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Milana was simply doing her job calmly. Today was one of the calmest days in recent times. All the customers were kind and nice. The orders were very simple and didn't require too much action. And the weather was just wonderful. She could just drop everything right now and go to the park to enjoy the sunshine.
The girl smiled even wider, already imagining how she would spend the day after work, when suddenly Pierrot burst into the café, and he looked, to put it mildly… terrible. He was trembling all over, tears streaming down his face, and he looked as if luck had completely turned away from him, causing a huge string of troubles that had severely knocked him down.
The man, ignoring the frightened and interested looks of the customers, quickly jumped over to his beloved, leaning slightly towards her. Or rather, he almost pressed his face entirely against her.
"My dear, something terrible has happened!"
He whispered, sniffling very quietly… with his nose? Which was apparently hidden under his mask. The café employee looked at him in bewilderment.
"Are you leaving very soon?"
She asked, but the acrobat shook his head.
"Worse."
He muttered and began to babble even faster.
"The Jester unexpectedly announced a new rule for me today. That I… that I… that I cannot see you, my lady!"
Having said this, Pierrot couldn't take it anymore and sobbed harder, pressing his forehead against the counter. The people waiting for the performance watched him for a while, but when nothing happened, they turned back to the windows in disappointment while Milana tried to process what was happening.
The Jester? Forbade Pierrot from seeing her????
"Did he give a reason?"
She asked, but the actor silently shook his head, continuing to cry. The girl, shocked, crossed her arms, trying to understand the reason for such a decision.
She knew perfectly well how important the Jester's decisions were for the entire circus. He was the leader of their group. The most important part of the whole show. And many of the workers simply adored and loved him, even if some tried to hide it. Because of this, the circus performers did everything the Jester said, trying not to ask unnecessary questions. After all, he knew best what was good for everyone. For these reasons, Pierrot couldn't even speak normally in public.
But for what reasons did the Jester decide that Pierrot should not communicate with Milana? Had she done something wrong? Had she somehow incorrectly administered first aid to Pierrot during their meeting? Had she insulted the circus leader or someone else from the circus in some way? Had she said something wrong? Ah, or maybe something had happened in the circus itself that meant they shouldn't see each other for now? Or…
Then another sob from the man was heard, causing the café employee to quickly snap out of it.
"Pierrot, everything will be alright."
The girl said, placing her hand on her interlocutor's shoulder. He, sniffing again, looked at her.
"Even despite the Jester's ban, we will still see each other and somehow communicate."
She continued, smiling softly at Pierrot. He quickly wiped his eyes with his hand, looking at his beloved with hope.
"I promise I'll come up with something. Our friendship will not be destroyed by some obstacle like this!"
Milana raised one hand and placed the other on her chest as if swearing an oath. Most likely, she would be able to solve this problem quickly, as it probably wouldn't be too difficult.
Perhaps it wasn't so easy. The girl had probably spoken too soon in her head, and it seemed she had jinxed it, because nothing was going right.
Of course, the first solution to the problem was to talk to the Jester. Perhaps there was some misunderstanding that led to this ban. Or maybe Milana had done something wrong in the past, forcing the Jester to limit her communication with Pierrot. Then they could discuss it, and the café employee could take note of that point to avoid making such mistakes again.
The girl waited for the Jester's performance to end. Honestly, it was very difficult because it seemed that day the performance lasted longer than usual. She approached him, already beginning to prepare an apology, but the circus leader, without waiting for the start of the dialogue, replied coldly.
"If you're here about Pierrot, then no. I haven't changed my mind. And please, don't even try to talk to him yourselves. I don't want my employees to suffer because of you."
Milana was surprised to hear this, because firstly, as she understood, the ban only applied to Pierrot; other circus performers could freely communicate with her. And secondly, how could she possibly harm him? It would be one thing if she were one of those who believed the rumors about the circus and tried to attack the actor, but that was completely different.
In short, it seemed she couldn't come to an agreement with the Jester. Especially since he had started ignoring the café employee, pretending she didn't exist.
Another solution appeared. To go to his performances. Of course, that would require spending a considerable amount of money, as circus tickets weren't cheap, but beggars can't be choosers. So, buying a ticket from the Ticket Taker, Milana happily skipped to Pierrot's tent, looking forward to the performance, but encountered an unexpected obstacle on the way.
The same Ticket Taker. It turned out the Jester had forbidden her from attending the acrobat's performances! The controller couldn't tell her the reason for the boss's restriction but apologized for the fact that the girl couldn't receive the full range of services even though she had paid for them. He even gave her some cotton candy as compensation, although it was still a bit disappointing.
In that case, there was another option. The phone! It was surprising how Milana hadn't thought of it immediately. She had recently bought Pierrot a basic mobile phone. For reasons unknown to her, he didn't have one, so considering his costume with unusual gloves, she bought him a very durable phone. Thank goodness she had managed to teach him how to use it before the communication restriction, because the café employee had a very vague feeling that the circus performers were terrible with technology and wouldn't have been able to teach Pierrot everything necessary.
And it even worked! For a while, they could communicate freely, discussing what had happened while they were apart. Interestingly, the acrobat seemed to try to maintain silence even in messages, as Milana sent most of the long messages, while Pierrot mostly sent short, to-the-point ones. Although, maybe that was because the man still wasn't good at typing?
But fate, the villainess, interfered with their communication here as well. One day at work, the girl received a message and immediately knew she had to find another way to communicate:
"Please be so kind as to stop ignoring my words. Do not give anything else to my employees without my permission, and especially do not secretly communicate with them, even despite the ban. If you continue to behave this way, access to the circus will be closed to you."
Surprisingly, the girl seemed to even know with which intonation the text was written. And even more surprising was that she wasn't blocked, but it seemed they had simply taken the phone away from Pierrot, because no matter how much she wrote to him, there was no answer.
So, Milana spent a very long time thinking through her next plan of action. She bought everything she needed. She took time off during the Jester's performance and when the Ticket Taker, according to Harlequin, would be out on business, namely the hundred and fifth cleaning of his tent that week. And to appease her conscience at least a little, she specifically bought two whole tickets from the controller. Just to somehow compensate for her next crazy act.
The girl spent a long time examining the fools, taking notes on her phone. She ran around fabric stores for a very long time, choosing the most similar fabrics. Of course, she watched all the necessary videos to at least roughly understand what and how to do. And, just in case, for peace of mind, she bought a candle that supposedly brought good luck. In her plan, she would need it very, very much.
Milana, very nervous, walked through the circus, past many tents. She diligently kept her back straight, holding in her hand a bag containing various desserts from her café. The girl periodically calmed herself down and slowed her pace so as not to look too suspicious. After all, she needed to maintain the perfect image of a fool.
Yes, she had to disguise herself as one of them. They supposedly had access to the staff area, they could wander anywhere, and most importantly, they were always silent, which meant she wouldn't be recognized by her voice. The best possible option to get to Pierrot's trailer to meet him.
Surprisingly, the easiest part of her costume was the mask. A long time ago, the café employee had found it lying near the entrance to the pink tent. It was slightly cracked and, apparently, worn by time. At first, Milana thought about returning it, but somehow she didn't manage to meet any of the circus performers that day, and the fools didn't react to her words at all, so she decided to give the mask back to the performers later. Later, it didn't happen because she… completely forgot about the mask and only remembered it when she started sewing the costume. Although the mask was a bit too big for her, it was better than making a parody of a mask from scratch. At most, she disguised the cracks.
The hardest part of her image was the costume. Oh, how long she had examined all the variations of the fools' costumes to make a copy. Considering that the girl was not the best seamstress or artist, it was very difficult. She would have gladly taken pictures, but that would have looked too suspicious, and she would have definitely been caught. Some parts of the costume Milana sewed herself, while others she had to give to professionals because she simply couldn't do them.
Then the café employee slightly darkened her red curls so they wouldn't stand out so much. She even had to straighten them, causing a smell of burning in her apartment for a while. Buying the sweetest things from the café, she went to the circus. Yes, she had to crawl through a hole in one of the fences to avoid going through the Ticket Taker. Milana mentally apologized to him a hundred times for this, promising to buy another ticket and coffee for him.
The girl, sighing very quietly, quickly shook her head, looking for the right trailer. She felt like she was in a labyrinth, not a circus. Although, probably, it was her unfamiliarity with the inner workings of the place and where everything was located that was affecting her. The café employee adjusted her mask slightly to see better when she suddenly noticed a row of trailers in the distance.
Bingo! That was it!
She, trying not to stand out too much, walked past some fools moving boxes and headed towards the trailers. Milana quickly examined them, looking for what she thought could be Pierrot's trailer. It seemed to her that it might be one of the large red trailers, standing almost flush against another, slightly smaller, purple one that was worn by time.
Approaching Pierrot's trailer, the girl awkwardly cleared her throat and knocked on the door, to which she unexpectedly received… a growl. Not an ordinary growl, but an almost animalistic one. Was this an animal trailer? Although, there didn't seem to be any animals in any of the performances, and they didn't seem to be used in this circus. Could Pierrot even do that, and why did he do it? What if the café employee had come to him while he was changing after a performance!? Of course he would react that way! It was just indecent.
Milana took a step back, intending to either continue her walk to wait for the man to finish changing or be completely ready, when she suddenly noticed the gazes of the nearest fools. They had stopped moving the boxes and started boring their gazes into the girl. Apparently, they were starting to suspect something, which was, to put it mildly, very, very bad.
Without thinking long, the café employee took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and quickly opened the trailer door, stepping inside and almost tripping over the stairs. Another displeased and angry roar was heard.
"Sorry, Pierrot, it's me!"
She whispered quietly, closing the door behind her. The roaring quickly stopped after the girl's words.
"My lady?"
Came Pierrot's surprised voice, and Milana quickly nodded.
"Yes, sorry for barging in so suddenly. If it helps, I have my eyes closed; you can change calmly! It's just that the other employees seemed to start suspecting something was wrong with me."
"Oh, yes, of course! My dear, please wait a minute!"
The man muttered and began to rustle with something. The girl waited patiently, keeping her eyes closed, still not letting go of the bag of desserts.
"My lady, you can open your eyes."
Pierrot said after a couple of minutes, still rustling with something. The café employee calmly opened her eyes and saw her interlocutor nervously adjusting his hat, which he had apparently put on quickly, and his gloves, which seemed to be slightly mixed up.
"Well, I, um… Consider that I'm keeping my promise once again!"
Milana said, taking off her mask and smiling at her interlocutor. He, squealing with joy and almost jumping to the ceiling, ran to his beloved and hugged her. The girl barely managed to move the bag of desserts away so they wouldn't be crushed by such an unexpected display of affection.
"Darling, you are simply incredible! I adore you so, so, so much! You are the best thing that has ever existed in the whole world!"
He shouted, pressing the café employee closer to himself. She exhaled quietly, raising the hand with the bag.
"I'm glad you're happy, but I didn't come empty-handed; I brought treats."
She said in a strained voice, trying to breathe. The acrobat, noticing the bag, cried out even more joyfully and began quickly kissing his beloved on the cheeks.
"You are the best, my lady! You are the most wonderful and kind person I have ever met!"
He spoke, smiling his unusual and rather frightening smile. The girl nodded, trying to move back at least a little.
"We should probably put this somewhere. You can't eat sweets like this standing up…"
Milana said, then froze. The trailer, to put it mildly, looked terrible. She hadn't noticed it immediately because of Pierrot changing and his hug, but his, so to speak, living space looked ransacked! Everywhere lay debris from various pieces of furniture. In some places, claw marks and someone's sharp teeth marks were visible. And did she see blood in the far corner?
Noticing his beloved's shocked gaze, the man became embarrassed and quickly began searching for at least something intact among the debris, preferably something that could be a chair.
"I apologize for the mess, my lady, it's just… some circumstances happened that caused my trailer to become like this."
He replied, becoming more nervous as he realized there was not a single piece of intact furniture for the girl. She watched her interlocutor's actions for a while, then calmly shrugged and sat down on the floor as if nothing had happened.
"It's okay. I brought all the desserts in containers anyway. I don't think anything terrible will happen if we eat a little on the floor."
Pierrot, seeing this, fussed and quickly pulled out a large piece of fabric from somewhere.
"Darling! Please stand up! You'll get dirty! It's better to put this under you."
He said, holding out the item, but Milana shook her head.
"I'm already dirty anyway. You'd better use it. Your costume is much nicer than mine, and it should be taken care of."
"What are you saying, my lady! Your outfit is simply incomparable! It suits you so well…"
He muttered in a strange voice, sitting down next to his beloved. She began slowly taking the containers out of the bag and arranging them. Pierrot watched this intently, smiling foolishly, resting his head on the café employee's head.
"Honestly, in my rush, I took whatever I saw, mostly chocolate and strawberry flavors. I promise next time I'll bring something better."
She said, turning to the man. He giggled, closing his eyes.
"My lady, I would accept even poisoned food from your hands!"
"Pierrot, that sounds very strange and frightening. You don't have to eat what you like even if it's given to you by me or anyone else close to you. Food should always bring pleasure, not discomfort or pain."
Milana replied, starting to open some containers. Then something clicked with the acrobat, and he moved slightly away from his beloved, looking at her in surprise.
"Next… time?"
He asked, and the girl, nodding, looked at him.
"Of course! Since this plan is working for now, I'll come to you. Not only because of the promise. Honestly, I really enjoy seeing you and talking to you. In my opinion, you are one of the most pleasant conversationalists in my life."
She replied, causing the actor to blush deeply and begin smiling contentedly, slowly rocking from side to side.
"And if the Jester finds out?"
He asked another question. Milana thought for a few minutes, then turned back to the containers.
"Then I'll find another solution. Pierrot, I don't know the reason for this ban, but it seems quite… strange to me. No, I understand that the Jester undoubtedly has reasons for his actions, but… I haven't done anything against you or the circus! I'm not dangerous at all! Besides, for some reason, the ban only applies to you. It's so unfair…"
"Oh, unfair, is it? Well then, the ban on communicating with you will apply not only to Pierrot but also to my other employees!"
Pierrot and Milana both flinched at the same time and very slowly turned towards the source of the third voice. As expected, standing over them was the Jester… A very angry Jester. The Jester, who, with his arms crossed, was staring at the two of them furiously.
"I can explain everything."
Milana muttered very quietly, looking at the circus leader.
The Ticket Taker slowly yawned as he exited his tent. He had so many things to do that day that he would most likely have to forget about sleep. Many unruly customers demanding ticket refunds because the performances were supposedly too scary. Some visitors had decided, as a joke, to dirty the mirrors with something sticky and hard to remove. And some paperwork for the circus's continued operation needed to be filled out and sent off.
The man involuntarily opened his mouth to yawn again when he suddenly noticed some commotion in the staff area out of the corner of his eye. He slowly turned his head towards the noise and then froze in shock.
The Jester, practically fuming with anger, was quickly dragging the owner of the red ticket across the ground by the ropes he had tied her with. A worried and frightened Pierrot ran behind him, trying to take his beloved back. Meanwhile, she was babbling very quickly.
"I understand we had a misunderstanding that led to this situation. I admit I acted extremely incorrectly by infiltrating your so-called premises in such a way. But you also need to understand that by limiting your employee's social circle, you're only making things worse for him. He rarely talks to anyone as it is, and you, undoubtedly for serious reasons, are preventing him from developing socially."
"Dear guest, if you don't shut up right now, I swear I'll ask the Doctor to sew your mouth shut."
The circus leader said, narrowing his eyes. Pierrot tried to say something to him, waving his hands, but the Jester simply snarled at him, quickening his pace.
"You're right; perhaps I'm saying all this in vain, but you understand…"
The girl continued to say something, but, unfortunately, the Ticket Taker could no longer hear the end of the sentence because the trio had left the earshot, apparently heading towards the exit of the circus.
The man watched them go for a while, then sighed heavily and shook his head. He had no idea what had happened, but most likely the Jester would explain later what had occurred and what the controller needed to do. For now, the Ticket Taker continued his current work, which had no extra drama.