~30 human years later~

My name is Amalia. I became Oberon's 'backup' jester about 30 human years ago, give or take a few. I never met Robin Goodfellow, though from what I've heard, he's practically a male version of me.

Obviously, I'm more than a bit interested to meet him.

I doubt he would find me at all interesting or, god forbid, attractive, mainly because I have a pretty weird 'family', but more on that later. People say I'm pretty, though, with my mane of red curls, big blue eyes, pale skin, freckles, and a pixyish build.

He doesn't know about me. Oberon never bothered to tell him. And, naturally, I didn't find out about this until last week. Way to be informative, your majesty. Sarcasm. So, I'm waiting for him to get back from a big quest to tell him. Right now, I'm killing time as well as a couple of straw dummies in the training yard.

I let out a small grunt as I send a knife hurtling through a dummy's 'heart', then two more through his stomach and head for good measure. These knives aren't very good, but I prefer to save my good ones for actual combat and emergency situations.

A small wren alights on my shoulder, giving three quick cheeps before flying away. There's my cue.

I suppose I should explain. I have the strange ability to communicate with animals, because of some business with a druid priestess I helped out. The wren's name is Celia, and she's my little messenger. So, when I get a juicy little tidbit of gossip and someone asks how I knew, I can honestly say "a little birdy told me!"

Ah, I'm so clever.

Anyway, Celia informed me that Robin was home (funny how we're on a first name basis and haven't actually ever met, but I digress.), so I make my way to the throne room, where he was sure to report eventually. I enter, bow to the king, and go to sit off to the side. And I wait.

It doesn't take long for Robin to show up. He saunters right on in, grinning widely. And holy shit, he's hot!

"I'm home! Did ya miss me?" he calls, a cocky grin on his face.

"Goodfellow, you're back. Wonderful."

He rubs his hands together. "So, what's new?"

I clear my throat. "Excuse me? I need to talk to you."

Robin looks over at me curiously. I stand up and walk over to him.

"I'm Amalia." I say in what I hope is a smooth tone, holding out a hand.

He shakes it. "Do I even need to introduce myself?"

I roll my eyes. "Don't get too cocky."

He smirks. "bit late for that, don't you think?"

I sigh. "Well, we should probably go somewhere less public." I grab his arm and drag him away, waving to the Erlking before pushing through the doors and heading for the gardens. I try to ignore the erratic beating of my heart, telling myself that it wasn't a big deal that I was dragging an extremely cute boy towards the gardens. To be alone. Shit, stop fantasizing, brain!

I stop at a bench hidden underneath a willow tree, sitting down and patting the area next to me. He sits.

"So! You have to be a bit curious as to why I dragged you halfway across the gardens to talk."

"Yeah..."

"Well, I'm here to inform you that you aren't the only jester in Oberon's court."

"Uh... okay, well, who's the other jester?" I raise an eyebrow sarcastically.

"Wait, it's you? You're a jester?"

"Why yes. Yes I am. Don't sound so surprised."

"How long have you been a jester?"

"30 years, give or take a few."

"Holy shit! How did I not notice that?!"

"Beats me. I just assumed that when I was being a jester, you were away."

"Oh, right. Duh." He looks sheepish. "So.. how exactly are you a jester?"

"Well, I'm a gymnast."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Plus, I juggle."

"Show me?"

I shrug, stand, and do a back hand spring. Then a full split. He stares at me and whistles.

"Wow! How does that tiny little body of yours do all that?!"

"I'm not that tiny!"

"Sure. You keep thinking that, sweetheart."

"Never call me that again."

"What, sweetheart?" He says, obviously not confused in the least. I glare and he chuckles.

"Would you prefer I call you red?"

"Only if you'd prefer I call you ginger."

"Touche." I give a mocking little bow.

I let out a breath of relief. "Well, now that that's over with, I'm hungry." Only then did I realize I said that out loud.

"Well, now that you mention it, so am I. Saving the world is tough business." he says, faking an expression like he carries a huge burden.

"And being so modest, too! How do you do it?" I ask, shaking my head.

He grins. "Not bad, for an amateur."

"Now, who said I was an amateur?"

"Touche, red."

I gave another mocking bow. "How very kind of you, Peter Pan." he happened to be wearing green that day.

He chuckles. "Ouch. Okay, you're no amateur." His stomach growls. "Now, about the issue of food..."

"I know a place," I said without thinking.

"Really? Where?"

"Um.. I didn't mean to say that."

"What? Why not?"

"Well... are you comfortable with going to the human realm to get there?" Please say no, please say no..

"Sure, no problem." Shit.

"And it may or may not be in a ghetto." He either has to be deranged or really fucking awesome to say yes to this.

"I'm assuming that means it is in a ghetto." He thinks for a second. "I guess it's worth a shot." ...He must be really hungry.

"Alrighty, then. I suppose I have to take you there now."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Fine. Race you!"

I sprint away, laughing. He lets out an indignant yelp and chases after me. I hope my 'family' isn't too hard on him.

We reach the trod, out of breath and panting. He has this huge, stupid grin on his face, and he's bent over, hands on his knees, catching his breath. Oh, god, I swear I think I might melt into a little puddle of girl drool, but I refrain. That would be very unprofessional of me. Besides, I have got to get something to eat. I'm starving.

I grab his arm and drag him through the trod, neatly jumping over the root placed oh- so conveniently(NOT) right in front of the trod. It had become so routine to me, I totally forgot to tell Robin. He steps out and trips immediately, landing right on top of me.

"Shit. Forgot about the root." I mutter, cussing under my breath. It was right about then that I notice our position. Our faces are about a centimeter away from each other, and we're basically just looking into each others eyes.(how romantic and corny that sounded.) For a long moment, he just continues to stare into my eyes, which are the size of plates, before giving a small cough and looking away. I turn pink. I catch a small flicker of embarrassment in his aura before it disappears. He clears his throat.

"Well, thanks for telling me about that root." I blush deeper. He grins.

"Sorry, I forgot." He grins wider.

"Now get off me, you big lug, before I shove you."

"Feisty! I like it!" I blow him a raspberry. He rolls himself off me, offering a hand. I ignore it and jump up.

"Now come on! I'm starving!" I say, running off through the sparse trees towards the restaurant.

As soon as you hit the street, you can tell we're not in a good part of town. A group of gang members eye us shiftily from an alleyway. Garbage litters the sidewalks. People walking the streets move quickly and in large groups.

"Pleasant," I hear Robin mutter.

"Hey, I warned you. And don't worry, those boys on the corner won't hurt you." I wave to the leader, Tio, a guy I knew growing up who taught me how to walk without making a sound, like a shadow. Ah, good times.

We arrive, and I slowly open the door, making the bell jingle.

Mama's Restaurant and Bar is a tiny, dingy little place, with yellow stucco walls and pictures of bullfights and mariachis everywhere. The whole restaurant is a big L shape, with the main restaurant in the front and the bar along the back wall around the corner. Mama also threw in a few 'couples' tables at the very back end around the corner. When I was a toddler, I accidentally wandered through a trod and ended up here. I had wanted originally to get some food, because I was little and had to eat something every hour or so, otherwise I'd throw a fit. And so, the guys at the restaurant figured I was an orphan and took me in. I've known them all my life, so I consider them 'family', despite the obvious racial difference. (I'm without question a white girl, and they're all Mexicans and Latinos.)

"Hey guys, I'm back! Miss me much?" Everyone in the small restaurant raises their glass and gives a cheer of recognition.

One guy, Big Tom, ambles on up to me and gives me a slap on the shoulder.

"Hey, baby Lia! Haven't seen you in a while, hon! And who's your boyfriend?"

"His name's Robin, and he's not my boyfriend."

"Sure, sure." he winks at me. I sigh.

"You'll have to excuse Big Tom." I say, turning to Robin.

"All these people know you?" He asks, gawking.

"Yeah. Don't worry, none of them are gang members. Now c'mon, lets go find Mama. I'll introduce you later." I grab his hand again, weaving my way through people. I walk right through the 'Employees Only' door and head for the back kitchens. I explain on the way.

"How exactly do you know all those people?"

"Well, I've been coming here ever since I was little. Like, toddler little. That's why everyone calls me baby Lia. The woman you're about to meet, Mama, she's been like a mom to me ever since my real parents passed away."

"Sorry about that."

"Pf, don't worry about it. I never really knew them anyway. So, Mama runs the kitchens and occasionally the bar. When I was little, she always used to let me sit on the counter and 'help'." (air quotes!)

"Wow. Cool. So, is the food any good?"

"It is when I make it."

"That's why everyone's happy to see you?"

"Sorta. Like I said, I've known all of those yahoos since I first came here. They all still come here to see me. It's like one big happy family." Insert cheesy smile here. (AN~ Told'ya I'd bring it up again!)

We've reached the kitchens. I look through the pitifully small amount of staff and spot Mama. She's making something of unidentifiable origin, humming something in Spanish as she works.

This is by default a Mexican restaurant, but Mama will serve anything she has ingredients for. Mama, of course, is Spanish, with cocoa brown skin and black, curly hair. It's obvious that I'm not her biological daughter, even if she treats me as such. She's the only one in the restaurant that knows I'm from the Nevernever. She's not very skinny, but not fat, either. She's pleasantly round, as everyone calls her. She can be crazy bossy, crass, and when she gets mad... well, you don't want to see her mad.

I love her to death.

"Hey, Mama!" She looks up and and smiles, her black- brown eyes sparkling.

"Mija! You're back! And you brought a friend? Or more than friends, mm?" she whispers the last sentence confidentially.

"Friend, Mama. Ooh, it's so great to see you again!" She walks over and hugs my waist, because she's about a head shorter than me.

"Oh, honey, I wish you were still little. Then maybe I could hug you properly, eh?"

I chuckle. "Mama, meet Robin. Robin, this is Mama."

"A pleasure." he holds out a hand to shake, but Mama ignores it and hugs him.

"Oh. Well, uh. She's quite the hugger." He says, patting her awkwardly on the back. I stifle a laugh and make my way towards the station Mama was working at. I look into the bowl she was stirring and see a greenish paste.

"Mama, were you trying to make guacamole over here?"

"Yes, mija."

"Oh. In that case, it looks lovely!" She chuckles.

"Oh, mija, what will I do with you?"

"Well, you could let me make some edible food," I say, wrinkling my nose at the nasty green stuff she was making.

"Of course, honey! I will go seat your friend, mm? Yell for me when you're done!"

"Yes, Mama."

"Good. Back in un momento!" I sigh. Time to make some- erm- oh, shit, I don't even know what to make! Well, not for Robin, anyway. Gawd, couldn't I just give him an apple and a sandwich and be done with it? But no, according to my female brain, I must impress him by showing off my superior culinary talents. Sigh.

After a minute of contemplating, I decide to just fix the guacamole Mama was making and slap it on whatever brand of corn chips we have in our massive restaurant pantry. I add a few small, orange peppers to it, some salt, pepper, onion, green bell peppers, garlic, et cetera. You know, whatever I can find to make it at least resemble guacamole.

Once done, I holler for Mama, and as soon as she appears in the doorway, I motor on outta there, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before skidding to a stop in the restaurant. I look around for where our table is. I can't seem to find it in the big portion of the restaurant, which means- fuck- Mama put us at one of the couple's tables behind the bar.

Oh, god, why? I think to myself as I spot Robin at the last table. He sees me and waves me over.

"Hey!"

"Hey. God, I am so sorry about this, I-"

"No no, it's fine. I don't mind being pegged as the boyfriend if it gives us some privacy."

"Really? Oh, good, because the guys and Mama do not take no for an answer."

"Why am I not surprised?" He grimaces. I laugh. A few minutes pass in awkward silence. I clear my throat.

"So, uh, wanna go check out the bar?"

"Are we allowed?"

"Nope."

"Absolutely!"

I laugh. "Classy."

I get up and gesture for him to follow. As he stands up, I head over to the bar, looking over the wide variety of alcoholic beverages, from vodka to wine to even beer. Robin walks up next to me and leans casually against the bar.

"Wanna try something?" I ask.

"Hell, yes!"

"Okay, but be quiet." I reach up and pull out a bottle of strait, strawberry liquor- you know, like for shots- from the rack, then two adorably small shot glasses. He raises his eyebrows at the large bottle, but says nothing. I pour just a little bit into each glass, then hand one to him, all while capping the bottle and putting it back on the rack.(Oh yeah, ultimate multitask-er! You know you're jealous.)

"Bottoms up," I say, downing the drink in one smooth swallow. He shrugs and does the same.

"I'm going to apologize right now if I act a bit tipsy during lunch. This is strong shit," I say.

"Ah, it's fine. I'll be doing the same thing." I grin at him.

"Let's get back to our table before the food comes."

So I skip off towards our table. Yes, I said skip. Joy, the liquor is working already. Robin laughs at me as I skip back to our seats. We slide into the booth just as Mama walks through the doors with a tray.

"Enjoy, mijas!"

"Thanks, Mama!" ( Just so you know, I would never say that word in any other circumstance but this one.)

We dig in, and it actually turns out to be pretty good. A bit spicy at first, but okay.

Then it got really spicy. And spicier. And spicier. What the hell did I put in there!?

Okay, I remember putting in bell peppers, which shouldn't do anything, pepper, which also shouldn't do anything, and little orange peppers... which I now realize are Habanero, one of the spiciest varieties in the world. Of course I did.

Robin starts freaking out.

"Holy shit, what is IN there?!"

"Oh, just a few of the world's hottest peppers." I face palm. He quickly takes a big sip of his sprite, before I can warn him, and he has to excuse himself. I didn't tell him that soda only makes the spiciness worse. In any other circumstance I would laugh, but this is just embarrassing! I chug my milk, trying to rid my poor taste buds of the awful heat.

Robin comes back, face a bit red, but okay otherwise. I'm fine too, also just a bit flushed.

"Well, that was embarrassing." I mutter. Robin chuckles.

"It's okay, I don't mind. But next time, we're going to a Mc' Donald's somewhere." Next time? EEE!

"Yeah. Good idea."

"Sooo..."

"Well, are we done? You wanna leave?"

"Sure, yeah. I know somewhere." He gets up from the booth, weaving his way through vacant chairs. I follow, waving goodbye to the guys and Mama as we leave.

"Come back soon, mija!"

"Yeah, and bring ya boyfriend back, too!"

"He's not my boyfriend!" I yell as I close the door.

"Sorry about them.." I say, catching up with him.

"It's alright, I don't really care."

"Good, cause they're gonna keep doing it and it's gonna get on my nerves, so..."

"Yeah."

"So, where we going?"

"It's a surprise."

"Fair enough."God, I wanna know so bad now! Sigh. Oh well. I give a small huff of annoyance.

"Getting impatient back there, curly?" he asks, grinning like an idiot.

"Who, me? Wouldn't dream of it, raven boy."

"Aha. Touche."

We walk back to the trod, cross through, and head straight for another one. He practically drags me through. I think this trod leads to some place in rural Maryland, but I'm not sure.

As we step through, we're bombarded with little- things, so on instinct I whip out my knives. I quickly realize that we are, in fact, in Maryland, smack dab in the middle of a warm fall day. The 'things' previously mentioned are falling leaves. Robin looks over at me and chuckles.

"Paranoid much?" He grins.

I roll my eyes and sheath my knives.

"Can it, carrot top." He chuckles and starts walking faster, making me run to catch up.

A few minutes pass, and we come to a farm with a gigantic, weather-beaten old barn, complete with the sloppily painted words 'CORN MAZE' in big letters on the side.

"Yes!" I cheer under my breath, pumping my fist. I love these things, and I'm undefeated at finding the center first. Robin heads toward a booth, buys us each a pass to get into the maze, and heads towards the start.

"Hey," I say, catching up with him.

"Yeah?"

"Wanna race to the center? There's two ways. You figure out the left one, I'll do the right. First one to the middle gets a prize that has yet to be determined."

"How about winner's choice?"

I shrug. "Sounds fair."

"In that case.. GO!" He yells, sprinting off into the maze. I yelp in dismay and race off towards the right. I run blindly through the maze, dodging walls of dry, golden corn. When I finally reach the middle, out of breath and panting, I look up to find Robin grinning down at me.

"Wha-! How did you beat me? Did you cheat?!"

He shrugs and grins wider. "There was no rule against i- HEY!" He yells as I tackle him.

"You cheating bastard!" I scold, half laughing.

"Hey, you should have specified that there was no cheating allowed!" I groan, smiling.

"So, what prize do you have in mind that could have possibly made you cheat to get?" I roll off him and sit up. He does likewise.

Is it just me, or did he turn a bit pink? "Well, it's nothing much.." I scootch closer and lean in, like I'm waiting for him to talk. He turns his face towards me and I freeze. Oh my gawd, is he about to kiss me? I won't know what I'm doing! I've only ever kissed one guy! What if I screw up and he hates it? What if he's not going to kiss me but I kiss him and make everything awkward? Do I even WANT to kiss him? Wait- yes, I kinda do. A lot. But we've only known each other for, like, an hour! Oh, shit, he's coming closer...

And that was when a group of kids ran into the center, screaming and arguing and yelling, followed by two parents. We spring apart like we've been shocked and scramble to our feet.

"Well, that was fun! What say we head out?" I say quickly.

"Sounds good! Let's go!" He says, equally as fast. We practically sprint out of the maze, faces burning.

I cannot believe this. Was he actually going to kiss me? Did- or, does- he want to? I immediately become self- conscious. Are my green tights, black and white- checkered skirt, and white tank top too bright and confusing? Is my top too tight? Is it too loose? Is my skirt so short that it makes me look like a slut? I try to discreetly tug my skirt down a bit. Aw, shit, is this going to hang over us both and make everything all awkward? It probably is. Damn. Unless, of course, he is so incredibly awesome that this doesn't faze him. I glance over at him and notice he's fiddling nervously with the hem of his shirt. It fazed him. Fuck.

I clear my throat. "So, um. That was... really nice of you." he looks over at me, startled.

"What?"

"You taking me to that maze, and being such a good sport at the restaurant. That was really nice of you."

"Oh. It's nothing." he pauses. "Hey, about back there..."

My heart speeds up. "Yeah?"

"Was that.. were we..." He clears his throat.

"Was that going to turn into a kiss?"

"Uh... maybe by accident?" I say, quickly turning the color of a tomato.

He smiles deviously.

"Why, Red! I'm flattered!"

"Shut up," I mutter, blushing harder.

"I might even go so far as to say you have a CRUSH on me!" He continues.

Stop, just stop! please don't, you'll trigger it! I think to myself. He keeps going, in a seemingly endless tirade of teasing. I can't think of anything to say, I'm so embarrassed. It's not long before I start seeing red. All I can think is that I need to punch something, hard. And after only a few more seconds, I snap.

"Shut UP!" I yell, shoving him in the chest once and walking away as fast as I can.

I don't look back.

**##$$%%++=++%%$$##**

Well! That's one chapter done of story number two! I hope you guys like this one. Review to see what happens to the budding relationship of Amalia and Robin! Or if I even decide to make it a romantic one. Only faithful reviewers shall make another chapter possible!

Kisses! :*

~the doodle queen