A shrill whistling broke the peace of the clear morning. Alexandra, wrapped in a patchwork silk robe, uncurled herself from the large winged arm chair she was sitting in. She ambled over to a brass contraption that sat next to her small furnace. It looked like an hourglass, with the two bulbs separated by a thick disk of fine mesh and metal. She removed the lid from the device and swung a pipe from the water reservoir of the furnace to the top glass bulb above. She turned the dial and steaming water poured from the pipe and into the bulb. Once it was filled, Alexandra turned off the water, pushed the pipe back to the wall and put the lid back on her contraption. The metal disc held a mesh basket of tea that she had prepared the night before. And when the tea had steeped for the appropriate amount of time, Alexandra turned a knob on the side of the metal disc and the bottom plate shifted to open holes that allowed the tea to flow into the bottom bulb. Taking a heavy stoneware mug from a cabinet, she placed it under a spout at the base of the bulb, turned the handle and let it fill the mug full of steaming, strong black tea.
Alexandra sighed, breathing in the steam and allowing it to ease the slight tension in her head from a hint of a hangover from the party the night before. When her eyes fell on the overflowing basket of pile of mending her sigh of relaxation shifted to one of resignation. The show from the night before had been terribly damaging to the costumes and every single one in the basket was singed or scorched. Dragging the basket to her overstuffed armchair, Alexandra once again curled up in it and began to carefully patch a scorched skirt.
A sudden, loud clatter came from the entrance as her ship door was violently thrown open and Colette staggered through the heavy curtains that hung on the inside of the door frame. When Alexandra saw the ringmaster’s grayish skin and the dark circles around her eyes, she jumped out of her chair. “Colette! What’s wrong?” As the fortune teller ran to Colette’s side she could smell the alcohol on her friend’s breath as well as the lingering smell of smoke and sweat.
Colette grabbed Alexandra’s shoulders and hung on, shaking her friend. “Tell me that everything will go back to normal! Tell me that whatever I do, everything will be alright!”
“What are you talking about?” The fortune teller pushed her friend away.
“Tell me what would happen if I…” Colette paused and swallowed. Alexandra has a sinking feeling that she knew what the ringmaster was about to ask. Ever since the Hirondelle showed up in Orleans, the ring master had been on edge. She was usually calm and in control, and she certainly didn’t break down after shows or turn to drink to soothe her nerves. Alexandra knew all of this trouble centered on Jacque, the great rival of the Cirque de la Vapeur.
Alexandra understood Colette’s mind well after working closely together for five years and knew that she would do anything, absolutely anything to protect her circus. Even if it meant doing something drastic, such as killing the one who had caused all of the trouble: Jacque.
“Colette!” Alexandra cried, “I won’t do that for you. You know I can’t do that. I can’t tell you the future; it’s too unpredictable. It changes every second with every minute decision. There’s no way of knowing for certain what will happen if you take a particular action.”
“Then what use is fortune telling anyway? ” Colette said bitterly.
Alexandra froze, rage began to rise in her chest, her eyes locking with the ring master’s. “Don’t tempt me, Colette. I could let you glimpse in my world and what I see. And believe me, you don’t want me to do that,” her voice dropped to a low, harsh whisper. “I know what you want to do and even without looking into the future I know that it will end in eventual failure. One by one, the performers will leave and the cirque will fall apart.”
“No! Jacque is the reason we’re struggling so. He won’t stop until he’s destroyed everything that I’ve built, everything I… love. You don’t realize what he’s capable of.” Colette seemed on the verge of helpless sobs as she spoke, “He’s already killed my brother. Don’t you understand, Alex? I have to finish this.”
Alexandra’s rage grew icy and faded suddenly at her friend’s words. Colette had a brother? She was in shock at the revelation. And Jacque was responsible for his death? She must have been part of the Hirondelle once, then. Alexandra saw the anguish on her friend’s face. Her voice softened as she spoke, “It won’t change a thing, Colette! Killing Jacque will not make a difference.”
“It has to. I’m going to do this, Alex… I just have know it will make things better.” The ringmaster stepped back from the fortuneteller, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing her hands to her face.
Closing her eyes, Alexandra shivered. What could she do? Colette wouldn’t listen to her. The ringmaster needed proof that what she wanted to do would only bring more pain. The fortune teller stiffened her back; she knew Colette trusted the cards. Alexandra would do anything to keep the Cirque from being destroyed, even if the only way to make her believe was to do a full card reading. “Very well,” she said, resigned to what she had to do, “I’ll use the cards and read them for you.”
Alexandra turned away from Colette and walked to one of the shelves that lined the wall and took down her piquet deck. Of all the tools that she used in fortune telling, Alexandra found the piquet deck to be the clearest when it came to questions of personal matters. Motioning for Colette to take a seat at the small wooden tea table, Alexandra sat across from her and removed from cards from their knitted pouch. She shuffled them once, allowing herself to relax as she felt the thin leaves slide through her fingers. Fanning the cards, she picked out the queen of spades, a woman in confusion, to represent Colette and placed it in the center of the table.
“Take the cards and shuffle them as you think of your question,” Alexandra instructed her friend. “Then cut the cards with your left hand and place the right hand pile on top of the other and hand it to me.”
Colette did so, a nervous yet determined on her face. The fortune teller took the top card from the deck and set it face down below the queen of spades and placed the card from the bottom of the deck above the queen. Alexandra then handed the cards back to the ringmaster, “Cut them again with your left and place the right hand pile on top of the other and give them to me.”
Alexandra continued this pattern, taking the top and bottom cards, placing them around the queen of spades in an ever widening spiraling star then handing the deck back to Colette. Only when twenty two cards in total had been placed on the table did the fortune teller take the deck and place it next to her on the table. She had chosen the great star pattern which was the clearest of the predicting spreads. The outer ring of cards showed the external results based on the question, while the inner ring showed what was internally influencing to her.
Steeling herself to what she knew would happen next, Alexandra flipped over the two cards at the top of the star. Immediately, she felt a low hum began at the base of her spine. Alexandra kept her voice as even as possible as she revealed to Colette the meaning of the cards. “The cards along the outer ring of the star reveal what with happen in the world based on your question. A knave of spades and an ace of hearts, an action you take will bring peace of mind and liberty for you but will eventually bring disgrace.”
Alexandra continued to flip over cards in pairs, reading their meaning to Colette, “Seven of clubs and seven of spades, the action you take will leave you with moral consolation but fraught with anxiety. Ace of diamonds and seven of diamonds, but this action will also bring good news. Knave of hearts and seven of hearts, and you will continue to be surrounded by faithful allies. Ten of diamonds and nine of spades, but soon troubles in business force you to move far away. Ten of spades and ace of spades, by then you will have grief, sorrow and death following you. Ten of hearts and queen of clubs, this loss will be caused by an old rival. King of clubs and eight of clubs, and that person who brings failure will be one you expected.”
As Alexandra had been reading, the hum climbed slowly up her back until it began to pound insistently in the back of her skill. She took a deep shuddering breath, gathering her strength to reveal the last four cards. “These last cards represent who drives you to this fate. Knave of clubs and queen of diamonds, it is a dangerous rival who is also a great obstacle. Eight of diamonds and king of hearts, and this man is brings difficulty in business and personal matters.”
Alexandra sighed, breathing in the steam and allowing it to ease the slight tension in her head from a hint of a hangover from the party the night before. When her eyes fell on the overflowing basket of pile of mending her sigh of relaxation shifted to one of resignation. The show from the night before had been terribly damaging to the costumes and every single one in the basket was singed or scorched. Dragging the basket to her overstuffed armchair, Alexandra once again curled up in it and began to carefully patch a scorched skirt.
A sudden, loud clatter came from the entrance as her ship door was violently thrown open and Colette staggered through the heavy curtains that hung on the inside of the door frame. When Alexandra saw the ringmaster’s grayish skin and the dark circles around her eyes, she jumped out of her chair. “Colette! What’s wrong?” As the fortune teller ran to Colette’s side she could smell the alcohol on her friend’s breath as well as the lingering smell of smoke and sweat.
Colette grabbed Alexandra’s shoulders and hung on, shaking her friend. “Tell me that everything will go back to normal! Tell me that whatever I do, everything will be alright!”
“What are you talking about?” The fortune teller pushed her friend away.
“Tell me what would happen if I…” Colette paused and swallowed. Alexandra has a sinking feeling that she knew what the ringmaster was about to ask. Ever since the Hirondelle showed up in Orleans, the ring master had been on edge. She was usually calm and in control, and she certainly didn’t break down after shows or turn to drink to soothe her nerves. Alexandra knew all of this trouble centered on Jacque, the great rival of the Cirque de la Vapeur.
Alexandra understood Colette’s mind well after working closely together for five years and knew that she would do anything, absolutely anything to protect her circus. Even if it meant doing something drastic, such as killing the one who had caused all of the trouble: Jacque.
“Colette!” Alexandra cried, “I won’t do that for you. You know I can’t do that. I can’t tell you the future; it’s too unpredictable. It changes every second with every minute decision. There’s no way of knowing for certain what will happen if you take a particular action.”
“Then what use is fortune telling anyway? ” Colette said bitterly.
Alexandra froze, rage began to rise in her chest, her eyes locking with the ring master’s. “Don’t tempt me, Colette. I could let you glimpse in my world and what I see. And believe me, you don’t want me to do that,” her voice dropped to a low, harsh whisper. “I know what you want to do and even without looking into the future I know that it will end in eventual failure. One by one, the performers will leave and the cirque will fall apart.”
“No! Jacque is the reason we’re struggling so. He won’t stop until he’s destroyed everything that I’ve built, everything I… love. You don’t realize what he’s capable of.” Colette seemed on the verge of helpless sobs as she spoke, “He’s already killed my brother. Don’t you understand, Alex? I have to finish this.”
Alexandra’s rage grew icy and faded suddenly at her friend’s words. Colette had a brother? She was in shock at the revelation. And Jacque was responsible for his death? She must have been part of the Hirondelle once, then. Alexandra saw the anguish on her friend’s face. Her voice softened as she spoke, “It won’t change a thing, Colette! Killing Jacque will not make a difference.”
“It has to. I’m going to do this, Alex… I just have know it will make things better.” The ringmaster stepped back from the fortuneteller, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing her hands to her face.
Closing her eyes, Alexandra shivered. What could she do? Colette wouldn’t listen to her. The ringmaster needed proof that what she wanted to do would only bring more pain. The fortune teller stiffened her back; she knew Colette trusted the cards. Alexandra would do anything to keep the Cirque from being destroyed, even if the only way to make her believe was to do a full card reading. “Very well,” she said, resigned to what she had to do, “I’ll use the cards and read them for you.”
Alexandra turned away from Colette and walked to one of the shelves that lined the wall and took down her piquet deck. Of all the tools that she used in fortune telling, Alexandra found the piquet deck to be the clearest when it came to questions of personal matters. Motioning for Colette to take a seat at the small wooden tea table, Alexandra sat across from her and removed from cards from their knitted pouch. She shuffled them once, allowing herself to relax as she felt the thin leaves slide through her fingers. Fanning the cards, she picked out the queen of spades, a woman in confusion, to represent Colette and placed it in the center of the table.
“Take the cards and shuffle them as you think of your question,” Alexandra instructed her friend. “Then cut the cards with your left hand and place the right hand pile on top of the other and hand it to me.”
Colette did so, a nervous yet determined on her face. The fortune teller took the top card from the deck and set it face down below the queen of spades and placed the card from the bottom of the deck above the queen. Alexandra then handed the cards back to the ringmaster, “Cut them again with your left and place the right hand pile on top of the other and give them to me.”
Alexandra continued this pattern, taking the top and bottom cards, placing them around the queen of spades in an ever widening spiraling star then handing the deck back to Colette. Only when twenty two cards in total had been placed on the table did the fortune teller take the deck and place it next to her on the table. She had chosen the great star pattern which was the clearest of the predicting spreads. The outer ring of cards showed the external results based on the question, while the inner ring showed what was internally influencing to her.
Steeling herself to what she knew would happen next, Alexandra flipped over the two cards at the top of the star. Immediately, she felt a low hum began at the base of her spine. Alexandra kept her voice as even as possible as she revealed to Colette the meaning of the cards. “The cards along the outer ring of the star reveal what with happen in the world based on your question. A knave of spades and an ace of hearts, an action you take will bring peace of mind and liberty for you but will eventually bring disgrace.”
Alexandra continued to flip over cards in pairs, reading their meaning to Colette, “Seven of clubs and seven of spades, the action you take will leave you with moral consolation but fraught with anxiety. Ace of diamonds and seven of diamonds, but this action will also bring good news. Knave of hearts and seven of hearts, and you will continue to be surrounded by faithful allies. Ten of diamonds and nine of spades, but soon troubles in business force you to move far away. Ten of spades and ace of spades, by then you will have grief, sorrow and death following you. Ten of hearts and queen of clubs, this loss will be caused by an old rival. King of clubs and eight of clubs, and that person who brings failure will be one you expected.”
As Alexandra had been reading, the hum climbed slowly up her back until it began to pound insistently in the back of her skill. She took a deep shuddering breath, gathering her strength to reveal the last four cards. “These last cards represent who drives you to this fate. Knave of clubs and queen of diamonds, it is a dangerous rival who is also a great obstacle. Eight of diamonds and king of hearts, and this man is brings difficulty in business and personal matters.”
The fortune teller’s voice hung in the air for a moment, the last echoes of her reading. After a few minutes of heavy silence, she rose with a swish of skirts and fetched two teacups from the sideboard, filling them from the intricate little kettle and setting them on the table. Colette nodded her thanks, taking the cup and breathing in the steam for a moment. It smelled sweet and dark, and she took a fortifying sip before speaking. “So. Things will not get better.”“At first, they’ll seem to. But, eventually… I’m sorry. No. They won’t.”
Colette folded her hands in her lap, clenching her fingers tightly. The cards were chilling to say the least; before her lay a future of ruin and despair. The cirque would be over. Everything she’d worked for would be snatched from her. But if Jacque lived, he’d ensure the same result…
“Damned if I do, damned if I…” She broke off the phrase midway through, her mind slowly running through possibilities. “I suppose… it is the only way.”
Alexandra looked alarmed. More than simply surprised, she appeared ashen and pale, almost ill. “You can’t, Colette. Look at what will happen!” She gestured with a hand to the star pattern of cards that still lay ominously on the table.
“We will be ruined either way, Alexandra. Jacque will see to that—or I will. At least if I do, he will be dead, and cannot hurt my family. He’s already caused me too much pain. He deserves to die. Auréle will have his vengeance, and if it keeps Jacque from killing again…” She hesitated and bit her lip. “I would rather go to prison or to my own death than see him kill again. I have lost so much already, Alexandra. Jacque has taken my brother from me, and I won’t let him take my family.”
The woman looked back at her dangerously, trying to ignore the almost blinding pain that continued to creep through her skull. “You are being a fool, Colette. I’ve read for you what you asked and if you do this thing, the demise of the cirque will be completely on your shoulders. Jacque wants to destroy us? Let him try. We will hold him off. Don’t give him the satisfaction of damning the Cirque yourself.”
“He’s too powerful. This is the only way. I’m sorry.”
Alexandra rose from the table, hands bracing against the surface; she seemed almost to struggle to her feet. “I won’t let you do this, Colette.”
Colette looked at her with a hard expression and reached behind her back under the tails of her coat. From a sheath at the small of her back, she drew a plain but sharp silver knife. “I took this off my brother’s corpse. If you think you can stop me, you don’t know me at all.”
Without a second’s hesitation, Alexandra had lunged around the table and was reaching for the blade. Colette tripped back slightly, raising the knife to keep it out of Alexandra’s reach. As the blonde woman tried to wrap her slim hand around Colette’s, blade brushed her fingers and drew a line of blood as thin as a paper cut. Colette swore, and Alexandra clutched at her hand tightly, her eyes darkening before rolling slightly back in her head. She fell backwards, blindly clutching onto the chair. The fortune teller seemed to glow with a fiery rage, and in a surprising display of strength, she ripped the knife from Colette’s hand and jammed the blade halfway through the little tea table. Colette retreated abruptly, holding her hands out, torn between retreating entirely and aiding her friend, who looked almost possessed by some evil.
Alexandra opened her eyes slowly, her gaze focused on the ring master. “You will not leave this cabin, Colette.”
“I have to finish this, Alexandra. He killed my brother! Don’t you understand?”
“How do you know?”
“I saw the body!”
“How do you know he was murdered?”
Colette froze. “I… I just… know.”
Alexandra drew in a shaky breath, steadying herself and trying to clear her head from the vision that still flashed before her eyes. “You’re wrong.”
Colette shook her head frantically in denial. “No. No, no, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Alexandra slapped her palm against the table. “And you don’t know what happened! Your brother’s death was an accident.”
“You can’t know that. It isn’t true!” Colette reached for the knife, jerked on the handle, and found that the blade was stuck fast.
“It is, Colette, and you have to listen to me—Jacque didn’t kill your brother.”
Colette screamed wordlessly, ripping at the knife again, and upon finding it impossible to withdraw, picked up her teacup and threw it against the cabin wall.
“You are lying!”
Alexandra stood her ground and matched the ring master in volume. “I saw it, Colette, I saw what happened. Auréle was drinking and he climbed to the top platform of trapeze to think. He fell, Colette. Jacque was no where near your brother. He just fell.”
“No!” The ringmaster shrieked in denial, grabbing the other teacup off the table and throwing it at the wall as well.
Alexandra fled the ceramic shrapnel, darting to the door as Colette raged behind her, hurling anything within arm’s reach as sobs ripped from her throat.
Alexandra threw the door open and was not at all surprised to see Marie sitting on the steps that led up to the carriage, fidgeting with her hands and undoubtedly waiting for the argument to die down so she could enter her quarters.
Alex thundered down at her with the last strength she possessed, “Get. Tom. Now,” before disappearing back inside with a slam and a flurry of skirts.
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