Show Business (4)

"This place is amazing," I had a blindfold taken off me.

I was inside a large theatre where spells and illusions were created for an upcoming play. Everyone was practicing the play, Rapunzel with its beautiful tower being slowly created by the artists. I had never seen a proper play in the first district before, being the ones to perform myself for evaluations in school instead. I could feel everyone's passion as they shouted their lines with tons of emotion mixed inside.

If it weren't for the seats behind me, I would have thought I was inside another dimension again. The scenery constantly moved to replicate the realistic effects. This was nothing compared to the 4D movie theatre in the second district. I could feel the smell of flowers even though none were here. I wondered what they wanted from me as I turned to my kidnappers.

"Are you interested in being Rapunzel?" One of them asked.

"Is this why you took me here?" I wanted to confirm.

"I have never seen anyone with your star potential. We knew you were held captive by those rich kids and wanted to free you," he pointed out my poor clothes.

"So if I decline, you'll just drop me off somewhere?" I found it strange.

"We'll drop you to wherever you want," he nodded his head.

How were every one of my kidnappers so pure and nice? I always wanted to try being an actor, wanting to know how effective my acting was in front of regular people. Everyone in school were just too exceptional that my talent never shined. After I fulfilled my dreams from winning an award and becoming famous, I could escape from the Roselia family.

"I want to be Rapunzel," my eyes glittered.

One of the people in charge passed me the script. Flipping through everything I had to do, it was easy compared to how I had to memorize all the workbooks I went through in school. All the spells I had to perform were very simple as well, barely scratching the surface of my mana supply.

"How much do I get paid for this?" I didn't know if they would pay for my boarding and food.

"One thousand Aris per day, depending on your performance," he gave out a better rate than I thought they would.

"Can you give everything to me in a private banking account?" I couldn't have Luke finding out.

"Those rich kids control your bank accounts, don't they?" He knew the small details.

"How did you know?" I wondered if everyone knew.

"One of my current actors here had a partner who bullied him the same way since she came from a wealthier family. She controlled his bank account with her friends and her friends kept him captive most times even without her since she gave them access," he frowned.

"I hope he's fine now," I pitied that person.

"He's one of our actors now after escaping from the financial control she had over him," he gestured to the one playing the prince.

I stiffened when I noticed the one playing the prince was Ben. Why was he here? Wasn't he supposed to be in university since he had graduated? I did think that story was too strange, not making much sense. I couldn't believe other people easily bought his story.

"I know that person," I gestured to where Ben stood.

"Quinn, there's someone who knows you here," he yelled at Ben.

"Rika?" Ben was surprised to see me.

"Aren't you supposed to be at school?" He lowered his voice so only I could hear him.

"I'm here to play Rapunzel after they took me here," I explained.

"Why are you here?" I whispered.

"I'm here for a mission. This place is an extremely dangerous place. I'll try to sneak you out of here as soon as I can. Pretend you don't know anything for now," he warned me.

"When should I start practicing?" I yelled to the person who appeared to be the director.

"You can rest for now, our next rehearsal is starting soon," he shouted back at me.

"Would you like a drink?" The person who brought me here offered a can of soda.

"My friend doesn't feel thirsty," Ben swiped the can of soda from his hands.

"She'll also be staying with me in our apartment," he shot me a look to not drink anything here.

"I'll leave you two alone," he laughed.

I scanned for anything dangerous in my surroundings. Sadly, this place just appeared like a normal theatre group since I couldn't find anything out of place. Maybe I would find more clues in their apartment. I sighed since my day exploring the new Monete hotel was gone until I escaped from this place.

"Let's start the rehearsal!" The director shot me a glance to step into the stage.

Holding onto the script, I read out everything I had memorized before Ben took over, "I want to leave this place. He keeps me captive here day and night. I want to be free from this cage."

"I can't free you yet. The tall walls prevent me from climbing over. I'll invent something in the future to get to you," Ben yelled.

"When will be the next time you visit me?" I screamed like my heart was being torn.

"I'll come to visit you tomorrow," Ben ran to exit the scene.

I stiffened when I noticed someone unexpected in the scene in the tower with me. Only I was supposed to be inside the tower. I slowly turned to greet the person as the director yelled, "cut!"