Shadow Heart

Chapter 29:Captivation P1

————-Nxy————-

My sister. My dearest darling sister. I love her. Without her I'd have nothing. No reason to live. She was the one that got me into magic. A natural born magician. She could read people like a book and her tricks weren't just the simple ones that everyone knows. Instead of pulling a stuffed rabbit out of a hat she would pull out a real one. Instead of the stupid pick a card trick she would guess your job based on social cues, looks and outfits and she would get it right every time. Instead of cutting a person in a box in half she would fake someone getting cut in half without the box. It was so realistic that even the three demon gods would be fooled.

Growing up I was always jealous of her. So she would teach me her tricks. Of course I was still worse than her but at least I was still amazing. I copied my sister any way I could in order to try to be as good as her. But I was always in her shadow. Still I loved her to no end. She was and still is my everything. She was the one that set up the carnival. She decided she'd turn it into a family business. I was her assistant and she was the main act. Looking back though despite all the jealousy I have towards her I actually preferred being her assistant.

I was born an orphan. My sister was eight years older than me so I was always the younger child. My dad died due to an angel attack when Gumi was one and my mum died giving birth to me. The weirdest part is that demons can't die giving birth so it must have been for another reason. Thought what else could have killed her. According to a couple detectives and scientists who we brought in to study her corpse said that she died from a foreign poison that even they couldn't identify. I still wonder what killed her to this day. I think I have an idea as to what happened but I'm probably wrong. Besides even if I tell anyone they wouldn't believe me.

Gumi was practically my mother growing up. She took care of me and fed me. At the beginning we were on our own because well in demon realms they don't exactly have orphanage. Everyday we were poor and cold but we got by. One day Queen Navia was passing by while Gumi was doing magic. Back then magic was a hobby of hers. Navia was so impressed that she decided to give us a lot of money which is how we built the carnival. We decided to hire other people who were poor like we were in order to try to help others who were in a similar position. That was the origins of the Cheshire carnival. I became good friends with my troupe and we ran the best carnival in the three demon realms.

Everything was perfect until well the Gumi incident. At least I still have Kyujin though and the rest of my troupe.

"Nxy. You there hello."

That was Kyujin waving her hand in my face. I guess I must have gotten distracted. Sometimes randomly thoughts of my sister come up. I guess it because I miss her so so much.

"Im fine Kyujin. Just thinking about Gumi again."

Then I take my hat off and look inside because inside the fabric of my hat I hold the thing most dearest to me. A picture of me and Gumi on the stage together. It was taken in Navias castle. That day she had invited us to give her and the Shadowheras in her royal court a special show. It was a great honor. I remember it like it was yesterday. But it's something I keep on me which reminds me of my sister.

I stare into it with all the memories flowing back through me like I was reliving the moment and it was wonderful. All the lights on me and Gumi as we captivated and inspired the crowd or the applause of the audience stunned at our tricks. Everything was perfect. Why. Why did Gumi have to go and be brainwashed... Why did the angels have to ruin everything. Eventually my thoughts stopped and I just cried while staring into the photo.

"Nxy you ok. If you're upset because you feel guilty about rejecting me it's ok. I really really don't mind."

She didn't know about the photo. Nobody besides one other person knows about the photo. It's my most prized possession and something I want to me a secret at all costs. Besides people would find me weird if I was crying over a photo right. So I put it back in my hat quickly and pretend nothing happened. I put on a fake smile and pretend everything was okay. I'm a master at faking emotions you know. It's just one of the many tricks in my arsenal.

"I'm totally fine Kuyjin. Stop being so worried about me all the time I'm fine."

She believed me. She's so gullible. But that's something that I like about her. It makes her cuter. As a final thing to make her happy I put on my big Cheshire Cat smile. It's this weird thing I can do where my smile becomes really really big. When I do it before teleporting that's what causes me to leave my smile behind. People usually find it really weird and cool. It also gets a few laughs out of people. The kettle finished boiling so I started making the tea. I poured the water into the cup and took the tea bag out before giving it to Kyujin.

"You know I always loved that smile of yours."

"Feeling any better now."

"Lots better. The tea is really good you know."

Of course it was good. Collette taught me how to make it. Collette was my contortionist and the best one I've ever met. She could go into any position imaginable. Sometimes I wish that the others got some more attention instead of just me because I'm the most popular act and to be honest everyone else puts just as much time and effort into their acts as me. As I was thinking about things I heard her open the door and enter. It was nice to see her. We hadn't talked in a while.