Chapter 9

ChapterNine

We showered again.And fucked again. And showered after that. Then I was finally dressed, my hair combed, and Bishop was smiling as he led me through another web covered door. Instead of leading into another room, we entered the fresh air. It was chilly and the sun was barely rising. There was a fence strung up on one side, blocking the main carnival grounds from the behind-the-scenes area.

There were different tents and campers parked along the empty field where the carnival was set up. I saw a few people roaming about, handling their morning chores. I pressed closer to Bishop, uncertain that any of these people were going to even want me here. Bishop’s fingers brushed fondly through my hair as we followed the scent of cooking food. My stomach growled as I smelt bacon.

There were voices ahead of us, and I paused for a moment. Bishop turned, looking back at me with many curved brows.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“They will mean you no harm,” he assured me.

I gripped his hand tighter, and we walked beneath a large tent strung with lights. There was a sizzling griddle over a portable gas stove, and my eyes widened as I saw the collection of people there. Some looked normal. Others appeared like typical carnival folk. I saw the clown from the gate – Roger – waving Bishop over.

The spider next to me nudged me forward. Eyes grew wide as I stepped out of Bishop’s shadow.

“Oh! Bishop got a girl!” someone shouted.

I turned to see it was one side of a pair of conjoined twins. They smiled at me as I pressed against Bishop’s side.

“Her name is Justine,” Bishop told them fondly.

He led me to sit next to Roger and went away, much to my dismay, to get coffee. I tried not to stare too hard at the assortment of beings near me. Especially one person – a minotaur – sitting across the table from me. His nose was broad, and I could hear the breath flowing through his nostrils as he watched me with wide, warm brown eyes. There was a book open in front of him.

Someone else appeared in the tent, eliciting many good mornings. This person was human like me. She was a very tall woman with graceful, long limbs and blonde hair that flowed down her back. She smiled at the people around her then noticed me in the bunch.

“Who is this?” she asked.

She had a thick accent I could not place. Her bright eyes were not unkind as she watched me, more cautious and unsure.

“Bishop got a girl,” Roger said next to me.

Bishop appeared back at my side and I leaned into him. He smiled, pushing a cup of coffee toward me as he wrapped his pedipalp around my waist.

“Claudette,” he addressed the newcomer. “This is Justine.”

“Hello, Justine.” Claudette gave a nod.

Breakfast went from a nervous chorus of hellos to a more jovial setting as bacon and eggs were served and enough coffee was drunk to wake people up. Bishop stayed close to my side, and I enjoyed seeing the way he perked up around the others.

When I had woken up the day before, I was not expecting to be taking part the next day in a breakfast where I, as a human, was in the minority.

“And what are you planning to do with her, Bishop?” Claudette asked.

The conversations around us died down as eyes turned back toward me. Claudette looked at me over the rim of her coffee cup.

“We have not spoken that far,” Bishop told her, pushing me closer to his side.

Defending me. I had never been defended before.

“So, you unveiled our secrets to her without even knowing her intentions? What if she were to harm our family?” Claudette told him.

I could hear the sting in her voice. The others around us turned away, as if too afraid to get involved in the conversation.

“I won’t harm anyone,” I told her.

“Many have said that before,” she told me.

* * *

After breakfast, Bishop stayed with me outside as the sun came up. The others moved about quietly, preparing to open the normal carnival that took place during the day.

“I have to go home,” I told him.

He looked down at me, the sadness causing his eyes to darken even as he nodded his understanding.

“But I will be back,” I told him.

“Will you?” he asked, the hope illuminating his eyes.

I nodded. Much as I was very uncertain what I was going to think when I left this field, I knew I was going to come back.