Author's Note: I know that there aren't that many people on this site who know Nadja, but I hope that those who do know it will read this and like it…

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters or places.

Don't Wait For Me

"And now I present…our dancing girl who came dancing down to us from heaven, Nadja!"

There was a great cheer as the sixteen-year-old dancer stepped onto the stage wearing a light blue dress. Flowers of varying shades of blue—from dark blue roses that were almost black to sky blue chicories—were placed in the long hair that had been gathered to the top of her head and held in her hands. She was beautiful, but it was the kind look in her eyes and the gentle smile that captivated people.

A soft music started up, and Nadja began to move in time with it. Soft steps to the left, and then to the right, a few soft spins in between… And then the pace of the music began to quicken, and so did Nadja. Soft and quiet turns became swift double spins; gentle steps became leaps. She spun, leapt, skipped and twisted more and more quickly, her moves becoming more and more impressive, until the flowers in her hair, which had been pinned to do so, began to fly out towards the audience in the front of the crowd. At the music's fastest point, she leapt up and performed a quadruple spin, tossing the flowers in her hands to the audience in the back of the crowd as she landed on one knee in a bow at the center of the front of the stage just as the music came to an abrupt halt. The audience cheered wildly, and the dancing girl was showered with the coins the people threw onto the stage.

"I thought that she was so good that she couldn't possibly get any better when I saw her Flamenco," murmured Kennosuke, the sixteen-year-old samurai, to Rita, the lion-taming eight-year-old, where they stood backstage.

"Nadja gets better all the time," said Rita in a matter-of-fact tone. "She'll get even better than she is now."

Nadja was always the last act, so as she bowed and backed off stage, the Leader walked out to thank the crowd for coming. With one last wave at the crowd, she disappeared from their sight.

"I'm tired," the usually tireless girl sighed as she plopped down into one of the chairs under the shade of the tent and trees behind the car that was their stage.

"That's what you get for trying that kind of dance," Sylvie, the beautiful singer, said in a reproachful tone as she held out a glass of water. Nadja took it gratefully, giving Sylvie a sheepish glance. Though their ages were years apart, Sylvie was Nadja's closest friend and confidant. At times, the older woman confided in Nadja as well, but she seemed to prefer handling her own problems by herself. Though Nadja was also close friends with Kennosuke and Rita, Kennosuke was male, and therefore not easy to talk to about feminine problems, and disliked too much serious conversation. Rita, though fun to play with, was not yet old enough to talk about the sort of problems Nadja encountered at times.

"Nadja?"

Sylvie's concerned voice brought Nadja back to the present. Her smile was even more sheepish this time.

"Sorry, I was thinking."

"About a certain blond-haired man?" Sylvie asked, a subtle teasing note hidden in her voice. Nadja frowned reproachfully.

"Sylvie!" But Nadja burst out laughing in spite of everything. No one else would have understood the humor of what Sylvie had just said, but Nadja did. A certain blond-haired man was certainly in her life. What the members of Troupe Dandelion had yet to figure out, however, was that there were two such young men, and both were courting her. They were subtle, for they knew that Nadja knew them both well and would tell whichever one she chose when she was ready.

"No, I was thinking about the Troupe," she said as her laughter died down. Before she could elaborate, however, she heard a familiar low voice calling her name.

"Francis!" called Rita, jumping up to meet him—she had become quite attached to the two men that she thought were one. Nadja looked up, and hid a smile behind her fingers at the sight of the twin that was not, in fact, named Francis.

It had been Keith who had wanted her not to tell anyone that there were two of them. Troupe Dandelion already knew of Francis Harcourt, the younger twin, but were not aware in the slightest of the existence of Keith Harcourt (except, perhaps, for old Granny, who had an uncanny knack for knowing things). Keith, who had quit his profession of stealing from the rich who obtained their money dishonestly and giving that to the poor and needy, had decided that his newly quiet life needed more excitement. Therefore, the first time that he had dropped by two years ago, when he had been called 'Francis', he did not correct them. At first Nadja had snapped at him, but when he told her that Francis knew of this and found the thought amusing as well, she had relented. She had, however, warned him that should anyone ever become suspicious, she would immediately tell them the truth.

Two years later, however, the entire Troupe had yet to voice any suspicion on the subject. Nadja found this quite bewildering, as she thought the twins' personalities to differ greatly.

"Beautiful dance, Nadja," he said, handing her a black rose—his trademark, even after ending the Black Rose. "Though I daresay it must have been tiring."

"Thank you, Keith," Nadja said with a smile as she took the rose. "It's beautiful."

"Would you like to walk?" Nadja replied by standing and taking his offered arm while holding the rose in her other hand. They walked in silence for some time before either spoke. It was Nadja who broke the silence.

"Is something wrong? You came only a week ago last, and usually you and Francis alternate."

He paused, and then looked down at her. She stopped her feet as well, looking up at him.

"Nadja," he said hesitatingly, "I'm not going to be able to come see you for a number of months after this, possibly even a year or two."

Before he could continue, Nadja was speaking.

"What? Why didn't you tell me last time, instead of at the last minute? Where are you going? Why are you going?"

Keith saw the tears in Nadja's eyes and gave her an affectionate smile. She always had been sensitive. She made him feel wanted—needed—something he needed to feel since he had given up the Black Rose, once his sole purpose in life.

"Do you know much about Africa, Nadja?" he asked gently. Cautiously reaching out, he wiped away her tears. He knew that he was overstepping the bounds that he and his brother had agreed to keep until Nadja chose, but at that moment he was beyond caring.

Nadja shook her head in response.

"Well then, do you know that European countries have been trying to take Africa as their own for years now?"

"The colonies?"

"Yes. You see, some—quite a few, actually—are fighting for independence. So I'm going to go and see what I can do." All he received was a blank look from Nadja. With a smile, he sat down with his back to a tree in the small woods that they had entered, motioning for her to do the same.

"Parts of Africa have been being controlled by various European countries for an extremely long time," he explained. "And so Europeans have moved to Africa, and used the materials they found there. However, the Africans, who logically should own that land, have no say in the matter. Even when they split Africa up into various countries for themselves, Europeans gave no thought to the opinion of the Africans. Africans are all but slaves, you see. But now, people are starting to revolt—Africans are starting to fight to get their countries back. And Nadja…" Keith paused, not too sure how he should voice what he wanted to say. "Since I quit the Black Rose, I've had little to do. I'm a noble again, in a sense, but I travel around, spending as little time at the manor as possible, and trying to help people when I can. And I come to see you.

"But you know me, Nadja… At least, you should, after all we've been through." He sent a wry smile at her, which she returned with one of her bright, but unsure smiles. "I can't just travel around without any objectives. And I've always been against trying to help people when you yourself are set above them. But now…I think that I can help. I want to help those people who have been treated unfairly for so long."

Nadja recognized the same passion that she had come to know in the Black Rose, and smiled in spite of herself.

"Well then, I wish you good luck, Keith. I'm sure that it will be hard, but I'm also sure that you'll achieve your goal. As long as I've known you, you've been capable of amazing things when you're passionate about it."

Keith looked at her, emotional turmoil evident in his eyes.

"I know the possibilities of what could happen, Nadja," he told her, his eyes meeting hers in a strong, steady gaze. "I know that while I'm there, there's a good chance that I could get killed—either by Africans who don't want the help of a European, or by Europeans when I help the Africans." He hesitated, averting his gaze for a moment. Then he sucked in a deep breath and raised his eyes to meet hers once more as he turned to face her and took one of her hands in his. "I also know that I could come back to find you married to my brother. When I went into hiding after ending the Black Rose, I asked him to wait for me to return to court you. But I can't ask that of him this time, when I don't even know if I'll be coming back."

Keith was taken completely by surprise when the girl threw herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck and nearly knocking him down. Wrapping his arms around her, he reflected that this was the first time that he had been truly allowed to hold her as himself, with no masks of any kind.

"Don't say that, Keith. You'll come back. And I'll still be here, waiting for you." The words were mumbled into his shoulder, but he heard them anyhow.

"You can't promise me that—you're still sixteen. You're young and beautiful. Francis will be the only one courting you, but weren't there three others…Kennosuke, TJ and Oliver, who liked you as well? Don't promise me anything Nadja. Don't wait for me."

He removed his arms from around her and reached up to remove her arms from around his neck. As he pulled away, he hesitated, then leaned forward again to briefly press his lips to her forehead before pulling away and standing.

"Come, Nadja. We should get back." She looked at the hand he offered her for a moment before taking it and letting him pull her up.

They walked back to Troupe Dandelion in silence. Just before they reached it, Keith stopped and took one of Nadja's hands in his own.

"Goodbye," he said, squeezing her hand lightly before letting it go.

"I'll miss you," Nadja murmured, almost inaudibly. He smiled brightly at her before turning and walking away.

VVVVVVVVVV

Nadja's mind was preoccupied as she walked back towards the rest of the Troupe. Sylvie was the first to see her and raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.

"Back already? You two usually spend much longer together." The rest of the Troupe appeared interested as well.

"Keith's going away," Nadja said, not giving her words much thought. "He's not going to be back for a while, if he comes back at all."

"You know, Nadja," the Leader said in a light tone, "I've been wondering for a while…but why is it that you sometimes refer to him as Keith instead of Francis?"

"And he's always wearing black when you call him Keith," Rita added.

"You know, an interesting rumor reached my ears recently," said Sylvie lightly. "I hear that there are two Harcourt twins—one of whom reappeared two years ago after being away for a long time. And somehow, I seem to recall that 'Francis' started wearing black two years ago…"

Oops, thought Nadja—her only coherent thought at that moment.