Leonard had forgotten the name of the girl he had once considered his friend. He had also forgotten her appearance; the event had shaken him, yet he had been able to forget it so easily.
The two soon reached the market. Ariana seemed to inhale a mouthful of air through her scarf, then breathe it out. Leonard would have done the same, but he didn't really like the air around him; he had smelled it plenty of times. To him, it was just a normal day. To Ariana, however, it was different compared to where she came from. The air around here had a weird feel to it, but the only thing she liked about it was how calm it felt.
The two walked around the market, bypassing stands that tried to promote their products. Ariana seemed not to be used to such areas, as she sometimes stopped to hear what they had to say. She would then have trouble replying to them. Those who recognized Leonard didn't bother her once they noticed that they were together. Leonard made sure that no one robbed her of any possessions. When it came to knowledge, Ariana had the edge over Leonard, but when it came to spatial awareness, Leonard seemed to have the edge.
The two walked around until they reached a brothel. The brothel was mostly active at night; during the day, it was empty with only a few people around. The brothel had two floors. On the second floor, one could see women staring out the windows—some were smoking. The scene was both tragic and held a sense of beauty. Looking at the brothel, Ariana seemed to take pity on the women. Leonard did as well, but unlike her, he was used to such scenes.
The two soon bypassed the brothel and went to a circus nearby. The circus was covered by a big yellow tent. There were people promoting the circus; most had clown makeup on. Close to the circus was a divination room with black rags covering it, with a slight opening that was probably a door.
"Could we go there?" Ariana asked, pointing at the divination room.
"Sure," Leonard replied.
Leonard had never gone to a divination room, as he considered them a waste of time and money, but today he was using Ariana's time and money, not his; as such, his greed didn't stop him. The two soon entered the divination room. It was dark inside, with only candles to illuminate an orange light. There was a table with a deck of tarot cards on it; at the other side of the table was a lady with a black veil covering her face.
"Welcome," she said. Her voice had a mysterious sound to it. "Would you like for me to perform a divination on the both of you?" she asked.
Leonard looked at Ariana and spoke before she could. "Just the lady."
Ariana looked at Leonard for a second, then back at the lady.
"Very well," the lady said. "A detailed divination shall cost you fifteen pounds."
Leonard found her quite experienced, considering the fact that most would hesitate when speaking about such absurd amounts. Ariana wasn't stingy and removed a ten-pound bill and a five-pound bill, handing them to the lady. The lady accepted the money; Leonard noticed that her hands were smoother than most, but at the same time, they looked drained. She extended her fingers, suggesting for them to look at the tarot card deck. She then spoke.
"To receive a foreshadowing regarding your future and past, you shall first shuffle the deck, placing the fate of your life in your hands."
Ariana nodded and grabbed the deck. She shuffled the deck, though her skills at shuffling were extremely lacking, but she somehow did it. Once she finished, she placed it back where it was.
"Now you shall pick three cards and place one to your right, one to your center, and one to your left. The cards should be facing down," the lady spoke. Although the veil was hiding her face, she seemed to have a smile on her face.
Ariana took out a card and placed it face down on her right without seeing the card, then on her center, and finally on her left, where Leonard happened to be.
"Now that you've taken your fate, held it, and presented it on the table, I shall reveal your cards," the lady said as she extended her hand to the card on Ariana's right.
Flipping the card over, a huge white tower was seen. On top of the tower was an orange crown falling. There was yellow lightning striking the top of the tower close to the crown. Fire was seen where the lightning struck; on the tower's windows, flames could be seen. There were two people, a man and a woman, falling out of the tower.
"Numbered sixteen on the major tarot cards: The Tower, which represents destruction and the collapse of beliefs and plans, chaos, and a change that cannot be avoided."
Seeing this card, Ariana's heart shook. The lady turned the card in the center. A figure with what looked like blonde hair wearing something blue with red wings was seen. He was blowing a golden trumpet from the clouds; attached to the trumpet was a white flag with red lines. Below this figure were people rising from coffins naked, raising their arms toward the figure playing the trumpet.
"Numbered twenty on the major arcana: The Judgment card, representing the awakening of someone and the preparation of one entering a new stage in their life."
Ariana was engulfed by the tarot readings; to her, they felt accurate. She then revealed the final card, the one to Ariana's left. A demonic figure was seen sitting, or perhaps squatting. What made the figure demonic was its head and lower body; it had the head of a goat with two long, curved white horns and the stomach of a human, while having the legs of a goat. On its back were two bat-like wings. There was a reversed pentagram on its head. There was a naked man on its right and a naked woman on its left, both of them chained to the pedestal-like structure where the demonic figure's feet were. There was what looked like a fruit extending from the woman's rear and what looked like a fire tail extending from the man; they both had small horns. One of the demonic figure's hands was raised; the other was lowered, holding a torch pointing downwards.
Looking at the card, the divination lady looked at the figure who was close to it. The figure had blonde hair and brown eyes with a gentle appearance, but right now, the lady's heart sank once she looked at him. His brown yes seemed demonic, and his gentle appearance reminded her of the devil, she had once read in story books
'The Devil.'