Chapter 2 - Understanding
He'd seen her picture before, but up until now he hadn't stopped to consider it, looking beyond the image on paper and seeing the person she was beneath her inhuman guise.
"Is that you?" asked Credence, his fingers tracing the outline of the serpent on the poster. His eyes widened as she bowed her head, a frown tugging on the corners of her lips. "It is you, isn't it? You're the woman on the tickets and posters, the one they're all paying to see."
"Yes, that's me," she whispered hoarsely, unable to look at him while speaking. She nodded once, glancing at the poster before lowering her gaze. "I'm their main attraction."
Credence took a step back, though not from fear of this cursed entity. He recognized the signs, the story of her misfortune mirroring his own. She was just as miserable, just as lost as he was, but he didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to ease her pain.
She inhaled sharply, releasing her breath against his chest, and suddenly she realized that his arms were around her in an awkward embrace.
"Credence," she murmured, only to hear him gently shush her.
"I understand," he said simply, and it was enough.
