Secret Lives ~ 1x1 with Cloudsong and M.F.L

[Cloudsong]

Evan was aware of the loud crowd of the cheers coming from the inside of the stage tent, but he stayed rooted to the spot as if he were stuck there with a nail. He sat very still, not even opening the letter Camille's dad had given him. First, before he opened it, he wanted to make his mind up. But whenever he would ask the question in his mind, it seemed to go blank and he would just space out. His mind wandered, and the conversation he had had with Sauda earlier came to mind. It surprised him; in the last hour, he hadn't thought of her once. With all of these important things happening, he hadn't thought of anyone from the circus.

A man on stilts walked by him that was part of the show, probably going onto the stage to perform. He gave Evan a smile, and Evan tried to mirror it, but only a grimace appeared. How could he leave here, and leave all of these people at the mercy of his father's terrible judgement? On one level, he wanted to go with what was best for him, and what he had wanted for so long. But then as he remembered Sauda, and everyone else here that depended on him for their jobs, he couldn't bring himself to accept the offer. What exactly am I supposed to do? he thought brokenly. Silently he got up, and opened the door to his room, tossing the letter onto the desk. Without looking back, he slammed the door to the room, and walked over to the circus tent.

He entered through the audience entrance just in time to see Sauda pull a young girl onto the stage to perform. A sad smile appeared on his face as he watched the glow in her eyes as she addressed the audience. The show would be finishing soon, and he found himself looking forward to talking to Sauda - not just because of what she was going to tell him, but because he so wanted to spend time with someone, and at the moment he felt like she was the only one he could talk to.

[My Fair Lady]

Sauda worked with Trip and the little girl and soon the girl was grinning up at Sauda. Trip seemed to adore the girl more than Sauda herself. Though the time came to send the child back to her seat, Sauda slipped something inside the girl's hand as she shook the small hand. Winking at her, Sauda sent her out of the ring.

It was time for her act to end and she bowed, Trip mimicking her. Backstage, Sauda waited for the show to end. It was over quickly and she left quietly, putting the monkey back in his home away from home. She hoped that the girl had gotten the message that she had written, half drawn, on the small piece of paper she had slipped into her hand. She had seen who the girl was with, a large family of clean children with happy expressions. It reminded her of the past even more. Sauda wanted to rescue this girl, no matter what it took.

[Cloudsong]

As soon as Sauda had taken her bow, and had gone backstage to wait for the show to finish, Evan exited the tent. He swiftly circled around to the backstage entrance, and pulled the door open. Upon seeing her sitting quietly by herself, he raised an eyebrow. However, the sight of her made him smile, and he silently approached him, watching her closely. "Sauda," he said finally, taking a seat beside her. As if he were content with the silence, he kept it for a few moments, then swallowed. "Do you want to go out right now, with me?" His voice was hopeful, and although it could sound that he was asking her out romantically, really all he meant was that he wanted her company, and was inviting her to spend time with him. He was trying desperately to push away what had happened with Camille and her father, and didn't want to talk about it with her; what would she say, anyway?

[My Fair Lady]

Sauda bit her lip and crossed her legs as she sat on the trunk of props. She raised her head in surprise at his voice and the sound of the trunk creaking beneath the weight of another person. She glanced to the side when there was silence, staring at Evan. A very slight smile found it's way onto her lips. She didn't care if what he had said could have sounded differently to other's ears, but Sauda understood what he meant. "Sure, but there's something I need some help with first. You can help if you'd like." The girl was still on her mind and she wanted to save her.

[Cloudsong]

Evan nodded, a curious expression on his face. Of course he would help; even if she asked him to do something incredibly dangerous, he would want to oblige. "With what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He took her hand and pulled her up, and then released it quickly. Whatever she wanted to do, he wanted to finish it so that they could go out; being here around all of these people from the circus made the decision that he was weighing in the back of his mind harder to bear. Perhaps she would help him forget for a while; in a time like this, all he wanted to do was forget his problems. Decisions were always hard for him, especially one like this.

[My Fair Lady]

Sauda grew slightly stiff when Evan's hand touched hers, pulling her up, but she relaxed as he let go. Touch was not something she was used to. "A little girl. I want to save her." She shuffled her feet and looked down. After a few moments, she looked up at Evan. Sauda wondered if he had seen the girl that she had brought to the stage during her act. The girl reminded her of herself when she was little, scared and not well taken care of. Sauda hoped that she could get to the girl before she had too many scars.

[Cloudsong]

Evan listened to her in silence, then frowned slightly. "The little girl in the brown dress?" he questioned. However, he didn't wait for her to reply. He had seen the girl when Sauda had brought her up to the stage; she had seemed a little bit unkept and perhaps even sad. But when she had gone back to his family, he had seen that they were all very clean, and seemed to be relatively happy. "But why? Did she tell you that she needed saving? It's not like she's an orphan." He wasn't trying to sound rude, only wanted her to see reason. The girl didn't seem to be in any danger that he could see.

[My Fair Lady]

Sauda nodded and looked down again. She could tell when something was wrong, the girl might have not seemed hurt, but Sauda knew better. The girl hadn't answered when she had asked her for her name. She had been nervous around strangers and was the complete opposite of the other children in the crowd. She recognized the look in her eye. "She's me, when I was her age." Sauda murmured, the look of memory returning a little to her eyes, but she shook it away not wanting to think back to that time.

[Cloudsong]

Evan instantly fell a rush of sympathy as he heard her small collection of words. So she saw herself in the child? He had always assumed that Sauda had had a rough childhood; she had come with her sister to the circus seeming broken inside. What exactly had happened, though? He was afraid to ask, so he just hesitated. "But Sauda.. you can't just adopt her; her parents might not treat her the same as the rest of them, but I'm sure that they love her." As if in an afterthought, he added; "And besides, are you willing to just give up any dreams you have had of the future?" He had never actually asked her if she had wanted to do something else besides performing in the circus, but he had always assumed that she would; that everyone would, just because of how he felt about it.

[My Fair Lady]

Sauda's eyes grew defiant, one emotion that she could easily portray. Her fists clenched and she practically glared at Evan. "Love? Does love require you to beat your child, to treat your child like vermin?" Even in her defiant state, Sauda realized how much that sounded like she was talking about herself. "I saw hurt, the feeling of not being loved, and fear in that girl's eyes. If a parent loves their child, truly, they will take good care of them, not keep them like a servant." Sauda allowed a smirk to cross her face. "What dreams? I can't dream." That was untrue, but Sauda was willing to give any dreams she had to save the little girl. "If I could dream, I would give up my dreams." Sauda knew that this was probably the most she had ever talked to Evan, or anyone for that matter, in one setting, at least since Gypsy died.