Green Meadow1870: I'm glad you think I did a good job with the fire scene! And I may change some more of the lyrics if I put that song in here again, which I probably will do.

This chapter is more of a filler, but I still hope you enjoy.

Chapter Nine

When Rose woke up the next morning, she stared around her in shock. It was day, and sunlight filled the room. She could hear the faint sound of birds, but that didn't surprise her.

She had slept peacefully for the first time in three years.

"Good - you're up," a voice said, and she turned to see Anne. "We're heading to the circus to see what the plan is."

Rose nodded and the vivid memories of the fire came back, making her shudder.

She quickly got dressed in a simple red dress with small white flowers and her brown boots. Lettie quickly styled her black hair in a braid and the three of them set off.

When they arrived at the circus, the others were already there. Caroline and Helen ran up to Rose.

"What do you think they'll do?" Helen asked. "We weren't allowed to come to the last meeting, but Mother and Father said that if you could come we could too."

Rose shrugged.

"Lettie told me that last time they used a tent for performing until the circus was rebuilt. We'll probably do that this time too," she said, looking around. Suddenly, the young girl saw the circus and froze. It was in ruin.

"Rose?" Caroline asked. She followed Rose's eyes and saw what she was looking at.

She sighed.

"I know - it's hard to look at. But soon we'll have it fixed up."

Rose nodded, but still couldn't tear her eyes away from the wreckage. The circus was her home, so why didn't it hurt more to see it like this? Was it just because she knew they would fix it soon, or had the circus never truly been her home?

Once Phin told them all the plan, they walked home. Tomorrow they would get started on rebuilding, and the day after that they would have a performance in the tent.

Rose had asked if she would be helping, and Phin was hesitant to agree since she was only eleven (they'd decided to make her birthday the day she arrived at the circus). Rose reminded him that she could be useful, and he slowly agreed.

Which meant tomorrow could be a big day.

"How do you want to spend the rest of the day?" Lettie asked her. Rose shrugged, and the two women exchanged looks. She was usually...well, not talkative, but she always had an idea or opinion.

"How about we take a walk?" Anne suggested.

An hour later, they returned home. The three spent the rest of the day together, having fun.

The next day started like normal, but instead of going to the circus to practice they arrived to start rebuilding.

Phin gave them instructions, and Anne and Phillip helped Rose. Anne was hoping Rose would become closer to him, since she may have a really good relationship with her and Lettie but she was a bit more guarded around the other (minus Caroline and Helen, who were definitely her best friends).

She had to admit that she was a bit worried at first, but her mind was immediately put at ease when she saw Rose talking to Phillip and laughing happily as he helped her. The fire wasn't as bad as the last one, and part of the circus was still intact.

It was all going fine, until Anne fell.

She had been standing on a ladder and hammering something when she accidentally hit herself a bit. Anne lost her balance and, to Rose's horror, started to fall.

"Anne!" she screamed in fear, but felt herself calm down when Phillip caught her.

"Rose?" Anne said gently, seeing the girl's face. "Are you okay?"

Rose suddenly threw her arms around Anne and hugged her tightly. For one split second, she had been so worried that she would lose the biggest mother figure in her life.

Yes, that's what she had come to see Anne as. She may love Lettie, but Anne understood some of the things Rose had gone through because of her skin. Often they stayed up talking.

"Rose, I'm okay," Anne said. "I didn't even get hurt."

Rose looked at Phillip and gave him a thankful look. Thank you, she mouthed, letting go of Anne and getting back to work.

That night, they all grouped in the Barnum's home to talk like the day of the fire.

Rose decided to share something she had been thinking about for a little while.

"You know," she mused, and everyone went quiet, since - though she was opening up a bit more - it was rare that she spoke to all of them about her feelings and not just Anne, Lettie, Caroline, and Helen.

"When I saw the circus yesterday I was sad, but not very sad. I was very confused since this circus has become my home, in a way. Today I realized why that was though."

She turned to Anne and continued, "When you fell, I was so scared. I figured out why I wasn't heartbroken when I saw the circus. It's just a building, but my real home is with my family. You all."

"Your family?" Anne repeated, and Rose nodded with a smile. Her friends- family all hugged her, and she smiled widely. She may have started out as just another girl to them, but they'd gotten her to trust them faster than anyone she had ever known. They were a family now.

What could go wrong?

(Don't worry, this isn't the ending as you will soon see.)

Six months after the fire, the circus was rebuilt and they were practicing. Rose was trying to teach Caroline how to balance on her hope, but her friend kept falling, making them both laugh.

There was suddenly a knock on the door, and Rose stood up.

"I'll get it. Anne, can you make sure Caroline doesn't kill herself?"

"I'm not that bad!" Caroline protested, even though she was grinning.

Rose opened the door and froze, her breathing fast and scared.

She heard the voice of the person she hadn't seen in nearly four years, and had been hoping to never see again. The person that scared her more than anyone, more than Timothy or any person she had met on the streets. The one person she could never fight back to. The person that took over most of her nightmares.

"Hello Rose..."

You hate me right now. Sorry, but you have to wait nine days to find out who the person is. Let's just say, they're going to make Rose reveal some more about her past...and maybe cause some drama between Rose and Anne...

-Creator of Magic