[quote=Stitches]
She felt the bile rise in her throat as she compared herself to that witch of a woman.
[/quote]

As if summoned by the thought, Madame Sombre seemed to appear as elegantly as she always did. [b]"Or how about we speak now, so that such a She strode into the tent, her skirt billowing behind her, as if there were a breeze in the air. She stood next to Tanner and placed a hand that gave the appearance of never working a day in her life on his shoulder. [b]"Thank you so much, my dear, but may I ask you to leave? I haven't seen Annaliese in her tent and she has a performance in about an hour. I'd like for her to... spice things up, maybe get a little more seductive than she normally does. The audience tonight seems to be rather mature and perhaps she should get out of her shell... and out of Andre's tent. And then maybe check in on our new addition to the family, Roman. I heard Annaliese speaking to him earlier, and we all know that she has nothing nice to say."[/b]

She then turned her black eyes to Diedra and gave her a loving and endearing smile that would make a normal person feel as if she had loved them their entire lives. How else could she have won the hearts of so many people and brought so many people to her beloved circus? [b]"My dearest Diedra... I haven't been able to speak with you in such a long while, at least not one on one."[/b] She sat on thin air as if there were a seat beneath her. [b]"Please, take a seat, it's on me."[/b] She then used some strange force to make the woman sit on the air like she was. Then she leaned forward and rested her chin on her hand and her elbow was held by nothing but the air. [b]"I trust that you've said only good things about me, but you and Miss Annaliese are becoming very much alike nowadays. I've begun to worry that there might be something troubling the two of you into thinking tragic thoughts."[/b]

Sombre then sighed loudly, her eyes appearing to be the same age as she. The countless centuries that she had lived seemed to fade away when she made contact with the circus's patrons. Though she looked as if she were no older than thirty and no younger than twenty-seven. [b]"Now, please do tell me what you've been meaning to say-- and don't bother with trying to put it nicely. We've known each other for centuries now, darling, and I know that pleasantries are no longer required between us."[/b]