The Sinful Circus

Chapter 2: Dreams and Setting in motion

She twirled around gracefully on the stage as her voice sang out a beautiful melody to the audience seated within the grand theater of an unfamiliar opera house. Petite, pale, slender limbs moved fluidly like water as she danced, long waist-length thick silver blonde colored hair accentuating her movements. As she reached the finale of her dance and song, everything went black. Suddenly she was on a different stage made of ebony marble, golden bars keeping her entrapped within a beautiful, gilded cage. Pillars of bone and marble surrounded the cage with torches lit with red flames and being held by what looked like skeletal hands. The once white, flowy, pristine dress she wore was replaced by a black leather corset and black tutu, paired with a matching collar wrapped around her slender neck, with a silver circular ring hanging from it to hold a chain if need be. Deep chuckling echoed through the darkness, such deep darkness it might as well have been tinted fog. A throne made of the same marble and bone appeared before her.

“Dance and sing for me, my little bird, for your delicate beauty only serves my eyes now.”

The voice was low and smooth, and held an enamoring power behind it. A slender yet muscular figure sat upon the throne, dressed sharply in a more gothic version of what a ringmaster would wear. A Top hat shadowed half his face and only showed an excited smirk plastered on smooth white skin. Slowly the man stood up and approached the cage reaching out with a gloved hand, his fingers gently caressing the side of her face.

“Soon little one, soon.”

Astoria woke with a start, gasping and trying to catch her breath as she held her white sheets to her chest trying to get her thoughts together from the nightmare she just woke from.

“what….what was that?” she said softly to herself blinking bright blue eyes open and closed, long thick lashes holding slight remnants of tears. “…And what the hell did that man mean by soon?”

Knowing she would not be able to go back to sleep, she looked to the other side of the spacious grand room to another bed that held her dorm mate sleeping soundly. “That… felt too real…” She whispered to herself. Quietly she got out of bed and wrapped herself in a silky white robe as she slipped out the room onto the adjoining alcove, brushing her thick hair off her sweaty forehead with her fingertips. Sitting on a cushioned bench she listened to the world wake as the sun rose with a drained sigh.

Meanwhile in a nearby town as the sun rose it pierced the sky of the next town over, threatening any remnants of the sinful night before to disappear, lighting up an entire dark decrepit circus. Echoes of screams and laughter within the empty stands and popcorn tins with cotton candy left untouched as if the guests suddenly vanished and left their souls behind them. Large menacing gargoyles adorned with claws and large fangs decorated almost every entry way, as if forbidding you into the cursed underworld of an entertainment service. Strong winds blew as a door swung open, and a short, stout, dark skinned man burst through them with cleaning supplies and began to enter each section to clean and pack for the next town to curse.

“Damn, you’d think it would at least leave one soul to tell.” With a chuckle, he moved down into the entryway and began packing up the circus, each footstep echoing loudly.

A blood red merry go round with horses depicting terrifying expressions of each emotion suddenly lit, sang, and twirled as he bumped into a single horse, causing him to shiver and jolt before attempting to return to his duties. Suddenly men dressed in black hooded cloaks entered and flooded the carnival, chanting Latin with hands raised, and everything suddenly started to pack within itself, in a swirl of winds, large black horses resembling shadows started to pull the castle and large traveling circus. The large, wooden, metal-framed doors of the castle shook and rattled as the castle roared with life, being pulled as the large wheels burst forward. It jolted a sea of bodies within the darkness of the castle as piercing screams of terror escaped and blended with the creaking of the castle and screeches and neighs from the horses that steadily pulled it along.

Jumping away from the dirty aisles, the man ran quickly to the castle. Slowly, he pulled open the large, heavy doors.

“Master, the circus is in motion and we are headed for the next town…“ Raen began before he shrieked at the sight in front of him and quickly tried to hide any facial expression of fear as the smell of death filled the air.

His work was cut short again as the cult took over and sped things along.

Worried they will soon see him as useless, he had to make an effort to at least appease the master.

“Is there…anything I can do for you master…?” His eyes pleaded almost as much as his shivering voice did.

A dark room lit with a single torch of blue flame, illuminated the master just enough to reveal his body, dressed to the waist down with bone armor, dried and metallic, as he rose from his throne made of human bones.

” …Whatever other purpose do I have for you? “ Blood red eyes peered out into the stout man who now began to shake with fear as the man leaned over him.

” Please, master…I only asked...” He trailed off.

Orpheus reached out, gripping the man by his throat.

“I only see a waste of bone structure, of which I cannot even add to my throne of hell before me, because of its pathetic size, if it cannot satisfy me. “He chuckled before letting the man slip from his hand, who leapt up and ran, the doors slamming shut behind him.

Orpheus was left to the room of pain and fear, finishing the nights cursed remnants of souls hidden within. He succumbed to the darkness, his face void of all expression, as he returned to his throne.