I am so, so, so sorry for the long wait! I had a bit of writers block for this story, and had no idea what should come next. This is one of those stories where I write whatever comes to mind and try to fit it into a plot, and no idea came.
Anyways, reviews!
JustAnotherFanGirl2004: I'm glad you like it! By now that part of the story is most likely over though, unless I have some other ideas. Like maybe Rose meeting her biological siblings? I don't think I could do that though, since part of this story is that she's moving on from her past, and the family she could have had counts as her past.
Green Meadow1870: Rose opening up to her new parents brings them closer together, since I need them to be people she can trust and be herself with. And I'm glad you liked Ella and Vivian! I'm trying to think of some more small ways they can fit into the story before the bigger plot with them.
Angryfanfic: Ask and you shall receive!
Again, I'm so sorry about the long wait, but hopefully this chapter makes up for it!
Chapter Sixteen
A boy walked up to the door of Barnum's circus in the middle of the day. He raised a hand and rang the bell. The door was opened by Phin.
"Yes?" he asked.
"I came to ask if I could have a position here," the boy said, and Phin nodded.
"You can try out after practice. Everyone is inside."
The boy nodded and walked in, stopping short when he saw what was happening. In the room were millions of different people. Or at least, it felt that way. There were probably only twenty or so, but their differences seemed to make them stand out so much more. A man and woman swung on trapeze bars, another woman with a beard sang beautifully, some people practiced dance moves, and a girl only a bit younger than him was hanging on to a large metal hoop, bending her body into amazing shapes.
After another ten minutes, Phin clapped and shouted, "Practice is over!"
Everyone stopped and the girl on the hoop dropped down from six feet above the ground, landing lightly on her feet.
"Show off," the boy heard another girl giggle, and the contortionist rolled her eyes, grinning.
Phin said good-bye to everyone, and the three girls ran up to him and the youngest asked, "Can we please go out? Please Dad!"
Phin looked over at the woman who was doing trapeze and she nodded.
"Sure, but be careful. Rose, take care of them."
"Okay Phin! Thanks Anne!" the contortionist said happily, and grabbed her friends' hands, dragging them away.
The woman the boy assumed was Anne walked up to Phin, with another man beside her.
"Who is he Phin?" the man asked.
"He wants to try out," Phin answered.
"Oh, that would be good for Rose!" Anne said happily. "She needs to know more kids her age. She has the girls and Vivian and Ella of course, but Vi, Ella, and Helen are all a few years younger than her. Caroline is the only one her age."
Phin nodded thoughtfully.
"Yeah, I guess I never thought much about that." He turned back to the boy and asked, "What's your name?"
"Jackson," he answered simply.
"No last name?"
He shook his head and the man laughed a bit. "Who does that remind me of?" he asked Anne, and she smiled too.
"I'm Phin Barnum, and this is Phillip Carlyle and his fiancée, Anne Wheeler. Since we're the only ones left, we'll watch you. What is your talent?"
Jackson pulled something small and sharp out of something on his belt so fast they couldn't see what it was. Just as quickly, he shot it forward...and there was a knife in the wall by Phin's head. Jackson still had his hand outstretched, and it took a moment for the three to realize what had happened.
Always quick to make these decisions, Phin said, "You're in."
Jackson grinned widely.
"So, do you have a home?" Phin asked. "Because if you don't we can have you move in with someone."
Jackson shrugged. "If you want to give me a home you can, but if you don't I'll be fine."
"You're moving in with me," Phillip decided. Jackson looked surprised, but Anne and Phin just nodded their agreement.
"Perfect. You start tomorrow."
Jackson arrived early at the circus with Phillip, and was shocked to already hear voices.
"Rose!" Phillip called, and one of the girls from before ran out of the performing room.
"Rose is on her hoop and can't come down right now, but I can help you," she said.
"Thank you Caroline," he said gratefully. "Can you take some of these costumes down with Jackson? I'm going to check on the ropes and make sure they're able to hold Rose. Are your parents here?"
"Dad let us come here ourselves with Rose. He was pretty busy and said you're in charge today."
Phillip nodded. "Okay, thank you."
He walked away from the two and into the performing room, smiling a bit as he looked up. There was Rose, in her black leotard, swinging from the hoop. She was very high, and he quickly checked the ropes. They were okay.
He hardly noticed Caroline and Jackson arrive behind him, and all three watched in amazement Rose as she climbed to the top of the hoop. Carefully, with incredible balance, she lifted her feet up into the air. With just as much precision, she pushed off the hoop and flipped in the air. FOr a second it looked like she was going to fall, but at the last moment, one of her hands caught the hoop. She grabbed onto it with both hands and flipped herself up to sit on it.
A moment later, Caroline started moving the hoop down. The ropes were designed so anyone could easily lower the hoop and whoever was on it, so she was able to do it without any problems. A few feet above the ground, Rose jumped down and ran up to Phillip.
"Hey Phillip!" she said, a bit breathlessly. "Do you need any help with anything?"
He shook his head. "No, but that's a new part of your performance. I didn't know you could balance on top of the hoop like that!"
Rose chuckled. "Neither did I. It was my first time." She spotted Jackson, and immediately stiffened.
"Who are you?" she asked, her tone changed to an emotionless one. Phillip sighed a bit sadly and answered, "His name's Jackson. He's a new performer."
"What does he do?" Helen asked, running to them.
"Knife throwing," Caroline answered. Her sisters looked at her in surprise, and she shrugged. "He told me when we were putting the costumes away."
Rose and Helen brightened immediately. "New costumes?" Helen asked with a huge smile.
Phillip laughed.
"Go ahead."
Grinning widely, the girls all ran off.
"What are they doing?" Jackson asked curiously.
"We got new costumes a year ago," Phillip explained. "The girls had the idea to play dress-up with them, and had a lot of fun. I think it'll become a tradition."
Jackson looked up at him.
"So, I'm guessing you're not one of those super strict places that's like 'We have no time for fun' and all?" he asked.
Phillip shook his head.
"Yes we have a job, but they're all just kids! Besides, Rose is the only one that works here," he explained, smiling fondly as he remembered his daughter's face when the girls suggested the game. She had still been very guarded back then, but it had been one of the things that made her open up a bit - being normal. It had been scary to see her go back when she met Jackson, but he was a stranger. What could they expect?
"Which one was Rose?"
"The girl on the hoop," Phillip answered. "She's my daughter."
Jackson frowned, confused. "Daughter?"
Phillip nodded. "Anne and I adopted her recently. The girls were her sisters, although they're not related to her. This circus is like a huge family, although hardly any of us are blood related."
Jackson smiled.
"A family sounds nice."
Practice went well, but Rose was distracted. She was worried about Jackson. He was a white boy, maybe a year older than her, and she had no idea how he would treat her. He didn't seem too bad, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to be careful.
You never know, she thought. Maybe he'll be like Mom or Dad. Suddenly she froze. She had just thought of Anne and Phillip as Mom and Dad. Shaking her head, she turned back to her hoop a moment before Phillip called that it was time for a break.
She turned, and to her surprise, saw Jackson.
"Can I help you?" Rose asked simply, and he hesitated.
"Well, I'm just curious."
"About what?"
"What's your story? I mean, you're only a kid here and Phillip said he and Anne adopted you, and you still call them by their first names so I'm assuming it's new. But you would have to be working here first for them to adopt you, since they met at the circus and wouldn't have known you before. It just doesn't seem normal that a kid works somewhere like you do."
Rose crossed her arms. "Well, we're not normal here. And I could ask you the same thing."
"I'm a runaway. My family was...awful to say the least so I decided to leave. I needed a job so I came here."
Rose sighed. "I was an orphan, until Anne and Phillip adopted me. I was a servant at an orphanage, until it burned down and I came here." She wasn't about to tell him her full story - only her family knew that.
Jackson nodded, clearly knowing that was all the information he would get, and waved to her.
"Bye Rose."
Rose just nodded, but felt a bit of hope. Maybe Jackson really would be a good addition to their family.
Done! What kind of character do you think Jackson will become? And will Rose trust him? What events do you think could bring them closer together? Please review!
-Creator of Magic