When Bebinn said her name, a veil lifted. Suddenly, the carnival wasn't empty anymore. Surrounding her were manifestations of all kinds of—creatures. That was the word Lira used at first. She would learn quickly that they were spirits and did not take kindly to being called creatures.

There was a pair of women, seven-feet tall, pale as milk and naked except for where vines grew over their bodies, talking by the food vendor. A man wearing a bowler hat with what Lira hoped was a mask with black hollowed eyes and a long curved beak was taking aim in the shooting gallery. Another being had the face of a human and the body of a dragon, whose scales turned out to be eyes reflecting a thousand images. A man with the hooves of a goat instead of feet or hands, hunched under the weight of the chains crossing his torso, was boarding the Ferris wheel.

Lira leapt backwards as an obese woman with the snout and ears of a pig lumbered past, muttering to herself.

Everywhere she looked there was a new thing. And it was so frightening, so wrong, that she gasped and dropped the violin.

Bebinn's eyes narrowed at the hollow clunk it made as it hit the ground.

"That instrument is worth more than your life," she said, her voice dangerously quiet. "You would do well to remember that."

Lira scrambled to pick it up, shaking all over. The blood on her hands was beginning to dry and crack. The sight cleared some of the fog that had been clouding her mind since she had first gotten out of bed. Her bed, her parents, her home. Lira's heart cannoned into her chest.

"Where am I? Who are you?" she demanded of Bebinn.

"I would think it's quite obvious where we are, and I've already told you who I am," Bebinn said. She was no longer smiling.

"I want to go home," said Lira.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, dear."

It was clear that the woman was crazy, and a murderer, Lira thought, having forgotten Baleros in her shock of the carnival's clientele. Bebinn was older and wearing a dress, if Lira got a head start, she could probably outrun her.

Lira turned on her heel, ready to make a break for it, only to gasp again. This time it was despair. Heavy, choking panic clawed its way up her throat and strangled her. The road she had followed to get here had vanished.

In its place was nothing but a dark forest that stretched in either direction as far as she could see. Tears sprang to Lira's eyes with the crashing realization that she was lost. Lost and in the company of monsters. What would happen, Lira wondered, if she simply tried going through the woods? Anywhere would be better than here.

"Don't try running away," said Bebinn, as though she could read Lira's mind. "The woods will return you here, every time. You belong to me."

Rage filled Lira's small body. She hadn't really understood the declaration the first time the woman had said it, but now hatred she had never known erupted from her in a shriek that threatened to rupture her vocal cords. Rounding on the woman, she yelled, "I don't belong to you!"

A feral smile split Bebinn's face. Were her teeth that sharp before? "Yes, you do. And I suggest you get used to it quickly. Unless you'd rather the same fate as your predecessor."

Lira glanced down at the violin she still held and then over at the carousel horses caked in carnage.

The tears in her eyes boiled over, sliding down her cheeks in burning streaks. A sharp blow made Lira stagger backwards. Her free hand went to her right cheek which was stinging like sunburn. The strike had been so quick, Lira hadn't even seen Bebinn's arm move.

"You will learn to mask your emotions. I cannot stomach crying," said Bebinn. "Now come, I will show you to your room."

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So, what do you guys think? :) I'd love to hear your thoughts or predictions about what is happening and why :)