The midnight, summer breeze felt fresh over her face. The whole world dancing beautiful once more. She was on an adventure – a quest! To reclaim her lost property. What a sensible thing to do. And she even knew the way… to the lake, at least. She smiled sincerely as a giggle of exotically-dressed women frolicked past. The lake was sublime, dark waters wisped in low mist and dotted with islands of magical lights. The colou...

The tall crowd crushed in from all directions. A jostling melee of bodies. Strange faces jumping into her own. The world still spinning as she pushed through the scrum. ‘Well done, Sophie the Brave.’ A drunk, fat man clapped her on the back as she burst out of the crowd and staggered onto the grassy thoroughfare. Her legs seemed to be stuck together. Oh yea, the safety clip on her dress. She removed it, but still couldn’t...

His eyes swirled black magic… and Sophie fell right in. Like being sucked into a whirlpool and dragged under. The Circus Master’s demonic expression remained fixed as the spell bound tighter and tighter. Dmitri bustled to the front of the stage. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, we have a volunteer.’ He beckoned with theatrical dynamism. ‘Come on my love. Aren’t you pretty.’ Hand half-hiding his mouth to dramatise the stage whisper....

The lionesses were wild and unruly, slinking around the stage. Contorting their beautiful faces to snarl bright, white teeth. The Circus Master unfurled his whip – a creeping slipper-slap as it unravelled onto the boards. Several meters of platted leather, two centimetres in diameter at the hilt, tapering down smoothly, thinner and thinner, until it was just a single strap of hide with a wiry thread of a tongue. He stirre...

‘These pills are fucking nothing! Knew he was a bull-shitter. Told you they’d be tic-tacs.’ ‘You said they’d be Rohypnol.’ ‘Then at least I’d be fucked!’ Tanya laughed at her own joke, the hilarity escalating as she realised her serendipitously-distasteful double-entendre. Such a big, dirty guffaw of a laugh – always uplifting – could throw you right up in the air. She jaunted off-kilter, bumping against Annie, who bounce...