The Dreamer

Chapter 18

"What's going on?" Mia desperately asks us. "I can't exactly tell you. All I can say is that you can't tell anyone. Especially mom and dad."

"But how are we here?!" I just shake my head and turn to Zeke. "Do you know what we have to find?"

"No, but I'm sure we'll figure it out." I sigh and look at a still extremely confused and scared Mia. "You need to stay close." I shouldn't have invited her to stay the night last night.

I jump and step closer to Zeke when I hear another gunshot ring out. And why did it have to be here?! I hear laughter and music playing inside and I guess it to be a Saloon by the clinking of glasses. I point towards the door and Zeke nods, understanding what I'm saying. We walk inside with Mia following close behind us.

The music is loud with voices chatting about. Slurred words travel through the room. I see women flirting with the men with dresses that make mine look more decent. "I don't think this is a Saloon. I think this is a brothel." I step back, wanting to leave already. There's a stage with women dancing and men whooping. "Something like that, yeah," Mia says.

"You two! We need help." A woman walks up to us and grabs Mia's and my hand, dragging us away. I look back at Zeke who just helplessly watches us get dragged away. "We need someone to sing. The crowd is getting quite rowdy out there and you two should do nicely."

"Sing?" She drags us both up a couple steps into a dressing room backstage. "Wait, I can't sing," I reply, but she ignores me. "What do we do?" Mia asks me in a hushed tone. I glance behind us to see the woman still there. "We sing."

"But what do we sing?"

"What's the first song that comes to mind?"

"I don't know! You pick!" I thought for a moment, but I can't think of any songs that could possibly make sense to them. "Wait! I got one!" I motion for her to move closer and when she does, I tell her my idea. "That could work. Which one should you do?"

"Who can sing longer?" Mia immediately points to me. "You're the one who can sing better than me. Plus you used to be in a choir." I just agree to save time. The woman then pulls Mia and me away and hands us new outfits to wear. "I'd really prefer to stay in this."

"Nonsense. Now change." She left me alone to tend to Mia and I look at the outfit. At least it's not as bad as they have it in my time. I sigh and change into the dress.

This time the dress is black with gold trimmings. The skirt is shorter in the front while it grows longer as it goes back. There are black straps to hold up the dress with two other sleeves that fall just below my shoulders onto my arms. I put on the black gloves with a black hat to match with this weird outfit. I keep the pantyhose and my black boots on though. When I finish changing I walk up to Mia to check up on her. "It's Showtime girls!" The woman walks up to us. "So, you have a song?"

"Yes, we do."

"Good, now get out there and sing!" She shoves us out and a crowd of men cheers at us with drinks in their hands. I stand there frozen. I can't do this. I can't do this. My palms start sweating, my heart quickens, and I start shaking. I look around the crowd, slowly stepping back, ready to run back inside, but the woman won't let me.

"Let's just get this over with," Mia whispers to me. I gulp and scan over the crowd again. This time my eyes meet with Zeke's. He smiles at me while standing in the crowd. I can see that he's slightly blushing, but seeing him gives me comfort. He gives me more confidence without having to be near me. So I start singing.

"I can do anything better than you," I start, and Mia continues with, "No you can't."

"Yes, I can." We both sing together, acting out small scenes and dancing a bit. Everyone seems to enjoy it as well. Soon the piano joins in, getting a tune for the song. I start enjoying it and little by little, my confidence grows. While singing, however, I see that some men are trying to grab my feet or hands. I jump back, faking a teasing smile to try and fit in better. We can't stand out too much. They'll get suspicious.

I keep moving around the stage to remain out of their reach, but I eventually get caught and I slip into the crowd. I look up to see another man smiling at me and I squirm. It doesn't take long for Zeke to come rescue me though. "Let her go," he growls. "Is this your little lady?"

"Yes." The cowboy laughs and stands up, still holding me by my arm in a tight grip. I try pulling my arm out of his grip but it only tightens more around my arm, making me yelp. Zeke growls and he suddenly punches the guy in the nose. He lets go of my arm and he falls back from the hit. Zeke pulls me closer, but another guy punches him.

"Zeke!" Then everyone joins in and starts fighting with each other. Bottles start flying, fists connect with faces. I think I saw a table fly across the room with group effort too. "We need to get out of here." I grab Mia and Zeke takes my hand and we all rush out. I can still hear the sound of grunts, bottles smashing, women screaming, and wood breaking.

"Are you okay?" Zeke immediately asks me, circling around me and looking for any injuries. I blush yet again under his gaze as he inspects me. He gently takes my arm and I can see a bruise already forming where the guy was gripping me earlier. "I'm gonna kill him."

"No, you're not. We can't get arrested or kicked out." I pull my arm away and Mia pouts. "What about me? I could've been hurt too." I roll my eyes while Zeke awkwardly glances at me. "Well, what are you waiting for?" I reply in annoyance. "A damsel in distress needs a hero." Mia crosses her arms and glares at me. "I'm not a damsel in distress."

"Sure sounds like it." I look back at the door then down at my clothes and back again. "I can't walk around the town like this." Then without any hesitation, I stomp towards the door. "Wait, Eira," Zeke calls out to me, but I've already disappeared into the fighting crowd.

I'd rather walk through a fight than to be wearing this all day. They're still fighting which makes me hesitate. I look around seeing nothing but violence. Women are hiding behind the counter and running away upstairs while men tumble over tables after being punched. I take a deep breath and push through. I walk through the crowd, avoiding as many people as possible. Some men stop and acknowledge my presence by staring at me. I feel uncomfortable with their prodding eyes, I'm more annoyed by it than anything though. Some of the men actually got punched or kicked once they stopped to stare.

Eventually, I get startled by another guy throwing a bottle or cup across the room, almost hitting me. I quickly duck to the ground and stomping feet vibrate the floor. I quickly scramble under a table, using it as a shield for anything that may be landing on top before the table I was about to go through as a tunnel broke in front of me. I scream, moving back. I quickly stand back up and run up the stairs of the stage and go back. I quickly grab the clothes Mia and I were wearing before and I change into mine.

When I finish changing, I quickly run back out with everyone still fighting and slam the swinging doors open. The doors slam against the wall with a great force and I take a deep breath, wanting to collapse. "Why did you do that?!" I'm suddenly gripped by my arms by Zeke and slightly shaken. "You shouldn't just charge into a fight scene like that!"

"Hold it, Romeo! She may have been stupid for running like that but you have to admit it was brave of her." I was thankful for Mia stepping in and trying to stand up for me, but I feel more pathetic about it than anything. "I'm fine." I push Zeke's hand away and smile. "I didn't get hurt." He sighs not saying anything else. "Here." I toss Mia's dress to her and she smiles at me. "Can we go now? I'd rather leave sooner rather than later." Zeke nods and we all walk in the opposite direction of the brothel.