Chapter One

      Zoe’s shoulders shook as the uneven trodding of the horses jostled the wagon she was in.  Six months she had been with Giovanni’s troupe.  Six months since she had smiled.  Six months since she had felt anything even remotely resembling happiness.  Just performances and rehearsals that left her limp, tired, and wanting to sleep for a week.  But alas, she had no respite, since the next morning, she had to wake up and repeat the process.
    “What’s wrong, girlie?” Marose, another performer who shared the wagon, asked.
     “Same as everyday,” Zoe answered, purposely feeding the emotion out of her voice.  She knew, from experience if nothing else, that anyone who showed feeling here was emotionally devoured very quickly.  Gossip spread like wildfire, and whereas most caravans thought of their members as family, in this one, it seemed everyone had a reason to hate everyone else.
     Marose, the horse specialist, hated To’lin, the snake charmer, and the feeling was mutual.  Rash’ka, who shared To’lin’s act as well as her wagon, hated the trapeze artist and tight rope walker, a fair-skinned blond named Gwendolyn.    And everyone, including Zoe, who was normally too exhausted to hate, despised Giovanni.
    Other than occasionally seething about him, though, Zoe had never seen Gwendolyn be anything but cool, calm, and confident.  She supposed to be as good as Gwendolyn was on the tight rope and trapeze, that she had to carry an air of confidence.  If that was ruined, Zoe didn’t know what would happen to the girl.
     Zoe’s stomach rumbled suddenly.  She rested her hand on her middle and wished forlornly for something to eat.  An apple, a cracker, anything.  She’d not eaten since the morning before, and then only stale bread and milk at that.  Yet, despite this, Giovanni expected her to give a flawless performance later on that day.
     Resting back on a prickly blanket of straw, Zoe fell into a fitful sleep, trying to forget her hunger and depression.    Strange dreams haunted her.  Oddities flashed before her dream self’s eyes.  Flashes of gold, sparkles of silver, and all the time, a boy standing there.  His mouth open, as if screaming, yet no sounds were in this dream.
    Then a pair of hands would appear, fingers flying over the air . . .
    And Zoe was jolted awake by Giovanni’s yell.  They had reached their destination.
    Yawning, Zoe got up and stretched, cracking her knuckles as her arms reached over her head.  She hoped out of the wagon after getting her costume and make up.    Zoe, Gwendolyn, and two others were the only ones ot expected to help in setting up.  Truthfully, they were pushed away.  Giovanni just expected them to perform to perfection once the tent was up.
    Zoe wandered off behind a nearby tree and changed into her costume.  Though Giovanni had insisted it was new, Zoe knew better.  Patches on the legs, and on the inside of the sleeves told her it was just an extremely well-cared-for second hand piece.  Rare, she had to admit, because most wouldn’t bother to sew up holes in the outfit.  Giovanni certainly wouldn’t care.  He’d already made Zoe perform in a torn costume three times.    Zoe straightened her short skirt and tights, and slipped into her shoes.  Then, took out a broken piece of her mother’s vanity mirror.  Besides the outfits still resting in the trunk, it was the only piece of “before” life that Zoe had left.

–Notes–

looks like an excelent start, cant wait for the rest of the chapter [lost=one]