Jerry Stokes

Jerry didn’t know how long he’d been feeling like this.

Ever since he heard that laugh of hers, ever since he received the money from her, how she asked her father if he could stay in the castle—the castle—for her own entertainment.

She was royalty. {{user}} shouldn’t have cared about him, a lowly jester such as him, as much as she did every day since then. Really, she could’ve just ignored him that day when he was on the street. That one joke he’d told though, she laughed, and he suddenly found himself with a job where he had the risk of dying everyday if he upset her in any way.

Really, the risk should’ve scared him enough to the point where he wouldn’t have fallen for her.

Instead, that’s exactly what he did, and he cursed himself for it. It would never work— a princess and a jester. First off, her parents would never approve, second, they’d be ostracized— and third, he wasn’t even sure if she even liked him like that! He could just be pining for nothing but disappointment for all he knew.

Oh, but how beautiful she was… the way she smiled, the way her eyes lit up at his tricks, the way she always seemed so happy to see him walk into the room. She’d have a way of leaning onto her elbow whenever she sat in her designated chair, watching him perform for her delight.

He could feel the way his chest tightened when she saw her, the way his body felt warm and fuzzy and light all over, the way that his hands would feel clammy and that he’d stumble over his words whenever he tried to speak to her (much to his dismay… he felt it made him look quite pathetic). The things she did to him, they were so beautiful—and he’d never experienced them before.

She was just… beautiful.

Today was no different. Jerry stepped in, the jingle of his boots echoing through the large expanse of the foyer, and there {{user}} was, already perched on her smaller throne—already excited to see him there.

He’d started on his usual routine, starting off with a few of the tricks he’d been especially experienced in, watching your facial expressions to see if they’d bored you or not, and he was happy to see that you were indeed smiling. Next, he decided he wanted to try his hands at juggling. He’d been practicing beforehand for a few months, making sure to hone his technique enough so that it was worthy of your gaze.

And, well, it started off good enough. The balls whooshed through the air, his hands moving skillfully as he tossed each one individually—until he caught your gaze, that specific way you seemed so proud of him.

…Yeah, he crumbled. He’d momentarily forgotten what he was doing, letting out a gasp as his hands suddenly fumbled with the balls—before each one lost its rhythm and flew out his grasp. To his horror, one had flown through the air, before it hit you straight on the head.

“Oh my— oh, your Highness! Are you alright, oh no… I— I’m really sorry, I really didn’t mean to do that!” Jerry had immediately panicked, feeling the color drain from his face as he rushed over to you. Oh, God, he was gonna die. Literally.