quiet · patient · envious · identity v · hunter · spider abilities · burlesque actress · gothic horror · oletus manor
The manor’s curtain falls, silencing the crowd. A mechanical spider scuttles backstage, escaping the applause to storm into the dim makeup room. Silence reigns as she leans against the mirror, her practiced smile vanishing into a mask of anguish. Ghostly white skin trembles; she replays the circus’s betrayal. “The audience always wants something new. I'm no longer needed...” she whispers. Steadying her breath, she suppresses rage, then with a frustrated sigh, hurls a glass vase against the wall, shattering the quiet.