Guard of Laughter

Chapter Fifteen

 The next month consisted of Jingle getting ready for the ball. It was as if her jester duties was non-existent as she joined the princess and a dance instructor at their lessons. Apparently it was a different instructor from what she usually had, just because she didn't want her adviser to find out and scold her. 

 It appeared that Queen Jade wasn't the greatest dancer either, so they both struggled together to learn the moves. 

 Jingle quite enjoyed dancing. Moving along with the rhythm of the music was fun, and her heart raced when she pictured herself dancing with Ryan, instead of the dance instructor Tai, who happened to not be Taiwanese. In fact, his name wasn't even really Tai but he just went by that name for some reason or other. Although Jingle thought he was quite handsome at first, the more she danced with him the more she learned what a strange character he was.

 Kinda weird.

 But there was progress. Slow, but moving none-the-less. Jingle had started to learn how to dance, and while she learned there was a dress the Queen was having made just for her. 

 "Oh, I can't wait until you see it!" Jade exclaimed, excited for the ball. Both of them had a hard time sleeping at night, thinking about the things that could happen there. "It's so pretty! And it'll complement you very well. I bet Ryan will be speechless." They were both sitting down in the tearoom again, their usual hangout, though as always Jingle drank something other than tea. "I just hope he asks you to dance before someone else does, which I'm sure will happen." 

 "Ooooh~ will there be a lot of handsome boys there?" The jester asked, grinning from ear to ear.

 "Oh, to be sure. People from all over will be coming to attend. Princes, nobles, and more knights." Jade counted her fingers as she listed them off. "Many I know of to be handsome." She smiled in return. "Handsome enough that you can make Ryan jealous if need be."

  Whenever Jingle had any free time, she would spend it at the dinning hall, where she usually with Ryan unless he was busy with his knight duties. Things were less interesting whenever he wasn't there. She had to sit at a table listening to silly gossip and boy troubles... but of course listening to Remmie talk about darkness and shadows was the most annoying thing.

 However, the days went by and the ball was approaching. She was fully aware of the time going by, and after waiting for so long it was finally the day before. People had been putting up lavish decorations for about a week, and it was all coming together beautifully.

 Jingle also heard that her dress was done, and she was making her way to the queen who wanted to her to try it on. They had her measurements taken before, but they obviously still wanted to make sure it fit.

 Jingle walked into the queen's bedroom which was much more extravagant than hers, and she saw the dress. It was long and beautiful with a nice cut and white lace all around it. The main color was a beautiful shade of peach, Jingle's favorite color. It was like her dream dress, like she pictured in her head but even better!

 With Jade's help she quickly put it on, and it fit like a glove. Comfortable and easy to move around in, just like she wanted.

 "Tomorrow I will get a hair dresser to do your hair, and you'll look even more stunning!" The queen said, proud that she had ordered the dress for Jingle. "In fact, why don't you stay over here tonight? So you don't have to keep walking from your room to mine. Then we can talk about the many fun things that'll happen tomorrow!" Jingle nodded her head, deciding to sleep over at the Queen's room. Both knew that neither would be able to get much sleep, so they spent the night chatting and giggling over the coming day.

 Jingle could hear her heart pounding rapidly, excited and nervous at the same time. How would Ryan react? Would he like the dress? Would he complement her? What if she messed up? What if she tripped or stepped on his toes or something? How embarrassing that would be!

 Eventually, when neither could keep their eyes open, the two of them fell asleep just before the sun rose.