Something There

Later that day, Jestro decided he was feeling better and got out of bed. He grabbed a pair of pyjamas laying on the floor; not really feeling like properly getting dressed. The cursed jester made his way out of his room; squinting as the sunlight shined in his eyes. Jestro made his way downstairs as he heard the voices of his family in the dining room. He followed the sounds of talking and chatting. He heard Lavaria talking about Clay.

"He could be the one!" She spoke in a hopeful tone. "He could be the one who will break the curse!"

"So he falls in love with him, then poof! The curse is broken! We'll be human again by midnight!" Beast Master replied; his pets barking joyfully.

"Beast master; it's not going to be easy." Whiparella disagreed. "Something like this is going to take time."

Jestro began to walk into the room as the monsters conversed.

"Time is something we don't have." Magmar reminded. "If you haven't already noticed, another rose petal fell this morning; just like last night-"

Magmar saw Jestro in the doorway. Everyone looked towards the doorway to see their master. Jestro looked at them briefly before taking a seat at the table. Everyone quietly went back to eating their breakfast. Jestro looked at what was being served this morning. Today it was porridge. He rarely came down for breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner. But a little voice in his head said he should this time. He looked at Flama; who was sitting on the left side of the table next to Moltor and Book Keeper.

"Did you make the porridge, Flama?" The jester asked; making the flame creature freeze.

Flama took his spoon out of his mouth.

"...Yes." He answered; thinking maybe he should have made something else.

Jestro just shrugged and grabbed a bowl of porridge for himself. Lavaria was sitting next to him and leaned over; watching as he poured a large amount of honey into his porridge.

"Feeling better, Jestro?" She asked.

"A little." Jestro answered before he started eating.

Jestro took a mouthful of porridge as he looked at the individuals sitting at the table. Just about everyone was here. Except for one.

"So, where's the knight?" He asked after swallowing his food.

"He already had his breakfast; he's in the courtyard." Magmar answered back.

"He's outside?" The jester asked.

"Don't worry; he's not escaping again." Whiparella reassured.

"He's just doing some knight training or something." Moltor spoke before taking a mouthful of his breakfast.

Jestro looked out the doorway; mentally reminding himself to do something after he finished his porridge. When he finished his breakfast, he excused himself from the table and left the room. When he was gone, beast master started talking.

"He never comes down for food." He reminded.

"He did just now." Burnzie pointed out.

Lavaria paid no mind as everyone started discussing the occurrence. She just smiled to herself as she thought that maybe, just maybe that Clay was starting to make a good influence on Jestro.

Jestro made his way to the courtyard at the back of the castle; picking a jacket on a coatrack on his way. He looked out the doorway to see Clay at a distance. The knight was wearing a jacket for the snow outside. He was holding his sword in his hand; practicing some sword play. As Jestro walked out, he could hear Clay saying something to himself.

"Daniel raised his shield against the ogres' attack; using all his strength to push it back."

Clay sounded like he was reading out of a book, but he did not have a book with him. He was just remembering the words in his head. Clay continued to recite the words; not noticing Jestro behind him.

"With a swift push, he pushed the ogre away; making it lose balance-"

"And he plunged his mighty sword into the monsters chest; turning it to cold grey stone."

Clay froze and turned to look behind him; putting his sword away when he saw Jestro standing there. The cursed jester pushed a bit of his hair out of his face as the knight began to speak.

"You've read Knights of the Red Rose?" Clay asked; wandering how Jestro knew the next part of the passage.

"I didn't really have an education. I was home schooled. But I liked reading when I learned how." The cursed jester explained.

Clay just nodded.

"I've read all of the books in the series." He tried to start a conversation with the jester. "But the first one is my favourite."

"I always liked the third one the best." Jestro tried to smile as he talked.

Clay raised his eyebrow.

"Really? I liked it too, but it was a little sad with the guardian dragon." The knight spoke of his thoughts.

Jestro stopped smiling as he thought about it.

"It was, I guess." He shrugged. "I did feel a little sad after I read it. I had to read something happier to get my mind off it."

Clay looked at Jestro with interest. Clay had an interest in reading stories. He wandered if the cursed jester enjoyed it as much as he did.

"What else have you read?" The knight asked curiously.

Jestro looked at Clay rather shyly.

"I can show you if you like." He pointed back to the castle.

Clay hesitated to follow Jestro. But he did not want to be rube. They went back inside the castle and Jestro lead Clay to a large door way in the living room. Clay watched as Jestro pushed the door and walked in.

"Come on in." He said, trying to sound welcoming.

Clay walked through the door. He squinted at the darkness of the room; noticing that Jestros' skin faintly glowed in it.

"It's a bit dark." The knight pointed out.

"Just hang on a moment." Jestro told him.

Clay could see Jestro running to the other side of the room. Clay covered his eyes when light suddenly hit him. The knight slowly opened them to adjust to the now lit room. When they were back in focus Clay saw that Jestro opened the curtains. But he widened his eyes in awe because of something else. The whole room was a giant library. Every wall was a massive shelve full of books going up to the second floor and even to the ceiling. Clay slowly spun around to get a good look at the library; shelves, books, desks and all. A smile appeared on the Knights face.

"You've, read all these books?" Clay asked; sounding amazed by the thought.

Jestro shrugged in response.

"Most of them. Except for the one about monsters. It makes me uncomfortable." He explained.

Clay continued to look around; astounded by the sheer size of the library.

"It's twice as big as Merloks' study!" The knight said as he looked up at the high ceiling.

Jestro was unsure if that was a good thing.

"But... Do you like it?" He asked; playing with his hair as Clay turned to face him.

Clay did not want to sound too happy. But he could not help himself.

"It's amazing." The knight smiled in joy.

The blue shade of Jestros' cheeks slightly darkened as he stared at the Knights' smile.

"Well, you're welcome here anytime you like." He said as he gained his focus. "Try not to read ten books at a time."

Clay raised an eyebrow as Jestro was about to leave the room.

"Was that supposed to be a joke?" Clay asked with a slight chuckle; making Jestro stop and turn back. "Are you making jokes now?"

Jestro looked away from the knight; the darkened hue in his cheeks still there.

"Maybe." The cursed jester uttered before leaving the library.

When Jestro was gone, Clay continued to look around the library. The knight could not help himself as he jumped and laughed happily.

Jestro took a relived exhale as he held his chest. He did not think that was going to go as well as it did. Magmar and Beast Master came around the corner.

"Charming the prisoner, are you?" Magmar raised a brow.

"The guest; you mean." BM corrected.

Jestro nodded.

"Yeah; I showed him the library." He told.

"I suppose that's one way to do it. It certainly beats flowers, chocolates and promises you don't intend to keep." Magmar rambled.

"How long do you think do you think it'll be before he's head over heels for you?" Beast master asked excitedly.

Jestro stopped when BM asked the question. He looked down to the floor.

"I don't know." The cursed jester answered. "If there's a chance, I don't want to force it."

Later that day, Clay read at least ten books(not all at once) and decided to take a break by going back outside. He saw Jestro sitting outside; watching some birds in the snow. Clay quietly went over to him to see what he was doing and sat next to him.

"What're you doing?" He asked curiously.

"Watching the birdies. I can't get too close without them flying away." Jestro explained.

Clay looked at the birds as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out some bread left over from breakfast.

"I can show you how to get them to come to you." The knight offered.

Jestro tilted his head to the side; intrigued by the offer. Clay pulled a few pieces of bread and slowly crawled towards the birds. Clay slowly extended his hand with the pieces of bread and stood still. Two of the birds noticed Clay and went towards him. He stood still as the birds ate the bread out of his hand. Jestro blinked at the sight before he came running over. The birds saw the jester and flew away.

"Dang it." Jestro quietly scolded himself.

Clay gently took Jestros hand helped him to the ground.

"You gotta do it like this." The knight explained; doing what he did before.

Jestro paid close attention as he copied Clay. Three birds came up to Clay and started taking bread out of his hand. Clay looked at Jestro as a small bird came to him. The jester smiled like a child that learned how to tie their shoe laces. Clay smiled a little as well, but it turned into mild concern when more birds begun to land and sit on Jestro one by one. Jestro stayed still like a statue. The cursed jester did not notice Clay getting up and walking behind a tree. Jestro seemed to be enjoying the attention from the feathered flying animals, but he flinched and closed his eyes when they all flew away at once. Jestro smiled again as he turned around.

"Did you see what just-"

A small snowball exploded into powder as it hit Jestros' chest. Clay hid behind the tree as he held in his laughter. He quickly made another snowball with a mischievous grin and prepared to throw it. His grin quickly disappeared when a watermelon sized snowball hit him square in the face and knocked him to the ground. Jestro let out a hysterical laugh as Clay sat back up and brushed the snow off himself. In a matter of moments, Clay and Jestro were chasing each other around the courtyard and throwing snowballs at each other; unaware that three of the cursed monsters were watching them from a window on the second floor of the castle.

Lavaria rested her head in her arms as she watched the sight. Whiparella smiled joyfully while Magmar nodded in approval.

"This might work after all." Magmar made himself sound optimistic.

"I haven't seen Jestro this happy in years." Lavaria spoke out loud. "I think this knight could definitely be the one."

"Yes." Whiparella agreed with her friend. "Perhaps there is something there that wasn't there before."