Title of the document No sooner had I nodded than I was being dragged forward by the man.
A booth caught my eye as we passed, and I stopped in my tracks, pulling Rufus to a halt as well I gestured at the booth “What do you suppose is going on over there? Why are there so many people?”
Rufus took one glance at the booth and wordlessly led me there.
As we got closer, I realized that the people were crowding around a ring toss game. The booth keeper stood beside a mound of plushies, countless thin hoops adorning one of his arms. He bent over to retrieve the ring that had been successfully looped around one of the toys’ head, and then handed the plushie to the eager customer.
It was a pretty simple and straightforward game, but everyone was inexplicable drawn to it.
My greedy eyes fell upon the two giant teddy bears sitting in the middle of the toy stash Obviously, the booth keeper had pull them on full display in order to attract more customers. Both Arron and Beryl were fond of huge toys like these, and they would be thrilled if I gave them one each.
The other park goers seemed interested in the huge bears as well, seeing as how they repeatedly tossed their hoops at them Although several people just barely missed the bears’ ears, no one was lucky enough to secure the toys.
I pursed my lips and grinned to myself, excitement already bubbling up inside me.
Before I could speak to the booth keeper, however, I heard Rufus speak beside me. “Here, give me a few hoops Keep the change.”
I turned just in time to see him give some money to the booth keeper. Seemingly noticing my gaze, he flashed me a smile.
“I’ll help you with this. Arron and Beryl will definitely love them.” Warmth blossomed in my heart He was actually thinking the same thing as me.
The booth keeper happily pocketed the cash before pulling a tall stack of hoops out of his arm to give to Rufus. “Here you go, sir.”
I cocked my head to the side and eyed Rufus. His shooting skills were excellent, and his sight had always been accurate I wondered if that applied to a game of ring toss as well.
I had barely finished the thought when he suddenly threw a couple of hoops at once. He didn’t even blink. Rufus seemed so blase about it that I smirked I was just about to make fun of him for his overconfidence when I heard an exclamation from the crowd.
I looked forward and saw a hoop spinning around the largest bear’s ear, twirling twice before coming to a full stop.
My eyes instinctively darted around in search of the second hoop, and sure enough, it rested on the ear of the other giant bear.
“You’re amazing!” I blurted out, hugging Rufus without thinking. I felt him stiffen in my embrace, and it felt like a bucket of cold water splashing over my head. Snapping back to my senses, I hastily stepped away and acted like nothing happened.
Thankfully, the blase keeper chose that moment to come up to us with the carefully wrapped toys.
They were about half a meter tall each. Rufus put down his remaining hoops and gathered the plushies in his arms. Then he glanced at me and asked, “Would you like more?’ I took one of the bears and nuzzled against its furry face.
When I looked up, I noticed the blase keeper’s worried expression when he heard Rufus, so I just shook my head. “No, thanks. This is plenty enough. Thank you.”
Rufus chuckled lightly, and then out of the blue, he asked, “How did you meet your ex, anyway? Did you two go to an amusement park, too?”
To say that I was completely caught off-guard by his question would be a gross understatement I paused as the realization hit me-I had never gone to an amusement park with Rufus before.
I blinked at him in a daze and shook my head. “Why are you suddenly asking me that?’
Instead of answering, however, Rufus pressed his palm over my eyes. “Stop looking at me like that.”
I bristled at the unexpected darkness. I opened my mouth to protest, but as I was just about to utter a word, I felt his warm breath brush against my ear.
“Stop looking at me as though we are lovers,” he whispered, his voice deep and thick with temptation. It sent a delicious shiver down my spine.
I had a vague thought then, about love could never be truly concealed, no matter how hard one tried. Feeling a bit disheartened by this knowledge, I pushed him away and mustered a feeble smile. “You’re overthinking things. Weren’t we supposed to act like lovers? I was just doing my part.”
“I see.” Rufus straightened and cast a somber glance at me. I bobbed my head and tried to affirm my words, only to find that I didn’t know what else to say.
Thankfully, he changed the subject, saving us both from the awkwardness of the situation. “Come on, the freak show is about to start. Follow me, and make sure you don’t get lost.”
Crystals POV
Rufus’ words made me realize that we had dawdled for a considerable amount of time. I hurried to catch up with his long strides.
I told myself that we would find Arron soon, and made sure that I had enough energy for the inevitable battle waiting for us.
Title of the document Rufus pulled the map out of his pocket. I peered over his shoulder, dumbstruck at what I was seeing. It looked just like an abstract artwork done by some kindergartener! I frowned at the mess of lines and colors. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that this… thing had been designed to purposely confuse and mislead people.
“How are we supposed to read this?” I muttered under my breath.
“We’re heading south,” Rufus said without missing a beat, though he did take a few additional glances at the map before folding it again. He then led me down a side road.
I trailed behind him readily. He always had better navigation skills than me. I had every confidence that he would take us to our destination without a hitch. Sure enough, after passing through a sparse forest, we arrived at a mushroom-shaped building about six floors high.
It was fenced off by a white railing, and two men stood guard at the entrance, both of them wearing blue masks. After a moment’s observation, we learned that only those with invitations were allowed entry. I supposed we were in the right place, then. We moved forward, Rufus presented his invitation, and then we were admitted inside.
Once there, I felt as if I had stepped into another world entirely. Thick tapestries hung on the walls, completely blocking out all the light. No lamps were in sight. Instead, candles lit up the place from their places high up on numerous chandeliers. Up front was a giant stage, and it was lit up more than any other part of the hall.
I soon noticed that everyone around us was wielding a short, wand-like cylinder. But we hadn’t been given anything at all. I flagged down a nearby staff and asked, “Did you guys forget to give us something?”
The man simply shook his head and said, “No. Those are monoculars. We provide them to the members of the audience who might not be able to see clearly due to their distance from the stage. You, however, have VIP seats, so you won’t be needing them “
I nodded in understanding and said nothing more. Rufus pulled me over to our designated seats. We eventually sat down at a platform that afforded us the perfect view of the stage, and there was ample space between the seats, ensuring the patrons of some modicum of privacy.
It was just as well, as our conversations were better kept secret.
Before long, the curtains slowly rose before us, and a clown riding a unicycle appeared onstage. He proceeded to perform one dangerous stunt after another.
As Rufus and I were seated close to the stage, I found myself flinching every time the clown approached Despite knowing that it was all a show, I couldn’t help but fear that he would topple over me at any second.
I leaned back against my chair and grew increasingly vigilant as the seconds ticked by. As it was, I noticed that the clown was wearing a unique mask, one that I had never seen around the amusement park since we arrived.
The clown finally ended his performance, and he picked up a microphone. I realized belatedly that he was also the host of the damn freak show.
He made some introductions before leaving the stage, and another act commenced. I perked up as the spotlight shone on a steel wire suspended above us. I initially thought nothing of it, but I soon discovered that it was a prop for the next act.
As soon as it dawned on me, a slender ankle emerged from the dark, followed by the rest of its body-a ragged, armless boy who looked no older than sixteen.
He ambled slowly down the wire, which was bouncing ever so slightly from his weight.
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