Circus of the Beast

9

"She really is wonderful, isn't she?" a smooth voice said lowly by her ear.

Keelia spun around quickly to see the scared face of Lorcan. It seemed that as the days went by, Lorcan was appearing to form more scares and blemishes. It had been worrying at Keelia's subconscious for a while now, which in turn she found absurd. She barely knew the man and she was worrying about his health.

Keelia's face had twisted into surprise at Lorcan's presence, but now she struggled to reclaim her previous composure. Eventually her wide eyes narrowed and her rounded lips were pressed in a thin line once more. "Yes, she really is."

Lorcan smiled, offering an arm. "Would you care to accompany me on a walk in the dusk light? It really is the best time of day."

Keelia grasped his arm. "Dusk happens to be my favourite time of day."

Lorcan raised a brow, but displayed a slight grin. "Really? Yet another thing we have in common."

Keelia arched a brow, copying Lorcan. "How so?"

"We both love this circus; I can see it in your eyes whenever you find something intriguing about us nymphs." He began to lead Keelia away from the tent and out into the forming dusk. The soft hues of orange and pink formed above them as though the sun knew that Lorcan needed every advantage of having Keelia love him. He already knew that he was already quite smitten with her.

"You can see all that?" Keelia glanced up at her companion.

Lorcan looked down at her. "And much more, I assure you."

Keelia's cheeks flushed and she quickly hid her face away from him. It was scary that Lorcan could get inside her head so efficiently, yet it piqued her interest in the man even more. Wasn't it her mother that had once told her that the man that was meant for you could very well thrill you with something as little as words? Keelia gasped. Surely her mother could have been telling her an old wives' tale?

Lorcan eyed his walking partner. "Are you alright?"

Keelia hid her face into her shoulder. "I am quite fine, thank you."

The two both entered out into the deeper shrubbery of the forest around the circus grounds. Keelia had come accustomed to walk in bare feet everywhere, so as she walked even now, her soles left brilliantly glowing prints in her wake. Lorcan still had yet to figure out where her slight nymph lineage came from, but at the moment, his mind was focusing on wooing the young lady.

Lorcan stopped suddenly and gripped Keelia's rigid shoulders. "I want to show you something most don't know exists? Are you willing to trust me?"

Keelia's heart pounded in her chest as she searched for something to say. She mentally berated herself. Saying okay wasn't such a big deal, but trusting someone was. She had to be absolutely sure about him. The last person she trusted was her mother promising that she would find Keelia. That hadn't happened. Who knew where her family was and what fates they might have faced without her.

Keelia hesitated before she nodded. "Alright. Lead the way."

Lorcan's heart fluttered within his body, bounding around as though she had just told him she loved him. He could only imagine what it would feel like to hear those words fall from her thin lips. "Of course."

The view of colourful shrubbery passed on by as Lorcan led Keelia to his secret destination. Keelia's nerves were firing everywhere in eagerness for what Lorcan had to share. What was it that most didn't know existed? Was it some sort of exotic animal that were only recognizable within nymph culture? Perhaps it was a beast that was trapped and Lorcan was going to feed Keelia to it, bones and all.