Chapter 5: A World Without Names

Once again, we ran.

Along the twisting alleyways of frascati, through the narrow streets thick with rain, through the echoes of our own laughter and fear.

We ran because we had no choice.

We ran because the world was no longer ours...

---

It started at the creek of dawn.

The Vaticans judgement had not been swift, but it had been clear- we were quite. Heretics, Liars, sinners beyond redemption.

For days, they kept us under lock and key, deciding what to do with men like us.

A hanging? A quiet disappearance? A lifetime of rotting in some forgotten cell?

They had yet to choose.

But we did.

With the hope of a bribed guard and a stolen key, we slipped into the corridors of the Holy prison like ghosts. We took nothing but the clothes on our backs and the fire in our chests.

When we reached the streets, the city felt foreign beneath my feet. I had known Venice. I had learned Italys every wisper, every secret. But frascati- frascati was a maze, beautiful yet treacherous.

And it was not safe.

Word had spread. We were wanted men now.

There could be no return.

We could have fled to the country-side, hidden ourselves among the nameless faces of farmers and merchants.

But Anthony-

Anthony had never been one to hide.

"We go north," he said, breathless as we crouched beneath the stone arch of a bridge, rain pounding around us. "France is not safe. Neither is Italy. We need somewhere new."

I ran a hand through my soaked hair, shaking my head. "Where? The Netherlands? England? They'd hunt us there too."

Anthony gave me a slow smile, the kind that made my stomach twist. "Then we go further."

I frowned. "Further?"

His gaze burned bright. "America."

I started at him with disbelief. "You're mad."

"Im a performer, ofcourse I'm mad."

He wasn't wrong. But America-

A land beyond the sea, filled with men seeking fortune, running from pasts they could not escape. Not to mention the war.

It was as much a dream as it was a prison.

And yet-

I looked around us. The city walls, the church spires reaching for the heavens, the streets that no long welcomed our presence.

There was nothing left for us here.

I sighed shaking my head with a laugh. "Fine. But we can't go to America, the war is too dangerous."

Anthony grinned. "Alright, that's the spirit."

---

The journey was long. Too long.

We moved in shadows, our names whispered only in darkened taverns and carriage rides where no one asked questions.

We stole passage on a merchant ship bound for the coast, hiding below deck, eating only scraps from forgotten crates.

For weeks, the world was nothing but the creaking of wood and the endless stretch of the sea.

I was used to cities, to streets teaming with life, to voices that carried stories through the air.

But on the ocean there was only silence.

It made me restless.

Made me think too much- much more than usual.

Of the life we had left behind.

Of the people I had swindled, the fortunes I had made then lost.

Of Venice.

Of home.

Of what had once been home.

Anthony noticed, he always did.

Late one night, as the waves rocked us beneath the deck, he say beside me, his warmth grounding me in a way I could never explain.

"You regret it,' he murmured.

I exhaled a laugh. "I regret many things."

A pause. Then-

"But not this, right?"

I turned to him, meeting his dark gaze. He was waiting.

For what, I didn't know.

I smirked, because it was easier. "It's too soon to tell."

Anthony huffed a laugh, shaking his head. "You can never be serious, can you?"

"Not when it comes to fate."

Silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken truths.

Then, softly-

"You are my fate."

My breath caught.

This was the only time in weeks, I had no clever words. No lies. No tricks.

Only the sound of my own heartbeat as we stared at eachother with wonder.

Anthony's hand was resting lightly over mine.

I swallowed. "I hope you don't regret that."

Anthony smiled. "I never regret the truth."

And that was the end of it. For now.

---

The ship carried us to the coast of Spain.

From there we bartered our way onto another vessel- one bound for the unknown.

As the shores of Europe faded into the horizon, I felt something shift inside me.

A life left behind. A future uncertain.

Anthony stood beside me, watching the waves. I was unable to read the deep expression that laid upon his face.

I nudged him. "Second thoughts?"

He smirked. "Not a single one."

I exhale, staring out at the vast endless sea.

And for once in my life, I had no idea what was going to be ahead.

For the first time-

I wasn't afraid.

---

In what felt like a lifetime, we were not running

The ship had carried us to a new world, but before we could face the unknown, we had one final stop- France.

Not the dark corners of Paris where we had once been haunted, but the heart of power itself.

We were invited to Versailles.

The Palace was unlike anything I had ever seen.

Gold kissed the walls, chandeliers hung like captured stats, and the gardens stretched farther than the eye could see.

Everywhere, silk-coded nobles wove between rooms like spirits, their laughter spilling into the halls, their sharp eyes like daggers.

We did not belong.

And yet-

We walked among them, heads held high, as if we had been born for this world.

Anthony, with his effortless charm and voice that could silence a crowd, was welcomed with open arms.

He had performed once for commoners- now, he sang for Kings.

I, ever the opportunist, found my own way to slip into favour.

A smile here, a whispered joke there, a hand of cards played just We enough to amuse but not threaten.

We became ghosts in the Palace, slipping through its veins, drinking its wine, dancing beneath its glittering lights.

For the first time in weeks, I let myself breath.

The king himself was a spectacle.

Dressed in the finest silks, powered and painted, carried himself with the arrogance of a man who had never heard the word no.

He watched Anthony's performance with interest, clapped politely and then-

He invited us to dine.

The banquet was a feast of gods.

Platter of roasted meats, rivers of wine, laughter that swayed between genuine and dangerous.

Anthony sat beside the king, speaking in low, measured tones.

I sat across from them, swirling my drink watching.

The king leaned in, eyes gleaming. "Tell me, monsieur, what is it you seek in my kingdom?"

Anthony smiled, easy, readable. "Only the world."

The king laughed. "Ambitious. But even the world has its price."

Anthony tilted his head. "And what price does your majesty put upon it?" The king considered him, then me.

And then-

"You intrigue me." He sipped his wine, voice smoothe as velvet. "You are performers, yes? Travelers?"

I met his gaze. "Survivors."

Th king smirked. "Then perhaps you would enjoy a new game."

He gestured to a servant who approached with a sealed letter.

I reached for it, but the king tufted.

"Ah, ah. Not yet."

His eyes gleamed in the candlelight. "First, tell me- have you ever been a Russia?"

The room fell silent.

Anthony and I exchanged a glance. Russia.

A land of tears and frozen streets, of whispered conspiracies and wars fought in the dark.

A place where men like us could rise- or vanish.

The king leaned forward, voice soft, dangerous.

"There is a man- an emperor, if you will. He has need of clever minds. Of men who can slip between shadows, who can survive."

I felt my pulse quicken.

This was no game.

This was an invitation into something greater.

Or something far, far worse.

Anthony's fingers brushed mine beneath the table. A silent question.

I swallowed, forced a grin. "And what exactly does this emperor what from us?"

The king only smiled.

"You'll see."

He pushed the letter forward.

I hesitated- then took it.

The seal was unbroken.

The weight of it- heavy.

I met Anthony's gaze.

He nodded.

And tore it open.

Inside-

One sentence.

A command.

A summons.

---

'Come to St. Petersburg.'

'Your fate awaits.'

---

I looked up. The king was watching.

Smiling.

Anthony exhaled a short laugh, shaking his head with amusement. "Well?"

He turned to me.

"Shall we go meet an emperor?"