The men stopped their movements as the one in white motioned for them to assemble in front of him. He climbed on top of two of the men and nodded as one of them threw him into the air. Zoe stifled a scream of worry as the men underneath him ran farther forward and she was sure he would fall, but he simply fell back onto them feet first and was thrown into the air once more. After four such turns, he paused and allowed himself to placed back on the floor. She smiled and almost clapped them stopped as she noticed how sad he was. All the artists in this world save the Aerial Contortionist always seemed to be so enraptured with their work that it was strange to see one different. However, after a moment, is eyes lit up and she followed his gaze.
Two men, identically dressed in white, emerging from the mists. There was a beauty and fierceness within them that instantly drew the attention of all surrounding them, but Zoe also detected an undercurrent of sorrow that made her uneasy. Something was amiss in a world where grief seemed to be a rare exception.
In the distance, the girls seemed to be twins, but the differences became more apparent as they grew closer. While one had a confidence about her, the other kept her eyes down, as if afraid to catch another's eye.
"Candida," whispered the man in white to the first, and her head nodded at the acknowledgement.
She smiled and quickened her step, moving to the man and embracing him before moving onto the group. Zoe watched as she laughed and jumped into a man's arms and curled up comfortably, her eyes never leaving that of her sister, almost challenging her to join them.
The other moved a bit slower, hesitating to reach the man that had spoken her sister's name.
"Bianca," he finally muttered, somehow staring at and through the girl all at once.
She nodded as well and stopped steps away from the man. He bridged the gap between them and held her tenderly for a moment. A flare of heat came from the group and Zoe turned to see Candida staring at the two with a terrifying venom. They sensed it as well, breaking away as if nothing had occurred at all.
For a few more moments, everything remained eerily still. The music increased in tempo but something else had changed. There was an edge to it, a warning that she shook her head to push away. Determined to watch, Zoe moved a bit further back, attempting to stay as inconspicuous as possible, and they began again.
The man in white, clearly the leader of the group, turned and took Candida's hand. He effortlessly threw her into the air. She seemed so fragile that Zoe thought she would simply fall and break like a porcelain doll. Instead, he caught her by the wrists and she balanced delicately on her hands. With a twist, she had turned back to her feet and he held her aloft still before returning her to the earth. He wrapped his arms around her and she smiled, but her eyes were full of anger and directed solely at Bianca, as if challenging her to do better. She slinked away and into the arms of another man, her small smile making it clear that she hoped to make the leader jealous, but he had already forgotten her and turned to Bianca.
Without a moment's hesitation, Bianca leapt into his arms and allowed him to toss her into the air. She turned into a split and fell back down, landing so that she could wrap her legs around him and draw him close for one teasing second.
Zoe began to feel uncomfortable watching theinterchange, and clearly there was more to it than simple tricks turned in the air. Every movement one of the woman made was topped by the other, each trick designed only to take attention rather than pleasure at its completion.
For a second, Candida's smile reminded her of Target, and the thought startled her out of her confusion.
Is that how they feel around me, like they have to fight just to have a second with me? I didn't want to cause that…
Elsewhere, John tossed his hoop to the side, abandoning any pretext of focusing on something other than Zoe. Target watched the object fly into the mist but made no attempt to retrieve it. He was as worried if John and, though not one to voice it, keeping himself from looking panicked was taking all of his energy.
"I see things are going as badly here as they are there," intruded a woman's voice.
A rather familiar figure in green stepped out of the mist and stared at them both, her eyes glittering in amusement.
"Of all the people that I do not need to laugh at me right now," began John.
She held up a hand to stop him. "No, I promise you, not to laugh, no matter how droll this little waiting game is. Just to talk, perhaps help. May I?"
He gestured tiredly and she sat between them, glaring at them both before Target shrugged and joined her, placing his head in her lap. She began to idly run her fingers through his hair in an attempt to calm him. John began to pace angrily, his voice rising with each word.
"How can we just sit here and pretend that everything is alright? We could be losing her right this second. She could already be gone! She could…"
"She is close to it," whispered Handbalancer, silencing him instantly.
Target locked eyes with John and they both exchanged the same thought.
"You have seen her? How?"
"You forget," laughed Handbalancer, "Those of us from that world have an easier time in finding each other than any of you could. Yes, I've seen her, and that's why I've come back here, to ask your permission to intervene."
The Quidam will throw her out if she even attempts to, worried Target.
John nodded in agreement, "I appreciate it, coquette, I do, but asking you to do something that could jeopardize your place here…"
"Well, you didn't ask," she snapped. "You've just sat here pouting like pathetic children. I'm the one asking. I understand her better than either of you can, I think." Neither of the men responded before she let out a melodramatic sigh and playfully shoved Target out of her lap. Rising, she continued, "Then don't give me permission, but I'm doing it anyway, and you might as well know that I am."
She stalked off into the mist as two sets of eyes followed her.
Remind you of anyone, my friend?
John laughed in acknowledgment, "Well, perhaps she is not as cautious as our girl, but she certainly is just as stubborn."
Then I'd rather have her speak to the girl, responded Target, then give up all hope at all.
Slowly, John nodded, and sat beside his friend. Target was surprised to find John slipping a hand into his own but chose not to show it. All they could do was comfort each other now. Who knew what was to come?
Zoe had turned white in her rapt attention on the scene before her, just as upset as before. The act had only grown crueler as each girl attempted to better the other. The man in white noticed, of course. How could he not? But he truly seemed to care for them both, and the resemblance to her own situation was too much to handle. She clawed her nails into her hands in an attempt to steady her breathing as steps crept up behind her.
"They are sisters, you know," came a casual voice behind her.
Zoe turned to find, of all people, a vision in green that she had only glimpsed on her last journey. She attempted to return the woman's reassuring smile but found the tears in her eyes prevented even that feeble attempt.
"How do you know?" responded Zoe.
"Well, everyone knows, really. These three are a bit of a spectacle here." Handbalancer indicated the scene before her but Zoe refused to turn and look. The woman continued, "Sisters, close as could be, actually. But once they met this idiot, everything changed."
Recoiling at the anger in her voice, Zoe stammered, "He doesn't seem like such a horrible person."
The older woman scoffed at the younger woman's naïve question. "That's because you didn't know Bianca before. I did. She was a lover of mine. Surprising, no? Once she set eyes on Gavin, she did everything she could do get his attention. The only trouble was, she never could, not fully. Neither of them could."
As she spoke, Zoe had turned to watch them again. After a particularly loving caress, the man she now knew as Gavin released Bianca and moved away. Candida stalked behind her and choked her before forcing her down to the ground. She fell and they moved away from one another, staring at each other murderously as the men succeeded with another jump, one flying over the other perfectly.
Handbalancer sat next to Zoe as she continued, "He does love Bianca, in his way, as he loves Candida, and it's obvious both adore him. They never minded sharing him at the beginning. It was his refusal to acknowledge the sharing that drove them against one another."
"And me…I'm just doing the same thing…hurting them both," sniffed Zoe, the tears finally falling down. Handbalancer pulled her close, softly shushing her into the wracking sobs moved into silent tears.
"Darling, it isn't like that at all." Handbalancer, gently took Zoe's chin and forced her to look straight at her. "They never minded it, you know. John, Target, they care for you more than you know. And you love them both, no?"
Zoe nodded as, behind them, three men flew over one another in an even more daring show than the one before. She had begun to ignore the spectacle and her waning attention drew it back into the mists without her notice.
"Silly goose," laughed Handbalancer as she moved a strand of Zoe's hair out of the way, "The lesson is that moving away will cause them to leave one another. You just can't understand that they love you enough to be together with you. Now, do you want proof?"
Zoe nodded and Handbalancer stood, drawing the younger girl up with her.
"Look," she indicated.
The mists parted enough that Zoe was able to see, as if they were right next to her, John and Target. John's head rested gently on Target's shoulder and their hands remained joined.
Handbalancer chuckled, "When you left, they were at each others throats. John was sick with jealousy over you preferring Target. Since you've returned, look at them! How can you be so stubborn as to not understand?"
Zoe smiled before giggling, the tears returning but this time tears of happiness rather than sorrow. She wiped them away and hugged the woman next to her, putting all of her gratitude into the embrace.
"I was so scared. How can I thank you?"
"Make them happy," laughed Handbalancer. "How else?"
With one last smile at her newfound friend, Zoe ran into the mists, determined to find her two loves as quickly as she could.