Blinded By The Past-- The Greatest Showman/Anne Wheeler Fanfiction

Chapter 11

*Not Edited*

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The couple returned to the tent, where everyone has finished their meal. Phillip up front next to P.T. and his family, while Anne sat next to her brother.

"Now then," W.D. started out. "Where were we?"

"Anne and Charlotte are at the slave auction house," Phillip said, a bit cautious about saying it.

"Right," Anne sighed, frowning at the memory. "The auction house,"

"So, what happened?"

"That day changed everything,"

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*Flashback, 1835*

Charlotte woke up from her sleep, only to remember that she was in a cage with her friend. She sat up, seeing that Anne had been drawing in the dirt. As the hours passed, Charlotte grew bored while Anne simply drew in the dirt. A man opened the door at noon and had a tray of food placing it in front of the two girls.

The wealthy child hid behind Anne, who had a blank expression. The pale girl looked at the man, who was a friend of her father's, Fredrick. She looked at the tray, shocked to see the little food given. He left them, locking the cage before going back inside.

"This is all you get?" Charlotte asked, taking a bite out of one of the biscuits.

"This is only if there's limited food left. If not, we also some potatoes." Anne replied, taking a sip of water.

"I find this unbelievable,"

"This is what I live through every time I come here,"

"You just wait here for the whole day, waiting for my father?"

"Yes,"

"And if my father doesn't come to pick you up, you'll be sold?"

"That's basically how it works. We get meals and are allowed to go to the courtyard at noon."

"That's scary,"

"It is," Anne frowned. "I've been here too many times. Each time I return, I am terrified that I'll never see my mama or brother again."

"At least I'm here,"

"True. Master will come here to get you,"

"And I won't leave without you,"

Anne smiled and the two continued eating their meal. The day went on, eventually reaching an hour past noon.

Frederick returned, opening the door. Charlotte held Anne's hand as they walked outside to the courtyard. Charlotte looked around, seeing the little things in it. She saw wooden poles sticking up from the ground, similar to the one at her home. There were two barrels of water, collected from the recent rainfall.

Charlie walked behind Anne, who led her to the water barrels. She took the rag, dumping it in the water. She began to scrub off the dirt on her friend's feet and arms.

"Is this always how you clean yourself?" Charlotte asked.

"If the rain falls, then yes. If it doesn't, then I'll just have to wait,"

"You can't use the well,"

"That's only for Master and his family. Only to be used for bathing water, cooking water, and so on,"

"So, you just wait for the rain?"

"We can go to the nearby river if we have permission. We can't go if we don't have permission,"

"That explains why you're so dirty. Sorry if I offended you,"

"It's alright. Cleanliness isn't my top priority. All I have to do is just keep Master Derek satisfied,"

Charlotte frowned. She knew her father wasn't the kindest to the slaves, like most of the plantation owners. He only cares about what work was done during the day.

Not long after, the door opened. The slave child stood up, and so did Charlotte. Fredrick walked through, along with Master Derek. The master walked up to Anne and Charlotte, the youngest girl hiding behind the slave. He didn't say anything, instead of grabbing his daughter and roughly pulling her by his side. He pulled her to the door, while Anne followed them with her master's friend close behind her.

No one said a word. When they made it outside, there was a small wooden wagon with another slave sitting in it while Jonathon kept an eye on her. Anne climbed in the wagon, while Charlotte was seated next to her father. The other slave girl was a bit older than Anne, probably older than her brother.

She looked back at Charlotte, who looked down. On the one hand, she was glad that she would get to see her family again but she was also upset that she and Charlotte were in trouble. The wagon began to move, taking the slaves and the Wheeler Family to the plantation with Jonathan following close behind them.

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*1850*

"I knew that Charlotte was upset," Anne said to the troupe. "Upset on how we were treated. She finally saw how differently we were looked upon,"

"Who was the other girl?" Charity

"She was the new slave Master Derek bought. We called her Night,"

"What happened when you got back?"

"It was the last time I saw Charlotte in daylight,"

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Author's Note-- It may not be much, but the next chapter will be up sometime next week.

!!!Thanks for Reading!!!