Darkness was all that surrounded her. The color of black was all her eyes could see, from beyond and on and on. She felt weak and pain surged from within her chest.

What's wrong with me? the woman thought.

"You're overexerting yourself," a female's voice boomed.

Am I? the woman thought to herself.

"The power you wield eats your strength,"—a voice joins in—"and your life."

The woman laughs. "Well. . . it's not like I want to live long anyway," she said with a sigh.

"Foolish human! You speak without acknowledging the future!" the voices told her. "You have been granted the privilege of becoming the emissary of us Arcana! Do not abuse it. Or the life you so belittle will be taken away before the eyes of those who hold you in their hearts!"

Fluttering her eyes open, Angelica realized the voices were gone, leaving her alone. The bright light blinded her for a moment as the sound of murmuring voices and crickets filled her ears. Her nose smelled the sweet fragrant of fresh grass, their sharp blades stinging her fair skin. Opening her eyes, the woman's eyes saw the branches of a tree, surprising her a little. She felt the soft cushion of probably a cloak, but she also felt one on herself.

Wondering where she was, the fortuneteller turns her gaze around her surroundings. In a moment her eyes saw her male companions chatting with one another, indulging themselves with the cool breeze underneath the tree's branches. The wind underneath the branches of a tree is always the best. Placing pressure on her back, the woman attempted to get up, but pain immediately shot up throughout her chest. Instantly she clutched it, letting a soft groan escape her lips.

It quickly caught the attention of her companions and they quickly rushed to her side. "Are you alright?!" asked Enzo as he grabbed her arms.

She smiles a little, trying her best to hide the pain. "I-I'm fine."

"No, you're not," Abelle suddenly insists, which surprised everyone since he has been nonchalant all this time. He grabs the woman's wrists and forced her to stay put when he saw her try to get up. The young man glared at her hard, and it caused her to freeze on the spot, feeling so surprised.

"Abelle. . I told you, I'm completely fine," Angelica gently insisted. "It simply happens every once in a while."

His eyes narrowed even more. "You're carefree attitude is starting to get in my nerves right here—no. It got on my nerves ever since we met you and got tricked by you. Now that we're stuck here trying to get back to Regalo, you should do your part by staying alive, you hear me? Otherwise you've cost us nothing but trouble!" he yelled angrily.

"I believe that's enough," Azad growled, grabbing the bespectacled man's shoulder.

"No. Abelle here has a point," the fortuneteller intervenes with a kind smile. "I don't worry about things so much because I don't often fortune tell. I have to confess, I haven't been fortunetelling ever since we got Prince Jahan and Azad on the team. At that point I didn't worry about anything anymore so I stopped. I believe I was just too worried at what I will see. If you have forgotten, fortunetellers do not control the future, nor the vision or sign they shall see when they look into the future."

"So you could see the good and bad stuff, huh?" Alfieri interrupts.

Angelica nods her head. "I didn't like what I saw the last time I did it. I didn't want to have the visions disturbing me at night."

"What happened in your last vision?" Jahan asked curiously.

"I suppose I shouldn't keep it a secret from you since we're going to be close friends after all," Angelica chuckled, covering her mouth.

Pietro gives her a nervous grin in response. "You're still carefree as always."

"I'd like to avoid a heavy atmosphere if possible," she replied enthusiastically. "After all, it's bad for my health."

Abelle sighs. "Surely you jest."

"I'm not."

The guy frowns. "Truly you are a fool."

"Going to that vision I mentioned," Angelica snickered. "If you don't mind me changing the subject. It concerned about the future, as it always has. But the bad side was that it involved the death of someone precious to both me, and to the rest of the famiglia. It was vague, but I knew for sure that it was entirely my fault. That person died entirely because of me."until

Enzo gently gives her a warm hug, hoping to give her a reassurance of a brighter tomorrow. It surprised her but not very when she is aware of his feelings. Although seeing the bold side of the man was not something she has gotten used to. Feeling grateful, she gives him a squeeze in response, surprising the rest.

"He gets a hug, Angelica??" Alfieri asks with a disappointed look on his face. "And I couldn't even get a peck from your lips."

She frowns at him. "You're being too familiar. And I shouldn't go kissing men just because they asked for it," she snarls. "Do you want me to finish you off when I didn't?"

The man chuckled. "Don't be so mean!" he cooed.

"Just give it a break already!" Jahan cried, already annoyed with the man's insolent behavior. "Give Miss Angelica—"

"It's fine. I could handle the man," replied Angelica. "By the way, where are we?"

"We're nearing a town I believe," replied Azad.

Pietro nods. "A farmer led us to the road towards the closest town around here. We were hoping to get you some medicine and maybe even refreshments."

Hearing that, the woman smiled fondly at them. It made her feel a little guilty as well for causing them trouble. But she was happy to see them so concerned that perhaps the men might hold more importance to her than her dear animal friends who simply peered at her before rushing to her lap. She smiles, fondling their furry backs until she realizes where exactly where they were.

"Is that town the city of Colosseum?" she asked grimly, slowly standing up.

Enzo's eyes widened as well, and Alfieri was the first to realize the situation they were in. But before they could say anything, they heard fast hoofbeats and noisy engines behind them. Whirling their heads around, they saw men in cloaks with covered faces charge at them with their swords and guns drawn.

The men quickly stood up and drew their weapons, not allowing Angelica to stress herself. Jahan was the one who restrained her from getting up just as the charging attackers were coming at them, and his sword was drawn for her sake. She clung to him, trying her best to get up but before she could do it the third time, the boy sank to his knees and embraced her tightly. The fortuneteller gasped a little in surprise.

"We can't have you get more hurt than you already are," the prince told her gently like a whisper.

"I'm supposed to protect you!" she yelled angrily. "I don't know much of your skills and—"

"We're men!" the prince interrupts her with a louder voice, freezing he on the spot. "The men are supposed to protect the women not the other way around! You keep telling us to trust you, so it's about time you trust as well! We're supposed to create stronger bonds, right??"

Hearing those words were more than what the fortuneteller needed to hear. The smile that crawled up to her face was so wide and full with pride Jahan was surprised himself.

Without another word the woman stands down and relaxes, letting out a long sigh. "Then I'll let you do your work. . Jahan," she said with a smile, giving his cheek a soft pat.

He smiles back at her and then lets her go, standing up a moment later with a brave look on his face. He exhales deep breaths as he feels trickles of sweat roll down his brow, helplessly watching the fierce some clocked men approach them closer and closer. The prince glanced at each of the faces of his companions, and saw that they felt no fear but rather irritation was written all over their faces that Jahan would find himself laughing if they were in a more relaxed situation.

As the cloaked men reached their destination, they suddenly halted a few meters away from the fortuneteller and her companions. Seeing this, Angelica grabs Azad's arm, being the closest to her aside from Jahan, and heaves herself up.

Like magic, she found sudden new strength. And with the surge of power flowing within her, she walked up front where their apparent attackers stood by with their neighing steeds. A dark frown was smeared on her tired face, feeling strong aura envelope around her when a threatening presence appeared in her point of view.

The masked man clapped politely, yet mockingly. He was tall, donned in long white robes with his spiky red hair contrasting to the gentle colour of purity. His hair was branched out into a braid which wound around his shoulders like a scarf. The snickers his made under his breath were obvious, and it irritated the fortuneteller who didn't even know who he was.

The one who first confessed to the woman beside him, clenched his jaw tightly, giving the man a glare. His hands were hidden within his robes, his fingers wound around the hilts. Letting out a sigh, he heaves out a small breath of nervousness.

"Well, well, well," snides the redheaded man. "If it isn't Enzo from the Rubenheigen Assassin Guild."

"You're an assassin??" Pietro and Jahan gasped.

The redheaded man sneers. "Seems like your friends don't even know you."

Hearing those words, Enzo walks forward and places Angelica behind him. He continued to frown at the man as he felt Angelica's fingers hold on to his own for a moment before letting him go. "What do you want, Connor?" Enzo finally spoke.

The man before him chuckles. "Other than wishing to kill you from the bottom of my heart, no. I simply plunder from the people who're approaching Colosseum."

"Are you telling me that you quit the guild?" Enzo asks darkly, placing his hands into his robe again.

"Well, I was getting tired from getting orders from a guild where you barely earn anything," Connor replied. "Isn't that why you quit yourself, Enzo?"

"I quit because I didn't want to kill people," the red-eyed man defended himself.

"Right, right." Connor draws out his sword and points it fiercely at his rival, who only glared at him irritably. "Since I'm in a good mood, I might spare you as of today. But I would like to get to know that precious woman of yours. She's been looking at me as if she herself was interested. Am I right, princess?"

Immediately Angelica chuckled in amusement, surprising her companions who looked at her incredulously. "This man. ." she snickered. "He's quite talkative. It'll be interesting if he joined the famiglia. Pity that there are no cards open for him."

* * * * * * * *

A small gentle light peers into a dark room where barrels full of red, juicy apples were hidden. Unfortunately swarms of mice had begun to gnaw away at the fruits. Their tiny little dirty paws held bits of the morsels, nipping them away little by little. Their delight was left undisturbed until suspicious figures slightly drew the tent a little open as they sneaked inside quietly. The tiny creatures quickly scurried away, afraid of being stomped on.

The small beam of light quickly disappeared afterwards once the two figures shut it out. They spoke no word to each other and simply continued on through the dark maze with only their senses leading them. However, up ahead was light, and it grew stronger little by little. They drew closer in a faster pace, but kept note that they remained quiet and hidden. Voices also started to resonate through the silence, making the two even more careful.

"It's quite impressive that their tents are so thick that no one could possibly see through or hear what's going on inside," Nova, one of the two spies, whispers to his companion.

"It was heavy too," replied the other, revealing to be Felicita. "I could say that perhaps they were simply being frugal on their resources but Papa's encounter was rather suspicious."

"I could say that too," agreed Nova. "I wouldn't have suspected them at all if I didn't notice how many children there were with them. I thought Papa was just checking them out, but it came to this."

Felicita nods. "They refused to talk, too. I could tell that they were being forced."

"Anyone who would talk to them could tell, Feli."

"I know. I was just pointing out that if the circus would've hid those kids away, we wouldn't have come here," Felicita narrows her eyes. "Although, if those kids are actually held captive in Tarocchini, I would be glad to help them."

Nova nods. "You aren't the only one wanting to help," sighed the boy. "Now,"—he grabs ahold of the girl's wrist—"Please keep quiet or we might get caught."

Giving him an incredulous glare, the auburn haired girl said nothing more once she and her companion reached the near-center of the tent. Before them were the top performers of the party were busy discussing their next plans. They only perform during the weekends after all. Donning on casual attires, they argued and debated, continuously wanting their wants above the other. There were seven major performers in all, only three of them were ladies but only two of them seemed so passionate about it.

The black-haired woman from before and a hyper blonde with her long locks tied high on her head were busy trying to convince their fellow performers with their suggestions which they value. The blonde seemed so desperate, often clinging on to the leader's arm, her mouth full of pleas.

"I say Beast should start this week!" insisted the blonde. "She could open with her tiger of a kitty would be fantastic!"

"No, being the center during the climax should do best," insists the other.

"You're always thinking about the climax, Joker," sighed the blonde.

He frowns. "Harlequin, your job is to make people laugh not suggest such things."

She cackles, covering her mouth adorably as she bats her eyelashes at the man. "Oh? So do I make you laugh, hm? Joker?" Harlequin asks with her face close to his.

"Don't get so close to him, Harley," growled Beast, pulling the blonde away from the man by the collar.

"Ladies, ladies!" chirped another man. "Please behave yourselves! Joker's not the only man here!"

He was a handsome man Antonio was, being of Southern Latino lineage. Dark skinned with messy brown hair, the man sometimes enraptured women with his bright apple green eyes. He was graceful and charming, but none of that mattered to the women he called friends and comrades who only took him for a pitiful, desperate fool.

"Don't you mean yourself, Antonio?" the third girl asks in a monotone voice.

The young lady seemed younger than the other two, but she was deemed quite attractive despite being monotone and calm. Her short white hair was silkier than snow, and so did the color of her skin that seemed to glow under the light. The girl was one of those who rarely performed, but when she does with her peacock dress donned on her, she steals away the spotlight the moment everyone's eyes fall on her.

"Ay, now, Cecilly. Not you too," he groaned loudly. "I miss your pink-haired-self when you were more cute and charming."

Cecilly? Why does that name sound familiar? thought Felicita as a frown crumpled her forehead.

Beast just smiles at her. "For a newcomer, you're quick to warm up to us when we met you near Casta Nicia. I'm glad you could tie down Toni for us," she remarked.

"That's pretty harsh, Beast."

The beautiful woman smirks. "What? I thought you're fetish are women with honest opinions?"

"You didn't—"

Suddenly their leader clears his throat, making his friends silent for a moment. "Would you mind quieting down a little? Master Romeo would be bringing Lady Annabelle and his brothers here in a few days, and I want to make sure that they would be impressed."

"But aren't they busy looking for their 'missing' stepsister?" asked Harlequin, placing her hands under her chin. "Honestly, it might be a little troublesome with Anna around. She's always insisting on playing fortunetelling."

Beast sighs.

"It can't be helped, Harley. The plan has to work. Though I don't know what Lady Adeline has in mind for the kids."

"That woman's ambitious. She's probably going to—"

"Hey, we aren't supposed to badmouth the woman who gave us these powers," barked Joker.

As the circus members continued their little talk, Nova tapped on Felicita's shoulder, making the girl turn her face towards him. He prompts her to leave by pointing back at the door, mouthing that they have heard enough. The auburn-haired girl nods in agreement, and the two slowly backed away from the group towards the exit behind them.

As they were about to leave, the blade of a dagger sped by Felicita's ear, startling the two. Without thinking, the blue haired boy stood up and cried, "La Tenebrore Addormentata!" which created a bright luminous blue light, and caused everyone in the room to drop to the floor with only him and Felicita left awake.

Grabbing Felicita's wrist, he dashed out of the tent, only to bump against someone else's chest.

* * * * * * * *

"Interesting?" repeated the redheaded man, chucking lightly. "Cards? Could you be referring to the Arcana, miss?"

His words immediately startled the fortuneteller, making her eyes wide with surprise. Her companions were more than surprised to see her moved. They stiffened at Connor's quick answer, but said nothing.

Reverting back to her composed demeanor, the fortuneteller smiles gently. "I presume he's your master? That Arcana wielder in Colosseum who's governing it?"

"Have you heard of him, Ann?" Enzo asks, reverting back to his calm self as well.

She smirks.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" she asks. "I've never even heard of you in the past, yet I knew it. Have you not gotten used to me yet?"

He smiles at the woman, still unused to her charms and mysterious gaze. Sighing a little, he says, "No," while giving her a gentle kiss at the back of her hand.

"You don't have to do that in front of everyone, Enzo," remarked an irritated Alfieri with his arms folded across his chest.

"I agree with him," chuckled Angeclia, making Enzo's cheeks, nape, and ears red from embarrassment. "But, oh well, all the more we have to cut our little chat here."

Before anyone could say anything, the woman grabbed some dust from a pouch in her pocket and threw the contents sharply on the ground. The moment she did this a purple colored cloud enveloped around her and her friends. It was so thick that Connor and his companions quickly disappeared from sight, and the neighing of their horses also disappeared. Instead, the eerie sound of silence replaced those neighing, and soon the cloud dissipated and everyone found themselves in a maze of houses.

They could hear the noisy voices of hot arguments, insisting voices of women, and the fierce barking of wild dogs. The sounds of clanking metal also filled their ears, and the sound of chaos was evident. Gurgling engine noises also were obvious to their ears, the sound of technology ringing through their eardrums.

The Arcana users saw that they were on top of a building, shocking them when they were on the road earlier on. Instinctively they whirled their heads towards the fortuneteller, who only seemed to be amazed at how far they had gone.

Abelle suddenly grabs Angelica's shoulder as he took a step beside her, and joined her at what she was seeing.

Colosseum was a desolate place.

"What now?" asked Pietro, joining the two. "Why are we here? Are we gonna buy new supplies, Ann?"

The woman remained serious. "That Arcana user that Connor referred to might be that rumored 'Scorpio'. Also known as Sasori, a former Giaponese assassin. You probably heard of him, Enzo. I'm sure. If we find him, we might get some information on how he got that Arcana."

The man nods in response.

"Oh, speaking of which," remarked Abelle, pushing back his spectacles. "Since when were you an assassin? I thought you were the 'King of Thieves'."

"If I am assuming correctly," intervenes Azad as he stepped forward. "You were an assassin when you were a mere child. Am I right? Afterwards, at some point, you decided that you hated the fact that the guild killed people, and, thus, ran away. However, you weren't willing to submit to to another of power and decided to live on as a thief."

Angelica smiles. "You're pretty good in making speculations, Azad."

"As an attendant of the prince, I have to learn to make such speculations," he calmly replied.

"I see," chuckled the woman. Then turning to Enzo she says, "Well? Is Azad correct?"

Sighing, the man reluctantly nods, knowing that it was useless to hide anyway. "When I was just a boy, I lived in the streets with no one to turn to. My mother had died of tuberculosis and my father, struck with grief, often went into taverns to drink. One night, he never came back home. That's when I began begging for food, water, and support from my parents friends. Unfortunately, they were never really friends and each time I begged, I was beaten or ignored. One day though, a strange man came up to me and told me that he was going to take care of me from then on. I was only ten at that time. I never knew that I was going to be turned into a killing machine. So, I was trained for a year and a half—they seemed to be desperate to train assassins at that time—before I was tested. We were told to kill the ones closest to us. I had none of that except for my teacher who happened to be the one who had took me in."

"That's terrible," remarked Jahan.

Enzo nods, turning his gaze away from Angelica's sympathetic face and turned his gaze to the skies. "Long story short, I killed him with my own hands. He seemed proud of me, but I was guilty to the bottom of my heart. I killed the man I saw as my own father. I was quick to become among the elite assassins, and that was when I met Connor. He saw me as his own rival; I saw a man only wanting to kill. Then when I turned the age of sixteen, I ran away from the guild during one mission. I've been on the run ever since, but it seemed like they never went after me. Then I finally met Angelica nearly a decade later."

Silence lingered afterwards, but the single touch of Angelica's hand on Enzo's shoulder broke their concentration. On her lips was a gentle smile, her eyes filled with compassion as she turned to the rest of the group. "Pain. Sorrow. Trials. These three are the tests of life, and you all know it," she told them. "And whether you like it or not, they are our greatest teachers who teach us the way to survive this game of the survival of the fittest. Only the strong will survive; not only in strength, but in mentality as well."

"Wise words, fortuneteller," remarked Abelle.

She grins. "Glad you agree with me."

"Can I kiss you?" Alfieri asks as he pulls the woman close to him.

Without a moment of thought, the fortuneteller laughs at him and pats his cheek, later turning away and places her hand into her bag. Pulling out a long pipe and a bag of matches, and then pulls out a single match from the pouch. Then she lights the stick, placing it in the bowl where the scent of tobacco later emits.

Her companions were surprised to see her smoke with the pipe, with the exception with Alfieri who was with her the longest. "Alright men, I am going to the tavern to gather some data about this town and its code. We wouldn't want to get in trouble here if we're only here to freshen up," she told them with authority, her hand on her waist. "Alfieri will come with me, the rest of you look for a place to stay for the night."

"How will we find you?" a puzzled Pietro asks nervously.

Snapping her fingers, Tzipporah and Shandor immediately scurried to Angelica's feet, amazing the men. "I will be taking Tzipporah with me. Shandor will be left at your charge so please take care of him."

"I don't see how a monkey would help us find you," grumbled Abelle.

Azad and Jahan though trusted Angelica's suggestion. "I see. The monkey, of course, has better intuition for these kinds of situation. In our homeland, monkeys, falcons, and even cats could act as messengers. In other words, their sense of smell and hearing will guide them—us—to you, Miss Angelica," said the attendant.

The fortuneteller grins at those words. "Well, at least we have someone intelligent," she remarked while giving Abelle a jeering smirk.

Abelle only gives a long, heaving sigh while pinching the bridge of his nose, feeling incredibly flustered.

Later afterwards, the fortuneteller with Alfieri by her side parted from the rest. She bore Tzipporah on her shoulder while her companion constantly teased her, but she simply ignored him and threatened to cut off his tongue. The rest were quiet amongst themselves, simply gazing around the quiet city in search for an inn. They seemed skeptical with Angelica's plan to infiltrate the capital to search for answers from the infamous Sasori, wondering if she was in her right mind.

Enzo constantly looked back behind him wherever they went, feeling the presence of someone following behind them. Jahan's attendant fell the same tingling feeling as well down his spine. And simultaneously, he and Enzo instinctively placed their hands into their clothing where their weapons were hidden away. Frowns were scrunched on their foreheads as they continued to walk through the desolated, silent city.

As they were going further and further into the maze of buildings, the five saw the hostile looks of delinquents and vandals. In the hoodlums' hands were blades of daggers, swords, and pistols ready to fire. It made the five wary even more.

Suddenly without warning, a smoke bomb exploded within their midst, causing them to cough hard. They quickly separated to escape the smoke, and once they all did, they found themselves in the midst of a young woman with dark skin and long, silky, black hair that was tied back. On her lips was an arrogant smirk, and in her hand glinted a dagger with its tip so sharp.

"Wanna play with me, boys?"

~~~

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