XX

For the next two weeks, the museum doors were open every afternoon and evening and the Barnum Show performed their acts for various numbers of cheering, stampeding audiences.

Phillip, eager to hear from the citizens of New York, set up a voting system to discover the spectators' favourite acts. Anne's trapeze performance was the highest on the list, followed closely by Charles, Lettie and Deng Yan's.

Barnum, knowing that more and more people came, mainly to see Anne, set about reforming her act and giving her more show-time.

By the end of the second week, before the Barnum Show took some time off, Anne found herself at the front of the stage dancing alongside Barnum and Lettie.

Her act had been a major hit!

Even though Anne had really enjoyed the two weeks of busy thorough-fare, she was relieved when the weekend rolled around so she could take a well-deserved break.

After the last show had come to a conclusion, Anne exited the arena amid the wild cheers and yells of the audience. As she walked towards the dressing room, she was stopped mid-stride by an overly-excited Phillip.

"You were amazing out there!" he breathed as he surveyed her. "The people...they love you and frankly enough, I can see why."

Anne chuckled, trying to brush off his flirtatious comments. "Ah. Whatever, Phillip. They don't like me, they like the trapeze. I'm just glad I get paid for it."

Phillip let out a loud laugh. "Wow. Anne. You're a savage. Just tell that to Barnum."

Anne rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Sorry to disappoint. Anyways, I'd better get going and take this ridiculous make-up off."

"Wait!" Phillip quickly leaned forward to grab the crook of her elbow. "I - I was - er - wondering..."

"What?" Anne furrowed her brow at him.

"I..." Phillip swallowed nervously before asking, "Would you - ahem - like to go to the theatre tonight...with me?"

Anne raised her eyebrows in surprise. "The theatre? I've never been there before."

"Which is why I would like to take you there...on a date."

"Oh." Anne's eyes widened with shock and her throat turned dry. Phillip was a kind, civil gentlemen and was entertaining company but she had never thought of him as more than a good friend.

Had she been giving him the wrong idea all along?

"You're hesitant to accept my offer," Phillip piped up, sounding disappointed. "It's okay if you're not feeling up to it or if you're not quite ready to take the next step..."

"It's not that," Anne shook her head before glancing around timidly. "What will people say, Phillip? You're from an insanely rich aristocracy and I'm just a..."

"Just a what?" Phillip probed.

"A poor peasant girl whose had to work hard her entire life," Anne faltered. "I - I don't want to do that to you. I don't want to make you the talk of the town - a spectacle."

Phillip clasped Anne's hand in his bigger, calloused one. "Anne," he spoke fondly. "The moment I agreed to step foot in Barnum's museum was the moment I agreed to leave everything behind. I don't care what people think. I only care what you think. Please, Anne, don't let this barrier stop you - stop us. I - I care for you, no matter the circumstances, no matter our pasts. We have to live for the present, for the now. It's the only way to live a good life."

Anne almost smiled - she almost agreed. But then, she thought of Bec. For some reason, in some way, she was drawn to him. She couldn't explain why.

But she knew that she could never make Phillip happy and that she could never be the person who was right for him.

Slowly shaking her head, Anne withdrew her hand from his and backed away. "I - I'm so sorry, Phillip," she whispered. "I'm so sorry." And, with that, she turned around and fled.

Anne, her mind in turmoil, escaped the stuffy bustle of the museum to get some fresh air. As she stepped out of the safety and warmth of the building, she headed, straight-on, into the lengthening shadows of the night.

Unfamiliar with this section of New York, Anne didn't realise where her feet were taking her until she looked up to see the millions of stars dotting the dark canvas above her. Heaving a deep sigh, she turned around and tried to retrace her route back to the museum.

Down one alley. Up the next. Around the corner. Over the street.

It took her several minutes to realise it.

She was lost.

Horrified, Anne backed into a far corner of a deserted alley and started to panic. Being a defenceless girl, out in the dark on her own, was not a good situation to be in even in the best of times.

Anne was just about to emerge from the alley when she was arrested by a series of loud, gruff, male voices.

Praying that they wouldn't see her, Anne shrunk back into the shadows, hoping to conceal her figure amidst the dark.

However, her luck ran out.

A group of rowdy, raucous youths circled around the corner, holding sticks of tobacco between their lips and flashing bright torches across their path.

Unfortunately for Anne, one of the boys' lights flickered across her corner of the alley and, within seconds, she was discovered.

"Mm. What do we have here?" one of the men slurred as he staggered drunkenly up against the wall.

Anne, noticing that none of them were sober, jumped in, "I - I'm on my way home. Don't cause any trouble, please."

The boys cracked up laughing.

"Trouble?" one of them chuckled. "Sweetie, we're not gonna hurt you. We just wanna have some fun. C'mon now, don't be shy, come out of there."

"No," Anne returned firmly. "Leave me alone."

"Did you just say no?" he growled angrily. "Sweetie, come out of there right now before I do something I'm gonna regret."

Anne swallowed hard and shook her head, desperately looking for a way of escape.

"Alright, you asked for it!" he snapped. "Boys, go and get her. Let's show this lil bitch what happens when you disrespect me!"

Before Anne could find her voice to scream, a sharp, rough-edged tone resounded through the chilly, dank air.

"Lay a hand on her and I swear to God, I'll kill you."

Everyone froze.

Anne's eyes widened in shock when she saw a familiar figure emerge from within the darkness beyond her attackers.

Bec.

What was he doing here?

"This lil shit thinks he can talk to me like I'm a piece of dirt!" the man yelled laughingly at his comrades. Turning to Bec, he sneered, "Well, what are you waiting for, dog? Make me bleed."

Bec's nostrils flared with rage and, in one swift movement, he had cracked a fist across the man's face.

The man staggered backwards, shrieking in pain. Holding his bleeding nose, he pointed at Bec and commanded, "Bring him down!"

Anne watched, in mesmerised fright, as the group charged Bec. However, considering that they were dosed up with alcohol, their swings were slow and untimely. Easily and niftily, Bec dodged their blows, sending most of the boys toppling to the ground in a matter of minutes.

"Run, Anne, run!" he shouted over the chaos.

Anne, breaking out of her stunned stupor, leaped into action. Just as one of the intruders was about to knuckle-punch Bec in the throat, she whipped off her scarf and wrapped it around his neck, halting him mid-movement. Desperately, the man clawed at the scarf, trying to lease the hold on his air-way.

Quickly, Anne dumped his writhing body on the ground and jumped over it. Rushing over to Bec, who was struggling with one of the men, she seized his hand and jerked him back.

"There's too many of them!" she exclaimed. "You'll be beaten. C'mon. Let's go."

Reluctantly, Bec turned and followed Anne. They sprinted up the street and away from the drunken group of youths.

Panting and gasping for air, the two of them darted this way and that until, eventually, they stumbled onto the main highway that ran straight past the Barnum Museum.

Sighing with relief, Anne guided Bec over to one of the building's back doors before quietly slipping through. As she struck a match to the lantern hanging up by the frame, she noticed that there was a deep cut on Bec's arm and a gash on his lip.

"Oh no," she whispered as she reached out to touch his face. "You're hurt."

Bec didn't even wince when her fingers made contact with his skin. Instead, he looked straight at her and spoke softly, "What were you doing out there? Alone?"

Anne paused. "I - I dunno. I needed some time by myself. I didn't even realise that I was so far away from the museum. I'm sorry. I never meant to get you into trouble."

Bec sent her the faintest hint of a smile as he moved out of her reach. "Next time, be more careful, Anne. The streets out there are dangerous for pretty girls like yourself."

Before Anne could find the words to respond, Bec had turned and walked away.

Gif: Anne as she talks to Bec after the incident.

Question of the update: Are you Team Phillip or Team Bec and why?

XX