Chapter 3

"Sorry to keep you waiting, M'Lady." Felicita looked up at the sound of Luca's voice.

"Oh, Luca! There you are. I was wondering where you—" She stopped mid-sentence. "Who is this?"

"This is Allegra. Her presence was requested by your father" Luca said tightly. "Allegra, this is Felicita: next in line as head of the Arcana Famigilia." The petite woman quickly bowed.

"It's an honor to make your acquaintance" she said, straightening with a warm smile.

Felicita smiled back. "It's a pleasure meeting you as well." Turning to Luca, she asked, "Why does Papa need to see her?"

Luca shook his head. "I'm not at privilege to say."

"Oh, I see. I understand." She turned to Allegra. "Would you care to join me for tea?"

"Oh dear, I couldn't" Allegra quickly responded, eyes widening. "I don't want to intrude."

Felicita giggled. "You're not intruding; I invited you!" She gestured to the seat across from her. "Please, join me."

Allegra dipped her head slightly. "Thank you. It's an honor." Luca watched the interaction between the two with barely-concealed displeasure. He poured the tea and courteously listened as the two girls talked, though it took all of his self-control to keep from snapping at the new arrival.

"I'm so sorry about your father" Felicita said after Allegra had recounted her family story. "But it's good to hear that your mother survived."

Allegra seemed to be hiding something, but nodded in response. "Yes. I was so worried she'd die, but it truly was," she bit her lower lip, "a miracle indeed."

"That was quite the story." The three turned to see Jolly standing in the door, his shoulder leaning casually against the doorframe.

"You!" Allegra shot to her feet. "What are you doing here?" Jolly smirked and adjusted his sunglasses.

"The two of you know each other?" Felicita asked, titling her head curiously.

"We've met" Allegra responded through clenched teeth, her eyes never leaving Jolly's smug face.

"M'Lady." Jolly courteously dipped his head in greeting. "Papa is ready to speak with you." The fire in Allegra's eyes immediately flickered and went out as her skin went from pinkish pale to ashen gray.

"Now?"

Jolly nodded. "Yes, now." He raised a meaningful eyebrow. "Shall we go?" Allegra's back stiffened, and she brushed at the skirt of her plain, light blue dress.

"Yes." She followed him out of the tea room, leaving behind a confused Felicita and a relieved Luca. Allegra watched her guide as they walked, observing his every move and doing her best to read him. She didn't know who he was, but she now knew for sure that he was a part of the Arcana Famigilia, she remember that he had said his name was Jolly. He was wearing the same type of fine-tailored suit as her three escorts had, and she had been surprised to find that the girl name Felicita was also clad in stiff, suit-like garb. She couldn't help but feel threatened in such a formal environment and around such professional-looking people.

"This way." Jolly's voice was a smooth, lazy drawl, giving him the air of someone who wasn't at all worried about his surroundings. In fact, he sounded rather relaxed and bored. He stopped in front of a door and knocked.

"Come in" came the muffled response. A chill ran up Allegra's back at the deep rumble of the voice. Her guide opened the door and stepped back, allowing her first entry. She stepped into what appeared to be a large office, and her heart stopped at the sight in front of her. Sitting at a large, mahogany desk was a large, muscular man with red hair matching Felicita's. He smiled and leaned back in his chair as their eyes met.

"Miss Allegra, welcome to the Arcana Famigilia headquarters" he said. "Please, take a seat." He gestured to the two plush chairs in front of his desk. She nodded and did as she was told, feeling much more intimidated than she felt comfortable admitting. She was too scared to even ask how he knew her name. Jolly closed the door, then took the empty chair next to her.

"Jolly here told me that you have a secret" the large man across from her said, smiling. Allegra shot Jolly a glare, then turned back to man in charge.

"I don't know what would lead him to believe that, Sir" she said coolly, fidgeting with her fingers in her lap.

"Please, call me Mondo."

"Ah, yes. Then please just call me Allegra." She took a deep breath. "Anyway – Mondo – if you'll forgive me, I don't know why I was brought here and would like an explanation." Her irritation and confusion was fueling her boldness as she met the red-headed man's eyes. Mondo took one, good long look at her, then chuckled.

"As you wish" he acquiesced. His countenance became serious. "Allegra, we as the Arcana Famigilia are over Regalo's security. That is a known fact among the town. However, what is not known widely is that select members of the Arcana have made contracts with various Tar Rocco cards." Allegra's eyes widened, and Mondo nodded in response to her unspoken question.

"Yes, it really is possible. Those of us who have made contracts each have a corresponding stigmata located somewhere on their body." He looked into her eyes and held her gaze. "I – myself – have made a contract with the twenty-first card, The World."

"Why— Why are you telling me this?" Allegra asked, the fire gone out of her words. Her voice trembled slightly, and Mondo could read the fear in her voice. He turned to Jolly and nodded.

"M'Lady, while you were at the Duello, I spotted you in the audience and caught sight of your wrist. We have reason to believe you are host to a Tar Rocco card." Allegra stared at him in shock, and opened her mouth to launch a question at him. Jolly held up a hand to silence her. "After listening to you recount the story of your mother's illness," he continued, "I can't help but feel as if there's a piece missing. Would you mind recounting the full, unabridged story to myself and Papa? I wouldn't mind hearing it again."

Allegra looked between these two men who were practically strangers to her, debating the wisdom in divulging her deepest-hidden secret to them. After what seemed like several minutes of silence, she closed her eyes nodded in ascent. "Fine, I'll tell."

She began by telling them of her father's death and the hardships she and her mother were forced to work through with his absence. Before continuing, she took a deep breath. "Mama fell ill two years after Papa's passing" she said in a quavering voice. "I don't remember how long she was sick. It felt like days. I was sixteen then, and was forced to take care of the shop alone."

She angrily brushed at the tears which were threatening at the corners of her eyes. "It was difficult trying to run the shop and take care of Mama and the same time. Eventually, I closed shop and dedicated my time and effort to her. After what seemed like an eternity, I had fallen into complete despair. I didn't know what else to do and I found myself pleading for help at Mama's bedside."

Allegra glanced over at Jolly. "Here is the missing piece to the story." After making sure he was listening, she forged on. "As soon as I had stopped speaking to whatever or whoever that might have been listening, an incredibly blinding white light engulfed me. A card had appeared in front of me." Her eyes grew distant as she immersed herself in the memory. "It spoke to me, and its voice was calm and reassuring, though insistent. It told me that it was the nineteenth card, Il Sole. It promised me Mama's health in return for a contract." She shook her head and swiped at her eyes again. "I don't know what possessed me. I guess I was desperate, but…" Her voice trailed off and she sniffed. The two men waited patiently for her to regain her bearings. After a couple of minutes, Jolly handed her his handkerchief. She smiled briefly at him, then wiped at her tears.

"I agreed to the contract" she stated softly, looking down at her lap and tightly gripping the borrowed square of white linen in her hands. "Afterwards, there was pain. I still remember how it felt; it was excruciating. But Mama – I watched her sit up without help when the card disappeared. I don't know how she was healed, but I'm forever grateful." Jolly and Allegra looked at Mondo, who appeared thoughtful. For five or so minutes, he remained motionless and quiet, seemingly lost in his own contemplation.

"Mondo?" Jolly asked, all traces of that arrogance that Allegra found annoying gone out of his voice. Mondo adjusted his position in his chair and let out a great sigh, reacting to his advisor's voice.

"Thank you for sharing that with us, Allegra" he said sincerely, directly meeting her gaze. "Knowing what you know now, do you fully understand what really happened to you?" She nodded mutely, unable to find her voice.

"Then," Jolly turned to face her in his seat, his unexpected voice causing her to start a bit, "will you now please show us your right wrist?"

I'm still working on this fanfic, I promise! However, I've done some cleaning on it, and both chapters one and two have been updated. You may notice that the OC's name is different than before. I decided to change it. You may want to re-read chapters one and two due to the edits.

Anyway, review/favorite/follow. All of the above are always appreciated!

~Melissa-Disney99