Guard of Laughter

Chapter Thirteen

 "I swear, I take my eyes off of you one minute and you're off fooling around." The royal adviser sighed, as he held up the queen's chin to examine her neck. Tears were streaming down her face now. The event had scared her into shivering. "Just a scratch. Won't leave a scar." He said, smiling down at her. Jingle had never seen the guy smile before. He actually looked kind of nice when he smiled.

 When he let go of her chin, the queen immediately hugged him, seeking comfort.

 Jingle and Ryan stood awkwardly off to the side. 

 "Your highness, I would appreciate it if you told me of any plans to leave the castle."

 "Would you have let me go through with them?"

 "... hmmm... probably not. Come, let's go back to the castle."

 The male lifted up his head to look at the jester and the knight. "If anything had happened to her, you both would be in a lot of trouble. But since minimal harm was done, I guess I could let you two off." With that, they left, leaving Ryan and Jingle alone.

 "I'm sorry about lying... it's just... Jade looked so sad I wanted to cheer her up." The jester said, worried that he would hate her for it. "Seems you two have become good friends." He said, smiling despite her worries. "I had my suspicions it was the queen. Not really surprised." He said with a laugh. "Shall we enjoy the rest of the festival?" "O-Okay!"

 Jingle and Ryan continued to enjoy their time together, talking about the little things in life, and stopping occasionally to watch some performers. Then they came across one that they recognized. There was a very pretty lady on stage, singing her heart out. At first Jingle couldn't tell through all her make-up, but Ryan told her that it was Jerrica from the kitchen, even though the singer called herself Jem. Jingle didn't know the kitchen lady had such a beautiful voice until then.

 But after watching her perform a song they decided to go look elsewhere.

 Before they realized it. The sun had set and darkness took over the sky. "The fireworks are probably going to start soon." The knight said, looking around at the even larger crowd. "Here, take my hand. It'd be bad if we got separated." He said, holding his palm up. Jingle gently grabbed his hand, realizing how much larger it was in comparison to hers. His hand was rough, signing how much of a hard worker he was.

 The walked together holding hands. Jingle's temperature had rose considerably, and she hoped that she wasn't the only one sweating. But despite their sticky hands, Ryan kept ahold of her hand. "I have someplace to show you." He said, leaning down close in order for him to hear her. He led her through the people, until turning into an alleyway. They walked through the narrow path between the buildings, encountering various steps that Jingle had to overcome. 

 Eventually the pavement broke off into grass, and they started walking uphill which was more bothersome than the steps. But what they reached was worth it. On top of the hill they had a very beautiful view of the town, vibrant with the lights of the festivale. From faraway they heard the crowd, but it was still as if they were in their own world. Jingle looked up at the sky to see signs of stars unpoluted by the lights. "We'll be able to see the fireworks great from here." Ryan said as he sat down on the grass. Jingle sat down beside him, not worrying about dirtying her dress.

 Like they had thought, lights shot up from the ground and exploded in the sky. Their eyes lit up along with the fireworks, excited and thrilled to see such beauty. Jingle placed her hands back and looked up at the sky. Ryan was about to do the same, but accidentaly put his hand on top of Jingle's.

 She held her breath. "Oh, I'm sorry." Ryan said, turning to look at her. But he didn't move his hand. "No, it's alright." She responded when she met his eyes. Realization crossed over her. Their were drawing closer and closer to each other with silence between them. Everything else was far away.

  With their lips inches away from touching, a sound made them both stop. The sound of air escaping made Ryan suddenly pull away. A firework lit up his face, showing his embarrassed, red face. "Erm... the festivale food... it..." He explained clumsily and Jingle laughed. He started laughing nervously along side her until they both erupted in huge laughter.

 They were always getting interrupted by something.

 But at least their time together was precious.

 "It's getting late. I think I should walk you home." He said, and Jingle's heart fell. "O-Okay. I had fun today." "Me too."

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authors note: I don't think I've ever made a character fart before.

ALL FOR YOU JINGLE. ALL FOR YOU.