Break a Leg

Scarlett's eyes lit up immediately as she glanced around the empty stage. Oh, it was perfect.

There had just been a performance of the classic Wizard of Oz and it had been absolutely magnificent. Of course, watching shows from the rafters could only do so much for a tiny human, but the stage itself was beautiful.

As she stepped onto the beige, smooth wooden surface, she could still feel the heat of the lights from the night show and it gave her shivers. The theatre was gigantic to the girl, but that didn't stop her from dreaming that one day she could be standing there on the stage, ignoring her size and acting to her heart's content.

A skip in her step and a smile on her face. Scarlett would bound onto stage, the silence from the crowd would alert her that it would be time to speak. Her lines would flow right off her tongue and into the headset she would wear to be heard.

The gorgeous costume, a burgundy crop-top bedazzled with tiny gems, with a burgundy, light skirt to match fluttering out behind her as she's reduced to nothing more than her character. She would interact with a perfect tone and would greet her fellow actors professionally. The smile on her face would grow as she sang smoothly, and then it would be over.

There would be a standing ovation and roses would be scattered and thrown towards her and the others on stage, doing their bows and giving thanks to those that made this production possible. And then it would all start again by the next night for the second show.

The smile danced across her face as she could faintly hear the crowds cheering her name as she took her bows. Scarlett blinked, and the theatre was empty again. The only lights that showed her the way was those of the lights in the crowd. So that when the house lights were down, you could still see where you were walking without tripping.

A small breath escaped her pink lips and she laughed, opening her arms wide as she spun like a giddy, little girl. The theatre always made her heart alight, even if she couldn't really be in the productions. It was fascinating to watch them come to life.

She would peer in on rehearsals and watch the giants get into character, bringing them to life and sometimes completely switching their personalities. She'd watch them memorize their lines, chat with each other and work with their partners. It was something she could only dream of doing.

Drama was her calling in this life, whether she was deemed to small for the stage or not.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Scarlett rose her voice as she called to the empty theatre, the chairs once again filled with imaginary people. "I'd like to personally welcome you to the musical production of the classic Wizard of Oz! Directed by yours truly!"

Of course, in her heard there were cheers and laughter, lots of applause and then the stage curtains would open again and the show would truly begin.

There were very few humans that actually made it into the acting world of their time, as giants weren't as accepting of their talents or their size as maybe they once had been. It was almost like humans had been forced completely to live in exile or in the house walls of a giant.

Scarlett's family had chosen the Charles Theatre. The acting was top notch, the singing was heavenly and the shows were always directed with such precision. This was the reason she wanted to be involved. Living in the walls of the theatre and growing up with such astounding acts.

She bounded off stage, her grin ever present as she readied herself. "Act one, the ever amazing Scarlett Steel bounds onto stage as Dorothy," as she spoke, she followed with enthusiastic actions. "And her brave little dog Toto, too." She pretended to pat her thighs as if calling a dog and the little guy ran out to her. Of course, dogs were huge animals, but an imaginary one could be small enough for her to hold and snuggle.

As she continued to happily chat to herself, talk and just jabber and laugh, making instructions for herself to follow. She was having a blast, acting her heart out to an empty crowd.

A part of her hurt because she would never perform in front of real people, unless her family counted, but right now, she was more than happy to pretend that she was actually doing something. That once she was done, she'd get a standing ovation for her acting and her musical talent.

"... to Scarlett," a voice caught her attention. They clapped their hands four times to try and get her attention. "Earth to Scarlett."

Scarlett froze almost instantly when she stumbled and tripped over herself, landing stomach first on the stage and she blinked, rolling over onto her side and catching the look of - "Harrison, don't scare me like that."

"I wasn't trying to," he assured her, pushing away from the thick, dark red curtains that seemed to stretch way up into forever. "You're just always in your own little world, arentcha, Dorothy?"

She smiled shyly, feeling a light pink dust her freckled cheeks. "Sorry," she brushed herself off before tucking her red hair behind her ears. "I didn't know I was being that loud."

Harrison shook his head. "You weren't being loud, Scar, we just wanted to call you back into the rafters for curfew."

"Right," Scarlett nodded. She was about to head over towards her brother when she paused, before holding her hand out and pointing to him, a grin growing bolder on her face. "Can you just give me a few more minutes? Please? I promise I won't be long after you."

He paused for a moment, looking like he was going to say 'no' for a couple heart stopping seconds, before he broke into a grin of his own. "Alright fine, but only a couple more minutes. Any longer and I'm sending Grandpa Gary down after you."

"Oh mercy, anyone but Grandpa," she laughed, giving a small play salute as he headed back into the curtains, scrambling his way back upwards in silence and precision.

Scarlett's attention turned back to the empty theatre and she moved right to the edge of the stage, holding her arms out as if she was ready to embrace someone and she bowed lowly, before laughing and bowing again. Getting to see all the faces would be one of her favourite things. Seeing the smiles, the awe, the amazement on the people that had come to watch her perform. Come to watch the cast bring a stage play to life.

That would be magical.

Letting out a gentle breath, Scarlett's eyes roved over the red velvet folding seats and she let her dream go for the night. She needed to focus on getting back just after curfew or Grandpa would have her heide.

Turning on her heels, she was about to move when a sound of movement caught her hearing.

She paused, turning to look back over her shoulder. When nothing stood out to her instantly, she turned to head over to the curtains, the way they used to climb all the way to the rafters, before there was shuffling.

Her anxiety spiked and the girl blinked, twirling around, her black cardigan floated out behind her as she moved with such speed. It took a moment, but she noticed a huge shape moving in the darkness and she sucked in a sharp noise. Oh no. Oh no. This was not good. If a giant had caught her out here, it's technically trespassing after hours, even though they had lived their mainly their entire lives.

Scarlett's panicked breathing heightened when the large shape got much too close to the stage for comfort, and before she could react, they stopped right at the edge.

She stood there, rooted to the spot while her legs wouldn't move. They wouldn't budge, even if she could feel the muscles tensing and shifting as if she was trying to run. She was. Big time. Being close to a giant without knowing their intentions was insanely dangerous. They could kidnap you and keep you like an animal, use you, make you a servant, or worse. They could kill you without a second thought if they thought it necessary.

"W-wait," the voice that came from the huge creature was soft, and rather gentle, something Scarlett wasn't expecting at all. "Please.. don't go yet, I've been wanting to talk to you for ages now. Please."

She paused, hands clenching and unclenching, her heart hammering in her throat and it wouldn't crawl back down into her chest just yet. "Wh-who're you?"

"My name's Johnathan," he told her gently. All Scarlett could really make of the newcomer was that his eyes were a beautiful green, something that remaindered her painfully of her own father's eyes. The colour of his hair was unknown as it was too dark in the theatre to really make out what it was. Facial features... he was too far away to really make anything out in the dim lighting. "Johnathan Alexander. Friends call me Johnny." He shook his head, as if dismissing a sudden thought. "I wanted to say that your acting was beautiful, and using the stage to your complete advantage like that is really impressive."

Scarlett could barely believe what she was hearing. Was he seriously complimenting her? But two staggering thoughts occurred to her; why was he here? How long had he been watching her?

But her cheeks were flushed, absolutely warm with the compliment and she didn't know how to take it. Not at all. She'd only been told how great she was by her family, never by someone else and never by a giant for that matter. She couldn't help but feel slightly flattered.

Johnathan cleared his throat. "L-look, I know it probably seems really suspicious that I'm here after hours, but I didn't break in! My dad owns the theatre itself. He's Charles Alexander. Had this place named after him." He fished in his pocket for a golden key. "See? Now I can prove I'm not lying." He jingled them from his spot at the front of the stage.

What a strange boy. Scarlett found herself oddly drawn to him as the nerves slowly, and seriously slowly, began to still in her body. The adrenaline rush was finally beginning to cease.

"I-I don't u-understand," she breathed out, letting her lungs take in the well needed oxygen. "H-how long have y-you been watching?"

"Long enough to know that your name is Scarlett," he recited happily, as if this had been rehearsed to himself. Then he immediately realized his mistake afterwards. "Oh shoot, um, that's not what I meant." Seeing the startled look on her face, he leaned forwards, planted his elbows on the stage and hid his face in them. "And I go and mess up the only chance I probably will ever get to talk to you."

She jumped at that. "Only c-chance?"

Johnathan shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I mean, I made it seem like I've always been here. And I've seen you a couple times on stage, but I never had the courage to come and actually talk to you and here I am, screwing it all up. Like the screw up I am."

Scarlett paused, biting into her lower lip. "I don't think you're a screw up, Johnny," she said softly, stepping a tiny bit closer. "I didn't think that at all."

He looked up to her, finding a small - no pun intended - but genuine grin on her face instead and he sighed. "Look, I know, I just... didn't want to scare you off and then miss out on seeing your performances each night," he winked to her. "I've already seen quite the few. Might have to start paying for tickets."

She broke into a larger grin, the red on her cheeks was heating up her entire body, as she shivered with delight. "I mean.. you're welcome to k-keep coming back to watch," she offered. "As long as you won't kick my family out.. this is the only place I've ever known. Your father's theatre is the reason I love the art of acting so much."

His smile became something much warmer, before offering a knuckle out to her. "I'll keep it a complete secret," he told her.

Scarlett eyed the knuckle with a wariness. She wasn't sure how to address it for a moment, before stepping forwards and, albeit hesitantly, outstretched her hand and laid it gingerly on the digit held out to her. It was sort of like a handshake, she guessed, but only a little easier to manage without risking her arm being pulled out of it's socket if the shake was too rough.

"You're doing great," he told her gently, brightening up at the fact that he had met the human he had wanted to meet for ages. "Keep it up. I have a feeling you're really going to go places."

She laughed warmly, pulling her hand back to herself before shrugging her shoulders. "You never know I guess." Her attention was pulled back to the thought that if she didn't hurry, Gary was going to come looking for her.

Sending a gleeful look over her shoulder towards Johnathan, she was scampering across the stage and heading right back to the curtain where she grasped ahold of the thick material and began to heave herself upward with a practised motion. It was fluid and comfortable and something she'd been doing for years anyhow. She barely made a dent against the curtain and before long, she was heaving herself up into the rafters.

Pushing on her way, the girl had a bright smile set on her face. It seemed to feel like it was permanent. A glow in her chest and a skip in her step, she was more than excited to keep this a secret, but she would gladly talk about her experience down on the stage.

"Scarlett, there you are," her Grandfather greeted her with an open hand, before wrapping it around her shoulders.

"I had the most amazing time on the stage tonight, Grandpa," she squeaked happily, using her hands to show just how much fun it had been.

"Well, of course, I'd love to hear all about it."