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For the next chapter???? 

I think it is about that time again! Lets see...what chapter are we on now??? Chapter 5!!!

Yay!!!

Ok, so here we go! This is the next chapter in the story, and it is also the next chapter in Ella's life. Everything changes from here on out. In this chapter, we are going to see some fullfilment's of Ella's visions that she has been having since the beginning of the book. I think that this may be one of the longer chapters...but chapters in my stories are always long..hehe! 

I love you all! Let me know what you think!

Chapter Five

The fat man, whom she assumed to be Dr. Merriman, shoved her roughly into the back of the decorated cart, which, from the inside, looked more like a prison cell. She huddled into the back corner with her arms wrapped around her knees. The cart jerked forward at a word from Dr. Merriman, and took her away from all that she had known and loved. The clowns and dancers danced around the cart as it moved away from the town. Once it was out of sight from all civilization, they would walk normally or sit on the side of the cart for a rest. When they come within sight of another town, they would begin dancing and playing their instruments.
Two of the clowns had pipes, which they trilled away on, never missing a note of their happy tune. One carried a huge drum that was strapped to his thin chest. He beat on it, filling the air with its rumble. And some others carried things that Ella had never seen before in her life.
Two of the dancers caught Ella’s eye. They were dressed exactly alike and looked exactly alike. Both were young women in their late twenties with black hair down to their waists and shining black eyes. They were tall, maybe almost six feet, Ella guessed, and with their thinness, it made them look like poles. Golden hoops adorned their ears, countless bracelets went up their arms, and anklets around their ankles. Rainbow colored dresses draped from their shoulders. They twirled around each other in perfect time to the music. Moving faster and faster until everything was a blur.
These were the only ones that Ella could see from her position. The rest of the dancers and clowns where on the other side or in front of the cart. She leaned against the side of the cart and sighed. So, this was to be her new life. Living in a circus, probably as some kind of freak for people to gawk and scream at. Despair welled up in her like a fountain inside of her. Tears poured down her cheeks. Who knew when she would see Yeusem again. Who knew if she ever would. The vision was fuzzy, it may not even happen. Yet, she had told him that she would see him again. She sighed again. Sholeim promised her that she was in His hands, and she tried to trust Him, even though it seemed hopeless at the time.
The gentle rocking of the cart lulled her to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Girl!” a harsh voice jerked her out of her dreamless sleep, “Girl! Wake up, you!”
Ella sat up and pressed herself against the back of the cart, her eyes closed, “I’m awake,” she said.
“Then get up and out of there before Mary finds you’ve been sleeping!” the voice sounded nervous.
The back of the cart was open, so Ella scooted out. “Who?”
“M-Dr. Merriman, we all call him Mary behind his back.”
Ella could now see the speaker. She was one of the dancing twins, only now she was dressed in normal attire, and not a rainbow colored dress.
“Oh,” Ella glanced around her. They were standing in a large meadow surrounded by a forest in all directions. Ella could see the top of a huge, multicolored tent from where she stood, at the back of the cart. Other tan colored tents were dotted around the meadow. And there was another tent that was also brightly colored. It was smaller than the other big one.
The woman extended her delicate hand, “My name is Plumeria.”
Ella shook the offered hand, “I’m Ella.”
“Ooh!” Plumeria squealed, “I like your name! Very elegant and mysterious. Suits you. Oh! Please call me Eria. I like that part of my name, but not the Plum, it makes me feel like a feather in a hat.”
Ella grinned at this strange lady. She definitely had enough energy to go around.
“Can I give you a nick-name, Ella?” Eria asked.
Nod.
“Okay!” she thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers, “Oh! Ellie! Like it?” she raised her eyebrows in anticipation.
“Uh, yeah.”
“Ellie! Of course, if I call you by your real name, you better run because I only do that when I’m mad.” She winked, then looked up, “Oh, Mary’s here,” she whispered, “Be respectful, better yet, don’t speak unless spoken to.”
Dr. Merriman came sauntering up to Ella, an evil grin on his face. He was thinking up insults. He had a long, leather whip curled up in his hand. Ella cringed just looking at it.
“So,” he began circling her as of to get a better look, “your name is Ella Thatchie. The girl with half a face and no brain.”
She bowed her head and squeezed her eyes shut as his insults continued to sting her. He continued, “I heard that hardly a soul knew that you even existed. That your ‘mother’ was to embarrassed about having you around to let you show your ugly face to the town.”
“You are beautiful to me, Ella.”
“Am I right?” Dr. Merriman stopped circling in front of her and starred hard into her.
Ella nodded, “Yessir.” she replied quietly.
I know, Sholeim. Thank you for never leaving me.
“I never will.”
“Well, here it is going to be different. Here, we are not ashamed of you. Here, we are proud to have the most interesting, or ugly, creatures we can find."
I’m a creature now, am I?
“Here, you will not be hidden, you will be put on display for the whole world to see and marvel at. And you know what they will say? ‘Oh! How hideous! I never knew there could ever be something so ugly!’.” he laughed as Ella’s chin dropped closer to her chest, “You can’t handle that, can you!”
Ella closed her eyes to keep the tears from flowing. Could she handle a lifetime of that? She knew the answer at once. She could handle it because her Creator said the opposite, “Yes,”she said, lifting her head and staring straight into his eyes. Eria, who was now behind her, gasped. “Yes, I can handle that.”
“Oh!” he blinked in surprise, “You think you can, do you?”
She stretched her mind into Eria’s, “No, no, no, no! Don’t say it! Don’t say it!”
“Yes, I know I can.”
“No!”
Ella stretched herself to her full height and squared her shoulders, preparing herself for a blow from either the whip or maybe his fist.
“Well, let’s just see if you can handle this!” he swung his fist at her face. She ducked and his fist past harmlessly over the top of her head. Next instant, the whip was unfurled and lashing. He cracked it and the leather sliced into her flesh. She cried out on pain and clutched her arm, blood trickling through her fingers. She stifled her cries and clenched her teeth, breathing quickly through her nose. Eria reached forward to steady her.
“Alright! Just you look at the other people here, not including me, and you will see that they all have a scar on their upper arm like you. I guess you could call it a brand of sorts. This way, there is no way that you can escape me.” he laughed gleefully. Ella hated the way he talked to them all like they were little kids, and brainless to boot. He looked at Eria, who quickly took her hand away from Ella’s back.
“Take her to where she will stay for the rest of her life,” he commanded.
“Which would be...”
“In the empty cage next to Wingy!” he raised his hands in exasperation then mumbled something under his breath that Ella couldn’t hear. She went into his mind and heard what he was saying, “Ugh! The idiots that are surrounding me!”
“This way, Ellie!” Eria grabbed Ella’s bloody hand and pulled her away. She ran straight towards the second bright tent. She could see that words were now hanging over the opening of the tent.

Dr. Merriman’s Freaks of Nature

Great, a freak show. At lease I will fit in. Eria went into the tent, with Ella behind her, and this is what she saw:
A girl in an iron-bared cage stared at her with large, imploring eyes. Ella saw the reason for her imprisonment. Wings. Large dragon-like wings. Each as big as her body and making a canopy over her shaking body. She looked up, and spoke, her voice as shaky as her body:
“They told me you would be coming to me someday.” Those eye filled with joy for a moment, then she bowed her head and broke into uncontrollable sobs.
Ella gasped, her vision! She had had a vision about this! And everything matched! The cages, the girl, the way the light came down from the slits in the tent.
“Ah! Et!” exclaimed Eria, “Why are you crying, girl?”
The winged girl looked up, her tears making streaks on her dirty face, “No, you wouldn’t understand,” she answered softly.
“I guess I wouldn’t. I gave up a long time ago trying to understand a girl with dragon wings.” She waved her hand towards a cage right next to the winged girl’s, “I honestly hate to do things like this, Ellie, but I have to. Get into the cage, Young’n.”
The cage door was open, and Ella crawled awkwardly into the cage. Her arm was still bleeding and she could feel the blood pounding in her head. She was beginning to get dizzy. Eria must have seen her pale face and swaying body, for she said, “I’ll get you something for your arm.” She then locked the cage door. Her eyes were mournful, “I really hate doing this to anyone with a mind and soul. I like you, even with a distorted face.” She smiled and walked hastily out of the tent.
Ella sat in a corner, her head low and her hand clutching her arm. Her entire arm throbbed, and she felt like someone was pounding her head with a mallet. She closed her eyes tight and waited for Eria to come back. She heard some rustling in the cage next to her and opened her eyes. The girl with wings was looking at her gently through the bars that separated them. Her body had stopped shaking and her gaze was steady. Ella scooted over to join the girl. The girl’s thin, white hand reached out and caressed her face. Her touch was cold, but gentle and almost loving, something Ella had never felt before in her life. She reached and touched the girl’s wing. The skin felt very much like leather. They were brown, but each time they moved, they shimmered silver and gold. Their eyes met. The girl’s eyes were as deep and dark as clouds gathering for a storm. She could almost see rain streaming down in the darkness of her eyes.
“My name is Ella,” she said quietly to the girl.
“I am Etiran,” the girl replied, “Ella,” she whispered to herself, “Your name is pretty.”
“Thank you, Etiran,” Ella squeezed her thin hand, “If you don’t mind my asking....um...what are you?” she nodded her head towards Eteeran’s wings.
Etiran chuckled, “Haven’t seen anything like me, have you?”
“Nope.”
“I am a cross between an elf and a blessed Lunar Dragon.” she replied, “We call ourselves Luniaths.”
“I have never heard of it.”
“That is because we are rare and stay in hiding for the most part. But then there are others of my kind that do not have wings, so they don’t have to hide as much as I do.”
“Well, you chose a good place to hide,” Ella said sarcastically, “In a cage in a freak show tent.”
Etiran grinned, “You’re not doing so bad yourself, you are here with me. At least I’m not alone anymore.” Her voice sounded hopeful.
“How long have you been here?” Ella asked. Her arm wasn’t throbbing as much anymore, the bleeding was slowing down.
“Two years.”
Ella gaped, “Two years?”
“Yes, and I’m about to go mad,” Etiran growled. Ella saw a streak of lightening flash across her eyes, “I have dragon blood in me! And dragons are not meant to be in a cage!” she pounded the bottom of the cage with her fist.
Ella went into her mind and heard her anger being vented internally. Indeed, a dragon heart and soul pounded viciously inside this girl, and it was about to explode. Breathe, my dragon friend.
The Luniath’s head jerked up. “You mindspeak!”
Indeed, and it may become handy if we are not supposed to talk to each other. At least not with our mouths..
“So, I can just think and you will hear my thought?
Yep, I can do a lot of things with this gift of mine. Unfortunately, I have not had time to experiment with it all. Ella grinned, then nearly cried out as pain throbbed through her arm again. Thankfully, Eria came in just then with a bundle of cloths and wet rags. Ella also noticed that she had a bundle of rolled up clothes.
So, I am to be cured and clad in the garb of the circus folk. I guess I am one of them now. Eria unlocked the gate and motioned for Ella to come out. Ella’s left arm felt useless. Since the cut was right in the fleshy area near her shoulder, it was difficult and painful to lift her arm. Ella turned for Eria to tend to the wound. She tore away her sleeve and worked away. The cut was deep, but the bleeding had almost stopped. Ella knew that her dress would definitely be thrown away. Not only was the sleeve now gone thanks to Eria, but the entire area near her arm and down her side was stained red from the blood. Besides, why else would Eria come in with a fresh pair of clothes if not to clothe her in them? She had a strong feeling that if people saw the blood that drenched her dress that Mary would be out of business.
Her heart sunk as she saw what the fabric was made of. It looked a great deal like it was made out of burlap sack.
Perfect.
Once it was on her, she realized the the fabric was softer than it looked. There were two pieces to the garment she was wearing. One was what looked a great deal like a long shirt. And as she slipped it over her head, she knew that it was a long shirt. The other part was a pair of short pants to wear underneath. Eria handed her a colorful sash to tie around her waist, and a smaller one to tie her long hair with.
“There!” Eria said when Ella was done dressing, “You look like a member of the circus now. And much cleaner.” she grinned.
Ella cringed inwardly. She did not want to look like a member of the circus. She wanted to go back home, to her barn with her beloved animals and to Yeusem. Well, she may as well make the best of it while she was here. Maybe by some miracle she could get out.
She crawled back into the cage like a submissive dog and winced as she heard the lock click. She scooted towards where Etiran, watching her intently, was sitting. They were still separated by the bars, but at least they could touch a bit. Etiran stretched her wing through the bars and wrapped it tightly about Ella. Warmth flooded over Ella, and she remembered the way that Yeusem had embraced her. No one had ever embraced her. Yeusem had maybe done it once before, but not the tenderly way he had done it at their parting. She saw the faded visions of them being together somewhere. Happy. Loving. She could only see the normal part of her face. But she saw that she had a long, jagged scar that ran from her ear lobe to just below her mouth. No doubt that would be Mary’s work.
Yes, she had a future with Yeusem, but who knew how long it would take to get there. As the warmth from Etiran’s wing engulfed her, she became more and more drowsy. She rubbed her cheek against the leather-like skin and drifted once more to sleep.

There it is! Tell me everything!!!!!!

Jenna