Light A Way

01

Performing was the only thing which Elsie had ever really known in life. Performing, hard stares, and the odd wondrous looks by little children and men she'd rather avoid completely.

It was safe to say that life had not panned out quite like how she had pictured. She vaguely remembered when she was seven years old, she hadn't that long started primary school and she was making friends. She was happy. Was she happy now? No, most certainly not. She presumed she was as far from happy as humanly possible.

But, the reasoning for her reminiscing simply stemmed down to: even at that age, she had an idea of how she wished her life to go. And she most certainly did not envision her life going like this. From the young age of ten she had been whisked up and away by someone who she felt she could trust. Openly admitting she knew nothing about street shows was something Elsie would openly hold her hands up to and not resist doing so.

'Enticing' had been a word which had been uttered by one Derek Vincent when he had spied what she could do. Unfortunately when it came to he who she thought she could trust, he was simply looking out for himself and exploiting her skills along the way.

The born and bred Londoner couldn't care less whether or not her using her powers hurt her, drained her, mentally took a toll. Oh no, Elsie had shortly thought, as long he is happy. She had frowned deeply. As long as he was happy, had money in his pockets, didn't have to spend any out for her sake or the other performers then he was the most charming man one could ever meet.

Of course though, being the dreamer Derek Vincent seemingly was, he moved across the country, and even to a completely different country altogether. Another reason why he decided to move was because there was a search out for Elsie – she presumed there still was even after all these years.

America, Elsie had never thought she'd be in America. From dingy big tops which were pitched in boggy fields in England, to clean cut sun loved grasses of America.

Climbing skilfully out of the window of the small trailer she had been given to stay in, she made her way around the current camp site. She was always stuck with what to describe this whole thing as. What she was involved in was not quite a circus, yet very much like one. In the sense that – in her eyes – nearly everyone played the part as that one clown which was always overly ridiculous. So much so that to a point he was no longer funny. She didn't know whether she could pin this to the minor daredevil acts which were involved in the shows. She frowned as she sneaked past the two men at the gates smoking, making sure no one managed to get in just as much as no one could get out. Elsie smirked over this, they clearly had not crossed paths with her. Pulling the apple out of her holey coat pocket, she stuck it in her mouth while jumping up and grabbing hold of an overhanging branch. Placing one hand in front of the other she reached the trunk in no time and dropped down. Skimming around the tree she peered out, ice blue eyes were directed at the park bench which had so captivated her attention.

When they first arrived at this site she wanted nothing more than to sit there and look up at the fluffy clouded sky. Now it was night time, dark skies and bright starlight shone down. And that in some ways was much more interesting. The small street lamp near to it flickered every so often, but she didn't care. The dark was something which seldom worried her. Even more so when she could supply her own light source. And hey, if someone was stupid enough to try and mug her, or perish the thought try anything else, they'd soon find themselves flailing about on fire. Elsie could openly admit – she did a lot of admitting to secret thoughts – she did not like what she could do. There was something not quite right with being able to summon fire and allow it to roll across her skin like water off of a duck's back.

Sitting on the bench at last she decided that it had got substantially colder since her escape. Rubbing her hands together – with the apple still firmly in between her teeth – she watched with cool eyes as small sparks of flames appeared from the friction of her skin. She wasn't too sure how it worked, she just knew she could do it. It was something she disliked and Derek Vincent loved, there really was nothing like seeing someone on fire and them not burn. Put in the sheer control she had over certain flaming objects and she had a whole fire dancing routine sorted, a routine she hated. When thought over it she hated quite a bit about everything. Elsie wasn't a hateful person really. But she could turn quite pessimistic and hateful. With a groan, she rolled her eyes, reaching up she plucked the apple from her mouth only to groan again when the peel started to burn. Seeing as how there was not a bin around she merely threw it over her shoulder.