Walking A Tightrope (Greatest Showman fanfiction)

Chapter Seven--Queen Of England

Even with Phillip now in the circus, Mr. Bennet still didn't give up on raving on the group and it was seriously getting old. That was the case, only for Barnum. The rest of the group seemed to not really care.

"Offensive and indesent. Real creative," Phylis said when her father read the review. She was in the middle of playing around with Helon since the girls were lucky enough to convince Phineas to allow all of them to come to the next meeting.

"I have to say, Mr. Bennet, I'm blushing," Lettie finished agreeing with the statement.

"No, I'm blushing," Helon joked from the ground where her sister had put a play beard around her mouth. W.D. looked over at her and started trying not to burst out laughing but he still ended up laughing.

"Besides, why do you care what Bennet thinks?" Lettie asked. "He's a pig."

"And a snob," Tom added.

"I guess that makes all of New York that reads him, snobs, too. He basically thinks for people he's never even met," Phineas sighed. Phylis smirked, spotting her sister still goofing around.

"Whatever happened to thrive off controversy?" Anne asked, taking a seat beside her brother. Phylis high-fived her, showing her agreement. She was so focused she didn't even realize Phillip entered the room overhearing the conversation until her father asked him about his thoughts.

"Phillip!" Helon squealed, running over to him. He looked down at her chuckling softly.

"Yes, I actually do. It may be very helpful," he said, handing over a paper in his hand. He hugged the young child softly. Phylis went over to her father peering over his and her mother's shoulders just as he started reading.

"'The master of the household has it in command of Queen Victoria to invite Mr. Phineas T. Barnum and his theatrical troupe to a reception at Buckingham palice,'' he said looking up at his now ringmaster in shock. Before he could say anything though, Charity cut him off.

"The Queen Victoria, is this real?" she asked in amazement asking the question everyone wanted to know. Phillip, still hugging Helon, shrugged.

"I had to pull a couple strings but if you want society to accept you......." He picked up the girl at his feet and put her on a nearby bar stool reaching for his hat to put on her. "....you might as well start at the very very top." Helon attempted to reach for the hat over her eyes.

"Are we all invited?" Anne asked, referring to herself and W.D. He sighed, staring at the group.

"I guess I'll have to tell the queen that it's either all of us go......." He looked at Anne for the second part thinking this was the perfect moment to impress her. "........or none of us will."

Lettie squealed in excitement as Helon swung around on Phillip's back. Smiling, Phylis ran over and grabbed her when she came around causing her to laugh. Once she was on the ground, she ran over to her father who kissed her cheek just after kissing his wife. She deserved this just as much as he did.

A couple of weeks later, the group was in England about to enter the entryway to see the Queen. Phylis couldn't get over her shock at first seeing Buckingham Palace. She always imagined when she was little that her mother lived in a palace. Charity just went along with it, telling her stories about how the king and queen had her in princess training when she was just a little girl. She knew how it worked now but seeing a real-life palace, reminded her of those moments.

Knocking her thoughts out of her head, she stood next to Lettie so that she could be seen nearby her father having been his daughter and everything. She watched the group begin to get fidgety and nervous.

"Why are we in the tails?" W.D. wondered.

"We're the entertainment," Phineas whispered, making sure no one heard.

"That's funny because I don't see you in a costume," Lettie whispered back. Phillip looked at her and glared sharply before making his way closer to the red carpet.

"Your majesty, all the way from America, may I present Mr. Phineas Taylor Barnum and his......magnificent oddities," a man in a British accent announced. Grabbing Lettie's hand to comfort her, Phylis made her way through the group of people whispering about them. She couldn't tell if it was good or bad but she didn't care. She just tugged on her leotard with her free hand and kept walking behind her father and Phillip until they reached the Queen. Phillip stepped forward bowing to the queen.

"Your majesty, may I present the phenomenal Mr. Barnum," he announced, stepping to the side. The Queen gave him a small smile looking at the group of people.

"The honor is mine, Mr. Barnum. I've heard all about your little colonel from my friends in America," she continued. Phylis gulped knowing immediately who she was referring to. She expected the Queen to be a little more.........kinder. She didn't do anything though. She just smiled watching Tom step forward to her.

"Actually mam, I'm a general," he corrected as if his outfit didn't prove that. The Queen gasped at him.

"You're even smaller than I've imagined!"

"You're not exactly reaching the top shelf yourself, sweetheart," Tom joked, causing a poke to be sent to him by Phylis and for the whole group to look ashamed. They didn't know what to expect. Would the Queen kick them out? Would she embarrass them in front of all of these people? Would she sentence them to death? What they expected least was for her to start full-out laughing. Tom looked at the group confused. The Queen's laughing had caught onto the rest of the guests. Before he knew it, the acts started fake-smiling in embarrassment. 

Once that was over with, the group drank the champagne offered by the queen. Phylis simply drank the water that was offered for her. She had chosen to sit by Tom because he still looked ashamed of what he said. The rest of the acts besides her father and Phillip all stood alongside them. She rubbed Tom's shoulder understanding that his worst fear had come true. She couldn't help but notice Anne gazing at Phillip. Figuring she had been quiet for too long. She was one of her closest friends and she was going to get an answer.

"What's going on with you two?" she wondered as everyone else nodded in agreement. Anne looked down to her feet quickly. She couldn't let them believe that she liked him.....even if it was partly true. Sadly, the group knew her too well. None of them were clueless. The way she looked at Phillip surely meant something and he surely liked her back. That was obvious the first moment they'd seen each other.

"Don't go telling us it's nothing now girl!" Lettie agreed louder than she should've. Luckily, everyone was so focused that they didn't even hear her. Anne shrugged softly. Phylis grabbed her hand understandingly. She was about to say something when the announcer announced another visitor.

"Your majesty, Miss Jenny Lenn." Everyone stopped their conversation staring at her in awe. They felt slightly jealous that the audience's reaction to meeting her was better than meeting them but they tried not to look too jealous. She really was beautiful with her bridal type gown. In fact, they had to stop themselves from 'awwing' when she bowed to the queen and her subjects gracefully.

A second later, their eyes widened. There was Phineas dragging Phillip to the singer. Phylis was certain her father had never even heard of her. The only reason he would be so excited to meet her was because he wanted her to be in his show. That had to be it. Everything was about the circus lately and it was really starting to get on the acts. It seemed to them like they were never good enough for him. He always needed a more talented act to 'keep people interested.'

Out of all of them, it was really taking a turn on his daughter. When he had asked her to do this with him, she figured he wanted this to be an opportunity to bond with her. Now, here he was inviting one more famous person into his show. Was she not good enough for him? If she was, the audiance seemed to say otherwise. She decided that wasn't his intention though and brushed it off. Maybe it seemed to be in her eyes but her father wasn't like that. He wouldn't do anything to hurt her. A question still lingered in her mind though. She had wondered about it when he announced he was hiring Phillip. Was this circus really the best thing for their relationship?