Circus of the Beast

9

Maeve sighed as she glanced over towards the animal tents. A beast most mortals would run in fear from nuzzled at her keeper. Maeve had admired this shaggy haired nymph for a long while. He was always so smooth and languid with his movements and the way he cared for Dragún was beyond dedicated.

Maeve adjusted her stance as she tried to stay out of sight from the nymph boy. He had great hearing and she didn't want to be noticed. She was used to seeing men approach those they found earning all their affections. Maeve sighed once more.

Maeve turned her head and spotted performers exiting the grand tent and thought that she had better go practice her act. Her feet began to shuffle along the cold ground and she mentally told herself that stockings would have been a good idea. It was starting to get chilly during the evenings.

Maeve got closer to the big, tall tents. Behind her stood a shaggy haired nymph watching a certain fire breather sauntering away. He let out a large sigh and entered back inside the tent to continue tending to the animals.

***

Inside the arena, Maeve set out her equipment and watched as a torch flickered with flame just before her. Just out of range of Maeve's vision stood her best friend, watching contently from the shadows. Keelia peered in through a slit in the tent cloth.

Maeve took in a deep breath, feeling the heat build inside her. This was a normal finding within fire breathing nymphs; she was only preparing to use her lungs for something other than oxygen. Some nymph historians believed that the fire breathers were descendants of dragons, though it had never been quite proven. However, Maeve liked to believe that it was true. She liked to pretend she could feel that heritage coursing through her veins and bubbling up inside her. It was almost like the fire within burned all her fears into dust which blew away in the wind. There was no reason to fear anything when she held such magnificent power.

Keelia's eyes widened as she saw an orange flame glint in Maeve's eyes. Her skin was beginning to redden and Keelia thought that her nymph friend would combust into flames herself, however, her skin pigment faded into its normal pallor just before a burst of flame shot out of Maeve's mouth and reached up towards the tent's top.

Keelia's hands were fidgeting with excitement; while her heart pounded for fear that Maeve would drop the flaming torch onto her delicate flesh.

Maeve quickly bent down and snatched up a torch and blew hot fire onto it until it was ablaze with the same radiant light. What Maeve did next was fascinating to Keelia. Maeve was dancing around and swinging the blazing torch around her body. And as if that wasn't enough, the fire breather than began to do flips and somersaults along the cold ground until her surroundings was misted with dust. Maeve's bare feet pounded and slid along the sand fluidly and without mistake.

Keelia continued to watch as Maeve danced around and made her tightrope act look like child's play. Dealing with fire was much more dangerous than walking along a rope with a partner. Keelia had gotten very good at it, and Tadhg was busy teaching her the dance routine on the ground before she was up on the high wire with him. It was hard and exhausting work, but definitely worth all the sweat and stiff limbs.

Maeve tossed the torch up in the air once more for good measure and then caught it behind her back as though she was grasping onto air. Maeve made it look so easy, but Keelia knew that the only thing that came naturally to her was the ability to breathe fire. The rest of it was hard work practicing.

Keelia thought what Maeve had just done was one of the most beautiful things to ever grace her sights. The proficiency of the movements was perfectly executed. The act had fear growing inside her core to the point of being on edge, but unable to turn away out of amazement.