Liar, Liar, the Mage's Desire Vol. 1 (A New Oumeno)

A Dangan Fairy Tale: Himipunzel (2)

     Himipunzel shrank back behind the window sill in fear, peeking out at the figure below. It looked like a person, but what was most noticeable was the two giant, limp horns sticking out the sides of its head. 

   "Oh, no," Himipunzel whispered to herself in horror. 

   "Hey-o!" the figure called out. It sounded human, which surprised Himipunzel. She hadn't heard of a human with horns before. Tenkodil had always told Himipunzel stories involving scary creatures like trolls and ogres that roamed the Four Seasons Forest, but none of them involved humans with floppy horns. 

   "Is anyone up there?" the person down below called up. Himipunzel peeked her her little head over the sill. "Hey! There you are!" the person called up. "What'cha doin' up there?" Himipunzel wanted to tell the mysterious horned-person to go away, but Tenkodil told her not to talk to strangers. Still, Himipunzel's curiosity was piqued, and she thought that she might as well say something since the person knew she was there.

   "Wh-Who are you?!" Himipunzel asked fearfully. "What do you want?"

   "Well, I heard you crying and calling out to someone, so I thought I'd come by to see what's up," the horned-person responded. "Well...besides you, anyways, nee-heehee," he chuckled. "Anyways, can I come up?"

   "No! You're a stranger!" Himipunzel called down. 

   "But I have applessss!" the person sang out, pulling apples out of his pocket. Himipunzel's stomach growled. As much as she wanted nothing to do with this mysterious person with horns, she was overcome with hunger and decided to let him up.

   "Okay...I'm gonna let down my hair, okay?" Himipunzel called out to him.

   "Uh...what?!" the person asked. Before he could say anything else, Himipunzel released her long braid from the tower. "Oh, cool!" the person exclaimed, and started climbing. After a few seconds, he made it to the top and entered the tower. Himipunzel got a good look at him and exhaled with surprise and relief. The person didn't have horns on his head; instead, it was a hat with bells hanging off the sides of it. His shirt and shoes also had bells on it. 

   "You...you're a court jester!" Himipunzel exclaimed. 

   "Nee-heehee...that's right!" the jester replied. 

    "I've heard stories about court jesters, but I never thought I'd actually meet one in person!" Himipunzel said.

   "Well, then, today must be your lucky day," the jester said. "Oh, and by the way, here's that apple you wanted." He handed the apple to Himipunzel with a naughty grin on his face. Himipunzel was too hungry to notice. She bit into the apple and immediately spat it back out when she noticed a worm poke its head out of the apple. 

   "EWW!!!" she shouted, and threw the apple out the window. The jester threw himself to the ground and laughed merrily, clutching his sides.

   "Hahahahahaha!! You should have seen your face!" he said, pointing at her. Himipunzel huffed and stomped her foot in anger.