“I swear it was them,” I announced taking heavy breaths as Kat played with her new snow globe. “I compared it with my locket, it was an exact match, Katheryn, a portrait of them was framed on the wall of the carnival!”

“Kat,” she corrected. She hated being called Katheryn. She always thought it sounded too formal. “There’s a lot of reasons why a portrait could be there. Maybe they were the hundreth visitor?”

“Either way, it gives us some insight into who they were, right?” I did little to hide the excitement in my voice. I have always been interested in my father’s side of the family, mostly because I knew almost nothing about them. Before my father passed, he would never talk about his parents or family history. Even Mother refuses to answer questions about his side of the family. In the past, I liked to imagine different things for them to be and different lives that they could have been. She used to picture them as exiled rulers of distant countries, or eccentric inventors, something exciting. Those mental images I strung up as a child only strengthened my curiosity to learn about who they really are. “You know Mother doesn’t talk about them. It’s the only thing about them I’ve seen since father gave me the locket,”

Kat frowned. She had been closer to their father than I and she never really got over the fact that he gave the locket to me rather than her. It was the only thing we had ever seriously fought over and despite the fact that with time Katheryn accepted it was mine, it was clear she was still bitter. “So go back and find out,”

This time I was the one who frowned. “That’s the thing. I’m not as, well, social as you. Is there anyway you could go?”

Kat shook her head, “I’m a mistress now,” she sighed and her face tightened into a pout, “I have to start making babies and stuff soon and I can’t keep exploring and having fun. I hate it. Mabelle, I literally just had my whole life taken away from me and even though it can be good and this house is nice and Maxwell is kind, the last few days of my life have been a living hell and you have to understand what I’m going through,”

I slowly nodded, feeling guilty for asking anything of her. Especially something she would easily accept given a better situation. “I’m sorry,”

“Don’t be,” Kat sighed, bringing her attention back to the snowglobe. “I’m happy you went today and told me about it. Plus this thing is neat. It’s like I’m a giant god of snow reigning over the carnival,” she shook the glitter onto it the plastic big top. “Take that, tiny civilians,”

“I wish you could go,” I sighed, “I wish I were the one stuck being married instead of you,”

“I know,” she rolled her eyes, “Trust me, Mother knows too and that’s precisely why things are the way they are. She wants someone to control me,”

“I’d hardly consider myself controlling,” Maxwell entered the room, “Good afternoon Mabelle, what are you girls up to now?”

Kat slipped the snowglobe back into the sack and looked up at her husband, “Just chatting,”

Maxwell sat at the table and slipped Katheryn’s hands into his larger, gloved ones. “Listen, Katheryn, I know this is a difficult adjustment, and I know you want to continue exploring like a child, but I promise you a sophisticated lifestyle does have its merits,”

“Of course,”

“Please don’t antagonize me,”

“I won’t,” she said softly. He leaned down and softly kissed her on the lips. My eyes shifted to avoid witnessing any more of such an intimate moment and I wondered if either even remembered I was there.

He pulled away and removed a lock of hair from her face then sighed, “We can talk more later. I didn’t mean to interrupt your time,”

“It’s no bother,” Katheryn said, politely. He gave a short smile, then exited the kitchen. “Sorry,” she said to me.

I waved a hand to dismiss it. I was more happy to see that she seemed to be getting along with her husband than concerned about the short loss of time. “Don’t worry about it,”

Kat leaned forward towards me, “Listen, Mother expects you to be here all day, in fact, I could probably just run over there and tell her you’re spending the night over here. I want to know about our lineage just as much as you. You know that and I know you’re boring and don’t do anything but read, but Mabelle, I think you can do this. Just go back to the carnival and ask people what they know about the picture,” she paused, “It’s strange, for sure. A major coincidence. But honestly, that just makes it more exciting, doesn’t it? Go figure out what the hell a picture of our grandparents is doing at there then tell me all about it. Okay?”

I hesitated. “Okay,”

“Great,” Kat wrapped me in a tight hug, “Good luck, I expect answers.”

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I trudged along the unpaved path I had at this point memorized, trampling over fallen leaves and hearing them crunch under my worn boots. Though I was exhilarated by the idea of learning more about my history, there was another part of me dreading my return to the carnival. I wasn’t entirely sure if it was the carnival itself that made me want to turn away and never return, or the unquenchable desire to settle back home with a book in hand. But for some reason, I continued walking.

“Look out!” A voice screamed as I reached the outskirts the carnival, and before I had time to process what was happening, I was shoved onto the ground. I looked up to see a flash of black fly above me, and a man holding himself up just above me. He was certainly handsome, with ear length black hair and a chiseled, caramel-toned face. He couldn’t be more than a few years older than me, and the overwhelming scent of facial lotion hinted that he had just shaved. What Mother said about looking out for suitors found its way into my mind and I dismissed the thought quickly. His eyes were sharp and wide with shock at the moment, matching mine.

“What just happened?”

“A bird… it was falling,” he answered. He lifted himself, then extended a hand to help me up, and gestured to a rustled mass of feathers lying still a few feet away from where we sat in the grass. “It was going to hit you,”

“Oh,” I offered smally. “Thanks.” I grabbed a stick lying in the field then crawled over to the bird and carefully poked at it, “Is it-”

“I think so,” he said, not wanting me to say the word. I stared at the lifeless bird. It’s dead eyes were glossy and its feathers ruffled. I couldn’t identify any source of death before I gave up and looked away, unable to look at it much longer. Tears filled my eyes at the sight of the dead animal and I quickly stood up and straightened myself out. It was painfully improper to cry in front of a stranger. “It’s okay,” he said, seeing me wipe my eyes. “It’s sad. You shouldn’t have to hide that.”

“Thanks,” I said softly, still trying to hide my tears. His offer, as kind as it may be, would not revert years of training. I knew I must look like a mess though.

“May I?” he asked and I nodded, lowering my hands. His large fingers brushed some away some loose strands of hair sticking to my cheek, and he wiped the remaining tears. “This may sound odd, but, what are you doing here? I come by here all the time, and I’ve never seen someone else out here before,”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, sniffling. “There’s tons of people in there,” I gestured to the carnival.

He looked to the side, seeming to carefully choose his words. “Have you been in that carnival before?”

“Yes, earlier today,”

He bit his lip, and avoiding making contact with my eyes. He was dressed sharply, clearly of some kind of nobility, and I once again was reminded of my subtle quest to find a suitor. Stop thinking about that! I thought to myself.

“Huh?” he asked, looking down at me. Apparently, I hadn’t just thought it.

“Nothing!” I said quickly and felt my cheeks go warm. I didn’t want to embarrass myself further. “I’m just talking to myself, I do that sometimes,” I laughed awkwardly. So much for first impressions.

He laughed, a soft laugh. It wasn’t bubbly like Kat’s nor shrill like Mother’s. It was masculine and playful and the second it stopped I wanted to hear more. “It was nice meeting you, uh,”

“Mabelle.” a pause, “Swan.” I gave a small bow. “And you are?”

“Arlen Sullivanos,” he returned the bow.

I shifted my weight between my feet in a furious attempt to decide whether or not I should make myself seem even stranger by bringing up my grandparents. “Do you know anything about that carnival?”

He took a step closer and looked down at me, curiously. “What do you mean?”

“Well, this is going to sound weird, but,” his eyes glinted, “there’s a portrait of my grandparents framed on the wall. I don’t know anything about them, and I’m just trying to figure out why they’re there, if that makes sense.”

He looked away, as though I had lost his interest. “I don’t know anything about that, sorry.”

I wasn’t sure why I was so disappointed. Perhaps I was hoping I wouldn’t have to go into the carnival at all to get my answers. “It’s alright.” Neither of us spoke. “Well, I should go then,” I said finally, “I promised my sister answers after all,”

“You’re going in there?”

“Yes.” I said, “Why wouldn’t I?”

He hesitated. “Nothing. No reason, I mean... I just-” he paused, looking for the right words. “Can I come with you?”

I tilted my head. “Why?”

“I… I feel bad about not having an answer for you. I want to help. I mean, I don’t have anything else to do today. Besides, I want to conduct a small investigation of my own inside there,” His brown eyes darted to the side.

“An investigation?”

“You’re awfully curious,” he remarked, “Have you ever been told that?”

“Many times by many people,”

“So may I accompany you?” He smiled.

I squinted at him. There was no reason why I shouldn’t let him come with me. He did save me from whatever injuries would have awaited me due to the plunging bird. And, perhaps if all went well, Mother would deem him an appropriate suitor. He was tall, handsome, and well-behaved, after all. “Alright,” I said finally, a small smile forming on my face. “You may come.”

He returned my smile, then sprinted a few steps to catch up to me. Perhaps, with the addition of company, this trip would not be as terrible as I feared.