ML   bravo little jester!

ML   loved the finale especially. who knew you had it in you?

He startles and whips around, but you're nowhere to be seen. When he turns back forward, there you are in front of him. A simple but effective trick.

He puts on a lazy smile, but you don't miss those hiked-up shoulders and ever-so-widened eyes.

CD   △ You scared me. △

You flash your own smile, though it involves more pearly whites than flattened lips.

ML   really?

ML   weird considering youre surrounded by people all the time.

ML   maybe brush up on those public service skills then!

ML   an entertainers no good all jittery. ;)

CD   △ Ha-ha. △

CD   △ People don't usually... yell out of nowhere. △

CD   △ Or go where I'm not looking. △

Those lidded eyes insist on distance and detachment.

CD   △ Or roam around like that. △

ML   like what?

CD   △ Like someone being somewhere that he shouldn't. △

You oblige by stepping closer.

ML   thats some attitude youve got there.

ML   you know...

ML   her highness is the grand queen of this place.

ML   that makes me the closest thing to a prince.

ML   someone who actually matters in a kingdom.

Up close, you can see a single bead of sweat strewn on his face. On stage, one could easily mistake it as a product of impassioned labor, hidden by the makeup and parlor tricks. An act betrayed by a most amateur mistake.

ML   so...

ML   you should be waaay nicer to me!

You swat at one of those dumb-looking bells at the end of his hat. It makes him recoil back a step.

ML   after all - court jesters may be flashy but royalty are the real stars!

CD   △ Ha-ha... △

CD   △ That's funny. △

ML   i can tell by your very sincere way of laughing. ;)

CD   △ I mean it. △

CD   △ Her considering you as an heir to all this. △

CD   △ You considering it a privilege. △

CD   △ It's got a lot of layers to it. Your best joke yet. △

Your favorite kind of smile is one through gritted teeth and barely-concealed animosity.

ML   thanks.

ML   ive got a lot of potential in this kind of entertainment too!

ML   a shame i dont bother with such embarrassing subordination anymore. ;)

You swat at another bell. Except it's not a bell, it's more like a beanbag. You could've sworn Auntie made him wear a hat with bells at one point. Like a collar for keeping track of the cattle.

CD   △ If it would be anyone, it would be Heidi. △

CD   △ Someone she shows any care for. △

ML   care schmare. aunties more traditional than you think!

ML   and i am in fact her closest blood relative.

CD   △ That can't be true. △

CD   △ You might act alike, but you... △

His mouth swings shut.

CD   △ No. △

CD   △ This makes sense. △

ML   you dont sound very surprised.

CD   △ Ha-ha. △

CD   △ Only because you're a lot like her. △

CD   △ And few people are. △

ML   a miracle i know! maybe i got it from the grandparents.

ML   since papa had something resembling a heart in him.

You throw that one out there, just to see if he'll bite. Sure enough, his demeanor loses that disinterested energy.

CD   △ Your father? △

CD   △ If she's your aunt, then he must be... her brother? △

ML   at one point.

CD   △ The Director's family... △

CD   △ There's no mention of any siblings. Just a mother and father. △

ML   werent you listening jingles?

ML   i said he was. at one point and no further.

CD   △ Oh. △

His voice is low, solemn.

ML   and that was before he passed on.

ML   dont you think i know my own family better than the public record?

CD   △ ... △

CD   △ I'm sorry to hear that. △

ML   mmm.

A grin that tilts lop-sided and narrows your eyes.

ML   im sure you are.

He shakes his head rather adamantly.

CD   △ No, I mean it. △

CD   △ It's hard to lose anyone. Especially people you like. △

CD   △ The ones you thought you'd be with much longer. △

CD   △ It's... tragic. △

You can hear it - a cold, quiet grief. More than you expected from someone who never engages beyond the most surface of surface levels.

ML   well that makes sense.

CD   △ What? △

ML   is that why youre such a sad sack? you went through some sad sack backstory?

ML   gods. i shouldve expected as much.

ML   no permanent guest at mimiland has had the happiest lives.

ML   oh well! good thing tragedy gets funnier over time!

CD   △ Not everyone here is... like me. △

CD   △ They all buy into it. About this being a happy place. △

ML   really?

ML   youre fooling yourself if you think sprinkles over there is the odd one out.

ML   shes doing the worst to hide it.

He blinks slowly, like the thought had never occurred to him.

CD   △ Hide... what? △

You laugh out loud.

ML   la ha! well its not your job to worry about all that.

ML   and whatevers in the past stays buried there.

ML   no need to act like it matters anymore.

ML   unless...

ML   its not something you can run away from forever?

That snaps him out of his mental stupor.

CD   △ Is that a question? △

ML   its open-ended like one. ;)

CD   △ ... △

CD   △ Always so... roundabout with your words. △

CD   △ Mimiland is full of that. △

CD   △ Riddlers with riddles no sane person could ever solve. △

ML   mmm. id say there are solutions alright.

CD   △ ...the instructions are unclear. △

ML   oh? youre going to lecture me on transparency?

ML   are you hearing yourself?

You're well-acquainted with and learned about your dear Auntie, of course. And there are only a few areas in Heidi's story you have to piece together. But this one? It's like grabbing at fog. Whatever you get your hands on slips away just as easily.

It wouldn't bother you so much if his performance wasn't so lacking. He's stumbling around on stage, and the only reason he hasn't fallen off is because his feet know better, not his mind.

ML   fine then. ill ask you straight.

ML   because no one tries this hard to be someone new if theyre not hiding something.

ML   who are you really?

ML   who were you before you became all this?

...

You scoff as he glances away from you, his eyes dark and dull. Coward.

ML   you think youre so much better than them.

ML   all because you havent bought into the youth and whimsy and cheer.

ML   but i think youve made a great home for yourself here.

ML   really. you fit right in.

ML   just dont expect any applause for such a horrendous performance.

CD   △ ... △

By the time he faces you again, you've disappeared. All that remains is the echo of your laugh, the lingering whites of your forced smile.