Chapter Text
“Step right up, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the show of a lifetime! Once within our borders, you will see wonders, horrors, and amazements that will never leave you!”
The voice droned on and on, drawing gasps and cheers from the crowd that had gathered near the gate, over which hung a banner that read ‘Gwi-Ma’s Eclectic Emporium’. But the words designed to spark excitement and awe in the marks only brought a deep stab of fear through her chest. It was like ice. So cold it felt as though it was burning, digging beneath her ribs and into her heart. For those beyond the bars of her cage, the barker’s voice meant jubilation and the thrill of things to come. For her, though, it meant pain. Embarrassment. Shame. Hatred. What had meant to be a growl to prove to herself that she was brave came out instead as a pitiful whimper. The wooden floor of the too small enclosure creaked as she withdrew as far away from the sound of laughter and applause as she heard the squeal of wrought iron hinges swing open to allow the throng inside. She cowered, knowing it was only a matter of time.
* * * * *
The midway was awash with a warm sepia glow, shadows dancing in the light of a thousand bulbs strung between poles along well worn paths that weaved between tents and stalls. Bursts of color broke up the amber continuity, signs and billboards dotted with reds and blues and whites. Swooping curves and perfectly straight lines of Hangul in black and pink marked out the makeshift streets and alleys, and graced the placards beside or above each vendor. All of this was seen clearly through the space between the tall fence that marked the boundary of the carnival grounds as the pair of young women waited impatiently to be let inside. The crush of the crowd around them was oppressive, unpleasantly so. But not unbearable. It would have been if there were nothing worth waiting for, but with their goal nearly in sight, at least one of the pair of lovers was able to endure it. As for the other, it was debatable, but for the happiness of her partner, she would suffer through much more than a long line. They stood back to front, the taller of the two casually resting her hands upon the shoulders of the other, who kept popping up on her tip toes to try to see over the people in front of her.
The night was warmer than they had expected, which added to the discomfort that they struggled to cope with. Both had dressed in more layers than they needed and they were looking forward to finally breaching the gates ahead so that the number of people around them would be thinned out enough that they could more easily divest themselves of layers and perhaps undo a few buttons to cool off. Both were dressed modestly, in ruffled white blouses with ebony buttons that drew the eye up their torsos to their high starched collars that both covered their necks and created a sort of fan to frame and highlight their faces. Long brown skirts fell to just above their ankles with soft pleats, hiding most of the thickly heeled boots that were tightly laced up to their knees beneath. Short, elbow length woolen capes adorned their shoulders, accented with lace shawls. Though neither came from money, they had gone out of their way to make themselves presentable for their outing.
Mira, the taller of the two, was beautiful by any standard, though she carried herself with an aura of unacknowledgement of that fact as though she neither cared to put that on display nor deny it. If there were any feature of hers that she was proud of, though, it was her hair. Worn long and allowed to fall past her waist, it was with a near obsession that she maintained it with a warm pastel pink, akin to the shade of coral. She stood still and straight, her visage all sharp lines and angles, her expression one of almost tired neutrality. Except for when she looked down at her companion, who was nearly the opposite of her in almost every way. Then, and only then, her features would soften and nearly always her lips would pull into a playful, adoring smirk that try as she might she could never hide. Not that the other woman would want it any other way. That look, though, faltered into a frown as the shorter girl stumbled away from her with a squeak, their contact broken.
In every way that Mira was almost harsh and stiff, Zoey was warm and soft. Her cheeks were fuller and dimpled with a dusting of freckles across them and dotting across her nose. Deep chocolate eyes twinkled with an ever-present curiosity and joy of life. It was a chore for her to ever sit or stand still, always vibrating with energy, her mind always whirling from one interest and idea to another. And whereas Mira was slender yet sculpted, she was more compact and supple. Equally in contrast with her partner, her hair was piled up upon her head in a multitude of tight curls and ringlets that hung down to frame her face, bouncing with each subtle movement of her head. Both had an aura about them that drew attention in different ways, though it was also one that belayed attention, for the thing they shared in common was the way they looked at each other. With pure devotion. It would be a great fool who would think they had the right to complete with or come between that. The squeak was a result of the body in front of them shifted, bumping into Zoey and pushing her up against her companion. “W-watch yours-self!”, she exclaimed softly, though between the noise of the mass of people and her lack of conviction as she spoke there was little to no chance that the offender had even heard her. And even if they had, they never acknowledged it. A moment of panic raced through her when she realized that Mira was no longer behind her, and she tensed when she felt a familiar hand wrap around her waist.
She felt more than saw the woman behind her bend slightly at the waist to rest their chin upon her shoulder. In an instant, she relaxed slightly.
“I’m right here, Zoey, don’t worry. You asked me to come with you to this thing and I agreed. I’m not going to just up and disappear on you.”
There was a pause before the silky, low but still feminine voice continued. The words ghosted along the shorter woman’s ear, sending an involuntary shiver down her spine and causing her skin to break out in goose bumps despite the heat and press of bodies around them.
“Besides, I don’t think I could push through all these people to escape even if I wanted to.”
There was a note of teasing in the other woman’s tone, and for a brief second she leaned in even closer as if she were about to kiss that cheek that her lips were already so near to, but didn’t. There was a faint puff of breath against her skin, and then the warmth of closeness was gone. Zoey let out another squeak, though this was more out of frustration at the loss of the near contact than anything else. She turned to look up at her companion and to give her an exaggerated pout.
“You’re such a tease,” she murmured as she raised a hand to pat the other woman’s hand still on her shoulder. “This would be so much less annoying if I were taller, like you. At least least you get to see something, anything, and I’m stuck staring at peoples’ backs!”
The taller woman let out a short laugh and shook her head as she let her hand drop back down to her side but not before giving Zoey’s shoulder a squeeze.
“If it bothers you that much, I could pick you up and put you on my shoulders like you were a five year old.” The corners of her mouth ever so slightly tipped upwards, before curving down into a frown as she realized her first mistake.
“Really?!? You can’t make an offer like that and then take it back, you know. I demand that you follow through right now. If you don’t, Mira, I’m just going to have to climb you like a tree and sit up there on my own.”
As Zoey turned in place to face her, her hands were already starting to reach out to grab hold of Mira’s cape and tug as if she were about to pull herself up. Fearing that she would do just that, Mira grabbed Zoey’s wrists and then made her second mistake. She looked down. And right into the big, chocolate doe-eyes that were staring up at her. She opened her mouth to retort but no sound came out as her mind went completely blank and it was her turn to shiver. In that exact moment everything else around her faded away and her entire world became those eyes. She was vaguely aware that her mouth hung partially open in surprise and that she had stopped breathing, Mira’s pulse began to quicken and her throat went dry. She would have stayed that way forever, lost in Zoey’s eyes if it wasn’t for that fact that in that exact moment the line began to move. A not so polite shove from behind her broke the spell.
“Wha-? Oh, sorry!” she mumbled as she nudged Zoey forward, who had already turned around to dutifully take a few steps forward toward the entrance of the carnival.
They were close enough now that the smells of the midway reached them. Fried food, the sharp tang of animals, and churned dirt all assaulted their nostrils. They were also now able to see the banners more clearly that were hung along the fenceposts. Mira scanned them and started to summarize them for the shorter woman in front of her.
“Hotteok, kimbap, tteokbokki, circus tent, games of skill, acrobats, something about … dammit, there’s someone in the way.” Despite her height, the crowd was making it difficult to see as Mira shifted side to side to try to look around the heads of the other people waiting in line. “Hang on. I think it says … devil girl? What the hell is a devil girl? Gotta be one of those freak show attractions, right?”
Her hands found its way down to her side as she moved up to stand beside Zoey, her pinky first brushing almost imperceptibly against the shorter girl’s hand and she was immediately rewarded to feel fingers lace between her own. She smiled to herself as she felt that tight grip. Not so tight as to be painful or uncomfortable, but enough so to belay the feeling of being owned, of being possessed. A rush of heat rose up her neck to her cheeks, adding a little color to her face as she smirked down at her companion who took a few steps ahead, tugging Mira along behind her as the line progressed.
“Okay, so the moment we get inside I think that we’re going to have to go and get some food. We’re been standing here forever and I haven’t had anything to eat at all for hours and hours. If you don’t get me at least some hotteok, I’m just going to have to starve right here on the spot and it will be all your fault!”
Mira just rolled her eyes and let Zoey continue on her ramble, knowing full well that they had had dinner two hours before, but her girlfriend was a bottomless pit when it came to food. Or at least, she liked to think she was. Mira gave it two more hours after getting inside before the other one was going to be complaining about a stomach ache from overindulging. It could be frustrating, even annoying at times, but she wouldn’t want it any other way. There was another insistent tug on her hands that broke her out of her thoughts as they made their way nearer and nearer to the gates.
As they reached the barker, exchanged their worn bills for a red handstamp in the shape of a fire to show that they had paid for entry, and were ushered through, Mira already had started to devise a plan of how to get the most of their time at the carnival. She clumsily tried to open up the paper map she had snatched at the gate when a squeal beside her interrupted her. Her hand suddenly felt cold as Zoey released her grip on it and in an instant was darting off down the midway, chanting “hotteok, hotteok, hotteok” as she ran, her skirts billowing behind her. With a laugh, she tucked the map beneath her arm and took up chase, shaking her head. Prizes, games, attractions, and the so-called ‘devil girl’ fled from her mind as her only thought now was to catch up to her companion before she was swallowed up by the crowds.
* * * * *
She heard it from across the carnival grounds; the squeal of metal on metal as poorly oiled hinges swung open. She heard the roar of the crowd as they surged past the gates and began to make their way between stalls and along dusty paths. She heard the rattle of keys scraping along the inside of the locks that held the wire in place around the base of her cage. With a soft click, the mechanisms were released and the tarp that had been secured down over the enclosure was withdrawn, eliciting a pained gasp from the occupant as electric light pierced the veil of darkness she had been so used to. There, within the cage, cowered a woman. The sharp angles of her bones could be seen easily through her skin at her shoulders, wrists, hips, and ribs, and purplish markings almost like old bruises covered her exposed body in stripes and blotches. Dark circles surrounded her eyes and her cheeks were streaked with dirt and tear tracks. She raised a hand to block it from her eyes and turned away with a hiss a split second before her protest was interrupted.
“It’s showtime. You know what that means. Get your face on, freak.” The words were accompanied by a harsh clanging on wood on metal as the speaker stuck his billy club between the bars and rattled it back and forth noisily. Two other voices joined the sound with their laughter.
“What the hell, man. She looks … normal. Shit.” One of the others exclaimed, stepping close to the cage and peering in with a look of disgust on his face. “This won’t do at all. Time to get to work, boys.”
She heard the voices but never once looked up. Instead, she curled herself into a ball and covered her face with her hands, for what good it would do. After all, it was the same scene that played out almost every single night, in every single city, in every single town. Though despite knowing what was about to happen, it didn’t make it any easier. Though, to her own credit, she didn’t cry out when the first of the blows stuck her. Nor the second, or the third. It was only pain. It was only fleeting. She could take it. She refused to give in to their treatment and to give them what they wanted. A reaction. As the three bully boys reached through the bars with their clubs, spat on her, and filled her ears with vile insults, she resisted. She just ground her teeth together until it felt like they would crack from the strain. If she could just hold out for a few minutes more, perhaps they would give up, cover her up, and leave her be for the night. Just a little bit longer. Just a little bi- …
Pain exploded along all her nerve endings as the darkness behind her closed eyes erupted in white heat. One of the clubs had found just the right spot, the tip of it thrust against her spine at the small of her back and ground down there, sending wave after wave of agony up her body to fully encompass her. Her body involuntarily arched away from the point of impact, the point of suffering as her mouth fell open with a scream that set her three abusers to laughing. Again, the tip of the club sought out the same point of contact and struck, eliciting another cry from her, but this one was different. Something within it had changed. It was deeper, darker in tone, more guttural and raspy, transforming from a shriek into more of a snarl. The boys looked at each other and grinned, before stepping back from the cage, back out of arm’s reach. Just in case.
And they were right to do so. Those bruise-like markings that marred the caged woman’s tan skin pulsed as though they were alive, expanding across her flesh until it covered her completely. Her chest rose and fell with ragged, painful breaths as she let out another growl that was accompanied by the sound of snapping bone. Her legs elongated slightly, ankles twisting and becoming digitrade, as did her forearms as long claws erupted from her now warped hands. For a moment she appeared helpless as the strange transformation took over, but that helplessness only lasted for a heartbeat. Within the blink of an eye, she turned and lunged toward the men on the other side of the bars, her newly formed talons slashing uselessly at the air only inches from her tormentors. Her face had also undergone a change. As her jaw hung open, saliva dripped down from sharpened teeth, her canines elongated, and her mouth protruded as though almost forming a muzzle to accommodate the feral dentition. And then there were the eyes. They burned with an inner fire, the sclera having bled to pure black. Her pupils were now vertically slitted like a cat’s or a reptile's, and the usual brown had turned to a roiling, churning fire of amber and gold. She let out a howl as she strained to reach the men, whimpering with frustration as they stepped even farther back.
“There she is. That’s a good devil girl.”
“Poor baby. Just can’t reach, huh? Hold on to that anger, sweetie. I’m sure you don’t want us to come back in an hour.”
“Or maybe you do. Fucking bitch. I bet you thrive on the attention.” The last one hawked and spat through the bars before waving at the others that it was time to go. “See ya soon, girlie.”
As they walked away, she hurled herself at the bars, the pain of them biting into her skin as she slammed into them. She ground her muzzle against them, teeth gnashing at the air as her breath steamed out in her rage. Clawed hands wrapped around the metal and shook them helplessly as she took in a deep breath before letting it out in a feral, frustrated howl that echoed into the night. In that moment, gone was the scared, cowering girl. She was replaced by a savage beast, a monster fueled by hatred and anger, burning rage and pain.