Clara Eddington
Clara marveled at the tent, and momentarily lost her voice. The ringmaster appeared to be sleeping, and she was just about to object when the boy began shoving him awake. The man came out of his sleep as if he were coming out of being possessed."What is it, Zachariah?" asked the man, who the boy, Zachariah, had not named. Clara was just about to say something, when a wild-eyed boy suddenly joined Zachariah's other side. Clara must have looked like a soaked owl as she blinked and took in the new person. "Who's this pretty girl you've got with you?" His voice was as cheerful as his eyes appeared to be. Clara shifted uncomfortably and looked back to the ringmaster who was regarding the boy with a scowl. "Ahh, I see we have a guest." Bartholomew purred, quickly regaining his composer.
He lifted himself into an upright position with an inhuman grace and crossed the threshold of the tent to dramatically take Clara's hand and scoop himself into a bow. "To what do we owe the pleasure, dear child?" His voice dripped like warm syrup. Clara was too shocked at his formalities to answer, and just stood there trying not to gawk. "My dear girl, you're soaked to the bone! Where are your parents?" Parents. Clara took a step back from him and cleared her throat. "My name is Clara Eddington, sir." "And I, am the wonderful and mystical Bartholomew Clark. Ringmaster of the Clark and Young circus!" he exclaimed, standing straight and proud, even gesturing with a grand wave of his arm.
Clara stood, with her soaked yellow dress dripping on the rug she stood upon. "Sir, my family and I are trying to get to Easthaven. Please, we desperately need shelter and, if possible, my brother and I could work for seats for the four of us on your train. We won't be any trouble, I swear! Please, we really need to get to Easthaven. Our aunt is expecting us." So, the last part was a bit of a stretched truth. Honestly, Clara had no idea if her aunt was expecting them or not. Bartholomew watched her carefully as she explained her situation and slowly nodded, turning to walk to the back of his tent. Clara stood, hopeless, as he walked away, tears brimming in her eyes.
When the man returned, he was carrying a plastic poncho, which he gently handed to Clara. "Dear, sweet child. We are but a humble group of misfits. Of course you are welcome here. You may ride with us for as long as you like. It just so happens we recently had an act drop, and we have a two available rooms in one of our carts." Clara could faint, she was so happy. "Go, get your family, and get them warm. I will send Benny to ready your cart. Come see me after the show today. Zach, since you found her, you escort them to the Swan Cart. And Alex, go find Penny and ask her to help Miss Eddington get settled in." He spoke with a gentle finality. He did not expect the children to disrespect them, as he had let both Zach and Alex into his company out of the goodness of his heart, just as he was doing now for this young girl. He knew that the boys were good, and that they would make sure she was well looked after. It might do the children some good to have some more children their age around. Perhaps keep them out of trouble, as it were. "Thank you, sir, thank you so much!" Barty smiled and waved his hand to dismiss them, turning back to a table with a bunch of paperwork upon it. He would have his hands full trying to replace and buy a new act for the Swan Sisters. Clara put the poncho on and shyly looked to Zach, "Um... I'll lead you to them, then.."
When Clara arrived back at their camp, she was not surprised to find a very upset looking Flynn and a curious Natalie. Flynn was sitting with his legs crossed under a tree, looking wet and pitiful, and Natalie was staring wide-eyed at the many different carts with an apple in her hand that was half eaten. Clara smiled and ran to Doug when she saw him, throwing her arms around him in a huge hug. "They're going to let us stay with them, Doug! We have a place to sleep!" She was so overcome with joy that she began to cry. The rain was relentless, and only Natalie seemed to not mind the dreary downpour. Clara released her brother and placed the poncho onto Flynn's little body. "C'mon, Flynn, we're going to stay on the train. You always wanted to join the circus, right?" Flynn was being a typical six year old and just whimpered, laying his head into Clara's neck. Natalie grinned and turned at the sound of what Clara had to say. "Join the circus!?" she chirped, wide-eyed and excited. "That sounds like fun, sissy! I want to, I want to!" Clara laughed and shifted Flynn on her hip to hold him better. She turned back to Zach, wincing a little. She could tell he wasn't really a people person. It was then that Natalie took it upon herself to jump over beside him and take his hand. "My name's Natalie Eddington! I'm Clara's sister! HI!" She grinned up at him. "Are you a part of the circus? Are you an act? Do you eat fire? Or swords can you teach me to--" "That's enough, Natalie.." The younger girl looked a little apologetic and smiled. "Sorry," she mumbled, though it was clear that her lighthearted self didn't really mean it.
"Zach is going to show us where our cart is... so.. follow him." Clara looked to Zach and walked over to him, Flynn still in her arms. "Doug, can you grab the suitcase?" After everything they owned was together and they were grouped up, she nodded to Zach to lead the way. Oh, Mama... I really hope they're as nice as they seem.. and I hope we get to Easthaven soon.