"Let me introduce you," said the white-haired young man. He pointed to the first in line, who had purple, short hair and wore a white suit with a black jacket, accented by a purple carnation in the left pocket.

"This is Purple. He is our wizard!" he emphasized.

Madalen noticed that Purple looked the biggest and tallest of them all. He had a somewhat oblong face, with strong cheekbones. His lips were thin, almost a line, which didn't look bad under his straight nose. His eyes were a bright, pale green, almost unreal. His face betrayed mystery.

The white-haired man then pointed to the one next to Purple with green hair that fell on one side of his face like a fringe. The rest of his hair was short, just reaching his neck. He wore a green blouse with black tribal designs. Around his neck was what looked like a scarf with strange curved patterns in shades of brown, resembling scales. A belt tied his black pants, which ended in black leather shoes. Madalen could make out the dark brown color in the eye she could see. The other eye was hidden behind the fringe, with a small scar protruding up to his nose. She wasn't sure if the scar extended over his hidden eye or if it was all distorted. It was clear he wanted to hide it so no one would see. His face showed something guilty.

"This is Green. He specializes in snakes."

Only then did she notice that the "scarf" around his neck was actually a snake! The circus didn't seem to have any other animals. On the other hand, she wasn't sure.

He then pointed to the one next to Green, who had pink, slightly spiky hair. He wore a colorful jacket and plaid pants with brown and orange squares, along with funny orange shoes. He seemed to be the youngest of the bunch. He had a very sweet, childish face: a small nose, soft pink, pouty lips, and big honey eyes.

"This is Pink. He's our clown," continued the white-haired man.

"I thought you all were," Madalen commented.

"Only when necessary," he answered with a sly smile. “Beside me are the twins, Blue and Red. They are our acrobats and specialize in knife games,” he smirked, “they love them!”

Blue had short blue hair, while Red had short red hair. Their hair was spiked, making their heads look like hedgehogs. It would be very difficult to tell them apart if it weren't for their different hair colors. They had the same greenish-yellow eyes, the same nose with a cute little curve, eyebrows that formed a sharp angle at the end, the same long narrow lips with a slightly thicker lower lip, and the same tiny mole at the bottom of their right eye. However, she might be able to tell them apart by their expressions. Blue exuded coldness, while Red looked slightly angry. They both wore tight black leather pants and tight red and dark blue tops that accentuated the stripes all over their bodies.

Last in line was a young man with very close-cropped blond hair, wearing an orange-red tight tank top that accentuated his sturdy frame and dark gray pants. He seemed quite collected and withdrawn compared to the rest. His eyes were downcast. She couldn't easily make out their color, but she was pretty sure they were a very light brown. His eyebrows were two sharp, even curves, and his nose was gracefully curved. He always looked like he was deep in thought.

“And this is Yellow. He does really hot stunts,” the white hair man giggled. He probably meant fire stunts.

Madalen looked at them all quizzically. She noticed that they were all seemingly charming after all, and certainly, the white-haired one stood out with his charm.

"Really now, those are your names?" she asked ironically.

“We all have nicknames. I imagine you do too. And if you don't have one, we'll find you one."

"And let me guess, you're White?" she asked.

The young white-haired man gave a crooked smile.

"You can call me that if you want, but I prefer Jio," he said playfully. "And yours, Miss?"

"Mad…"

She quickly realized she didn't want to introduce herself by her nickname and hastily added, "…alen."

Jio seemed to understand the short pause and let out another crooked smile. "I can tell it flatters you."

She paid no attention to his compliment.

"Now to say that it was my pleasure would be a lie..."

Jio laughed.

"It was our pleasure though. Right, guys?"

Everyone nodded, some smiling. They seemed surprisingly pleasant, even though the first impression was somewhat negative.

“What do you want from me? Why did you bring me here?"

"You are our lucky visitor for this year," Jio said with a smile.

Pink took out a bell and shook it. Din din din.

"What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled.

"Every year we have a visitor."

"But I didn't come on purpose."

"Yeah, that's how it usually goes."

He spoke in riddles, which irritated her.

"I'm sorry, but you brought me here. I don't want to join any circus!"

"Why? Don't you like shows?"

"Not at all!"

Jio's eyes sparkled. "Then why did you go to that one, since you don't like them?"

"Because of my brother. It was his birthday, and the tickets were a gift from a clown," she reluctantly explained.

"Interesting! Right, guys?"

Everyone burst out laughing.

"What is interesting?"

"You," he smiled at her with a charming smile.

"Look, I don't want trouble. I want to get out of here!”

Jio adopted a mock distressed expression. "Oh, I'm sorry, but you can't."

"Why?"

"How can I tell you? Um… you're trapped here!”

"What do you mean?"

Her eyes rolled so hard she thought they might pop out.

"See for yourself."

He held out his hand, beckoning her out.