‘Noir Carnival’ Taster Day 1
Rosalie wound her way along the deserted path, passing tent
after tent of midnight blue outlined in broad strokes of silver.
It was near midnight, and the Carnival had begun winding
down. Lights began to flicker out one by one, restoring the
brightly illuminated fairgrounds to a darker, quieter gloom.
Rapunzel, looking out from her window at the Carnival’s
northern end, had started keeping her hair, pulling her
blonde braid laboriously up the three floors of her tower,
singing a wistful tune while she was at it. It wouldn’t be long
till she was at Jack’s Pub, downing the pints with Jill and Red
Riding Hood.
from ‘In the Mouth of the Beast’ by Li Hiujia