Chapter 11 Esmeralda #2
Just like the posters plastered near the ticket booth illustrated, Carnival Fantástico was built like a bullseye.
At the center stood the most cherished spot, the Big Top.
The first ring that circled around the Big Top boasted all the most entertaining things: booths that sold enchanted tonics, games that left guests giggling and gasping, the Fun House, the carousel, popular acts.
And now, La Paloma Blanca: Fortune Teller Extraordinaire.
She clapped her hands.
Ring two was where the food booths and speakeasies that sold mezcal could be found. The menagerie was there too, as well as the siren enclosure and a roller coaster that had spinning cars that sometimes left the tracks.
Up until now, Esmeralda had been all the way out on the third and final ring of the bullseye.
There, kiddy games and unenchanted prizes could be found, and a grouchy clown named Ronaldo who lurked around the corners, waiting to squirt unsuspecting guests with his flower broach.
The third ring was for duds. Esmeralda hated it because she wanted to shine.
And now she would.
She hummed and sang to herself as she neared her wagon, which looked dreadfully shabby amongst the other gilded ones.
That was fine. What did she care if the shingles were missing in some spots?
Nothing would bring her mood down ever again.
The ringmaster had given her the very best gift she could ever ask for: He gave her a chance.
The door to her wagon was ajar. Not terribly abnormal because Gabriel and Camila were forever in and out. Sometimes to add more contraptions. Sometimes to steal the confections she had stolen from guests first.
But she remembered Camila and Pilar would be practicing their new act. And Gabriel would be helping the crew ready the animals for the opening parade.
Esmeralda rolled up her sleeves. If someone was riffling through her things, she’d be sure to give them the wallop they deserved.
She marched past the other performers preparing their booths and mini stages.
Her heeled slippers clanked on the metal steps.
She didn’t need to be stealthy. Let whoever was inside her private quarters squirm with fear.
She banged the door open the rest of the way but quickly froze in place. Her stomach plummeted to her toes as if she were on the slapdash roller coaster that spun and flipped people upside down.
The ringmaster stood in the center of her wagon amongst the scattered cards she had yet to put away. In his hand was the officer’s badge she’d stolen from Ignacio. His other hand was hidden behind his back.
“So, the rumors are true,” the ringmaster said. He faced her. Seeing him in the daylight was always a shock to the system. He was dangerously handsome, and his blue eyes shone like sapphires when the sun was out. “An officer came into my carnival. Was he looking for you?”
“I don’t know what he wanted,” she said quickly, which was true. She hadn’t exactly given Ignacio time to explain. “He’s gone now. I got rid of him.”
“No people of the law are allowed in my sacred carnival. I have taken great pains to set those protections in place so my magnificent patrons feel free from the worries of the world. Costa Mayor is at war. People come here to escape that. To forget. I cannot allow my performers to fraternize with members of the law. You know that.”
“I do, senor! Very much so. I had him removed at once.”
“Yet you held on to his badge. For what purpose?”
Why did she keep it? Just like she kept the tin box she’d taken from him.
Her heart thumped heavy and hard in her chest. She knew the reason.
She couldn’t part with something that belonged to him.
Even if it hurt her to her very core, she was desperate for a tiny piece of Ignacio.
Although it lacked all his comforting warmth.
“I also found this,” the ringmaster said.
He brought his other hand from behind his back, and she thought she might faint or cry or simply cease to exist. He held the box where she stored all the jewelry, watches, broaches, and trinkets that she’d stolen from the customers over the last ten months.
“I…I…” Her mind scrambled for something to say. “There—there are no rules about stealing,” she stammered.
“No.” He sighed, disappointed. “But there are rules about being caught. And about fraternizing with officers.”
“I didn’t…”
“My lead acts are nearest and dearest to my heart. They are an extension of me. Therefore, I can only choose someone who I trust implicitly. Someone who holds no lies.”
“I’d never lie to you. I promise.” She would promise the world if it meant she would remain in the ringmaster’s good graces.
Her wagon had been moved to a revered spot.
He’d given her enchanted gloves. He might let her be the main act and stay on for as long as she wanted.
He had chosen her. He believed she was special enough to be in the Running.
And he currently held half of the funds she had saved that could pay for her passage out of Costa Mayor in his grasp.
She couldn’t lose that. If she wasn’t chosen to be the main act and had to leave in two months, she would be a sitting duck for the Blackbirds.
Without those stolen trinkets, she’d make it as far as the southern port, but that was it.
She’d be caught, again, and find herself in a cell or shipped off to war, again.
And this time, Gabriel wouldn’t be there to help her escape.
She pushed deeper into her wagon and held up her hands. Pleading. “Please, Senor Veracruz, tell me what I can do to make this right.”
The ringmaster’s eyes widened. “Dearest Esmeralda, I’m not angry with you.” He smiled compassionately. “But I do wish you would have felt comfortable enough to have come to me when this officer pestered you. I could have taken care of him myself.”
Relief filled her.
“And, please, none of that ‘Senor Veracruz’ stuff. That makes me feel old. And I’m not that. Call me ángel.”
Her cheeks warmed.
“I wasn’t even coming in here to talk to you about this.
” He slipped the badge into his jacket pocket.
He could chuck it into the sea for all she cared now, but what about the box of treasures in his other hand?
Her fingers itched to snatch them from him.
But she didn’t dare move. “I came to give you this.” With a flourish, he pulled out a small black envelope.
Esmeralda sucked in a breath. “Is that…”
“Indeed. This is your first challenge.”
She wanted to be excited, but how could she be? He still held the box with all her stolen goods. She’d be doomed without it.
“To win my esteem, one must show that they can mirror Veracruz’s three V’s,” he said.
“Versatility. Vivacity. And Vibrancy.” His gaze met hers and she forced herself to smile.
“I’ve seen all three of these attributes in you, Esmeralda.
” He held out the envelope to her. “Now you need to prove it to the world.”
She took the card as if it were an ancient tome filled with the universe’s mysteries.
“See you soon, kid.” He started for the door but stopped when she shouted, “Wait!”
Slowly, he faced her.
“Um…” She gulped. “About the box.” She licked her lips. “I…”
“There’s no need to apologize,” he said. “We all make mistakes. But the best of us don’t make them twice.”
With that, he was gone.
Esmeralda slumped. He’d taken her only hope of fleeing Costa Mayor. If she didn’t earn the top spot now, she’d be done for. Tears pricked her eyes, but she willed them away. She couldn’t let herself start to cry or she might never stop.
“It’s okay,” she said to herself. “You’ll be fine. You’ll figure something out.”
But there was nothing to do now but win the Running.
With shaking fingers, she tore open the envelope.
The time has come!
Time to show me attribute number one.
You have five hours to prove your VERSATILITY.
Demonstrate your adaptiveness, resourcefulness, and not-so-humble utility.
*You may use whatever it takes to pass the challenge.
She had five hours to prove she was versatile. To show she could be resourceful. How in the world would she do that?
She chewed on her cheek and sank onto her bed.
Something clattered onto the floorboard.
Esmeralda leaned down and scooped up the tin box she’d taken from Ignacio’s pocket. For the first time since their scuffle, she truly looked at the box. The label was no longer there, but she could tell by its size and curvature, it had once been used to hold lemon mints. Ignacio’s favorite.
She ran her thumb over the smooth metal and turned the box around. Her brows rose. She hadn’t noticed there were letters scratched into the back. D+P.
“Dovie and Pigeon,” she whispered.
The bells clanged loudly from the direction of the meal tent. Her stomach growled on instinct.
Rising to her feet, Esmeralda tucked the box under her pillow and straightened her shoulders. She’d force herself to eat. She’d put on her bravest face. Then she’d get to work trying to figure out how in the hell she could prove her worth to the man who now held her life in his hands.