Friday, April 3, 2015

The Night Circus- Part Two (Illumination): Chapter Twenty-One (Chaperoned) - It's Just Magic. No Biggie

Warning: today I return to Las Vegas. Things may fall out of the nice limbo they have been in while I've been in Arizona.

This chapter begins with Celia babysitting Poppet and Widget. Because of their...odd...lifestyle, the twins spend most time running around a massive "backstage", supervised whenever they leave.

She isn't usually assigned to watch them, but like most everyone who visits or is entangled with Les Cirque de Reves, they are fond of her. 

Of course, because she is drawn as much to Marco as he is to her, she spends quite a bit of time in his lovely Ice Garden. By this point, you think she'd at least ask Chandresh whose tent it is, considering she spends the majority of her free time there.

However, she is in charge of two energetic children (which sounds redundant), and they aren't willing to walk as slowly as she is. They ride the Carousel a few times and Widget demands popcorn in that childish way that they thankfully grow out of quite soon.

And then we get a glimpse into some unexplained magic. We never figure out who can and cannot use magic, whether it's genetic or intelligence based or just luck of the draw, etc., etc.

Poppet comments to Celia about not wanting a "nice lady to die," to Celia's justified confusion.

She tells Celia that she saw it in the stars, and that Widget can see things on people.

"'Places they've been,' he says. 'Stuff they've done.'"

Celia, who is taking this well, asks Widget to read her.
He begins, but stops, claiming she "made it go away." 

She has a little mental soliloquy about the bonfire before turning back to the twins. She tells Poppet to tell her if anything important turns up in the stars.

This chapter ends with Celia offering to give them lessons, and thankfully her interpretation of the word "lessons " is very different than her father's.

Shatter Me Chapter Nine will be up later today, and God willing, next chapters of both will be up at a reasonable time tomorrow.


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