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“Jevil, come on. The show starts in ten minutes!”
Seam knocked on the door once again. The jester was supposed to be out of his dressing room over half an hour ago to do some last minute checks. And Jevil was never late for final preparations.
Well, normally they aren’t performing for the entire kingdom. Maybe even a funny little imp like Jevil can have bouts of Stage Fright.
The cat gave the doorknob a twist, finding it unlocked. They supposed Jevil wouldn’t mind too much. After all, the show must go on.
“Jev? You in here, friend? Come on, we gotta get ready for the show.” Weak giggles echoed around the room. Seam stepped into the room and closed the door. Good. Jevil was here after all. They didn’t want to go on a wild goose chase just because the imp got bored. The mage patted along the wall, looking for the light switch.
“Uee heee...”
“...Jevil? Come now, we haven’t got all day.”
Unable to find the lightswitch, Seam let out a sigh. They pointed up at the lightbulb on the ceiling, and the light was turned on by magic.
Jevil was sitting on the floor, back facing the door, and his tail wrapped around himself.
“Uee! Uee hee hee!”
“Hey...Come on, are you ready?”
Seam noticed how the jester was shaking slightly.
“Oh...O-Of course, of course, my friend. Just give me one moment, moment...”
The little imp stood up on two shaking legs. He made his way over the dresser and opened a drawer. He took out two fishing hooks tied to very short lines. He tied them to either side of his head by his hat and...Seam couldn’t really see what he did with the hooks.
“Um...Everything alright?”
Jevil turned to face the cat. The hooks were stuck inside either side of his mouth, making him perpetually grin. He wiped tears out of his eyes, desperate to sell the faux happy act.
“Jevil! What are you doing?!” Seam rushed over and tried to remove the fishhooks out of his mouth.
The imp swatted the plush paws away.
“Uee hee! I’m smiling, smiling! See?! No tears! Only smiles! No sadness allowed on the Court Jester! See?! See?!” He kept pointing to his fake smile. “In these times, the Fool cannot be seen with a frown, no sir! I am to bring happiness to the kingdom! Who would smile if the happiness bringer is sad?!”
The tears welled up in his eyes. It was clear that he wanted to frown, but the hooks kept the corners of his mouth from dropping to anything beyond the grin.
“Jevil...It’s alright to be sad. You’re a person with feelings like the rest of us.”
“Uee...Seam, Seam, you don’t understand! My feelings are pointless, pointless! I must bring happiness no matter what! Now we must depart! The show’s about to start!”
“...No.”
“No?”
“We’re not going out there while you’re like this.”
“Wh--Seam, you can’t just cancel, cancel a show the whole kingdom has come for! It’s not your choice to make, make!”
The cat grabbed hold of the imp’s cheeks. Carefully, they removed the hooks from his mouth, letting the jester finally frown. They untied the lines from the jester’s hat.
“Watch me.”
He couldn’t hold back any longer. Jevil started to bawl.
“S-SEAM! SEAM, I CAN’T, I CAN’T TAKE MUCH MORE!”
Tossing the hooks to the side, the plush cat gathered the little imp in their arms and held him close.
The door opened, revealing a Rudinn who came to get them.
“Shouldn’t you two be getting ready to go on stage.”
Seam gave it a thought. “Hmm...Yes, but...Could you get someone to delay the show for another half an hour? Just say Technical Difficulties or something.”
“Uhhhh ok, then...”
The door closed behind the Rudinn. The mage let out a sigh of relief. Now they can focus on comforting their partner.
“Hey, Jevil. It’s ok. We got some time...You wanna tell me what’s going on in that funny little head of yours?”
“S-Seam, I...I can’t take much more,” he choked out. “I can’t...keep...hiding behind smiles, smiles. The whole kingdom is counting on us, so best not make a fuss. We are the only ones that can bring joy to this world, world...They point and laugh and laugh, Seam...No one cares about us...We are just...toys, toys to them. Meant to be played with and then tossed aside like we are useless, useless...”
The plush cat knew this line of thinking. They were no stranger to it. They had hoped Jevil, with his carefree nature, would avoid going down that line of thoughts. They brought a paw to the imp’s cheeks and wiped away some of the tears.
“I understand, Jev...I really do...But for what it’s worth, I care about you. And I hope you care about me.”
“I know, Seam...”
“Go ahead. Take all the time you need. You can let your tears show around me. No need to hide...”
The little jester buried his face into the mage’s robe. His sobs shook his entire body.
Half an hour is all they had. Seam hoped that’s more than enough time for the imp to gather his bearings. Because it was their job to bring smiles.
The show must go on, after all...