The Phantom's Daughter [On Hold]

Lillian

A couple of weeks later

I start to drag my bow across the stretched strings. A powerful note begins the song. I walk along the pier as I play and sing.

To remember all that was good,

To love all that was pure,

To hate all that is evil,

I keep signing and I see people drop money into my case. I finish and pack up. As I stand up, I see 2 nicely dressed men approach me. I automatically clutch my case tighter. The taller one takes of his hat, and the shorter one follows behind him. The tall one has a mustache and a long coat. The short one has a short coat and a clean shaven face.

"Hello, madam. That was absolutely beautiful." The tall one says.

"Splendid. Amazing." The shirt one follows.

"We would love it if you could play at the opening of our restaurant. We would of course pay you handsomely." They both shake their heads.

"How much?" I wonder. Ever since I saw the letter from the banker, I've been saving as much money as I could to help pay the debt.

The short one tells me the pay and my eyes go wide. That was half of the amount we owed! I quickly say yes and ask for details. They hand me a letter and wave goodbye. I shove the letter in my case and start walking to the tent.

I run on and see a huge crowed in the tent. There was never people in here. I see them all around the cage in the middle. I hear the crack of a whip and the hoots and hollers of men and women. I hear a cry and a whimper. Years start flowing down my cheeks. I feel a burning sensation in the pit of my stomach.

"Get out! Get our, you foul beasts!" I scream. Many people face me and laugh, but I'm furious. I pull out my violin and start playing racket. They start to cover their ears. The women start to shriek. They run out of the tent and their husbands follow. I stop playing and see the man with the whip comes toward me. He's drunk and his movements are sloppy. I'm am very strong for my age don't know why. He cracks the whip and I see Erik look up, a flash of anger in his eyes. He tries to stand up but falls to his knees. I see the other freaks clutching the bars of the cage, yelling, trying to distract him. When he turned around to yell something nasty at them, I rip the whip out of his hands and throw it to Erik. The drunk faces me.

"Well aren't you pretty. Take that hat off, it's distracting." He walks towards me. His hand reaches out to touch me and I did the only thing you should do. I kicked him low. He fell to his knees and passed out. My adrenaline was pumping and I was breathing heavily. I drag the unconscious body into the empty bag and lock him up. I grab the alcohol of his desk and rip a piece of fabric of my dress. I sit down right next to Erik and see that he is passing out.

"This is going to sting." I whisper under my breath. I wipe the blood of his back and he tenses and grabs my neck. He sees what he's doing and whimpers, scooting away.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He mutters.

"Sh." I shush him. I sing as I wipe the blood of his back. I wrap a long, clean piece of cloth around him.

"Do you want me take you home?" I ask.

"I don't have a home." He cries. His body starts shaking. I give him a hug and a peck on the cheek. I grab the keys of the hook and start to unlock their cages.

"No. Stop!" The one with the white beard, pulls his door close and locks it.

"What? Why? Don't you want to be free?" I ask.

"We do, we really do, but this is the only job we have and can ever have." I let his words sink in. I relies that's can't change their mind and leave promising that I would find them a better job. I look back at Erik and see him on the floor, back turned from me, head low. I frown and walk home. I hide my torn up dress, at least it was a plain white one and slip on a grey loose one. I head down stairs to help cook and set the table. After we're done, I call the family down and see Father walk through the doors.