“What are you doing?” My two watchers asked.
I was doing jumping jacks, having finished my coffee and honey. Exercise is a great way to get some fresh blood into the brain. “Exercising,” I heaved. I needed to clear my head before meeting the ringmaster.
“Why?” The tall one narrowed her eyes.
“To sober up.” I gasped and collapsed on the couch, having had enough exercise.
“You’re a strange one.”
“Do you have any idea who you messed with?” It was the shorty’s favourite catchphrase.
“No.” I lied.
“Oh, you’re in a world of trouble. I hope you know that.”
“I see.” I smiled.
She frowned and said to her friend, “I’m surprised she hasn’t tried to run away.”
“Well, I’d beat her up if she tried.” The tall one cracked her knuckles.
“Don’t worry, I won’t try to escape.” If I escaped, how would I get close to the twins?
“Wise choice.” The shorty smiled, cracking her knuckles as well.
Just then, another cook burst into the office, looked at me, then at them, and nodded. It was the same one that had found my body and run off at the head chef’s order.
“Where’s Nia?” The tall one asked her.
The sweaty woman who’d been running around all night shoved her green hair behind her ear and gasped, “Backstage.”
“The show’s going on now?” The shorty glanced at the clock.
“Yeah, she said she’ll come over when the show’s over.”
“Okay.”
“How are you feeling?” She came over to me. She was the nicest of the three.
“Better.” I smiled.
She exhaled with relief. “I thought you were dead when I found you.”
“No, I’m great.” I flexed my non-existent biceps.
“Don’t get friendly with the thief, Luu.” The tall one warned her.
“Oh, okay.” She agreed right away. And I pouted.
“Don’t think we’re friends.” The tall one pointed her accusatory finger at me. “You’re a thief. A dirty thief.”
I sulked, but the sweaty woman tepidly defended me. “She only stole food. What did you want her to do, starve to death.”
“That’s true.” The shorty nodded.
“Did you guys forget! Reem is going to punish all of us because of her!”  She poked her finger into my forehead. “Especially you, Luu, you found her!”
“What!?” She was shocked… and realised her friend was right. “Yeah…” Their moods were swayed by her words, and their eyes darkened.
“Sorry?” I shrugged.
“Gag her! Gag her mouth!” The shorty shouted.
“Come on, guys. I already said I won’t run away. Is there really-” I stopped in the middle of my sentence because the shorty took off her shoe and yanked off her cruddy socks. “What are you…?” She rolled it up and attacked me. She aimed for my mouth. “Stop.” I blocked her. I wanted to electrocute her, but I didn’t want to piss off the ringmaster  anymore than I already had. Injuring one of her subordinates would have landed me in big trouble; even if she wasn’t particularly concerned about her subordinates, she’d probably welcome the opportunity to make an example of me. So I stuck to using my meagre physical strength to fight her off.
“Leave her alone, Kat.” The tall one said.
“No, she needs to shut up!” Kat, the shorty, fumed.
“Ah, no. Help.” I begged. I had deactivated [Shield of Andromeda] so it wouldn’t accidentally go off against them. So all I could do was beg, “Help…”
They both stood around and watched…

***

“I hope we don’t get put on grease duty.” Kat sighed.
“Yeah… Who do you think’s going to become the scapegoat?” The green-haired woman asked while looking out the window at the people outside. She wanted to spot Nia coming before everyone else.
“Probably you.” The tall one answered.
“What!? Why?” She moaned.
“You found her,” Kat said and patted the back of my head.
“Em! Am! Em!” I moaned! My wrists were tied behind my back. A rope was fastened around my jaw, which kept her sock in my mouth. Also, she was sitting on top of me. I thrashed beneath her.
She smacked my head and barked, “Shut up.”
“Eeee!” I groaned.
“But that’s not fair…” She moaned. “Natie wanted me to get the pickled ginger.”
“Blame your own bad luck.” The tall one shook her head. Green hair moaned. Kat laughed.

When the busy hours came to an end, the head chef came up to check on me.
“Oh, good, you guys restrained her.” Reem smiled when she saw me gagged and tied. “I thought since I didn’t say so, you idiots might’ve let her… I don’t know, roam around.” She nodded approvingly at Kat, who was sitting on top of me.
“I tied her up.” Kat smiled. The other two nervously exchanged glances.
“Good. Good.” Her eyes then switched to the green hair. “And you told Nia about her?”
“Yes! Yes!” She nodded with a nervous twitch.
“What did she say?”
“Ah, that she’d come over when the show was done.”
Their eyes shifted to the clock. “Then it should be soon.”
“Yeah.” Green hair, agreed.
“All right, keep an eye on her. I’m going back down.” The head chef left the room after checking up on me.

***

“Oh, she’s here.” Green hair was the first to spot her. Weaving through the crowd, she came to the restaurant.
‘Take this sock out of my mouth,’ I wanted to say, but all that came out were weird noises.
“What’s she trying to say?” Green hair asked.
Kat shrugged. “How would I know.”

Soon after, we heard footsteps coming up the stairs. It was the head chef and Nia, the ringmaster’s assistant.
“She’s up there.” We heard Reem’s voice. “They tied her up.”
“Was she struggling?”
“Ah, when we found her, she was unconscious,” the door opened, and they came in. “But, I’m not sure about after, but you can ask them.” She pointed at Kat, who was sitting on top of me.
I twisted my neck and looked up at Nia. She was a tall woman with tattoos all over her body, including half her face. She had short shoulder-length purple hair, and her nose ring gleamed in the middle of her nose. She was dressed in dress pants and a vest. Which revealed the tattoo’s on her shoulder and arm.
“So this is her.” She scanned me. “She’s just a bum.” Annoyed, she squeezed the bridge of her nose. “You called me over for this. You could’ve just brought her over.”
“Ah, well. I wasn’t sure of what to do.” The head chef was a lot meeker around her. “She stole our dried foods and drank the wine.”
“The expensive stuff?”
“Ah, no. That’s locked up behind bars. No need to worry.” Reem smiled.
“Okay, I’ll take her off your hands then.” Kat got off me and lifted me to my feet. “Come on, let’s go see Silva.” Nia grabbed my arm and pulled me along.
“Eem em am…” I tried to speak, but it was impossible with the idiot’s sock in my mouth. Nia chuckled at my struggle, so I shut up and stopped  trying.
I heard Kat moan, “my socks,” as I was being led out the door and down the stairs.

***

Nia led me through the park. Lanterns lit up the shops and rides. A lot of it was closed. The sounds of laughter and chatter were still there, but it wasn’t as crowded as it was a few hours ago. We walked past the big tent to a trailer hidden behind illusion magic. To an outsider, it would’ve appeared as if we’d walked into a pile of hay bales.
The trailer was big and fancy. Magic markings adorned the whole thing, and the door was painted gold. Nia knocked.
“Who’s it?” A growl came from within the trailer. It was the husky voice of the ringmaster.
“Let me in, Silva.” Nia sighed.
“Oh, it’s Nia.” A man’s voice cheered.
“You know I don’t like being disturbed right after work.” Silva groaned.
“It’s important.” She looked at me and added, “Kind of.”
“Let me open the door for her.” We heard the man’s voice again.
“No, I want to continue what we were doing.” We heard them argue.
“Let’s see what she wants.”
“No.”
“Stop being childish.” We heard footsteps, and a handsome old man opened the door. Broad chested, grey-haired, and moustached. His name was Bartolomej Reese, worth 242 619 points, and Silva Reese, the ringmaster’s husband. Though she’d fucked every man who’d ever worked  for her, he was the only one she ever married. He was in a robe, and the middle of his chest was exposed, but he closed it the moment he saw me. Hiding the thin grey hairs on his chest, he moved out of the doorway and let us in. “Who’s this?” He inquired, keeping his hand clenched at his chest.
“This is who I need to talk to Silva about,” Nia smirked before barging in. She tugged me along.
I would’ve smiled at the handsome old man if a sock wasn’t in my mouth. I would’ve loved to have had him, but he wasn’t my target. It was impossible to get to him without defeating the ringmaster, and I simply wasn’t prepared for that yet. My targets were the acrobatic twins who  weren’t in the trailer. I glanced over to my left, where at the end was a  wooden desk, a ringmaster’s desk. It was cluttered with all manner of items and papers.
“Who’s she?” The ringmaster’s voice came from the other side of the trailer. My gaze shifted towards her. Legs spread open, elbows on her thighs, she sat at the edge of the bed, buck naked. Her curly blond hair cascaded over her shoulders, fell over her breasts and hid her nipples. She had scars on her stomach, and the thick blond bush between her legs hid her cunt. Her mature face scanned me from head to toe. The eye patch and the proud wrinkles on her face glowed with a kind of rugged beauty. When her eye met my eyes, I bowed my head to her.
“A thief,” Nia spoke bluntly.
“What? What did she steal.”
“Ah, the head chef said-”
“Take it off.” Silva interrupted her.
“What?”
“Take off the gag. I want to hear it from her.”
“Oh, sure.” Nia untied my jaw and took out the dirty sock from my mouth. And she was kind enough to untie my wrist too.
“Thank you.”
“What did you steal?” She asked calmly.
I lowered my head further and said, “I’m sorry. I don’t know who you are, but I was hungry, and the door was open.”
“I didn’t ask how you felt. I asked what you stole.”
“Ah… Some dried beef- Beef jerky, some pickled fruits, and some wine…”
“I see… Some wine… Tell me which ones.” She stood up and strolled toward me. She was around the same height as me.
“I think red wine, white wine, and some clown wine.” I gulped.
“I see…” She nodded. “Tell me, how did the clown wine taste?”
“Ah…” I looked up. She was standing right in front of me, red with fury.
She wrapped her hands around my throat and growled, “Do you think I’m a joke.”
“No, I’m sor-” She was a B-ranked martial, and her hands felt like a vise.
“You stupid little bitch.” She roared. She lifted me off the ground by the neck. Even though I knew from the game that she wouldn’t kill me, I was so close to activating [Shield of Andromeda]. At the moment, I was genuinely afraid she’d break my neck. “Do you know who I am! I’m the conquer of Googeon!” She was the first to conquer Googeon, a B-rank dungeon in the Beast lands. She’d made quite a few headlines in her youth, but that was long ago. These days she was only a ringmaster in an amusement park. “I am The,” she stretched the word ‘The’, “Ringmaster!” I was being strangled.
“You’re going to kill her, Silva,” Nia warned. She glared at her. Nia closed her mouth and evaded her eyes. But finally, she released me. I fell to my knees and coughed as I gasped for air.
“How much did she steal?” She asked Nia.
“Ah, I didn’t ask. But not much, I think. I’ll get you the amount tomorrow.”
“Do that.” She glared down at me and, lifting her eye patch, evaluated my strength. Her iris glowed yellow, and the eyeball wobbled. “E-rank, not bad for a bum. She’ll work off every copper. Plus interest!” Though I did make myself appear weaker, I still chose to keep myself within the E-ranks because I was afraid that if I made myself look too weak and useless, she’d cut out my organs as recompense instead of making me a slave. To a B-ranker, a level 15 would be valuable enough to keep around. “Let’s see if she’ll put up a fight,” she jeered. “Barbar, bring me my belt.” The old man jumped to work; he swiftly moved to the closet and brought her her belt.
Nia crouched beside me and, while removing my shirt, whispered into my ear, “Don’t fight back, and you might survive.”
“Here, babe.” Bartolomej handed her the belt and kissed her lips.
He tried to move in closer and caress her back, but she didn’t have it; she pushed him off and barked, “Not now!” He stepped away from her; he knew not to get in her way when she was angry. Furious, she shouted, “Get out of the way, Nia. She’s an E-ranker. I need to teach her who’s the top bitch here.” I looked up at her, and she was hitting her hand  with the belt. “Get up.” She commanded. “Put your hands over there,” she gestured with her chin, “and show me your back.”
“I’m sor- Eai!” The belt landed without warning. She was a B-rank martial, and I didn’t even see it coming. But I saw stars for a moment. Blistering heat spread throughout my back.
“Up,” she demanded. “Against the wall.” I quickly crawled to the wall. It was humiliating, but I knew I had no chance of winning against her in a fight. With Nia so close by, even escaping might’ve been impossible. There was no turning back; I was already too far into the plan. “Up!” She screamed and whipped me again. I saw black. I was quick to rise and  show my back after that. I screeched as another hard blow struck my back. “Shuu…” She shushed me. “Not so loud. It’s night. I don’t want to hear a peep out of you. Is that understood?” I exhaled and inhaled and prepared myself for the next strike. “Hey,” she hissed and yanked me by my hair. I yelped. She made me arch my back and neck until I was looking  at her upside down. “Is that understood?”
“Yes,” I moaned.
“Good.” She released me and whipped me. The sound of my flesh echoed in the trailer. I clenched my jaw. “Good. You’re a fast learner. I might have a spot for you in the park.” My flesh stung from the hard leather. “Hunger is something I know…” She raised her arm, and I recoiled. A tiny whimper escaped my closed mouth. “I used to steal from the shops near  my… Would you even call it a house, Nia?”
“Ah…” Nia didn’t know how to answer.
“How old was I when I first stole food…” She tried to recall. “I can’t even remember.” She tossed aside the belt and said, “Barbar, bring me the ink.” Internally, I sighed in relief; though I tried not to show it, my shoulders relaxed. “It’s much too early for you to relax.” While Bartolomej ran to get her the magic ink and the branding stamp, she ran a  finger along the broken skin on my back. I clenched my jaw to hold in  the moan. Her hand went low and grabbed the back of my pants. She yanked it. The button at the front broke, and my panties tore. The old man  showed up with a tray. On it was a saucer filled with ink and a branding stamp. My pants fell to my ankles, my panties fell to the floor, and  grabbing the back of my neck, she pushed my face against the wall. I groaned. She took the brand from the tray, dipped it in the magic ink, and shoved it into my butt cheek. It burned but didn’t scar my skin. It  was magic. A type of magic between a slave mark and a curse mark. The black ink bled into my skin, and I felt its magic course through my veins. The pain was mind-numbing. I almost lost consciousness. My jaw clenched. My breathing quickened. It brought a mist of perspiration to my skin. A low grunt escaped my lips. She threw the stamp back on the tray, and he took it away while the hand on the back of my neck moved to my throat. She leaned into me and pressed me against the wall. Her other hand groped my ass cheek. “That’s a soft ass. My ass is so hard  compared to yours.” The hand on my throat pulled and pushed so that my knees became bent and my back arched. She was physically stronger and  knew how to woman handle a woman. “Barbar, give this a squeeze. Check out how soft it is?” He’d locked away the tray. She patted the new black mark on my ass and welcomed him to have a feel.
“Ah…” He hesitated, but his eyes lingered on my ass. “No, I can’t…” He tightened the flap of his robes and shook his head.
“Come on, sweety, give it a squeeze.” Her tone became more demanding.
“Ah… Okay.” He moved close enough to be in arm’s reach and gave my ass a quick squeeze before backing away.
“I have a hard ass, don’t I?” She pouted at her husband.
“Yours is more firm. The way I like it.” He assured her. “That’s the ass of a girl. I like a woman.”
“Is that right?” She smiled and pushed her hand between my legs. She slid her hand along my entrance. “You heard that? He thinks you’re a girl. Just a little girl.” A finger breached my flesh. My eyes widened at the invasive guest. I was not wet. Another finger joined the invasion. I grunted. “Easy now,” she chuckled. “Easy.” Her fingers dug  deeper into me. She never fingered me in a stimulative or pleasurable way. But jammed it in as much as she could so I’d struggle and spread my legs. It was her way of telling me every bit of my flesh was for her to use and command as she pleased. My gaze drifted to the other two in the room. Their emotionless faces spoke volumes… Having dug her fingers in as deep as her knuckles would allow, she hissed, “Girl, who’s your master?”
“You are,” I moaned.
She turned to Nia with a big grin. “I think I like her. She’s smart.”
“Yeah.” Nia smiled back.
“How many times did I have to beat Lina before she admitted it?”
“Ah… I’m not sure.”
“Me neither.” She smiled. “Say it again. Who’s your master?”
“You are.”
“That’s right.” She pulled out her fingers and released my neck. I collapsed to the floor. She strolled over to the bathroom and washed her hand. Having left the door open, she spoke from within. “Take her to Marmar. She can help her with the animals.” She came out of the bathroom while drying her hands with a piece of cloth. “She’ll have to pay back  everything she stole, so get the amount from Reem. I want to know exactly how much she stole.”
“I’ll do it first thing tomorrow,” Nia assured her.
“Good. And you, what was your name?”
“Ah?” I still felt a bit disoriented after everything.
“What’s her name?” She asked Nia.
“Ah… I don’t know… I didn’t ask…” Their eyes shifted to me.
“It’s Sheryl.” I lied.
“Right, Sheryl.” She tossed the piece of cloth on the table. “I’m going easy on you because you seem like a smart girl. And I have a soft spot  for…” Her eyes gazed into the distance. “People do stupid things when  they’re hungry… But you stole from me. That’s something I can’t tolerate. So you’ll have to pay everything back.”
“Yes.”
“Good. Take her out of here.”
“Yes.” Nia helped me stand up and pulled up my pants for me. “Hold on to your pants.” She instructed since the button was broken. I grabbed hold  of it. She shoved my shirt into my hands too. I held it to my chest and covered up my breasts. “All right, I’ll show you where you’ll be  staying for the night. It’s better than sleeping in the streets.” She  whispered and helped me out the door.
“Wait!” Silva shouted when we were out the door. We looked back, and Silva stood at the doorway buck naked, dangling her breasts. “Don’t let anyone know about that mark on your butt.” She warned. “That is if you  want to keep breathing. Well, try and tell someone and see what happens.”
“I was going to tell her about it.” Nia butt in.
“Oh, okay.” She was about to close the door, but she saw my sad face and came out of the trailer. She grabbed hold of my cheeks and pulled me closer to her face. “Smile,” she demanded. “Smile. Smile, and say thank you.” Her unblinking eye stared into mine. “I want to see you smile.” Despite the anger and the humiliation I gave her what she wanted, I  smiled. “Good, girl. Now say thank you.”
I didn’t feel like crying while she beat me, but I felt vulnerable under her stare. Still, I held back the tears. Sniffling, I moaned, “Thank  you.”
“Thank you, master Silva.” She insisted.
“Thank you, master Silva,” I sniffled.
“Good.” She nodded to Nia. “Now, you can take her away.”

***

Nia held me close, caressed my shoulder and back and spoke soothing words while I sniffled. “Lina, the girl she talked about, works as a clown now. She had it much worse than you. Reem, too had it much worse, but look at her now, head chef. Just survive for a year, and I’ll see what I can do for you.” We were on our way to Marmar’s trailer. I wasn’t too  concerned about that and was lost in my own thoughts. I questioned everything. Especially my approach to gaining points. I was glad no one else would ever know of tonight. If Nikola or Terrie found out… “Come on, we’re almost there. Marmar will take care of those wounds on your  back. Her herbs are a miracle. You’ll be like brand new.” I knew of many alchemical potions that could heal me, so that didn’t concern me either. All my problems were in my head and something I needed to face with willpower. Which seemed to waver and flutter in every direction with each passing day.
We walked past the animal cages and clown trailers to an old and shabby thing at the edge of the amusement park. It was a dark contrast to Silva’s trailer. The walls were rusted, the wheels were missing, and the windows had cracks. Nia knocked on the door. “Who is  it?” A voice came from within.
“Marmar, it’s Nia.”
“Oh, Nia.” We heard her jump to her feet, and the sound of shuffling followed. Eventually, the door burst open, and an old woman in her nightgown greeted us with her presence. “Who’s this?”
“Your new helper.” Nia smiled.