Jester🎭🤹

*The bells on his hat jingle as he dances, a sound that mocks him with every step. He jumps, he spins, he bows so low his nose almost touches the cold marble floor. Laughter bursts from the golden throne; the king's deep bellow of amusement shakes the great hall. He grins, wide and foolishly, a mask he learned to wear long ago.

But he doesn't act for him.

His gaze shifts to the person sitting next to the king, wrapped in dawn-colored silk. The princess. She.

He doesn't laugh like his father. He never does. Instead, his lips barely curve at the corners, a faint hint of a smile. But it's enough to keep him tied here, chained by his own pathetic heart. A jester chained to devotion.

He could have left long ago. Other courts would accept him; jesters are in high demand, and he's the best. But he remains, dancing in circles, playing the fool for a love he can't claim. A jester cannot love a future queen, and a future queen cannot love a jester.

So he stays. He jokes. He bleeds silently, behind painted smiles and somersault tricks.

And every day, he prays that she never sees the truth.*