"What's wrong? Can't see us?!"
"Someone like you shouldn't live in this world!"
A group of young boys were pushing around a young girl with bandages covering her eyes. She was desperately trying to run from them, but they made a circle around her and kept throwing her back in the center whenever she tried to do so. Finally, she tried to run in one direction but ended up running into a wall and falling down. At this point, she curled up into a ball and started crying.
Why are they hurting me? The girl thought to herself, I didn't do anything wrong...so why are they being mean to me?
"Hey look, she's crying again..."
"Can she even cry with no eyes?"
The boys started pinning the girl down onto her back. Wet spots and tears ran down her bandaged eyes as she resisted.
"Hey, even though she's blind, she looks like a keeper..."
"Yeah, you're right!"
"Whores don't need to see anyway!"
The boys all started stripping the blind girl while she screamed for help. They forcefully lifted her small dress up.
"Hey! This bitch doesn't even have any underwear on!"
"That just makes this easier!"
Suddenly, all the boys felt something wrap around their necks as they were lifted into the air. Walking up the alley was a man wearing dark clothing that exuded the presence of a nobleman. From his hand extended multiple tendrils that wrapped around each individual boy's neck. The blind girl quickly hugged the wall and sat motionlessly as she was panting shakily.
"Didn't you boys learn to be a little more respectful to girls?" The man asked. His voice exuded a hint of calmness, but at the same time, a sense of danger.
The boys were all choking as they tried to break out of the tendrils holding them.
"You should learn...TO PLAY NICE!" The man suddenly threw all the boys down the alley. They all stood up groaning and ran away.
"You're a dead man now, you know that?!"
The man made an intimidating move toward the boy and he ended up tripping as he ran away. He then went over to the crying girl.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"Don't hurt me!" The girl shouted reactively.
"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you." The man started petting the girl's head. She flinched at his touch but calmed down when she wasn't being hurt.
"Are you hungry?" The man guided the girl's hand until she felt something soft. She grabbed it and smelled it; it smelled sweet. She took a small bite of it; it was sweet. She then quickly ate the food she was given.
"Would you like another one?" the man asked, giving another cinnamon roll to the girl. She quickly took it and started scarfing it down. She cried tears of joy upon tasting something so sweet twice.
"Now, why were those mean boys hurting you?" The man asked as he sat next to the girl.
The girl started sobbing again, "Th-they make fun of me because I *hic* can't see..."
"That's it?" The man asked, "You didn't do anything bad, did you?"
"No! I've never hurt anyone, I've never been mean to anyone, but...*sob* but they always hurt me..."
The man started petting the girl's head and she flinched again but calmed down immediately.
"Well, I'm not going to hurt you, and I won't let anyone else hurt you again." The man said sweetly.
The girl started tearing up and instinctively clung to the man as she let her tears out. The man picked her up and let her cry in his chest as he stood up.
Footsteps rushed towards the man and the girl. The group of boys had returned, and they had brought a group of burly men with them. The men were either armed with steel gauntlets or clubs or knives.
"That's him! That's the guy!"
"Hey! What makes you think you can just walk on our turf like you own the place?"
"What makes you think you can hurt a poor little girl just because she can't see?" The man retorted.
"I don't think you know where you are aristo-cunt..."
"Oh...such a foul mouth. No wonder your boys have no manners."
The man's hand started emanating black smoke and his eyes turned red.
"What's going on? Are they going to hurt us?" the girl asked in panic.
"Shh...don't worry." The man said, "I said I wouldn't let anyone else hurt you again, didn't I?"
The tendrils that whipped out from the man's hands slit the throats of the men and the boys. It wouldn't do the poor girl good to hear their screams...
***
Reighland rushed to meet Mr. Magician when she heard him returning. She ran past Empress and Temperance, quickly greeting them as she ran.
When Reighland found him, she noticed there was a girl about her age standing next to him and clinging to his leg. In a way, she reminded her of when she first met Magician.
"Mr. Magician, who is that? And why does she have something on her eyes?" Reighland asked in her childlike innocence.
"Be nice, Reighland." Magician responded. He turned to the girl clinging to his leg, "Go, on. Why don't you tell her your name?"
"J-Judith..." The little girl said shyly.
"Reighland, this is Judith. She can't see, so you have to help her when she needs it, do you understand? You'll stay with her at all times unless another member or myself says otherwise." Magician instructed.
"Yes, Mr. Magician." Reighland responded.
"In a sense, this is your new sister." Magician coaxed Judith forward to Reighland.
Reighland grabbed Judith's hand, which surprised the blind girl, "I hope we get to be good sisters!" Reighland said with a cheery smile. She was quite excited to have someone her age to play with.
For the first time in her life, Judith smiled too.
Opening Theme:
Reighland and Justice locked swords as they stared into each other's hateful stares. Even though Justice couldn't see, Reighland could feel her burning gaze.
As they broke out of the lock, they stared at each other once again.
"Judith, I'm telling you again, we don't have to fight!" Reighland called out, "We shouldn't!"
Justice sighed as she lowered her sword and a mark appeared on her chest, "Yes we do...Do you have any idea what I'm enduring on a daily basis? Because of you, Magician has been keeping a tighter leash on all of us! This mark on my chest is a kill seal. If I disobey him, he'll kill me..."
"Then let me help you! I can break the seal!" Reighland pleaded.
"No. If you break the seal or attempt to break it, I'll die anyway...regardless of what happens, only one of us is walking away from here..."
Reighland felt a tinge of sadness as she closed her eyes for a moment, "Then...I'm sorry, Judith..."
"I am too..." Justice raised her sword again.
Theme of Reighland & Judith:
The two clashed as they charged each other.
===============
"Mr. Magician's a nice man, isn't he?" A young Reighland said to a young Judith as she held her hand.
"Yes..." Judith weakly replied.
"One time, I called him 'papa' but he told me to stop..." Reighland pouted, "It's not fair that he acts like my papa, but I can't call him that!"
Judith hung her head low. She didn't have any parents, but this "Magician" man took her in and took care of her. Why wouldn't she call him her "papa"?
===============
Justice broke out of the sword lock and struck Reighland's face with the hilt.
===============
Judith could smell the food on the table. It was so enticing, that she started running ahead of Reighland towards the table. She then started grabbing whatever she could and eating it, which was a mistake since the food was still hot. She ended up burning her hands and her tongue which caused her to drop and spit out the food she was eating. Empress had to restrain her until Reighland caught up.
"Judith...you can't eat when it's hot!" Empress lectured, "You have to let it cool first."
"I'm sorry..." Judith's voice cracked as she held back her tears.
"Oh, darling, I'm not angry at you..." Empress said reassuringly, "I just don't want you to hurt yourself, that's all." She wiped some of Judith's tears away.
Judith and Reighland sat together and Reighland gave Judith a lesson in table manners.
===============
Reighland slid under Justice's scissor attack and kicked her legs out before bringing her sword down. Justice blocked the strike and kicked Reighland away from her.
===============
"Judith, I see you're getting better at finding your way around." A twelve-year-old Reighland said.
"Well, after living here for six years, I kind of memorized where everything is..." Judith chuckled as she adjusted her blindfold. Even though the blindfold covered her eyes well enough, she let her hair grow out so that it obscured her eyes as well.
Magician walked around the corner with two men standing next to him. They stopped in front of the two girls.
"Reighland, Judith, this is Nicodemus and Leone." Magician said, "They'll be living with us now too."
"H-hello..." Nicodemus said nervously to the girls.
"Is he going to be another uncle then?" Reighland asked.
"U-uncle?" Nicodemus was surprised by the girl's choice of words.
"Congratulations, Nicodemus." Leone teased.
"You be quiet..." Nicodemus looked away with a blush.
===============
Reighland disarmed Justice by cutting her arm off, but Justice reacted by tackling Reighland, causing her to drop her sword. Reighland managed to pull off a reversal and pinned Justice to the ground as she started barraging her face with punches.
===============
Judith "watched" Nicodemus teach Reighland about sword-fighting. Nicodemus was strict at first, but after Reighland improved her technique, he began to soften up.
Magician approached her and sat next to her.
"What do you think of your sister, Judith?" He asked.
"Well...I find it interesting how quickly she learns and adapts." Judith answered, "I wish I had my own sword too..."
"Well...it's almost your birthday, if I'm not mistaken, perhaps you might..." Magician hinted as he stood up to leave. Judith turned her head in his direction with excitement.
===============
Reighland and Justice were on their feet fighting with their hands now. Justice was the better brawler than Reighland, but she kept failing to grab the crystal heart inside her. Reighland managed to land a few strikes, but overall, she was outmatched.
===============
Judith looked around her surrounding in astonishment. She could "see" everything around her. Every border, every wall, every surface...thanks to the conversion, she could finally see things. It even gave her magic too, a gift from Magician.
"I wonder what I'm going to do now?" Sixteen-year-old Reighland asked with excitement.
"Well, I'm going to go out and see everything in the world!" Judith said happily. Her hair was long and flowed back so that it didn't cover her blindfold anymore.
"Well, Mr. Magician said he could let you see again, why didn't you let him?"
"Ah, well..." Judith fiddled with her blindfold, "I've kind of gotten used to being blind...It'd feel...strange to be able to see again..."
"Well...if you want to reconsider, you can always ask him."
===============
Justice was using her wind magic against Reighland again as Reighland was using her light magic defensively. She retaliated with a barrage of light beams shot from her hands.
===============
Reighland was knocked to the ground and Judith stood tall.
"And that's Judith's win." Nicodemus, now Hierophant announced. Leone, Hanged Man, and Emperor applauded from the side.
"Are you alright?" Judith asked, helping Reighland to her feet.
"I'm fine, it didn't even hurt at all." Reighland said with some astonishment, "I didn't think you'd do better even though you're blind."
"Don't underestimate someone just because they're not like you." Leone commented.
"Come on, girls. That's enough." Hierophant said, "Why don't you run along now?"
Reighland and Judith nodded their heads as they walked together.
===============
Reighland and Judith clashed swords again. Reighland imbued her light sword with powerful magic and the upward strike caused Justice to stumble as her sword was directed upwards...
===============
Reighland and Judith were both in their 20s now as they walked together. They had just been named High Priestess and Justice of the Arcana by Magician and given their crystal hearts. They could feel their bond with each other and with the rest of the members.
"So, 'High Priestess'..." Judith said teasingly, "What are you going to do now?"
"Well, 'Justice'..." Reighland replied in an equally sassy tone, "Maybe we could go out and see the world now, just like you've always wanted..."
The two of them went to their separate rooms. Before, they had slept together, but as they grew older, they also grew apart in the literal sense.
"Reighland..." Judith asked before leaving her.
"What is it, Judith?"
"No matter what happens, good and bad, will you always be with me?"
"Of course!" Reighland smiled, "We're sisters, after all. I'll stay by your side forever."
===============
...Reighland seized her opportunity as Justice was stumbling backwards. She held her sword in a reverse grip, spun around, and stabbed Justice's chest; right where her crystal heart was. She heard Justice grunt in pain and she winced in sadness.
When Reighland pulled out her sword, the crystal was attached to it; cracked and breaking. She removed it from her sword and sheathed it as she transformed into her human form. She caught Justice and held her in her arms like she did with Monica. Justice changed into her human form as well.
"How many times did I beat you whenever we sparred...?" Judith asked weakly.
Reighland held back her tears as she answered, "I think it was...seven...out of seven."
Judith grabbed Reighland's collar, "I still...won more than you..."
The cracks on Judith's crystal were spreading.
"Come on Judith...we still have to see the world together, don't we?"
"I've seen a great deal already..." Judith's ethereal body was destabilizing, "I think...I'll be fine seeing just this much of the world..." She placed a gentle hand on Reighland's face, "I didn't expect you to come this far...but you'll learn the truth soon enough...There is more than just one right in the world..."
"Judith...I'm sorry." Reighland held her tightly.
Judith managed to wrap her other arm around Reighland.
"I forgive you..." she struggled to say. Reighland looked down at Judith in surprise.
Judith's crystal finally broke, and she struggled to maintain her form for a while.
"You forgive me? After everything I've done?" Reighland asked in disbelief.
"Of course..." Judith managed one last smile, "We're sisters, after all..." With that last word, Judith's ethereal form melted away and disintegrated.
Nobody cheered. Nobody knew what to do; they all stood frozen at the end result. The High Priestess killed Justice, so there was that, but what were they going to do about the other Arcana member right in front of them?
Y/N was the only one who approached Reighland without any worry. As he stood over her, he silently offered his hand to help her stand up. When she stood up, she pulled Y/N close to her and let her sadness flow out...
"Well...the secret's out..." Y/N said, "What are you going to do now?"
"I don't know..." Reighland replied, "But please promise me you'll stand by my side, and if you can't, at least keep everyone else safe..."
Y/N moved his head to see Miriam, Charlotte, and Kara watching the scene with their own mixed feelings. To everyone involved, there were now two Arcana members in their midst.
Looks like he'd have to put up with some more bullshit...
Ending Theme: