One Heart- The Greatest Showman

Chapter 76

Elizabeth's Pov 

I got the carriage to stop a bit further up the road, around four or five miles up the road before I began to hike into the forest in front of us. I had asked the driver if he could pick us back up in a quarter of an hour. Obviously, I wanted to talk about something - about the matter at hand. 

The forest we entered was oak-brown and primitive. The grasses we stepped on were crackly beneath our feet because of the recent dry spell. We were in awe of the size and majesty of the trees. Their knotted arms rose ever upwards, as far as my head could lift. They were hoary fortresses and stood proudly. The orchestra of birdsong we could hear from them suddenly stopped. A pair of jays was screeching high up in the canopy of the trees. I could see wild basil growing freely on the clumpy, mossy mattress of the floor. The simpering wind carried a fragrance with it. It was spirit refreshing to smell the mulchy mix of the forest's perfume.

I walked ahead of Phillip, careful of where I placed the next step. It wasn't much longer until  he realized where we were. It wasn't too far from the house, but far enough that its significance and location was hidden to most. 

The lake appeared as if by magic as we crested the ridge. It was in teardrop-silver in colour and it was shaped like a perfectly flat disc of metal. No sound rang out from the shimmering emptiness of space around it. Monastery quiet, it was lined with pine trees and the whiff of mint wafted up to us. I decided to make our way to its decanter clear shore, Phillip following, to wash our hands. The idyllic scene took our breath away. Unruffled by wind or rain, it was vault still and restful. The only sounds were the bumbling of bees and the heavy echo of a raven crawking.The water edge  hemmed with whipped-white lines.

"I proposed to you here." Phillip stated while I took my clock off and hung it over a tree stump. 

"You did." The thought of the proposal seemed to light up her face for a few small moments before it returned to its anxiousness and worried state as she tried to force her thoughts back to the previous semblance of order. 

Fragments of thought, splinters of words, and droplets of silence spun into a kaleidoscopic jumble, shifted infinitesimally, and fell into an incredible new pattern. Prompting him to ask the next question. 

"You know?" It was two words, which to many would seem confusing, perhaps even misleading but I knew exactly what he was referring to. But even now, as we are alone in the middle of our secret spot - she would not even form the words to answer. Just gave the slightest nod of my head. Strands of my hair falling out of the style I had just placed it in.  "What's happened?" Phillip kept the tone of his  voice gentle and soft, not wanting to be blunt. 

I swallowed and said, "I can't tell you, I'm sorry." 

Phillip moved towards me, placing his hand in my own - intertwining our fingertips. I could feel the cold water droplets pressing against my skin. 

"You can tell me, I'll be okay." He reassured me as I shook my head, croaking out "I can't." 

Furrowed brow, eyebrows contracted and a mystified expression was what I was met with. 

"I can help Lizzy, you don't have to do everything alone."

"Thank you, but I'm not telling you." I say, trying to keep my voice firm. 

"Liz, She is my sister." He tried to reason, his eyes looking into mine. Hoping I would tell him, I shook my head once again, all my hair now fallen from the style  had done it up in. 

"I understand that," I began, "However I can't tell you. You have to trust me on this Phillip." 

"Of course I trust you Lizzy," He told me, his hands moving from my hands to my shoulders. "But, Lizzy, this is my fight as well." 

"No it is not." 

"Hannah is my sister!" He was all edges again in the mist, shoulders taut and straight even though his hands were still in his pockets. Even his voice was sharp and tight.

"It's my fault she is even in this situation in the first place okay?" I raised my voice to match his own slightest change. "I said to come here, I said to leave her in the house alone, this all began because of me Phillip!" 

"Then let me help Lizzy!" 

"No!" I said, a bit louder than I was meant to. "I will not put you in danger!" 

"What danger?" He inquired, as I realized I had let myself slip up in my little outburst.  I didn't reply to his question as I turned away from him and picked up my cloak, causing him to pull me back to face him. "Elizabeth, what danger?" 

I pushed his hands off my arms, taking a deep sigh as I now knew I had to tell him. I could almost feel the prick of tears in the corner of my eyes, but I blinked them away quickly. "They weren't looking for Hannah," my voice was full of sorrow as I finally had to admit what I had been fearing, the thing that had made my stomach tie itself into knots. "They were looking for you, Phillip." 

The silence scared me.

The fact that he had to know this hurt me. 

The way his lips parted, his brow unfurrowed and his icy blue eyes looked at me to ensure that he had heard right, broke my heart. Slammed it into a million and two pieces. 

"That's why you wanted to get out of the house so quickly." 

"Yes," I reply, not letting my eyes leave the small circle I had drawn in the grass with my foot. 

More silence. 

"Okay, we will go back to Anne and W.D's and make a plan." Phillip decided, taking my hand and began to walk back the way we came. 

It wasn't a long walk but the absence of any sound, even the sound of crunching grass, made it last much longer.  I already had a plan, I knew he wasn't going to like it, but it was a plan and it was to guarantee his safety. 

Once we arrived back at the carriage, I went over a whispered something to the driver while Phillip hopped into the carriage. The driver look confused at first but promised to meet my request. I had to pay him a bit extra, but in the end it would all be worth it. 

Phillip sat on the far left hand side, leaving room for me to get in. Slowly, I walked up to the carriage, Phillip offering his hand inside the carriage. I turned my head away, looking at the forest behind me, and closed the carriage door, bolting it shut. Me on the outside, Phillip on the inside of it. 

He jumped up the moment he saw what I had done, flicking the little window in the door opened and he tried to unbolt the door from the window. But the bolt was to far away from the window for him to open it, meaning he was locked inside the carriage until the driver let him out at Anne and W.D's. 

"Lizzy, don't do this," He pleaded as tears slowly ran down my face. "Please." 

"I'm going to save your sister." I informed him, my voice shaky as I held onto his hand, placing a small kiss on his knuckles. 

"Elizabeth, we can do that together. Please just open the door." 

"I love you." I said before banging on the side of the carriage three times, signalling to the driver that he could leave. The driver yelled at the horse, causing the carriage to move forward with Phillip yelling my name at me as out hands finally released from each others hold. 

A/N 

Hey guys, just letting everyone who reads my other story, "The greatest Journey to the Past", that I will do an update tomorrow night. I had an idea and I am now just trying to fit it into the chapter. 

Thanks. 

Until next time. 

Love, 

Maya