Guard of Laughter

Chapter Three

 Jingle left her room excited to get exploring. From the outside, the castle already looked large, but as she continued to explore she found that it was even larger than it appeared. She resided in the same general area that the other workers lived in since she was basically one herself. She wondered if that meant that some places in the castle were restricted to her. The female had no intention of barging into private offices or rooms, but the library or garden being open for everyone was a pleasant thought. If she ever had any free time like she did right now, those two places would be something that she'd like to visit if she could. If not... well, she was allowed to go out into town, right? She had no money at the moment but as the queen's jester she would have to be paid some.

 The young woman then started to wonder how much she would earn. Still, it was hard to believe that she was actually in the castle, let alone hired. Even now she felt a sick sensation settle in her stomach from all her nerves. She was surprised that she even managed to say anything in front of the queen in the first place. But she didn't seem very intimidating. At least compared to the man beside her she didn't. In fact, the queen looked nervous herself in a way. 

 Jingle continued to think about her as she walked; trying to memorize where everything was as she passed them.  Surprisingly the queen was very young. She couldn't be more than three years older than her. Which was strange, because she heard that the queen had two grown children... and where was the king? Was he in the castle? She pushed her thoughts to the side as she smelled something very appetizing in the air. What was that? Meat? Soup? Whatever it was, it smelled heavenly and caused her stomach to growl, reminding her of its emptiness. Jingle followed the scent, eager to find the source.

 Finding it wasn't too hard since there was really only one direction to go in the large hall. Jingle also heard noises. Like someone chopping some vegetables, boiling water, and a few voices. Slowly the girl opened the door, taken aback by the pleasant aroma that filled her lungs and caused her mouth to water. Inside the room was a kitchen. About three people were inside. A beautiful woman, and two young children. The woman was stirring a pot of broth while the kids were carefully cutting the vegetables to put into it. Jingle was pondering whether or not she should ask them for food until a voice came from behind her. "Are you hungry?" She jumped, quickly turning around to see too hazel eyes focused on hers. The same ones that she saw beneath a knight's helmet. "S-Sir Ryan." She clumsily greeted with a quick curtsy. Something that she wasn't all too used to doing, but he wasn't wearing his body armor. He replaced it with a fancy tunic and some other expensive looking clothes. It suddenly made her feel underdressed with a simple country girl's dress. She hoped her attempt at politeness made up for that.

 When she didn't answer, her stomach spoke up for her with a growl. He smiled slightly. "Come on. Jerrica will probably give you a bowl full of whatever she's making." He offered his arm out to her and led her into the kitchen. The stunning female, which she assumed was the Jerrica he mentioned, looked up at them as they entered. "Hello Sir Ryan." She said, brushing her messy hands onto her apron as she walked over to the two of them. Her eyes landed on Jingle as she waited for introductions. "This is Jingle, the new jester." "Oh! This is the girl that the entire castle is talking about? My, my." Her blue hues lit up in excitement as she took Jingle's hands. "I've heard that the queen as been absolutely giddy ever since you've arrived. She hasn't been in such a good mood for a while now. Please, come. You must be starving!" Jerrica said, pulling the girl to a table and allowing her to sit. "The soup isn't quite ready right now, but you can have some bread and honey butter while you wait. Shouldn't be too long. Oh! You too Sir Ryan, if you have the time." "It would be my pleasure." He sat across from the jester. Their knees brushed slightly under the table. "Oh, my apologies." He muttered, moving them so that they wouldn't touch again. "Uh, it's okay." 

 Sir Ryan looked great in his casual clothes, if that's what you would call them. She hadn't noticed it when his helmet was on, but he was a very handsome knight. He wasn't exactly what he pictured a knight would look like. He was younger for one, and not as burly as she thought they'd be. But maybe there were muscles under that tunic? Her cheeks brightened for a second at the idea. She turned her gaze away and forced herself to think of other things that would not make her blush. "You don't mind me calling you by your first name, do you?" He inquired. "Um, no, not at all." It was really all he could call her by since she hadn't given him her last name. Maybe that was an attempt at getting it so he could formally call her by that, but honestly she preferred that he refer to her as Jingle. It was what she was used to. "As you wish." Jerrica placed a basket of warm bread on the table between them with a jar of honey butter that they could spread on it.

 Eagerly, she took a loaf and applied a plentiful amount of spread on it. She wasted no time taking a bite out of the heavenly food. When Ryan was just finishing his first portion, Jingle had already grabbed another peice. "You must be really hungry." He commented, looking surprised at how fast she was eating. "Won't you be full by the time soup is done?" "My stomach is like an uncontrollable beast. I'm always hungry." She responded, completetly serious as she said it. A black hole would be a more appropriate way to explain it, if they knew about what was in the galaxy. "Oh." Was all he could say.

 "Anyway... I was curious about something... ar--" From the expression on his face, it seemed as if the knight was about to ask something rather serious until a kid jumped up on the table and took a loaf from the basket. "Lilly! That isn't yours!" Jerrica shouted after the girl. She just stuck out her tongue in response and ran away. Whatever Ryan was about to say was lost as the only sounds were of Jerrica chased after Lilly.