Alexandra followed behind Marie and Asmodeus as they led the way back home through the dimly lit streets. Her skirts swished against the cobbles and her eyes fixed on the back of the magicians purple snakeskin waistcoat. She sighed to herself, letting her eyes roam up his fine figure, following the broad lines of his shoulders down to his trim waist. Although she would never admit it to anyone, Alexandra loved watching him. The magician’s every move was graceful and calculated; every step deliberate. And his hands, oh, those cunning hands. She longed to hold them and trace every line on his palm with a delicate fingertip, as if she were reading his future.
But Alexandra refused to be just a flower to him, a lady who could be plucked as easily as the blossoms he kept stored up his sleeves. Asmodeus’ reputation with women was legendary and it was probably also the reason he had been kicked out of London, although he would never admit it. The fortune teller longed to be able give into his charms but her commonsense held her back from being just another conquest.
As the trio neared the edge of the city, they could see the brightly coloured balloons that floated their caravan rising above the tree line in the dim light. Each one was decorated in different combination of the circuses colours: red, green, gold and black. The brightly pained wooden vessels that usually hung beneath the balloons were gathered into a loose circle behind the main tent.
Once they were within the ring of the circus encampment, Asmodeus ruffled Marie’s hair before she skipped merrily ahead, going straight for her own tiny cabin, which was parked right behind Alexandra’s ship. Both of them were brightly painted: the fortune teller’s was covered in stars, moons and mystical symbols while Marie’s was decorated in a rainbow of bright colours. The magician’s ship was darkly elegant with gold, purple, red and green designs.
Alexandra and Asmodeus paused, looking at each other in the dim light. The magician bowed deeply too her, “My lady,” he said sweeping his hat off his head as he did so and once more held out the single dark red rose.
Holding her usual aloof visage for a moment, Alexandra looked at the gentleman before her. “Well, it still isn’t my favorite flower but I suppose it at least complements my dress,” she said as she took the flower from his hand.
“I will try to do better next time,” Asmodeus said softly as he rose from his bow.
“Very well; until tomorrow, Asmodeus,” the fortune teller said over her shoulder as she turned and walked to her home, her dress swishing softly behind her. Once she pulled the door shut, Alexandra buried her face in the rose, breathing in the heady scent of the flower. But she didn’t notice the silhouette of the magician as he stood in the doorway of his ship and watched until the last of the lights had gone out from the windows of Alexandra’s home.
As it grew later, Colette and Marguerite also returned to where the circus was camped. The ringmaster was still brooding from her argument with the acrobat twins, scowling at the ground as she walked. The scientist walked by her side in silence, absently stroking the elephant in her pocket.
“Good night,” Marguerite said as she reached her ship and went inside to take care of her creatures before heading to bed.
Colette nodded and continued onto her home. Once she got inside, the ringmaster lit a few candles, grabbed a bottle from a shelf and began reaching for a glass but thought better of it and flopped into an overstuffed arm chair. She took a deep swig from the bottle and stared moodily into the flickering flames until the empty bottle clattered onto the ground and the candles had burned themselves out.
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