A tale of two orphan girls who find a second chance within a circus that showcases the outcasts of society.
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"Mary, do you ever worry that we made the wrong choice?" Florence asked.
"There's no such thing as a wrong choice, sister, only new les...
The sister's room was modest, but still better than what they had left behind, with a fully-functional door- Mary had nearly fallen over leaning against it like they had used to do- and a roof that didn't leak. Florence thought that would have to take some getting used to at night.
"Do you want to stay here, or help me get our things?" Mary asked, making Flo turn.
"Hmm..." she thought about her offer. On the one hand, she didn't want to leave her sister's side just yet, but on the other hand her curiosity was gnawing at her heart, aching to explore every inch of the place.
She stepped past her twin, looking out backstage to some of the others moving about as well. "I'll stay here," she answered.
"You sure?"
Flo hesitated. "...Yeah, I'm sure." She spotted Constantine, among others, carrying crates and props through the museum. Her curiosity piqued, wondering what the great Mr. Barnum had planned for all of them.
"Alright. I'll be back in a few, hopefully. Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone." She wagged her finger like a disapproving mother. Florence rolled her eyes.
"Come on, it's like you don't even trust me," she said.
Mary shook her head, smiling, as she walked out the door after her sister. "Wait, Flo-" she stuck out her hands, palms up. "For old time's sake?"
It was their old handshake. Florence's mouth twisted up as she took her tein's hands and pulled her out into a more open area.
They essentially made their own beat to dance to with their hands, clapping out a rhythm and snaking their arms around as they moved. They were both admittedly out of practice, but the energy and intent was all the same. It took Flo back to a time where there was more joy in the world, more hope.
As they finished, arms up and spinning around like children, a laugh interrupted their sisterly ritual.
"And you were nervous to show us your moves," Lettie said. Mary laughed along with her while Flo felt herself shrink in embarrassment.
"Hey," Mary shook her sister's shoulders. "I'll be back soon, alright?" And with that, Flo watched her don her cloak and head out front.
She looked back at Lettie, who met her eyes, the albino girl gave her a curt nod as she began messing with her hair again. She pretended to see something that interested her further backstage and moved to escape the open air.
Flo exhaled sharply as her face's temperature returned to normal. She knew Lettie hadn't been trying to embarrass the girl, but the fact remained.
A loud thud followed by a smaller "ouch" to the side caught her attention. She looked around, seeing no one close by, before wandered off to see the source of the noise.
A man was there, handling sandbags and tying them to the ropes. "Do you need help?" Florence asked, slowly approaching him. At her words, he turned, and Flo couldn't help but gasp aloud. Parts of his skin looked as if they were burned, with tough black skin covering the left half of his face.
"Your skin..." She didn't mean to say that aloud.
He raised an eyebrow. "You're one to talk," he said dryly, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards.
Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. "Oh, no! I-I didn't mean it like that, it's just... Well, I've never seen anyone with-"
"My condition?" he finished for her. At first, she was afraid she'd accidentally upset him, but his mouth spread into a friendly smile. "Nah, it's alright. I've been looked at strangely all my life. You get used to it after a while." He began stacking sandbags again.
I know the feeling, she thought. Florence approached him further. "Do you need any help with those?" She glanced down at the bags.
"Uh... yeah. Grab those two and bring them 'round back here," he gestured over to the side, then to somewhere else backstage.
She was in the process of scooping a bag into her hands before the man suddenly stopped. "Hey, I remember you. Florence, right?"
She nodded as he extended a hand. "Ralph Krooner," he introduced.
She stood fully and took his hand and brush her hair out of her eyes. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance," she said, overly-formal, which made him laugh and take a dramatic bow.
"The pleasure is all mine, madam." He joked, then moved back to the sandbags again, as did Florence.
The girl found that the sandbags were a lot heavier than she originally thought. She managed to hold one bag in both arms and planned to come back for the second later. Ralph led her back to where they were supposed to go as the two began a conversation.
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A/N: I don't have much to say here, but I just want to thank you all reading this right now. This story's been up in the air for a long time, and I wasn't exactly the most confident writer in the world when I first posted this.
So thank you for taking time to read this story. It means the world to me that people are actually enjoying my work, really.
