Chương 28: Chapter 27 - A Second Chance

Ren listened as the sound drew steadily closer through the black, straining his eyes against the darkness in a desperate bid to make out just who, or what, the cheerful whistling was coming from. Eventually, a figure stepped into his field of vision, coming to a stop right outside his cage. They wore a red-and-white jester's attire, the fabric somehow bright even in the gloom, though their black hair and matching black eyes blended near seamlessly into the surrounding dark.

Painted beneath those eyes were a small heart under one and a single tear under the other. It was none other than Mr. Jester, who's grin widened as he leant in to inspect Ren.

"Oho!" he said, raising his eyebrows in mock surprise.

"Well isn't this a coinkydink?"

"How did you end up here?"' Was this his fault? Did this jester set us up?' Ren frowned in a mixture of suspicion and anger.

"I got captured, obviously!"

"Don't get mad at me~" Mr. Jester laughed in a sing-song tone.

"I was only asking." He clapped his hands once and turned on his heel, ending the conversation there as he began to walk away.

"Oh well," the jester said cheerfully, waving behind him.

"Have fun in there!"

"Wait!" Ren called out desperately, clambering to his feet as he suddenly remembered Ryo's words. Mr. Jester paused mid-step and glanced back over his shoulder.

"Could you please let me out?" he continued against his better judgement, but if this was another chance...

"Hmm?" Mr. Jester mused.

"Now why would I do that?" Ren had no answer. This jester had absolutely no reason to help him, after all, Ren had rejected his offer so if anything, he might even hold a grudge. And yet, Mr. Jester stood there, waiting for him to answer, so he had to take the chance.

"If you save me and my friends," he breathed, forcing the words out, "I'll do those menial tasks for you." Mr. Jester gasped dramatically and covered his mouth with a gloved hand.

"Really~?" he said, eyes glittering.

"You'd do that…?" Mr. Jester gave a theatrical shrug of defeat, pairing it together with an exaggerated sigh.

"Well, now I simply have to go and save you, don't I?"

"And my friends," Ren reiterated quickly, gripping the bars tighter.

"Of course!" Mr. Jester said brightly as he turned to leave again.

"In fact, I'll go do that right now!"

"Hey—wait a moment!" Ren blurted out after the brightly dressed man.

"Aren't you going to let me talk to them? Or see them at least?"

"Nope!" the jester called over his shoulder without even slowing down.

"They might convince you break our deal or something, and I can't have that now~!" His figure was swallowed whole by the darkness until Ren could no longer see him at all, leaving him to slump back against the cold cage bars. He wiped away the sweat that had begun to bead on his forehead before pulling his cloak tighter around himself for warmth. Whatever those shackles were doing to his essence, it was beginning to chill him straight to the bone.

"I hope that was the right choice," he muttered, though deep down he knew it had to be. He just needed to hold on until the others managed to get help, whether that came from the Roundtable Hold or from Lady Dawn herself, and then they could come and save him from this untrustworthy jester who was hunting someone incredibly dangerous. But that blonde-haired elf had been right. It wasn't truly over until he gave up, and now that he'd been handed another chance, Ren had no intention of wasting it.

He was going to get stronger. Strong enough to save Yumè. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Several slow hours crept by as Ren sat there in the darkness with his back pressed against the uncomfortable metal, or that's what he guessed, having no real way of telling just how much time had actually passed.

Eventually, though, a cheerful hum drifted over the soft sobs and whimpers that echoed from around wherever he was being held, and the brightly coloured jester returned once more to Ren's cage.

"Alright, little protégé!" Mr. Jester said as he emerged from the gloom.

"It's time to get out of here!" Ren pushed himself up at once, about to check whether he'd saved the others as well, when he noticed the blood spattered across the jester's clothing. Fresh, too, as the crimson liquid still dripped steadily from the fabric. Worry flared in his chest.

"Did you...?" Ren couldn't bring himself to finish it.

"Did I what?" Mr. Jester said, raising an eyebrow and putting his hands on his hips.

"Did I rescue your friends and deliver them safely out city to set them along their way? Did I then decide I had time to finish what I came here to do before coming to save you, little protégé? Yeah, I did all that."

"Oh, uh..." Ren looked awkwardly at the jester before clearing his throat.

"I-I just assumed the worst when I saw blood on your clothes, that's all. Sorry." It was probably better to try and stay on Mr. Jester's good side lest the jester changed his mind and left Ren inside the cage.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Mr. Jester sighed, shaking his head.

"Do not worry little protégé! I forgive you. Now let's go cause I think someone is following me."' Following you?' but Ren's question was soon answered when another voice called out from the dark.

"Alice is following you, and she won't let you leave." The doll-like girl who had beaten him so easily back in the park emerged from the darkness, a pure black sword made of coalesced shadow clutched in her hands. Her words came out flat and uninterested, but the expression on her face betrayed her simmering anger.

"That boy is Alice's new family," she said simply, stepping closer.

"Alice found him, so you can't take him." Mr. Jester blinked at her before lifting his hands slightly.

"Uh… sorry, missy," he responded brightly, "but I'm about to break him out of here."

"You see, we sorta just made a deal."

"Alice doesn't care," she said, flourishing her sword as her eyes slid over to Ren, making him swallow hard. There was something possessive and sharp in that gaze, at odds with the emptiness of her voice.

"She won't let you take her new family away!"' I don't even know you?!' Ren thought, silently wondering why The Crossroads seemed so full of strange people, and just why he'd had the pleasure of running into every last one of them during his brief stay here. Mr. Jester leant back slightly and lowered his voice, whispering through the bars toward Ren.

"What's this little girl talking about, little protégé?"

"I have no idea!" he whispered back.

"This is the first time I'm hearing of it too." Evidently done with the small talk, Alice raised her black sword and lunged.

"Oh my," Mr. Jester said quickly, "we're outta here." He reached through the cage bars and gripped Ren's cloak, and just before Alice reached them, the space around the two's bodies burst into multicoloured confetti. One moment Ren had been standing in a cage within that pitch-black room, and the very next he was inside Mr. Jester's room at The Bumbling Magician once again.

The canopy bed sat in the centre of the room just as before, and the window remained the sole source of light, though now it was letting soft moonlight filter through it, still leagues better than the suffocating darkness he'd just been trapped in. Mr. Jester himself stood nearby, brushing imaginary dust from his sleeves before looking Ren up and down with a wry smile.

"You're quite popular with the ladies, aren't you?" Ren stiffened as Mr. Jester continued.

"Between that black-haired girl and the blue-haired elf," he said, his eyes gleaming with mischief, "who do you like better?" Ren felt his face flush hot.

"N-neither!" he snapped.

"And anyway, don't you have things for me to do?" Mr. Jester laughed.

"Calm down~ I was only teasing you. Take it as a compliment!"

"Besides," he sighed dramatically and pressed a hand to his chest sorrowfully.

"If I had half your luck, Miss Lady would be all over me!" Before Ren could answer though, the brightly dressed man clapped his hands together and moved on.

"Right! Let's get down to business." Mr. Jester said, producing a pair of oversized glasses from behind his back and placing them delicately on his nose.

"Do you understand what you'll be doing?" Ren nodded.

"I have to do menial tasks you set out for me."

"Exactly!" Mr. Jester said brightly, his smile growing wider as he spread his arms out "And you'll be glad to know you only have to kill four people!"

"How's that sound?"

"Fine, I guess," Ren answered cautiously, the words scraping out.' It's not like I've got a choice now anyway...' He hesitated before eventually asking, "After I do that… I'll be free to go, right?"

"That's correct!" Mr. Jester replied easily.

"And if you do a good job, my boss might even scout you to join our really cool Court!" Ren's brow furrowed.

"Your—" Mr. Jester suddenly pushed a finger to his lips, shushing him.

"The only question is…" His cheerful expression vanished, and his dark eyes sharpened, the exaggerated grin suddenly turning into something frightening.

"Are you prepared to do this?" Ren went still, because that was the very question he'd been asking himself this entire time. He'd managed to save Elowen, Varrin, and Lorelle from the hands of the Cult of the Abyss, and the price for their freedom had been himself. Now all that remained was to find some way to save himself too. Ren pushed the jester's hand away and inhaled slowly, steeling his resolve.

"I'm prepared."

"Perfect!" Mr. Jester said, twirling on the spot, the bells on his hat jingling as the cheerfulness snapped back into his step instantly.

"Let's start right away!"