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

Chapter 7

Thomas nodded, got up from his seat, and walked on the table. He jumped off and led Anne and W.D. to the upstairs apartment. They walked into a small room that had a window, a bed, a side table, and a table with four chairs around it. The three sat across from each other at the table, and Thomas couldn't stop smiling.

"I've dreamed of this," Thomas laughed, as he looked up and down at them "You two needing something and coming crawling back to me,"

"We not here to beg," Anne told him.

"Your still a fighter aren't you?" He laughed out, turning his attention to the mulatto woman. "I remember when you two first joined me. You two had so much strength,"

Anne shuddered at that memory. It took them years to reach New York. They spent their lives in the streets and boxcars of trains, even spending some time in another circus as stagehands. When they finally reached the city, it was not what they expected.

When they finally met Thomas, they fought off a few of his man in the tavern. The two were about to be kicked out, but the man saved them. He invited them into his home, where they agreed to help him with getting money and food.

"We need freedom papers," W.D. said, getting Thomas attention. "We need them fast,"

"Now you want papers?" Thomas laughed out. "You told me you two were able to get them on your own,"

"Can you help us or not?" Anne asked impatiently.

"What's in it for me?"

"We already pay you more than enough," W.D. said.

"There's a price for everything. Give me $50 more with what you pay me each month,"

"Deal," W.D. blurted out.

"Wait!" Anne protested. "We need to discuss this," She pulled her brother out of his seat and stood a good distance from the negotiator.

"What are you doing?" She whispered to him with anger.

"I'm getting our freedom," He whispered to her.

"If we pay him $50 for this plus the $30, that'll be nearly $100 each month. We'll be paying him nearly our whole salary we both earn from the circus combined. We'd have no money left for ourselves,"

"Would you rather have money for ourselves than have our freedom? They print more money every day, but we could get these papers that could give us our future,"

The two looked back at Thomas, who smirked. Anne sighed and the nodded.

"Glad you've come to your senses," Thomas said as the Wheeler Siblings sat back in their seats. "Now then, I'll do whatever I can to get you these papers. It could take at least week or so,"

Thomas held out his hand, and both of the siblings shook it. The three left the room, the man leading them out the front door. When they walked outside, Thomas stopped them before they walked away.

"You know there are rumors about the circus," He said to them. W.D. and Anne looked at each other, curious about what their former companion was talking about.

"What about?" W.D. asked.

"Some say the circus will lose a few of its members,"

"What are you talking about?"

"Some have been saying that a few of the acts don't have the proper paperwork to perform. Like not being a legal citizen, being escapees and refugees, or even freedom papers,"

"No," Anne rejected. "Phillip wouldn't let any of us go. We're a family,"

"Yet someday, families will break apart. I believe you know that,"

Anne didn't say anything. She knew what he said was true but something was also true about family.

"Families may break apart," Anne told him with confidence. "But new ones can always be formed,"

Anne turned around and walked away without another word. W.D. followed her, while Thomas watched them for a moment before going back in the tavern. The brother and sister made their way around the corner when Phillip startle them.

"What are you doing here?" Anne hissed.

"I was worried about you two. You just ran off after you told us what happened to you and Charlotte,"

"We're fine. Now let's go home,"

Phillip was about to protest, but Anne walked passed him. He looked at W.D. who followed his sister. Phillip sighed, looking at him. He saw the bar, and a man standing at the window. He looked at him, seeing the man walk away.

The ringmaster stood there for a moment and went back the circus. He couldn't shake off the feeling that that man knew about the Wheeler siblings. He felt like they had secrets than he thought.

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Author's Note: The money system in the 1800s is really weird for me, so I tried to make sense of it. I will edit it later.  

***Quick Notes

--- $30 (1850)= almost $900 in 2017 (Approx. $897.98)
--- $50 (1850)= almost $1,500 in 2017 (Approx. $1,495.96)
--- $100 (1850)=  almost $3,000 in 2017(Approx. $2,991.92)

The Average Payment for a Trapeze Artist

--- $50,000 in 2017= $1671.17 in 1850

I hope you all enjoyed this! The next chapter should be up in soon.

!!!Thanks For Reading!!!