Born with a damaged heart, Leanna Weston has lived a sheltered life with little chance at adventure. When she hears that Finvarra's Circus is coming to her small town, she sneaks off to witness the magic first hand, sure that this is her only chan...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
II. And Say Goodbye
Leanna dug her toes into the damp earth, comforted by cold blades of grass that tickled underfoot. The scent of decaying leaves and moisture filled her nose as she hauled in a lengthy breath and let her head fall back. Though hours of endless walking back and forth across the wire had passed, night still ruled the skies. Persuaded by Ellie, they now sat in the cookhouse, which to Leanna's surprise was not a house at all, rather another tent. More surprisingly still, no one was cooking, much less eating.
Instead, performers congregated around long tables, some on seats while others favored the wooden tabletops. Regardless of their manners—or lack thereof— Leanna found them all so very elegant, each one possessing a sliver of Finvarra's timelessness and glow. Proprieties lost somewhere behind the crystals surrounding the circus, there were no classes or stations like the type that plagued Winter Abbey. Here under the white canvas, ragged help-hands sat side by side with glittering performers, contortionists beside clowns. And in the midst of it all, a stranger: Leanna.
Leanna's mind still whirled with names she feared she'd never remember, with tales of prior performances and humorous accounts. It'd been such a long time since she had laughed so unreservedly that she felt a bit lightheaded.
The world now a different place, Leanna sat unfazed by the small fire dragon cradling her cup of tea. She stroked the leathery skin, awed by the darker flames beneath each rustled scale. The baby dragon had been a present from the fire breather who had introduced himself first. Not all had been so pleasant, however, namely the liberty act who glared from across the tent, wholly uncomfortable with Leanna's presence. It affected Leanna very little though. She had, after all, called them ordinary men, and their horses silly. There was no doubt in her mind now that they had in fact heard her.
In spite of them, Leanna leaned forward onto her elbows and pinned her gaze on the Big Top. Taking in the black and red stripes, she sighed. "This all seems like a dream. I believed there was magic, but... never this."
"It's one thing to say you believe in magic. It's another to truly believe," Ellie said smiling down at Leanna from the tabletop where she sat with her legs gathered beneath her. Her feathery tutu made it seem as if she sat on a cloud.
Leanna shrugged. "Still, had Finvarra not threatened to feed me to the lion, I never would have experienced this, or met all of you, and never would I have imagined walking across that wire, much less alone!" She chuckled weakly. "I'm almost tempted to forgive him."
At this, Kioyo keeled over onto the table. His hairy frame—much furrier than earlier in the night—hobbled as he laughed manically. "Is that how he got you to stay? He threatened you with the lion? No wonder you were so frightened!"
"I hardly find that comical," Leanna huffed from beside him, twirling one of the baby dragon's fiery whiskers around her finger. The flames nipped at her finger, but against the cold of the night, Leanna welcomed the warmth.
