Welcome to my new story! I've been thinking about this for a while now and finally decided to give it a try. I'm curious to see what you think of this. I wanted to do something completely different from my other stories 'Shallow' and 'Only a Job' and that's when the idea of Soulmates and magic came to me. This has been inspired by the movies 'The Greatest Showman' and 'The Prestige'. Please let me know what you think and if you want me to continue this, that would be awesome!

I think some of you might already know that the title is inspired by the song 'Come Alive' by Hugh Jackman and the cast of the Greatest Showman.

I don't own the characters or places!


Full summary: We're finding ourselves at the end of the 18th century, in a world where magic and soulmates are real. Well, or let's say where most people have forgotten that magic is indeed real and not just a product of your imagination. Virginia Potts is one of the few people who still believe in magic. It's her dream to find out more about it and maybe even find her soulmate one day, but you might already know that it's not that easy. Especially not when shows with fake magicians are getting more and more in every big city. I might have forgotten to mention that she's a well-known critic of said shows. So what if rumours of a brand new show lead her to New York, where she meets the showman Tony Stark?
PEPPERONY


Pepper

"In my next magic trick, dear ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to let this bird vanish." The man on the big stage announced, his smile wide. It was obvious that he enjoyed the excited cries in the crowd very much. "Then it will reappear again somewhere you don't expect it at all." He clapped his hands and began to move over the stage towards a small, yellow cage. The bird inside was flying around hectically, already knowing what was going to come.

The man took it carefully and turned back to the crowd. "I need a volunteer!" He exclaimed and in an instant, many people offered to do it loudly. Mostly women, of course. He chose a beautiful young girl with blond hair, who looked a little nervous. When she reached him, he whispered something into her ear and she nodded in understanding. The insecure smile on her lips told everyone that she wasn't sure if it was really going to work. "This young lady, Caroline, will help me to let the bird vanish now, right inside this cage!"

Many people inhaled sharply at this, the anticipation in the room rising with every second. They both placed their hands on the sides of the cage and then he counted to three. Many people inhaled sharply when they pushed and the material bent with a crack. The cage was as flat as a sheet of paper in their hands and Caroline stared at it with wide eyes. She seemed to be frozen, but the man smiled at her reassuringly.

"You did nothing wrong, my dear." He announced and slowly, she let her hands sink. To everyone's surprise, the cage was empty. Caroline cried out in surprise.

"Where is the bird?" A man in the crowd demanded to know loudly.

"You killed it!" Another person shrieked.

"It's fine!" The showmaster announced with a wide smile and it looked like he was searching for something in Caroline's long hair. Suddenly, there was a noise and he held up the bird which was moving its wings hectically.

All around, people started to jump to their feet, cheering furiously. In this moment, the magician had won the crowd. He'd passed the test and from the looks of it, he also knew that. Even from the distance, the gleam in his eyes couldn't be missed. It had been a risk to do this trick because most people failed, but he'd managed it.

"Just a trick." I whispered to the man next to me. We were the only ones in the crowd who didn't jump to their feet and started to cheer.

"Clever, though." Phil said next to me, a thoughtful look on his face. "I wonder how he's done it."

"Doesn't matter." I muttered, trying to hide my disappointment. "He's just another liar."

We continued to watch the show, even if I considered to leave every few minutes. However, we couldn't do that. Even if this man wasn't a real magician, I didn't want to ruin his show by leaving earlier. The looks on the other people's faces told me that they were enjoying the show very much. So I would have to show my displease the next day when I was writing my article for the local paper.


"You have to admit that he wasn't that bad." Phil said thoughtfully, leading me through the city slowly. "The people enjoyed it."

"Of course they did." I argued and tried to avoid ruining my dress on the wet, dirty streets. It was my last clean dress and I couldn't risk it, we didn't have enough money to clean them all at the moment. "He was very charming. But it wasn't real magic, Phil." I emphasized the last sentence.

"So you're still going to write that article?"

I sighed. "I have to. We need the money. And besides, I hate it when people pretend to do magic tricks and it's just fake."

He smiled at me and I knew that deep inside, he felt the same.

"Watch out!" Someone called and we both stopped just in time before a carriage drove past us. I breathed in sharply, but Phil just laughed.

"We should discuss this further once we're back in the hotel." He said and pulled me in that direction. I followed him, but my thoughts wandered back to the show we'd seen. It was true, the people had enjoyed it. But it wasn't real magic. It had been just a show, nothing else. Not what I hoped for.

I shook my head and decided to focus on the world around me once more. It was a beautiful, sunny day in Philadelphia. Birds were singing and the trees were beginning to get the first green leaves. The ground was still wet from the rain of the past days and it seemed to make everything dirty. I loved the spring very much and breathed in deeply.

Unfortunately, there were also smells and sounds which were destroying the beautiful day. Like all the people around us. The sound of many carriages moving around. The smells of the streets and the railroad station which was close by. I enjoyed being in the big cities, but not on days like this.

"Virginia, are you even listening to me?" Phil's voice ripped me out of my thoughts. Only now I noticed that we'd arrived at our hotel and he was holding the door open for me.

"I'm sorry, Phil. I've been lost in thoughts." I admitted.

"That's fine." He smiled. "I was asking if you want to head to New York next or if you'd prefer a trip to the countryside."

"New York?" I raised my eyebrows. "I thought we wanted to head south."

"There's a new show in the city." Phil said. "I've heard someone talking about it this morning. Apparently, it's very good."

I scoffed. "They say that about every new show."

"They do." Phil confirmed. "But this one seems to be special since it's not all about magic tricks."

"Doesn't that make it even more obvious that it's all just another lie?"

Phil shook his head. "People call it magical. They've got some dancers and singers as well. Though the magician is the main act." I wasn't convinced and he seemed to see that. "Come on, Virginia. New York is worth a visit. The city is always able to surprise you."

I remained sceptical. "Didn't we say that we want to continue our search outside the big cities?"

"Just one more try." Phil insisted. "If I'm wrong about this one, we can do it your way."

"Fine." I agreed after a few moments of hesitation. "And now I'll go to my room and take a bath before I start to write the new article."

Once I was back in my own room, I sat down on the bed with a sigh. Why did everything have to be this difficult? We were travelling through the country for months now without finding what we were looking for. By now, I was nearly thinking that it was impossible. That it would be all for nothing.

But then I saw two faces in my mind. They were both smiling while they told their little daughter about their first meeting. A meeting that felt like magic as soon as he took her hand to kiss it. From that moment on, a pair of Soulmates was born. They'd also told her other stories about her grandparents. The grandparents who always had the most beautiful garden in the world, no matter what time of year it was. It had been like magic.

Could my parents have been wrong after all?