The more they watched the more confused they became. They saw magnificent buildings and a world that was somewhat similar to theirs but vastly different in others. The technology they saw was primitive compared to theirs. They saw women working right alongside the men, many doing things females on their planet would never be allowed to do. When all three of the men saw some of the costumes, or rather lack of costumes, the girls wore in front of so many other males the room filled with growls except for the chuckle coming from Ajaska. Walter was their biggest mystery. He bossed and ordered everyone around no matter he was a fraction of their size.
When Walter showed the performance dedicated to River’s parents she broke down in tears burying her face in Torak’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her tightly trying to calm her as she cried.
“River’s parents were killed in a fire at the hotel we were supposed to be staying at. There had been a mix up with the arrangements. Almost all of us were at another hotel a block away. River’s parents wanted to stay at the one originally booked because it was where they had met. River stayed with us to give her folks some privacy. They never had a chance. The stairwell exit had been chained closed against fire regulations. They died of smoke inhalation.” Jo said softly coming over to rub her hands on River’s back while Star rubbed her hair. “It took River almost a year to recover. She heard the sirens and had raced down the street. When she couldn’t find her parents she rushed into the building. When the firemen pulled her out she was barely alive.”
Star continued, “River was only seventeen at the time. She came to live with me, Jo, and our parents but the circus was her family, too.”
River looked up, her lips trembled as she stared at Star, softly she whispered. “They wrapped me in their love. They loved my parents so much. I can still hear Walter announcing them, ‘The Magnificent God and Goddess of the Blade, Godwin and Godiva Knight and their daughter, River’. No one could throw a knife like my dad.”
Star leaned over and gave River a hug before moving back to sit next to Jazin. “We had more moms, dads, aunts, uncles, and grandparents than any girl should ever have. Forget about getting a date! If a boy ever had the nerve to even ask they had to go through every person there.”
“Yeah, remember the one that finally made it as far as Walter?” River laughed looking at Jo.
“Jo had this one boy who wouldn’t leave her alone. He was to the point he was almost stalking her as we went from town to town. Anyway, he decided to sneak into where we were staying one night. He made it as far as Jo’s room before Walter surprised him.” River continued laughing.
“Yeah, surprised him so bad he peed his pants when he pulled the covers down to give me a kiss and found Walter’s ugly mug there instead.” Jo laughed.
Manota growled, “Walter killed this male?”
Jo looked at Manota in disbelief, “Of course not. He sat the poor kid down and told him if he ever came back he was going to put him to work mucking out the elephant pens.”
Star chuckled, “Yeah, now he has two performances a day with the damn things.”
“Perhaps I am missing something. I have seen many of your people, some doing incredible things, but I have not seen you battle anyone. How is it this Walter did not capture your battles with your enemies?” Torak asked puzzled.
River, Jo, and Star looked at each other before bursting out laughing. “We aren’t warriors. We are as far from being warriors as you guys are from being…well, let’s just say a long, long way from being warriors. We are performers. We make people laugh and forget their troubles for a little while. People come from all over to watch us perform death defying acts just for fun. We’ve never had to fight anything worse than maybe a bad cold before all this happened.” River explained.
All four men just stared at the three females in stunned silence.
Chapter 17
“They are not warriors!” Torak growled again at his father.
All the men had been stunned as the women told them they were just performers for a thing called a circus. It was what they did to support themselves. They explained they did not have a male to take care of them and that it was not an uncommon thing in their world. Women often lived and worked all alone without males in their lives. Their world did have warriors, even female ones, but they fought using different weapons and you had to go into the military which none of them had ever done. When River explained how she had come aboard the Tearnat’s warship, how she had hidden in the hopes of finding a way to release her friends, and how they had taken turns learning more about the ship and stashing items they thought them might be able to use to escape using only the skills they had learned from the circus Torak, Manota, and Jazin had all been horrified.