Featuring: GWYN ALIE GIDEON MICK PEARL, the fortune teller FIONA, a stallholder FLORA, a stallholder FLORBELLA, a stallholder IRIS KATY TIIA Act 1 PEARL You only realise the true value of things once they are gone. It may sound like a cliché, but it is the truth. I still recall the day I lost everything, as if it was imprinted in my memory forever. I think it is. Not only did I lose everything, but my life changed entirely from this day on. We had decided to spend the morning in town to buy supplies. Of course, we got the usual stares and unpleasant comments from people who don’t understand our lifestyle, and I had to convince Alie and Mick not to make it worse by intervening. MICK Those pricks deserve to be put at their right place! Who do they think they are? PEARL It was, however, satisfying to see everyone back away and fall silent as soon as Mick would frown, and I would lie if I said that I didn’t feel a pinch of excitement in my heart seeing how he was standing up for us. ALIE Mick is just one big teddy bear… Rough on the outside, but sweet on the inside. MICK The next one who calls me a teddy bear is going to— PEARL This was us that morning, joking and enjoying a good time together, when people started shouting suddenly, and we saw that black smoke in the sky. Something was on fire, and we rushed towards the smoke, hoping to help out. But when we arrived on the scene… (a pause) The cards didn’t warn me. ALIE I didn’t get any vision… — Act 2 GWYN The chaos, the smell, the screams brought me instantly back to the Great War and memories filled my mind, making it very hard to tell the present from the past. (lost in his memories of the past and the present) I recall us standing close to each other, witnessing the disaster. I recall Mr Rory shouting at me… MICK Davies! Snap out of it! What do we do? How do we stop such a fire in 1925! GWYN I recall Miss Gideon, trying to calm him down… GIDEON Shouting won’t help. You know as well as the rest of us that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. This probably triggered him; we can be lucky he isn’t having a panic attack… MICK Don’t jinx it, now! GWYN I recall Miss Alie, giving orders… ALIE We need water, loads of water! If the fire reaches the town, countless lives will be lost! GWYN I recall thinking about Alun and hoping that he would be alright. What if he had been caught in the fire? Or worse, what if the trenches were on fire and he was forced to go out only to be shot on sight? (sound of war/gunshots) I recall the stall holders being torn between anger and despair… FLORA (KATY) What will become of us? FIONA (IRIS) If I put my hands on those who did that, I’m going to make them suffer! FLORBELLA (TIIA) We’re homeless now, we need to find shelter. GWYN I remember my… MICK (shouting) Davies! I said, snap out of it! — Act 3 ALIE It was hard on all of us. When I saw the flames destroying the funfair, my heart broke. I had grown fond of the funfair, and even if it wasn’t my home, seeing it being destroyed so violently was quite a shock. I can’t even imagine how the others felt, losing everything they held dear, losing the only home they knew… MICK When I saw the flames, I got angry. My guts told me that this was no accident, and I wanted to find out who was responsible and give them a piece of my mind. FLORA (KATY) We didn’t want to believe that someone, anyone, would do that to us, but we couldn’t deny the fact that not everyone in town enjoyed having us around… FIONA (IRIS) It took hours and a lot of efforts to contain the fire. Some convincing too, because people weren’t exactly keen on helping us. GIDEON After the fire was contained, Dr Davies and I decided to investigate to determine what had caused it, while everyone else was busy salvaging what they could. We were appalled when we discovered that it was arson. Breaking the news to the rest of the group – especially to Pearl, Flora, Fiona and Florbella wasn’t an easy task. FLORA (KATY) But why? Why would someone do that to us? FIONA (IRIS) Because people are mean and narrow-minded, that’s why. FLORA (KATY) What are we going to do? And where are we going to stay? FLORBELLA (TIIA) I may have an answer to that last question. I was approached earlier by the ringmaster of a circus installed nearby and he offered us shelter. GIDEON Or you could stay with us in Mr Constantine’s mansion. There is enough room for all of you! — Act 4 MICK Are you thinking what I am thinking? ALIE If you mean the fact that a fire broke while a circus is nearby, and its ringmaster is eager to offer us shelter, then yes, I would say that I find that quite suspicious as well. MICK What are we going to do about it? ALIE Investigate, what else! MICK I had a feeling that you were going to say that. Are we going to stay at the circus? ALIE I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s not safe. MICK But what if the others want to stay there? ALIE I can hardly stop them, can’t I? — Act 5 PEARL I shared Alie’s concern about the circus and I chose to stay with her and the Legends. Flora and Florbella decided to accept the ringmaster’s offer because they preferred to remain in a familiar environment. Fiona chose to go with them to poke around and investigate on site. I followed Alie, Mick and Gwyn into town and I watched as Alie used a key on a random door, wondering first what she was up to, before I realised that she was using a magic key that led us inside a beautiful mansion. Gwyn’s time machine was stored in the entrance hall, and seeing it again felt nice. I always wondered where Gwyn was hiding her, and now I was glad that it wasn’t at the funfair; otherwise it would have been destroyed as well… Three women greeted us, and I believe that I remained speechless when they introduced themselves, because they were the spitting image of Fiona, Flora and Florbella. Alie had warned me already before we came in, but it was still quite a shock seeing them. Once we were all gathered in the living room, Alie told them what had happened, and I witnessed the Legends go into action. MICK We need to act fast. If that circus is behind the funfair fire, then the girls aren’t safe. KATY If the circus is involved, and since it’s arson, it’s probably not an isolated incident. TIIA We need to cross reference data. Gideon, could you provide me with a list of any similar incident? It would be a good starting point. GIDEON Of course! Consider it done! IRIS Meanwhile, Gwyn and I are going to try and collect fingerprints and DNA from those debris you brought back. KATY We will need to get fingerprints of everyone working at the circus to compare them to those you may find. Hopefully, Fiona, Flora and Florbella will be able to help out. PEARL (warmly) I’m sure they will. MICK What should I do in the meantime? ALIE You and I will return to the town, buy more supplies and try to learn more about the circus. I want to know if it’s the first time it’s in the area, or if it’s a regular thing. PEARL In all the years we were settled there, I never heard about any circus staying in the vicinity. But maybe people will remember it from before our time? What about me? What can I do? KATY Why don’t you rest a little? You experienced quite a traumatic experience today… PEARL And also… If you manage to prove that the circus is behind the arson, what next? I doubt that the authorities will help us get justice… ALIE We will think about that once we get there. MICK Or I could also put the circus on fire? It could be fun! GIDEON An eye for an eye! IRIS I’m in! TIIA I’m not! ALIE Like I said, one step at a time. First, let’s find some evidence. MICK And beer! We’ll need beer!