I know it's only been a day, but I was bored and I wrote this so I thought, why not publish it?
Green Meadow1870: I'm glad you liked the chapter! It will take a while before Rose really starts calling Anne and Phillip 'Mom' and 'Dad' but she did do it because she was too exhausted to realize what she was saying and that's how she thinks of them. And I'm starting to plan the wedding in my mind already, but you'll have to wait to see that!
Chapter Fourteen
It had been one month since Rose was unofficially adopted, and ever since Anne and Phillip had been searching for her mother or father to legally adopt Rose. Anne had racked her brain, and only remembered the last name Levy when it came to the family, but that was good enough for them.
But, in the meantime, Rose had gone out by herself more. After seeing Timothy and returning unscathed, her parents decided to let her go out, as long as she was safe.
One day while she was out, she saw two girls that she vaguely recognized wandering around, looking confused and lost. A boy dropped down in front of them, and the blonde jumped while her friend just gripped her hand in fear.
"Well, well, well," the boy said. "What do we have here? Two pretty little girls, all alone."
"Leave them alone, Jake," Rose spoke from behind them, and Jake turned around, smirking when he saw her.
"If it isn't little ol' Rose."
"You can't intimidate me," Rose snapped, unfazed. "Go pick on someone else, or you have to mess with me. And if I remember correctly, that didn't turn out too well last time did it?"
Jake winced a bit and unconsciously ran a hand across his nose.
"Fine. See you around, Rosie."
Rose rolled her eyes and turned to the girls, who were looking at her in surprise.
"You two okay?" she asked, cautiously. They were a few years younger than her, and both white. One of them was a short-haired blonde with blue-green eyes and pale skin, and the other was a bit more tanned with hazel eyes and long, black hair and freckles.
"I- you're the girl from the circus, right?" one of them asked meekly, and Rose nodded, not letting her nervousness show.
Keep your emotions hidden.
She brushed off the memory, and just looked at the girls again.
"Our friend saw you perform. She said you were amazing," the blonde girl said, more confident than her friend.
Rose nodded and simply asked, "What are your names?"
"I'm Vivian and this is Ella," the black-haired girl answered.
"Well, Vivian and Ella, where are your parents?"
"We were bored and walked off," Ella said bashfully. "They're somewhere back there."
"I'll help you find them," Rose said, and led the girls through the streets. She saw a woman talking to a police officer, but the woman shouted with joy when she saw the girls.
"Ella! Vivian!" she called and ran up to the girls, pulling them into a hug. The officer, meanwhile, was walking forward and glaring at Rose.
"What did you do to them, girl?" he snarled. "I should arrest you for kidnapping."
Rose frowned. She was used to this behavior, but that didn't mean she liked it. "One, I have a name. It's Rose. Two, you have zero proof I did anything but help Vivian and Ella find their mom."
"Ella's mom," Vivian corrected. "She's taking care of me for the day."
Rose nodded, and noted that Ella's mom looked familiar and annoyed. She vaguely remembered seeing her leading Ella away and realized Vivian was probably the girl she bumped into after she and Anne had their huge fight.
"She brought my daughter and her friend back to me, nothing else. Please go away now," she said cooly, snapping Rose out of her thoughts. The officer nodded. He left, but not before shooting Rose a dirty look.
"Thank you," Ella's mother said, and Rose simply nodded.
"It's nothing. I grew up on the streets and know how hard they can be when you're not prepared," she said without emotion, and the woman smiled at her.
"I'm Kassie Ambers," the woman said, extending a hand that Rose suspiciously took.
"Nice to meet you Mrs. Ambers. I'm-" she hesitated before speaking. "Rose Carlyle."
Mrs. Ambers raised an eyebrow at the last name, and Rose understood. "The Carlyle's?" she repeated, and Rose knew she was taking in her skin. The Carlyles were known to despise anyone different than them, and that included black people. A lot of people knew about Anne and Phillip, but it was impossible for them to have a twelve-year-old daughter so soon.
"Adopted daughter," she explained, and Mrs. Ambers nodded before smiling at her again.
"Well, I'll see you around Rose," she said. "I assume you live at the circus?"
"And she performs there!" Ella piped up eagerly, but Rose noticed that Vivian looked a little sad.
"Is that so? What's your act?"
Rose hesitated before saying it.
"Contortion. I'm a contortionist."
"That's lovely. I hope we see you sometime soon. Good-bye!"
Rose waved to them and Mrs. Ambers smiled before turning away and starting to lead the girls away, but Ella stopped for a moment as she had a sudden thought. She didn't know what made her do it, but she turned around and ran up to Rose.
"Is Rose a nickname?" she asked, and Rose shook her head. "It could be. The name Rosalyn suits you."
Then, she turned and walked away. Rose let a small smile grace her lips.
"Rosalyn," she repeated with a smile. "I like it."
She turned away and walked off, but not before looking back at the girls one more time. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling she would see them again someday.
When Rose arrived back at the circus that day, she looked at Anne, who was sitting in a chair and reading. Phillip was next to her, writing something on a piece of paper. The others were probably practicing.
"Rosalyn Violet Carlyle," she said suddenly, and they both looked up at her in surprise. "My name. Rosalyn."
"It's beautiful," Anne said, and Phillip nodded.
"Soft but with a sharp edge. It suits you."
Rose beamed and picked up a newspaper as she went to sit by her parents. But then she gasped and sat up.
"Anne. Phillip," she said, and held up the paper so they could see the headline and the words under it.
Negro Mob Killed After Violence
Under that was a bunch of stupid stuff, but the sentence that made Rose gasp was-
Among the dead were Richard Gemstone, Hailey Kereef, and Sam Levy. Levy was the only one married, and his wife Irene grieves him, despite the fact that he was clearly a vile man to fight white men.
"It seems we have a lead on my biological parents," Rose muttered.
It's short, I know, but so was the last chapter and I hope this makes up for it! I did say Ella and Vivian would appear again, and here they are! Let me know what you think of their characters, and what may happen to them! Please review!
-Creator of Magic