“I am the jester, my job's to entertain. And it seems that soon enough it too will be my job to reign”

The King laughed above from his throne, above the millions of people, scared for their very lives, with his queen sitting next to him. He turned and said “My love, Isn’t it wonderful here in Wonderland?” She said nothing. Then He remembered she’s a corpse. 

Kaixes awoke and got ready for the day, dressing in a black and red striped leotard, with puffy sleeves of red and black, and matching leggings. He wore a black belt and withe gloves. To match he put on white boots, a white mask with black and red accents, and a  jester hat to match the leotard, jingling bells on the ends of each point. A voice echoed from the communication pipes in his wall. “Jester! Jester! The King beckons you” It was the voice of the Chamberlain. He got up and left his chamber, walking through the rows and rows of people in cages in the king’s dungeon. He made it to the throne room hassle-free and greeted the king. “Good Morrow my liege. How may I be of service on this fine morning?” The king replied “Dance for me Jester. Dance a Dance for the ages in preparation for tonight’s grand ball!” He sighed quietly so as the king did not notice, and began to dance. For hours, he danced, for the king would not let him stop. Eventually, the king spoke “Stop Jester! Stop your dance, and prepare thine self for the ball to make subject far and wide rejoice! Now go, Jester, for tonight, you dance!” He rushed off to his chamber, quickly navigating the twists and turns of the palace. He knew the castle well, for he had lived there since the young age of twelve. He was a street performer, doing dances, juggling fruit, telling jokes, and performing magic for the non-magical. He lived of the gold that people gave him, that’s how he made a living to help out his family, until one day, the king was passing by in his carriage on a rather good day for funds, and saw him performing. The king ordered him to be the Jester of The Royal Court, and perform for nobles. Kaixes readily took the offer, not knowing how much of a tyrant the king would become. 

Kaixes reached his chamber and prepared the usual parcel of gold coupled with a letter for his parents and sister. He changed out of his jester clothes, into street rags, and walked over to his bookshelf, package in hand. He pulled a book and stepped back as the bookshelf turned. He stepped through and it closed behind him. He ran, as he had to be quick about his bi-weekly journey home. The king hated when he left the castle. No servant was allowed to. Not the Chamberlain, Not the chefs, Not the Jester. The only servants allowed to leave without the king we’re the royal messengars. He knew the tunnels as though he grew up in them. That was because he did. As a teenager he would sneak out through the tunnels to live as a normal person for the night, and he learned the sublevel tunnels of the castle like he knew himself. 

He reached the surface and walked around for a bit before heading to his childhood home. When he got there, he greeted his mom Ether, his dad Nukior, his sister Blaise, and her girlfriend Avina. They talked and hung out for a while, before he left, and he handed them all a royal invitation to the grand ball. 

He arrived at the castle and sunck back in the way he came, pulling a torch to reopen the hidden door. He put on his jester outfit, and waited for the kings command. As people started pouring in, the chamberlain summoned him and he went up to the ballroom to entertain the guests. He was doing a juggling act, and spotted his family in the crowd. He finished his act and heade dtowards them, and began making jokes, as the jester wasn’t allowed to interact with guest outside of a performance. He joked about silly things at first, but as the king passed without him noticing he made the joke to end his days. He made a joke about the king being a tyrant. All of a sudden, the king yelled “Guards! Sieze the Jester. Execute Him!” He ran. Kaizes ran for his life. He went to his chamber and escaped through the secret passage. He reached the surface and stopped by the local tavern to collect rations. The Barmaid there was his friend. She was a girl he loved. He ran up to the counter and yelled “Mylaea! Run away with me. Please. Let’s start a better life, one where I don’t have to live under a tyrant, and you don’t have to scrounge for tips in a filthy, dirty tavern. Please.” Mylaea run up to him and replied “That’s all you ever needed to say.” She ran out from behind the counter with a bag, as he took her hand and they ran. They ran as far and as fast as they could, into the forest. They dodged the guards and they hid. It didn’t matter where they were, because they didn’t know where they were going. They eventually lost the guards and stopped infront of an inn in the next town over, opting to sleep there for the night. In the morning, he woke up in his jester clothes. He panicked. He woke up Mylaea and asked “Mylaea, what do I do!? I can’t go out in this, or people will see me and report me to the king!” She got up groggily and went to her bag. She pulled out a tan shirt, brown pants, and dark boots. She said “Put these on, and meet me in the dining room. 

When  he got to the dining room, he stopped and was awestruck. Her outfit was so simple, yet elegant. Not much more than a pale green shirt with puffy sleeves, a white corset, black pants, white gloves, and white boots, but she looked beautiful nontheless. Her hair looked messy, but it was gorgeous, it was blonde, with black roots, and her bright green eyes sparkled like the sun on a lake. “What? Do I have something on my face?” She asked, giggling a bit as she noticed him staring. He was broken out of his trance when she began speaking and replied “No, it’s nothing” He sat down and they ate pancakes and drank coffee. When they finished eating, Kaixes payed with money he stole from the royal treasury, and payed to stay in the room for another night. They walked into the town and looked around towards the hundreds of guards patrolling. Towards the wanted posters with Kaixes’ jester mask on every corner and in every shop. He had never been so thankful he wore a mask. Kaixes turned to Mylaea and said “We can’t stay here. We should go adventuring”. Mylaea smiles. “Let’s do it”  the two split up and went shop to shop buying adventuring gear.