The hall boomed with laughter as Jester bowed at the completion of his act. Bringing his head up with the jingle of his hat, his eyes met with blue joyous ones as Evelyn continued to cheer him on. His smile widened at the princess's amusement as he took his items and walked off.
Jane, who was on duty and watching the hall doors, smiled as her friend approached her. "Another humorous act, Jester. Champion job."
"Thank you, Jane. Are you going to be on watch all evening?"
"I am. It's suppose to be a two person job but…" Jane's sentence trailed off as her eyes was rested somewhere behind Jester. The bell headed boy turned around to seek the thing that caught his friend's attention. A sudden rush of jealousy consumed him at the sight of Gunther and Evelyn in deep conversation. "Gunther was suppose to be watching the other door. I'll make sure Sir Theodore hears about this later on." Jane said bitterly.
Jester's attention never faltered from the princess and Gunther, even as Jane continued to talk. He watched as Evelyn looked down and giggled, while the sleek haired charmer gave a proud smirk. Ever since Gunther entered the castle to train to be a knight, Jane and her friends always had a sense of dislike towards him. He was a snotty, overbearing person that would do anything and harm anyone that would get in the way of what he wanted. While Jester had a liking towards the princess, he believed that Gunther had a different motive for grasping Evelyn's attention.
"Jester? Jester!" The castle jester snapped out of his thoughts and quickly turned around to look at Jane. Her brows were knotted in question and concern. "Is everything alright? You've been giving the royal table an unusual stare."
"O-oh! It's nothing! Just a bit tired, I suppose.." he lied, rubbing the back of his neck and keeping his eyes on the floor to avoid his friend's stare.
~~~
That night, Jester laid in bed, wishing that sleep would overcome him. Instead, his mind was swimming with images of Evelyn and Gunther's exchange during dinner. Flopping onto his back and opening his eyes, he stared at the faint outlines of the stone ceiling. His wooden shutters caused lines of moonlight rays to illuminate his room, as though the moon was shining brightly to provide him company.
"Through wooded glade I wander
Gathering blossoms as I go."
Jester quickly sat up from his bed at the sound of the melodic voice that sang a familiar tune. He swung his legs over his bed and tip toed over to the shutters, where he'll soon discover the owner of this angelic voice.
"I'll bring them to milord
That his favor he bestow"Quietly opening one of his shutters, he peaked his head out and laid his eyes upon the familiar maiden with the brown, wavy hair. She was dressed in her sleeping attire, her back to his window. The ground was clear of people, and her head was raised high as though the song was for the moon. A smile touched Jester's lips as she continued to sing.
"Shall I bring him roses "But the finest bloom of all
or lilacs for his hair"
Is the love that we do share."
"You sing beautifully, princess. No need to be ashamed" he spoke, causing Evelyn to look up at him again.
"I'm sorry if I've awoken you, Jester." Her fingers fiddled together, her face looking evidently flustered.
"Oh, but to be awoken by this singing is a pleasure, Your Highness. I'd be honored to hear this everyday if I could."
Evelyn felt the colour deepen in her cheeks as she stared at his moonlit face. "You're too kind."
"Just being honest." Jester watched intently as she slowly approached him.
"Your hair is lovely. It's a shame that it's always covered under your hat." She complimented
It was Jester's turn to blush. He instinctively ran his fingers through his light brown locks to move it away from his face. He kept his grey eyes locked onto her stunning face, as she did onto him. After a few moments, Evelyn dropped her eyes to the ground but Jester caught sight of the emotion that crossed her face before breaking contact. "Is there something that's disrupting your sleep, princess?"
"Yes… A thought, really."
"Did you want to talk about it?" Jester watched as she opened her mouth in hesitation, then quickly close it. Wanting to help get her mind off of her troubles, an idea sparked his mind. "How about I sing you a few of my ballads until you grow tired?"
"I would love to, but what if someone heard us out here?" she asked, bringing her eyes up to look at him again.
"Well then how about you come into my room?" Seeing Evelyn's face twist into confusion, Jester saw his blunder and quickly tried to correct it. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it in that way! A princess coming into a castle staff's room! It's simply preposterous! And also not very lady-like.. Not that I'm saying you're not a lady bu-"
"I'd love to Jester." she responded with a smile.
Jester looked at her, flabbergasted. "R-really?" She responded with a small nod. "I'll meet you near the side, then."
Watching Evelyn walk off to meet him, Jester quickly dashed for the door and walked down the silent corridor to meet her. He felt his heart thump against his chest in excitement to be able to spend some time with the princess.
~~~
"You seem tired, Jester." Rake commented as Jester eased out of his yawn. "Did you have trouble sleeping?" Jester couldn't stop the smile that was tugging on his lips as memories of last night came rushing back.
They sat on his bed, as he played a few of his songs and chatted about both their lives. She seemed to have enjoyed the company, judging by the way she smiled throughout the evening. Even after departing, Jester was able to smell her lavender scent from his pillow that she hugged.
"Yes, something like that." Jester responded to Rake's question.
It was then did Rake and Jester come across Prince Cutherbert and the other visiting princess, Princess Lilly.
"Your Majesty's" they greeted with a bow. Cutherbert rolled his eyes while Lilly gave a small giggle.
"Come on, grouchy prince." Lilly chimed as she grabbed his hand and ran off with him. The two men looked at the children as they ran off in glee.
"Anyways, " Rake spoke as he headed towards the kitchen, "I better help Pepper with lunch."
Jester chuckled as he patted his friend on the back. "Go enjoy your time with your sweetheart." he teased. Rake blushed in embarrassment and quickly walked off. Jester turned on his heel and walked the opposite direction to help Smithy with any chores.
On his way, he heard the familiar noise of flapping wings approaching from the skies. Covering his eyes from the sun's glare, he watched as Dragon landed in front of him with Jane and Evelyn riding on his back.
"That was absolutely thrilling!" Evelyn beamed. Her face quickly turned down at a thought. "Oh, Jane, please don't tell my father about it!"
Jane hopped off the giant reptile and helped the princess down as well. "You're secret is safe with me, princess. I'm glad you enjoyed."
"Though, your scream in the beginning has caused a ringing in my ears." Dragon said as he picked his ear with his claw.
"I'm sorry, Dragon." She apologized whole-heartedly, "How about I go to the black smith and personally ask him for some good iron for you to snack on?" Evelyn bribed. Dragon stood more alert, his face showing pronounced signs of amuse.
"I'll take you up on that offer, princess." The trio gave a laugh, which caused Jester's smile to widen also. His eyes trailed from Dragon, then onto the joyous ladies. Looking at Jane first, he remembered the way he felt about her when he was just a young lad. He always appreciated her strong will, ambitious mind-set, and quick wit. Although it began as a crush, he grew to think of her to be just a friend after realizing that she wasn't interested in being courted. His eyes then trailed to look at Evelyn. Just meeting her the previous day, he felt the familiar feeling of love grow within him again. This time, he knew it wasn't just a simple crush.
As Evelyn opened her eyes from her laughter, she spotted Jester as he made his way to the laughing friends. Her smile mirrored his as she composed herself.
"I knew I was funny, but not that funny." Jester commented.
"You wish you were funny, Jingle Boy" Dragon snipped back. Jester gave a shake of his head as the girls giggled.
"Thank you again Jane, Dragon." Evelyn spoke, nodding to the two friends. "I'll head off, since I'm sure you both have duties to fulfill for today."
"Yes, Princess. I'll see you later." Jane spoke, climbing onto Dragon's back once more. Evelyn went to stand beside Jester as they both watched Dragon levitate into the sky, then fly off.
"Jester, would you be so kind as to escort me back to my room?" she asked, feeling as though the previous night had brought them closer and more familiar with each other. Jester chuckled as he gladly offered his arm, which she took.
They slowly walked towards the main castle, enjoying the sunlight and garden. "So," Jester began, looking at his companion, "what do you plan to do with the rest of your day, princess?"
"Well, I plan to nap first. I'm feeling quite tired." With her free hand, she feigned a yawn. Jester smiled at her action.
"Was there something that kept you up with the moon, your Highness?" Jester inquired, going along with her act.
"Well you see, castle jester, I was with company last night."
"Oh? And what did you and your company do?"
"He bored me with songs and stories." Jester mocked offense, which caused Evelyn to giggle and tighten her hold on his arm. "I fooled a fool."
"No one fools this fool. I'm always one step ahead."
"I'm sure you are, Jester." They stopped walking as they were stood in front of the princess's room. She released his arm and stood near her door. "Thank you for escorting me to my room."
"Anything for the princess." Jester said with a playful bow. Evelyn blushed as she rushed inside and softly shut the door behind her. Though his face muscles ached from all the smiling, he couldn't help but have it plastered on even after departing from her.
"You think a castle jester can charm a princess?" Jester heard a familiar mocking voice from behind him. He whipped his body around to find Gunther leaning against a stone wall, his lips turned up into a mischievous smirk.
"I don't have the faintest idea as to what you are talking about." Jester retorted, turning back around to walk off. He was stopped again in his tracks as Gunther spoke.
"Don't play dumb with me, fool. You're in love with Princess Evelyn. I'm sure far ships at sea can see it." The bell-headed boy stood still on his spot, allowing this venomous snake to snap at him. "A jester and a princess simply cannot fall in love. Remember that, castle fool."