Porcelain

30

"Beyond this curtain dwells the last mermaid," the suited man said. Around them the hushed voices murmured, either from apprehension or wonder. Fleurette rolled her eyes again. "Behold!" The man exclaimed and pulled the curtain away. The voices all escalated, Fleurette frowned at the woman in the tank. Sure enough where her legs should be a scaly fish tail was. The group of people either dwindled to other attractions or went in to see the other, what the man called: "Side Shows."

Fleurette walked forward and looked at the woman, the woman in turn looked at her. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Mermaids didn't exist, Sirens didn't exist. "Superstitious twaddle." Fleurette said quietly, Eleanor joined her side and unlike herself took to marvelling and rambling how life must be hard for someone who is half a fish.

Fleurette frowned and looked at her, "What? I'm only saying."

"It's not real." Fleurette couldn't help but to state bluntly. When did her sister get so gullible? Was she always like this? Fleurette had no idea. She was all for trying to keep the world more magical by make-believe things, but there was a limit; and this mermaid-imposter was definitely going over the limit and then some.

"You're ruining this whole thing."

Pouting, Fleurette gripped onto her sister's arm and dragged her into the tent. "Mermaids are myth, myth doesn't exist."

"But myths are based on truths, are they not?" Eleanor smirked thinking she'd caught her sister out.

"Truths which can be blurred," Fleurette answered and eyed up someone who was covered in hair from head to toe and was being fobbed off at being a wolf child.

"You look too into things."

"No, I just don't believe every fictitious thing which is waved in my face." Fleurette said while looking over into a pen where an incredibly small man was pottering around.

"Explain that then, huh?"

"I'm not about to admit I'm looking at a Leprechaun." Fleurette looked at Eleanor sidewards.

"Well sorry, little flower, you pick apart one thing you've sort of lead yourself down the avenue of contradicting everything else in here."

"And you've lead yourself down the avenue of perhaps being one of the most gullible people I know." Fleurette pushed away from the pen and wandered around the rest of the tent.

——

"Tea, Claudia?" Fleurette popped her head around the kitchen and looked at the older servant. Claudia jumped and put down her book, Fleurette walked more into the room and took to making tea regardless of the answer she was going to receive.

Claudia watched slightly confused. "My dear, what are you doing here?"

"This is my house."

"I know dear," Claudia smiled off Fleurette's blunt tone. "Are you not meant to be at the opera house?"

"Yes," Fleurette frowned and put down two cups on the table. "But Eleanor and I had an outing."

"Oh, that sounds lovely! Where is your sister now?"

"Gone." With that said Fleurette dumped the tea pot on the table, Claudia shooed her hands away and lifted the pot up slowly. She was expecting to see a dent mark from the force it was put down with. Or in fact if there was no dent, she was half expecting the pot to break as soon as it was picked up.

"Gone?"

"Yes, Claudia. Gone, as in; she is not here, she is not at the opera house, she is not in my company."

"Have you two had a falling out?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Stop being sarcastic, what happened?"

Fleurette sighed and leaned her head against the table. "We went out to breakfast, then to lunch then to a fair. It was lovely! In all seriousness, it was really, truly very fun. Then all of a sudden she starts floundering around and being elusive and saying that she was sorry but she really had to go." Fleurette raised an eyebrow.

"She does have a wedding to sort out."

"Do not remind me."

"You'll be the same when it's your turn." Claudia said while lifting her cup up to drink from. Fleurette looked serious for all a matter of a second before bursting out laughing. "What's wrong?"

"Me? Married? No, never going to happen."

"Oh, you say that now."

"No, I've seen what marriage does to people who love each other so much. Take mother and father for example. I got told all the fun and enjoyment they had, and then they got married. As soon as that happened problems popped up." Fleurette nodded surely with her words. "No, marriage interests me as much as going to see a doctor." She shut her eyes and opened them slowly. "And I hate doctors."

——

Reedited: 18/Jan/2022