It came time for Elsa's birthday week. Each member of the troupe fell in a line and were made to give their gift to her. Ethel was first, of course. And she had impressed Elsa. "Oh, Ethel." She cooed. "Oh, you have outdone yourself."
"They say all the movie stars use Westmore." The bearded lady explained.
"Yes." Elsa nodded.
"You got to have the best on your big trip out to Hollywood." Ethel said.
The line continued with Beth being next with a rolled up poster. "It took me some time, but I think you'll like it." She unrolled the poster to reveal the big surprise.
It was a light shining down on a stage with a singing Elsa with the worlds "The Elsa Mars Hour" written at the top like flashing lights. Elsa was very pleased. Considering that Beth drew her own tattoos, this was a master piece. "I may make this my official poster." She said with a smile.
Paul wound up not giving Elsa the gift he had originally planned. After all, back then, he was still single and sleeping with the woman. But ever since he and Beth decided to be together, he swore off trying to sleep with his former lover. Or rather, he was her lover. He knew deep down that she never cared for him as nothing but one of her attractions at the freak show.
Eve came up next with a big box and set it in front of Elsa. "Eve, what could this be?" She lifted up the lid and gasped in delight at the sight of Ma Petit wrapped in a crocheted bag, leaving only her head exposed.
"I will keep you warm, Miss Elsa." Ma Petit said with a big grin.
Elsa giggled in delight as she picked the tiny girl up from the box. "Oh, liebchen! Liebchen, liebchen, liebchen. Oh, my very own hot water bottle to cuddle with at night." She continued to laugh until she noticed that not everyone was in such high spirits as she. "What the matter?" She asked. "Why such long faces? This is just the beginning of our glorious week of festivities. Why so gloomy?"
"We miss the twins." Ma Petit answered for everyone. Elsa suddenly didn't look too happy.
"Did they say anything before they took off about why they wanted to leave?" Jimmy asked.
"Maybe we should go search for them." Paul suggested.
Beth nodded in agreement. "They might be lost or-"
"No!" Elsa suddenly shouted. "Enough about the twins. I will have no more of this. We bring them in, give them a home, a family, and how do they repay us?" Her voice suddenly broke with a slight quiver. "By disappearing into the night. So, no more about the twins! Do you hear me?" Everyone was silent, not daring to defy Elsa. "Now, I demand that you start having fun this instant. Or I'll put one of you up against that wheel." She gestured to the spinning wheel that she had been practicing with earlier.
Everyone then looked worried that she'd actually do it, so they continued with the festivities.
That night, Beth and Paul were cuddling in the trailer listening to some jazz music on the radio. Beth hummed in content before saying, "You think we might need a bigger trailer?"
"It would be nice to have a little more room to sleep on." He admitted.
"I could ask Daddy if he knows anyone selling one big enough for us." She suggested.
Paul nodded and snuggled closer to her, doing his best to stay on the couch.
The next morning, Paul had told Beth that he needed to go to town for something, though he wouldn't tell her what. So, while he was away, Beth spent the morning cleaning out the tent the twins used to occupy. While folding up the cot, she found the bouquets she had made them underneath the mattress. This caused her to tear up slightly. She liked Bette and Dot. They seemed really happy here, so what reason would they have for running away? She was very worried about them. But all she could do was pray for their safety.
After the tent had been cleaned up, she went to help with lunch. After helping Suzi and Eve pass the plates, she sat with Ma Petit. Since she was going with Elsa as a personal hot water bottle, it was going to be hard for the place to function without her, since she was one of the star attractions. "What's your favorite flower?" She suddenly asked.
"Pink lotuses." Ma petit answered. "Why?"
"I'm trying to think of a new tattoo. And I wanted to put a little of my new family in them. And I want you really liked to represent you." Beth explained. The tiny woman smiled at that, liking the idea of being the inspiration for a tattoo.
As soon as lunch was over, Paul returned with a bag. He took her to the trailer and handed it to her with a smile on his face. She looked at him suspiciously before looking inside the bag and gasped in surprise. It was a bottle of her favorite perfume. "Paul." She breathed.
"I wanted to give you something special." He said. "Not just anyone could put up with me. You've stood by when I was at my worst, and I hope you'll be there when I'm at my best."
Beth chuckled. "It almost sounds like you're proposing, Paul." She said.
"Well, like you said a while back, we just started this relationship. We should definitely take it slow. When we both feel ready, then I'll ask you to marry me." He explained. Beth hugged him, loving just how sweet he could truly be.
That night, the show went off without a hitch. Beth went back to the trailer to change into something to sleep in while Paul stayed behind to talk to Jimmy about something he saw in town earlier that day. "Good show tonight." He commented.
"Yeah. The gate was a little lighter than usual." Jimmy added.
"People were coming to see those twins." Paul said.
"Nothing we can do about that now." Jimmy said as he folded up chairs.
"it doesn't bother you, the way they just wandered off?" The inked man asked.
"I guess they were never really happy here." Jimmy said.
"I ran into that weirdo at the drugstore. You know, that rich kid who bought the house out a few weeks ago?" Paul explained. "He was buying two of all these girly things. Makeup, brushes."
"What are you saying?" Lobster Boy asked.
"Well, think about it for a second. Elsa hated them from the minute they got here for taking her spotlight away. They go, and she's right back in it. That Hollywood guy wants her again-" Paul never got to finish his sentence since Jimmy suddenly smack him across the face.
"You shut your mouth!" He yelled. "Elsa has a dark heart, sure, but she saved every one of us, including me, you, and Bette and Dot."
After rubbing his cheek for a few seconds, Paul looked at Jimmy with an angry glare. "You know your problem? You can pass. When no one's pretending, all the bullshit and the noise just drops away. From your position, Elsa looks like our guardian angel. But from where I'm sitting, I see a jealous broad near the end of the line who'd kill anyone or anything that got in the way of her one last shot at it." And with that, he walked back to the trailer.
Everyone was suddenly woken up and made to go into the big top. Elsa had summoned everyone there and was not in a great mood. She had dumped all the gifts she had received earlier that day onto the picnic table in the middle of the room and was tearing down her birthday banner. When she heard everyone approaching, she turned around. "Oh! You ungrateful ingrates!" She shouted in a hoarse voice. "I rescue you from the squalor of your miserable existences, and this is how you repay me? Huh?"
Beth hooked her arm around Paul's and interlocked their fingers, fearing what Elsa would do and just wanting to feel safe in his embrace. "With accusations, disgusting rumors! Now, which one of you believes that I had anything to do with the disappearance of those girls? Huh? Speak up!" She screamed in Ethel's face. She then turned back to the whole group. "But you're not shy about gossiping behind my back, are you? Go ahead, say it!" She then shoved Jimmy. "Say it to my face!"
She saw Toulouse sitting on the picnic table and glared at him. "Toulouse, have you forgotten where I found you? Huh? Shackled to that chain gang, chipping away at rocks with that pathetic baby pickax? Huh? Have you forgotten who bribed the guard to let you out? Who?" She pushed him so hard that he lost his balance. Thankfully, he was able to catch himself before he could fall over.
"Elsa, you got it all wrong." Jimmy tried to reason.
But she turned her attention to Pepper and Salty. "You two." She whispered in a deadly tone. "Rotting away in that shit-smeared orphanage! Huh? Even your sister didn't want you anymore! Your family sent you away! You'd still be lying there in that urine-soaked mattress, starving, gnawing on rats if I hadn't pulled you into the spotlight." Poor Pepper was so scared of Elsa's rage that she turned around and curl herself into Salty's embrace, seeking safety and comfort.
Elsa then turned to the gifts she had dumped onto the table. "Look at these. Look at these!" She screamed as she started throwing them in every direction. "Trinkets! Shabbily made! Confectionaries!" She then picked up Beth's poster and ripped it into small pieces. "They're all meaningless! Meaningless! Meaningless!" Beth suddenly realized that Elsa's behavior was the same as her own mother's. Spoiled.
"You should be ashamed." Elsa whispered after she finished destroying the gifts. "After everything that I have done for you. Everything that I have sacrificed for us. For our family." She then let out a soft sob. "And I still have not won your trust."
"Elsa, calm down, please." Jimmy said. "Of course we trust you."
"Prove it to me!" She screamed.
"How?" Ethel asked. "Tell us a way. How can we convince you?"
Elsa looked around before turning and walking up to put her hands on the spinning wheel. "The wheel! Nobody leaves here until one of you is strapped in and proves to me your unadulterated trust and loyalty. I will settle for nothing less."
Everyone looked around, wondering who it would be. Jimmy stepped up and said, "I'll do it."
"No. Me." Paul suddenly said. "It should be me."
"No!" Elsa shouted. She then pointed next to him. "Beth. I want Beth on the wheel."
Paul knew that this was not just because Elsa was jealous of Beth. He knew that this was punishment for loving her. Elsa was punishing him for finding someone essentially better than herself. And she was going to make sure that he was punished greatly. Punish him by making him feel helpless in protecting her.
Beth looked from Elsa to the wheel, understanding what was at risk. But in this moment, she looked back at Elsa and refused to show her any fear. With a sigh, she replied, "Fine. Strap me in."
Eve helped make sure that the belts were secure. She kept giving Beth such apologetic looks and it broke the tattooed lady's heart. "I'll be fine, Eve." She whispered. The amazon gave a reassuring pat to Beth's shoulder before stepping to the side.
Elsa walked up to check the belts. She didn't want her target to have second thought and try to escape. She looked up at Beth and was surprised to see her staring back, looking smug as ever. "Is this because Paul chose me over you, Elsa?" There was a sudden shift in Elsa's gaze upon hearing that. And it wasn't a good one.
Elsa then picked up her knives and turned to the nervous troupe. "Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves for the most death-defying scene. I takes but a split second for this knife to travel from my fingertips to the edge of the wheel. A split second that separates life from death. Spin the wheel, Eve."
Eve did as she was told, but she was thrilled to do it. As the wheel spun, Elsa aimed the first blade and threw it, embedding it in the wheel just inches from the left side of Beth's face. While everyone gasped at the close call, Beth just kept staring Elsa down, almost as if daring her to throw another knife. Elsa turned back to the troupe. "Now, you may think That this woman's destiny rests in Miss Elsa's hands, but fate is the true master of us all." She then threw another knife, this one landing between her legs, everyone gasped again, some even screamed and turned away. But Beth's expression never faltered.
"And yet," Elsa said to the troupe. "Fate is not unkind. The reversal of fortune can be swift. The pauper can be made king." She then turned back and saw the look on Beth's face. There was absolutely no fear. Well, she'd give her a reason to be afraid. She reared her arm back and launched the final blade, but it did not hit the wheel. It was embedded in Beth's abdomen. "Oh, God!" She screamed with a slight grin. "What have I done?!"
Beth knew something was wrong. Looking down at her stomach, she saw the knife sticking out of her like she was a Christmas ham. "Ah, shit. Not again." She groaned in a hoarse voice.
"Get her down!" Jimmy yelled as he ran to the wheel. "Get her down!"
Eve stopped the wheel and helped Jimmy unstrap her while Elsa continued her charade. "No, no! It was an accident."
Once she was unstrapped, Eve helped lower her to the ground. "Oh, God." Ethel mumbled as everyone approached.
Eve tried to grasp the knife, but Beth grabbed her wrist. "Eve, if you pull the knife out, I'll bleed out and die." She groaned. Paul was quick to get on his knees and help her lay her head on his lap.
"Someone, call a doctor!" Ethel screamed.
"I'll see to it." Elsa said in a worried tone.
Once Elsa left, Beth turned to Jimmy, "I want you to look in my sketch book. There's a business card hidden in the pages. It's Peter's personal number. Call him and tell him about what all happened. He needs to be here." Jimmy nodded and took off for Beth and Paul's trailer. She then turned to Ethel. "I don't trust her. Please go call the doctor, Ethel." The bearded lady nodded and did what was asked of her.
Eve gently carried the tattooed lady to her trailer and laid her on the couch. Within the hour, a doctor had arrived, much to Elsa's dismay. Ethel had found Elsa not calling a doctor, but rather stuffing her pipe with her stash and lighting it before walking out.
The doctor had successfully removed the knife and determined that Beth just needed to be patched up real quick. He left extra bandages so that they could be changed the next morning. Beth smiled, happy to know the damage to her wasn't made worse. Paul poured her a glass of whiskey and helped her drink it. "Slowly, love." He said gently. Once the drink had been swallowed, he let out a broken sigh. "It should have been me on the wheel." He sobbed.
"No." Beth whispered. Paul looked at her and listened carefully. "Elsa wanted to hurt both of us. I can feel something wrong, but I can't feel the pain. If you had been on the wheel, it would have killed me to see that knife in your gut." She then pulled Paul close and sighed. "Besides, now your chance to really treat me like a princess." Paul laughed slightly at that. "Go tell everyone that I'm fine."
Paul stepped out of the trailer just as a cab came up. Out stepped Penny, the candy striper. This slightly surprised everyone. Toulouse stepped up from his seat and ran up to her, needing a hug after all that had happened. "What happened out here?" She asked as she knelt down to his level.
"One of our own has been hurt." He explained.
Paul had explained everything to Penny then told everyone that the doctor gave Beth the all-clear. Everyone let outa sigh of relief, happy to know that their friend was going to be okay.
One by one, even in groups of two, everyone went inside to give Beth little bits of comfort. Salty and Pepper came in together. Salty had handed his stuffed bear to her, hoping it would make her feel better. She smiled and kissed its forehead.
Toulouse brought Penny in. Beth smiled and said, "Good to see you again, Sweets." She then told Toulouse she had known all along that he was leaving thecampto see a woman nearly every night.
Eve gave her a bottle of scotch, hoping it would help her in some way.
Suzi gave her a soft quilt, knowing it would keep her warm while Paul was busy doing other things.
Finally, Ethel had brought her a piece of cake. "Is that Elsa's birthday cake?" She asked with a grin.
"Figured you deserved the first slice." Ethel answered. "I'm sorry you went through all this, dear."
"I'm not. I honestly expected her to throw one of those knives into my throat." Beth said with a dry chuckle. "The way she spoke to Salty and Pepper..." Tears welled up in her eyes as she clutched Salty's bear tighter. "They're almost like children." She sniffled before looking at Ethel. "What she did, not just tome, but to everyone. She was very defensive for someone who did nothing to the twins."
"I know." Ethel breathed. "It ain't right. But I'll get to the bottom of this. For now, you have your cake. Might as well eat it to." She said with a slight grin. Beth gave a grin before taking a swipe at the icing and sticking her finger in her mouth.