The Butterfly Effect

They came back to the town empty handed. Tavin had eventually stopped trying to get her to say anything, though he already had the answer; silence was enough to guess the things she wasn’t going to admit.

They’d made the plan of heading back out in the morning, but one thing distracted them from that mission: the arrival of a traveling circus.

“That sign says the last act’s gonna be about Kevabel,” Henry pointed out. That was, however, hardly his only reason for wanting to go. Adventuring wasn’t the only way to see never-before-seen sights and things that any untrained person should never try. “Do you think we can try?”

“I think that’s the one that travels around Seothia and Qizar,” Tim said. He wasn’t so much as particularly excited as he was helping out his twin. “Even if we can’t figure anything out about Kevabel, it’ll probably at least be a good show.”

“If all of you agree, then I don’t mind,” Lydia decided, glancing at Tavin.

“It might help,” he mumbled. “I’m not so sure about heading out to Kevabel right now anyway…”

With mutual agreement obtained, she pushed aside what they’d planned on bringing to simply settle for her satchel. She made sure she had what she needed to pay while the boys got ready and, in a couple of minutes, they left.

They followed the signs until finding the collection of tents. There was a line when they got there, though it hadn’t quite reached its peak; she took it to mean they came at just the right time. One of the members—an older, grumpy-looking woman—was in the front taking money and giving out tickets.

They weren’t the only two to be seen, however, once a merry tune started up from inside the main tent. Two others came out to greet the line. One, as anyone vaguely paying attention to the circus would know, was their ringleader—Lydia only knew her by her stage name though, The Ball-Jointed Doll. The other, given his role in the fliers, was her companion. Lydia couldn’t remember anything about him.

“Well, I think it’s pretty obvious which one of them loves their job,” Tim remarked as he observed them. “He’s barely trying as much as she is.”

Tavin shrugged. “But it’s still more than what the other woman is putting in, and she’s supposed to be the first thing they see.”

“With what was said to have happened five years ago, it’s not that big of a surprise,” Lydia muttered. She was careful to keep it within the four of them; this was something not to be taken lightly, or that everyone around them needed to know. “If everything rumored to have happened really did, it’s a wonder they’re still doing shows…”

“I guess that’s what sets this apart from Kevabel or Idale,” Henry mused. “That, despite the pain it might cause, they continue to keep the memory of the lost alive.”

The conversation stopped when the two got closer to them. Though, it was hard to tell if they were really getting closer or if the line was actually moving.

The Ball-Jointed Doll, once she saw them, nudged her companion and whispered something to him. Whatever response he’d given her, she gave him a playful whack before starting a conversation with them. “I didn’t expect nobles to show up to this one! Especially not ones from Mikkel territory all the way here in Xannon. I’m Sukeena and this is Umi. Welcome to the show!” She paused and glanced at Tavin. “Hey, have we seen each other before?”

“He’s the Seothian prince, Sukeena,” Umi sighed. “Of course you’ve seen him.”

She glared at him. “I meant during a show.”

“You performed one year at Hyasari’s Music Festival, didn’t you?” Tavin answered. “I was with the rest of the royal family there, that’s probably where you saw me.”

After a moment of consideration, she nodded. “I think you’re right.”

Henry, without thinking much about what he was saying, asked, “Do you have a dragon?” The three looked at him and even Umi seemed to share their thoughts, though it didn’t sound like it was needed.

Sukeena laughed. There was a nervous edge to it. “Only the ones made of paper! We try to keep fire hazards low around here since, well, there’s a lot of stuff that can catch on fire.”

“Not to mention I’m pretty sure that’s illegal…” Umi mumbled. He shook his head, though, and continued louder, “We’ve got to go. Hope you enjoy the show.” Then he practically dragged her away.

At that point, the four of them were nearly to where the woman was giving out tickets. When they got there, Lydia pulled out two silver coins.

“Is this enough for all four of us?”

“Do you nobles ever carry around bronze?” was the woman’s first, dull response. “Not only did you get in, you became a major contributor to keeping from going out of business.” She took the coins and gave them each a ticket. “Enjoy the show.”

They all mumbled their thanks before Henry took the lead inside. No child of Lydia’s might be interested in dramatic plays that the average noble enjoyed, but this was excluded. Despite coming from afar, there was a local charm here; beyond the eyes of nobles in a place that anyone was able to enjoy. And none of the Stones seemed to enjoy the opportunity as much as Henry did, to see a different kind of marvel besides those of legends. A story that, for the most part, wasn’t anything legendary—just ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

He guided them to what the rest of them assumed to be the best available seats, then waited with the most amount of excitement out of all of them. The buzzing that had slowly filled the area died down again with the music, when Sukeena came out to announce the show. It was a moment after she left that the music started back up again and the show truly began.

There was, honestly, nothing here that Lydia hadn’t already experienced; yet still, she found herself never being able to look away. Perhaps it was a part of execution—she knew that they weren’t using Illusion magic (or at least not mainly). Through it, she was given the opportunity to wonder how they could do what they did.

“Hey, Tavin, can the Qizarn princess do that?” Tim whispered, nudging his little brother.

“Technically yes, but she probably won’t,” Tavin responded quietly. “Besides, I think this is mostly what they’d call ‘street magic.’”

Henry swatted at both of them. “Shh.”

Then came the final act. A short, silent theater act, almost, of a myth or legend. Snippets of it had appeared throughout the acts, giving a sense of formality to them all—weaving a larger story.

That didn’t mean it was hard to follow, however. There were two main characters, represented by Sukeena and Umi. They met; they fell in love; a secret told, and a kiss made; then she killed him and ran away. What kind of ending was that?

The room erupted into cheers and clapping the moment Sukeena came back out to announce the end of the show. Lydia had a plan and, seeing Sukeena talk to the kids afterwards, knew it would work.

She waited for them to leave before prompting, “That was a great performance. You all did really well.”

Sukeena smiled. “Thanks! I’d especially appreciate it if you told your friends about us, it helps a lot.”

“We were wondering about the legend you performed,” Lydia then prompted. No point in wasting time trying to dig through books or ruins when it could be as simple as talking to someone else about it.

Luckily Sukeena seemed happy to share. “It was something my dad heard of while he was around this area. There’s these ruins somewhere around here and the townspeople made up this story to explain its downfall. Kevabel had been a prosperous city a long time ago. It seemed like it would stay that way for a long time to come, too. Or at least, it did, before the young leader met this woman. She had wings like a fairy and most of the citizens thought that she was unnerving—like darkness. But he loved her despite that, and she seemed to share the feeling. Until, one day, she pulled him aside and told him something. No one knows what she said, just that it couldn’t have been anything bad. She killed him soon after and, afraid of what it might mean, the whole city fell apart as they all left.”

“Sukeena!” It was the woman that had given them tickets. “Talking to people can wait until the end of the next show. You should get some rest before then.”

“Well, that’s my cue to go.” Sukeena got up. “It was nice talking to you! I hope we’ll be able to see each other again.”

Lydia waved goodbye before the four of them started walking back to the inn. “We’ll get our stuff together and head out to Kevabel. We can spend the night there.”