After the events that had taken place against the Crovus Clan, more and more of them began appearing with each town that they had entered. It was almost as if the word had gotten out between the members over what Keith and Lucas had done. The troupe was committed on protecting Lana. All rivalry was put aside for the sake of the safety of themselves and their troupe.
The more that Lana had come into contact with the Crovus Clan the more she was unable to sleep. The tormenting reality of what was going on around her had driven her to sleepless nights. She had developed nightmares that kept her awake at night. Each night she was afraid to fall asleep to the point where Keith made the request to once again become her roommate.
The request was granted and it became official. The idea of the two sharing a tent irritated Nicholas, but he wanted to set all arguments down and not start any fights. This was the one thing that Keith was able to win.
One night during the late winter after Keith's twentieth birthday, the tent was quiet. The sound of wind turning up the snow was the only thing that could be heard. Everyone was sound asleep and keeping themselves warm. It was all fine until the piercing scream shattered the silence. Keith was abruptly woken up by Lana's screams, slamming his head on the bunk of her bed in the process. He frantically searched for his glasses so that he could see what was going on. To his knowledge there was no one else present within the tent which indicated that her scream had derived from yet another nightmare.
The shaken Lana was curling herself in her blanket as he quickly climbed up to her bunk. He gently wrapped the blanket around her as she was staring straight down trying to keep herself together.
"It's ok, it was only a dream," he said in a calming voice as he gently brushed aside the hairs that were hanging down from her face.
She kept rocking back and forth shaking from her nightmare. Keith pulled her in and held onto her as he could hear footsteps from outside of the tent. Clearly her shrilling scream was enough to wake up everyone else on the grounds. Everyone was on high alert believing that something terrible was going on.
"Go back to bed everyone, it just happened again," he called out as he continued to hold on to her.
With a few deep breathes, Lana was able to pull herself back together and focus. She was no longer staring straight at her blankets and began to process what had just happened. Keith let her go and made sure that she was going to be alright.
"Are you going to be ok? Do you need anything?"
"No I'm fine…I'll be fine."
"You sure didn't sound fine. That was quiet the scream. Are you sure you don't need water or anything?"
"No it's ok, really."
"Can you at least tell me what happened?"
She looked away from him and was hesitant to tell him about her dream. Although Keith knew how fragile she was, he decided that for her sake it was best to drop the whole thing. He started crawling out of the bed and back into his own but was stopped by Lana's hand on his arm.
"I dreamt that I was back in the cell. The Noble still had me."
"Noble?"
Keith remembered the story that Lana had told them upon her arrival at the circus. Prior to joining, Lana was held captive by a Noble. She underwent vigorous lessons to become the Noble's perfect bride at such a young age. On top of the lessons she was also treated as a regular slave. Disobeying the Noble's orders resulted in painful punishments. Sometimes his punishments were fairly severe. At that time, Lana's healing capabilities weren't as advanced as they are now. There were times where she believed that she would die.
"I dreamt that I was still with Victor and Samuel."
"You're friends?"
"I dreamt of the horrible things that could have happened to them in my absence. I was forced to watch and was not able to do anything. I felt completely helpless. When I saw their corpses, the Noble turned to me next and I…I just."
"Shhh, that's ok you don't need to say anymore, what you said was enough."
The two of them were able to sleep the rest of the night without any further disturbances. Keith had requested to Madame Nina that Lana was to be pulled from the show. Madame Nina agreed that it would best in her current condition to be able to pull herself away from everything and be able to relax. The more tired Lana would be on stage the more likely that something would happen. Even with her gift, it was still possible for her to become seriously injured.
When she found out what Keith had done, she was infuriated with him. She wanted nothing more than to be on the stage performing claiming that it was helping her relax. Within their arguing, Keith made it clear that she was exhausted. She wasn't holding out her end of the performance. It was decided that the twins would take her place for the time being and perform a dance routine instead. He was able to crack through her stubbornness which resulted in her keeping herself in their tent.
Keith began to notice that she was still going through her training sessions with Jack and Nina. He wondered if over using her powers was causing her mental exhaustion as well as physical. He was concerned for her health and approached Madame Nina once again.
"I know we had already pulled her from the show, but don't you think putting a stop to her training periods would be a good idea too. I mean, over working her may very well be the reason why her nightmares are occurring so frequently."
"Very well. I respect you opinion Keith, but be warned. Continue meddling with our affairs with Lana and punishment will be your results."
"Punishment?"
"Move along."
He didn't understand what Madame Nina meant when she mentioned punishment. He wasn't sure if it was directed towards him or if she was threatening to pursue with a form of punishment towards Lana. Either one didn't make clear sense to him. He was just trying to help out a family member. This began to raise further questions he had of Madame Nina.
He wondered what she was hiding from the rest of the troupe alongside Jack. Looking back on it, he remembered when Lana had first been found. Madame Nina was one of the few who saw her wounds disappear. The day she had turned into her titan she immediately became excited. Something didn't feel right with Keith and he knew that Lana's powers had something to do with it. The feelings grew when he overheard the conversation she had with Caroline after Lana had collapsed during a strange event with the audience members. It was as if Madame Nina was becoming too involved with Lana's powers. He wondered why that was, and what made Lana so important to her that she would make that threat.
A couple days had gone by as Lana was fully taken out of any activities involving the circus. She was able to rest which allowed her to be able to get a goodnight's sleep. The nightmares began to decrease.
Nico and Nisha were very excited to be among the top tier performers. However, when it came for the day that they needed to perform, they realized that there was no costume laid out for them. The previous designer had left alongside many other members of the troupe months ago.
"What are we going to do?" Nico cried out.
"I don't know, I don't know!" Nisha replied.
"We can't go on stage without a costume."
"But we don't have a costume to wear."
"So what are we supposed to wear?"
"Do we borrow something?"
"Why not make something," Keith chimed in.
The two girls looked at Keith with bright eyes. It was enough to creep Keith out as he began to slowly back away from them. They were both excited with the idea that they jumped at Keith and thanked him for his help. Felix was present at the time and couldn't help but to laugh at the sight. It was well known that the girls were very excitable and any chance that they got they did not hesitate to show it. In this instance Keith had finally solved the problem that they were facing.
"Do you think we can make costumes in time?" Nisha asked her sister.
"I think we can."
"But can we though?"
"I mean, it's not like we don't know how to."
"But can we?"
"Oh you're right."
Keith bounced back and forth between them trying to make sense as to what they were trying to say. He was very confused as the twins talked to each other and was unable to piece together what was going on. It wasn't until Felix chimed in that things started to make more sense.
"If you're talking about needing materials, I'm sure we can go get some. I've seen you guys stitch stuff together before, so I'm sure you guys can quickly make something at least."
"Oh, now everything makes sense," Keith proclaimed.
"Actually Lana and I were going to head into town. If you guys want to give us a list of what you need, I'm sure we can pick something up for you."
"Wait you two are heading into town? By yourselves?" Keith asked alerted by the situation. He felt like it wasn't a good idea for the two of them to go out on their own. With Lana being in the condition that she was in, there was no telling what could happen. Felix had no combat training in any form. Keith was very uncomfortable with the idea of the two of them going out with no form of defense. "I'm going to go with you then."
"You won't need to," came Lana's voice from behind. "Nico, Nisha please hurry and give me the list of what you want."
The two girls sprung up and rushed to write down the list of supplies. Keith was bewildered by what was going on.
"You can't just go out into town by yourselves!"
"And why not?" she asked sternly.
"B…b…" he stammered to try and come up with something without hurting her feelings, "because of the Hunters and what not!"
"We'll be fine. Besides I feel more in control of myself, I think we can manage."
"And what if you can't, then what will you do?"
"Keith I've managed to make it out ok for this long. I think we'll be fine," she stated as she began to head out towards the direction the twins ran off in.
Felix felt awkward being in the middle of the situation. He didn't exactly want to stick around to hear Keith go on about how it was a bad idea. Felix quickly chased after Lana and cleared the scene as fast as he could. Keith was left alone with not much else to do. He knew that he couldn't argue with Lana. She was stubborn just as much as he was, but he wanted to have faith in her that she was going to be able to fend off for herself.
Keith leaves and meets with Lucas as he is once again prepping the meal for the evening. Keith didn't have much to say, he only sat in a chair and listened to Lucas as he was walking around the kitchen tent whistling a happy tune. Keith tried to pass the time by cleaning his glasses and knives. Finally the silence was broken by Keith.
"So Lana and Felix went out on their own."
Lucas faked jumped in reaction to Keith speaking, "Geez I didn't even know you were in here you were so quiet."
"Cut it out. Did you even hear what I had to say?"
"Yeah, Lana and Felix went out to town on their own."
"Doesn't that concern you even just a little bit?"
"Why would it?" Lucas asked stirring the pot of his famous stew.
"Well, with Lana's nightmares and everything, she has been kind of on edge lately. I'm just worried for her. She tends to freeze up before her instincts kick in. Plus Felix is with her and the kid is so young he's only ten and…"
"I'm going to stop you right there. Lana can handle herself. You heard what Nicholas said, she has the capability of kicking a full grown man's ass down to the ground. I do agree with you and say that she has been easily spooked, but she's changed. Just think about how long she was on her own before we even met her, she'll be fine. And Felix, well as long as the two of them stick together he'll be fine. Besides he is not that much older than you were when you were out and about on the streets."
"I know that, it's just that I'm still going to worry regardless."
"Easy now, don't let Nicholas hear you say that."
"Whatever, I'm over that anyways, he can have her."
"Really, is that so? I'm proud of you, you really have grown up these last few years."
"Besides I think I've grown attached to her like you. I treat you guys like family and if I was dating her then that would just be weird."
The two continued to talk with each other as people started gathering for lunch. Keith decided to finally get up from the chair and help dish out the specially made stew for the troupe. Everyone was eager to get their hands on Lucas' stew which had become a favorite among many of the troupe members.
Keith and Lucas had finally grabbed themselves a bowl and met up with Jack and Nicholas. Things had finally been cleared up between Nicholas and Keith. The two had stopped their arguing with one another and the fists were put down. Jack still wasn't much of a talker in the group, but was still pleasant to be around.
As they ate their meal, Keith decided to take up the opportunity that was right in front of him. Since Jack was usually with Madame Nina taking care of errands, he was sure that Jack would know something that she was hiding. Even if he was able to give them the smallest clue as to what might be going on. It would keep Keith's curiosity at bay.
"So tell me Jack, what is Madame Nina up to?" Keith asked.
Jack glared at Keith trying to see what he was trying to get at. "Nothing really, why do you ask?"
"Just wondering. I mean she has been out and about, there is no telling what could be going on. So is there anything we should know about?"
"Nothing, she is just trying to promote the show and find new people to bring in."
"Is that so?"
Keith thought to himself that there was more to the story than what Jack was letting on. He knew that Jack wasn't going to tell him anything so it wasn't worth it to try and force it out. Jack wasn't one to crack under pressure and Keith knew that. It was up to Keith to figure out on his own of the hidden secrets that may reside within the circus.
As everyone was enjoying their meals a loud shriek could be heard. Everyone at the table looked at each other alerted by the scream. No one said anything as everyone immediately sprung up from the table and ran to see what was going on.
They made their way to the entrance with a small crowd forming. Above everyone's heads was a cloud of steam as people stood around staring in shock.
"She didn't have a smooth shift," Jack shouted shoving past everyone.
Keith was quick behind him as they started hearing the small whimpering young woman. Kneeling on the ground surrounded by the steam was Lana covered in blood. Most of the blood that was on her was not of her own. In her arms was Felix. A severe cut went across his face as blood was pouring out of his eyes. His breathing was weak but was thankfully present. Nicholas was quick to grab Felix out of Lana's arms and ran towards the medical tent for Caroline to work on him. Meanwhile Jack helped Lana up from the ground. He pulled off his cloak and wrapped it around her.
"Are you alright?" he asked her.
She was shaking as the adrenaline had fully worn off, "I…tried to….but I couldn't…It just wasn't working. And then Felix…oh FELIX!"
"It's not your fault. You need to breathe and calm yourself down right now. Like before, just deep breaths."
Keith was interested in Jacks methods. He watched as Jack was trying to pull her out of her panicked state. His calming voice was hypnotic and could captivate anyone. She did nothing but listen to the sound of his voice as she began to slow down her breathing. Keith watched her as she focused on her surroundings the minute that Jack went quite. When she opened her eyes she was calm and focused as normal. The reality of what had happened was still present but she had full control over herself.
As Felix was getting help, everyone watched as people were running in and out of the tent. Caroline was doing all that she could to help Felix. No one was laughing, no one was smiling. Everyone was holding onto their breath as they were waiting for the results of his condition.
Lana sat before the tent with tears streaming down her face. The feeling of regret and guilt was overcoming her as she tried to keep herself together. Keith was with her trying to console her and make sure that she was going to be alright. The two waited patiently in the cold snow. He was worried for the young Felix. The little bright eyed boy who had so much hope inside him was now on the possible brink of death. The thought of Felix dying hurt Keith. He had grown deeply attached to his student and only wanted the best for him.
"What happened?" Keith asked quietly.
Lana looked over at him with her puffy red eyes. She wiped the tears that streamed from her face and sniffled a little.
"They found us. The Hunters and the Noble's men."
"Wait the men from the Noble's mansion?"
She nodded, "They teamed up together and went after us. I started to panic when they came after us. I couldn't think straight and transform, I was so worried about Felix. They cornered us and threw Felix aside. My arm was slashed really badly and they stabbed me in the stomach which prevented me from transforming. They knew that by slashing me I wouldn't transform."
"What do you mean? I didn't even know that was a thing to begin with."
"When training with Jack and Madame Nina, we learned that if I am bleeding a lot or just badly injured I can't transform. If the injury is healed to a certain point I can. Somehow these people knew that. When they attacked me I couldn't transform and Felix jumped right in front of them and…they attacked him. I was so scared. When I looked down at my arm I just wished it was healed so that I could change, and eventually I did and ran."
"You did all that you could," he replied holding onto Lana as she began to cry again.
It wasn't long before Caroline came out of the tent to find the two of them huddled together in the cold. She was shocked to see them as she was removing the bloody gloves from her hand.
"What are you two doing out here, you are going to catch a cold. Go to your tent and get some rest."
"How is he," Keith stood up.
Caroline hung her head down. "I've done all that I could. He will be fine, but the damage was severe. He will never see again. I just pray that this event doesn't change that boy's heart."
"I don't understand."
"Something like this is very traumatic on a person. Keith you of all people should understand that, Lana too. Now please, go to bed and stay warm. Let Felix rest for now. I will update everyone tomorrow."
They responded to the request and made their way back to the tent. Keith crawled underneath his covers and removed his glasses. As he gently placed them on the table he could hear the quiet crying of Lana just above him. He quietly listened to her wishing that he could do more, but in the end there wasn't anything else he could do. The remorse that she felt was something that he couldn't fix.
In the early morning, everyone gathered to hear what Caroline had to say. She waited for everyone outside of the medical tent to give the announcement.
"Felix will be alright, for the most part. He has suffered a lot of damage to his face resulting in his inability to see again. I'm doing all that I can to prevent infections of the wound. I ask that for now, everyone remains away from the tent unless it is for medical reasons. I want him to be able to get as much rest as he possibly can to heal. That is all I have to say."
She gave a nod towards everyone and walked back into the tent. Whispers could be heard as they all went their separate ways. Keith and Lana were the only two who remained at the tent. Keith looked over at her as she was very still. She didn't say a word and only wore a haunting stare.
"Come on Lana, there isn't anything we can do."
He grabbed her arm and began to guide her away from the tent. She didn't budge which prompted him to pull even more. She retaliated and yanked her arm from his grip in anger.
"THERE WAS! THERE WAS SOMETHING I COULD HAVE DONE! I COULD HAVE SHIFTED. I COULD HAVE SAVED HIM!"
"LANA THE MORE AND MORE YOU TALK LIKE THIS THE MORE YOU'RE GOING TO SPIRAL IN THIS NEVER ENDING SELF HATRED. IT WAS NOT YOUR FAULT. NONE OF THIS WAS YOUR FAULT!"
She stared at him and said nothing. Anger and sadness was all that Keith could see in her eyes. Without saying anything else, she ran past him. Keith knew that what he said hurt her but he felt that it needed to be said.
The days went on as Felix was getting better. Keith barely spoke to Lana after the outburst that the two of them shared. She kept to herself and re-read a lot of her books. When Caroline allowed people to enter the tent, Lana was in there as much as she possibly could. Keith watched her as she would tried her best to help Caroline.
Whenever Lana was away from the tent, Keith did the best that he could to try and make her happier. He organized the tent and cleaned it up the best that they could as their duration within the town was going to be a lot longer than expected. As Keith cleaned, he couldn't help but to flip through the books that Lana had. She had many books to read, most of them being fictional books that Madam Nina had given her. The others were all textbooks relevant to the history of Rhea and her people. Within those text books were scribbles of her notes all along the edges of the paper. There were additional notes that she had in relation to her notebook that she kept.
Seeing the notes within the texts and her own notebook, Keith decided to do something. He picked up his cloak and grabbed his small money pouch of his allowance. He quickly trekked through the snow by himself into the town. He wanted to be able to do something nice for Lana.
He made his way into the town in search of a store that would have the item he was looking for. When he approached the book store he asked the man inside if they had it. Thankfully his searched didn't last very long. Keith was able to purchase the item and make his way back.
He eagerly waited for Lana in the tent with the wrapped up gift. When she walked in, Keith was lying in his bed reading one of her books not making any eye contact with her.
"Hey," she said as she entered, "are you reading one of my books?"
Keith peered from over the edge of the book and lowered his glasses. "So."
"I didn't know that you liked reading."
"Learn something new every day I suppose."
She threw a shawl over her shoulders and climbed into her bed. As she reached the top of her bunk she noticed the gift that was wrapped up.
"Keith what's this?"
"Dunno."
He could hear her unwrapping the gift he had left her and couldn't help but keep a smile on his face. What he had given her was a large journal with a beautiful dark brown leather cover. He felt that it was good idea to have a journal of her own to keep track of her thoughts and dreams outside of her research.
"Thank you Keith."
The feelings he had was warm. He knew that the gift meant a lot to her. He couldn't help but to smile. The two of them were quiet for the rest of the evening as they decided to turn in for the night.