"Hey, you don't need to apologize to us," Myst replied with an easy shrug. Sun didn't react, but there seemed to be the barest hint of a softening around his eyes.
Elea seemed much more interested in Rhyske's request though; she practically squealed with delight and clapped her hands, beaming at the young man. "Of course you can see the show! Myst and I have to be setting up soon anyway-- we'll get you all set in the tent first, come on!"
The musicians proved better than their word; since they needed to help set up for the show, they and Rhyske were among the earliest patrons under the Big Top, and Elea managed to secure the boy a seat on the front row of the three stacked rows of benches that circled the edges of the tent. Flickering lights bounced nearer to the ceiling, multicolored and cheerful. Elea explained that they were properly called "magelight", but most of the circus just called them "whisps", or sometimes "baubles".
Myst had disappeared briefly, but as Elea was chattering away at Rhyske that he should have a great view of the show from his spot, her husband returned with a small brown pouch in hand.
"Here." He tossed the bag into Rhyske's lap, the unmistakable scent of candied nuts floating through the air. "Still warm. Since it's your first time, you get 'em free, but from here on out Thom's gotta make a living with those." His bright smile mitigated whatever harshness may have been implied by the words.
With a few more words of assurance that they would come and fetch him after the show, Elea and Myst floated away through one of the back entrances of the tent. By now, the crowd inside was growing larger, patrons chattering and laughing, children racing around and ducking through the adult's legs, stealing treats from each other before being wrangled by their parents.
Suddenly, the light in the tent dimmed. The crowd immediately began to settle, their laughter and chatter dying down into excited whispers.
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
The lights flickered, then swirled together, spiraling ever faster and higher as their colors flickered rapidly through the spectrum, then finally settled into a silvery white. The light bounced off the interior of the tent, searching, then finally settled into the middle of the ring.
Viserian grinned and tipped his hat to the crowd, who chuckled and clapped politely. "I bid you welcome!" the Ringmaster called, his voice booming almost unnaturally loud through the space. "Welcome to a world of mysticism and mystery unlike anything you have seen before-- welcome to the Cirque du Fantasma!"
