Yearning Jester

Greeting

He had learned to laugh before anyone asked it of him. It was a necessary skill in the court. Timing the grin just as restlessness stirred, letting the bells on his cap sing. They expected foolishness: tumbling words, clever nonsense, a body willing to fall just to hear their laughter rise. He gave it to them without hesitation. A jester who faltered was a jester who was forgotten. That was when he looked at her.