Perhaps if Idris had actually thought this through, she would have realized that disappearing into a tent with a strange boy she didn’t even know the name of was not the smartest idea she’d ever had. There were a lot of people around them and all it would take was one of them to look away from the show and see her disappear, followed by him. It seemed like the boy was taking his time following her down, which was probably a good thing – maybe it was just a coincidence that they had left at the same time.

(She wouldn’t call this avoiding a chaperone because maybe if her father was paying her any sort of attention, which included sparing her a glance every so often instead of being enchanted by the show, he would have realized that she was leaving, or would come find once it dawned on him that she probably wasn’t coming back any time soon.)

But, before she could change her mind, Idris found herself alone with him. She turned toward him and offered him a smile before she shrugged. “I don’t see any here, but I think the animals would be further back.” Idris tipped her head, although before she stepped further into the tent, she offered him a smile and said, “Idris Oakby.” Without waiting for much of an answer, the witch stepped forward further into the tent, her breath catching in her throat the further she went in; she really didn’t want to be caught.

“Did you hear that?” Idris whispered, glancing at her companion from the corner of her eye.

---