I was watching Water for Elephants... enough said
Bella's Point of View
The gentle rocking of the train was soothing and I sighed with contentment, standing up from the end of the small twin bed.
I ran my fingers through my long brown hair, then tugged my colorful silk kimono robe from the hook on the wall and slipped it on.
My feet were bare, I noticed, as I opened the door to my car and peered around the side, holding on with one hand to the bar attached to the outside wall.
Trees blew by, and I reached out to touch my fingers against the leaves.
Shivering at the breeze that came with the motion I delighted at the feeling of the soft foliage brushing against my fingertips, my hair blowing about my face.
"Bell!" I turned in alarm, recognizing the booming voice of Emmet McCarty.
He stood to my right a few train cars down, his head peeping out from behind the sliding door.
"Get down from there, you could hurt yourself!" he called, cupping one hand around his mouth.
But even as he yelled, I could see the corner of his mouth curving up into a smile.
He knew that I wouldn't get down, especially when he tried to tell me to.
I was just as adventurous, if not more so, than he was.
Rolling my eyes I ignored his slightly worried calls, warning me that I could fall, or get my hand sliced off by a sharp branch.
I simply grinned and reveled in the feeling of the slightly warm morning air rushing past me, eyes closed.
But the feeling of the wind was slowing, and I knew that very soon we would be at our destination.
Sighing I ducked back into the car, gathering my hair over one shoulder.
Bending down I pulled open my dresser drawer, taking out a pair of black tights and a long sleeved white v-neck.
Done with my clothing I pulled on my pair of brown leather knee-high riding boots, then gathered my hair into a high sloppy ponytail.
Satisfied I moved to the open window, peering out to my left.
A large open field was coming into view, a handful of women and children scattered about.
Horse and buggies were pulled over to the side, near a thin dirt road, safely out of the way of the train.
It was simply beautiful, the flat terrain cover in lush green grass and wildflowers of every color.
Glancing to my right I could see Emmet and the rest of our men looking out of the open doors of their cars.
As the train came to a stop I rushed into the next car, slowly shutting the door behind me.
"Hey there..." I cooed, approaching my large black Friesian stallion, Captain.
Captain pawed at the straw with his hooves, shaking his head in agitation.
I understood that he was tired of being cooped up and I reached for the bridle strap, attaching a lead and moving the rope that was blocking him in the stall.
As I led him towards the door the ramp suddenly came down, the blinding sunlight flooding through the car.
Blowing through his nose Captain shied away, tugging me backwards.
"Shh Cap, it's okay it's only Emmet." Sure enough Emmet stood before me on the ramp, holding his hand out for Captain's lead.
Handing it over I went back to the stall, leading out our two, more compliant horses.
Sky and Star, our mother and daughter pair, two white mares.
Their tails swished in delight at the sun, and they followed me at a slow and leisurely pace down the wooden ramp.
"That's right, you girls love the sun huh?" I murmured, petting them as they walked alongside me.
Turning about I could see our giraffe being unloaded from one car, while the lion and tiger cages were being carefully rolled along.
Following the line of animals being escorted to a shaded holding area, I noticed that Star had a slight limp on her front hoof.
Continuing on I tied the two to a hitching post, bending down beside Star.
"What's going on baby?" I murmured gently, tapping her front leg in a silent command to lift her hoof.
Obediently she lifted it from the ground and I pulled it into my hand, peering down at the swollen middle.
Irritation from something… I thought, gently running my fingers around it until I felt a hard object.
Star shifted as I dug it out, blowing through her nostrils in agitation.
Finally I dislodged a rock from her hoof, and released her leg.
Shaking her head Star put pressure on it, letting out a nicer as she realized the offender was gone.
"That's right, no more mean old rock going to hurt you." I giggled, scratching at the base of her ears.
Star simply nibbled at my shirt, her large brown eyes closed peacefully.
"I'll be back soon." I promised, pulling away from her and making my way towards the "crew".
There were two parts to our circus, the crew, and the performers.
Although neither label really defined them, they were more like a family.
Most workers didn't stay on the train with us very long, just stragglers working to make their way somewhere.
They were always replaced within days, new people desperate to escape.
But there were a select few who had stuck with us for as long as I could remember.
Emmet, Charlie, Jacob, Michael, and Tim.
Emmet was like the big brother I never had, he had short dark brown curls, eyes the same color, and muscles that had grown bigger from all his years of hard labor.
Charlie was my father, who joined me on the train when my mother left us taking all our money with her.
Jacob had onl
Their job was to set up the huge big top at our every location, set the posts, pitch the canvas, clean up after the animals as well as feed them and make the small tents that would house our animals during the day, mostly anything you could imagine.
They were workers, simply put, and in return they got free board on the train and an hourly pay of four dollars which was fair seeing as they worked more than twelve hours out of the day.
Then there were the performers, who were permanent more or less, and I was one of them.
First there was Alice, our resident physic.
She could tell fortunes, read palms, and she even had a crystal ball.
She had her own stand right beside the entrance to the big top, where she sat and waited patiently for her customers curiosity to grow until they finally paid her for a fortune.
Alice was small, barely 5' 4", with short curly black hair and smoky grey eyes.
She tended to fit the racial profiling of a gypsy, wearing a long draping skirt and shirt, a thin silver band placed across her forehead at all times, but she pulled it off well.
Then there was Rosalie, beautiful, tall, and blonde.
Rosalie was the best trapeze artist we had, and always insisted there was be no net beneath her when she performed, something that both scared us and made us envy her bravery.
She was also Emmet's unrequited crush going on two years now, she knew it and made him work for it.
Then there was Carlisle, the ring leader and owner of the entire circus.
He built us from the ground up in less than a month, his dedication was simply inspiring.