Of Jesters and Kings

Part-3 Shaker

The Jester took a step over a murky puddle of water, looking around. He had lost track of where he was going. He shrugged. He was too absorbed in the music. Standing on the dirt path, he looked around him for any recognizable landmarks. How long had he been walking? Lord knows...

The boy slipped off the brass head of his ear buds and placed them in his bag. The small breeze had grown into an aggressive gust. The occasional billow of wind was threatening to blow his cap off, so he placed his hand over it, keeping it in place as he walked. The Horse Jester Prince stopped for a moment and started to walk back. The inn shouldn't be far from here he thought.

***

The Queen was talking to the Dragon Keeper. They stood in the upper court yard shaded by a seemingly ancient oak tree. Its orange leaves cast a reddish tint on the ground below.

"NO Snehita!" the Keeper exclaimed loudly.

"Aw com'on Em."

"Jesus Christ, some people would rather do more productive things than provoke ridiculous rap battles."

The Queen pursed her lips and crossed her arms.

"And I mean that in the kindest possible way..." The Keeper said with a nervous grin.

The two came across a beautiful white marble table. They both sat down slowly, not knowing what to do next. There was nothing to do today and the other royals had gone off hunting.

Snehita started to tap the table. She created a syncopated beat which she started to rap to, slowly at first then faster.

"You're a drag keeper with Peruvian genes.

Put it on pause, because you got no cause to justify these means

I'm the queen of this game-"

"NO! Nope. Sorry. Too bad."

"BALLS. " The Queen placed an arm on the table to prop up her head and let out a sigh. "I wish Kevin was here.."

"There, there." said Emily as she patted the Queen's head awkwardly.

Just as the crowned head was going to respond, a rabbit about the size of a small boy burst out from the underbrush. It was wearing a navy blue military dress. A couple medals were pinned to the right breast pocket and they bounced a little as he bounded toward them. He gradually slowed down to a trot and got up on two legs to address the queen.

"M'lady.." He said in a thick Scottish accent, but not before nodding to the Keeper. "There's been an earthquake report in Shaker Town."

"That's the eighth one this week." Snehita groaned. "Em, can you check up on the town for me? Please? I'm not feeling it."

"Sure, why not.." Emily said with a shrug. " I get to ride my dragon ri-"

"You know how I feel about this dragon thing Em. Honestly half the towns people are scared shitless when they see this giant reptilian beast fly through the sky. We had this tal-"

"I AM THE NIGHT." Emily said, furrowing her brow.

"Your five foot three..."

"SHUT UP."

"Jesus. Fine, alright." The Queen said as she held both hands up in surrender. "Rolly can you dispatch some runners to tell Shaker the Keeper's coming?"

Rolly nodded vigorously and took off again, this time towards a different bush. It was such an interesting rabbit hole network that was going on. The Dragon Keeper got up and started to walk toward a spiraling stair case that led to the courtyard on the ground floor.

"Try not to get hurt Em!" Snehita called out.

"I got this!" Emily replied with a grin. She quickly clambered down the stairs and disappeared from view.

***

"What the blazes??" The inn was had collapsed in ward; the roof was sunken in. The houses and shops around it were in shambles. There was an open fire blazing nearby on a grounded roof. Men were running around trying to find their families. A women was calling out her daughter's name, clutching a small baby that was wrapped in a bundle of blankets. The squared stone pavings in the town were cracked and split in numerous places. They branched out from a single epicenter. Near the black smith's shop was a large tear in the earth. About three houses long and a house wide. The wreckage around in him was gruesome. Bodies mangled and torn under the wooden beams for fallen houses. A baby squealed in the distance. The jester's forehead creased, and he crossed his arms. He was going to stop this. He was going to be the hero. The young man smiled to himself. That sounded nice. A hero. The Horse Jester Prince walked over to the edge of the crack; he could feel the eyes of the surviving villagers stare at his back, and without a break in his step, the Jester jumped.

Signning off, Gin