The Circus

The news of the circus had proceeded its arrival by several weeks. Posters had been placed around the city, placed in car windshields and posted in letterboxes. No one could escape the news and there was a pleasant buzz regarding it throughout the city. It was the same every year. But finally, did it arrive. It was erected overnight, white and pale and arching into the sky. It was huge, with three towers tipped with red flags. It was the most talked about event of the year - the performers had made sure of it. As a result, anyone who wished to attend had to book tickets weeks in advance lest they risk getting bad seats or not getting tickets at all. No one ever truly knew when the circus was coming, nor did they know when it would leave again. Sometimes it stayed for a week or two, other times it moved on the next night without a word or a whisper to a soul. Perhaps the mystery regarding it was why it was so popular. Or perhaps it was the intense happiness the show evoked in the audience, that nothing else seemed to be able to reproduce.
Now that it had arrived, the city was abuzz. The posters said it would start at 7pm but those who frequented this particular troupe would know it did not always start then. The only definites in the show was it was always packed out and it was always phenomenal. Will you attend?

Daniel Walker, the man who recently discovered with the help oh his non blood related brother that he was in fact a fae had felt drawn to go for some undefined reason that Daniel simply chocked up to nostalgia. The last time Daniel went to any kind of circus he had been with his parents a few years before their deaths. Supposedly this troupe was famous, he hadn't heard of them before quite possibly because he had been a homeless and hermetic vagrant, but after asking around he had heard the carnival was in fact the bee's proverbial knees. Between the advertisements, the recommendations, the feeling he had decided was nostalgia, and just generally being a fun loving guy getting started in entertainment himself; he had decided to invest some of the money he had made over the last couple weeks as a street performer with his magic (disguised as stage magic of course) for a ticket, and gone to see the show at seven in the PM. Maybe he would learn something, maybe just have a good time, It'd be worth it either way.

At 7pm, the curtains opened and the crowd filed inside. The brighter spring evening made the interior of the tent feel even darker, and it would take a moment for everyone's eyes to adjust and find their seats. Lines of chairs half circled a stage which was empty for now. A single spotlight illuminated the centre of the stage, leaving the audience in darkness.

From his seat up in the front row Daniel looked around nervously in the dark as if he were expecting some sort of attack out of no where. Of course consciously, Daniel knew that there would be no such event, and even thinking about the possibility in such a setting as this was completely asinine, but his travels, his time in dark woods, and abandoned subway stations had left him with an immutable wariness of losing the light, even in a setting as free of madness as a famous circus, he stayed on edge despite himself. Still he tried his best to sit back and enjoy the show.

It took a further forty-five minutes for anything to happen. From the relaxed posture of the rest of the audience, Daniel could assume this was to be expected. Observant eyes might notice the thin layer of fog slowly creeping across the stage. Without warning, the spotlight split into two, circling the audience and leaving the stage in almost pitch darkness; when they circled back towards the centre of the stage and formed into one, they illuminated a figure clad in a crimson suit and tails, decorated in gold. Her hair was like a dark halo circling her head. The lights shone on the highlighter that tipped her cheekbones and make-up lengthened her smile to an almost creepy extent. Despite this, a joyous feeling filled the hearts of everyone present. "Welcome. Ladies. Gentlemen," She bowed deeply, tipping her top hat in a dramatic flourish at the audience. As she straightened, she winked at an audience member near the front. "We have a very special show for you tonight. One that you won't soon forget." She raised her finger to her lips, continuing in a stage whisper: "But I shan't spoil too much." Raising her hat into the air, she said louder "But know this! What you are about to witness is the pinnacle of entertainment. Any other show you will see will pale in comparison to this!" She quietened, almost coyly. "But I will let the show speak for itself. Enjoy..." She gave one last smirk before throwing her hat into the air; the spotlights followed its advance. When they returned to the stage again, she had disappeared once again.

Daniel glanced around once again, the forty five minute wait hadn't calmed him but made him nervous, as had the near unanimous building anticipation of the crowd. Daniel was almost always keenly alert, and since he knew humans he knew that humans tended to get impatient when left in the dark for forty five minutes, and yet no one seemed to be, which struck him as wrong. Still he remained seated and watched the stage with anxious anticipation.

Music very slowly filled the tent, soft and slow at first but quickly building in volume. It was a single note, held for some time. The curtain at the far end of the stage opened and a figure slinked out. Her movements were, graceful, leonine. She moved to the centre of the stage, hips swaying, head bowed. When she reached the centre, she slowly dropped to her knees. The music picked up, and she moved with it. Her movements were slow, controlled, graceful, echoing the music. She moved with practised efficiency, but she moved with inhuman grace and agility. Acrobatic elements were merged seamlessly with her dance; she flipped and rolled, showing off her flexibility with handstands, backflips, jumps. Despite the difficulty of the routine, she made it look easy. Her dance was beautiful, as was she. Blonde hair, pale skin; her expression drawn in a look of great sadness to mirror the tone of the music.
She finished once again on the floor, curled into a ball as if to protect her against the rest of the world. The music faded off, and she hopped up, bowing with a smirk.

Daniel couldn't help but admire the dance for a time so entrancing was grace, and skill on display, however the feeding frenzy of the fae around him devouring the  joy and adoration of the humans left him slightly sickened as he recalled the results of feeding taken to the extreme. More than anything else his eyes were on various entranced humans, watching in morbid fascination as they delighted in this fae trap which fed on their very essence. Then there was his curiousity, Daniel had never met another fae before to his knowledge, is this what they did? Were they all like this, this wasn't all that bad if this was all there was to it, but somehow he doubted that... Still he thought he should at least meet them and try to learn about what they were.

She left the stage. The acts that followed were equally amazing. Tight rope walkers and silk performances. Trained circus animals and fire breathers; contortionists and clowns; dance fighting and magicians. Each one was entirely memorable and mindblowing; the audience ate it all up, while the fae ate their joy.

Daniel stayed for the entire performance, though it made him somewhat ill at ease he knew they had to eat, and so long as that didn't go too far he didn't mind their tactic. He memorize some of the theatrical techniques the magicians were using, and decided after the show he'd approach one of the fae, the hot dancer one probably.

He would find her doing her cool downs behind the stage.

As Daniel  approached several questions rang out in his mind, while he found it hard to order them some of them were things like "Where are you from" and "Are there other groups like this?". He wonder if he should perhaps give a cordial greeting first, it would have to be a human one, he didn't know any fae greetings, but perhaps a normal human greeting would insult her. When he opened his mouth, all of his thought and concern for etiquette were put to rest with nary the consent of his conscious mind. "You call those cooldowns, you're looking just as hot to me." The lame flirtatious line spewed from his mouth before he could close it, and he blushed with embarrassment immediately after.

She was stretching her leg in a full split above her head when he approached; she eyed him with equal parts curiosity and distain as if she couldn't possible figure out why he would approach her. She did not stop with her stretches. "Can i help you?"

"Yes... I mean I think so..." Daniel second guessed himself, only for a moment thinking of how embarrassing it would be if he imagined the inkling he had. No if that was a mistake he'd have to have gone fully delusional, so he awkwardly and cautiously asked "You're... a fae right?"

"Who's asking?" She asked, continuing to not look at him. She loosed a barely audible sigh as if the mere act of speaking to him was such a drain on her life.

"Well uh... me... the man of your dreams obviously" Daniel said jokingly after a moment's awkward pause he introduced himself "Daniel Walker... I'm a changeling... I guess..." He said with an awkward tint although  less so now that he figured she was in fact a fae.

"Do you have something important to say or is that all you interupted me for?" She asked, turning to him bluntly.

"Yeah... I mean I guess... I was just going to ask.. Is there anyone I could ask about what exactly fae are and do? As a race I mean." Daniel wondered since she seemed to be exasperated with his questions, he'd just ask her if she knew anyone who wouldn't be.

She turned to him, evidently more interested "How do you not know?" Amusement sparked in her eyes.

"Like I said I'm a changeling... I actually just found out a few weeks ago that fae exist..." The fae said with a sheepish grin

"Well..." She said, filling the gap between them. "I will give you your first lesson," She leaned close to his ear. "No one is going to mother you on fae."

"Ah ok... I think I have what I need then..." Daniel drew the conclusion that the fae were indeed the condescending assholes his brother had said they were, and he felt a little ashamed to be descended from them, a little disgusted by what he was, for the first time in a long time, still he merely said "Thank you for your time..." Awkwardly before turning to leave. He would not be like these creatures, these creatures who had taken his brother to fight for their amusement, these creatures who had left him to unknowingly consume an innocent and compassionate family, these creatures who had so little regard for even their own kind. As he looked at the beautiful creature before him, the look in his eyes became one of contempt... no he would not be one of them... He turned his back on her, and walked out. He no longer was curious what the fae were like, he wasn't one of them, he wouldn't play their games... and that was that.