Angryfanfic: It took a while, but here it is!

JustAnotherFanGirl2004: Yesss! I love these two as well, and there will be more moments between them in this chapter - although they will be more subtle. And Rose has recovered a lot from the nightmares and her past, but she's probably never going to fully heal.

Green Meadow1870: I'm glad I described it well! I always try to create a clear setting, but sometimes it's difficult. And that little falling scene will be mentioned more in a future chapter...

Okay, I'm really sorry for the long wait! Anyone who read my profile knows that I've been taking a break from this site, mainly because of stress and stuff. I've had a good break though, and I'm ready to come back! Or at least to this story. I'll try to work on the others, but for now this is my main priority. For more info, you can check my profile.

Anyways, please enjoy the next long-awaited chapter of Daughter of Difference!

Two Hours Ago

Cora Carlyle sat at the table, reading a newspaper. On the other end of the table, James Carlyle did the same.

The dining room was big, with paintings hung up over floral wallpaper. The table was extremely long, fit for dinner parties, and Cora and James sat on opposite sides of it. Silence filled the room.

Suddenly, Cora flipped a page and let out a startled gasp.

"What is it, darling?" James asked, sensing his wife's distress.

"It's horrible!" she exclaimed.

"Well, read it out loud," James responded, raising a questioning eyebrow. Usually this irritated him, but this time he was curious. Cora always overreacted, however this time her distress seemed genuine.

" 'Phillip Carlyle, famous playwright, has been slowly gaining more and more fame since he joined Barnum's Circus. However, recently more shocking news has been revealed. The other day he was seen walking down the street next to the Negro girl most people believe he adopted. Meanwhile, another witness reported seeing him and the child meet up with Anne Wheeler and an unknown white boy later on, and the four continue on their way. Questions have arisen about the four but…' " she trailed off, indicating that the rest was unimportant.

James sat there in silence for a moment.

"Cora, darling, are those...things having a show tonight?"

She flipped a page, clearly baffled as to why her husband was reacting so calmly.

"Yes, they are. Why?"

"I think it's about time we paid our son a visit.

Now

Rose froze. She had heard about Phillip's parents from her mom and dad. They were rich, racist, and hated Anne (and probably her by extent).

No, they're not his parents, she thought, her eyes narrowing. If her time with the circus had taught her anything, it was that family was chosen and not given. And she doubted Phillip chose them.

Anne had also frozen, and reached out to take her husband's hand. She exchanged a look with Rose. Phillip was looking straight forward at his parents, his entire dementor emotionless. The only hint that he was still there was that his grip on Anne's hand tightened a bit.

She hated seeing this. Of course she knew he was different before the circus, but this? Constantly acting like he didn't care? She could nearly see the teenage boy pretending he didn't care about people like her just because his family always told him he shouldn't.

Then again...how come he treated her so well? His family was clearly awful, and while she did know Phillip, she also knew he always needed a nudge to try new things - wouldn't a new mindset be the same?

She could ask him later, for now this was the only thing that mattered.

Jackson was the only one who didn't understand. Both of his hands were still in Rose's, from where she had grabbed them after coming to thank him. But he felt her tense and immediately shifted so that his arm was behind her. She leaned back slightly until her dress brushed against it. He took that as permission and gently placed it around her. She gave him a grateful smile and turned back to the man and woman in front of them.

"What are you doing here?" Phillip asked, a hint of defensiveness creeping into his voice.

"We merely came to see the place you threw your life away for," Cora Carlyle said, her gaze flitting over the circus with barely veiled disdain.

"I didn't throw my life away, Cora," Phillip said, and Rose smirked a bit. Oh, this was going to be good.

"That's no way to address your elders," Cora scolded, glaring a bit at him.

Before he could respond, James Carlyle's gaze landed on Rose.

"Who's the girl?" he asked, and Rose stared at him with those eerie violet eyes. It was satisfying to watch him squirm away. She loved the effect those eyes could have on people, especially people she didn't like. Jackson smiled slightly. He also admired that effect. Rose had never seen it, but he had. The odd color was already unnerving, especially when so many people hated anything different. But Rose was always the type of person who controlled the amount of emotions she showed, and this was no exception. She would stare at you with such clear disdain, like she was so above you (which, if you were on the receiving end of this look, she was) it immediately made people - especially white men - uncomfortable.

"Rosalyn Violet Carlyle," she introduced herself, smirking when she saw them stare at her in surprise.

"So, the rumors are true. You did adopt a child with this...girl," James said, glaring at Anne.

"My mom isn't a 'girl,' she's only one year younger than Dad," Rose said, instinctively leaning further into Jackson's embrace as she crossed her arms.

Phillip smiled at his daughter. He always loved how she spoke her mind, but it was even more satisfying to see her do it to his parents.

Core gave her an outraged look - as if Rose had no right to even breathe the same air as her, much less talk to her - but James just ignored her, and focused on Phillip.

"Phillip, really, you shouldn't run around with low-life scum. It's one thing to join the circus, but to fraternize with people like them," he said, flicking her hand towards Rose and Anne, as though they weren't even worth enough for him to look at them. "It's not too late, you can still turn back."

"We went over this when I left your house," Phillip said. "I wasn't happy before. Here I have a family. I haven't had a drink for nearly three years, thanks to this circus. Besides, it doesn't seem like very good manners to leave your wife and daughter."

Core turned to face him, Rose forgotten, and both she and James froze as Anne held up her hand, where a simple gold band with a diamond sat on her ring finger, and leant into Phillip's side with a smile.

"Phillip…" Cora said, shocked. Her voice shook as though she'd received the heartbreak of a lifetime.

For god's sake, your son just got married! Maybe if you were even a bit of a decent person you would be happy for him! Rose thought, disgust clearly showing on her face. She didn't even try to hide it.

"There's no point Cora," Phillip said simply, pulling Anne closer to him and taking Rose's hand. "This-" he motioned around the circus at the other's who had stopped everything to listen "-is my family. You aren't, and haven't been since..." He trailed off, sighing. "You know what I'm talking about. I chose them, do you think anything has changed since then? Actually, something has," he added, rethinking his words. "I'm happy now. Good-bye James, Cora."

He turned away, and the two of them stood there, Cora looked like she'd been slapped and James merely speechless.

"Rose, Jackson?" Phillip asked gently. "Are you coming?"

"In a moment, I want to say something to these-" (and here she said a word that isn't quite child-appropriate, so I've felt the need to not add it).

She walked over to them, confidentially.

"You are both horrible people. Did you genuinely think he was ever happy with you? Did you think you could convince him to come back with fake love? Did you think he ever truly cared about you? You clearly didn't for him, or you would have accepted us with love. But instead you didn't. Do you even realize what you've lost? Not only your only son, but also the family you could have had. My mother is an amazing woman, and maybe if you took a second to get to know her you would realize that, but you haven't. And you've not only lost your son, but also the daughter and grandchild you could have had."

"You're not his family-" James started shakily, since Cora still looked like a gaping fish, and now her eyes were practically popping out of her head as she tried to sputter a response.

"I'm more family than you ever were - we all are," she spread her arms out, motioning to the entire circus. "You know why? Because we love him."

Everyone nodded along, and Phillip brushed a few tears from his eyes, beaming.

"And that's more than you ever gave," Rose finished, crossing her arms and glaring them down.

By now, they were both speechless.

"Now, I recommend you get off our property before we have O'Mally escort you out," Phin said, motioning to the Irish Giant, who smirked.

Speechless and shaken, the couple walked out, humiliated.

Suddenly, Rose felt arms embrace her from behind and jumped a little bit, then realized it was Phillip and smiled, hugging him back and sinking into his embrace.

That felt good.

Anne, Phillip, Rose, and Jackson spent the walk home in silence. All of them were too exhausted to do anything, and just crashed into their beds once they reached the house.

As Anne slowly drifted off to sleep, she realized she hadn't asked Phillip about...what had she wanted to ask him about again?

Eh, I can do it in the morning, she thought as she drifted off to sleep in her husband's arms.

I hope that lived up to the wait, it sure was fun to write Rose chewing Cora and James out.

Please review, and I'll try to make the next wait a little less long.

-Creator of Magic