DISCLAIMER: Sadly I do not own Cirque du Freak or any of the cirque characters though I would love to have my very own Larten Crepsley. I do however own Roxxi, James, Leila, Sienna and Danny.

SUMMARY: Roxxi Clarke is special; she has a gift and that gift may be the one thing to keep Crepsley alive. When Mr Crepsley realises that Roxxi is special, he tells her that her power must be used to fulfil her destiny but can Roxxi really make the ultimate sacrifice to save the orange haired man she has been dreaming about since she was a little girl?

A/N: This is not based after any specific book but does contain references from the books and the movie.

Assumes that Darren has not been taken to Vampire Mountain.

Thanks for the reviews so far, it's nice to know that I have your support.

The bits in italics are Roxxi's dream.

TITLE: A Change in Destiny

Nightmares in Red

The next few nights passed the same as the last, Roxxi would train alongside Crepsley and Darren then head back to her tent for a night of dreamless sleep. She was starting to lose hope until the fourth night of her third week came but this time the dream was different and half of her wished that they had never come back. Writhing and moaning in her sleep, she jerked awake when she felt a cool hand on her bare shoulder. Gasping for breath, she bolted upright in bed and came face-to-face with her best friend, Evra Von. "What happened?" Blinking to clear her vision, she straightened the vest top which she had been using a pyjama top and shuffled over to make room for the snake boy to sit down. Looking around, she realised that Darren was still out with Crepsley.

"You were screaming in your sleep, are you okay?" Raising an eyebrow, Evra sat down beside her and waited.

"Yeah…I was…" Trailing off, a tear slipped over her lashes and Evra leant across to wipe it away. "I had a nightmare." Her voice escaped as a quiet whisper and Evra sighed.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" His voice wasn't pushy; if she wanted to then she could but if she didn't then he would let it drop.

"There was so much blood…it was everywhere and I couldn't stop it." Taking a shaky breath, she paused before continuing with the story. "He was dying, he was dying and screaming…he begged them to stop but they wouldn't." Trailing off she looked away, embarrassed and ashamed of her weakness. It was one thing to be scared and upset over training or feeding from a human but to be so shaken up from dreams? That was never her style.

"Who?" She said nothing and Evra laid a hand on her arm. "Who?" Again she wouldn't reply so he sighed. "Okay, you don't wanna tell me…I get it but tell me about the dream?" This time she nodded and turned to face him.

"Okay." The whisper was fearful but she knew that telling someone would help.

Walking along, Roxxi chuckled and looked up at the stars. She had always loved stars since she was a little girl. "Nice night isn't it?"

"Hmm." The mumbled reply was distracted and Roxxi stopped walking.

"Are you okay?" He said nothing so she tried again. "Look, you've been distracted all night…what's going on with you?"

"Nothing, I am just fine." His tone was still distracted and Roxxi rolled her eyes as he continued to walk on ahead of her.

"Stop lying to me." She stopped walking and put her hands on her hips. "Just tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing is wrong." He continued to walk in front of her, never once looking back to see that she had stopped.

"Whatever you say." She muttered something under her breath which he didn't catch before picking up her pace and falling into step beside him. "I'll just have to let it go this once." Reaching over, she grabbed his hand and laced her fingers in his.

When he finally looked down at her, he offered a tiny smile. "I will be fine, I just have a lot on my mind lately." She nodded, unconvinced, but decided not to push it. It was a clear night but the air was chilly and she couldn't stop the shiver which ran through her body. "Cold?"

"A little bit but I'll be fine." Trying not to shiver, she continued to walk beside him but stopped when he pulled her to a halt.

"Here, take this." Taking his coat off, he handed it to Roxxi who slipped her arms through the sleeves and smiled.

"Won't you need it?" Looking at him, she realised that he was wearing a long sleeved shirt and considered retracting her question but before she could, he answered her.

"No, I have sleeves." Offering her a smile, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and the two continued to head home.

They had been walking for the best part of half an hour when a couple of boys emerged from a back-alley. Ducking her head, Roxxi avoided them as she pulled him along side her; the last thing she needed right now was a fight. They quickened their pace but Roxxi was forced to stop when she heard one of the boys call out, "Oi, we want a word with you!" Whirling around, she tried to work out who they were but couldn't…she had never seen them before.

"I'm sorry you must have the wrong person, I've never met you before…I don't…" She was cut off as one of the boys lunged at her and knocked her off balance. "Please d…don't hurt me." Her voice trembled as she saw the blade which was now being held to her throat.

"I know what you are." He snarled as he aimed the blade above her heart. "So here we are…little vampire…" He was interrupted however, as Roxxi's friend grabbed him and pulled the boy off her.

"You leave her alone, she has done nothing wrong!" Kicking the boy in the shin, he pushed him to the ground and Roxxi closed her eyes in fear.

Time seemed to stop and she had no idea how much of it had passed until she heard a pained cry and when she dared crack one eye open, she gasped in horror. Both boys were now fleeing, clearly shaken by something. Looking around, she felt tears prick her eyes. Crawling over to him, she pulled his head into her lap and tried to stop the blood which was pouring from his chest. "No, don't you dare do this to me. I need you…please don't do this."

His lips twitched and his mouth tried to form the words he was looking for but a mist had already covered his eyes and Roxxi knew that he didn't have long left. Summoning all his strength, he managed to whisper the words, "I love you."

"I love you too, hold on please." Salty tears fell down her cheeks and into his hair as she rocked him back and forth. "Please you can make it…I know you can." Leaning down she placed a kiss to his forehead but it was too late, his eyes had clouded over and a sliver of blood trickled from his mouth…he was gone. "No." Her whisper was lost in the wind as angry tears fell. "No…not like this."

By now, tears were flowing and she trailed off as fits of sobs took over. Evra quickly wrapped an arm around her shoulders and allowed her to collapse against his chest, her tears soaking the front of his t-shirt. He rubbed her arm and cooed reassuring words in her ear but he was sure that she hadn't actually heard any of them. They sat like that for the best part of fifteen minutes, her crying and him trying to make her see that it would all be okay. "Shh, come on it was only a dream. Dream's can't hurt you…right?"

"M…mine c…can." Gasping for breath, she snivelled and tried to stop the tears but they continued to fall.

"How? A dream isn't real it…" He was interrupted as she shook her head.

"I have dreams that…that m…mean something. That's why Crepsley b…blooded me." Evra's eyes widened as she confessed that it was her dreams which would enable her to save Crepsley.

"Well isn't the dream a good thing then because now you know how they're going to kill him." She shook her head and Evra's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I don't get it, why not?"

Sniffing, she looked up at him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Because it isn't Crepsley that died in my dream…it was James." Her voice was quiet and scared but Evra heard each word clearly.

"Oh my…you have to tell Crepsley." She shook her head and he sighed. "Look, I know Crepsley can be pretty scary sometimes but if you tell him then he'll help you. He's a good guy really." Squeezing her shoulders, he waited for her to say something.

"I'm scared Evra." He hadn't been expecting that one. "What if I can't stop it in time? I don't even know when it's gonna happen so how the hell am I supposed to stop it?"

"I…I don't know Roxxi." For once Evra didn't have any comforting words because he knew that she was right. "But I do know that whatever happens…I'll be here for you." Dropping a kiss into her hair, he pulled her in closer and allowed her to snuggle into his chest. Of all the members of the Cirque, Roxxi was closest to Evra. She wasn't sure how it had happened but he had become her best friend and suddenly she couldn't imagine her life without him.

"Thank you." Her voice was croaky now but the sobs had stopped which made Evra smiled slightly. He said nothing, instead dropping another kiss into her hair and resting his chin on top of her head. "You really think I should tell Crepsley?" He hummed in response and she sighed. "Maybe you're right." Once again, he hummed. "Will you come with me?"

"Of course." They talked for a while, Evra trying to cheer her up and Roxxi smiling at his awful jokes even though she found very few of them funny. Their plan was to stay awake until Crepsley and Darren came home but when Darren returned to his tent early the next morning, he found them curled up on Roxxi's bed fast asleep. That night Roxxi was plagued with no more nightmares but the previous one had been enough to make her realise that as long as she was still alive, her friends were in danger. This wasn't all about Crepsley…not anymore.

A/N: Sorry this chapter was a little shorter than the rest but hopefully I will update again soon. Thanks for reading and pretty please review and let me know what you thought…they have been dwindling lately I have noticed.

XxxoxxX