Chapter Four

I feel so guilty! I haven't posted a new chapter in nearly two months! I'm so sorry! But my excuses include school starting, a new puppy, a lot of work on my story Demigods at Ever After High, and becoming an editor for another writer. Her name is bluelife000, and you should totally check her out because she's really creative and good.

Anyways, I finished my next chapter for Demigods at Ever After High, I have no editing work, my puppy is asleep, and I don't have homework so I'm writing this. Enjoy!

The show ended and Rose clapped along with everyone else. She heard a few people yell boo and stared at them until they saw her. They gave her threatening looks, and she just stared them in the eyes and gave the look that said I am not afraid of you. She knew her violet eyes were unsettling and odd, and if she looked at someone long enough it looked a little like she was staring into their soul. The people flinched and she turned back to the front. No one else had noticed.

Rose, Caroline, Helen, and Charity stayed even after everyone had left. When they were all gone, the four of them got out. Rose was happier than she'd been in ages. Soon, she would be doing that too.

"That was incredible!" she said when she reached everyone else.

Phillip smiled. "Glad you liked it."

They all grouped around as Phin said, "Now everyone, you've all met Rose, our new act. Now she is going to tell us the story that led her here." Everyone turned to Rose, who kept a blank face. Anne couldn't tell what she was thinking.

Rose took a deep breath and started talking.

"When I was one year old, my family died. I have no memories of my life before then. I was raised in an orphanage until it burned down - about three years ago. Then, I lived on the street for years, performing for money, until I came here. That's it."

Lettie exchanged confused looks with Anne, Phillip, and Phin. Why would Rose have said those things to them if that was just her story? She had a feeling Rose didn't have much experience with people, so her emotions got the best of her and she blurted that out.

There's more to her than meets the eye, Lettie thought, looking into Rose's violet eyes. Wait...violet eyes? She hadn't noticed them till now. She remembered something Anne had said in her sleep once. Violet eyes. Lettie had been awake when she heard Anne say that, but hadn't thought about it until now. Was it possible Anne had met Rose before? Even if she didn't remember it?

That night, Anne and Lettie took Rose home with them. The performers lived in a beautiful apartment building. It was a clean and very nice place, and they were well acquainted with the owner, who was an old friend of Phin's.

They all knew Phin could get them much fancier places - in fact, he had offered to - but they all insisted that they didn't want that. Unlike many people, the performers were all humble - which was probably an effect of being treated horribly their whole lives.

Anne and Lettie were a bit worried that Rose would expect something very fancy, but she gazed around the place in amazement, making both women feel stabs of pity for the young girl. She couldn't be older than ten, but was treated like a whole different species her whole life. And she was looking around an apartment as though it were a palace.

They had her take another bath, since she was still pretty dirty and they wanted her to be as happy and clean as possible.

The girl fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. When she was awake, Rose looked fierce and guarded. But when she slept, her face softened and she seemed peaceful.

"Anne..." Lettie said one she was positive Rose was asleep. "Do you think you've ever met Rose before?"

Anne hesitated, shaking her head slowly.

"I don't think so," she said, although she sounded unsure. "Maybe? If I did, I had to have been very young. Phillip told me he met her once, but it was a couple years ago. She was performing and he gave her some money."

Lettie smiled. That sounded like Phillip.

She turned to Anne and said, "Well, it's late and we should get ready for bed. We have work tomorrow."

Around the middle of the night, Lettie and Anne were woken up by a girl's voice screaming.

"No! No, please! Don't hurt me!" she screamed.

They both shot up in bed and looked around for a moment, before seeing the source of the screaming. Rose.

They ran over to the girl, who was twisting and turning in bed, screaming and clearly having a nightmare. The sweat on her forehead was mixing with the tears flowing down her face.

"Rose! Rose, wake up!" Anne said loudly, shaking the girl and jerking her from her nightmare.

Rose gasped as she woke up and jumped up, forgetting for a moment where she was and what was happening. When she saw Anne and Lettie, she broke down, her tears coming faster. The two of them pulled the young girl into a hug.

"It's okay. You're safe," Lettie muttered, and felt Rose calm down and her shaking ease.

"How often does that happen?" Anne asked when she was sure Rose was calm.

"Nearly every night," Rose said softly, not looking either of them in the eyes.

"Rose, why didn't you tell us?" Anne asked gently.

Rose shrugged. "It's not a big deal," she muttered.

Suddenly, she turned and faced Lettie and Anne.

"You have to promise me one thing," she said. The two nodded, and she continued, "Promise me that you will never tell anyone about this."

They both exchanged looks, knowing that they would have to tell Phin and Phillip. They knew they couldn't lie to Rose, though.

"Rose, we have to tell Phin and Phillip," Lettie said. Rose thought for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"Okay, those two are fine. But no one else!" she said fiercely. They both nodded.

"We promise," Anne said for both of them.

Rose took a deep breath. She got back into bed and pulled up her blankets, covering herself as though they could protect her from the nightmares. Soon, she fell into a deep sleep.

Anne and Lettie exchanged looks. They both felt sadness at the thought of what could have caused Rose's nightmares. She was so young, and had suffered so much. Maybe more than anyone else at the circus.

But there was nothing they could do about that. The past was unchangeable, but they could create the future. And Rose was going to have a happy future if they had anything to say about it.

So, there's my "Hello, I'm back and didn't give up on this story" chapter! I really love this story, even though it's my first story without magic. I love fantasy, but I really wanted to write a story about something so true that I feel passionate about.

And I know I created Rose, but I feel very bad for her, especially when I think about the backstory I gave her. Speaking of her backstory, please review and tell me what you think happened to Rose! I'll probably begin the next chapter with a flashback about her past.

As always, thank you for reading and please review!

-Creator of Magic