Green Meadow10: I love Rose too. I want to change her character a bit throughout the story though, but it'll be character development. Rose does always get straight to the point. When I started writing her, I just had a vague idea about what her personality would be. Sometimes I sort of start writing characters without knowing what I'll make them like or how I'll do their backstories, but I like where Rose had turned out. And it is a good thing Lettie and Anne were there, and they will be for the rest of Rose's nightmares. I like the quote too - it was just something that popped into my head and I wrote it down.
JustAnotherFanGirl2004: Yes, something is being kept a secret. Something very surprising. Is it strange that I'm enjoying this so much?
Disclaimer: I do not own the Greatest Showman or the song Part of Me.
I also want to say that I do not agree with anything that Timothy says to Rose. I really love her, but I have to put parts like this in to show the complete inequality.
Chapter Five
When Anne and Lettie woke up, they panicked for a moment when they saw Rose wasn't there. But then they saw that her bed was made and there was a flyer for Barnum's Circus turned upside down with writing on it on her bed.
They read it and saw it was a note from Rose. Her handwriting was clumsy, but it was just readable.
She said that she had woken early and gone to the circus to practice. She said not to worry because she knew this city and could handle herself. And she said that she had taken the spare key that Phin had given them in case they needed to get into the circus.
But that didn't stop them from being a bit afraid for Rose's safety. They knew she was anything but fragile, but after last night she seemed a bit different.
They knew Rose had taken the key, but the Barnum's always got there before the performers and let them in. They didn't know when Rose had left, but were pretty sure she'd be with the Barnum's soon, if she wasn't already.
Charity, Phin, Caroline, and Helen walked into the circus. The girls looked around, excited.
"Girls, why don't you go into the performing area while we wait for the others," Charity said to them, and the two listened to their mother.
They raced to the performing area, but something made them stop. They heard a voice singing and peaked in. To their surprise, they saw Rose doing various tricks on her hoop while singing softly.
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no!
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no!
Throw your sticks and your stones, throw your bombs and your blows
But you're not gonna break my soul
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no!
They both clapped and Rose jumped, falling a bit from her hoop. They ran forward to see if she was okay, but Rose simply stood up and looked at them.
"What are you doing here?" she asked cautiously. "And how much of that did you hear?"
"Only the last part," Helen said. "Did you write that song?"
Rose nodded.
"Well, you're really good. Why don't you sing in the circus?"
"No," Rose said firmly.
"But-" Helen tried.
"No," she repeated. "I am never singing in front of anyone."
Again, she added in her mind.
Once all the performers arrived, they got ready to practice. They all worked on their solo acts.
Phin asked Rose to show him some of her skills, and she walked up to her hoop. She did a few tricks, and landed softly.
"Good job. Now, Rose, you're very good - especially for your age. But your form could use a bit of work. You stumble sometimes and your movements can occasionally seem jerky. Can you work on that?" Phin asked gently. He knew Rose was only about Caroline's age, and that he should treat her like that, not like an adult.
He was half expecting her to get angry at his criticism, but instead just nodded and went back to work. He watched her practice, and saw improvement.
He nodded.
"Good. Keep practicing on that."
As he walked away, he thought about how odd Rose acted. She seemed too guarded and fierce for someone her age. What had she gone through to become this way?
He didn't know, but it was clear that it would take quite a bit for Rose to open up.
After the performance, Caroline and Helen sat with Rose. Phin, Charity, Phillip, Anne, and Lettie watched how happy Rose looked with the girls. She was smiling and laughing.
"Why do you think she likes them so much?" Lettie asked, thoughtful.
"They don't judge her. They make her laugh. They care about her," Charity said with a smile. "The list goes on."
"I'm glad she found some friends," Anne said. "You know, she had horrible nightmares."
The others turned to her and Lettie, who nodded in agreement.
"Last night, she woke up screaming," she said sadly. "She said she had these nightmares a lot, but didn't say what they're about."
"I think we should give her time to tell us. She'll open up when she's ready," Phillip said. They all nodded, just as the three girls ran up to them.
"Dad! Mom!" Helen said, excited. "Rose said she could show us where she used to live!"
"Can we go? Please?" Caroline begged. She and her sister looked at Phin and Charity with puppy-dog eyes.
The two of them just turned to Rose, who said reassuringly, "Don't worry - they'll be fine. I've lived here my whole life, and lived on the streets for three years. I know my way around better than anyone."
After a moment of thinking, they nodded. For some reason, the parents trusted Rose. She was just a very honest and hardworking person.
"As long as you don't go too far from the circus," Phin said.
"Don't worry - it's close by," Rose reassured, turning to her friends. "Let's go!"
The three girls practically flew out of the circus, making the adults chuckle at their eagerness to see Rose's old home.
The three of them walked down an alley, nearly at Rose's old "house." They were talking casually, when they suddenly heard a voice say, "Hello, Rose."
Rose froze for a moment, then turned around and spoke in an emotionless voice that made Caroline and Helen a bit scared.
"Timothy."
A clearly rich boy and two of his friends stepped out of the shadows. They were all much older than the three girls - at least sixteen.
"What are you doing?" Timothy asked.
"I'm just taking a walk with my-"
"I wasn't asking you, girl," he snarled.
Rose didn't even flinch, but retorted, "Well, I was, boy."
Caroline and Helen smiled proudly at Rose. They didn't want her to just stand down and let the insults hurt her.
Timothy glared at Rose for a moment, before turning to Caroline and Helen and saying in a sweet voice, "I meant, ladies, why are you spending time with this Negro?"
"Stop talking, and leave us alone," Rose said in the same emotionless voice she was using this whole time.
"I don't care what you tell me, freak!" Timothy said, moving forward and grabbing Rose by the arm, twisting it painfully.
"Rose!" Caroline and Helen screamed, trying to move forward but being held back by the other two boys.
However, Rose wasn't going down without a fight. She pulled her arm out of his grip and rolled out of the way. But Timothy kicked her in the shins. Hard. He proceeded to hurt her even more, with Rose moving out of the way and fighting back when she could.
Finally, he moved aside and motioned for his friends to let go of Caroline and Helen, who ran up to Rose as the boys ran away, laughing.
"Why didn't you fight back more?" Caroline asked her friend as the girls helped her up.
"I can't. His father is a rich and important person, so who knows what he could do to me? Or the circus," Rose said.
The girls walked back to the circus.
"What happened?" all of the five adults shouted the moment they saw Rose stagger in.
"I got beat up. Again."
I want to apologize if anything I said in this chapter offended you. As I said, I had to put those parts in because the point of this story is to show inequality and discrimination. I just had the idea for Timothy, and I hate him already. He may be in this story more, but if he is it's just to show how stupid people can be and to add more to Rose's past.
And I know the song Part of Me wouldn't have been written yet, but I thought it went well with the story and wanted to include it.
Please review!
-Creator of Magic