Chapter Text
It had been held over the couple from the beginning by the others. Neither of them dared complain about anything out loud lest they be bombarded by a chorus of bitter voices telling them "at least you have each other." It was, in hindsight, the cruelest thing anyone ever said to them, not that either could remember. One or two of the others had begun to despise them for all they had. They didn’t understand the weight of what it was they envied. Abstraction was a rule, not an odd tragedy. One of them was going to lose the other, and that one would be left to pay a hefty fee for the other’s company.
Nobody really noticed when collection day finally came. The last time anyone saw them together, they were arguing. It hadn't been anything serious, the kind of argument a couple so in love would forget completely after a night's rest. While everyone was preoccupied on their own, a resounding snap shook the walls and rippled the lake. Perhaps it was the ringmaster's fingers sending another lost soul out of sight, or the fragile synapses of the survivor's sanity finally giving way, or the sound of a heart breaking into two. The source of the sound would never be narrowed down to any one thing. Doors opened in perfect sync and footsteps echoed towards the main hall. Nothing was out of place, save that two of them were missing. Nothing came of the mysterious snapping sound for days. For just as long, nobody heard from the two that were missing.
Some hoped that the pair had gotten lucky and had become lost together. Others knew the circus was not that kind. After five days of wondering, and to everyone's woe, the one who'd been left to foot the bill for the two would finally emerge. His broken heart infected the entire cast that day.
Though dark, it was an unconscious hope among the group that he would go first so he could, in some way, live forever in his buoyant disposition. That wasn't how that worked, of course. If you were not miserable, you were not lost. She hid the true depths of her misery well, but anyone with eyes could see that she had not been coping quite as well lately. Someone had said something out of the way the night before and that was that. The king was different, but did not act sad. Changed, doubtlessly, but not sad. He was fractured, and kept as silent as her absence. No one could look him in the eye. No one could bring themselves to offer condolences. That suited him fine, because he could barely stand to be acknowledged anyway. The next day, he acted like he’d never met any of them. The next, the others realized it wasn’t an act at all. In time, the others would become lost, too. The queen’s memory would fade, and she would become nothing but a face on a door.