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The Jester

A girl played wit her Jester doll. She brushed what little hair it had, fixed the bows on its hat and polished its porcelain face. Nothing gave this girl more joy than her Jester doll did. In addition, the Jester enjoyed her company as well.
When the girl slept, her Jester would gain life, becoming the Jester he once was. He was very fond of the young girl who cared for him during the day. He played her songs; tell her riddles to her in her sleep, just so that he could make her smile. However, he could never talk to her, as much as he wanted to.
Years went by and the girl never grew tired of her Jester doll. The Jester never stopped playing her songs and telling her stories. However, as fate would have it the girl came to an age where the Jester doll was left on the shelf. Slowly the girl stopped brushing his hair. She stopped fixing his bows and she stopped polishing his porcelain face. All he could do was sit on a shelf and watch the girl grow up from a distance.
The Jester slowly started to die. His hair once golden, now slightly faded, His bows once tied now hang undone and raveling. The paint on his porcelain face now cracked. He could no longer make the girl smile with all of his songs and riddles or even stories of old. She no longer needed him.
The Jester just as the young girl had done slowly stopped playing. His song lost their touch, his riddles became easier, and his stories grew dull. All of his joy was gone because he could not make her smile. As the paint chipped on his face and on his eyes his sight started to leave, the Jester thought to himself the last thing I will see is her frown.
The morning after the girl awoke. She looked around her room; everything seemed as if she had never seen it before. Her eyes landed on the Jester doll.

“Jester. I had the most horrible dream last night.” She said. “I dreamt that you did not sing for me in my court. Why did you not sing?”
The girl had almost expected an answer from the Jester. But then again remembered that the Jester could not talk to her. It was only a doll after all.
She walked over to the Jester and in the first time in a long time picked him up. She noticed the poor condition he was in and immedently set out of fix him up. She replaced the bows that unraveled. She repainted his porcelain face. When she got to his hair, she couldn’t do a thing. She became disappointed and set the Jester down.
The Jester, now being able to see fully, saw that there was something different. His vision was brighter. Out of the corner his eyes he could see that the bows had been replaced. His memory went back to when the girl woke up. He remembers that she spoke to him, and it wasn’t just any one. She talked to Him! Something in the Jester at that moment came back to life. The hope he had almost lost was back.
The girl had gone back to her bed and was quietly crying into her pillow. The Jester was so moved that after all this she had not forgotten about him. And that he still cared for her.
With out even thinking the Jester stood up, walked over to the girl, and kneeled by her side. Even though her sobs where muffled he could tell she was truly distraught that she couldn’t fix him.

“My friend. Do not be sad. You have done more for me than you think.” The Jester said.
The girl looked up her eyes puffy and red from crying. She looked around and her eyes fell upon the Jester doll lying on the ground near her bed. The doll had a smile on its face. The girl picked up the Jester.

“I wasn’t able to completely fix you. I can’t repair so many things. There so many things that can’t be undone.” She said looking questionly at the Jester doll, as if it really had said something.
“That is all in the past. You did not forget me, and you came back to me. That is all I care for.” The Jester said.
“But I” the girl said with a puzzled look on her face, what she was holding was clearly not making any sound.
“I am here. I have always been. However, know I am truly with you. My story is true. I’ve been imprisoned to that doll for many years and now you have set me free.”
The girl looked to her left to see the ghostly out line of a young man with a Jester’s outfit on.
“But, how is it that I freed you and not some one before me? What makes me so special?” she asked still slightly confused.
“Unlike others before you, you did not forget me. You truly cared for me. You where my friend.”
“What will happen to you know?”
“That is something you do not have to worry about. I am with you where ever you go. My memory will live on in side your heart.” The ghostly figure faded as he said this.
“No wait!” The girl started to cry again.
“Do not cry. I am here, any time you need me just call me to your court and I shall sing you a song or tell you a riddle.” The voice said.
“Will you tell me a story if I want?”
“Anything for the Princess.”
The girl closed her eyes and could see the Jester walking down a forest trail singing a song about a young girl and her love for the Jester.

She smiled. The Jester turned and smiled back at her and then kept on his way down the forest pathway.

---
That day I made a decision, no I made a promise that I would never forget and that I would let others know of the love. The love between A Princess and her Jester.



“My daughter. I have a gift for you. Your very own jester.” A large old man said. He waved a hand to the side of his throne.
A small boy no older than maybe six years old. He wore brightly colored clothing and a funny hat that had bows on them. His complexion was very pale, it almost seemed that he was made of porcelain. The young girl giggled at the sight of the small boy. Her father took it as a good sign and gave the small jester a shove toward her. The small boy didn’t understand what to do so he bowed to the small girl, he bowed so low he fell on top of him self.
The small girl laughed out loud, this caused the small boy to grin as well. She took his hand and pulled him up and then out of the room off to play with him.

“My Husband.” A woman dressed in fine clothing. “Is this a wise choice?”
“the child has no friends. I will not allow the princess to grow up with out social skills. And I wish for my only child to be happy.”
“Of course your Majesty.” The lady said as she lightly bowed to the man on the throne and walked off.
The girl ran out to the court yard with the small boy close behind her.

“Our name is Eiffie. Whats yours?” the girl asked when she stopped.
“I don’t have a name.” he said shuffling his feet in the ground.
“You do not have a name? How strange. We will just have to give you one.” She looked up to the sky and put a finger to her chin to make it appear that she was thinking hard. “We know we will call you Jester!”
“Okay then I’m Jester!” The boy said smiling.
“Jester do you have any friends?” Eiffie asked.
“I don’t know if I have any friends” Jester said.
“Well, we will be your friend!” Eiffie said.
“Can friends ask each other questions?”
“Yes!”
“Why do you talk about yourself as more than one person?”
“We talk this way to so that we are royalty.” Eiffie said, she leaned in and put a hand to the side of her mouth. “But I do not like talking like that.”
“Well then when it is just us how about you don’t?”
“Okay!”
“will you really be my friend?” Jester asked.
“Yes of course!”
“Do you have any friends?”
“I do not.”
“I will be your friend too then!” Jester exclaimed.

From that moment the two where the best of friends. They where hardly ever not seen together. Jester would sing to Eiffie in her sleep, and then in the morning he would be there to be her friend. He told her riddles and stories that he would make up off the top of his head.
Much to the dismay of the Queen, Eiffie’s mother, the act of them playing was against her very wish for the child to grow up and be a proper young lady. She knew things would go south when time came to marry her daughter off to a neighboring Kingdom. So slowly the Queen would send her daughter to lessons on how to act, when to speak and other things that a princess needed to know.
Eventually the only thing Jester could do for her was sing to her in her sleep and tell her stories that way and riddles too. Slowly she stopped smiling in her sleep. Jester started to lose his own happiness his porcelain face started to lose its glow, his golden hair was losing its shine and his bright outfit started to dull.
He had come to notice that he missed his friend and that he wanted to be her friend. But the more the thought about it he didn’t just want to be her friend he wanted to be with her forever. But he knew that the love was a forbidden one. A princess would never marry a Jester even if there was no one to marry her to. Such rules where clear.
Still he tried to make her smile in the smallest of ways. He would sing to her in her sleep every night and during the day he would joke with others within ear shot of Eiffie just to make her smile.
Finally a day came and Eiffie couldn’t take the lessons. She ran to her room and allowed no one to come in but Jester. Her mother was so furious a this that she called upon a man who could perform witchcraft.

“I want that boy gone from my sight!” she screamed. “I do not care how you do it just get rid of him!”

Eiffie had over heard her mother say that to the man and ran to get Jester. She wasn’t about to lose her best friend to witchcraft. She loved him too much.

“Jester! Jester!” she cried. “Jester!”
“My friend what is wrong? Why do you call for me?” He responded.
“Oh Jester you must leave the castle! Mother has called for some one to get rid of you! I don’t want to see you hurt.” Eiffie started to cry.
“I cannot leave you. My little Princess. Your mother cannot get in my way. I will always be here for you.”
“But you must!” she said.
“I cannot and will not do it.”
“I hate to do away with such a young lad.” A old voice said.
“Who are you?” Eiffie said spinning around to face and old man in dark blue robes.
“I will not kill the boy. If you give something in return for his safety.” The old man said.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“Princess don’t do it!” Jester cried, “It could be a trap!”
“All I want is your eyes.” The old man said.
“how will I be able to see?” the princess asked.
“Your heart has its own vision.”
“Please Princess don’t do it!” Jester cried again.
“If you give me your eyes I will turn the boy into a doll. So you may keep in with you at all times.”
“You want to curse us both?” Jester said looking at the man.
“On nights of the full moon you will see again my dear and your precious jester will gain life again at night.”
“And you want only my eyes in return for all of this?”
“A love such as the one you two posses cannot be destroyed. It would be a sin. Should anything happen that could cause harm to what you have the curse will be lifted and you will both be restored to your original forms.”
“Then take my eyes and do with them as you please.” Eiffie said with much force.
“Look into this mirror”

The princess looked into the mirror, her world faded to black. She turned and smiled to Jester.

“Why did you do this? Why would you do such a thing for me?” Jester asked holding her.
“Because I love you that is why. Please continue to sing for me as you always do. I would be very sad if you stopped.”
“I will do anything for you if it makes you happy.” Jester said.

Jester then shrank down to the size of a doll and limply fell to the ground. The princess picked him up and held him closely to her heart and then grouped the walls to find her way back to her room.
There she stayed for many years. Caring for Jester, she cared for him even though he was a lifeless doll in the day. Slowly she started to forget to look with her heart.
Jester saw this and began to feel sad inside. He sat more and more on a shelf rather in the arms of his Princess. He still held his promise true though. He would sing for her at night and tell her stories and riddles. But when the night of the full moon came she did not open her eyes to look at him.
After that night he was to broken to sing songs, tell her stories, or riddles. He began to cry. After a few more nights Jester was unable to change out of his lifeless form and stayed as a doll upon a shelf.
The princess slowly but surely started to have nightmares more and more after this event. She awoke in a cold sweat and looked around her room. For the first time in a while she could see. As she looked out she could see it was the full moon out side. At the site of the moon she looked around for Jester. He was lying by her bed badly hurt.

“My Jester? What has happened to you? Why are you hurt?” She said her voice shaky at the sight.
“I had to protect you from your mother. She lies dead next to me.”
“My mother? I do not care for my mother. You are hurt, let me heal you.” She said as she gingerly helped Jester into her bed and then raced to get new cloth to fix his cloths and to bind his wounds.
She worked all night and before dawn handed him a new outfit. He changed into it, and then held the princess for a moment longer. As the sun rose he turned back into a doll. The girl picked up her Jester and placed him in the bed then let out a blood curling scream.
Many people raced to the princess’s room.

“My mother tried to kill me in my sleep I had no choice but to kill her first. What I am going to do now?” the girl cried a little.
“My daughter. Your mother was not killed by you but by jealousy. You had something she could never have. True happiness.” He said looking his daughter in the eye.
The servants took the dead body out of the room. When they had all left, the princess turned to her dad.

“Father?” she asked.
“Yes my daughter?”
“Mother actually tried to kill my Jester. He is still alive. I sold my eyes to a man who knows witchcraft so that He would live and not die like mother wanted. He sleeps in my bed as we speak no more than a doll now. In the night he came to life and defeated mother and protected me.” Eiffie said.
“Then why did you tell such a thing earlier”
“I did not want him taken from me. All I want is to be with him for a while longer. That would make me happiest. To only do that till the end would make me truly the happiest person in the world.”
“If that is all you wish my daughter then it is yours.”
“Thank you father.” She said as she crawled into bed and pulled her Jester close. “Jester I am sorry I could not fix you. I am sorry for the things that happened. But as long as you know that I love you. I will be happy. Good night my Jester.” And with that the girl also turned into a small doll. But she never woke up again.
The king took the two dolls and placed them in the treasure room. Where he never saw them again.

Many years later after the time of queens and kings a historian found the treasure room and the two dolls. He took them as he picked them up a letter feel from the jester.

“To whom ever shall find this. Please do not separate me from the Princess I treasure nothing more than to hold her on the night of the full moon and remember when she would hold me. For as long as I can remember her she is not gone. But here in my heart. As she is and will forever be mine.”

The Historian left the letter on the floor and took the dolls back to his home. He placed the princess into a glass box and gave the Jester to his daughter. Slowly the two dolls started to fall apart.
On the night of the full moon the Jester gained his life back and he started to sing a sad song once he noticed that the Princess was not in his sight. This woke up the Historian’s daughter.

“Hey? Why do you sing a sad song? Did your love leave you?”
“She is gone and I don’t know where to. I love her and then some. But she is gone and I have no one to hold.”
“How can you love some one you don’t see?”
“I will always love her. Even if I cannot see her. She will always be the love for me.”
“Then I will help you see her again.” The girl said she stood up and dragged the jester to the museum and showed him to the Princess. She took the doll out of the case and handed it to the Jester.
“The curse has been lifted from the two of you. My father did not see your love for her and separated you from her. All you have to do is claim her back.”
As the girl said this the princess returned to her normal state but she had long since died. In her hand was a letter.

“My love the moon is beautiful. It reminds me of your face. These gold curtains here remind me of your golden hair. And the ribbon in my hair reminds me of your bows. Do not be sad. I have been dead for quite some time now. But I will find you again have faith my love.”

The Jester cried that night. When morning came, he returned to his doll form once again.