Most importantly: The show, no matter what circumstance may arise, must always go on.
Esmeralda’s year with Carnival Fantástico was nearly complete, so she had to find a way to stay on. Her savings, amassed from her fortune teller earnings and the valuables she’d slyly nicked from patrons, would be enough to venture to the southern port of Costa Mayor and book passage on a ship that would smuggle her out of the country. But then what? She’d be alone and flat broke in some foreign land she’d never heard of.
She couldn’t let that happen.
She needed more money. More time. Because if she truly wanted to escape her miserable life in Costa Mayor and start somewhere new, she required a small fortune. Being the next lead act would solve everything. She could stay in the carnival for as long as she wished. And when she was sick of being dazzling and beloved by all, she could take her riches and run away for good.
But she hadn’t received any sort of invitation for theRunning. Her heart sank. Did that mean she hadn’t been chosen to compete? The ringmaster must’ve thought she wasn’t special enough. And why would he? She didn’t have any sort of extravagant talents. She couldn’t hold a candle to the other acts. Hell, if she didn’t lie through her teeth half the time, no one would ever want her around.
Stop that, she hissed to herself.You don’t know you haven’t been chosen yet.
Perhaps her invitation was waiting for her at this very moment. Perhaps it was at her wagon, ready for her to squeal with delight.
She started to walk once more. This time, her steps moved at double speed. Camila’s long legs easily matched her pace.
“What do you think about us being in the Running?” Camila asked.
“I’m thrilled for you two,” Esmeralda said. That wasn’t a complete lie. She wanted the best for her friends. Though, she wanted the best for herself atinybit more. The Sánchezes had joined the carnival at the same time as Esmeralda, but they didn’t need to escape the country like she did. They didn’t have a one-way ticket to the front lines of war, where all criminals ended up, looming over their heads.
“I didn’t want to join the Running,” Camila admitted. “But you know Pilar, she loves attention. And all the money we’ll make for being the lead act will help our family back home.”
Esmeralda painted a smile on her face and nodded numbly.
Damn Pilar and her brilliant showwomanship.
They moved through the performers gossiping and dressing before the Big Top show began. They passed beneath a stringof bulbous lanterns. The sparkly lights flickered as Sophia the Juggler’s pickpocket of a monkey swung from left to right. Esmeralda led Camila away from the pesky primate. She’d avoided the little beast since he’d stolen one of her broaches. Granted, she’d nicked the broach first, but that wasn’t the point. She stuck out her tongue at him. The monkey offered a vulgar gesture in return. Esmeralda gasped.
“My sister is so concerned about catching the ringmaster’s eye,” Camila said. “She never shuts up about how dreamy she thinks he is.” She jerked her chin toward a poster glued to the back wall of a tent. Drawn in that same enchanted ink used on Esmeralda’s cards was a painting of the famed ringmaster and owner of Carnival Fantástico, Ángel Veracruz.
In the poster, he was bowing, his top hat resting on his trim torso. The ink shifted like sand caught in a gust of wind. Now, the ringmaster stood to his full height, a knowing grin on his handsome face. He was young and charismatic. Half of the carnival’s customers came just to catch a glimpse of him. Perhaps even more of him if the opportunity arose. Ángel Veracruz was a notorious philanderer.
Then he was gone, and the ink changed once more, revealing glittering letters.
Do you long for fame and glory?
Then you’re in luck!
I am searching for my next main act.
Performers: Add your name to the Running if you dare.
Try your hand, prove your worth, and see if good fortune is in the air.
The posters had been the talk of the carnival since they started sprouting up two weeks ago. Melanie the Marionette had been the star of the show up until then. Her act was like nothing anyone had ever seen. She’d built a massive mechanical dummy, but instead of her holding up the dummy, its strings were attached to Melanie.Shebecame the marionette, dancing and twirling and soaring in the air. Until, one day, she disappeared. Some people speculated she’d run off with a wealthy patron. Others said something suspicious was afoot. The ringmaster insisted she was simply ready to retire and live her life in peace.
Whatever the case might be, the carnival needed a shiny new performer to lure in the crowds. Audiences were eager for something different. For a fresh face to wow them into oblivion.
Esmeralda was eager tobethat face.
Sure, she didn’t perform any daring tricks that would awe crowds. She was only a fake fortune teller, and a pitiful one at that. But she had charisma. She couldwow.
Not like Nicola the Escape Artist, or David the Knife Thrower, or the bear trainer, or the trapeze artists, or the Sánchezes’ strongwoman act, or any of the other acts currently performing in the Big Top for that matter.
