Moonstruck

| Chapter VIII |

Not much later that night, a Prince and a Jester spent their time in Jade's Room.

"Oh, Oh, Oh! And all the women we're like 'Oh Dame Ash! I wish for your hand mmmmmmWAH!!' And I was just sitting there—with Ms. Tanna—WATCHING!" Jade exclaims, raising her hands above her head for dramatic effect. The Prince's eyes squinted in laughter, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth. Jade's heart softens as she glances at his joyful expression, her cheeks pink.

"No— that's so absurd!" Josh says as his laughter dies out. The Jester nods, feeling giggly from the jokes she's making, and her beloved in front of her. "Yes, yes- and they didn't die out until hours later!" Josh's soft laughter continued as Jade admired the soft pink arising on his smooth ivory skin. Her daze comes to a halt when he stops to look out the window, and then looks back at his fiancé with a disheartening face. "I'm afraid it's getting late out, Father might be outside waiting for me."

Jade's radiant aura almost immediately crumbled, her shoulders dropping and her expression saddening. It was always sad to see him go. "Ah.. alright." She mumbled, holding her arms out for a hug as he stands up & off the bed. He wraps his arms around her torso and pulls her off the bed, making the Jester stumble and lay most of her weight onto him, enclosing them in a caring embrace. "I love you, Princess." He mumbles into her neck.

Jade pulls away with a sideways smile, "You know I'm no princess, Josh." The prince leans down and presses a long, warm kiss onto her lips. "You're my Princess, Amado." He pecks her quickly and she chases his lips, but he steps back before she could catch them. "I'll see you soon, Princess."

The Jester waves as her Prince leaves the room. Once the door closes, she flops down onto her mattress and rolls over onto her stomach with a big exhale.

They've been together for 4 years and engaged for 2 weeks, and yet it still hurt when he left. She glances at her bedside table, where a small painting was held in a frame. It was a portrait of the two smiling in each other's embrace. She pouts, staring at the picture. Why'd Vianna have to be so far away? Jade sulks, but something gold catches her eye. Gold and Shiny...sitting on the bedside table?

Is that...

Is that Josh's ring? He must've left it there when they were...

Jade flushes. She should give it back to him. She slides off her bed and grabs the ring, running out of her room and out the castle doors. She looks to the left. Nothing. She looks to the right and sees a large carriage with two figures in front, about a few yards away. "That's it!!" She exclaims, running past the Knight at the castle entrance.

As she gets closer, she slowly recognizes her fiancé and...is that his Father? The Jester stops and squints. That IS his Father! She goes pale as she quickly jumps into the high shrubs surrounding the castle.

If his Father sees her, she really doesn't know what she'd do. He hates her. She purses her lips and listens in on their conversation. Nosy, but it's not like she can go back to the castle without being caught. She'll just wait until they're done talking and his dad goes into the carriage, then quickly hand him the ring and run. Simple, right? Jade nods affirmingly, gripping the ring in her hand.

"And that Jester..." A deep voice trails off. Jade's high mood instantly freezes. Were they talking about her?

"How much have you gotten from her?" Jade peeks through the shrubs, beginning to shake. Josh scratches the back of his head. "I know which and what Knights patrol where, and I know or talked to most of the Head Knights, however, I'm completely obvious to the Castles layout. It's a lot bigger on the inside than what it looks like out here." Josh finishes, looking up over at the unoccupied watchtowers.