Months had gone by as the five of them grew closer to each other and yet farther apart at the same time. Keith was very suspicious of Jack's actions. Lucas agreed that there was something unsettling about him. Although Keith had trust in Jack, there was something about him that caused Keith to keep his distance from him. Nicholas and Keith were similar. On the surface he was caring and friendly with Keith, when no one was around it was spite towards each other. Even though they had made amends with one another, things would never really be the same between the two of them. Everyone got along with Lucas, there were no problems with him at all. He was the groups go to person for everything. Almost like a caregiver for everyone. Jack and Nicholas were work friends in a way. They were always around each other when they were tasked to do something. They got along well with each other and never seemed to have any issues. Lana was a different case. She began to shut people out. She engulfed herself into finding out the past of her people. She even went as far as to start asking the citizens of the various towns they went to. Although her obsession was something that pulled her apart from the others, it was also something that brought her closer to some. Her determination had inspired her to develop more skills to help her in the future.
Lana had been along Caroline's side during Felix's recovery learning everything she could about medicines and how to take care of various illnesses and injuries. Lucas had shown her how to properly prepare meals and how to build various things out of wood. She became heavily involved with sets and functions of all the mechanical equipment. All of them worked together and taught her how to hunt as they would travel. Keith trained her how to properly shoot a bow and felt that it was best for her to have a skill set such as this. The two of them would be the ones who would snatch their prey as the others skinned it and prepped it for consumption.
As the time went by, Felix had made a full recovery. In all sadness he had lost all signs of sight. This brought him into a spiral of depression. He tried to hold a smile, but everyone knew how much it hurt him to be unable to see anything. He inspired to be the next knife thrower of the circus but was uncertain that he would be able to do it. With Keith's confidence that Felix was capable of doing it blindfolded, it was enough to keep him training. Although to prevent a lack of injuries on all ends, he decided that it was best that he did not continue his practice of the knife throwing. Instead, Felix took it upon himself to learn how to sing. He picked up a couple of vocal books and asked the musicians to read them to him and help him differentiate between different notes.
With Keith no longer mentoring Felix, he had more time to spend doing other things. Instead, Keith spent his time working on his fitness. He wanted to make it his goal to become stronger and more nimble. Eventually his hard work would pay off a he grew stronger each day.
Sidonia Circus had finally reached the capital. This was the city where they had first met Lana and a few others in the troupe. Keith noticed how reluctant she was upon their arrival. She tried to conceal her face and remained very vigilant. After recent attacks of the clan members and the Noble's men through the years, she had begun to gain more cautious of her surroundings. She had no clue when they were going to strike and how cunning they would be. Keith worried for her but he knew that she was very well capable of handling things on her own. After the experience she had with Felix's injury she had practiced and trained harder than ever. However, with every confrontation with them she continued to freeze before her instincts kicked in. That was something she could never grow out of.
Once everything was set up for their duration of stay, Lana and Keith began unpacking their things. They were both quiet with one another and hadn't said anything to each other throughout the entire day. There was the underlying sense that something was wrong. They both could feel it after being reminded of their histories here within the capital. Although unknowing to most, this was the very city where Keith was born. The same city where he grew up in, and the same city that held onto his dark past.
The plan was for the circus to remain there for a year and take a break from touring for a while. Many who had homes and families returned to them for the time being. Others who called the Sidonia Circus their family remained. To keep the circus fed it was the duty of those who remained to earn money. They would often street perform within the town to support the circus. Others took up part time jobs at shops. A select handful were given the unforgiving task of thievery.
Lana kept to herself in her bunk and begun to open one of her books. Keith decided that for her sake he would search the town and scout the area. He too had become familiar with the patterns of the Crovus Clan and the Noble's men. It had become apparent to them that Lana was fully affiliated with the Sidonia Circus. However due to the number of people involved with the circus, they dared not approach the grounds they camped at. This gave everyone an area of safety and peace. It was only when they were out of the grounds on their own, where they became easy targets.
Keith made his way through the streets, trying his best to conceal himself by wearing a dark hooded cloak. He kept a watchful eye out for anyone who looked remotely like an enemy. So far, he couldn't see any of them in sight, but to him it meant nothing. All was well until his focus was broken. An older man in approached Keith forcing him to stop in his tracks. There was something about this man that seemed all too familiar to him.
"Are you Keith Aberdeen?"
"Who wants to know?
"I am Carl McGill." He went quiet for a moment and looked around to be sure that no one was listening. Keith became more intimidated by this man and prepared himself for the worst. "I am from the Crovus Clan."
It was at that moment that Keith's heart skipped a beat. He reached within his cloak and firmly grabbed a small short sword that he had concealed.
"Show me the mark boy."
"What?" Keith responded in confusion as he still held onto the hilt.
"The mark."
After realizing what the man was referring to he made sure that no eyes were watching them.
"You have to prove to me that you are Crovus," Keith stated holding on to the collar of his shirt.
"Very well," Carl replied. He lifted up the sleeve of his shirt and revealed a small symbol tattooed on his wrist. The symbol looked like a bird with its wings spread out its sides. In the middle of the bird's belly was an image of a crescent moon.
The man nodded towards Keith to do the same. He was concerned at first but respectfully obliged to the request. He gently pulled the cloak and collar of his shirt to reveal the bare skin of his shoulder. What was on it was the very same symbol that was given to him as the rite of passage of the clan. He was very young at the time, but old enough to learn the skill set passed on to him by their ancestors. The Crovus Clan was the clan of mercenaries to which he was a part of. The very same clan that struck fear within those of Sidonia Circus. All of these years he had concealed the mark on his shoulder in various ways. It was only known to Madame Nina and Neal when he was brought into the circus.
Carl McGill was a friend of Neal Sidonia and established the relationship between the Sidonia Circus and the Corvus Clan. Further relationships were established through the scientist that the Crovus Clan was associated with and a member of the Sidonia family. Deals were made between the two group that allowed them to work together to achieve one goal. However, the deals fell through after Neal Sidonia had passed and the Sidonia Circus had become targets of the Corvus Clan.
Keith was well aware of what the Crovus Clan was capable of. He remembered clan members talking about achieving the ultimate power. That was all they had ever wanted. Power to be able to become unstoppable forces just to get what they wanted. However, Keith was never really sure what the Crovus Clan wanted after they had achieved their power. He remembered hearing that they were going to become rulers of the land, or they were going to take down all nobility, or they were just going to abolish all laws and forces. In the end, they just wanted the strength to be able to do all of those things. There were a few who were against the idea. Those who tried to retaliate against their fellow clan members. Those who felt that all of it was wrong.
The man stared at Keith as they both concealed their brands. They were locked into each other's eyes without flinching a muscle.
"What do you want?" Keith asked the man.
"I wanted to present you with this." He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small box.
Keith opened the box to find a small pistol inside. The same emblem of the clan on the handle. As Keith examined the gun he began to feel more connected with it. It was almost as if he had seen it before.
"This gun, why give it to me?"
"Because it was your fathers."
With a great deal of surprise, Keith stared at the man. He stared at his grey eyes as they were gazing right back at his. It was at that moment that Keith remembered who the man was. Carl was the man who his father was closest to in the clan. When his parents were on mission without him, he was with Carl. He remembered that he was with Carl on that very day that he found out his parents were to be executed. The pain swelled up inside of him at the reminder of what he had lost as Carl continued.
"Your father and I were good friends, way back in the day. I remember the day he announced that he was going to be a father just as well as I remember the day that his head rested on that block. I made a promise to him the day of his execution that I would one day present this to you. The world is a scary place, especially for people like you."
"Like me?" Keith questioned closing the box.
"You are aware of your incredible abilities, are you not?"
"No, I am fully aware. Mother and father instructed me well on them. I just made a promise to myself."
"A promise?"
"My parents died that way for what they are, for what I am. It was because of that, which made the others hate us. I remember that day when they were first found out. I was so scared at what the others would do. When their execution happened, I vowed to myself to never use my abilities again."
"I don't understand then."
"Answer me this, if you know very well what I am capable of, why did you not send me on the block with them?"
"Because you my boy are the start of something new. I did all that I could to protect you from the others."
"Then what the hell is going on?"
"They believe that you are dead. That was the agreement that I had made with your parents."
Keith's eyes went wide, "Then why have the clan been trying to kill us at the circus!"
"Neal Sidonia had made a deal with the Crovus Clan long ago. He was the only person with the ability to take care of business outside for us. However, the deal was broken after he refused to give us information. His untimely death and Nina Sidonia's lack of cooperation settled the severed bound we shared."
The answer to Keith's question was only leaving him with more questions. He wanted to find out more about what was going on, but knew that he couldn't stay there much longer. He remembered those who had tried to help him long ago, but his rage for the clan was too immense no matter who the clan member was.
"Thank you Mr. McGill but I must leave. Please in your best conscience do not ever try to contact me again. Let this be a word to any other member of the Crovus Clan. I do not forget what they did to my family and if any of you come near me again I will not hesitate to kill you with the gifts my parents bestowed upon me. They may think of me as dead, but I am alive and well. I am an Aberdeen and don't ever forget that."
Keith pushed passed the assassin and continued his way through the streets. His blood was boiling at the sight of a Crovus Clan member. Let alone a clan member he respected as an uncle.
The Crovus Clan are also known as the Raven's in the Night. They hid within the shadows to proceed with the various jobs that were given to them. They were often hired by rich families to take out the competition. Some clan members were caught and executed. The traditional execution was by guillotine or by the chopping block.
Keith and his parents were unique among their clan members. They originally were not a part of the original clan lineage. His mother and father were taken in by the clan after being on their own for many years doing odd jobs. Thanks to the help of Carl McGill, they were able to become clan members. The clan welcomed them with open arms and taught them the ways. They were branded with the symbol of the clan as they became permanent members and received work.
As the years past, the two became feared. Their abilities were unique and unlike anything that some had seen before, a form of natural talent. The two of them were a force to be reckoned with. It wasn't until one fateful day that their entire world would come crashing down.
On one of their missions, Keith and his parents were going about a standard heist with a few other clan members. It was their job to break into the castle and steal some items that were requested by some doctor. During the mission, their family's deepest secret was revealed. It was at that moment that Keith's parents knew that they were no longer able to stay within the Crovus Clan. However, with the clan being as strong as they were there were no means of escape. They brought Keith to Carl as others who were allies tried to help them devise up a plan to avoid capture from those who threatened them.
In the end Keith's parents were captured by the Knights of the Royal Army. They were sentenced to death for various crimes that they had committed. Keith remembered the day that Carl had received the word of their execution. Keith blamed those who had betrayed his parents. He ran to the main headquarters in search of some answers and to take his revenge. He wanted to know why they would cast his family aside so quickly. What made them change their minds about them? In his rage, the young child had managed to kill the five men who were there and received no answers. Carl had reached the scene to find Keith covered in blood and tears sitting on top of one of the bodies.
On the day of his parent's execution they called out to Keith who was in the crowd all on his own. They were unware of him being there but believed that he was still alive.
"We would fight but it would risk your safety and I can't have that happening," His father called out.
"Always know that we love you!" his mother shouted.
Those words stuck with Keith for the rest of his life. He remembers hearing the blade come down and going through their necks. He never believed it to be possible, but right before him was the death of his parents. Since that day he bore the mark on his skin of the very traitors that he once considered a part of his family. He hated those who had turned their backs to them and resented those who did nothing to stop everything from happening.
As Keith was back at the tent he tucked the box underneath his bed. Lana was still reading her book as Keith had jumped into his bed. It was as if she hadn't even moved since he had left. He didn't think much of it and let the silence consume him. He was left alone with his thoughts as he reflected on the day his parents died and the words that Carl had told him. It was because of his clan that ended up in the death of his parents. His parents had done nothing wrong, or so he assumed. He was so young and didn't know much that was going on around him. It was because of his clan that they were constantly fighting for their lives within the circus. The more he thought about the less answers he was able to come up with.
As he thought more and more about it, he tried to keep the past the past. It wasn't all of the clan members that were against them, and yet he couldn't remember who they were. It was a well-known rule of the clan to keep your mark concealed at all times to protect yourself and the clan, but when a job was at hand you would wear the cloak and take your aim at your target. The clan was always the one to come first regardless of the situation. When those who were against the ideologies of the clan were discovered, they were removed and dealt with.
A few days had gone by as Keith was examining the pistol alone in the tent. He hadn't told anyone about it, nor did he inform anyone about the conversation he had. Keith's past was somewhat of a mystery to others. It was one he didn't really want to talk about. All that the others knew was that Keith was born and trained under two assassins. That was all that he had revealed to the others.
He wondered what Neal was doing for the Corvus Clan. He remembered hearing about Neal a long time ago, but at the time he was just a name. Never before had he heard of an outsider doing work for the clan. He knew of their affiliation with underground sources, but never thought that the extent of their reach was beyond. He wondered if the oversea trips that Neal was doing was in fact tasks given to him by the Crovus Clan. The more he thought about it the more he had realized how oblivious he was.
"The letters. He was always writing letters. They must have had some sort of information on them from Marley. But what information. Could it be that the final letter wasn't given to them? Maybe it's the fact that Lana is involved?"
Lana walked into the room completely surprising Keith. He nearly threw the pistol in sight of her. He quickly covered the pistol with a blanket and nervously looked over at Lana. He tried to play it off like nothing happened.
"Why do you have a gun?" she asked calmly.
"What gun?" he replied trying to play off that he had nothing.
"The gun that was in your hand. Don't lie to me I saw it with my own eyes."
"I didn't have a gun!"
She glared at him before leaping towards the blankets. She reached for the gun before he was able to grab it from her. She pulled it out and held it up in the air examining it.
"See, I knew I saw a gun, now why do you have one?"
"It's my father's now give it back."
She handed it back to him without any further questions. Once returned he placed it in the box and slid it underneath the bed.
"Why are you trying to hide it from everyone?"
"Because it's an assassin's gun."
"That's right, I forget about your family. Sorry, I was only curious."
"Its fine," he shook it off.
"You never really told me much about what it was like." He looked over at her confused. "You know, what it was like to be an assassin."
"I never really was an assassin, but I was still trained as one when I was very young."
"So you learned how to be stealthy and fight and what not."
"I learned how to be quick, quiet, and unseen."
"Loud mouth Keith quiet?"
"Hey I can be quiet!" he shouted.
"Then prove it to me. Prove that you are such a great assassin."
"Like you think you're better?"
The two decided to set up a challenge. With Lana's skills she had to learn on the spot being on the run versus Keith's trained sills. It was a challenge to see who would be the stealthiest. Keith decided to use Madame Nina as the target. It was their job to follow her as she did her errands and tag her. The first one to approach her without being noticed would win. It was also Keith's goal to see if there was anything that he could pick up that would give him any clue as to what was going on.
The two eagerly awaited as Madame Nina made her way out of the grounds. They walked side by side at first as they entered the city. The minute that they set foot within the main road, Keith took off. He ran into an alley way. Lana was confused by his action but knew that he had a specific method of doing things.
He quickly ran behind the alleys and concealed himself within the shadows. He didn't want to be seen by anyone let alone Lana. He knew that if she was watching him, then she would know his approach. He quickly continued through the back alley ways and predicted Madame Nina's movements.
He continued to follow her losing sight of Lana completely. When she was out in the open with no one around, he knew that it was his time to strike. He silently approached her making sure that his steps didn't make any sort of sound. He checked his surroundings and couldn't see Lana. He felt that she may have lost track of the target and gotten lost somewhere. It was at that moment that he knew that he had won.
As he was about to grab Madame Nina's arm he was caught by a surprise. She spun around and swung a small dagger up to his throat. The end of the dagger gently pierced the surface of his skin allowing a small trickle of blood to form. He displayed his hands up by his shoulders as a sign of defencelessness. The look on Madame Nina's face was not of surprise but of anger.
"I knew one of them was following me, but I never thought that it would be you. What are you doing here? Going back to your filthy clan?" she barked at him.
"I was only playing a game."
Lana jumped down from a rooftop and grabbed a hold of Madame Nina's arm.
"I won, I won!" she yelled.
"A game! By all means my child," she said with delight at the sight of Lana.
It was almost as if her personality completely flipped. Her interaction with Keith was the complete opposite with Lana. She hugged her and glared at Keith over Lana's shoulder. This struck him with deep concern for never before had Madame Nina treated him this way. Lucas, Nicholas, and Jack showed up.
"Hey guys, we were going to go get some cookies at the bakery for the younger guys. Do you want to come with?' Lucas asked.
"YEAH!" Lana cried out in excitement.
"Actually, I have some business to take care of with you my dear. Come along, you will have to go another time."
She grabbed Lana's arm and guided her away from the group. She peered over her shoulder making a pathetic pouty face as the others giggles and shrugged. Keith joined them as they had started to walk to the bakers. He glanced back with a hint of worry. The longer things went on the more the feeling of uneasiness grew.
They had gotten their cookies and were enjoying a couple themselves as they had begun to make their way back to the grounds. It was almost dinner time as the young men ate their treats with no concern for their appetites. As they walked towards the grounds Keith noticed something out of the corner of his eye.
After the encounter with Carl, he had become more aware of the citizens within the city. There was no telling how many other clan members were present. He held his cookie in his mouth and pulled Lucas and Nicholas in behind a building. Jack followed and hid with them as all of them were wondering what was going on. Keith peered around the corner and began to see that there were more than just one clan member within the city.
"What was that for?" Nicholas asked.
"Shhh, Crovus Clan."
"What here?" Lucas whispered quietly.
Everyone had become alert.
"We need to find out how many are here," Keith suggested. "There is no telling how many are present. The more there are, the higher the risk for us."
"I agree," Nicholas replied.
Nicholas and Lucas volunteered to follow at a distance in plain sight. Jack took to the ground to conceal himself and followed as close as they could get. Keith was up high on the roofs. He took the approach so that he could help give directions to the others if necessary. He would be able to see if there were any further enemies nearby and give out a warning call.
They group followed a small group of cloaked clan members until they reached a tavern. They walked in, now being of legal age, and watched as they were brought through a doorway. The door appeared to lead to a staircase. What was below was completely unknown as the door was shut and guarded by a tavern.
"Great, what do we do now? There is no way we could get down there?" Lucas proclaimed.
Keith sighed and thought about it for a minute. "Yes we do."
"You have an idea?" Nicholas asked.
"I do, but it may not work. I'm not sure. If it does, then only I can do it."
"Woah, how come you get to do it and not any of us?" Jack asked.
"Because, just leave it alright," Keith replied angrily.
"Just go through with it. I trust you. Don't get hurt," Nicholas stated.
Keith was slightly confused by Nicholas' behaviour but thought that it was nice for a change. "Thank you."
Keith left the table they were at and began to make his way to the guarded door. He pulled the black cloak off of Jack and threw it over his shoulders. With the hood up he concealed his face. As he approached, he was greeted by the larger gentleman who stood before the door.
"I'd like to go through," he sternly said to the guard.
"Oh yeah, get lost pipsqueak."
"You really don't want to be doing that. I have business here."
The guard leaned in close, "Get…Lost."
"Don't make yourself regret not letting me in," Keith replied as he grabbed the collar of his shirt. He pulled down to show the guard the emblem on his shoulder. "Now let me in."
The look on the man's face was of pure horror. It was proven that the Crovus Clan was still a force that pierced the hearts of many civilians. They were an assassin group that were well known to those who were a part of the underworld. Clearly the man was familiar with the regulations that went on within the underworld behind the knights' back.
The man eagerly opened the door to allow Keith in. As he walked down the stair case, he adjusted the cloak to be sure that his face wasn't showing. He wanted to ensure that people wouldn't identify him in any way or form.
Back at the table, the others were in shock at the sight of Keith walking through the doorway. The guard was very timid and refused to turn his back towards Keith. He stepped to the side of the doorway once it was shut and leaned his back up against the wall. He was very timid and it was apparent to the others that he appeared to be afraid of Keith. They had no clue that he was affiliated with the Crovus Clan and therefore did not know of the mark on his shoulder. To see the guard acting this way was quite odd to the others.
Keith walked into a room that was filled with many men and women. There was not much room for movement as crates and barrels also filled the room. Whatever was going on here was not a good sign. Everyone wore masks that concealed their identities in some way or form. Keith kept to himself in the back of the room near the staircase. He ensured that he would only listen and not get himself involved in the meeting that was taking place.
A tall lanky man stood up high on a box and addressed the group of people before him.
"Ladies and Gentlemen the time has finally come. It is time to take up arms and go after what is rightfully ours. Enough deals have been made already, it is our time. The Sidonia Circus has made a permanent camp here for the year. She is finally back within our grasps. With our numbers we can be sure that this time we can have her. No more must we wait and be defeated by the rats. Let us be victorious!" He called out.
The crowd began to cheer as Keith listened.
"You may all remember the deal that Neal Sidonia had made with us all of those years ago. Bring us information on titan serums and we will provide you with jobs to pay for the circus. Well that deal was broken the minute that one them stepped foot in the circus. He refused to surrender her to us and therefore refused to give us any more information. For years we spent going after her. We will claim what is rightfully ours. The Crovus Clan will be victorious, we will be strong, we will be feared, and we will fight!"
He was horrified at the sound of what was going to happen. The leader of the group had devised up a plan to attack the circus late tomorrow night. They would kill all who got in the way and take Lana. The connections were all made clear. Neal Sidonia was travelling to Marley to obtain information on a titan serum. He was unsure of what this serum was, but had heard of a rumor of super soldiers roaming the lands of their country giving them a strong military. He believed that this may have a connection to the Sidonia Circus and the Crovus Clan. With the information of this serum, there was no telling what types of strengths that the Crovus Clan would have. They would be unbeatable, more so than what they already were. It was anarchy that had filled the room. Keith feared that they were after Lana as a source of her powers.
He knew that the Crovus Clan hungered for more and more power. If the Crovus Clan were to overthrow the king, then pure chaos would spring forth. This concept angered Keith as the meeting had ended. As the crowd had begun to make their way towards the stairs, he darted up them and quickly made his way to the table.
He told them everything that he had heard. The news came to them as quite the shock. Nicholas immediately suggested to tell Madame Nina everything. Although Keith was reluctant to do so, believing that she had something to do with all of this. Lucas agreed with Nicholas and Jack didn't have much to say as per usual. He wanted to have everything cleared up.
They all made their way back to the grounds and begun to search for Madame Nina. Once they found her in her tent Keith began to question what was going on.
"Nina, what is a titan serum?" Keith asked.
Shock came over her face.
"Heaven's I don't know what you are talking about."
"Cut the crap, we know about the information that Neal was giving the Crovus Clan."
Irritation came over her face, "Very well. The titan serum was believed to be a concept to give a person extraordinary powers. There was word in the Underworld that a certain empire had nearly perfected the serum. Our kingdom wanted that information, however we were not prepared to go out into a full on war with an unknown force. A deal was made with the Crovus Clan to set out and get this information due to their history. However, they felt that it was too dangerous even for them. That was when Neal came to them and agreed to take on the risky information. When Lana arrived into our family, we become devoted to protect her. Neal turned his attention more towards her than to his own mission. As a result, the Crovus Clan wanted to take her away."
"But that doesn't explain why they were after her before she came to the circus," Nicholas proclaimed.
"Simple enough, the Corvus Clan heard of her powers. They wanted to take her powers for themselves. When she came into the circus she fell under our protection that they did not want to cross."
As pieces of the story were starting to make sense, Keith began to feel more relieved of her intentions. Madame Nina was only trying to protect Lana from being caught by the Crovus Clan. She very well knew that they were going to use Lana.
Hey began to inform her of the plan that was set in place. She looked angry once she had heard the plan. She stood up from her stool and broke the makeup tool that was in her hand.
"This simply won't do. Boys we need to put a stop to this."
"But how, we don't exactly have the fire power to stop them. I mean there is us four but we can only do so much," Nicholas replied.
Keith thought on it as he panicked trying to come up with something to say.
"What if someone gets to her before them," Nina suggested.
"But who?" Lucas asked. "The only other people who are after her are the Noble's men and they practically have teamed up with the clan."
"Yes, but think about this. We are in the Capital. What else is crawling around the Capital?"
"Soldiers," Keith said quietly.
"Precisely. What if we manage to get her arrested. The news of her arrest will reach them and the attack won't happen because she won't be with us. She will be in jail until we pay her fine."
"Ok but what could she do that would get her arrested, let alone caught?" Nicholas asked.
Madame Nina told them of a plan that she had. She decided to use Lana's desire and determination against her in the form of trickery. She knew of the archives that were within the castle that contained many books. If she told Lana of a book that may have a key to what may have happened to her parents, then it may cause her to want to get her hands on it. If she does go for the book then Madame Nina would alert the knights and she would be arrested.
The plan was settled and it was decided that Madame Nina would take the lead. She approached her in the tent and told her of the book and the archives. She left her and joined the others as they eagerly awaited for Lana to take off. They all believed that she would do it just because of her personal drive and goals.
It wasn't long after dark before Keith heard the creaking of Lana's bed. She was slowly getting out trying hard to not wake up Keith. Little to her knowledge he was wide awake the entire time waiting for her to leave. When she left the tent and headed out towards the entrance, Keith immediately knew what he had to do. He gave it some time for her to get some distance and enter the archives.
He waited for a good while before leaving the tent. As he made his way through the town he peered up into the starry sky. It was a clear night in the quiet streets of the Capital. The silence was broken by the shuffling of the uniforms of the knights. It was finally time for his part in the plan.
He quickly approached one of the knights.
"Excuse me sir, I'd like to report a traitor."
"A traitor you say?"
"Yes, one of our own has been behaving rather strangely. I think she might want to start a rebellion. Rumor has it she may be a renegade after some information of the kingdom's history that may take the King down."
"Are you serious?"
"Very much so. In fact I remember overhearing her talking to someone. She said she was going to break in to the archives tonight to see if she could find anything that may enable her to over throw the current king?"
The two knights looked at each other and hastily made their way back to the castle.
"Sorry Lana, this is for everyone's safety as well as yours," Keith whispered under his breath.
He made his way back to the grounds and settled himself back into the bed. He had no sense of regret at all and knew that things would be fine. He followed through with the plan that Madame Nina had given him. She felt that calling her a traitor of the king was a sure fire thing to get them to go after her. Breaking into the archives was nothing really urgent to them as the archives contained nothing but old books. However, defiling the king was a different matter entirely.
The following morning, Keith was woken up to angry yelling. He quickly got out of bed and ran out of the tent. He tripped partway out of the tent smashing his face into the dirt below. Realizing he didn't grab his glasses he stumbled back inside and put them back on. He quickly responded back towards the yelling that was close by.
A crowd had formed, with Madame Nina on top of a crate trying to calm everyone down. She was struggling to speak over top of the yelling. Lucas was near the back not participating as part of the crowd.
"What's going on?"
"It's about time you got your ass out of bed!" Lucas shouted. "While you were casually sleeping, we all found out that Lana is going to be executed! What on earth did you do?"
"I only did what I was told" Keith shouted back. It then clued in what Lucas had just said. "Wait, Lana's going to be executed?"
"They claim that she was a traitor of the king who broke into the archives. Two acts are high crimes therefore resulting in a sentence of an execution."
"I didn't mean too, I didn't think that this was going to happen."
"QUIET!" came the loud voice of Nicholas.
"Thank you. Everyone calm down. Yes I am fully aware of what is going on with Lana right now. To answer your questions, no she is not a traitor, yes she is sentenced to death, and yes she broke into the archives. We were only trying to trick her into getting arrested for the sake of the circus. We were going to get attacked tonight if we didn't do something about it. Believe me when I tell you, things are going to be ok. A few of us have been asked to go to the court house to testify to confirm her sentence. Lana is a capable woman, she'll get herself out of this situation. Right now I want everyone to pack up their things. We are going to get ready to move to a different site. I have complete faith in our girl that she will get herself out of that jail. When that happens we have to share the burden of protecting her from those in the underworld and those of the law. Even if it means sacrificing our circus." Madame Nina declared.
The crowd was filled with whispers as everyone came to an agreement. They ran to start packing up their things and get ready for their move to the town over.
Meanwhile, Keith, Jack, Nicholas, Lucas, Madame Nina, and Caroline were all brought to the trial. They all agreed to declare her as a traitor hoping that she would break herself out of the prison cell. It was their plan to pick her up the following morning on the day of her execution and rescue her from any of the knights that would be looking for her.
As they entered the main hall of the trial, the whispers of the citizens could be heard. They were wearing their clothing that they wore as performers of the circus. Keith felt very uncomfortable in the situation that they were in. He was the least calm out of everyone in the group. Madame Nina wore a stern look to her face equal to that of Jack's. Nicholas showed minimal signs of nervousness as Lucas was the most calm out of all of them.
Once they had approached the stand the trial was set to begin. The doors flew wide open as knights dragged Lana into the room. Her arms were bound behind her back as a gag was placed over her mouth preventing her from pleading her case. Chains were around her ankles which would be chained to a stand before the judge. Once locked into place, the room fell silent as the judge came forward.
Keith gazed into Lana's eyes as she was bewildered as to what was going on. He couldn't bear to watch her during the ordeal. The fear that was placed within her eyes caused him to look away every time that they made eye contact.
The trial went on as a knight declared the accusations against Lana. Once read, the judge looked towards those in questions for a referral.
"Is what was being said true?"
"Your honor, I can tell you that everything declared before us is the truth," Madame Nina said.
"Yes your honor, I can be certain of that," came the warm voice of Caroline.
"What do you have to say about this boy?" the judge gestured to Nicholas.
"Although she is a dear friend of mine, I can tell you that she is a traitor to our beloved kingdom."
"I agree with my brother in arms here. She is nothing but trouble," Jack proclaimed.
"What do you have to say about your brethren before us?" the judge looked at Lucas.
"It pains me to admit it but I have always seen something within her. I do believe that she is a traitor to the king."
As the testimonies were being said Lana was hurt and angered. She was scared and in pain. She was frantically trying to use her words to defend herself, in her head asking why all of this was happening. She looked over at Keith, the last resort, for some sort of sign of reassurance. Tears were streaming down her face as she was looking at her last hope.
"What about you there, what do you have to say?"
Keith looked at Lana and felt a piercing pain in his heart. He wanted to tell the truth badly, but knew of the consequences that followed.
"Lana Sidonia…is…" he began to panic a little. He could feel the little bit of sweat forming on top of his head. His eyes darting around the room looking for something to calm himself down, but in the end he was brought back to Lana. "She is a traitor," he stated veering his eyes away from her.
As he looked away he closed his eyes and listened to the muffled screams. He bawled his hands into fists and clenched his teeth trying to not let the screaming bother him as much as it was.
"With that being said, I declare this girl to be executed in the morning. No further questions."
With that being said the knights unlocked Lana from the stand and began dragging her back to her jail cell. Keith looked back to see her struggling and screaming. The gag had fallen out of her mouth allowing her to call back.
"YOU MONSTERS! I AM INNOCENT! I AM NOT A TRAITOR! I HATE YOU ALL!" she screamed at them.
Keith was heartbroken. They walked back with solemn expressions from what they had gone through. Nobody dared to ask them anything in regards to the trial. Keith went over to the wagon that had his and Lana's stuff in it. He pulled out a bag of her things. In it was her rapier, the journal he had given her, and a few other items. He placed it up against a rock hoping that Lana would be able to hold off on her own with the items that were in it. He draped a cloak over top of it so that she would have something to help keep her warm.
Once everyone was packed up and ready to go, the entire troupe set off to a safer area. Here is where they would set up a camp, while a select few people went back to retrieve Lana. The night was gruesome as the hanging cloud was over everyone's heads. The sickening feeling of regret was heavy on all of them as they sat around the roaring fire. No one said anything to each other as they awaited for dawn to come.
It wasn't an easy sleep if one were lucky to get any sleep at all. Most people were wide awake hoping for Lana's safety. Keith was one of those people. He kept thinking about all of the possibilities. They were racing around his head causing him to be wide awake in his anxiety.
When the first signs of sunlight had appeared, Keith was one of the first to be up and ready to go. Nicholas, Jack, and Lucas were also up and ready. It was their job to set out back into the city in search for Lana. Everyone was nervous and anxious to find their friend. Each one of them wore a hood to conceal themselves from the guards.
Their first stop was to where their grounds were originally set up. When they arrived, the sun had fully risen. Keith searched around the area with the others. He ran to the area where their tent was set up and the bag was placed. He found that the bag had gone missing. He was relieved knowing that she had gotten out, but began to think the worst. He started to think of the idea of someone stealing the bag. He thought this way until Lucas found tracks. The tracks were small enough and resembled that of Lana's boots. This put a sense of relief on everyone. They followed them back into the town.
Once into the town, they had lost sight of all tracks. The four of them split up in search of her. Word had gotten out quickly of her escape. The city was crawling with knights asking citizens of her location. Jack had received word from a fisherman that one of the boats along the dock had gone missing. This was reported to the knights and was going to be brought under further investigation.
Everyone regrouped to state what each other had found.
"There was the report of the missing boat from the dock," Jack stated.
"You don't think she took it and left do you?" Lucas asked.
"She has done some ridiculous things in the past, there is no telling what she would do," Nicholas replied.
Keith started to lose all hope. "There is no way we could go after her. We don't even know if she would have made it out there anyways. She doesn't know how to sail."
"We have to go after her no matter what," Nicholas replied.
"What's the point Nick? You saw how she reacted in there. There is no way she will be willing to come back to us now!"
"So you are telling me to give up on her?"
Keith thought hard on the matter, "Yes I am. You all saw the way that she looked at us in there."
"Keith is right. There is no way that girl is going to come home after what we did to her," Lucas replied.
"DO YOU GUYS HEAR YOURSELVES? THIS IS LANA WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HERE! Jack help me out on this."
"I agree with them. If I were in her shoes I'd be doing the same."
Nicholas stormed away from them as the rest of them quickly followed after him.
Months had gone by as everyone was trying ease themselves. Nicholas had taken it upon himself and travelled alone to Marley as a few others traveled elsewhere. There he had received no information of Lana's whereabouts. Upon his return everyone had come to the conclusion that after what she had gone through and what they had involved themselves in, then there was a clear sign that she would never return. However, in Nicholas' case it was a different story. He hadn't lost hope that she would come back. Keith was hurt at the thought of himself losing someone who was like a sister. On the other hand, he had learned that there was a different connection between Nicholas and Lana than he had originally thought. The two were closer to each other than they had previously shown with the others.
Nicholas' pain drove him to pull everyone together. Through his efforts he had managed to convince everyone to set out after her to a land called Paradis as their last resort. He was convinced that she must have landed in the unknown island. Keith and the others thought that he was crazy, but there was a small part of him that wanted to believe it.
Madame Nina had agreed to Nicholas' request. Those who were willing to join them on their journey were welcomed to do so. Those who stayed behind were removed from the Sidonia Circus and had begun to set off on their own journey. Keith and the others were very reluctant to join. They felt that Nicholas' drive was what was causing him to lose sight on everything else. Everyone was trying to move on but Nicholas wasn't. Keith and the others didn't have anywhere to go themselves and therefore agreed to join Madame Nina on the journey. There were a few others who were wanting to join such as the twins and Felix. Caroline remained by Madame Nina's side claiming that they needed someone with medical knowledge to help them go through the uncharted island.
With the remainder of the funds that they had, they split off from the rest of the group and set forth to the docks. They purchased a vessel large enough for all of them and had prepared to head out on their journey to Paradis.
Prior to their departure, Keith had gone through the remainder of Lana's things. Among them was a book with a few maps in it. They were maps with labeling of surrounding lands that people had ventured long ago. One continent was closer to them than others. This was Paradis. Keith continued to read through these books and the notes that Lana had left behind. He was able to learn many new things that he himself had no clue existed.
The journey was a long and bumpy one. They managed to travel through powerful storms. A couple of lives were lost along the way, but in the end they reached the island. This place was unknown to them. It didn't take them too long to reach the island but it was a journey that they would never forget.