The orphanage was much more fun than Bella could've ever imagined!

She, Harley and Urma had become fast friends. For the entire week, they would play video games, watch shows with the rest of the girls, and just talk about any and everything that came to their heads. Bella learnt that Harley and Urma were students at The School for Gifted ExtraOrdinaires. They said that it wasn't as prestigious as Bella's "fancy academy" (that made Bella roll her eyes), but it was one of the best schools in English ExtraOrdinary. They got sorted into their Houses the same way the Academy did, but their Houses were simply named after something associated with their element, not some legendary historical figure.

"I'm in SpitFire," Harley said. "The Fire House in our school."

"Really? You seemed to have a real thirst for knowledge, so I thought you would've been in a House like Opportuna, our Water House. You know, all about strategy and intelligence and that junk."

"Eh, I'm too impulsive, competitive and a bit of a show-off to be level-headed enough for Trident, our version of Opportuna."

"Hmm, what about you, Urma?" Bella turned her attention to the quiet girl beside her.

"Oh. I'm in Pegasus, the House of Air."

"Now that makes sense."

Urma laughed. "And why is that, huh?"

"You're too nice to be anything else."

Harley scoffed, feigning offence. "So, I not nice?!"

She expected to eventually wake up and find out that in reality, none of this had actually happened, and no one actually liked her, and she had destroyed the entire Home as soon as she had stepped in, and all of this was a dream she was having while in a coma.

With her luck, she expected it.

Presently, it was Christmas Eve, and everyone was gathered in the living room, sipping on their hot chocolate as they interacted with each other. The Christmas tree swayed in response to the Christmas joy, causing it to glow in an array of different colours. Bella learnt that Christmas trees normally came to life on Christmas Eve in preparation for the following day. The trees would often dance, grow taller and even produce more branches as they fed off the Christmas cheer. The tree was actually scraping the ceiling now, its stump tripled in size. Before, it was merely three feet tall, shorter than Bella was. No one had explained to her why this happened, wanting her to experience what occurred herself. They even told her to make an ornament for the tree with her favourite things written inside. It was clear there was another reason other than to just have all the girls make homemade decorations.

Whatever its purpose, Bella was excited to see what it was.

Currently, Bella and her new friends sat on the couch, laughing at the way the Christmas tree danced to the rhythm of the parang music. It was being played by the different Créturae painted onto the ceilings. They were all dressed in traditional Spanish attire, as they performed for the orphanage, with their shak-shaks, guitars and toc-tocs. Bella couldn't help but smile at the familiar lyrics and melody of "Soca Santa" when it hit her ears. The poinsettias on the ceiling swayed side-to-side to the beat, just like the Christmas tree did.

"Soca Santa, don't forget your bag of toys. Don't forget you have to share it with every girl and boy!" they sang in perfect harmony.

It had been a while since she had heard her country's songs. It reminded her immensely of a place she had never really felt like she belonged, but a place she did miss. She missed the boundless sun (surprisingly, considering how hot it made living), the laid-back atmosphere, the unique humour everyone seemed to possess, the creole they all spoke, the food they ate, their original genres of music, the way Pannists would beat the steel pan to make melodies, and, of course, carnival. She chuckled to herself; she supposed that she was going to experience the ExtraOrdinary adaptation herself next year, but she bet that it was nothing like her country's version. No one else' truly was.

"What you thinking 'bout?" Harley asked her, interrupting her thoughts.

"Trinidad. The songs are sending me back, you know?"

"You must really miss it, huh?" Urma questioned. "If it's anything like El Lypsoca, I think I would miss it too. We had a field trip there once during carnival, and it was like comradery had been personified. And all the different religious celebrations the Miracles brought with them, like Divali and Eid. It's like everyone is welcome."

"Yeah. My country is pretty great, when you think about it."

Yet, Bella hadn't really ever thought about it. Not once since she came to ExtraOrdinary. She was so wrapped up in what she now had (the problems included), she forgot all about it. However, as her mind went through her childhood where she lived in the twin island nation, she couldn't help but admire certain aspects of it. The culture that breathed there, that had intertwined itself with her soul. The music that lived in her heart and the festivities that often brought her people together. "Tolerance" was one of their watchwords, something that she vowed she would abide by subconsciously. A word that sometimes they failed at, but when they had their celebrations, there was unity that oozed through the cracks of every imperfect heart.

She hadn't realised how much she would miss it when she chose her new life.

She wondered if everyone at St. Xavier's would have been nicer than the Academy children. They seemed like they would've been nicer, although, at St. Xavier's, she wouldn't have been making fool of herself as she was in ExtraOrdinary.

Harley snapped her fingers in front of her face. "Aye. You there girl? You phased out again."

"Sorry. I just...I just hadn't thought that much about Ordinary, until now, I guess. I miss it, but...they don't miss me. I uh...chose to be forgotten."

Urma gave her a comforting pat on the back. "They may not remember you, but when you go back, they can get to know you, whoever you are, after all of this. And by then, you should be a better version of yourself. So that's something to look forward to."

"Maybe," Bella muttered, not too convinced.

"Alright girls, time for a group picture," Fay announced, one of their eight caretakers. She was May's twin sister, an exact replica of her. They were easy to tell apart since Fay was much more reserved than May was. Fay would wear sweaters and turtlenecks while May flaunted colourful, patterned dresses for all to see.

Bella's grin returned to her face at the announcement. A group picture! She had never really been fond of those, since she never really fit into any groups. The only group pictures she ever took part in were class pictures, or the yearly group photo taken at St. Joseph's Home for Girls. She had never been in any clubs, nor had she ever been spontaneously photographed with the other orphans as she never really hung around them much. So, this was rather exciting.

They all gathered in front of the Christmas tree that still bounced to the parang music playing. She stood between Urma and Harley as they all waited excitedly for Fay to set up the camera. Their other caretakers started to slot themselves into the group of them, some of the women holding tiny infants in their arms. Madam Oracle, who was in charge of it all, stood at the side in the front row. Bella's eyes surveyed the group that surrounded her as Fay readied the camera to float and take pictures, until she realised not everyone was there.

"Where's Margo?" she asked.

It was a question that was, oddly enough, not often asked throughout the day. No one ever really noticed that she was missing, unless it was a moment like this, where everyone was expected to be present. It was as though it was purposeful. Where in Lyte she managed to hide from everyone, they didn't know. However, she was always there when it was bedtime, but other than that, she seemed to cling to the shadows so as to not be seen.

"My goodness, where does that girl always run off too..." Madam Oracle mumbled. "Do you mind fetching her, please, Bellatheebus?"

Bella cringed at the wrong pronunciation of her name, but she nodded anyway. She had given up trying to correct the woman after the second day. It was as though the woman was purposefully trying to rename her. She wouldn't be surprised, although Bellatheebus was a terrible pronunciation for it, in her expert opinion, since she owned the name and all that.

Bella checked the kitchen, the dining room, the anything room, the gallery, the snowy front and backyards, and all the bedrooms. The girl was about to give up after she looked for Margo in their room for the third time, when she noticed that there was an opening in the ground in the hallway. Cautiously, she approached it, with her brows knitted in confusion. Was she imagining things, or was there really an opening in the floor?

As she peered into the darkness, she concurred that she was not going crazy; there was indeed a door-shaped hole in the ground with a staircase descending into the ominous blackness.

"But where in the world did it come from?" she pondered aloud.

She was sure she, or anyone else for that matter, would've noticed a stairway to what seemed to be the Underworld, or even The Shadow Pit. It would be a seriously bad idea to walk these steps. Like, horror movie protagonist dotish. Looking around to check if anyone else was there, she let out a deep breath. But, what if Margo was in there? I should- She vigorously shook her head. Nope. That was too dumb of a decision. Just because there's a mysterious door-shaped gap in the floor, does not mean Margo is in there. I mean, it could be a Shadow Créturae thing, or something. I'll just get Madam Oracle to come and take a look.

Bella turned to leave, but as she was walking away, from the corner of her eye, she could see the mysterious room in the floor glow pale blue. Its eerie blue light sent a literal chill up her spine. Going against her better judgment, she whirled back around to face the hole that now radiated with a glacial hue. She shivered; the icy blue seemed to have brought the winter from outside the Home's walls inside. Stalking towards it carefully, she peered into it.

"Oh, stop being so cautious and get in here already!" she heard a voice shout from inside.

Her eyes widened at the sudden sound. It sort of sounded like-

"Margo?"

"Yes, it's me, Margo, Bellatheibus. Can you get down here? I want to show you something."

"But the Matrons want us to-"

"It would only take a few minutes. I promise."

Bella could tell she had rolled her eyes during that sentence from...wherever she was.

Taking a deep breath, she descended into the chamber. Along it's walls were carvings of moons, scythes and markings which swerved and curved, some of the characters repeating themselves. It dawned on Bella that it might a language of some kind. They looked as though they had been chiselled into the grey walls centuries ago, with a great deal of precision too. Bella wondered why the moon was a recurring symbol, and why the pale blue light actually made her feel cold. But when she finally entered what she assumed was some kind of secret basement, she only found more questions, and not answers.

The walls of the room did not have the ancient or majestic look she was expecting it to have, based on the engravings she saw along the walls of the staircase. In fact, it was quite the opposite. The wallpaper was a mismatched, calamity of different colours and patterns, clashing against each other in what looked like a war for stylistic dominance. From plaid, to clouds, to Beasts, to wood, to plain colours, the mess was an agitating sight, and surely an eyesore for any self-respecting Interior Designer.

The walls weren't the only the things in disorder, she quickly realised.

There were chests, stuffed animals, blankets, jewellery and more, simply scattered across the room. It looked like a very unkept version of what she thought an attic looked like. Bella was certain a storage closet wasn't in this much of a disarray. And with various items, came various, odd auras. A mixture of different feelings of darkness, light, home, joy, sadness and whatever else lingered in the room, overwhelming her.

And in the centre of it all, was Margo, who sat on her knees and looked at Bella amusedly.

Maybe she knows what in the world this place is.

Margo beckoned Bella towards her instead. Bella sat criss-crossed in front of the mysterious Murasaki girl.

"I was hoping to add dramatic flair by just leaving the door open, but you're not the adventurous type, are you? You just had to ruin it by almost walking away, huh?" Margo joked.

"Well, I'm not just going to walk into a dark room I have no business being in, like an idiot. For all I knew, that could've been Nepsées Duetors, or something."

"Fair enough."

"Well, what is this place, and what do you want me to see so bad?"

Margo chuckled at her confusion, her purple eyes flashing. "I don't know what this room, or why any of this stuff is in here. I just found it one day. The second day I came here actually, about six months ago. It just opened up, and after that, I could open it whenever I felt like it. It seemed like no one else knew it was here, so I usually come here to be alone. What its purpose actually is, I don't know and I don't care to find out."

"Oh." Her mind then picked up on the fact that Margo said six months ago. "Six months ago? I thought- well I assumed you had been here all your life."

Margo shook her head. "Nah. I never knew my mother. Father said she died when giving birth to me. And then, he died due to Void's Disease, an illness that takes the mind, and then slowly, takes the rest of you with it, consuming it in an endless, black pit of despair. Disturbing sight, honestly."

"Oh. I'm so sorry. That's sounds terrible"

Bella expected Margo to falter, or show some faint sign of sadness, but she never skipped a beat. "Don't be. Wasn't your fault, anyway."

"I- okay. So...why are you showing me this place, anyway? We need to go. They're waiting for us upstairs-"

"To take pictures. Yeah, I know. The dice told me. And time sort of slows down here anyway. That's why no one really misses me, unless my absence is glaringly obvious, like now, apparently." Margo then smirked at Bella, her irises glowing. A part of Bella didn't like the way they gleamed darkly in a room that bathed in a pale blue light.

"Wait. The...dice?"

What the girl did next made Bella's skin crawl.

She raised her two hands to her eyes and seemed to pull her purple eyeballs right out of their sockets. Bella squeezed her eyes shut, expecting blood to spill out and to hear agonizing screams of pain. But, when she gingerly reopened her own eyes, Margo simply juggled her irises, which were now two sparkly, purple dice, in her right hand, while what was left her eyes shone white.

Bella wasn't sure if the girl could still see her, since the very thing that gave her eyes sight were now being played with in the palm of her hand.

"You're here because the dice said to bring you here."

Bella gulped. Her heartbeat accelerated, beating loudly within her chest to the rhythm of her growing fear and anxiety. She didn't like the sound of that.

"Why?" she managed to stutter out.

Margo smiled. "Tell me, Bellatheibus Demure, do you want to know some of the many paths that lay before you?"

"I- we're here to get a fortune? I really don't think-"

"I asked you if you wanted to know the various pathways that lie ahead, Bellatheibus. It's a simple question. Yes, or no?"

Did Bella want to know? She mulled it over. Knowing the future was never really a good thing to know according to the books and movies. When it's a bad predication, persons often do everything in their power to avoid it, which always seals their fate. But, Margo said pathways, meaning there was more than one direction her life could go in. An infinite number of possibilities. And, what if this was her only opportunity to know? It would also make her whole trek here counterproductive if she said no.

Margo tossed the dice between her hands, a knowing look on her face.

"Fine. I guess I'd like to know."

"The dice said you would say yes. You always do."

"What-?"

Before she could finish her sentence, Margo reached out and yanked out a strand of Bella's hair. Ignoring Bella's yelp of pain, she grabbed the puzzled girl's hand, placed the hair in it and flung the dice into Bella's palm. Bella flinched, expecting a painful impact, but the only thing that happened was that a cloud of purple smoke appeared, and a purple liquid sunk itself in the lines of her palm. The purple mist spread through the room as Margo's eyes gleamed until they looked like two moons, a stark contrast against her brown and pale skin.

"My eyes, well Murasaki eyes I should say, are what give us the ability to see the various futures that lie before a person. It's said that we were first crafted by Imagination from the fabric of the actual universe, sewn from time and space itself, but it was our eyes which possessed the majority of the cosmos. That's why we have to draw the future out of them, so that you might get a glimpse of what we can see so clearly."

Bella's mouth was agape during Margo's entire monologue. The world around had become the universe itself. The room had become endless, beaming stars surrounded by a canvas purples, reds and blues, and just beyond them was the moon, basking them in its glorious white glow, outlining  them in a ring of what looked like white fire. It reminded Bella of the phoenix on the wall at Miracle Relations when she had first arrived. From Bella's palm rose the purple liquid that flowed into a white fog with different purple hues extending from the bright centre. A nebula, Bella realised.

"From these small parts of an infinite universe, we can see one of the many fates that await you. The future is not linear, but a network of infinite outcomes," an inky, black web appeared in the nebula. Bella stared at the various lines that connected to various others, "each one affected not only by our own choices, but the choices of others. Every prospect that exists for all people, ExtraOrdinaire, Miracle, Ordin or even those of the Shadow, is affected by the lives of others. All of our lives are intertwined, like that of a spider's web. And within that vast web that connects us to everyone we have ever known, are our own webs, each thread branching out towards a multitude of possibilities.

"However, Murasaki can determine which future most likely awaits all of us, by following the largest, brightest strand." Margo zoomed into the web until Bella saw a yellow one. It seemed to be hers. She zeroed her focus in on the biggest thread, as it pulsed and glowed. "This likely destiny will always change based on our choices and our situation, the glow constantly shifting from strand to strand until the day we die."

"So...what does this one lead to?"

Margo smiled. "Well, before we can look forward, we need to look back."

The brightest, yellow thread removed itself from the other strands and started to form a yellow shadow. It was a baby, swaddled in a blanket as it cried out in the nebula. Bella didn't know how, but she could tell it was raining, almost like the thunder boomed in the background, the rain drumming against the ground, sounding far away in her head. 

"Your life wasn't perfect, a babe abandoned on the doorsteps of a children's home on a stormy night. It always seems to rain on our darkest days, doesn't it? But, it didn't rain forever, and you were taken in by your Matron, raised with the other girls," a scene featuring Bella standing amongst other figures of grey shadow appeared, "but, despite the clear skies ahead, the sun never really shone on you. Forever alone, weren't you, Bellatheibus?"

The image shifted again, showing Bella crumpled up in a pathetic, yellow ball against her mirror. Bella's eyes darkened and she felt her spirits lower. She remembered that, that awful feeling of loneliness that overcame her that day.

"But, as Fate would have it, the sun would eventually shine on you. Whisked into a world of magic, determined to make better choices, you made friends." Bella was now surrounded by her new friends, each figure their favourite colour. Bella felt her mood lighten.

"But, you can never keep the sun, can you Bella? That magic inside you is powerful and you have no hope of controlling it." Bella watched in terror as what happened in Medabango's class replayed itself before her eyes, her lighting wreaking havoc in the class. "No matter how hard you try, you just simply stumble through life, clinging to a diminishing hope while your friends only grow more successful. How unfortunate for a mere twelve-year-old." Bella felt tears pricking at her eyes as she saw her friends laughing together, without her, as she looked on from behind them, lonely as she always was. "They mock you, make fun of you, but, that's all a part of the plan, isn't it?"

Bella perked up, confused. "What plan?"

Margo ignored her. "In every lane of your life that your decisions can drive you down, there is always something world-changing awaiting at the end. Your nay-sayers, the ones that taunt you will simply fuel your desire to prove them wrong. Along this thread, you will gain the reigns that will help you control your immense power without that stupid talisman." The light from the scene shone on Bella's widened brown eyes. She watched herself wield her lightning like a champion, the yellow bolts contrasting with the mysterious, blue rays that illuminated her.

"The dice believe that you must stay focused on this path, and ignore those that will turn on you, mislead you, misguide you..." Bodies of shadow appeared in front of her, reminding Bella of her dreams where a mass of shadow would stand above her. "Secrets revealed, lies uncovered, a world shattered, you will be cast into the unknown where you will rise the victor."

"What- what secrets? What lies?!" Bella questioned, now frantic. Margo was suddenly being very vague. She didn't understand what on earth the girl was talking about.

Margo ignored her concerns, focused on only relaying what the dice have shown her. "But, it seems that destiny truly is in your own hands, because with whom your victory lies, is of your own choosing."

"What victory, Margo? You're not really telling me anything concrete, you know." Bella was frustrated. Why was Margo being so ambiguous? Is this how all fortunes are told? If so, she thinks she would be more or less the same without them. Bella would not be spending her money to get a fortune any time soon.

"I'm sorry but..." Margo raised her hands, and brought them down, causing the nebula, and the whole universe, to retreat into Bella's palm lines as the purple liquid reformed and turned into the two dice again. Bella looked around in shock as the attic-like room reappeared before her, as though she had never left. Well, she hadn't left it, but it sure felt like she did. She looked down as the dice rattled in her palm and retracted themselves into Margo's awaiting hands. All that was left of her previous experience, was the single strand of her hair, and the dice in Margo's hands.

Margo juggled the dice.

"The dice didn't show me anything other than what you saw."

"Then- then what was the point-?!"

"The dice were only concerned, it seems. They wanted to ensure that you went down the best path. They don't want you to stop trying. That future was one of the few in which you push on. They needed you to get a glimpse of it."

Bella scoffed, staring at Margo incredulously. "Why is my future so important that they needed to make sure that I chose the right one? What do I have to do with anything?"

Margo juggled the dice. She smiled the same ominous one she always did. Bella had never noticed just how sharp her teeth appeared to be. She wouldn't want to be her food.

"It's all a web, Bellatheibus, a large, inky, black web." The Murasaki girl put the dice back into her eyes and blinked furiously until her purple irises slowly returned to their rightful place. "Well, we better get going. The Matrons would like to take that picture now; they're just starting to get worried."

The girl rose from her place. Bella scrambled to her feet as well, following Margo as she started up the stairs.

"But-"

"We must've been down here about twenty minutes or so. To them...probably five, but you were probably looking for me for a while. Should've opened the door sooner. My bad."

"But- you- you can't just leave it like-"

Margo suddenly whipped around to face Bella as they stood just under the gap in the floor.

"I'd rather you didn't mention this to anyone. This'll be our secret, yeah?"

"I-" The way Margo looked at her, although seemingly friendly, gave her the feeling that she should probably do as the fortune-teller said. "Okay. I won't tell anyone. But I will say that that was probably the worst reading ever."

Margo laughed and shrugged as she climbed out the chamber, helping Bella get out as well.

"Have you ever even had one before?"

"No, but I've seen better."

"Yeah, in Ordin media which has no idea how real magic actually works. Now, onwards to get our souls trapped in a camera!"

Bella laughed, until the smile fell off her face when she realised what Margo said. "Wait, what?"

"I'm joking, I'm joking." Margo closed the door which then disguised itself as the wooden floor seamlessly.

"Well, how am I supposed to know? It's a magical world! Anything is possible!"

"I assure you, our souls being captured and tortured in a magical camera will not happen."

"And I assure you that I don't trust you."

As they continued on with their banter to take their group picture, they didn't hear the soft thud of an item in the room beneath their feet.

Perhaps it didn't matter, since Bella didn't plan on venturing there anytime soon.