A/N: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU JELLO AND THE DRAGON! Finally, a Life-saver I didn't choke on (please tell me someone got that…)! Its a little OOC, Sorry! If you stick with it, there will be some jests in this chapter. Updates may be slow, so here you go with chapter 2!

Disclaimer: Logic peoples! Logic! So read me writing: "N.O."

"I do not like that God," stated Pepper a few minutes later.

"Goddess, Pepper. Also be careful of what you say," Jester replied.

"Well, Clemens, I do not care what she says or does or whatever. I am NOT stupid."

"Whoever did say that?"

"Oh, I do not know, 'F-fair God-Goddess Venus!' perhaps?" she mocked him cruelly.

Jester was taken aback, Pepper wasn't usually like that. "She never said that."

"Yes she did."

"No she did not."

"But she was thinking it."

"No she-"

"YES SHE DID! SHE ALSO WAS THE CRUELLEST BEING EVER!" Pepper screamed completely forgetting she was in Jester's face.

"Um, Verbena, you need to calm down," Jethro said taking a step toward the enraged cook.

Pepper whizzed around and glared at him. She dropped her glare only for a moment to reach for the sharp cutting knife. Pointing it dangerously close to the smith's chest she hissed, "I am not going to calm down Jethro."

"You need to though," he said raising his hands to show innocence. "Look what you are doing to yourself and others."

Pepper's face softened for a moment but not her eyes. Her eyes still looked murderously enraged. "Verbena," Smithy tried one more time speaking her name softly. "Put the knife down before you do anything you will regret."

The cook put the tool down and put her hands on her hips. "You have no needs to speak like a lover – it is only a lie. I despise lies," she grabbed his wrists and yanked him down so they were only a hands' length apart. "Especially when it comes from friends." She let him go with an angry thrust.

The minstrel, who was watching, watched his friends bicker. One was deeply wounded, one was getting wounded; he could not stand it for much longer if it was to continue. "Stop, stop all of you! Pepper, stop!" he screamed waving his hands in the air.

Pepper stopped her fit to look at her new opponent. Jester took a step back timidly. "Well, it is not that – er – What about the cooking; the food? Yes, I think that you two should stop because Pepper needs to get on with the food!"

Once the words were out, he mentally kicked himself.

"Food? Is that all I am good for? Cooking, and cleaning, and being a doll?" she asked quietly shocked.

"Well, no. But you are not a doll."

"Of course I am a doll," her calmness scared the men. "I am being courted one day, the next cheated upon by my courter. It feels like I am blowing kisses in the wind. My courter did not really love me, just used me."

She sat down in a daze and continued, "Drake used me as bait to Jane. I am a living, breathing doll."

"Drake never used you Pepper, Venus just did not think it wise to do the pair together," Jethro said earning a harsh glare from Verbena.

"Oh you never know! Are YOU a girl?"

"He is, deep down," Jester joked trying to make the conversation lighter.

"I was not talking to you!" Verbena shrieked at Clemens, jostling out of her trance.

Smithy rubbed his neck uncomfortably, he did not like the way it was going. "Well, no."

"I DID NOT THINK SO!"

A moment of silence passed and Jester looked out the window. He couldn't believe that the sun was shining and the birds were a twitter and almost everything was happy. Almost, he reminded himself. He was not happy – Jane had cheated on him -, Pepper was clearly not happy either - Rake had abandoned her for Jane -, and Smithy was probably unhappy about the turn of events. What to do, what to do? He asked himself. Jester then got the marvelous plan of telling jests, "So… how did the chicken cross the road?"

Smithy immediately got the concept, "I do not know Jester. How did she?"

"She scrambled!" Jester looked around, no one was laughing. "No, did not get it?" Pepper and Smithy shook their heads.

"Fine then, I have got another one for you! What do you call banana peels?"

"What are bananas?" Pepper asked.

"They are a type of yellow fruit in a semi-boomerang form, if you will," Jester explained grinning because he was getting where he wanted to go.

"What do I will?"

"No, Pepper, it is a figure of speech."

"I did not know speeches had figures. I wonder if they have a better one than mine seeing Rake left."

Smithy struggled to hold back upcoming laughter, and Jester's face turned red with embarrassment. This was not what he had planned.

"No, no, heavens no, Pepper! You see, figures of speech are sayings unrelated to the subject, or they can be just sayings. Nothing has to do with your figure. Your figure is, um, perfect! Yes, that is it! Rake should not have left! Shames on him, shame on the gardener for making you think that way! Big, big shame!" Jester said pretending to point to an invisible Rake. Smithy burst out laughing, and Pepper turned as red as the setting sun.

Jester, who started to see his friend laughing at his slip and cover, turned redder than Pepper herself.

Smithy stopped for a moment to catch his breath. Then he looked at the reddened Pepper, to the even more reddened Jester. He started to bawl laughing and fell off the stool and onto the ground. He did not notice the pain of the fall, for all he noticed were his eyes watering from the wrath of laughing.

I do not think things can get any better than this, he thought while hugging himself to calm down.

Oh how wrong he was…