"Claire!" The boy in his late teen shouted at the top of his lungs before catching his breath. "For heaven's sake….!" He heaved as he continued to chase after the blonde girl. "Leader would be upset if she knows of this!"
The blond girl kept on dashing across the crowds of people without sparing even a glance at the struggling boy tailing her. Amidst the bustling crowd, Vincent could barely heard her replying nonchalantly, "No worry to worry! Leader won't know if you don't tell her!"
Vincent pushed on his pace until he's back by Claire's side, bumping against a few people to get there. He continuously apologised and bowed slightly at the sharp glare of the other.
Pulling back his hood up, he whispered harshly with gritted teeth,"We should be looking out for the capital, not goofing around!"
"Well, we are looking out at the capital, aren't we?" Claire shrugged with a smirk.
"Going to a circus is not looking out at the capital, Claire!"
The girl snickered mockingly before continuing, "Oh, yeah? Then why are you following me?"
Vincent's eyes widened before his face reddened slightly. Stammering, he formed a reply timidly, "I—I don't want to stay at the palace alone."
"Then we're partners in crime, let's go watch the circus a bit. It won't take long!"
Claire smacked Vincent's back, causing him to stagger forward and bumped onto yet another menacing-looking man.
"Watch it," the man said, his deep voice made it even scarier than it is supposed to be.
"S-sorry," Vincent bowed and followed after Claire again.
It doesn't take long for them to finally reach the square of the capital. The merry surroundings easily got to them, especially Claire. A large, circular tent stood up in the middle, colourful decorations while a few people with quirky outfits could be seen passing flyers around.
Vincent felt a tap on his shoulder. Just as he turned around, he yelped and jumped away, "AGGHH!" crashing onto Claire at that.
"What's the matter with you, Vin?!" Claire, who got pushed became rather infuriated.
Vincent who already clung onto Claire replied with a mix of nervous tone while massaging his aching chest, "T-that, a clown….that…surprised me," he said in between his breath.
Claire glanced at the direction Vincent flew from. Indeed, there was a clown there, smiling with friendliness. He got his face painted fully, a very colourful pattern at that. Even his outfit is a peculiarly bright colour that hurt her eyes a bit but she tried not to show it. However, a specific pattern caught her interest. With a white base, three clovers were drawn under his right eyes.
*Reminds me of that card game,* Claire thought.
"Here you go, lady. Do come and see our performances!" The clown handed her the flyer.
"Oh, thank you," Claire received it and began reading. Vincent who had calmed down also peeked from Claire's shoulder.
The flyer has the tentative of the programme and a few signature photos of their circus. There's also an explanation on the background of the circus. Claire took her time reading it before passing the flyer to Vincent, taking his hand off her while at that.
"So the circus was established around two years ago in the Kingdom of Xertz? You went through such a journey!"
"Indeed," the clown replied. "We finally made it to the capital of Devontae. It is such an honour for us."
"Right, of course," Claire nodded and glanced back at the entrance of the circus."Say, where do I get the ticket?"
The clown shook his head slightly before answering, "There isn't any payment for the first day of our tour. Think of it as our advertising method."
Claire glanced at Vincent without saying anything. Vincent gave it a short thought before nodding his head as a response. Gaining his agreement, Claire replied,"Alright, we'll enjoy the performances."
The clown smiled wider, all the way that his eyes are no more visible. With a bow, the clown left and continued to distribute the flyers to passerby. Nevertheless, he still did not escaped the gaze of the two young heroes.
Claire put up an arm around Vincent's shoulder and pulled him down, whispering cautiously,"Did you sense it?"
Vincent who expected the question nodded with a reply,"I do. It's weak but it's still there."
"I know, right? That's definitely…." Claire trailed off.
"The essence of a villain. But I don't think he's one," Vincent continued.
"All the more reason to watch the circus."
Claire raised her brows while smiling mischievously. Her hand tapped Vincent's shoulder to encourage her ideas more. Vincent who got easily influenced by Claire also grinned slightly.
"The leader won't be mad if we actually caught a bad guy," Claire added.
"Well, if you put it that way, I won't mind lending a hand," Vincent agreed.
"Then," Claire released Vincent and stepped forward,"Let's go, we'll see what we can find here."
***
*SLASHH!*
Blood splattered on the ground, forming a red puddle mixed with soil. The air was cold and damp, adding more to the unpleasant view. Andras looked down at the twitching man right by his feet. His throat was slashed first to avoid screaming. His chest was cut opened, gushing with blood.
"Ack-ugh ah," the man was still trying to speak even at the end of his life.
"I'm a monster, I know. Curse me, too," Andras looked sadly at the man.
The dying man reached for a locket on the ground that was snapped by Andras' sword, tightly gripping onto it as the light slowly left his eyes. The blood continued to flow all around him, creating a bigger pool of blood. Andras squatted down and closed the man's eyes. Both of it are wide open, including his mouth.
"I have no grudge on you. But I suppose you'll have a big one against me."
Andras stood blankly by the man's side. If it was his younger self, he would immediately get rid of the body. After a few years, he didn't felt as nervous anymore. The man he killed was a count. The order he received was to take a life of the first noble he saw. The sound of the ticking clock in his head was making him go insane. He knew, if he refused to carry on the orders, he will lose control and killed even more people.
"I'm sorry, sir," Andras apologised, bowing his head all the way to the ground before repeating,"I'm really….sorry."
Andras was bitting his lips hard enough to draw blood. That was until he saw the locket in the count's hand.
"Perhaps you have someone dear waiting for you," Andras began to break into tears before finally saying again,"I'm sorry….for being a monster."