CHAPTER 5

"You stopped dancing." Edward stopped next to Daniella's seat.

"A bit tired." She said shyly, smiling up at him.

"That's because you're in such a stuffy room." He grinned, offering an arm out. "Come."

Daniella smiled and took his arm, and they walked towards the balcony doors. They passed by the table filled with her mother and her friends, where her mother gave Edward a calculating look—she too didn't know who he was.

"You're not from here, are you?" Daniella asked casually.

"No, I live next door." He lied. The Morgenstern residence, it said helpfully. "I'm the Morgensterns' mansion—I'm their nephew. I'll be staying the week before I leave."

"I didn't know the Morgensterns were British." She felt his pull, her hand around his arm brushing his muscled body under the fancy suit costume. "Going where, if I may ask?"

"And of course I shall answer a beautiful girl such as yourself." Daniella blushed. "Back to London of course. Your mother mentioned that you were there for four years?"

"Three, actually, not exactly four."

"Ahh, such a shame I did not show you around." He spoke sadly, remembering the memories of Britain, where he could never return until someone performed.

"You seem sad." Daniella pointed out. Edward opened the door for her and the two stepped into the balcony. It overlooked the outskirts of Jupiter, nothing but empty roads and the Freak Show carnival just beyond the dirt road.

"Forgive me, I haven't been back in a long time." He explained dreamily. "You can only imagine what it's like not being home, as you have."

"Well I can't really say that I missed home." She said dryly.

"And why not?" He smiled. "Tell me a bit more about yourself."

"Me?" She asked, surprised. "What about you? Nobody knows who you are."

"I'm not the most outgoing person," He admitted. "but I'd like to hear your story."

"You first." She giggled playfully, her laugh painfully reminding him of Beatrice—everything about her was Beatrice. He had no idea how the other world worked (he still had no idea how he would be summoned), and Edward wondered whether or not reincarnations were real, but Daniella was proof that it was.

Something about her made it hard for him to lie to her. "Grew up in a respectable family, a few titles here and there." He started, reminiscing his life before it went wrong. "And then I left the house, making a name of my own, and ended up here—though I will be returning after a week."

"Such a shame I didn't come sooner." She said quietly. "In all honesty, I'm really grateful you were there to dance with me.

"It was my pleasure." Edward turned to her, placing a gentle gloved hand on hers. And he meant it. It told him of those men's filthy minds, imagining dirty things about Daniella. He was only happy to make sure none of them would ever touch her. "You were lovely, Daniella. Now, what about your story?"

"Hmmm, pretty much your story, minus the titles and the parent—my dad died when I eight." Daniella said despite herself. She had never opened up to anyone, but with Edward, despite only meeting him that evening, made her feel safe and she found herself opening up that easily.

"I'm sorry," He said squeezed her hand.

"It's fine," She shrugged. "But after that, mother kept spoiling Dandy—have you met my brother yet?"

The insane one who hangs out with the murderer clown? Yes. "I've seen him…never really spoken with him."

"Anyway, mother spoiled him—maybe she reminded him of daddy too much or there was no other man to distract herself—but either way, I was sent to boarding schools my whole life, sometimes not even coming home on the holidays."

"But you are a Mott, are you not?" Edward pressed on. "Didn't you argue?"

"Mother liked to say that it was a proper woman's duty to marry and, well, do whatever it is she did with daddy and Dandy." She pursed her lips at the memory.

"One day, I had just about enough. We had this huge argument, and I decided mother would stop controlling my life and moved to London, where grandmother Ellwood lived."

"And you went to college?" He asked.

"Or so mother thinks." She said slyly. That's definitely Beatrice, Edward beamed. She even has Beatrice's smile.

"How so?"

"College was the only way to get mother to let me out." She admitted. "I finished college in two years."

"And the other two years?"

"Dancing, writing, enjoying freedom—Grandmother Ellwood was full of ideas." Daniella smirked, but then it disappeared. "And then she passed away, leaving me everything."

Daniella sighed. "Do you really want to be here?" Edward asked.

"Honestly, I love my mother—and possibly even Dandy—but I can't let go of the fact that I was practically abandoned." She looked back at the door. "You do realize that this whole party is just mother's last resort for grandchildren, right?"

"Now that I remember the pack of wolves I had to save you from…" Edward said, and they both laughed. "Daniella, you're so much better than how you really think you are."

"Really?" She asked disbelievingly. "And you'd know this based on what, the evening we've been together?"

"That, and I can feel that your heart is pure." He took her hand and kissed it, making her blush in the midst of the moonlight. "Oh, my dear, you are but a star in the night sky."

"All stars fade in the morning," She said wittily.

"Only to be outshone by the brightest star of them all, a star whose light sets itself apart from all the other little stars."

"You mean the sun?" Daniella wondered if Edward was really a good Methodist actor or really spoke that way, in metaphors that were so long dead to society. She hoped it was the latter, and found herself edging towards him.

Edward caressed her face, brushing her cheek lightly with a thumb. "Even brighter than the light of heaven itself."

He pulled her closer, closer than they were while they danced. "Are you scared, my dear?"

"No." She said quietly, leaning forward. Edward's lips brushed lightly against hers, and suddenly he remembered Beatrice. Daniella was different, although she looked exactly like her. Maybe someone even better. He didn't care that he would probably never see her again after the week. He didn't care about whether or not she was Beatrice's reincarnation. At that moment, he cared only about what was happening, and moved to lean forward.

"What are you doing?" Dandy's voice broke their reverie, and Daniella quickly stepped back.

"What am I doing?" Daniella snapped. Asshole! Why do you always ruin everything? "What are you doing? I thought you were ditching the party."

"Mr. Clown said tomorrow," He whined. "So now I have to go party and mother told me to dance with a girl or she'll lock my playroom."

"Well what's stopping you?" She said, eyeing his dirty home-made clown costume. While the seamstresses were helping her into her costume, she heard a commotion downstairs that resulted in mother speeding to town to look for a new costume for Dandy and Dora having to clean up Dandy's tantrum. Before she entered the party, Dora rattled on about how Dandy ruined half his clothes for a hideous hand-sewn clown costume. No upper-class girl is going to dance with you dressed like that.

"Well you're a girl, aren't you?" Dandy grabbed his twin's hand and dragged her back into the party.

Daniella turned back to Edward, obviously sad. "I-I'll see you soon."

"Later, my dear." Edward gave her a thin smile before she was dragged back into the ballroom.

For the rest of the night, Daniella was stuck with her brother, who would rather dance the whole night with his sister than meet any other girl. Not wanting to get into Dandy's tantrums, she stayed and danced, though did not bother trying to dance lively as she did with Edward.

The party ended late at night, and Gloria went to the door to bid goodbye to everyone. She was pleased Dandy arrived, and accepted Daniella mingling only with Edward because she spent the rest of her time with her brother, and lived to evade her mother's rants. As soon as there were no families, Dandy ran from his sister, heading to the playroom.

"I can't imagine how you put up with him." Daniella jumped and was surprised to see Edward still there.

"I thought the Morgensterns left. You stayed." She smiled like she had been given a gift.

"I couldn't leave without saying good-bye." He smiled, taking her in his arms once more. "Besides, you promised you'd look for me again."

"Oh, Edward…" Daniella began.

"Daniella, darling, I want you—a lot." Edward pulled her, inhaling her scent. "Do I have a chance?"

"You're the only one who does." She admitted, pressing against his muscled chest past the layers upon layers of his costume.

"Tomorrow, please." He pleaded. "I want to see you tomorrow."

"Yes," She breathed. "Tomorrow, just go outside the Morgensterns' place and I'll go."

Edward laced his hands in hers. "I can't wait."

"Until then." She smiled. Edward backed away, smiling, and turned to walk out that door, disappearing in a green mist when no one was looking.

It was like there was a reason to be human again. He watched Daniella go to bed, averting his eyes as she dressed up—he wasa gentleman, not a voyeur. It was only when her room was quiet and Daniella sound asleep did Edward realize something was amiss.

You were quiet today.

Oh, was I? Well, there was no reason to speak.

You never have a reason to speak.

It did not speak, and for the first time, Edward felt at peace. He stood at the foot of Daniella's bed. "Good night, my love."

He turned and left.