"What the hell is this?" Zaydan whispered, his voice hard.

"This is a land built on secrets," The Black Rabbit replied loudly, making Zaydan tense, his hand tightening on Marie-Fey's.

The ringmaster looked in their direction, then smiled.

"The Lord and Lady Rais, I presume," he said and Marie-Fey narrowed her eyes at him. His smile widened. "My, we do have secrets," he said, then spun away to address the entire audience. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Take in this incredible land of sun and sand and tropical paradises so rare one might not even think them real when found! Have you ever seen the sunshine so bright, or the sky glow such a blue? As with Our Lady Yumiko before, we have stumbled our way into someone's private home. Won't our hosts welcome us?"

Zaydan and Marie-Fey glanced at each other.

"What secret?" she hissed at him.

"You mean which," he corrected, "Do you have any idea how many secrets can be found in this compound? And we cannot simply have people looking around."

Marie-Fey pursed her lips, shot him a glare then got to her feet.

"What are you doing?" he hissed.

"I shall handle it," she replied and turned back to The Black Rabbit.

His smile brightened and he snapped his fingers, the seats before her separating and revealing steps. She swept down them, looking around to see if she could spot any of the women or guards, before joining him.

"This is extremely improper," she informed The Black Rabbit when she was beside him, voice loud enough to carry as she folded her arms. "Outside eyes are not for the ladies of this palace."

"And right you are, Lady Rais," he replied, tapping his cane twice on the ground, and suddenly they were moving. The world shot past them as they stayed still, Marie-Fey almost felt her balance give but The Black Rabbit caught her hand and held on until they stopped and she blinked.

She was in the inner gardens of her own palace, watching Mr Larkin sprawl over Barnaby's back, chattering at him like they could understand each other while Barnaby chewed away at whatever horror he had in his mouth, lying in the shade as Aya soared overhead.

Marie-Fey frowned as she watched her hawk fly without any apparent handler nearby. Who the hell was letting her animals loose together without keeping watch that Aya didn't try to eat Mr. Larkin?

Aya landed on a nearby branch, watching Mr. Larkin and Barnaby, and then suddenly, as one, they all looked in her direction.

Marie-Fey blinked, then glanced at The Black Rabbit.

"They can't see you," he said, his voice low for only her to hear. "But they can sense you, clearly you're close to your animals."

"I suppose," Marie-Fey muttered, "The monkey most but..."

"My, a monkey for a pet and a husband, quite a collection."

Marie-Fey turned a ferocious glare on him. "I'll have you redact that statement. Lord Zaydan is far from a monkey."

The Black Rabbit glanced down at her and smiled. "Who said I was talking about the Second Place Zaydan?"

Marie-Fey's glare vanished and she stared at him. "What the hell do you want?" she whispered.

"To find a secret," The Black Rabbit replied simply. She opened her mouth, but he held up his cane. "Come now, Lady Fey, I have no interest in revealing your secrets. I know them. I'm looking for something else."

"Don't jeopardise us," Marie-Fey whispered.

"I have no reason to," he replied, before looking away, his attention returning to his audience. "Has anyone had the good luck to visit such a glorious place before?" he asked.

Several men raised their hands, alongside one of the ladies, the wife of one of the men who lifted his hand, who Marie-Fey knew to be an ambassador.

"And who would have had the chance to see within these walls, of the female palace?"

Only the woman kept her hand raised.

"And do we know why only Lady Cardiff might be the one to see within the walls of these wonderful palaces?"

Silence met him, Marie-Fey glancing around, before she sighed.

"Oh come along, ladies and gentlemen, I know many of you already know the answer, if we take into account how many of you dared ask me how a man might witness the 'exotic beauties' of my palace," she said and a ripple of embarrassment rolled around the audience.

The Black Rabbit stifled a laugh beside her before he said, "Perhaps you might enlighten us."

"Because the eyes of men outside of the family and slaves are not permitted within these walls," Marie-Fey said, gesturing back towards the main palace that they could just see over the top of the tress of her garden, then towards the entrance to her own private palace. "Where we currently stand is within the gardens of my private palace," she said and literally heard the intake of breath from the audience as they gaped at the jewel that was her home. "The palace you saw before are where the rest of the ladies of this compound reside. Lady Zaafira, for example, has rooms there. My ladies Gharam and Maanah live with me with select other staff. My husband also has rooms within the main palace, along with his brother. My family would also be permitted entry to my palace. You, however, are not welcome within these secretive, mysterious walls. I would bid you farewell from my palace and turn you towards the city. I assure you; the sight will be like nothing most of you have seen before."

With that, she gave The Black Rabbit a very pointed look and he held up his hands.

"Alas, ladies and gentlemen, the mistress of this kingdom in the sand has bid us fair well, the secrets here are not for us. But let us, indeed, step beyond the walls of this hidden world and venture into the city."

He tapped his cane against his fingers and, the next second, everyone was gone.

And Marie-Fey was still stood in the middle of her gardens, staring at the emptiness around her.

She was quiet for a moment, then blinked.

"Huh," she muttered, setting her hand on her hip, "I swear, if he's left me in this wretched place... I am not scheduled to return yet!"

She turned around, spying that her animals were still looking in her direction, and then The Black Rabbit appeared in front of her in a burst of black smoke and she jumped.

"You are not supposed to still be here," he observed.

"And yet, here I am," she replied, "If you leave me here, I shall not be amused."

He smirked, then looked behind him, towards her palace.

"I wonder what secret this illusion is trying to reveal," he mused, striding away. Marie-Fey looked towards the heavens before following – this man reminded her of Zaydan in his quirks, but she would only tolerate one Zaydan for any grand length of time.

The ringmaster stopped and she walked into the back of him.

He didn't move and remained looking up at the palace, cane tapping on his shoulder as he considered the building.

"What are you doing?" she asked, moving to stand beside him, "I must say, this show is quite different to your other shows."

He shot her a grin without looking. "Each show is different," he said, "I take no delight in relaying the same performance again and again. You attended the forest adventure show and the fox circus performance, correct?"

She stared at him in shock. "That was years ago, how could you possibly remember?"

He shrugged.

"How do you seem to know everything?"

"I don't know everything," he assured her, "I just know a lot."

He looked at her.

"And your secrets are safe with me," he added, then looked back up at the palace again. "Ah, there's something."

Marie-Fey looked up and frowned. One of the windows above had a square of white fabric hanging from it.

"What's that?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," The Black Rabbit replied, and they watched as another square appeared in another window, then another, then another. "Apparently you have a secret that needs to be located," he said, folding his arms.

"And how do I do that?"

He pointed upwards. "Seems by tying sashes to windows."

Marie-Fey frowned up again, then looked at him. "If you're not looking for my secrets, what are you looking for?"

The Black Rabbit strode off again and she sighed before following. She watched as they walked, more and more sashes appearing in the windows as they walked around the building.

And they kept walking, around twice more when Marie-Fey paused.

One of the upper windows hadn't gained a sash.

"Ah," The Black Rabbit said, returning to her side and tilting his head back, hand on his top hat to keep in place. "You've found my secret," he said.

"What? What's the secret?" Marie-Fey asked, looking at him as he walked past, heading back the way they'd come.

"It doesn't matter anymore. What I'm after isn't here."

"What is it? Do you know where it's gone?"

"It hasn't gone anywhere," The Black Rabbit replied, stopping and turning to her, setting his cane on the floor. "She's dead."

And with that, his tapped his cane to the ground and darkness exploded from the tip, wind blowing Marie-Fey's hair and clothes out behind her, making her cover her face in shock before she was suddenly back in her seat, Zaydan's arm wrapping around her and she opened her eyes to the sight of the big top again.

"What happened? Where did you go?" Zaydan asked, panic in his low voice as he pulled her against him.

Marie-Fey blinked, looking around.

The Black Rabbit was talking to the audience, they were laughing and clapping as he discussed their trip to the city's market, talking about the sounds and sights and colours of the bazaar.

"I... we'll discuss it later," Marie-Fey muttered, gripping his hand that was on her lap, fingers creasing the fabric.

"Are you alright at least?" he asked.

"I'm alright," she promised.

Zaydan's worry was obvious, even in the low light but he nodded, sitting back, leaving his arm around her shoulders.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, we have seen two wonderful, foreign lands," The Black Rabbit was saying as Zaydan pulled her against him. "Let us have something to help unwind for our final act. Something mellow."

He pulled a black handkerchief from his breast-pocket and draped it over his open empty palm.

"Something delightful," he continued, pinching the cloth in the centre and drawing it upwards.

"Something enchanting."

He pulled the satin away and revealed a golden apple, shining in the spotlight as he smiled around him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, who would like their fortune told?"