//------------------------------// // Following the Footsteps of a Ragdoll Dance, We Are Entranced.... // Story: meanwhile...: Tales of the Berylverse // by Shinzakura //------------------------------// Located in Bella Vista, the Equestria County Fair was running much later than normal. Typically, it was held the first week of August, but due to the recent events the region had been through, it had been delayed, and at one point, the County Board had considered cancelling it this year. However, it was decided that the populace needed the respite from the annus horibilis that had just occurred, and so the Fair had been rescheduled for the first week of October. As he stepped out of the Bella Vista CanterRail station, Renaissance Canvas mused that perhaps he should have driven here. From here, even across the street and outside of the Fairgrounds, the smells of fried food and the cacophony of laughter and calliopes filled the air. A few years back, when he was younger, he’d had the chance to visit the King County Fair, and he’d always wondered why a modern city like Seattle would set their fair to look like something out of a century or more ago. Now that he was here, in suburban Bella Vista, away from Canterlot’s skyscrapers and where the eastern spur of the Everfree National Forest was still much in place, he started to understand exactly why. People wanted to be free of their cares and worries of the modern world and given that the nearest theme parks were a three hour drive to the south, the various travelling fairs and like that took up the summer schedule here in town served as that diversion. “Hey, man!” As Renaissance turned, he could see his friends waving towards him. As typical, Snips was trying his best “look cool without looking cool” attitude, with aviator sunglasses that were a little too big for him, a leather jacket that didn’t fit quite right and his hair slicked back, which definitely wasn’t his style. As for Snails, the lanky teen had his head in the clouds as usual, head bobbing to a beat coming out of his headphones and wearing one of his Groanman Nekkid t-shirts – for some reason, Snails really liked that band, although they were about as popular as Nickelback. “Hey guys, what’s up?” Renaissance asked them as he approached. “I’m on the make tonight! I can feel it!” Snips said in a hissy voice that sounded like he was definitely overtrying to be “bad boy”. “I’m gonna get me a girl tonight, and she’s gonna want the D!” “Oh, dude, that’s a cool song!” Snails said, pulling off his headphones. “‘Want the Dee’ is one of my favorite Groanman songs, though it’s not as cool as the guitar solo on ‘She’s My Baby Now, Baby’.” Snips lowered his glasses. “You are such a doof, man! That wasn’t what I was talking about!” “Uh, what were you talking about?” Renaissance covered his mouth to prevent himself from laughing. Friends or not, these two were a perpetually running comedy routine, whether they were aware of it or not. “So, you guys get the tickets?” Snails held them up. “Yeah, man. I owed you anyway for helping Trixie out. I didn’t want her to be on the spot or nothin’, so I owe you one.” “Well, it’s actually my sister helping her, and besides, I think Sunset’s paying her to help or something. I don’t know the full details,” Renaissance admitted. “Regardless, man,” Snails said, tapping his friend on the chest with the ticket. “Plus, you’re gonna help me get Trixie, right?” “Man, if you can’t get a girl on yer own, you got problems, ya doof,” Snips commented without a trace of irony. “Ya gotta be soavee and sophisticated!” “Dontcha mean suave an’ sophisticated?” “That’s what I said!” Renaissance just rolled his eyes. “C’mon, guys. Show starts in about thirty minutes, and I want to make sure we get good seats.” “Yeah, great idea!” Snails chirped. With that, the trio went off towards the admission gates, planning to have fun on a Friday evening. Juniper Montage tapped her finger on one of the knives. It was sharp, and she ended up pricking her finger in the process. “Are you sure these are safe?” she asked nervously. Trixie Lulamoon gave her a comforting smile. “I promise you they are,” she assured her. “The knives that you’re holding are meant to be thrown against the outer ring of the roulette wheel you’ll be on, remember?” She gestured to the giant wooden circle with the straps in the middle. “That’s the only part that’s going to see these knives.” She then held up a second one. “These are the ones I’m going to be throwing at you.” “And the difference is?” Trixie pushed on the point of the blade with her finger…and to Juniper’s surprise, the blade immediately began to recess into the hilt. “These are the ‘specials’. As you can see, the blades sink back into the hilt, while the actual hilt itself is made of a rare-earth magnetic alloy designed to adhere to the rest of the board like the real blades.” Deciding to demonstrate, Trixie took two of the blades and effortlessly threw both. The one with the slightly lighter wooden hilt, the actual knife, bit into the wood on the star-designed line on the outer edge of the circle. The other one magnetically stuck to where it was supposed to, right in the space between the leg straps. “Uh, one question: what happens if you miss?” “That’s what the extra padding is for – trust me, I don’t want to bruise anyone,” Trixie assured her. “I normally do this all the time with Lyra, and if I’m making sure my best friend, who does this all the time, doesn’t get hurt, I’m doubly making sure that you’re not going to, because you’re standing in for her. Plus,” she sighed, “as much as I asked her not to, Sunny is paying you for this.” “You didn’t want me to get paid for this?” “No, I would have rather paid you myself, because I don’t want her to think I’m basing our friendship on the fact that she’s your everyday typical uber-rich French princess slumming in northern California,” Trixie said with no trace of irony. “I still think that’s total coelo, girl!” Juniper commented. “I know they call her the Queen of Canterlot High, but she’s real royalty!” “Yeah, and I remember her being my friend before we knew any of that, June, so I don’t see her like that at all. And honestly, knowing her, she would rather be treated like no one knew at all. So I’d appreciate it if you laid off the starry eyes, okay?” “Fine,” Juniper sighed. She honestly did not understand why anyone here didn’t want to get into Sunset’s inner circle. Granted, there were apparently a group of five who already had, and Juniper herself could easily see herself amongst that number. “Heya, Trix.” Trixie turned to see both Lyra and Bon-Bon standing there, the former with a hugely shamed look on her face. “I just…well, I just….” Bon-Bon was more direct. “Trixie, we’re sorry if we ruined your plans.” “It’s okay, Bonnie. You, I forgive.” She then gave Lyra a withering glare for all of a second, before she smiled. “You know I can’t be mad at either of you.” Lyra suddenly looked as though a load had been lifted from her shoulders. “Trixie, I mean it.” “I know you do, Ly. And I don’t want to get in the way of your relationship. You had plans, and even though I wish you would have told me about them, I do understand.” The two sister figures looked at each other and an understanding was reached. “Well, I didn’t get time to practice for this one,” Lyra said, “but I can give you a hand still, backstage. Besides, I suspect the rookie here probably crapped her pants over the knife trick, didn’t she?” “Well, what do you expect?” Juniper exclaimed. “Those are real fucking knives!” “Not all of them,” Bon-Bon assured her, “but I’m sure Trixie already went over that with you as well. She’s good at what she does, really.” “Easy for you to say – you’ve never been on the board before, have you?” Bon-Bon gave a smile as sweet as her name. “I’m the one that goes up on there that doesn’t use a blindfold.” “Oh, for fuck’s sake – do we have to do this?” Looking as though she would rather be anywhere else than here, Abby Cadabra felt like she was in hell. It was bad enough that she and her sister – and the fake “sister” – were going to have to perform in their parents’ stead at a year-long residency at the Grand Ol’ Gala Casino & Resort in Bella Vista, but the time they’d already been present was a sheer mess. Because of the distance between Bella Vista and San Palomino, the oldest sister and legal guardian, Hocus Pocus, had already ruled out her younger sisters attending Zacherle. Granted, both had the grades to get in, as well as the significant standing, but the distance was too far. Likewise, Holy Cross was ruled out for much the same reason. So here Abby was, now a student of – ugh – Bella Vista High School, reminding herself that this was only going to be for a year, and yet it was probably going to do critical damage to her lifestyle. It was already bad that they were here in Canterlot, the most forgotten part of California, but the fact that she was going to have to survive this year practically forgotten and catering to drunken gamblers and old folks who probably thought magic was real or something. At her side, another girl began, “Look, sis, I kno—” “When I want to hear from the hired help, I’ll ask for an opinion,” Abby said curtly. “Abby, that’s enough,” Pocus intervened. “I’ve told you a million times, she is our sister, and she is not to blame for whatever happened back then or what’s going on with our parents now.” In what seemed like an all-too familiar gesture as of late, Pocus looked over the top of her glasses at the older twin. “Stop being a drama queen and behave yourself.” “Easy for you to say; you already graduated from school and so you can do whatever you want,” Abby grunted, looking at the woman. “Yes, and that includes grounding you if you keep treating Aji like hell.” Abby glared at her older sister, the scowl on her face appearing once again – it seemed to be near constant as of late. “I need to go use the restroom. Hopefully I won’t get tetanus just from standing in line.” Nothing more to say, she headed off. “I swear, that girl….” Pocus shook her head. It was bad enough that Abby was acting every bit the spoiled princess that Pocus feared her sister was becoming, but to even gripe about the tickets to the Fair, which had been given to them courtesy of their employers, who wanted to help them adjust to life in Canterlot…. “She doesn’t know, does she?” Pocus turned around and looked at Abby’s twin sister, Ajimaji. The “twin” status between the two sisters was part of what was driving a wedge between them, much to the pain of the youngest sibling. “To be fair, I didn’t know until I saw the contracts,” Pocus stated. “And I tried to tell you both, but you know how Abby can be.” Ajimaji sighed. “Yeah. So…five years, huh?” “Five years with a potential extension of three more, depending on how successful we are. And if everything goes right, that should be enough time for you two to graduate from both high school and college here in Canterlot. I just hate to be the one to have to explain everything to Abby that there’s no going back…because there’s nothing to go back to.” “I just hate the fact that our parents are….” Aji looked heartbroken, and Pocus went over to hug the forlorn girl. “And again, none of that is your fault, Aji. Mom and Dad love you. Dad insists you’re his, even if….” Pocus didn’t finish the sentence. “Our parents’ problems go way back before you and Abby were born – probably even before I was. I mean, hell, if Abby wants to push it, there’s no guarantee she or I are Dad’s, either.” Pocus reached over and ruffled her sister’s hair. “But that’s for me to worry about; you just go have fun right now, okay? Leave all the business and headaches to me – that’s my job.” Ajimaji nodded. “In that case…I’m going to go get something to eat. You want me to get you anything?” “Yeah. Advil, because I’ll probably need it after I tell Abby the whole thing.” With that, Ajimaji headed off towards the fairgrounds. Granted, she didn’t expect it to be the highest-class food available – this was a fair, after all – but unlike her sister, she tended to be a little more down to Earth, so she enjoyed little things like this. She sighed; she remembered a time when her twin could let down her hair and enjoy it as well – yet another sign that Abby wasn’t taking their parents’ divorce very well. Something caught her attention – a pair of lookalike little girls, bickering – and suddenly she felt very alone in the press of crowds. She didn’t know anyone here, she was thousands of miles away from her home, which was crumbling and even if it wasn’t, the glare of the press was exceedingly cruel. And worst of all, her twin sister hated her – didn’t even consider her a sister, much less a twin. She felt her eyes sting from tears and felt dizzy. She hadn’t really admitted it to Pocus, mainly because her older sister had more than enough on her plate right now, but she hadn’t been sleeping or eating well. She’d passed off the latter as dieting – especially since Abby had thrown more than enough barbs about Ajimaji being “a fatass” – but the sleeping part she’d passed off by using foundation to cover up the rings underneath her eyes. But it was catching up now, and it was catching up in the worst way possible. She felt herself swing back…only to be caught, as a voice suddenly said, “Are…are you okay?” She shook her head, forcing herself to banish away the exhaustion and dizziness – thankfully the Cadabras were masters at that old trick – before turning to see who her savior was. “Thanks. I almost thought—” She looked up and suddenly found herself gazing into the most beautiful midnight blue eyes she’d ever seen. It was cliché, sure, but it was no less true: the eyes gazing on her with protective care were set into a handsome face, dusted with freckles and surrounded by a roguish, devil-may-care mop of turquoise. As she struggled to get back to her feet – another cliché; she felt literally weak in the knees right now – a strange thought came to her: was this what first love felt like? It wasn’t as though she hadn’t had a boyfriend before. But there were guys to go out and have fun with, and then there were guys like the dashing young man standing in front of her, a thin pillar of manliness, capturing her attention in every possible way. Ajimaji almost laughed inside; if she were a more romantic soul, she would have said a moment like this was, well, magic. “Hey, Snails, everything okay over there?” Out of the corner of her eye she could see a breathtakingly gorgeous girl with flame-colored hair walking towards them. She had curves in all the right places and, as odd as it was, she suddenly felt both jealous and sad at the same time. She was probably this guy’s girlfriend – lucky her. “Oh, hey, I’m okay, Boss,” he told her. Boss? That didn’t usually serve as a term of endearment – did that mean that they weren’t together? Maybe he was single? “I…I’m okay,” she said, gasping for breath, though she wasn’t sure if it was due to her condition or because she was just swept away by what had happened to her. “Uh, no, you’re not.” The girl – no, clearly a woman, probably early twenties, if Ajimaji guessed correctly – looked at her and suddenly Ajimaji felt as though she was being peered through down to the very atoms of her being. She was already in a bad way, and now swept up by this alluring guy and being looked over by what suddenly felt like a force of nature? She wasn’t sure how— “You look exhausted,” the woman replied, before putting what looked to be a smoothie and a sandwich in her hand. “You also look like you’ve been on a crash diet. Trust me, not a good thing.” She then turned to the guy. “Don’t worry about it, Snails – I’ll whip up another one for you. Looks like she needs this one.” The guy smiled and he had the kind of “stupid-cute” smile that her old boyfriend had – the kind that drove her wild, Ajimaji admitted. But at the same time, she could see the intellect in the guy’s eyes. This guy had it all, clearly. And if this was the kind of guy that was the norm in Canterlot, maybe moving here wasn’t going to be so bad. “So, uh, you okay, miss?” the boy asked her, clearly worried about her. “I’m…fine,” she said, taking a quick drink of the smoothie to cover her embarrassment. The smoothie tasted like ambrosia on her tongue, but she was unsure whether that was because she hadn’t been eating well, or because of her current company. “Thanks…thanks for asking.” He gave her another smile and it took every bit of her willpower to keep standing. Giving a humble shrug, he said, “No problem! Glad to see you’re okay, though!” It was then that the strange woman came up to him and, handing him a bag, added, “Hey, here you go, Snails. Sorry about making you wait – I threw in a couple pastries for you and your friends to make up for your little act of heroism.” He blushed – it was adorable that he did that! – and added, “C’mon, Boss, no big thing!” “Oh, I disagree: you were being a perfect gentleman, and such a kindness deserves to be rewarded!” She looked at the woman and flashed a knowing smile – did she realize? “Don’t you think, miss?” It was all that Ajimaji could do to just stand there and nod, mouth open and looking like a complete retard. He’s never going to look at me now! Good job, moron! “Well, I need to get back to work. Better take care of her, Snails.” “Oh, yeah, sure! No problem, Boss!” he told her. Gently taking her arm, much to her thrill, no less, he said, “C’mon, better get you out of the crowds! I know they can be a pain.” “I…uh….” A thought furrowed his brow and it made him look all the more handsome for it. “Oh, I know! C’mon, we can go hit the Flower Pavilion! No one ever pays attention to it anyway, so it’d be perfect!” “Um, I mean, sure, I guess. Plus, I need to text my sister and let her know I’m okay.” “Yeah, no problem – I gotta do the same with my friends, so they don’t freak out, either,” he said. Reading the text on his phone, Snips rolled his eyes. “Jeez, that yutz,” he grunted. “We did all this so I could get me a babe…I mean, so we could get him hooked up with Trixie and he pulls this shit?” The boy brandished his phone like a fiery pastor brandishing the Good Book. “Last favor I do for him, I swear.” “Hey, I’m sure he’s got a good reason for not being able to make it,” Renaissance reasoned. “I mean, you know how he feels about her.” “Yeah, and I’m sure he’s probably got some gorgeous girl on his arm that he’s takin’ to the Flower Pavilion for a make out session,” Snips snarked before rolling his eyes again. “I swear, he’s my boy, but give him five minutes and he’ll be trying to count out the sixth.” “Well, at least we have decent seats, right?” “Naah, man, I got better things to do,” Snips commented. “Did you see that one girl with the big knockers? Dude, she’s got my name written all over them!” “I’m sure she does,” Renaissance said absently; Snips had been staring at so many large-chested girls since they arrived that Renaissance had no idea which one his friend was referring to. “Yeah, well, I got me a hot date tonight, I’m sure,” he said. “You have fun watching the show. I’m sure Snails’ll catch up to you later. At least you two can commiserate over not getting some hot babes; I’ll give you the details later. Catchya!” Before Renaissance could even say goodbye to his friend, the short, squat kid blended into the public press. “Attention, the World’s Greatest Magic Act starts in five minutes!” a voice rang over the loudspeakers, and with that, Renaissance had to get moving. He was now going to be an audience of one, but at least this way he could support them. Besides, if he wasn’t in the seat when his sister got to do her performing act there was no way in hell he was going to be able to live that down. “Attention, the World’s Greatest Magic Act starts in five minutes!” “Do you want to catch that?” Pocus asked Abby as the latter returned. Abby rolled her eyes and grunted. “What, do you think I want to be caught dead watching what is probably some old Shriner performing some trick he learned from a book? No thank you – I think I will pass on that.” “Then what do you want to do? And don’t say ‘leave’. That would be rude to the people who gave us these passes.” Abby thought about making the comment anyway, but then decided, “Fine – I suppose you’ll be interested in going to watch this senior citizen escapade on stage.” “Actually, no, I was going to go check out the local artisans’ table. We still do need some gear if we’re going to be performing and it never hurts to hire some local hands, right?” Pocus pointed out. “So if I know how the local woodworkers are, they can help us set up exactly what we need for the ‘Disappearing Daedalus’ trick. But if you want to watch the magic show, sure. I’m sure the people there might appreciate a pointer or two from a professional – and that always helps us to look good.” As always, if there was one button that Pocus knew how to press like no tomorrow, it was how to stroke her younger sister’s ego. “You think so?” “Abby, when they realize you’re one of The Cadabras, they’ll probably invite you on stage!” Abby pondered this for a few moments and added, “Well…I suppose I could chalk this up to charity. Besides, it’ll make me look good. Okay, I’m in. Do you want me to meet you at the car afterwards?” She nodded. “Yeah. While I do like fairs, I’m not a fan of fair food. Oh, and speaking of which, if you see Aji, tell her not to pig out, because we’ll get some real food afterwards.” Abby gave her sister the I’m not promising anything look and Pocus sighed. “Abby, not now, okay? Just…do your thing and if you see her, just let her know.” “I doubt I’ll see her,” the girl said with a tousle of her hair before heading in the direction of the stage. Pocus watched her head off, then went off to do her own errands. It was going to be tough as it was to get her two younger sisters to reconcile, get used to living here in Canterlot, and deal with their parents’ marital meltdown from afar. Once again, she was glad that she had no other headaches to deal with – how much worse would it be otherwise? “Hey, I’m here!” Renaissance arrived at the stage and looked up at the stagehands, his sister and Trixie. Again, while his sister looked good in the costume, he had to practically fight to make sure his jaw was still attached when it came to Trixie. She was absolutely gorgeous and it wasn’t for the fact that he’d agreed to help Snails get in good with her, he would certainly consider doing it himself. He had to admit, she was very attractive, after all. In hindsight, he wondered if doing that was playing with fire. “Hey, glad to see you could make it!” Trixie told him, flashing a dazzling smile. “I followed your directions, but I’m still having some issues hooking things up. Can you look at the setup again and see if you can do anything about it?” “Yeah, can do.” He had already volunteered to help her work on that project her uncle had set her up with later, but right now, she looked like she was having some particular issues with her fog machines and other gear. Since the stagehands weren’t allowed to work with that, he had to do what needed to be done. Clambering onto the stage, he went and looked at the piece of gear that she was pointing to. First thing he did was look at the cables and within seconds, he had found the answer. “Yeah, see this?” he said, jiggling the connector back and forth. “This thing has seen better days and looks like it’s about to fall off. You don’t happen to have any spares, do you?” Trixie shook her head. “Fortunately, Tavi arrived here early, so I can ask if she or Flutters has one.” She smiled sweetly. “Thanks! You’re a lifesaver, you know?” “Hey, I try,” he said with a good-natured shrug, only to surprisingly find that she kissed him on the cheek. He wasn’t the only one surprised. “Uh, for good luck?” she said, recovering. “Um…yeah.” She kissed him – even if it wasn’t meant to imply anything, if either of his friends had seen, it was going to take some serious explanation to clear up that little mistake. But even still…. Neither of them realized it, but watching a discreet bit away, another figure put two and two together. Maybe he’s not a total loser after all, Juniper thought to herself, though it’s going to be awkward if he’s hitting on my boss. Regardless, she was happy for her brother, although it meant that he wasn’t likely to hook up with the Queen of Canterlot High herself. Well, one of her friends is good enough, I guess, Juniper mused. Now what could she do to seal the deal for the two of them – neither of them looked like the type that would figure it out on their own, and if there was one thing that Juniper was good at, it was connecting dots… …even if the dots had no idea that they were meant to be adjoined. How did I end up with a guy like this? Ajimaji said as she walked through the flower pavilion with Snails. He’s smart, he’s handsome, he’s…he’s…. She mentally sighed. He’s so out of my league. She felt absolutely dizzied by his presence and given that she’d eaten the food given to her by that woman he was friends with, it wasn’t her lack of sustenance that was making her feel this way. No, she was absolutely sure that it was because, somehow, she’d fallen head over heels. He was a catch, in every way, shape and form. Every little action, notion and movement made it clear that he was a modern-day Adonis. Sure enough, as they walked through, the young man regaled her with identifications of each flower and plant, as well as little minutiae, trivia and anecdotes about each. He also took the time to wave to a mousy girl with green hair and glasses; Ajimaji herself hadn’t even noticed she was there. Little details and kindnesses like that made her just realize all the more that there was no guy back in Tennessee that was anything like the strong, handsome and gentle lad that was by her side. And I’ll probably never get a chance with him, she mused sadly. “Hey, are you okay?” Snails asked. “You look kinda pale.” “I…uh…I just need to sit down,” she replied, and sure enough, ever the gentleman, he led her to the nearest bench, ensuring she was seated before he was. It was a little old-fashioned, she had to admit, but maybe that was the kind of thing that was natural to him. It was already another quality in this package of perfection that she liked. “So,” she said, trying to come up with some way to keep talking to him in desperate hopes that the night would never end, “where are you from around here? I just moved into the area.” “Oh, I go to Canterlot High,” he said, matter-of-factly. “Just a normal school around here, no big thing or anything like that. What about you?” “My sister and I just started Bella Vista High,” she said, leaning back into the bench. “It’s…it’s nothing like the school we used to go to.” “Where’s that?” “Tennessee – Nashville, originally.” She was silent for a moment. “I miss it.” He nodded. “You’re always going to miss home,” he said, the wise words just resonating within her. “But like Boss…I mean, Sunset…always says, you can’t go home again. It’s always going to be different. I mean, I’ve always lived here in Canterlot and even I can see how different things are from when I was a kid. So it’s just natural.” She nodded, not trusting herself to say anything. “So, anything I should know about living here?” Snails grinned. “This place can be weird, but it’s…well, it’s home. Home to me, that is. And my friends and all that.” “And your girlfriend, I take it?” Snails shook his head, to her barely-disguised shock. “No, no girlfriend. I’m not lucky enough to have one—” Instinct took a hold of the girl and she leaned forward, kissing him. This gorgeous hunk was single and there was no way in hell she was going to let him go. She finally found a reason for living here in Canterlot…and his name was Snails. As he watched her magic on stage, Renaissance couldn’t help but feel ambivalent about everything that was going on. His buddy Snails was heavily interested in Trixie, and yet…his eyes were drawn to her presence like a magnet. Every iota of her called out a siren’s song to him and he felt stirred in a way that…well, it was a good thing the lights were focused on the stage. He wasn’t the only one that felt that. Trixie was drawn to the new boy watching her and his sister perform and it took every bit of her professionalism to keep her attention on things – especially when it came to the knife trick. There was something about Renaissance Canvas that spoke to her in a way no one had ever done before and she finally wondered if this was what Harper meant that she would know when it was time. Would it be time with him? However, the emotions between the two weren’t the only strong emotions on display. Seated in one of the rearmost spots, a young woman seethed with anger and rage. She already hated living here in Canterlot, having given up everything and now she had even one more reason to hate this shithole. Abby Cadabra absently tore apart the fair map in her hands, feeling an instinctive need to gnash and rend apart something as a result of this cosmic-level indignity. Canterlot, the place she now lived…was Lulamoon territory. Her vicious rivals, here in this place! Her home…was the base of the enemy. Furthermore, she knew that Lulamoon in particular: Trixie Lulamoon. The two had the biggest rivalry between them and it was all due to the girl that Abby had stolen from Trixie, she knew. Lyra Heartstrings had been a fun little romp, but meaningless otherwise. However, it was clear that she had meant something to the other girl and Trixie had let Abby know that in no uncertain terms. Abby still felt the humiliation she’d felt when in New York City two years ago, the two had crossed paths on the stage and Trixie had taken what she called “justifiable revenge” for Lyra’s sake. And now, fate had brought them here, together. A new chance for Abby to redeem herself against her biggest foe. And payback was a bigger bitch than Abby.