Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Looking to hire a lady assistant for a magician's stage show. Previous experience unnecessary, but should have a curious demeanor and a keen interest in the mysteries of the universe. Must provide own costume.”

William looked over his handwriting as he penned down his name. The thought of hiring an assistant ran through his mind several times before, but he had never had the drive to act on it until now. Even still, he was having his doubts, what-ifs plaguing his mind while he held his pen.

Was this truly the right decision? Having an assistant could surely spice up the act, draw in some new crowds and faces, and add a new level of flair to the shadow showmanship. But at the same time, it was nerve-wracking. What if he made the wrong choice? What if the act suffered from balancing the attention between two stars, what if he had chemistry on stage with whomever he would meet, only to have it fizzle out and leave his future performances a disappointing mess? He had only just begun to gain some true popularity in his shows, the thought of suddenly losing it all was almost too much for him to take.

He held his pen tighter. He couldn’t be letting such thoughts get to him, not now. He’d thought it through long enough, it wasn’t like he needed any more time to think on it. He was just… slightly apprehensive, that was all.

He stared at his name, written just below everything else on the page. It almost seemed to be mocking him. William Carter was not the name of a great magician, and it certainly wouldn’t send a good impression to any potential candidates who would see the ad. Foolishly, he tried to wipe it away before the ink fully dried, which only managed to slightly smear his penmanship.

A few more tries were given before he sighed and left it be. He wasn’t so certain his advertisement was worded very well, either, but he had already written it down. And he had only grabbed the one form.

It would simply have to do.

He muttered to himself as he cleared off his desk, and folded the paper to slip into his pocket. He would drop it off at the news station before his act, and then he would simply have to wait. Waiting was the worst part of it all, unfortunately. Having no idea who might respond, or when they might, made him all the more uncertain about his decision. But if there was one thing he had learned by now, it was how to please a crowd. And this was just another way for him to do just that.

It was all for business, no need to worry about it any further than that.

He looked at the clock beside himself. It was only noon, and his act wouldn’t be until six that night. He groaned and put his forehead against his desk. Something told him that it was going to be a long day.

---

After he had submitted the advertisement, he was left waiting for a few days. That was to be expected, the ad wasn’t to be broadcast until the following week, anyways. But even once it was in print, he was left waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting.

His time was mostly spent rehearsing, attempting to decipher the odd tome he found himself in possession of, and reading (regular books, mind you, he always was rather fond of a bit of fictional escapism). The routine was familiar to him by now, but he would be a liar if he said the monotony of it all wasn’t starting to get to him. Coupled with the fact that he was anticipating a response that didn’t seem to be coming, and he was a bit more wound up than he would have liked to admit.

When Thursday rolled around, and he still had yet to hear anything back, he decided to pick up a copy of the paper for himself, just to be certain that the printing company hadn’t cheated him out of his money. Sure enough, his ad was in there, plain as day, the name attached staring back at him with slight mockery.

Maybe it simply wasn’t meant to be. How many people were clamoring over themselves to claim the title of magician’s assistant, anyways? With the fact he hadn’t heard anything even after putting his name out into one of the most read papers in all of San Francisco, he had to assume that the number was likely very low.

Perhaps it was a good thing. It would certainly calm the part of himself that had been apprehensive about the idea in the first place. After all, the show was still doing just fine without an assistant. If he had to keep doing it by himself, would it really hurt anything? He could surely improve the act without any (human, anyways) outside help.

As much as he believed it would add a new flair to his act, it wouldn’t be ruined without it. Besides, he had his own ways of making things more interesting, he certainly didn’t need another person to add to it. Even if it would make things a bit simpler.

He had just about given up on the idea of having an assistant until Saturday night (or perhaps with how late it was, Sunday morning was more accurate). As he arrived back at his apartment after a long show, and a few hours he had lost track of while writing away in the back end of the venue before he was unceremoniously kicked out, he heard a crinkling sound under his foot when he stepped in the door, looking down to find an envelope under his shoe. He picked it up as he shut his apartment, and began to open it while he locked the door.

The letter was seemingly sent by someone with the initials of C.W., and he noted that the return address was on a street he vaguely remembered being on the other side of town. By the lack of stamps, he had to deduce that it had been hand delivered by this mysterious C.W., instead of being sent through the mail.

His curiosity piqued, he pulled the contents of the letter out, and set the envelope down on his desk.

The letter inside was written on what looked like semi-fancy stationery, little flower details being present on the top and bottom of the page. Someone seemed to be trying to make a good impression. That, or they simply enjoyed the look of it, an equally likely chance. He sat down while he got to actually reading it over.

‘Dear William,

I found your ad in the San Francisco Call, and I had to ask if you’re still looking for an assistant. If you are, I would love to try out for the role! I may not have much experience, but I’ve been practicing for a part in the theater for years now! I even have my own costume already.

Please let me know what else you’re looking for, and I would be glad to come to talk about the role in more detail!

Regards,

Charlotte W.’

The letter had a few spots where a handful of letters had been crossed out, the writer seemingly a bit hasty about getting it done. While perhaps a bit unprofessional, William couldn’t help but find it a bit endearing. The same could be said about this Charlotte’s enthusiasm. Such energy was just the thing that he had been looking for, and he was glad to see that this was the first response that he had gotten.

As he pushed things aside to begin penning his reply, he froze with a bit of hesitancy. Was he really about to go through with this? How does one even conduct an interview for this sort of thing? He may have navigating through crowds down, but one-on-one conversation was still something he, unfortunately, left something to be desired in.

What if he went and made a fool of himself? No, he shan’t even entertain the thought, he was far above that. But the thought still bounced back and forth in his mind. Even the stage confidence that had been imbued in him since his encounter with that odd book couldn’t cut through his anxiety for social interaction, as unsightly as he found the trait.

He took a deep breath to collect himself. He was simply catastrophizing. Charlotte was clearly excited for the role, and what was the worst thing that could happen, anyhow? A bit of embarrassment? Missing out on hiring someone who wouldn’t even be a good fit for the role anyways? Worrying over it was silly, really.

(There were, actually, quite a few different ways that this could end very, very badly for him, depending on what information might accidentally slip out. But he chose not to think on that.)

Even as he reassured himself, he couldn’t quite cut the fear out of his mind. But he wouldn’t let it sway him from his decision. He had made up his mind, and he wasn’t about to let this eager interviewee-to-be be left in the dark. He pulled in his chair, took out his own stationery and pen, and began to write up his response.

‘Dear Ms. W.,

Your interest in the position has me flattered, and as a matter of fact, I am still in the search for an assistant. We may discuss the specifics more in person, provided you are truly serious about this. If you would please, I would like to meet with you around noon at the café on the corner of Main and 8^th, September 7^th.

If you will be taking me up on this offer, I will be looking forward to speaking with you.

Sincerely,

William C.’

He almost debated on signing off on the letter with ‘Maxwell’ instead, but he didn’t want to confuse her, after all. She may not be familiar with his actual shows, and would only know the name he had put on the advertisement. He sighed, it was fine. It wasn’t as if he didn’t use that name in most settings, anyways. He just hoped he would leave a fine enough impression on this potential candidate.

He read, reread, and read again over the paper, pursing his lips while he thought on it. Was he too formal? Not formal enough? Was setting up a date too forwards, would not setting one seem like he wasn’t serious about this? Why did this have to come with so many what-ifs? He wasn’t cut out for this, he never really was a people-person.

He shook his head, he had to stop this spiraling. There was no reason to believe there was anything off about his writing, it was just as typical as he would expect any letter of such nature to be. He forced himself to stop reading over it, and folded it before pushing it into an envelope. He wrote her address onto the front, and pushed a stamp onto the corner. He would deliver it the indirect way, as he didn’t want to simply show up to some woman’s house unannounced. What sort of image would that put out? He specifically picked a date far enough out that even if she were unable to reply in time, she would likely see it before that date came around, even with the slow speed of the mail.

Always with the planning, everything had to be carefully planned out. After how many times things had gone wrong, he tried not to take chances when he could help it.

He finally sealed up the envelope, and set it down on the desk. He’d have to drop it off once the morning came around properly.

...or afternoon, perhaps, considering the sun would be rising not long from now, and he still hadn’t slept. One of these days he would have to fix that schedule of his, he was either not sleeping at all or sleeping too much, all depending on what he had gotten his mind stuck on that day.

No matter, he would take it down when he got the chance. Satisfied with himself, he slipped the letter he’d received into a drawer, just to have it on hand, in case he needed to get another look at it. Better safe than sorry, if anything happened to get lost.

Finished with all of that, he decided to call it a night, and went off to his bedroom. But not before stopping to feed his rabbits. Annoying little things they were, yet he couldn’t find it in himself to get rid of them. They rarely if ever starred in his shows anymore, however, they knew what they had done.

It would take him more time than he would have liked to fall asleep, as his mind was running with the possibilities of what would happen. Maybe Charlotte would change her mind and tell him such, then he wouldn’t have to be worrying about this all. Then again, wouldn’t that be a disappointment? He really wanted to give this all a shot, it was just… new. It was unfamiliar, and he just wasn’t sure how to navigate it. But if he could decipher a tome written in a language he couldn’t even begin to put a name to, how hard could interviewing someone be?

As the days continued on, he grew ever more anxious in anticipation of what was to come. He tried to throw himself into his work to distract himself, but that only came with more worrying, as he wasn’t taking much time to himself to truly decompress. Quite the unfortunate spiral he was able to work himself into. Really, why did he continue to worry about it? He had reassured himself enough by now, surely, now he was simply being silly.

Regardless of it all, the interview was fast approaching, and he had yet to receive any correspondence back from Ms. W.. He couldn’t help but think on what could be causing it. Had his letter not arrived yet, had it gotten lost in the post? Perhaps she had lost interest, but didn’t find it worthwhile enough to tell him? He hoped that he would not be sitting there, dressed up and waiting only to make himself look foolish as no one came to meet him.

The thought of going to speak to her himself came to mind, however brief that train of thought was. But he would have to be completely daft to do such a thing. If he did, he would likely truly drive her away from wanting to be his assistant, such a thing would be so… untoward of him! He would simply have to wait and see what would happen.

And thankfully, he wouldn’t be waiting for much longer.

The fateful Wednesday finally rolled around, and William found himself awake bright and early in anticipation of the meeting. Even though it wouldn’t be until noon, he was dressed and ready for it just a little past 10 o’clock. After all, it wouldn’t do for him to be late. Such a thing wasn’t likely, but it was never impossible. What if he got held up on the streets as he made his way there? Sometimes it happened, a buggy might end up tipped and wind up blocking half the way, an impromptu crowd forming to watch some sort of act he didn’t find much entertainment from, or even some parade he hadn’t heard about until the day it was happening. This city truly was bustling, somehow it seemed even busier than his trips to London were when he was younger.

He didn’t see a point in bringing much with him, only a notepad and pen, along with his usual belongings. It wasn’t as if it was a true and proper interview, it was only between the two of them. He wanted to keep things formal, of course, but there was no reason to make more of a deal out of it than it required. Of course, he wasn’t exactly that well-versed in writing up contracts or anything of the like, either.

Deeming himself well enough prepared, he left his apartment, hopped onto a streetcar, and took it down to the café. With nearly fourty-five minutes to spare until noon, as well! He nearly prided himself on his punctuality as he got himself sat down, once he had ordered his coffee, of course.

Now that he was settled into a booth against the window, he looked out onto the street, watching the people go by. It was a rather nice day, if not a bit chilly by now. He wished he had brought a bit of a heavier coat with him. The warm mug that was set in front of himself did help soothe some of that chill away, thankfully, and he muttered a thank-you to the waitress.

Now all that was left to do was wait.

And wait.

And wait.

He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t seen this coming earlier. Of course he was going to work himself up by waiting there with nothing else to occupy his mind; he was there nearly an entire hour before he had asked her to meet him there in the first place! Really, what was he thinking, could he not have left the house at least a few minutes later? He would have to keep this in mind the next time he had to wait for something similar. Knowing himself, he probably would not learn his lesson from this, and would end up in the same situation once again.

He occasionally glanced at a clock on the other side of the dining area, watching the time tick by ever so slowly. He tapped his foot as minutes turned into half an hour, which turned into an hour, which was steadily ticking into two hours. He nearly shook the table as he bounced his leg, he tried to distract himself by listening in to the chatter going on between the other patrons, but it was no use, there was too much being said, it all blended together and left him with nothing to focus on. That coffee he ordered hadn’t exactly soothed those nerves, either, who would have guessed?

By the time it was a quarter to one, he sighed and shook his head. Maybe he had been right, perhaps Charlotte had gone and changed her mind, and she didn’t feel like telling him that she wasn’t going to show up to the interview. He couldn’t entirely fault her for that, but he wished it wasn’t at his own expense. Here he was, sitting around, clearly waiting for someone and looking like a fool as no one else showed up.

He should have expected it, but it still stung just a bit. Even now he couldn’t shake the pain that came with rejection, even though he didn’t even know this person. Perhaps it was just the principle of the matter, or perhaps it was the fact that he was far too used to rejection by now, he had prepared himself to feel it before it had even happened. He propped his chin up on his hand and looked out the window. Maybe this was a good thing, if she didn’t feel like showing up, she likely wouldn’t have been a good fit anyways. He hadn’t heard anything else from his advertisement, so maybe having an assistant just wasn’t meant to be. Fine by him, he was used to running the show by himself, it wasn’t like this was going to change anything.

Still, he couldn’t help but be just a little disappointed.

He gave it a few more minutes, but when the clock hit 12:53, he decided that he had waited long enough. The message was loud and clear, he wasn’t an idiot. He stood himself up, brushed himself off, and went up to the counter to pay for his drink. He left a slightly larger tip to make up for the fact he had sat there for nearly two hours, when the café was somewhat busy that day. Maybe a bit odd for a Wednesday afternoon, but this city had quite the few oddities in it, he couldn’t bring himself to be surprised by the activity anymore.

He put one hand in his suit pocket while he reached for the door, but before he could put his hand on it, it had suddenly swung open, smacking him right in the forehead. It had surprised him, and it seemed to have a good bit of force behind it, leading to him falling back and onto his ass while he heard the door chime ring.

He was in the process of groaning and putting a hand to his head to feel at what was surely a near miss of a concussion when there was a hand on his wrist, and he heard a woman’s voice just above him.

“Oh my god I am so so sorry- are you okay??” Her voice was laced with concern, and she was tugging slightly on his wrist to coax him up. He looked up at her, but he squinted, and it took him a few moments to realize the hit had knocked off his glasses.

He stood up with her pulling once he’d grabbed his glasses, peering at the lenses before putting them back on. Lucky thing he hadn’t gone and cracked them, that would have been rather annoying. He looked down at the woman, an annoyed scowl across his face, but as he stared at her, he found he couldn’t quite stay mad. She had a wide-eyed and worried expression, and he could see quite a bit of anxiety on her face as well. He knew well what it was like to be in her shoes, he supposed he couldn’t hold the incident against her.

He brushed himself off and shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, I’m alright.” He stood up straighter, somewhat surprised that she nearly came up to his height, her head about shoulder height to him. Not very impressive for most people, but at his height it was something uncommon. He didn’t see that very often, and certainly not from women, so it caught his eye. But it wasn’t that strange, really.

She still seemed concerned, holding her hands together in front of him. “Are you sure? I’m really sorry about that, you’re sure you’re not hurt?” She stared at his forehead like she had gone and fatally wounded him. He found the worrying a bit endearing.

He waved his hand to brush it off. “It’s quite fine, just an accident. Don’t trouble yourself.” He gave her a quick smile to reassure her, and it seemed to work, as she dropped a lot of the worry from her face.

“Okay… thank you. And sorry! Again…” She turned away from him while he silently chuckled at the worrying, it really wasn’t a huge deal, even if he was probably going to go home to find a bruise across his forehead later. He’d have to use a bit more stage makeup than normal in his next show, so it seemed.

He walked past her and opened the door again, but just before he left and let it fall shut behind himself, he heard her say, “William?” He turned to look at her in surprise, about to open his mouth to ask how she knew his name, but he noticed that she wasn’t looking at him at all. In fact, she had taken a few steps into the café, and was looking around while she held her hand to her face, seemingly fidgeting.

He realized what was going on after a few moments, and he had to stop himself from laughing. Wasn’t that quite the coincidence? He turned back to her and let the door shut behind himself. “Yes?”

He smiled as she turned to look at him, seeing the confusion on her face slowly melt into realization, and then embarrassment. “Are you-?”

“You’re Ms. Charlotte, I take it?” He made an amused sound, and watched her face become nearly as red as the hat and coat she wore. It was nice to not be the one to slip up and embarrass himself this time around, though he didn’t exactly want her to feel bad. Still, he couldn’t help but find the humor in the situation, hopefully she would as well.

“Oh my god-” She covered her face with both hands, looking like she wanted to disappear right then and there. He could sympathize with that level of embarrassment. She took her hands off her face, and he could see her eyes go to the door for just a moment, probably debating if running out would help her save face. She looked back at him after a moment. “Yes, that’s me. And you’re Mr. Carter..?”

“The very same.” He held his hand out for her to shake, and she took it after a moment’s hesitation. She still seemed to be deliberating on things, but he simply gestured for her to follow him, heading back to the booth he was sitting at prior. “Come on, we’d better not block the way.”

He sat down, and watched her follow after him, sitting across the booth from him and folding her hands together on the table. He could practically feel the anxiety coming off of her. Not that he wasn’t rather anxious in his own right, but he supposed seeing her slip up like that had helped break the ice a bit.

“I’m really, really sorry about that.” She ducked her head down a bit as she spoke. “I got lost on the way here and I forgot where the place was and I was running so late and I didn’t mean to keep you waiting-!” She rambled on in her apology, but he held his hand up.

“Relax Ms. Charlotte, it really isn’t a big deal.” He saw her shoulders start to relax slightly as he spoke. “Besides, it’s a good thing you’d ran into me anyways, I might have missed you if you hadn’t.” He chuckled quietly, the situation was unlucky and lucky at the same time.

She nodded. “Funny how these things turn out, huh?” She turned her head to the side, a slight smile on her face. Still anxious, but she looked a bit more collected now. “And you can just call me Charlie.”

He blinked, the little nickname seemed less than formal, he wasn’t sure if it would fall off of his tongue very well. But if she was insisting… “Very well, Charlie…” He folded his own hands together, and tapped his foot under the table.

It soon occurred to him that he had no idea what to do now. It wasn’t as if he had ever interviewed someone before, what was he supposed to say? She was looking at him expectantly and nervously, and he knew he had to have some similarly awkward expression on his face.

The two of them sat there staring at one another for several moments; the tension in the air was so thick one might just be suffocated in it. Just before things could get too awkward, he decided he had to make some sort of move. He cleared his throat. “Right. Would you care for some coffee?”

She looked relieved that she didn’t have to be the one to initiate things, and nodded. “Coffee sounds great right now.”

William nodded back, and stood himself up, heading back up to the counter. He wasn’t sure what to get her, realizing he probably should have asked before he left the table, but he didn’t want to make things awkward by heading back. Something in the middle between plain and sweet had to be a safe bet, right?

Once he’d ordered for the two of them, he sat back down at the booth, and began fidgeting with his hands again. What was one supposed to ask at an interview again?

“Well then, Ms. Cha- ahem- Charlie..” He corrected himself as he put his hand to his throat. “I suppose we should start with the basics. What’s got you interested in being my assistant?” He was pulling it out of his ass, truthfully, but it seemed like a well enough place to start.

He watched her smile at him and rest her elbows on the table, hands still held together. “Oh, well that’s easy! Being in the theater has been my dream ever since I was a little girl! In the lead role, a supporting actress- I never really worried too much about what role I wanted to get, I just always knew I wanted to be able to perform.” She seemed to be warming up to him, and propped her chin up on her folded hands. “And magic acts are pretty interesting, aren’t they? I always did wanna know how they do all those tricks.”

He nodded while she spoke, the sentiment was one he shared closely, even if a bit differently. “Yes, magic is quite the art, perhaps even more so than any run-of-the-mill acting job you might come across.” He took a moment to look her over properly, taking in her features. She seemed to have herself well put together, her hair neatly tied into an up-do that he could only imagine was quite the pain to put together. The only reason he could tell that she was wearing makeup was that she had seemingly smeared a touch of her blush in her rush to the café, as she seemed to be using rather neutral tones.

He realized he was staring when she spoke up again before he could ask another question. “What about you, what made you wanna be a magician in the first place?”

He was surprised as she shot the question back, was that normal for an interview of this type? He stammered for a moment, caught off guard, but soon cleared his throat.

“Me? Oh, much of the same reason that you wanted to be on stage. But magic has always interested me far more than typical theater shows, I’ve always wanted to be able to decipher the mysteries of this world.” He spoke simply and casually, though he blinked when she began to giggle in response.

She was laughing! His face grew red, and he opened his mouth to ask her just what was so funny, but he was cut off by the waitress putting their drinks in front of them. Charlie thanked her and picked up her mug, holding it in front of herself for a moment.

“I think that’s a pretty good reason.” She took a sip of her coffee, and he saw her face twitch as she did. If she didn’t like the taste, she didn’t say anything about it. “You seem like the mysterious type yourself.”

He stammered again while she chuckled at his reaction. “I- what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you’re a magician, aren’t you? You’ve gotta be able to keep your secrets, and keep the audience guessing. That’s all.” She smiled at him, and it was less forced and anxious than her previous ones.

He nodded and muttered that he understood, while it occurred to him that she seemed to be more comfortable in leading this interview than he was. It was almost like she was going and interviewing him! He swallowed with an audible sound, unsure how to respond to that thought. She was confident, he had to give her that.

Surely it was a good thing. “Yes, of course. And I take it you would be able to keep a few secrets as well?”

“Of course I would! I’m not the type of girl to go running my mouth, honest.” She took another drink, which caused William to pick up his own mug and sip from it. Having another coffee probably wasn’t in his best interest while he was already on edge, but he wanted something to be able to occupy his hands with.

“Well, that’s certainly a good thing.” He tapped his fingers against the table. “You said you didn’t have any experience, am I correct?”

“That’s right.” She nodded, her smile falling slightly. “I hope that isn’t a deal breaker?”

“Of course it isn’t, it’s simply something to keep in mind. I’d hardly think myself a proper performer if I wasn’t able to coach my stage assistant along.”

“I’m sure you’re a great teacher.” She chuckled, and he was tempted to ask what she was laughing at again, but he decided to brush that thought to the back of his mind for now.

“Of course, of course..” He began tapping his fingers again, wracking his brain for something else to ask. He really wasn’t cut out for this sort of thing. He looked over at her, and saw her hands trembling slightly as she held her mug close to herself. Despite the confidence she managed to project outwards, it appeared she was still rather anxious.

Well, that made two of them.

In any case, she seemed to at least be able to put on a face under pressure. That was certainly something he was looking for, and if she could do that on stage, she might just be a fit for what he was looking for. Her confidence was something he had to acknowledge as well, she seemed assured enough of herself to be speaking to him much more naturally than he was to her.

Oh, to hell with a proper interview. The only way to truly get to know if someone was the right fit was with the hands-on approach, wasn’t it? He pulled his notepad out of his suit pocket.

“Well, Charlie, are you still serious about this role?” He looked at her while he clicked his pen.

She smiled wide and nodded. “Of course I am! I wouldn’t be sitting here if I wasn’t.” She went and laughed again, and this time he wasn’t worried that she was going and mocking him.

He began jotting something down on the page. “Then I’d like you to meet me here. This Saturday, seven PM. Bring your stage costume. I’d like to see what you’ve got first hand. Should I expect to see you then?” He passed the paper over to her, after writing down the address of the next place he was set to perform in. She took the paper from him, looked over it with wide eyes, and looked back up at him.

“Are you kidding? Of course I’m gonna be there!” Her smile was so wide he almost worried she might strain her face with it. She bounced in her seat for a moment before reeling herself in, and this time around it was his turn to chuckle. “Oh thank you William, I promise you won’t be disappointed!” She finished off her coffee, and he had to wonder when she had gone and drank so much of it.

He smiled, though his hands trembled as he put his notepad away. It was hard not to worry over whether he was making the right choice or not. But her enthusiasm was infectious, and he couldn’t help but smile back. “Well, I’ll be expecting you.” He stood himself up, and turned back towards the front counter. “Don’t worry about that drink, I’ve got it covered.” It only seemed like the polite thing to do.

She looked surprised for a moment, before smiling wide again. “Thanks!” She took a few steps back once she got up, and gestured to the door. “I’ll see you Saturday!” She was on her way out when he waved back to her.

Once she was gone, he stared at the street for a few more moments before he went to pay for their drinks. He sighed to himself, giving it a few more moments before he left as well, and it seemed the two were heading in opposite directions back home. Made enough sense, if he was remembering what side of town she lived on correctly.

As he walked to catch a streetcar back, he had to stop for a moment and catch his breath, as the reality of everything was catching up with him. He really had just gone and invited her to perform with him, hadn’t he? It was exciting, but it was far more nerve wracking, at least to him. At least it was one of the lower end venues, if things didn’t wind up working out, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Even so, he couldn’t help but be anxious. He had been completely pulling everything out of thin air, he didn’t know how to teach someone else to perform in the theater! He hadn’t even been able to find success himself until he managed to get help from an otherworldly influence! What was he doing?

He couldn’t let himself get too caught up. What was done was done. And Charlie seemed to be just as enthusiastic as she was confident. Wasn’t that all anyone really needed for such a role, anyways? He would lead things, and she would be there to add to the act.

It was going to be fine. He’d made the right choice. Certainly. For sure. Absolutely.

When he finally got home, he went straight to his room, and flopped face first onto his bed. As he heard Simon hopping about and making a ruckus, all he could do was groan. He shouldn’t have taken that second coffee.

Chapter Text

The days leading up to his next show did not leave William with much time to calm his nerves. One would think that nearly four whole days would give him plenty of opportunity to clear his mind and think rationally, but if there was one thing that anxiety was good at, it was being irrational.

All that time he couldn’t stop thinking about Charlotte- or Charlie, he supposed. (He really wasn’t used to that nickname, didn’t it feel so informal? He hardly thought they had hit that level of familiarity yet, but she seemed insistent.) She had the confidence he was looking for through the interview, or at least she was good at putting on a mask of it. That had to mean she would be a good fit for the stage, right? He certainly hoped so, he’d hate to go home with a net loss from a bad show with his current track record.

He had always imagined that becoming a great magician would have meant that the money would come rolling in; but as it would turn out, he was still far from that point. It was true that he was making more than he ever had before, but it was still rather meager, with everything considered. He was staying in a fancy hotel, this was true, but it ran cheaper than anywhere to live in the area that wasn’t a complete dumpster, and he would rather not stoop so low; especially after his experiences back in New York. He could occasionally still hear the chatter of sharing a room with thirteen other people, he did not want to experience that again.

He was gaining success, being booked with slightly better venues, having audience members spread word of mouth of his skills and what he could do on stage, but it was a slow process. He would hate to be set back, especially after he had come so far. He was not about to trip up and get egg on his face after it all.

It couldn’t be that bad, right? She was inexperienced, but he had asked her to meet him about an hour before the show, that should be enough time to give her a run down of the routine. Even if he couldn’t give too many specifics, it was an easy enough concept to quickly pick up, it would be fine. All he would have her do is stand to the wayside to occasionally assist with some of the tricks, it was nothing but a simple trial, he couldn’t see how she would be able to catastrophically derail the act.

And yet, the worry over it persisted.

Perhaps a bit less dire, but he would also rather her not come away from her first experience on stage with a humiliating memory. He’d only gotten to speak with her for a short while so far, and though they were quite unacquainted, from what he had seen she was a rather nice woman. He knew just how harsh an audience could be, and he would like to keep her from having to go through that under his watch, even if she didn’t turn out to be a good fit for his shows.

But he was overthinking, wasn’t he? So many scenarios running through his head were, in all actuality, quite unlikely. But it seemed to be most of what was occupying his mind, when he wasn’t busy with flipping through pages of endless chicken scratch he still struggled to decode, or doing a bit of light reading on his own time.

His anxiety over the situation wasn’t helped by his own… seclusion, for lack of a better term. It had been quite a long time since he had spoken to someone casually, outside of business or brief interactions. The idea of having someone be so close to him, even in a setting as formal as working alongside them, got him worried a fair amount. When was the last time he’d had a true conversation- hell, a friend, outside of his own family? It seemed like everyone was either out to get him, or didn’t have the time of day to spare, no matter where he had looked before.

Perhaps things would be different now, with the success he was beginning to find himself in, but he had yet to try and put himself out there, so to speak. He was busy, he didn’t quite see the point in trying after so many failures, and did he really need anyone else, after all? Perhaps things got a bit lonely, occasionally, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle on his own.

Besides, there were secrets he wanted to keep close to his chest, not all being magical in nature; and being something of a social butterfly would not be doing him any favors in that endeavor. It was simply easier, and safer, to keep to himself for much of the time.

Which, unfortunately, left him rather unprepared for situations like this. How was he going to coach her? It wasn’t as if he was completely socially inept, but he had never exactly prided himself on his people skills.

He knew he really didn’t have to be putting this much thought into it, deep down. All he had to do was run her through the basics, it wasn’t like he was expected to be friends with her, he didn’t have to worry too much about things as long as he didn’t go and make a right idiot of himself.

...perhaps that had a bit more likelihood than he would have liked to think, but he would be fine. He’s gone through worse, showing Charlie how to hold a book and do a few magic tricks was nothing compared to what he had been through.

Even with all of that acknowledged in his mind, it still took up a good portion of his thoughts. But, the show was steadily approaching, he wouldn’t need to be worried over it for too much longer now. If he could just get through that night without making a fool out of either of them, things would be much smoother sailing after the fact.

He pet over the backs of his rabbits while he fed them, lost in thought on the various topics running through his mind. There was Simon, the little gray rabbit with quite the attitude, and Sebastian, a much more laid back but also rather lazy brown rabbit. The two were a lot of work, more trouble than they were worth, and right brats when they wanted to be. Yet he had trouble ever truly being cross with them, at least for an extended period of time.

His hand ran through the middle of Simon’s ears while he hummed to himself. If things did work out (which he is sure that they will, certainly), having an assistant could make things a good deal easier for him. Perhaps she would be better at negotiating venue spaces than he was? Dealing with people was unfortunately where he tended to fall flat, and though he managed to get by, it was a messy process. That was something an assistant was supposed to do, wasn’t it? He felt lost in all honesty.

Maybe she wasn’t any more prepared for the task than he was, or just didn’t have much in the way of skill when it came to dealing with the more technical aspects of the job. That would be fine, it wasn’t like he truly struggled with the other aspects of the work. Just that… perhaps it didn’t come to him as easily as it would to most other people.

He would figure these things out when the time came. As of now he had yet to even see if she would be able to keep up with him on stage, he had to keep his expectations somewhat tampered. It wouldn’t do to become excited over something, only to have it be swiftly shattered before him.

All he could do was prepare himself, and hope that things would go well. It wasn’t as if they were set to perform at a venue with a huge reputation or standard to uphold to, after all.

...he hoped the somewhat unprofessional nature of the place wouldn’t go and drive her off. It wasn’t exactly as if it was his first pick to perform at slightly seedy establishments, but he had to take work where he could get it if he wanted to put out a name for himself. Hopefully she would understand that.

He looked down while he was lost in thought, noticing a wet patch left on his trousers when Simon hopped away from his lap. He threw his head back and groaned in irritated frustration. Sometimes he really doesn’t understand why he keeps those two around.

---

Perhaps if Charlie knew how worried her potential-boss-to-be was over their upcoming show, she would have been a bit calmer about the situation. But, she was (not so) blissfully unaware, and the uncertainty of what was going to happen had her completely frazzled.

She had to go out on stage? With barely any preparation time? Sure, she knew it was likely going to be a very simple act, but that didn’t mean she was ready for it! She thought that she would have been showing him her skills in a private audition, not this! What was she going to do?

Saturday was rapidly approaching, and every now and again she would look into her closet with both excited anticipation, and nearly-nauseating anxiety. She debated on wearing the dress she had been holding onto for some time now, dreaming of making her debut on stage while wearing it, but she… figured it might seem a bit unprofessional, especially for her first time working with William.

She would keep things a bit more down to earth, with a simple combination of a black blazer over a white button-up, with a black ankle-length skirt to match. That probably fit the bill of what someone was looking for in a magician, or their assistant, and it was rather modest. She just hoped she would look alright in it, and that William would find it fitting. The audience as well, but honestly, she was more worried about impressing him at the show than anyone else.

Not to say she wasn’t anxious out of her mind at the thought of getting up there without any practice, but at least she probably wouldn’t have to see any of those audience members again. William, though? If they were going to be working with one another, she had to make sure she didn’t go and embarrass herself as a first impression. She doesn’t think she could face him if she had to constantly think about making herself look like an idiot.

But… she guessed it was somewhat expected she would make some mistakes for her first time on stage. He was probably accounting for that, wasn’t he? He had to have been, he seemed like he had himself pulled together, he surely planned things out well from the very start.

She was surprised that he was still looking for an assistant when she had dropped off that letter, if she was entirely honest. The advertisement was nothing but promising, she would have thought that he would be practically drowning in candidates. Maybe he had a tight criteria of what he was looking for? She hoped she wasn’t about to be the next in a long list of rejects for the position.

Then again, William seemed nice. Not that she had really gotten to know him, but he was polite, and somewhat reserved, and he seemed nearly as anxious as she felt when they had done the interview. She chalked it up to leaving him to wait on her for almost an hour, she still felt bad about that! She would leave extra early on Saturday, just to make sure that didn’t happen again.

She couldn’t stop imagining what would happen while she was walking home from work, her diner uniform being stained with a few unfortunate spills from the day she’d had. Things had to go well for her, she was absolutely sick of this job by now! Not only was it a far cry from what she wanted to do with her life, but the people there seemed to see her about as highly as they saw a garbage bin, if how she was treated was anything to go by.

Charlie was tired of being stepped on, overshadowed and any other number of things she couldn’t think to name in the moment; she needed to make a name for herself. This opportunity was likely her best shot, she couldn’t let it just slip through her fingers. She would do almost anything to ensure things went well that night.

What would that entail?

She… wasn’t certain. But she knew that she had to! She would have to think up as many different possibilities for acts as she could, and consider how she would respond to each of them. That had to be a rational way to do this, right? It seemed like a sound enough idea to her, it wasn’t like she was doing much else outside of work at the moment.

She looked at the half-written letter intended for her sister when she walked into her apartment, and sighed. She wanted to finish it, but she didn’t want to send it out until she knew if she had gotten the role or not. She wanted something to show Winona that she was capable of doing things for herself, and this would be the perfect opportunity to prove it to her! If she managed to actually stick the landing, of course.

She had debated telling her that she had gotten the interview and opportunity at all, but decided to hold off until she knew for certain. She didn’t want to know what her sister would think if she was excitedly rambling on about getting on stage, only for her to fail to actually get the part. Scratch any worry about Winona treating her like she was still a kid, that would be embarrassing regardless of who it was to.

But she had to think positively. If she kept telling herself that it was likely she wouldn’t get the job, she was only setting that possibility up in her mind, and by proxy, probably making it happen. Right? Surely there had to be some sort of mental correlation with these sorts of things. It wasn’t exactly like she studied that sort of stuff, she was simply using her best guess, and what her parents had told her a good few times before.

She hoped that they would be proud of her as well, now that she was finally putting herself out there.

She’d had enough spiraling for the time being, and decided to call it a night once she had gotten out of her work clothes. Some sleep would do her well, and she still had two whole days to prepare herself for the show. She was going to do fine, and if she kept thinking that, then it had to make it true.

Even so, before she flopped herself into bed, she looked at the circled calendar date uncertainly.

There certainly had to be other opportunities like this if things didn’t work out.

---

It felt like it had taken an eternity, but finally, Saturday rolled around. It was six in the evening when William began preparing himself. His stage outfit was neatly tucked into a coat bag to protect it from any outside wear and tear until he got to where he was set to perform, and his stage props were packed into their own bag, ready to go once he got out the door. Perhaps he looked a little silly carrying all that around, but he found it better than risking anything get damaged needlessly. These things didn’t exactly come cheap, you know!

Though he only started truly preparing in the evening, he had been thinking on the upcoming encounter since he first woke up in the morning. Nothing that he hadn’t already been thinking himself up the wall about for the entire week, but it still weighed heavily on his mind.

No use in repeating himself mentally, he needed to make certain he was prepared. While changing into his stage suit would come once he arrived at the venue, his makeup was done at home, because really, these places seldom had proper facilities for him to make himself stage-ready. He looked forward to the day he would be able to have his own, proper dressing room. Maybe then he wouldn’t need to lug around every prop he intended to use each time there was a show. Wouldn’t that be something?

Such a thing had been little more than a pipe dream for so long, but now, it was within his sights. If things just kept going the way that they had, he was certain to be more successful than his younger self ever could have dreamed of.

Baby steps, he supposed.

His stage makeup was mostly neutral, mainly to accentuate certain features and hide others, instead of trying to make anything too flashy. Dark eye circles were lightened up, while his cheekbones were slightly accentuated, and a few wrinkles (really, wasn’t he a bit too young for those?) were smoothed out to the rest of his skin tone.

He briefly debated on a bit of blush, but decided against it. It didn’t seem right with the place they were heading that night. A small touch of dark lipstick, less so to make his lips stand out and more so to add a bit of contrast to his face, and he deemed himself ready enough. It was tedious work, but how was he meant to be presentable otherwise? Those stage lights didn’t tend to be flattering to one’s true appearances, he knew that well enough by now. And he didn’t consider himself to be that attractive either, despite what he might tell you about himself.

Even though he was done, he kept staring at the mirror, just trying to spot anything he could touch up. But, he was stalling. There was nothing left to do, and the clock was approaching six-thirty rather quickly. If he didn’t want to leave her waiting, he needed to get going.

And the last thing he wanted was to make her wait, even if she had been late the other day. How unprofessional that would be, on the day of their first show no less!

His coat was given a quick pat-down to be certain he had what he needed, and once he was satisfied, he left to catch a streetcar, tapping his foot the entire time he was on the way to the place. If you had asked him if he were anxious, he certainly would have told you no.

The car took a few more stops than he would have liked, and though he worried he was going to be late and have to explain himself, he arrived on the right block just as his wrist watch told him it was six fifty-eight. What a rather lucky time, he might even beat her there by a few minutes. Not that it mattered, anyways.

Especially when he finally walked up to the venue, and saw Charlie standing just outside of it, holding onto her arm and swaying back and forth in place while she looked around. Good to see that she was on time, though he hoped that he hadn’t kept her waiting too terribly long.

He cleared his throat a few feet from her, and waved in her direction. “Ms. Charlotte?” The nickname wasn’t quite sticking just yet. He saw her look up once he spoke, and her face lit up just a bit.

“Oh, there you are! I almost got worried I had the wrong place.” She brushed her hair back while she spoke, and gave him a smile.

“Did you, now? You know you’re about a few minutes early.” He looked at his watch again, just to be certain. Seven on the dot.

She chuckled. “I know, I just wanted to make sure I got here on time. I wouldn’t miss a night like this.”

She seemed to show some initiative. A rather important trait for this profession, perhaps.

He nodded. “Well, I’d say we’re both right on time. The show won’t be for another hour now, so we’ve got ourselves some time. Come with me?” He did not offer his arm to her, as maybe would have been expected of men in situations like these, but he did tilt his head towards the back of the building. She took the hint and followed after him, while he led her through the back alley of the place.

As they were approaching the back door, he suddenly had a realization of how bad this must have looked. Someone she didn’t know, taking a lady into a back alley like it was nothing? He was surprised she gave him so much trust! He was almost worried, but he didn’t want to draw attention to the thought, as she seemed blissfully oblivious. Or maybe she wasn’t? It was hard for him to tell what she thought.

Either way, she followed him inside, and he let the door shut behind them. The air was thick was tobacco smoke, and there was the sound of crowd chatter to be heard a few doors away. Even though he was a smoker himself, the smell was a bit overwhelming. Charlie seemed to agree with him, if the fact she covered her face with her coat wasn’t enough of a hint, but she didn’t voice her opinion on the matter.

“What sort of place is this, anyway? I thought we’d be somewhere more like a theater.” Charlie looked up at him while he led her down a hallway, lit with an overhead light that buzzed with a rather annoying sound. Seemed like the owners didn’t care about certain things around here.

William tried not to let his face show any signs of embarrassment. It was true, he had taken her back to some… slightly seedy hole in the wall, that most people wouldn’t exactly describe as a fine entertainment venue. But it wasn’t like it was the worst place he had ever performed at!

He cleared his throat. “This? Oh, just a little… lounge, I suppose.” He finally opened a door and walked in with her. The place was rather barren, containing a rickety chair, a desk, a mirror with a crack in it, and a room divider for changing behind. The place was flustering him even more, he was beginning to realize how much of an absolute dump this place was making itself out to be. It really didn’t seem that bad when he had gotten himself booked here!

He tried not to let it get to his head. “It’s not the finest venue, I’ll admit, but it’s quaint.” That was one way to put it. “The front’s really nicer than back here, I swear. And the crowds here are… easier. You won’t have to do too much to impress them, they’ll eat up what you throw at them. Best to have something simple for practice, hm?”

He watched her look around the room, and she seemed to be thinking hard. He almost worried she was going to walk out right then and there, before she smiled at him.

“Ha, I’ve seen worse places. It’s actually a relief we’re not gonna be in front of a big audience, I wouldn’t wanna have to put myself out there like that right now.” She rubbed the back of her neck with an amused expression.

William held back a sigh. She’d bought his half-truth, and thankfully didn’t seem too put off by the place. Even though she did still seem to be scrunching her nose a bit at the smoke that permeated even back here. He’d have to get his suit cleaned twice at this rate. “Of course, we’re starting with something easy.” He set his bag down on the desk, after making absolute sure that there were no disgusting mystery stains to soil it.

While he rummaged through his bag, Charlie rocked on her heels. “Soo…” She started with an almost sing-song tone in her voice. “What kind of tricks do you do?” She held her hands together and smiled at him when he turned back around.

He let out a questioning hum before she continued. “Y’know, what are we going to be doing out there? Do you work more with animals, do you do any card tricks? Or are you one of those escape artists? I heard one came through this town a few months back, he seemed really popular! Oh! Are you going to saw me in half? I always wanted to know how that trick worked!” She was rambling at this point.

He cut her off by putting his hand up and chuckling. “Be patient.” He smoothed his shirt out, he’d have to go and change soon. “This is a smaller show after all, we won’t be going all out. I specialize in illusions, though I’m afraid I can’t let you in on all my methodology.”

“What?” She tilted her head with confusion.

“You’ve certainly heard that ‘a magician never reveals his secrets’?” He had an amused expression.

She crossed her arms. “Not even to his assistant?” She was clearly playful and not upset with him.

“This is still practice, we aren’t even sure if you will be my assistant yet.” He saw her grow a bit red in the face when he reminded her. “But you’ve certainly got the right enthusiasm. If all goes well out there… perhaps I could let you in on a few secrets.”

His proposition seemed to get her excited again, and she smiled and raised her heels off of the ground a bit more. She didn’t bring any change of clothes, her outfit being worn under her coat, so he had to wonder how comfortable of a walk it was from her place to the bar. Those heels didn’t look very forgiving on the ankles.

“Well now you’ve got me really curious.” She leaned a little closer to him, before standing up straight like normal. “But really, what am I gonna do out there with you? We’re going on in a little bit, and I don’t wanna walk out there blind.” She chuckled at the end of her sentence.

William nodded. It was true, he did need to clue her in somewhat. “Hm… I’m afraid we don’t have enough time to run through specifics at the moment…” He tapped his foot, and pulled out his odd book from his suit pocket.

“This is the main prop we’ll be using. I’ll be leading the show and doing the tricks. All you’ll need to do is hold it, and give your reactions.” He passed the book over for her to hold. “And of course, introduce the start and end of the show.”

She looked over the cover, seeming confused and somewhat unimpressed. “We’re using a… book?”

He felt embarrassed again, for some odd reason. Damn it all, even in this sort of situation he couldn’t help but get caught up in others opinions.

“It’s a prop, simply something to sell the illusion! It adds to the theatrics, that’s all.” He folded his hands behind his back, and gave her a smile. It seemed to work, as her confusion faded away, and she gave him a nod.

“I guess that is pretty smart. Pulling magic out of a book- you’ve gotta sound like a wizard from some old children’s story.” She laughed and tilted her head, holding the book close to her chest now.

He allowed himself to relax, she certainly seemed to take what he was saying well. Her words then set in for him, and he was grateful that he had enough foundation to hide a blush on his cheeks. Probably, anyways. “What? I’m sure I sound like no such thing, this is serious work-!”

“Relax Will, I didn’t mean it as a bad thing!” She put her hand up, seemingly to reassure, and he blinked at being called ‘Will’. She surely seemed fond of nicknames. “I think it’s charming, it’s got some… personality!” She smiled when she rephrased herself, and he felt his embarrassment slowly dying down.

“Hm… I suppose you’re right about that.” He held his hand to his chin. He looked at the clock, they were beginning to burn time. He shook his head. “Never mind all that for the time being, we need to be prepared. You’ve got your stage outfit, I’m assuming?”

Charlie nodded, set the book down on the desk, and took off her coat, revealing the outfit underneath. He had to say, it fit the image of magician’s assistant pretty well, maybe almost a bit too fancy. But he wouldn’t complain about it, it looked nice.

“I wouldn’t’ve come without it!” She set her coat down on the back of the chair, and looked him up and down, probably wondering about his own costume.

He soon realized that he still needed to change. And he began to wonder how he was about to do that. There was a room divider for that very reason, but… Charlie was in the room with him! He didn’t know if he could even entertain the idea of changing with a lady that he didn’t know in the room with him! Regardless of what she could see, it was the principle of the matter! He had to keep up proper appearances. And besides, he didn’t want any chancesof peeking.

He brushed it off and cleared his throat. “Good, you look just perfect for the stage.” He saw her shift at his little compliment, and he hoped that he hadn’t gone and discomforted her. He still had to run through a few more things.

“Well, your job out there will be simple. Introduce the act, hold up the book and try to direct the audience’s attention, and close out things. When I tap my foot three times, that’s when I’m about to do the last trick of the night, and you’ll tell that to the audience.” He straightened his back. “Sound simple enough?”

Charlie listened intently for his explanation, and nodded quickly. “Of course it is, that sounds easy. Do you have a script in mind already..?”

He shook his head. “Just come up with something on the spot, it doesn’t need to be anything particularly fancy. Just enough to get the job done.” Truth be told, he had no idea what to tell her to say. Announcing his own shows was one thing, but letting someone else lead the start? He didn’t know what that would even sound like.

She looked hesitant for a few seconds, but she nodded again. “I can think of something, it can’t be that hard.” She picked the book back up, and William nodded.

“That’s just the spirit right there.” He gave her a smile, and went to grab his coat bag. As he was picking it up, one last thing crossed his mind. “Oh, and while we’re at it…”

He cleared his throat. “I go by Maxwell out on the stage. Try to keep that in mind?”

She tilted her head. “Maxwell?”

“It carries a bit more of a stage presence with it. Something a bit more fitting, don’t you think?”

“I think William sounds fine.” She smiled at him. “But whatever you say, Maxwell.” She tried out his stage name, and her uses of both of his names got him flustered.

“Right, of course…” He brushed it off, and looked to the room divider. “Now, we’re almost ready. I just… need to get changed…” He trailed off as he felt incredibly awkward saying it, and Charlie seemed to share some of the awkwardness. She looked at the room divider.

“Well you’ve got a spot over there?” She pointed at it, and he nodded, but he was still hesitant to actually head over.

Almost like she was sensing his hesitancy, Charlie pointed to the door with her thumb. “I’ll wait in the hall for you.” She smiled, and when he nodded the affirmative, she stepped out and shut the door behind herself.

He sighed in relief. Well, that was one less thing he had to worry about that night.

---

Charlie leaned on the wall just outside of the room while she waited on William to change. As she did, her thoughts were racing, and she held the book close to her chest. They were really about to do this, weren’t they? She was about to do this!

It was just as exciting as it was nauseating, and she had to fight to make sure that she didn’t grow sick to her stomach. Not helped by the stench in the air, she had been around smokers, even had a few cigarettes herself, but this was excessive! You would think they would have the decency to at least crack a few windows.

He seemed to mostly know what he was doing, and yet, some of her questions left him floundering. Maybe he wasn’t as prepared as she thought he might have been? That was reassuring, as it meant she maybe had a bit less pressure on herself that night.

In the same breath, it was also worrying. What if he somehow messed up out there, how was she even supposed to respond to that? She really hoped the both of them weren’t about to go home embarrassed, from either of their potential mistakes.

She took a few deep breaths. In, and out. The way she was feeling could not be summed up in a few cute, descriptive words, it was almost like nearly every single one of her emotions were going off at once. Maybe she was just anxious, and her body didn’t know where to put all of that energy. That didn’t make it less stressful to try and deal with it all.

God, she was sweating at this rate. She hoped to everything that she wouldn’t start smelling, she would be mortified if that was how her new boss saw her in her first act! She’d have to slip in and grab her perfume from her bag before they went on stage, just to be on the safe side.

She tapped her foot while she waited for him to get changed. The sound of buzzing overhead lights and constant chatter from down the hall were distracting. It made it slightly difficult for her to brainstorm how she was going to introduce the act, but she had come up with ideas in much noisier environments than this. The ruckus her sister was capable of kicking up was worse than any old bar, probably.

While she stood there, someone walked by her, most likely an employee, if the outfit wasn’t anything to go by. He gave her a passing nod while he walked by. “You’re on in ten.” He didn’t slow down to tell her that piece of information. She had to wonder how he knew that she was part of the act, but she guessed there wouldn’t typically be too many people dressed up like a magician’s assistant back here.

Ten minutes. Just ten more minutes until they went on stage. Until she went on stage for the first time. Her legs felt shaky for a moment while she pictured it. She shook her head. Focus, Charlie. She had practiced this a million times over in her head… now all she had to do was actually put it into practice.

William came out of the room just a minute later, dressed up in a rather nice looking purple suit, with a black tie to match. She felt like the outfit was lacking some key feature to pull it all together, but what that was, she wasn’t entirely sure. Either way, it looked good, and he seemed to fit the idea of what a magician would look like in her mind.

She smiled up at him. “Nice suit, Will.” She watched him blink, as if he wasn’t expecting that compliment, before he nodded.

“Why thank you.” He grabbed his lapels and pulled them out slightly. “Appearances are half the act, you know.”

“I’ll bet.” She nodded, and then stepped into the room when he shuffled out. “I’ll be out in just a second!”

She took the time to go through her own bag she had set down, and pulled out a bit of perfume she had brought. She’d already sprayed herself before she left, but she liked to be prepared for this sort of thing. It was more for the sake of what William would think of her, it wasn’t like the audience was going to notice it, but she wanted to make a good impression more than anything.

Once she considered herself sufficiently covered in the stuff, she took a quick moment to look in the mirror, brushed her hair back, and nodded to herself. She could do this.

She stepped back out, looked at William, and nodded. “I guess we should get to the stage?”

He nodded back to her, and nudged his head in the direction of it before leading the way. They walked down the rest of the dimly lit hall, and the sound of chatter grew louder. The smell of smoke and cheap booze also permeated the air a bit more, and she had to cover her nose and mouth for just a moment as they got backstage. Yeesh.

She saw William wince a little at the sensory nightmare that this place was, but he seemed to handle it a little better. When she mostly adjusted she removed her hand from her face, and smoothed out the front of her clothes. She really hoped she hadn’t gone and wrinkled her outfit on the way there.

She looked at the clock. Five more minutes. The last act had seemingly just wrapped up, as a young man dressed rather fancily walked out of the curtains and past the two of them, nodding to them both and muttering a wish of good luck. She stared at him for a moment, before shaking her head. She wouldn’t want to be rude.

William rummaged through his coat until he pulled out that book again, and handed it off to Charlie. “Do you think you’re ready?”

“I don’t really got a choice if I’m not.” She chuckled quietly, the motion diffusing some of the tension and anxiety in the air just a bit.

“You’ll do fine.” He offered her a smile as he made a few last moment adjustments to his own clothes. “Just do what comes to mind. And don’t worry about any hecklers, this place isn’t the most… upscale in the world. You may have a few drunkards trying to get a rise out of you, nothing more than that.”

She scoffed in slight amusement. “I know how to handle a few rude guys, don’t worry about me.”

“Don’t think I’m doubting you!” He put his hands up in defense. “I just want to be certain you know what you’re in for.”

“I’ve got a pretty good idea of what to expect, I’ve been dreaming of this moment my whole life, Will- or, Maxwell.” She cleared her throat and giggled, the stage name thing was new to her. She found Maxwell to be somewhat of a silly name for him, William seemed much more fitting for the fawn-like expression he seemed to wear.

He nodded, seemingly approving of her remembering his stage name, and he took off his glasses before folding them up and slipping them into his pocket. The lack of them somewhat changed his face shape, or at least the sort of appearance he gave off. Maybe he did look a bit more like a ‘Maxwell’ like this. She had to wonder how well he was able to see like this.

No time for her to worry about that, however. She heard a voice from just in front of the curtain, and William shuffled closer to the stage, stepping to the side of her and whispering for her to move as well. She took the hint, standing to the left of him as she walked forwards.

The voice was seemingly announcing the next act, if the description of a magic show was anything to go by. She heard a few claps, some murmuring, and a single voice booing before they were quickly shushed. Tough crowd.

The curtain began to rise once their act was announced, and she felt her entire body start to run cold. This was it, this was the moment she had been imagining for her entire life, this was finally the chance she had been dreaming of! Even if it wasn’t a proper theater, even if it was some back alley speakeasy, even if the patrons didn’t seem the most enthusiastic about the act, it was finally her time to show the world what she was capable of!

She looked at the faces in front of her, and she froze up for a moment. There really weren’t that many people out there, a few tables sat in front of the stage and a few yards back, if she had to take a rough guess there were two, maybe three dozen people watching? Not exactly a huge turnout. Something this small had to be an easy starting point, hardly any pressure at all, she dealt with more people than this at the diner during the lunch rush.

And despite all of that, it still made her stomach turn.

All those faces were trained on her. Her, and William, expectant and waiting. Waiting for a show, for entertainment. For her to entertain them.

For a moment she thought she might faint from the expectations.

She realized she was staring silently for just a bit too long when she heard someone clear their throat from the audience, and she saw William- or Maxwell, she had to remember that- giving her a slight side eye. Obviously he didn’t want to embarrass her by having to remind her to do something, but he did tap his foot to try and get her attention.

Right. She might make a fool of herself in the act, but she was guaranteed to humiliate herself if she just stood there, wide-eyed and slack-jawed in front of everyone.

She quietly cleared her throat. “Ladies and gentlemen…” That was something acts were usually introduced with, right?

She gestured over to Maxwell. “The great Maxwell has an act prepared for you all that you won’t soon forget!” She came up with the title on the spot, it sounded impressive enough, didn’t it? She had seen a few magic shows in her time, they usually had some sort of flashy title. She wasn’t sure about it, but no one gave her an odd look, and Maxwell seemed to go along with it well, giving the audience a wide smile. Charlie had her own grin, though it was small and obviously a bit nervous.

Maxwell bowed once she had introduced him. “Not only an act you won’t forget, but one you wouldn’t dream of forgetting!” He rolled with her words easily, and turned to her, gesturing slightly for her to open the book. She did so after a slight moment of fumbling.

“Now, prepare yourselves, and witness as I spring shadows to life before your very eyes!” His delivery didn’t get much of a reaction, some skepticism and a few looks exchanged in the audience. She could see a few beads of sweat running down his neck. She hoped she wasn’t giving off too many similar tells of anxiety.

He reached closer to her, pointing at something on the page, murmuring something that she couldn’t make out, before he gestured out towards the audience. As he did, wisps of shadows seemed to dart out from his very fingertips, taking vague shapes before dissipating into the air. She was so surprised by the action that she nearly stumbled back, though she caught herself, only swaying very slightly in place. She looked with wide eyes, but remembered to put on a smiling face for the audience.

The crowd also seemed to be surprised, he got a few ‘ooo’s and other small noises of interest. That looked to be the encouragement he needed to get into the act, as he straightened up his posture, and grinned even harder. She hoped he wouldn’t strain his mouth doing that.

He reached in again, drawing out a larger shadow, one that seemed to take the shape of some sort of creature before it similarly disappeared into the air. It reappeared at the front of the stage, growing larger in front of the audience and drawing out several gasps as it separated into several smaller shadows before fizzling out entirely. This earned them a few claps, which he took in stride.

The show continued with a similar pattern, of new, similar tricks being shown off, one of which featuring him pulling a rabbit made of nothing but shadows out of his hat. She was so impressed by the acts that she nearly forgot she was supposed to be part of it at points, but thankfully, everyone’s attention was mostly drawn to Maxwell and his tricks. When she would fumble for a few seconds too long, he made up for it well enough. And she seemed to be doing pretty well for herself, she stopped stammering and even began to feel a slight surge of confidence as the two of them performed. It was almost like they were beginning to bounce off of the energy of one another, like she could tell when he was about to do something.

She put in energy, both to commentate on the impressiveness of the tricks he was performing, and to give her own reactions, most of which were genuine, but they served to further the excitement in the air. If someone part of the act was this impressed, then it had to be good.

After some time, she heard him tap his foot, and she remembered after a moment that it was the signal for the show ending soon. She nodded, and gave the audience the best smile she could muster.

“It seems our show is about to draw to an end, ladies and gentlemen!” She announced as she held the book closer to herself, still angled for Maxwell to see. Her announcement earned a few sounds of disappointment from the audience, before she continued. “But, we have one final trick prepared for you tonight! Isn’t that right, Maxwell?” She looked over at him, turning her head slightly to the side.

He made eye contact with her for just a moment, and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but the grin he was giving the audience seemed genuine as he directed it at her for the moment. “That’s correct, Charlie!” She felt a surge of… some sort of positive emotion as he addressed her specifically to the audience, it gave her the feeling that she was truly being recognized as a part of the show.

“For your final glimpse at the power of shadows…” He truly played up the theatrics for this part, adjusting his sleeve before he reached for the book once again. Instead of pulling anything out of it, however, he took it from her hands, held it close to himself, and looked out to the crowd as his own shadow seemed to grow in size and raise off of the ground, taking the same shape as himself, before it practically exploded like a firework at the front of the stage. He bowed after that, and the audience’s reaction.

They earned a slew of applause and whistles from the crowd, and Charlie took them in with wide eyes. They were applauding. They had liked the act! Liked Maxwell, liked her! She had really done it! She put on a successful show! Sure, she wasn’t exactly the star, and was only playing off of the other- but she was part of a show that the crowd liked!

It took her a moment to stop staring like an idiot and realize that she should bow as well, doing it somewhat clumsily after Maxwell.

He stood himself up just as the curtain was closing. “Thank you, thank you all! You’re all too kind.” The curtain shut while the audience was still giving their approval, and she watched William’s shoulders sag while she stood up straight. He heaved a sigh, before looking over at her.

She was still somewhat giddy with what had just happened, laughing breathlessly in disbelief. She could barely even process what they had just done. What she had just done. The audience reaction was like everything she had ever dreamed of!

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, neither of them knowing what to say. She couldn’t make out what he was feeling from his expression, but he laughed in a similarly breathless way after a moment.

She shifted on her feet. “So… how did I do..?” She asked him cautiously, still grinning slightly, half out of excitement and halfway in shock.

He looked at her for a few moments, before smiling back, just as awkwardly and genuine as she was certain she looked at the moment. “Well, Charlotte… I think you might just have what it takes.”

The words made her heart slam in her chest, like she couldn’t believe what she had just heard. Before she could celebrate the feeling of being accepted, her stomach finally revolted against her putting it through so much stress, and she had to rush over to the nearby trash can to lean over it and retch. Not the most dignified reaction she could have had.