1 Chapter One

The woman that once held warm, brown eyes of happiness and joy stood in front of her daughter in sorrow. The older man held her in his arms as he tried to comfort his wife.

"Are thou sure about this, thee know this is not at all necessary."

The younger woman with short blonde hair rubbed her temple in irritation. This conversation has been the fifth time that her mom tried to convince her to stay. But it wasn't her fault for not wanting to stay.

Staying here was too boring.

"Mother, my love for you is immeasurable. But I also want to travel far distances. If it doesn't succeed, then I shall return. You have my word," The sweetness in her voice seemed to work because she saw the hope in her mother's eyes.

"You never go back on your word, so I'll allow it, but you have to write a letter to us every month," Diamante internally grinned. Her plan was starting.

Diamante told her mother that she was going to find new opportunities in France, a new way of getting to know the world.

But that wasn't the case.

She didn't need money or stability. She just wanted some fun. And she knew that the best place to target was France.

But she knew that she needed help. And her cousin Onice was the best candidate. He was very intuitive, charismatic, and had connections to some dangerous people from a hundred-mile radius. If she weren't related to him in any way, then she would have seen him as a threat.

She took her small bag and approached Onice. The boy's brown hair was slicked back with gel. He wore his suit with pride as he patiently waited for Diamante. She noticed that her grandmother Mariaisabella was giving him one last hug before walking back with Diamante's uncle, Emerenzian,

And soon, both were riding with the carriage Diamante made by herself and with Onice's two best horses. A brown mare and a pure black stallion that he bred and raised.

"Okay. We are going to the circus. I regularly wrote to Andrew and James last week. They were able to give us single tickets to the next show. So, all we have to do is attend,"

Diamante nodded at Onice's statement. The first part of the plan was already beginning.

"Do you believe that we shall recruit the fire and ice twins?" Diamante questioned.

Onice thought about it. But it wasn't going to be easy. They were mighty, and getting them on their side would be more comfortable. "James is good friends with them. However, he hasn't been able to talk to them often. They are usually secluded and the only time he talks to them is after their part of the show. He's heard rumors of those performers being tortured and abused by the ringmaster."

Diamante shivered in disgust. How can anyone treat them like animals? They were just humans, and it wasn't right. But at this point, anyone would do anything for entertainment.

"How does thou plan to do this?" Onice rolled his eyes at her stupid question. The massive circus made from a tarp was lit up by oil lamps. To him, it was pretty obvious.

"We are going to have to figure it out. I am relying on thee," Onice warned, emphasizing the last sentence.

She heard the sound of children laughing. She looked around and saw the happy families with their slaves running towards the gigantic tarp. They were here.

Onice got off his carriage and started walking towards the tarp. Diamante couldn't hold her excitement.

She was finally going to achieve her goal.

The fear and panic started to kick in. What if it didn't go as planned? Did Onice have a plan B? All this wasn't going to work until Onice gave the cue. If it did not work, then it would all be over.

There was no turning back.

While Onice went out back to tie the horses, Diamante walked in. When she did, her jaw almost dropped.

Inside the tarp was a beautiful arrangement of bright blue, purple, and red colors. Diamante noticed that the oil lamps were lighting up the whole circus.

The lamps were put in globes and looked like glowing orbs. The tarp looked much taller than its exterior, with its interior reaching for the moon. No wonder these tickets were expensive. But it also gave Diamante a good idea.

She sat down in the front row of the thousands of seats and waited. Just like her, hundreds of people entered in awe of the decorations. Diamante almost gagged when she heard the happy chatter pounded in her ears.

The lamps were dimmed, cueing that the show was starting. The chatting came to an abrupt silence as the ringmaster walked into the circus. Standing on a small platform, wearing a bright purple suit, a golden crest, and a pair of silver shoes.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the tenth anniversary of Novella Circus. We hope you have a fantastic show and look forward to seeing the artists.

First, David and Goliath. Two misfits who left Britain to be monsters just for you."

A roar of applause echoed in the entire circus as two people walked onto the podium. One was about the height of Diamante's hips, and the other one was almost twice as tall as Diamante. The shorter of the two looked directly at Diamante and showed two fingers.

Before Diamante could fully acknowledge the symbol, Goliath picked up David and threw him into the air. The crowd gasped in shock as they saw him mid-air. He then balled himself up and started spinning.

Goliath then pulled out a ho, a pickaxe, and a rake. He then proceeded to juggle David as well as the dangerous tools as if it was nothing. The crowd was awed at the way the giant was handling David. David, while still being juggled, unraveled himself and grabbed the pickaxe, and threw at a target that was behind the crowd. He did it again with the hoe in another bullseye that was right beside him. And finally, he took the rake and threw it mid-air towards the final goal on the roof of the building.

After falling mid-air, he was then caught into the hands of Goliath and gave a bow. The crowd immediately cheered and hooted at the performance. Goliath lowered David down, and with one last final bow, they left the stage.

It was time. Diamante only had twenty minutes to make a fire and get the recruits from the circus into the carriage. She got off her seat and went outside. She then proceeded to walk around the back of the entertainment, where all the performers were.

She saw the multiple carriages, as well as the performers, surround a curtain with led into the building. Some of the ongoing performers gave her a knowing look while most just ignored her. But one carriage caught her eye. It was the biggest, caged, and had the twins preparing for their actions in the show.

Onice said that James and Andrew had the entire crew ready to ride their carriage. All Diamante had to do was burn the circus and recruit the twins.

Diamante knocked on the cage, startling the twins. Both were wearing their masks, as always. But this time, it was the ones that actors used in theatre. The twin with the white hair had a bright blue cover smiling, and the twin with the black hair had a deep red mask that was frowning.

The twin with black hair was the first to speak.

"Who are you?" He had confidence in his voice, as well as skepticism. Diamante wasn't surprised. But she had to be quick.

"I'm Diamante, I'm here to free you from this place."

He didn't like the attitude of the random girl. He didn't know what to trust a random woman. And he wasn't going to start today.

"Please, my brother, we must go. We can no longer tolerate abuse." The one with white hair pleaded.

He looked back at his twin with confliction in his eyes. He signaled his twin to come over, then they both started to whisper towards one another in another language that Diamante couldn't understand. When they finished, the twin sighed in defeat.

"Okay. How do you think we're escaping?" The fire twin asked in curiosity. Diamante smirked. She pointed at the circus with a crazy look in his eyes.

"I'm going to make a fire. But I don't know how and I need to do it fast." The black-haired twin-faced Diamante and started to laugh as if it was child play.

"I know how to make a fire. Just free us." The arrogant twin explains.

Diamante smiled and took out a file that was under her dress. It was a potent tool that her father passed down to her, and it could cut into these bars within minutes.

As Diamante started to saw through the bars, the loud round of applause made her panic.

The performance had ended.

The ringleader was going to come with a key to release the twins out of the cage.

Her heart pounded, and she started sawing faster. The thought of the plan backfiring flashed in her mind, but she ignored it. She was so close with the b-.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY TOP PERFORMERS?" The ringmaster's voice shook with pure anger. He turned her around, and she saw the pure rage and passion in his full, bloodshot eyes.

"IF YOU THINK YOU CAN HELP THEM ESCAPE, THINK AGAIN!!!"

Diamante's eyes widened in shock as she saw the ringleader's head explode. The headless body fell to the ground with a thud.

She looked behind her and stared at the twin with his hand engulfed in flames. When the lifeless body fell to the ground, the twin took off his mask, grabbed Diamante, and kissed her. After a few seconds, he broke the kiss and turned towards the circus.

He then threw a fireball at the circus. Almost immediately, the fire started to spread all over the entire tarp. The screams of the families inside brought immense joy to Diamante.

She quickly took the twins' hands and ran inside the burning circus. She had to find Onice quickly.

However, she felt them pull her hands back and onto the floor of the burning circus.

It was hot, and the smoke was causing her to cough and hack profusely. She looked up and gave the twins a look of confusion. They both looked at each other and nodded at one another.

Diamante's eyes widened with realization. The glowing red eyes that came from the fire twin stared back at her. His lips slowly raised in a cynical smile as he slowly leaned down to her ear.

"Goodbye."

With the final words that escaped his lips, they vanished. Diamante quickly got up but struggled to find the exit. Her head was getting lightheaded with the heat and the smoke. She started to stop trying to escape and allowed the fire to consume her.

With a sudden breath, her vision filled with black dots as she lost consciousness. But the heat did not surpass the burning rage she felt.

Mark her god forbidden words; she was going to find them and get back at them.