The air was cool the day the Harvest Festival got under way. Allen stared around the fair, eyes wide in excitement. There were food stalls and games and everything else a little boy could only dream of.

“Now Allen,” Mana said, drawing the child’s attentions away from the sounds and excitement, “stay close to me, all right?”

Allen glanced over at a shooting game. Mana could tell the child was just itching to go and try some of the games the other children were playing, but he didn’t want to lose the child in the crowd.

“Allen!”

The boy flinched and looked back at the clown. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“Don’t get lost. Stay close to me.”

Allen took Mana’s hand, and they started walking through the crowded area until they reached an open place where a big bonfire was just starting. There was a small band whipping up a how down for the farmers and their wives to dance to. Allen’s grip on Mana’s hand loosened as he saw the many people and heard the up-tempo music.

Mana sighed. The festivities were drawing Allen’s attention like a moth to a flame, and there was nothing he could do about it. The clown glanced around quickly. He didn’t feel any Akuma or Noah nearby—he had enough wards around him to know right away—so there wasn’t any harm in Allen enjoying himself.

Somehow, Mana was able to get Allen’s attention again and pressed a few coins into the child’s hand. “Go have some fun, but meet me back here before that band over there stops playing, understand?”

“But isn’t that after my bedtime?” Allen asked.

“You can stay out a little later tonight,” Mana said, ruffling Allen’s hair. “Just be careful, don’t go with people you don’t know, and don’t leave the fairground.”

Allen frowned. “I can take care of myself,” he pointed out.

“Just promise me you’ll be careful.”

The boy nodded and ran off. Mana watched him disappear into the crowd before he started setting up his clown act. Maybe he was just being a worrywart father-type and should let Allen make mistakes and learn from them himself. It was just so hard to do that, though.

The night soon became busy for Mana as many of the children gathered around him to watch him juggle. They cheered and pulled their parents over to throw some money into the upturned top hat for the nice clown. He made quite a bit of money this way. Over all, it was a successful night.

The band was playing its last tune just as Mana called it a night. The clown glanced around, but Allen was nowhere to be seen. The crowds were clearing away, all going home after their fun. Mana glanced around the emptying fairgrounds, but when he didn’t spot the child, he decided to start searching. He was the only clown at the festival, making him easy to spot.

First, Mana decided to ask around about the lost boy. He asked the fire breathers and the musicians, thinking Allen might’ve stopped to see their show. When they said they hadn’t seen anyone fitting his description, Mana thanked them and moved on to asking the few stragglers at the food and game stands. One or two had spotted Allen earlier in the night, but not recently. Again, Mana thanked them and moved on.

When asking around didn’t work, Mana had to go with his back up plan, which he was hoping he wouldn’t have to use around ten at night.

“Allen!” he called as he wandered hopelessly around the vacant fairgrounds. “Allen, where are you?”

Things were looking bad, and Mana felt his heart pounding. What if he’d been wrong? What if there had been an Akuma? The magician side quickly dismissed the thought because he would have sensed the monstrosity. The more practical side of him said that there would have been a panic if such a creature appeared, or at least a lot less people enjoying his show.

That fear gone, Mana continued his search, shouting, “Allen!” every so often in hopes of a response.

It was getting closer and closer to midnight now, and Mana was starting to get worried. It was getting colder, forcing Mana to draw his coat more tightly around him and his costume. “Allen!” he called again. If he was cold, Allen must have been freezing.

“What if the Noah found him?” a voice in the back of Mana’s head asked. “Or what if the child snatchers caught him?”

Mana brushed away the stray thought. He wouldn’t believe it—yet.

“Allen!” he called one last time.

A sniffling sound was his only response.

Optimistic, Mana called again, “Allen!”

The child in question stood up, perplexed. He’d been sitting between two of the closed food vendor stands to hide from the wind and thus from sight. He wasn’t crying as Mana had first assumed. In fact, he was munching quite happily on some cotton candy. The sniffling, in fact, seemed to come from the cold he must have caught wandering around in the frigid air.

“Allen, do you know how worried I’ve been about you?” Mana scolded. It was hard to sound angry when he was just so relieved to find him safe and sound.

“I got lost,” Allen replied innocently, “and you told me that if I got lost to stay in one place and you’d find me.”

Mana stared at the child a minute. “You got lost?” he repeated. “At this small of a fair?” The child nodded, making Mana laugh. “Well, let’s head back, then. I don’t want you catching a cold on us.”

The inn they were staying at this time was a tiny place just outside of the fairgrounds. The few rooms were just as tiny as the rest of the inn, but neither cared about the cramped conditions. The rooms could have been worse, like infested with rats or leaky ceilings or drafts. Cramped as it was, the room was comfortable enough, so neither complained.

Mana had been right about Allen’s cold. The boy was sniffling and sneezing by the time they got to their room. The clown dug through his things while Allen got ready for bed. “Where’d I put it?”

“Put what?” Allen asked. He sneezed again and climbed under the warm covers.

Mana didn’t answer, as he found what he was looking for. “Allen, suck on this, would you?” He held out a small hard candy.

The boy more than willingly took it and popped it in his mouth. When he discovered the thing wasn’t candy at all, he spat it out into his hand, making a face. “What is this?”

“It’s medicine,” Mana replied coolly. “A cough drop. It’ll nip that cold of yours in the bud.” He was stretching the truth ever so slightly, though. Being the magician he was, Mana had created the little hard candy to cure just about any minor malady, from the common cold to the flu to a low-grade fever. It worked rather well, too.

“I don’t want it,” Allen muttered. “I’d rather have my cold.”

“Allen.”

The boy heard the warning tone in Mana’s voice and put the sticky “cough drop” back in his mouth. He pouted as he sucked it, glaring as Mana washed his clown make up off. “Why’s medicine gotta taste so bad, anyway?”

Mana chuckled. “It’s an unspoken law of the universe, Allen. Anything that’s good for you has to taste bad.” He finished washing his face and changed for bed. “It’ll be gone soon.”

A minute or so passed, then, “Mana?”

“Hn?”

“Sorry for making you worry before. I saw somethin’ cool and got lost.”

Mana smiled and ruffled the child’s hair. “It’s fine. Just get some sleep. We’re leaving early tomorrow and I’m not carrying you the whole way again.” He tucked the child in and chuckled at Allen’s groan.

“Why do we always leave so soon?” Allen asked sleepily. “Can’t we stay longer someplace?”

“I wish we could, Allen,” Mana replied vaguely before turning out the light.

There’s the second chapter to make up for the shortness of the first. ...And it’s even shorter than the first... :( I promise, more’ll happen in the next chapter, I promise!

As always, if you see any mistakes, please tell me!