  RECALL HER  NAME  FOR  THE  LIFE  OF  HIM,  but  even  through the  dimmed  spectrum of  lights  and  the  blunt  messing with  his  head,  her  face  does ring  a  bell.  he’s  pretty  sure  this  young  lady  is  the  architect behind  some  series of  acclaimed  artistic pieces—not  that  he’s  much  a  fan  of  the  arts,  but it’s  difficult  NOT  to  know  of  fellow legends.  even if  he’s  wrong, well,  surely  she  can  help  him  out  anyway.

      he  tosses himself  onto  the  couch  cushions  beside  her.

        ❛   i’m glad you agreed to meet with me,   ❜   he says, and a part of him wonders if he should feel something else other than a flutter on his stomach, whether he should feel guilty for meeting with her without the presence of dimitri or scarlett ----- but why would he, really? he’s not doing anything wrong. it is simply a new friendship --- he’s allowed to have those. he and jessica don’t need to tell one another everything. he’s certain that she does not.  ❛  i  --- i got that book you recommended me, and i --- well. i haven’t quite been able to stop thinking about it.   ❜   

AS IT HAPPENS, the circus was in town.  People flocked from all over the city to come and have a look at what was billed upon lampposts and brick walls and news- papers as “The Finest Show on Earth.” Cir- cuses and carnivals were just the sort of “mysterious” that piqued the interest of one Theodore Sallis, who had never, before this time, seen a full show. 

There was no one way to describe exactly what it was he had seen or how he had felt when he had seen them, and once the show was over and everyone was heading noisily out, Theodore felt as though he were step- ping out not of a large, dirty white and red tent but out of a dream. Or a nightmare, e- ven. Having nothing to compare that expe- rience to, the boy had no idea if all circuses were meant to feel that way, but it was cer- tainly very, very curious. People passed him by, left and right, giggling or musing and discussing the show, but he stood still, thumbing the edges of his ticket.