15-year-old Ori is an average small-town boy. Or so he thought, until a strange circus appears in his backyard. Accepting an acrobat's invitation to join the Cirque de Reverie, he is swept up in a whirlwind of wonder. Unbeknownst to him, the circus...
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ORI
With no one to escort him, Ori soon got lost in the winding hallways. They made no logical sense, and there were no signs to guide him. It was as if they were meant for tricking and confusing people.
When he was a kid, his dad had taken him apple-picking, and Ori had begged to go in the corn maze. His dad had wanted to accompany him, but Ori had insisted on entering alone. He wanted to be brave, like Orion, and brave kids didn't bring their dads tagging along.
After a few turns, he was already lost. The corn stalks loomed high over his head, and it felt like the paths were narrowing, trying to swallow him up into their midst. A murder of crows swooped down from the sky, perching precariously on the stalks. They cawed warnings at him, their beady eyes sending shivers down his spine. He had run, sprinting through the maze as if Scorpius himself were hunting him.
Ironically, he had found himself in the middle of the maze, but he was too scared to feel any pride.
When his dad finally rescued him, Ori was crying hysterically, and he vowed to never leave his dad's side again. The only thing that finally managed to calm him down was his bunny Lepus, a little, raggedy stuffed animal that had been with him since birth. Lepus was the hare constellation directly south of Orion, and the bunny helped remind Ori that there was nothing to fear. He was predator, not prey.
Obviously, he had left his dad's side since then, so his vow had been broken, but the feeling of claustrophobia and hopelessness had haunted him for months afterward, lurking in the shadowy depths of his nightmares. It returned now, and Ori felt despair sinking its claws into him. He was all alone, lost in a strange place and surrounded by strange people.
A hand grabbed his wrist, and Ori screamed.
"Shhh, it's only me," Blithe laughed, the sound instantly soothing him. Finally, something familiar in this sea of strangeness. "I saw your seat was empty, so I set out looking for you. Are you lost?"
"No!" Ori protested, clinging to the little shard of dignity he possessed. "I'm just... having trouble finding my way." Blithe nodded, a small smile dimpling her cheeks, but she gave him the courtesy of suppressing her laugh.
"The Cirque is a vast place," she said knowingly. "Only performers know their way around. It's very easy to get disoriented if you don't have a guide. Come on, let me bring you somewhere. I think you'll like it." Again, she grabbed his wrist, pulling him forward. The halls rushed by, a monotonous blur of red and white stripes occasionally broken up by a door or window.
Blithe led him up an alabaster staircase, the steps shot through with silver and slate. They climbed in steep, sharp spirals, ascending higher and higher until Ori's legs burned with exertion.
"Where are we?" he breathed once they had finally reached the summit.
The starry expanse of the sky stretched out before him.
If he looked down, he could see the idyllic pastel roofs of his town. He could see his school, the park, the library, and even into the next town and the town after that. Everything seemed infinitesimal compared to the wonders he had witnessed mere moments ago. Looking out at the place where he had lived his entire life, Ori realized how small and narrow his world was.
"This is the Observatory," she answered, joining him by the edge. Her bun was unraveling, her cheeks were flushed, and her glittery makeup was flaking off, but her eyes shone like twin suns.
"Do you come here a lot?" he asked, his heart stuttering as she inched closer.
"No," she admitted. "I know next to nothing about astronomy. The constellations are all just faraway stars to me."
"They're not just stars."
He pointed to Virgo, the angel constellation. She was edging toward the horizon, and by the end of the month, she'd probably be impossible to spot. "That's Virgo, the second largest constellation in the sky and one of the twelve zodiacs."
He outlined the constellation with his finger as he spoke. "And that's Orion," he rambled, pointing to his namesake. "He's not one of the zodiac constellations, but he's a mighty hunter. He thought he could outsmart Gaia, the Earth goddess, but he was wrong, and he was punished for his foolishness." He glanced over at Blithe. She was deep in thought, her skin pale and creamy against the dark canvas of the night.
"I hope I'm not boring you," he said, watching her jolt out of her reverie.
"No, it was a wonderful story," she reassured him, the faraway sheen in her eyes fading. "I was just wondering... what is a 'zodiac'?"
"Oh," Ori said, taken back. "It's like... a symbol assigned to you based on your birthday. There's a lot of fortune-telling and horoscope stuff based on your zodiac, but it's not a science or anything, so it's not really important."
"Kismet would have your head if she heard you say that!" Blithe giggled, the sound like windchimes clinking in the breeze. "You sound as skeptical as Woe!"
"Who's Woe?"
"Oh, she is just another performer," Blithe answered quickly, but Ori caught the flash of emotion that crossed her face. "What zodiac am I?"
"It depends. When's your birthday?" His question seemed to stump her. "I mean, what month and day were you born on?" She stared out at the stars, her shoulders slumping.
"I... I do not know," she whispered, turning her face away from him. "I cannot remember."
Ori didn't know how to comfort her. He waited for her to speak, but she said nothing. The two of them sat in silence, watching the stars twinkle teasingly. Minutes and minutes passed, but neither of them moved. Ori was too afraid to disturb the tranquility of whatever trance Blithe had fallen into, but he also didn't mind. It was nice to have someone else to sit with him after so many insomnia-fuelled nights alone.
The sky lightened, lapis lazuli mixing with pale shades of rose quartz and citrine. Soon, none of the constellations would be visible, Virgo and Orion swallowed up by the sun's sky.
"Ori?" Blithe asked uncertainly. She shifted to face him, her amber eyes wide and imploring.
"Yeah?"
"Promise me you will never leave." Ori stared at her, but she didn't flinch. She grabbed his hands and squeezed them tight. "Promise me, please." Her grip clenched harder, almost to the point of being painful. She was beautiful and kind and enchanting and she sounded so tragically unhappy. Ori didn't know how to say no.
"I promise."
[ a / n ]
in case anyone's wondering, there won't be any romance in this book.
i'm 14, ok.
if you're only reading because you want a tender YA romance, I hate to break it to you, but you're going to be greatly disappointed
