In Another Lifetime ~ Hariana

Chapter 1 - New Meetings

-1901-

Backs stretched, broad smiles and their hands locked, Ariana watched as the twins received a much deserved ovation after finishing their act. They looked pleased at how much the audience had enjoyed the performance the two had been working on for weeks. Seeing their obvious happiness, subconsciously, the brunette smiled.

"Nice work, guys!" She complimented as the blonde twins, Valentina and Alejandro, made their way inside the automobile, grinning at the shorter girl.

"Thanks, Ari. Ahh, can't believe we made it, I'm so so happy!" Alejandro, the older by two minutes twin, said enthusiastically, adding, "I hope we were able to make a lot of money today, because I'll need some rest tomorrow after an act as hard as this one." Valentina chuckled, nodding in agreement. The younger twin was unable to speak, after a traumatic experience which occurred during her childhood.

"No worries, my singing alone has us earning enough money to buy a mansion." Ariana jested with a wink, the clinking sound of glasses distracting her. Curious, she stepped outside, her jaw dropping as she noted the older members, with the exception of granny and the twins, having an afternoon wine celebration (or so it looked), "Hey hey, what about me? Can't believe you guys are leaving me out. Give me a glass of wine as well." She demanded, making the others laugh.

"Wine isn't for children." David stuck his tongue out.

"I'm going to be sixteen quite soon."

"Precisely."

Ariana rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest, "Your argument is invalid, David. Fifteen means I'm already a grown up." Before David could riposte, James was already intervening, since he knew the bickering would start and could go on for quite some time. Ariana and David didn't exactly get along. She didn't understand why, but the thirty-two year old man was never fond of her. It had been this way ever since the brunette joined the troupe. James would always tell her not to over-think this matter, and throughout the years, she'd gotten used to it. Sort of.

"Ariana, dear, would you like to come with me to buy some fabric for the new costumes I'm working on?" Grandma Annie inquired, immediately grabbing the girl's attention as she nodded with a grin.

~~

Nice was more than magnificent, it was breathtaking. This was her first time visiting this city, and though she had heard how splendid it was, you can't even fathom her admiration when she saw the city from the automobile window for the first time. This was one of the most wonderful places she's been in, and it was a shame that they were only going to stay a week before heading towards a new destination.

She followed granny Annie inside a store, looking around at all the different textile. There were so many to choose from, so many pretty looking cloths, that if you were as indecisive as her, you'd never get out of there. Thankfully, granny was nothing like that, and not ten minutes into looking around and already the elder woman was paying for the two fabrics she selected.

"That's beautiful." Ariana said, eyeing the red fabric which contained black polka dots. In response, granny nodded with a soft smile, "So where to, next?"

"I need to star working on these outfits, but you're free to look around until supper."

"Oh, are you sure? Don't you need help with making them?"

"Not at all, my child. I want this to be a surprise to you and all the others. Now go on." She insisted, her smile reassuring the fifteen year old.

"All right, granny. I'll see you in a while!" Waving, she began bouncing in the opposite direction. It wasn't long until her eyes caught sight of the wide sparkling blue, and she sighed in wonder. If it wasn't for the fact that she couldn's swim and it was most likely considered unladylike, she would've already jumped in to try the waters of Nice.

There were a couple of people at the beach, but none stood out as much as the lady of golden curls who was wearing quite a fancy looking purple dress and had her parasol open. Certainly the opposite of a street performer like her, wearing a worn out light blue dress which went just a tad below her knees. 

She must come from a very prestigious family, Ariana thought.

A moderately strong current of fair flew past the city, and the female pushed a few strands of hair, not attached to the long braid she had previously arranged, behind her ear. Before she realized, a parasol had landed by her feet.

"Ah, excuse me! Could you please grab my parasol before it flies again?" The golden hair lady spoke in a hurried tone as she jogged towards Ariana, who was quick to grasp the object just as requested. 

"Oh my, I was worried it would just fly away. Thank you so much for catching it, it's such a relief." The girl, who couldn't be that much older than her, gave a polite smile.

"It wasn't a problem at all, guess I was at the right place at the right time." She grinned, unsure if maybe she wasn't being polite enough and afraid the other girl would be offended. But no, she purely laughed, oh so gracefully. Did every royal train to be so elegant at all times?

"Are you from around here?"

"No, not at all. I'm part of a traveling street performer group, called Rosa Troupe, and we've decided this would be our next destination. I"m the singer amongst them!" The tiny girl stated proudly.

"My, that's marvellous! Perhaps you could sing to us someday. What did you say your name was?"

"Oh, mhmm...I'm Ariana." Somehow, she felt inferior and intimidated by someone who seemed to be of such high social class.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my name is-"

"Miss White, your vehicle is here!" The voice of a man interrupted and a figure not too far called.

"Oh dear, already? I was hoping to stay for a little while longer." Miss White, as the man had shouted, said with a disappointed sigh. "Well, guess I need to go before I'm late. I wouldn't want to upset father. Nevertheless, it was nice meeting you, Ariana. I hope to see you sometime soon again. I'll remember the name Rosa Troupe in case I want you to sing for us one day." With a smile, she started towards the man, leaving a confused, shocked, overwhelmed Ariana behind. Images of her singing in front of such important people made her, on one hand, apprehensive, since she couldn't afford making a mistake. Without a doubt, they were used to professional singers, which put quite some pressure on her. On the other hand, it might be the easiest and quickest way of making money. 

She wouldn't dwell on this, at least not until she was actually called to sing for Miss White's family.

Meanwhile, the blonde haired young woman watched the streets passing by her, the voice of the same man who had called her bringing her back to reality, "Wishing you could've stayed longer at the beach, Miss White?"

"Yeah." Her eyes met the man's, "I was kind of hoping I could've had more time to enjoy my freedom whilst it still existed." He nodded, without saying another word and she continued, "Met a sweet girl there. And I kind of envy her. Even though we only talked for a few seconds, I was able to tell, how happy and guidelines-free she was." She chuckled, looking at the scenery once again, "That's an extraordinary way of living life, don't you think so?"

"Yes, Miss. Hopefully she won't ever become involved with anything out of her reach, then."

"Mhm." 

The avenues were full of life - Freedom wasn't a choice nor something one obtained. It was a matter of luck, which family you were born into. Some were fortunate, and others not so much. That much was a given.

~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Okaaay, first actual chapter is up. Let me know what you think! :)