~Chapter Two: The Court Jester~
The Fool (Tarot): mean "the madman" or "the beggar", and may be related to the word for 'checkmate' in relation to the original use of tarot cards for gaming purposes. Though the value is often 0, The Fool, or the Madman seems to trump other cards in the 78 card deck.
The Hanged Man is the twelfth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination. It may also be known as The Traitor, particularly in older decks.
The Lady (also known as The Empress) stands for the recurring attributes of Mothering, Abundance, Material prosperity, Pleasure, Comfort , Power, Nature, Delight, Desire, Physical attraction, as well as Health and Beauty.
Jack Marone probably doesn't remember how old he was the first time his drunken father beat him. Oh, he remembers the broken bottles on the floor, the smell of the alcohol, and exactly how badly he hated that man, but little else. No record truly exists of these events. The only one who would remember them, really doesn't. Jack chooses not to remember his mother's battered face, and his little brother Levi's terrified eyes. It is a simple case of multiple choices for him to remember the taste of blood on his lips and the lopsided "X" carved from his lip to nearly his chin. It's not as difficult as it seems for him to forget lying to his teachers about the numerous black eyes, the broken shoulder, and finally his face.
His eyes must have lied along with his words, a trait that he's carried for years. They say that some liars are genuine, but now, Jack just has a nearly-blank expression. His eyes have almost no connection to the rest of his body. They still twinkle a little when he laughs, but other than that they are dull and emotionless, unless he chooses otherwise.
At any rate, everyone believed his tales. Jack taught his brother, four years his junior to spin yarns. Levi succeeded almost as well as Jack did, even before attending school.
The boys' best hiding place was their mother's closet; where Jack first began to tell stories. Sometimes it was just to entertain his brother, sometimes to entertain himself. Most normal boys that age don't spin fantastical tales of running into walls and getting a black eye. Most boys don't play with their mother's Tarot cards when they are 8 and 4.
Jack dimly remembers his mother finding out about them and her cards. He remembers her name was Rosalie Marone, and how just smiled tiredly, and explained The Fool was one of the best cards in the deck. Jack understood more then 4-year-old Levi when his mother told him about the Deck.
The Hangman died, like all mortals. The Lady was sort of a double: she was both the protector, and the princess in distress. The Fool, however, according to his mother, made the other cards laugh. His laughter was what made him last forever, long after he'd passed into euphoria.
The Fool also technically represented the newborn infant or the youngest son. Or so his mother said.
Jack remembered loving the story, and huddling in the closet, long after his brother had fallen asleep, Jack would play with The Fool. The thought that someone could live forever, just due to his laughter, made Jack smile, despite the long bruise that ran across his cheek. It hurt to smile. Even though it was pitch dark in the closet, Jack could still picture The Fool, something like the guy they'd seen in the movie at school.
He could laugh and tell jokes and the king couldn't ever kill him because the Jester made him laugh. Jack rubs his cheek. His father had struck him for the joke he'd told earlier. He couldn't even remember what it was. Jack's eyes grew heavy, and he drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a prince's costume and telling the king's jokes. He remembered his birthday was in two weeks, April 4th. He'd be nine. Another year and Levi would be in school. Then he'd teach his brother to disappear with the magic kit his mother had promised him...and maybe they'd go to the circus later in the year...even though Jack knew that his mother would try to make him happy, and his father would ruin it.
Someday he'd fool his father, just like the Fool in the story.
Jack drifts off in Neverland, dreaming of clowns entertaining kings, and the king couldn't kill them because the clowns were magic. They always disappeared.
He remembers more than he seems to, but he just chooses to lock away the memories like Mom used to lock the closet. It protects him, it's his safety net. Jack remembers bits and pieces, not all of them pleasant. There really is one reason he remembers: the nightmares.
There's a reason why Jack rarely sleeps. And it isn't just the madness. He isn't crazy, but he isn't always faking either. Like The Fool, you don't know if he is leaping to his death, or making a leap of faith.
A/N: I realize the chapter is short, and technically Jack's mother just made up the philosophy of the Fool. There are bits of truth to it, but Tarot cards are complicated to explain. The Fool, as has been established, is often related to the Joker, and depending on the game, will either trump all other cards (as in "War") or will be a card to be avoided (as in "Old Maid"). Wikipedia was one of the sources that I used for information for this chapter.