“Quick,” Marco said, gesturing to a pair of haulmen, “carry him into my tent. Take care ye dint bump the arrow shaft.”
Marco wasn’t a proper healer, but he was the closest thing the Venucha Players had. Traveling players were held in low esteem in the various realms through which they passed. They knew there was no help to be found among the local authorities. In fact, the authorities may have been the ones who caused this man’s injuries; if so, returning him to them would be no help to him.
Alfredo sidled up to the Cyclops. Since she had joined seven years ago, he hadn’t spoken to her more than five times.
“Well done,” he said. “You can give me the rapier now.”
The Cyclops nearly swooned at the unexpected praise, then blinked. Confused, she asked, “Give you—?”
“Yes,” he said, as if to a child. “The rapier. You did well. Now hand it over.”
“But I promised him…”
Alfredo’s brows furrowed in annoyance. “You promised him you wouldn’t let anybody steal his possessions. I’m the Master Fencer; it’s hardly stealing if I hold them for him.”
“But—”
“Listen, you freak,” Alfredo said, his face reddening. “You only have one function in the circus: to sit in your cage and frighten the marks with that ghastly face of yours. Don’t presume to take on any other responsibilities. You are hardly indispensable.”
The Cyclops felt the Master Fencer’s will bear down on her. She looked down, and saw herself reaching forward to hand the sword to Alfredo as if she had no willpower of her own.
She pulled the rapier back.
“I … I’d better check with Marco,” she said.
Alfredo, shocked, grasped only thin air.
“Marco will know what to do.”
“Listen, you fool—!”
“I’ll check with Marco,” she repeated, backing away from the Master Fencer the way she would from a snarling hound. “He’ll know what to do.”
She turned around, heading for Marco’s tent at a shambling jog—the fastest her trembling legs would allow.
“You’ve made a terrible mistake, freak!” Alfredo shouted after her. “This is not over!”
YOU ARE READING
A Lesson for the Cyclops
RomanceDare to Hope? Maria leads a lonely existence of silent misery. Horribly disfigured, she earns a meager living as a sideshow freak. Her very existence is one of mockery, contempt, and ridicule. She has no hope, no dreams. No future. But when a dashin...
