Chapter 61 - The Bluemoon Plaza's attraction

Despite the excitement on Vincent's face at such a simple sentence, Leonardo still needed to rest. Benjin was adamant that they could talk more about work when his young master had recovered. Such an order lasted for three days until Leonardo stopped complaining of pain in his injured hand.

Although he could not work yet, Leonardo chose to stop by Barley's tent to give him some satisfaction. There he met Vivian, and in the end the three of them walked around the park taking a short break from work.

— First you got sick and now you are injured because of a crazy person? — Vivian complained crossing her arms — Mr. Vicente should talk to the park's owner and improve our security system.

— Hehe, actually that was my fault. I already had some problems with that guy.

— Still, he can't just break into the park like that!

She was right.

— We were lucky that the cop was around. I heard he caught those kids.

— Mr Barley, as always, on top of the gossip, hm?

— You're the one spreading it around.

— Not me, what a slander! — grumbled the girl with a grimace — Anyway, Leonardo, when are you going back to work?

— When Vincent releases me.

— I hope it won't take long, with the winter holidays we will need a lot of manpower. You know, that director has already announced the audition dates.

— Auditions? — Leonardo asked, curious.

— Oh, you mustn't know since you were left out of your college exams. In the summer they intend to do the show "Pandora's Heart" instead of the puppet. So they hold auditions almost half a year in advance.

He knew that name. It was Dreamland Circus's second best known show, a story about time and memories. However, it wasn't its storyline that filled Leonardo's chest with nostalgia, but the fact that it was that person's favourite show.

— I didn't know they were going to do that show. But what are these auditions?

— Each show is directed, produced and done by different people. I think it was last week that Mr. Vicente held a meeting to choose the producers of the show, but I didn't know who would direct.

— It scares me that you, the biggest gossip in Dreamland, don't know that.

— And you do? — Vivian grumbled, looking very unfriendly.

— I'm old, I don't know anything.

— Anyway, I just heard that they'll be starting auditions soon to cast the characters. And soon we will have to run in the production line.

— I hope this time those architects make decent sketches. This show we're presenting has given me a headache, especially the sound team.

— Oh, they had to order a new drum set?

— Just a few pieces, lucky for us.

Laughing muffled, Leonardo bit a piece of his hamburger enjoying that calmness. It wasn't so bad to walk in the park with those two, and talk during the breaks. Watching the movement of the customers, the interaction with the costumed employees...

Dreamland had a nice atmosphere.

Not at all horrifying, as those guys would have him believe the other night.

The three of them continued talking until they had to get back to work. Unable to return to his routine, Leonardo stayed behind with nothing to do. He was on holiday from college, he had nothing to do at the mansion while Vicente was away, and he didn't want to stay at the circus distracting Benjin either.

Walking through Bluemoon Plaza, the boy just watched the people passing by as he lost himself in thought. When he heard the cry of a child, he stopped and looked around, finding a tiny little girl alone among the crowd.

It was dangerous.

Children alone in the park... It was dangerous.

About to go towards the girl, she had stopped crying and ran towards an adult, whose features were similar to hers. She would have been lost, but she found her parents. What a relief.

— There should be more security staff spread around the park — Murmured the boy looking around.

In fact, there were no security guards around. One he could find was in the back street. Considering that those three weren't ordinary humans, and were probably following orders from a supernatural subject, Leonardo didn't want to give way for more disappearances to happen.

Was he really believing all that?

Tilting his head upwards, Leonardo felt more confused.

Now that he thought about it, could it be that he hadn't gone crazy?

— Leo!

Turning around, the boy found Aslan in his costume of some animated character. Make-up and smiling, he was running towards him until he held his hands carefully.

— Hey, Aslan, working hard?

— Shouldn't you be resting at the mansion? Benjin will fight with you if he sees you wandering around.

— Haha, that's okay. I don't have anything to do, so I decided to go for a walk.

Aslan peered at his eyes suspiciously, but the young master showed no reluctance or nervousness. Finally, he sighed.

— Let's talk in my office.

— Do you have one?

— But of course!

There were definitely things in Dreamland that Leonardo didn't know.

Walking Aslan through Bluemoon Plaza, they went to a costume shop. Although it was a large environment, it was completely filled with customers to the point of making it seem small. And as soon as Aslan walked past them, it wasn't long before he became the centre of attention.

Retreating a few steps to avoid being carried away by the customers, Leonardo had only smiled when Aslan whispered an apology to him.

Maybe it was because he had lived with them until then, which had made him see those people as someone ordinary, but Leonardo remembered at that moment that they were not main attractions for frivolous reasons. The day he had moved to the mansion, Gustavo had commented about their fame with the public.

He had just never seen them in action.

Well, except for the trapeze artist who made a point of showing off.

Aslan took photos and chatted calmly and attentively with the customers. He wasn't disrespectful and even less did he show his annoyance at having children tugging at his clothes to get his attention. He could handle them with enviable mastery.

It was as if Aslan had a natural gift for bringing happiness to his customers.

It took a long time for Aslan to signal him to go to the back of the shop. Past the door, he found the staff rest area, with some of them having a cup of coffee there.

— Mr. Aslan! Are you back yet?

— Yes, I'm going to talk to him in my office, so keep an eye on the customers for a while. Is that okay?

— Yes sir!

Aslan pointed to the stairs and even climbed a few steps, but when he noticed that he wasn't being followed, he turned around, noticing that his young master was facing the three employees who were on their break. It was strange that they called that boy sir. They looked older, even though their faces showed the comfort of talking to their boss. Interesting to know they had a good relationship.

— Hm... Leo?

— You have good employees — Leonardo murmured, smiling at Aslan as he walked up the stairs past the boy — Good job.

Aslan's cheeks reddened immediately, giving way to a satisfying smile.

— Thank you.

Aslan's office was on the second floor of the building, taking up the entire floor. Just like his room, there were mannequins with costumes, cupboards with rolls of fabric, shelves of files, and everything was impeccably organised. As soon as he leaned against the door, Aslan crossed his arms.

— So, what would you like to talk about?

— Are you sure you want to be the heir? —He said bluntly.

— What makes you doubt my decision?

— You didn't even want to stay here in the beginning.

Leonardo nodded, shoving his hands into his sweatshirt pockets. It wasn't wrong. He desperately wanted to run away, but something would have changed.

— I don't like the idea of disappearances happening here.

— Is that it? You know, those guys are desperate, but that doesn't mean you should stay here against your will.

— Wouldn't you like me to stay too?

Aslan smiled.

— Of course I would, and like you, I don't like to see them doing this kind of dirty work. This place is my home.

— Aren't you afraid, Aslan? You're the only human among the attractions, and yet you're still here.

— It's not as if I have anywhere else to go, Leo — Aslan approached his desk, running his fingertips over the wooden top, seeming to ponder long and hard until he could continue — I was called a genius by my family. I always had an easy time learning things, and I always did well in whatever competitions I did. That only increased my parents' ambition.

— What do you mean?

— I never had a childhood, it's ridiculous to admit that. Playing with other children? Hang out with friends? Travel the world and create memories? Instead, my parents just wanted me to study and become more remarkable than I already was.

A little genius? It was kind of hard to believe, but Aslan was younger than him and yet he was already manager of an area of Dreamland. He had never heard Vincent complain about him, on the contrary, there was a trust as if Aslan was the most capable person in the world to take care of things in his absence.

— I have never heard you talk about your parents. You don't visit them?

— There was a day when I went out with my family to a piano competition. While my parents were signing me up, I ended up coming across the banner of a Dreamland Circus show. I had never been to a circus before, so I was curious. But my parents didn't let me go, they said it was a waste of time.

— What nonsense! The circus is the most magical part of Dreamland.

Aslan suppressed his laughter at his young master's displeasure.

— You're right, Leo, but they don't like it. So I just had to run away to come see it, and that's when I met Master Evilian. He was so kind to me, treated me like a child and let me play around the park with no restrictions.

It was just like your father to do something like that.

If there was a chance to show someone the happiness of being in the circus and seeing a show, he would make sure to show them. He was like a child eager to show others what a great treasure he had found.

That meant that even after his departure, his father had not lost his charm.

On the one hand it was a relief.

— And how did you end up becoming manager here?

— I ran away from home.

The two stared at each other in silence, until Leonardo coughed.

— What's it like?

— It's childish, isn't it? But I ran away. I found here the freedom to do whatever I wanted without having to worry about what others would think of me. That's why this place is special to me. It's my home. I wish you could see Dreamland the same way.

Leonardo envied Aslan. Not his life until he reached Dreamland, or his time with Rohan Evilian. He envied him for being brave enough to stay in a place like that even with those non-human beings around. How much courage did it take for Aslan to stay? Or rather... How dreadful was his life with his family to the point where he preferred to stay with non-human beings?

Stroking Aslan's head, Leonardo smiled at him.

— Don't worry, I will protect this home.

Just like when he was with Vivian and Mr. Barley, Leonardo ended up spending more time with Aslan, listening about his life. It was a surprise to discover that the reality he lived was completely different from his own. In the end they had something in common: the need to escape.

Thanks to that conversation Leonardo felt closer to Aslan.

Close to lunchtime, the two finally left the office. Looser and more comfortable with each other, they laughed happily.

— We can take lunch to those two, what do you think?

— Hm... I've eaten before, I'm not that hungry.

— Take a dessert for yourself then.

— Better take two, that puppet will get wormy if he sees...

— Leo?

The two boys turned back to find three familiar subjects with surprised looks on their faces.

— Rafa? What are you guys doing here?