Chapter 10, Part 1. The Bloody Carnival.

Lonely sat in his seat behind Eos. He was mulling over his thoughts. They all jumbled inside his head. A princess, Foe, death, and his Aunts. Oh, his Aunts wouldn't miss him. They blamed him for his mother, and they blamed him for all the trouble that befell them. 

"I know your name. I know how to help the girl. Just make a deal with me." The eerie voice in his head whispered. Lonely felt his heart skip a beat, his breath hitched. His name. The one that his aunts had refused to use, the name he was never told, the name that was given to him by his mother. He wanted to know so badly. His heart ached to know, his head was pounding with desire, but he shook his head. Lonely had seen what happened to Emily Grace, the ghost of Whispwood, and he had seen how angry that giant goose was. Was that goose once normal? Or at least not as big? 

"Are you alright back there?" Eos asked from the captain's seat. 

"Your leg isn't really ok, is it?" He dodged her question with another question. 

"......No, no, it isn't. I suppose I have a lot to tell you. I suspect that Eros told you about....about my status?" She choked out the last word. 

"Yes, look, you don't have to go into it if you don't want to. It's ok." 

"I-....I will when I'm ready. I'm not used to sharing stuff like this with others." 

"Me neither. Take your time." Lonely smiled slightly. He was getting somewhere with the star girl. It didn't seem like she hated him; she still wasn't sure about him, but it was something. 

"So...what is Carnalavilia?" Lonely switched topics.

Eos took a shaky breath, "It used to be run by a mother and her daughter. It was the most popular fun park planet in this system, until they slowly started losing business. A bigger park opened in the next solar system over. The little girl didn't want to give up their park, she grew up there. It was her home. Her mom was selling it to Newslater when it happened." 

"When what happened?" Lonely was scared to ask.

"The rides. Right as the mother was about to sign the papers, screams were coming from all around the park. It...It was broadcast to all of Carnalavilia's neighboring planets by the daughter, who was cackling the entire time. The rides grew blades and saws, the house of mirrors spouted out shadow doppelgangers that strangled you, the carousel leaked liquid heat seeking gold that burned skin and suffocated you. The daughter didn't look like a little girl anymore; she looked like a puppet with a keytar that shot sound waves that melted your flesh. Her mother was the only one she let escape. I was just a kid. I saw it all from a screen. If there's going to be any place that has a passkey, it's that horror show.".

Lonely felt like he was about to throw up and ruin his pants at the same time. "Lovely," he muttered, "Foe sure gets around. That poor girl..." 

"You won't be saying that when you meet her." Eos monotoned, "We're here."