Chapter One
"And how can Madame Estrella help you gentlemen?" I intoned in my fake Gypsy voice. I looked up to see a tall, skinny, nerdy-looking guy around my age pushing a guy in a wheelchair further into my tent, parking him at my table. Wheels looked late twenties, maybe early thirties, but was still really attractive. Which instantly put me on edge. And both men had that air of intelligence, which made me wonder why they were visiting me. Most guys like that stayed away from anything relating to mysticism.
"I would like a reading, please," Wheels asked, his cut-glass British accent melting my spine a little.
"Past or future?" I somehow had a feeling this was going to be interesting.
"Let's start with past, first," he said, a little smirk fighting to appear in the corner of his mouth.
"Past it is, then." I reached for his hand, steeling myself against the onslaught of visions that were coming. As soon as our skin touched, faces blurred behind my involuntarily closed eyelids, overwhelming me for a moment. It was a long moment, lasting longer than usual, but I managed to bring them under my control, much like Maximoff did with his horses in his show. I pulled at the faces that burned the most brightly. "You have a sister, someone you love deeply, yet she left you when you needed her most," I started, still in Gypsy mode. "She left, left with… with your best friend. They left you bleeding on a beach. And then you sent her away, the love of your life, you sent her away, to protect her."
A slight twitch in his hand was the only tell he let on. "She stuck with you through all of that, the surgery, the recovery, and still you sent her away. Okay, who are you, and why in the name of the Virgin were you on a beach with missiles crashing down on you?" The images I saw caused me to break character, mostly because they terrified me. For the first time ever, I wasn't so sure I could take my customers, if they so decided to hurt me. And even though one was wheelchair-bound didn't mean he couldn't do me some serious damage. After all, I knew more than anyone that physical appearances could be deceiving.
I tried to rip my hands away from Wheels's, but his grasp was suddenly iron. "We are not here to hurt you, Estrella. We've come to help you. We are like you," he said, in that obnoxiously calm British voice of his.
"Thanks, but I don't need any help," I retorted, still trying to free my hands. "I'm perfectly fine with my friends here in the circus."
"Do you think they would still be your friends if they found out you were the cause of the fire?" His tone was calm, but it sent ice down my back.
"How do you know that?" I felt frozen, the opposite of my normal state. I couldn't move, couldn't think. There was no way out of this. "What do you want from me?"
"We don't want anything from you, Estrella. We want to help you learn to control your powers, so you never have to be afraid of them again."
"WHO ARE YOU?" I cried, jerking my hand out of his and jumping out of my seat all in one movement. "How do you know that?" I'd never been more terrified in my life, except for the night of the fire.
"Because I'm just like you, Estrella." Wheels said it, but I was watching his face. His lips never moved.
"How did you do that? Are you some kind of ventriloquist or something?" We had a puppetmaster in the circus, but even his lips moved just the tiniest bit.
"No, my dear, I am a telepath. I can read your mind and speak to it."
"That's impossible." The words flew out of my mouth of their own accord, but his words settled into my mind, like they belonged there.
"We are mutants, all three of us in this tent. You can see a person's life with just a touch of their hand. I can read minds. Hank can… Well, Hank can tell you his mutation if he wishes." That last bit was said aloud, and Skinny Guy looked relieved. "My name is Charles Xavier, and I run a school for people like us. I would like you to come with us, and we can help you learn to control that magnificent flame that burns inside you."
"Plus, you can finish your education," Skinny Guy, or Hank, I assumed, added.
That idea was almost more attractive than learning to control my "magnificent flame". "How do I know you guys are telling the truth?" My mama didn't raise a stupid daughter, even if I did, occasionally, tend to act before thinking.
"You are free to look for yourself," Wheels told me, holding out his hand.
I couldn't really argue with that. After all, people had a hard time lying when I was combing through their memories. Taking his hand again, I didn't have to concentrate as much this time. He guided me, which was a bit distracting at first, showing me a group of teenagers, including his sister and Hank, in front of a huge house. The mansion changed a bit, and a few more teenagers joined, even a couple little kids. "This is just the beginning, Estrella, for our school. I want it to be a safe place for people like us, for mutants to come and learn. One day, I imagine it full of students and teachers, working together to learn and grow."
As he spoke, I could see what he was talking about. The halls of the mansion filled with teenagers and children, laughing, working, learning, flirting, playing. They were safe, and happy. In my vision, I looked up to see Wheels, only he had grown older. And balder. "We did it, Hank," he said happily in the future.
This time, it was Wheels who ended the contact. Once I brought myself back to the present, I realized he was staring at me in wonder. "You can see the future, as well?"
His awe didn't sit too well with me. "Why do you think I asked 'Past or future' when you came in?" I couldn't help it. Sarcasm seemed to be more my native tongue than either Spanish or English.
"I am sorry, my dear, but I thought it was simply part of the Gypsy act," he apologized.
"It's not. But I can't control that, either," I confessed. "I usually just see flashes that don't really make sense to me."
"We can work on that, as well. We all have had to learn to control our abilities. And I promise you that we will do everything we can to help you, if you decide to join us at the school."
"Stella?" Wheels's convincing was interrupted when Maximoff, the circus horsemaster, came to check on me. "Are you okay in here?" He came through my tent door looking rather imposing. His upper arms were about the same circumference of his horses' necks. And he was around six feet, three inches. We didn't know for sure, since he refused to let us measure him.
"Yeah, Max, I'm good," I smiled, trying to reassure him.
"Are you sure? Margot heard yelling," he said, glaring at my mutant guests.
"Yeah, I just saw something in his reading I wasn't expecting," I said, completely honest. After all, honesty is the best policy. But then, I improvised. "These are friends of my mom's, well, he is," I gestured to Wheels. "They lost contact after a while, but he just heard about what happened, and he wants to offer me a place in his school."
"Really? That's great!" Max's grin entirely transformed his face. Instead of glowering Groucho Marx eyebrows, you could now notice his honest eyes and simple kindness.
Hating that I was lying to the kindest soul in the circus, not to mention the simplest, I hurried to finish. "Yeah, he just found me after searching for so long. So I'm going to be leaving with him tonight."
My words surprised three people in the tent, but Wheels wasn't one of them. "Yes, we want to get her in as soon as possible, so she isn't behind the other students. We'll take good care of her, I assure you."
Max's face once again changed, this time into almost despair. "But who else is going to read to me and the horses if you go, Stella?"
It broke my heart, but I knew I had to do this. Mostly so I wouldn't hurt anyone else. "Rosie will read to you, Max. I'm sure she will. And if you ask nicely, she might even do the voices."
"Nobody does the voices like you do," he pouted.
"Rosie will learn, I'm sure. And I'll come visit, when I can," I assured, though I wasn't sure if that was a promise I could, or would, keep.
"Okay, but you can't leave before we close. You have to say goodbye," he said sternly.
"I won't, I promise. Do you really think I could leave my familia without saying goodbye?" I really only said this to please him. He was, after all, one of the few people in the circus who would even talk to me.
"Okay, I have to go back to the horses now." And with that, he slipped out of my tent with a grace that was surprising for someone his size.
"You're coming with us? Tonight?" That was only the second time Hank had spoken so far, so I really hadn't gotten a read on him, but he seemed surprised.
"Yeah." I sounded confident, when I was anything but. However, once I made my mind up, I rarely changed it. "No time like the present. Why so surprised?"
"Normally, our prospective students take a while to think things over, not to mention make arrangements," Wheels said. Ugh, I should probably start calling him Professor now, I thought to myself.
"Well, I don't see any reason not to leave now. Let me get a few things and we can go," I said aloud, jumping up from my seat.
"Now, now?" Hank seemed a little confused at this point, making me rethink that intelligent air about him.
"Yeah, now. What did you think I meant? Next year?" My sarcasm was leaking out again.
"But you just told-"
I cut him off. "I only told Max that so he wouldn't go to Regina, who would in turn go to her husband, who would try to stop me from leaving. Supposedly, I owe him for using this ratty thing," I said, gesturing to the tent we were standing in. "Now, are you going to help me pack, or were you planning on standing there watching me?"
What sounded suspiciously like a snort escaped the professor, while Hank jumped into action like he'd been set on fire. Which I most definitely had not done. With Hank's help, I got packed quickly enough. After all, it wasn't like I had that much to my name.
After slinging my bag over my shoulder, I looked at the other two. "Let's get this show on the road."
I started to grab my small trunk, but Hank stopped me. "I've got it," he said with a small, shy smile. It was at that moment, with his chivalry shining through his awkwardness, that I decided I liked this Hank character.
Wheels, I mean, Professor Xavier, led the way out of my tent. I followed, only stopping by Margot and her snack cart. It was a quick in-and-out, but I couldn't leave without telling her goodbye. After all, she had been my mother's best friend and had kept a good eye on me ever since her death.
"Is there anyone else you would like to say goodbye to?" Professor Wheels asked me as I rejoined them, with another bag slung over my shoulder.
"Nope," I said cheerily. "Now, how are we getting to this school of yours?"
I knew from his pointed glance that the good professor had noticed my change of topic, but he thankfully didn't say anything. "We have a plane. It's not far from here."
"You have a plane. Of course you do," I mumbled under my breath.
Hank laughed. "It's not exactly what you're thinking." At my quizzical glance, he shrugged. "It's sort of one of those things you have to see to believe."
I didn't understand what he meant, but I still went with them, anyway. We managed to leave the circus grounds without anyone noticing, or so I thought. Just as we exited the grounds to the parking lot, a hand grabbed me. "Where do you think you're going, little girl?" a voice sneered at me.
It was Larkin, Regina's husband. He was the ringmaster, and the boss man of the circus. "I'm leaving, Larkin. You never have to see me again," I said, trying for confidence but falling far short. The man terrified me, for more reasons than just his physical size.
"I don't think so," he snarled. "You still owe me, for everything. Especially for keeping my mouth shut to the police. I heard the cops in Miami are still looking for whoever set that fire." His hand tightened around my arm, lending a physical edge to his threat. "You little mutant brat."
Terror like I'd never known shot through me. How could he know? What was he going to do?
In my terror, I'd forgotten who I was with, the entire reason I was leaving. But Professor Xavier's words calmed me, just a bit. "I would unhand her, if I were you." His tone was calm, but there was steel behind it.
"And what are you gonna do about it?" Larkin spat, for once forgetting the cardinal rule of circus life: never be rude to a customer.
"Nothing. But you are going to unhand Estrella, and forget she left tonight. In the morning, you will be surprised to find her missing, but you will not look for her. And you will forget anything that happened in regards to any fire." Wheels had his hand by his temple, concentrating quite a bit on the larger man's face.
To my surprise, Larkin dropped my arm, turned around, and walked back to the circus. I gaped after him, then turned to Wheels. "What did you do?" I was grateful, and a little bit awed.
"I can do far more than just read people's mind, Estrella. I can… well, I can control minds, to put it indelicately. But it is only something I use in extreme cases. I could tell he meant you great harm." Once again, I heard the words in my mind, rather than with my ears.
"Wow, I think I'm really glad you're on my side," I sighed.
Hank laughed. "It's always good to have the professor on your side. It usually means you're on the right side."
Without any further incidents, we made it to the far side of the parking lot. I figured we would be driving to an airport, so I was expecting Hank and the Professor to lead me to a car. Instead, they didn't stop at any car, simply going on past the last one and into the small copse of trees nearby. This was normally the point where the girl was never seen from again in movies, and I halted nervously. "Maybe I should wait a while, give myself the chance to think it over," I said, more than a bit uneasy.
The professor laughed. "It's not what you're thinking, Estrella, I assure you. We simply landed the plane here to keep it away from prying eyes. It's on the other side of these trees."
I found myself believing and following him, and soon enough, I could see something that quickly grew into what only vaguely resembled a plane. "You expect me to get on this thing?"
Hank looked rather offended. "She is perfectly safe, far safer than any commercial plane in the air. And any military, for that matter."
"Hank designed the Blackbird, so he's a tad touchy," the professor explained with a smile. "Shall we?" Then, without seeing if I was following, he started wheeling himself up the ramp and into the plane, Hank attending behind with his hands hovering over the handles, just in case.
Right as he was passing into the plane, Hank looked over his shoulder at me. "You coming?"
AN: I know it's been forever since I deleted the first attempt at Star Light, Star Bright, but Stella's a bit finicky. And I was trying to finish Family in Progress before the end of the year, but the past three weeks or so have been crazy, and I realized that I had almost this entire chapter finished. I do promise that FiP will be done before the end of this month. And I will be updating this and What Might Have Been semi-regularly, as much as I can. Thanks for reading! And I do love reviews ;D
P.S. Thanks to PurpleReader29, I have corrected a teensy mistake. Hopefully nobody else noticed!