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Chapter Text

The kingdom of Laphria.

It was a place of peace and prosperity. Home to beautiful rolling fields and meadows, a sanctuary to its residents and weary travellers and cherished each time the sun and moon would rise, for it was the sign that another beautiful day was upon them. This land was ruled none other than the beloved King Kaleb and his wife Queen Quinn. A couple with the kindest hearts that anyone had ever seen, and I love so strong that it could be seen from oceans away.

Truly, Laphria was perfect…apart from-

“That’s it! I’ve had it!”

The bedroom door of the king and queen’s bedroom slammed open, with the two-chess piece’s rubbing sleep from their bleary eyes as a maid with rubber skin and pink hair stormed in, covered from head to toe in confetti and leftover pudding.

“Oh dear,” once they king’s eyes were focused, he realised the state that the maid was in, “Another party?”

“Yes!” she snapped as a few other servants came in behind her, all covered in the same mess as she was. “How did he make it worse than the last one?! There were spiders in the chandeliers your majesty. Spiders! What kind of party does the prince need that involves spiders?!”

“Well that’s definitely new,” the queen mumbled, not pleased with this at all. She turned to her husband, “I believe we owe our son a chat darling.”

“Agreed,” he nodded, “That boy needs his head screwed tighter before someone knocks it off if he’s behaving this recklessly.”

They threw their comforters off, with the servants and two stationed guards following behind as the couple trekked to their son’s room.

When they arrived at the prince’s room, they had hoped to find a lazy lump of purple fur within the blankets and sheets of the bed. However it seemed that Prince had different ideas. The sheets were still there, only they were tied together into a rope and thrown out his open window.

“Oh no,” the queen groaned as her husband facepalmed. “Not again.”

From a small distance they could hear the boyish and cheerful whoops of a young man along with the stomping hoofs of a horse running further away from the castle.

“Guards!” the king spoke up, alerting the two next to him. “Gather a search party and go after him, I’ll save the chat for when he gets back.”

“Yes your highness,” the wooden toy soldiers chorused, saluting their king before running off.

The king groaned, “Why did the lord make our son so difficult?”

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The air, oh just smell that fresh air! That party last night was the perfect distraction for him to get out of there. And the spiders! That was so much better than the centipede trick he pulled last time! And now he was out of the castle, away from his parents pestering him and the servants eyeing his every move. No lessons, no fencing and best of all, no responsibilities. Just him and his freedom.

He eyed the sun rising from across the field, he had been out for a good few hours, making the guards lose their trail of him was the highlight of his morning. Anyway, now was not the time to think about that. He was free to do anything he wanted right now, what should be the first thing he could do? There was the bakery down the street, he could snatch a few loafs down there. Or maybe he could go the seamstress down the street and see if her daughter wanted to ‘spend some time with him' and maybe buy a new dress for his sweet mother. Wait, no, he had a better idea! The firework shop down the street, those would be perfect to create a little show for everyone! Oh this was going to be perfect!

He took off again, lifting up the hood of his cloak over his head to conceal his identity. Once he arrived in the village, he took his horse into a spare stable and kept him there before making his way to the shop. He was able to sneak in and out thanks to his combat training (and he begrudgingly left a few coins behind because damn his lovely mother and her teachings of morals).

He ran to the village centre, laying the fireworks in an upwards motion before striking a match and running into the nearest alleyway to watch the show go down.

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Boom!

The confused and petrified screams of the villagers were nothing but melodies in his ears. He couldn’t hold back his cackles as some ducked for cover at the loud boom, others had dropped their shopping and started sobbing, some even jumped at least ten feet into the air and landed on the rooftops. An obnoxiously loud snicker escaped him when a spare firework failed to soar into the sky like its siblings, instead it chased someone around until he fell to the ground and it smashed into a shop window. Truly, this was the best morning he had in a while.

His fun was ruined however when the familiar sound of clanking armour and huffs of horses made him snap out of his trance. The castle guards were coming, great. And that little light show was definitely a massive help for them to find him. Only Prince Jax of Laphria could pull off a stunt like that. He didn’t want to be caught, not yet anyway. He wanted to have a little bit more fun before going back to his gilded cage. There was a pile of crates and an old market stall with the cover still on top, if he could climb on those and blend into the shadows of the walls, he could be able to hide until the guards leave. Hehe, Jax you are an absolute genius he smugly thought to himself.

And so he did just that, he climbed on the crates, jumped on the old stall and grabbed the edge of the roof while resting his feet on the side of the wall. Hidden within the shadows and from the guards. He was truly too smart for his own good. But just before he could properly pat himself on the back, there was a tiny meow above him.

He looked up, and right next to his hand gripping the roof was a small brown tabby kitten.

Mew

“Uh, hi?” The prince gave him an awkward wave.

Mew!

Jax cringed, that was a little bit too loud. The last thing he needed was to be outed to the guards by a tiny round ball of fluff. “Keep it down, would ya!” he hissed at the kitten, “You’re gonna blow my cover!”

The kitten tilted his small head, turning to look at the guards and then back to Jax. The prince sighed in relief when he kept quiet, returning his focus to the soldiers when he felt a tug at his sleeve. He whipped his head back round to see to kitten pulling at the cuff of the fabric with its teeth. “Hey, hey! Quit it!” he tried to shove him away with his free hand, but the feline had a tight grip and refused to let go.

Jax bit his lip, trying to keep an eye of the search party. There was no way he was going to get found out because of a stupid stray cat!

He let out a yelp when he felt a paw swipe at his hand, along with a hint of claws. Now the kitten thought his hand was a toy, and that this little interaction of theirs was now a game. “No, no!” Jax pushed him away again, but the feline just kept coming back with his claws now fully out and leaving little scars on the prince’s hand. “Piss off!”

The kitten pulled back, Jax swore he was literally glaring at him. He gulped when the kitten leaned back on his haunches and wiggled his tail as though he were a little lion hunting his prey. “Don’t you dare,” Jax growled.

…mew

The feline wasn’t put off by the empty threat however, launching himself onto Jax’s hand, biting and scratching as though his hand were nothing more than a scratch post. “AAAHHH YOU LITTLE-” he cried out in pain as he let go the ledge to escape the attack on his fingers, unfortunately that action sent him face first in the pile of crates – which were filled to the brim with grapes, soiling his clothes.

The guards turned at the sudden noise, only to see their prince covered in purple stains and looking as if he emerged from the greatest battle of his life.

Jax lifted himself from the squashed fruit underneath him, cringing as he felt the fruit’s liquid seeped from his clothes and onto his fur. He dramatically groaned when the guards crowded him. “So, did you have fun with your wild goose chase?” he remarked at the soldiers glared at him.

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Jax practically stomped throughout the castle as the guards guided him to the throne room, there was no doubt that his parents wanted to have some colourful words with him about the recent stunts he pulled.

The doors of the throne opened, revealing a disgruntled King Kaleb and a disappointed Queen Quinn. Jax winced, he could tell that he was in for an earful.

“You! Young man,” Kaleb got off from his throne and descended down the steps below it, “You are restricted to the castle grounds. Until I give my word, you are forbidden to step one foot out of these walls unless you have my permission.”

“Or what?” Jax rolled his eyes as he plopped onto the last step, slouching in an un-princely manner. “Are you gonna force me to play a metaphorical game of chess and how ‘my attitude is a disgrace to the people of our kingdom and it somehow represents the chess pieces’ of the game and all that other shit.”

“Don’t mock me Jax,” Kaleb grumbled, making his way closer to his son. “You are the crown prince and heir to Laphria, you must treat your role with respect!”  

Jax turned suddenly, glaring at his father, “It’s also my life and I should have the freedom to do what I want with it.”

The king was about to say another word, a slight growl leaving his throat before he was stopped by his wife’s voice.

“Kabel, please sit down. The last thing we need is for you to have a stroke.” Quinn stood and made her way towards the two men. “Jax, you were born to privilege and with that comes specific obligations. You are an important figure to our people, one day the crown will go to you. You have to know what it truly means to be leader. But first, you have to accept the responsibility that comes with it, not just as a royal, but as one of your people.”

Jax sighed, he could deal with his father giving him lectures (it was rather funny seeing the old chess piece get riled up), but his mother was an entirely different story. If the rest of the world was cold stone, Quinn was a diamond. His father was a good man, kind and caring to his son while teaching him everything to know about the kingdom’s past present and future, but Quinn was always there to hold him whenever he was sad, help him with a hard lesson when he got to frustrated if he didn’t know the answer, taught him the values of human kindness even if the world kept spitting it back out. Just seeing that look on her face, knowing he did the complete opposite of what she taught him, it felt as though he were carrying the worst plague known to man.

“Forgive me mother, but shouldn’t I be the one to carry out how I choose to live my life than be restricted with what I’m expected to pick and choose?” he stood, facing Quinn. “And have you ever considered that perhaps I’m not worthy to be given the crown?”

“No, I don’t,” Quinn admitted. “A normal person who wasn’t worthy would not be trying so hard to fail.”

Shit. His mother always read him like an open book.  “And what are you gonna do to stop me?” he retorted, trying to reel himself back in order to save whatever natural charm he had left.

“I will simply deny you the crown and…um, live forever!” Kaleb declared, his wife shaking her head at his ridiculous outburst.

“Finally,” Jax cheered, clapping his hands. “Thank you father. Now there’s something we can both agree on.”

Kaleb grumbled under his breath as his sudden mistake, letting his pride getting in the way of his logic were incidents that happened on the odd occasion, but it still meant that they did happen despite the rareness of it. Surprise, surprise, it was caused by his son. “You’re dismissed,” Kaleb waved his hand, “Take this time to at least attempt to reflect back on your actions.”

“No can do,” Jax bowed mockingly before the guards came back in to escort him to his room.

Once their son was gone and the doors were shut did Quinn turn back to her husband, “Seriously? Telling our son – who is doing everything in his path to avoid responsibility – that you’re going to not make him king was your best idea?”

“I know, I know,” Kaleb sighed. “Our son has a talent for making me lose my head sometimes. I just…I’m at a loss here Queenie, I don’t know what to do.”

She took his hands in her when he said his nickname for her, a silent calling for help. “Kinger,” She replied with the nickname she had for him in return, “I know how you’re feeling. It’s hard seeing him act like this, but he can only be helped if he allows someone to do so. But I have a feeling that something will strike that boy with realisation soon. He’s a good man and will be a great leader someday. We just need to let him find his sense of self first.”

“I hope you’re right,” Kinger sighed, “I think Jax is making me age faster than I should be.”

Queenie let out a small laugh, “Don’t worry, you’re still that same young man I met by the lake at midnight.”

“I still remember it like it was yesterday,” he said, letting the memory play behind his eyes. “You looked so beautiful, and I kept getting tongue-tied trying to figure out what to say to you.”

“It was adorable though,” she cooed. “Just wait until Jax gets his head turned, that will certainly be fun to watch.”

“Huh, now there’s an interesting thought,” Kinger chuckled. “Our son tripping over his feet over a girl or boy.”

“Perhaps that will knock some sense into him,” Queenie suggested as she rested her head on her husband’s shoulder.

“Only time will tell my dear,” Kinger patted her hand, “Only time will tell.”

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Jax slammed his door, throwing back the curtains of his canopy bed before dumping himself face first onto his bed, letting out a load groan into his pillow. He was almost free, almost able to do anything he wanted without fear of consequences. If it wasn’t for that puny little stray he wouldn’t have gotten caught. That’s it, he now deemed cats as the worst animal in the world.

And what his mother said?! ‘Trying too hard to fail?’ Oh please, why couldn’t his parents except that he just wasn’t fit to be king? It would save them all both stress and time. There were plenty of other worthy noble figures in the kingdom, just toss them the crown and everything will be fine! He flipped over in his bed and onto his back, rubbing his hands over his face. He may be stubborn, but he would be damned if he didn’t inherit it from his parents.

He jumped when he heard a faint scratching sound at the doors of his balcony. He turned slowly to see a small blob at the bottom of the door window. He got up from his bed, going over and opened the doors. His stomach sank, sitting right in front of him was the stupid kitten that got him into this mess. “Oh no!” he glared at the tiny feline, “Absolutely not! You can’t come here after backstabbing me like that.”

Mew

The kitten ignored him and pattered inside, roaming around the room and taking in his surroundings. “Hey, get out!” Jax chased after him and picked the cat up by the scruff of his neck. “Don’t walk around as if you own the place!”

Mew

“Oh I get it,” Jax scowled at him, “You think you can act all cute and get whatever you want after what you just did. Well guess what fleabag? That shit won’t work on me.”

Mew

The kitten gently pressed a paw on Jax’s cheek, no claws and no malice. Just a small kitten reaching out for some affection. A lonely tiny creature…scared a hungry…despite how feral it seemed at first, all it really wanted was warmth for another being. Jax shook his head, “Nope! You are not cute,” he pointed his finger to the feline, “You hear me you are not-”

The kitten gave his finger a little lick.

Mew

Jax exhaled slowly, “I’m not gonna win this one, aren’t I?” The kitten purred against his finger, with the rabbit giving him a scratch behind his ears. “Alright fine. If you stay here at least you won’t be terrorising anyone else. I’ll accept ‘responsibility’ or whatever it was mother said. See, I’m able to do that.”

Mew

Jax shifted the kitten, sliding an arm under his chest and held him with his hand. “You’re gonna need a name first. If you’re staying here, the staff is gonna need to know what to call you,” he took a good look at the brown tabby, thinking for a moment what the best name would be for a small little feline like this. “Hhmm. How about…Motley?” The kitten only titled its head in response, “Yup, you look like a Motley.”

Motley let out a meow, purring as the prince scratched behind his ear again. Jax grimaced as he noticed dirt under the kitten’s fur, he must’ve been on the streets for some time if that amount of dirt had built up. “But first, a bath,” he declared, “The last thing we need are your paws trailing mud everywhere. Just be lucky my mother didn’t catch you, the last time I did that was the first time I believed the phrase ‘if looks could kill’ was about to become real.”

Motley went silent at that, seeming as he were choosing not to test if that were true or not with the queen. “Come on,” Jax carried him to the bathroom, “Time for a bath.”

The kitten let out a protesting mewl at that, Jax rolling his eyes. To be fair, he showed some resistance to baths when he was younger as well so he couldn’t fault Motley for that.

He stepped into the marbled bathroom and moved to the porcelain tub, turning on the water and testing the temperature before putting in the plug and plopping Motley down. The kitten was not happy at all with the sudden change, already hissing and clawing at Jax’s hands, trying to get out of the bathtub as the rabbit grimaced at the new scratches.

Yup, cats were just delightful.

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Despite the gruelling process, he finally managed to get Motley clean. The kitten was glaring at him the whole time he was getting dried off. Honestly, Jax felt a little smug about it. Revenge for selling me out you little shit.

Although, there was something quite heartwarming about all of this once the kitten was dry. He lay on the mattress, nuzzling the soft blankets underneath him as he though it were the first time he rested on a bed. Fully trusting someone with his safety after a life on the streets.

Jax felt a smile on his lips, before shaking it off and picked up Motley under his chest again, “Come on. You can sleep later, let’s get some food in you first before my parents send the cavalry to my room just so I get to dinner.”

Mew

Motley seemed to like the sound of that, climbing up Jax’s arms and curled himself around the prince’s neck, with the rabbit automatically giving his head a scratch. “Yeah, yeah. Little attention whore.”

The cat didn’t seem to take notice of the prince’s comment, rubbing his face against the prince’s cheek (Jax was desperately trying not to coo at the adorableness of it all).

He made his way down the halls, not caring for the servants who stared at the new little creature round his shoulders. All he wanted was food and then sleep, maybe plan another escape plan if he had the energy for it. Finally, he made it to the dining room, his parents already waiting for him while chatting excitedly in hushed voices.

Now that intrigued Jax, not by much but still, “What are you two going on about?”

His parents turned at the sound of his voice, suddenly gawking at him as though he had grown a third head. “Uh…Jax?” Queenie spoke.

“What?” Jax placed a hand on his hip.

Kinger raised a finger to the feline, “Who is…um, your friend?”

Jax switched his gaze to Motley, the kitten staring at the two monarchs with wide eyes, “Oh him? This is Motley, he’s the worst thing in the world but I guess he’s my cat now. You don’t mind if he sticks around, would ya?”

“I-” Queenie was genuinely at a loss for words. Yes Jax had brought back to the castle much odder things – and people – but never once did she expect that he would bring back a kitten. “Well, he does look very sweet.”

“Here,” he lifted the cat off his neck and placed him down in his mother’s lap, “You can take him for a while, I need a minute to get away from the stench of kitten breath.”

The queen was about to say something to Jax, before Motley rubbed his head against her hand, silently requesting for her to pet him. “Oh,” Queenie cooed, unable to resist the small creature’s sweet eyes peering up at her as she ran her fingers down his back, “Well aren’t you adorable.”

“Adorably annoying,” Jax muttered under his breath.

“And yet you still chose to keep him,” Kinger retorted. He didn’t have a mouth, but if he did Jax swore he would definitely be smirking at him right now.

Jax scoffed at his father, pulling up a chair and immediately slumping once he sat down. The chef’s brought in the dishes and lifted up the lids to start serving the royal family their food consisting of mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, freshly baked bread and a whole chicken - along with a little bowl of food for Motley once they heard about the surprise guest. As soon and Jax tucked into his meal, he turned back to his mother, “So, what were you two giggling about before I walked in?”

Queenie perked up at the mention, “I’m so glad you asked! There’s a travelling circus going around and is coming to visit our kingdom! There are lion tamers, tightrope walkers, even a contortionist!”

“Sound the same as every other circus,” Jax muttered as he played with his food.

“Your mother has been really excited for this,” Said Kinger, “Apparently they have a star performer that everyone is obsessed with.”

“Oh please,” Jax stabbed his fork into a carrot, “What could be so special about them that they’ve got everyone tripping over themselves for?”

“Word says that she has a special talent with magic tricks, so good that no one can tell how she pulled it off,” Queenie explained, “That and she has a beautiful singing voice.”

“So she can sing a little and show someone their spade card, so what?” Jax said, “Anyone will put a label on someone to promote something because they know it’s gonna attract an audience. Like dangling a toy in front of a cat…no offense Motley.”

Mew

“Regardless,” Queenie sighed, “As the royal family, we’ve agreed to watch them on opening night when they arrive. And you’re coming to Jax, no exceptions.”

“You’re kidding?” Jax groaned, slamming his fork onto his plate at his mother’s words.

“Please Jax,” Queenie’s eyes softened towards him, “I understand the apprehension, but this is something that I really want to do with us all together. Not just as an expectation of us as royals to see an event, but to spend time as a family to see a fun show. Please sweetheart, for me?”

Jax’s heart twisted at the look on his mother’s face. He sighed, he didn’t like putting on all this stress for his parents, for his mother took it harder the most. She saw so much good in him, so much faith in him in both as a prince and son. His father still expected more from him, but his mother – no matter how many times he was an absolute prick to her – always saw the best in Jax, somehow knowing that deep down there was that light that needed to be reached. It was annoying…but that was what he loved about his mother. He should at least to this for her, she’s been through enough as it was.

“Fine,” Jax sighed, picking up his cutlery today, “For you mother. But I’m bringing Motley too, he has to suffer with me.”

Mew

“I think I would enjoy his company very much,” Queenie nodded, petting the kitten, “After all, he’s part of the family now.”

“Oh, great,” Jax muttered, sipping some water.

“You’re the one who brought him home,” Kinger teased in a sing-song voice.

The prince scowled, muttering, “Shut up Dad.”

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The theatre was packed. Anyone who was anyone in the kingdom had all been invited to see the travelling circus, but more so, they were curious about the star performer that no one could stop talking about. The whole theatre was built as a circle, for the audience to watch while a door on the far side of the circular ring was connected to what people theorised to be the tent.

The royal family had a special booth reserved only for them to oversee the show from the best angle, wearing their best attire and crowns. Jax slouched in his chair, ignoring his father’s bickering for him to sit up. He really didn’t want to be here, but his mother looked so excited. At least he brought Motley so that he was forced to indulge in the prince’s misery. Although he wouldn’t bet on the cat being that upset, after all he was well fed, groomed and sat on Jax’s lap to watch an amazing show.

“You’ll see Jax,” Queenie whispered to him amongst the chatter, “There’s gonna be something in this show that’ll leave you breathless.”

“If that happens, I’ll eat my crown,” he muttered, folding his arms over his chest.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Kinger retorted, stifling his laughter at Jax’s annoyed expression.

The lights dimmed, spotlight centring the stage as the crowds went silent. Jax scoffed, everyone got excited way too easily over a room doing dark. He ran his hand over Motley’s head, the kitten’s eyes entranced by the bright colours. Honestly he should have expected it from him, he was a cat after all, you could swing a necklace in front of him and he would think it was the best thing in the world.

The drums rolled, and from the back of the set-up tent, a clown ran out onto stage. “Welcome one and all to our circus!” he bellowed, the crowd applauding madly in response. Jax clapped slowly in an unimpressed manner while Kinger and Queenie gave out a cheer. “My name is Kaufmo and I will both your ringmaster and clown for this evening! We have a very special line up for all you lovely folks! From lions! To tightropes! And our own special star that I know you’ve all been waiting for!”

The crowd went rapid at that sentence. Jax just scoffed, everyone was such a sheep these days.

“But I won’t keep you waiting any longer, let’s get right to the sho-woah!” Kaufmo suddenly slipped on a conveniently placed banana peel before landing face first into the ground, making the crowd erupt into laughter.

Really? Jax thought to himself, this is what gets people going?

“Oh, sorry ladies and gentlemen,” Kaufmo brushed himself off with a goofy smile, “But I’m sure we can move on from here.” As if timed perfectly, a bucket of water fell on his head, soaking him to the brim.

Jax sighed at the audience overexcitement of the shenanigans. “Everyone knows that this is rehearsed, right?” he whispered to his mother, “This is so cliché!”

“Oh shush,” Queenie waved a hand at him dismissively, “It’s funny Jax. Just have fun.”

Jax feel back into his seat, trying to seek an accomplice in Motley, but he seemed to be as addicted to this as the rest of the crowd.

The clown continued with that as his act, tripping and falling while telling jokes left and right at the same time. Jax found the whole thing pretentious, why was everyone acting like they hadn’t seen a clown before? Were they really that desperate for entertainment?

As soon as he finished with his act, a ragdoll with red hair wandered on stage, waving and smiling sweetly at the audience while carrying a couple of hoops over her shoulder. Kaufmo patted her on the shoulder as she set up the hoops before he went back into the exit of the tent. It seemed that the ragdoll seemed to be caught up with her setting up, for two lions prowled out with her back turned.

The crowd murmured as they stalked closer, sitting back on their haunches, ready to pounce. Everyone’s cries to the Ragdoll fell on deaf ears as she continued to hum and prepare. Suddenly, the lions pounced! The crowd screamed! The ragdoll whipped round, and raised both of her hands, placing it each on the lions’ noses respectively. The audience gasped. She moved, the lions going backwards with her as she led them to the corner of the ring.

She reached into her pocket, pulling out two strips of meat. “Stay,” she commanded, the lions obeying her word.

From the top of the ring, there were jumps set up, each one of them a different height and climbing up like a staircase on each side until meeting at the same height in the middle. Both lions went on each side of the steps, jumping and climbing until they reached the top. With a snap of a finger, the first lion jumped down, standing on all fours in a circle while the second lion jumped on its back, balancing there for a few seconds as the audience applauded.

But it wasn’t over yet, the second lion jumped down and both trotted and separated themselves to the two set up rings respectively. With another snap of her finger, both lions jumped through at the same time. Jax put his elbow on the arm of his throne, resting his cheek in his palm. Woah, animals jumping, so revolutionary. The ragdoll disappeared off stage for a moment, returning with a flaming torch as the audience murmured. Everyone faces dropped once they realised what the flame was for. Without sparing a moment, she lit both the rings on fire.

She snapped her finger, the lions ran, without a moment of hesitation, they jumped.

The crowds held their breathes, some even shutting their eyes out of fear.

Both lions came out unscathed and the fire went out. There was a beat, before the audience cheered and whistled and the ragdoll and lions bowed before going back off stage.

“That was incredible!” Queenie exclaimed, “I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it!”

“Imagine the courage one must have for that!” Kinger agreed, “That young woman was fearless!”

Jax shook his head at his parents’ antics, “Oh come on! No one actually believed that they were gonna go on fire! There wouldn’t even be a circus at this point if that happened!”

“Jax, you have to admit that her skills were impressive,” Kinger pointed out.

“You’re just easily amused,” the prince huffed. Motley was kneading Jax’s trousers beneath his paws, copying how the lions kneaded the ground each time before they performed a trick. Jax patted his head, “Sorry to break it to ya buddy, but you’re only gonna be the size of a foot when you’re older. Might as well give up on those lion dreams of yours.”

Mew

Someone new came on, a pink and yellow amalgamation of parts who looked as though they were going to fall apart any minute. Their routine was simple enough, twisting and stretching their limbs in the most unbelievably flexible ways. The audience oo’ed and aa’ed at how far he could take it without even showing a wince on her face. 

“He’s cheating,” Jax muttered, “He can literally detach himself, it doesn’t count.”

This time it was Motley’s turn to shush him, swiping his paw at the prince’s shirt with a mewl. Jax pulled a face at the kitten but quieted down anyway.

Once the contortionist went back off stage, the lights started to go upwards, revealing a tightrope with two performers at the top. The first seemed to be a woman with the head of a Moon on her shoulders, while the other was a man around her age who shared the appearance of the Sun. Nodding to the Sun, the Moon began her routine. Tip toeing across the rope, seeming as though to fall off – to the audience’s collective shock – before breaking out into a pirouette, as though there wasn’t a fifty-foot drop beneath her.

The Sun started to do the same, spinning on one foot before both of them stopped at the same time. Both of them ran to the middle, taking one another’s hand before producing canes from their sides. The two began to perform a little tap dance on the rope, waving their canes around without a care in the world with grins on their faces. While the audience was losing their mind, Jax inspected his nails to make sure there wasn’t any dirt in them, far less interested than everyone else.

The Sun and Moon ran off back to the ends of each side of the rope, pulling out a unicycle and mounted them before cycling back onto the rope. They went back and forth, pulling out a few small balls from their waistcoats and began to juggle them,

Jax was sure he had read about this scene in a book before, nothing new here.

Finally, the duo finished and bowed for their cheers before running back off again.

The next act seemed to have the entire circus cast out, including a new member, a body of ribbons and a mask on her face. A few tables and chairs were set up as well as some sort of makeshift kitchen area. The ribbon girl seemed to be playing some sort of waitress, stumbling and shaking in an exaggerated manner. Jax groaned, realising that this was going to be a slapstick act, just great.

The act was predictable, a couple played by the ragdoll and clown were on a date, the sun and moon were bystanders and the contortionist was the owner of the pretend restaurant. The ‘waitress’ was attempting to get a meal out to the ‘couple’, but was constantly messing up. Whether it was tripping over a ‘customer’s’ foot, absentmindedly eating the food herself, even forgetting which table to bring the food to. Each mistake would lead her back to the start of her journey. It all escalated when she tripped one more time, bumping into the clown and making him get on one knee, as though he were proposing. The act ended with the ‘couple’ getting together, the other ‘customers’ being happy for them, even the ‘owner’ was happy for them and the ribbon lady keeping her fake job.

The crowd clapped again once the act was completed, Jax however felt as though he was about to fall asleep. At least there was only one act left and he would be down with this fiasco.

“Just you wait Jax,” Queenie leaned over to him, “I’ve heard far and wide that this star performer has entranced every audience she’s come across.”

“I for one am very excited,” Kinger said, “She must be very talented if she’s the most talked about.”

“As long as it’s the last act, then I’m fine,” Jax sank further in his chairs, Motley now sitting straight instead as he prepared himself for the final act.

What he didn’t know was said star performer was currently hiding within the shadow of the ceiling, taking a breath to calm her trembling nerves before she had to go on. She looked to Kaufmo within the tent, behind the scenes on the ground. He looked up to her, mouthing to her if she was okay. She nodded and closed her eyes, she could do this.

The lights dimmed one more time, as two red aerial silks fell from the roof. Jax’s eyes wondered to the top, a small trapeze swing between the two silks. He could barely see what was up there, there was a shape of a body but it wasn’t even visible. Why would anyone get excited over someone they couldn’t see-

-You can't take my past

You can't take my history

His ears perked. A voice rang out into the empty quiet like a melodic bell.

You could take my Pa

But his name's a mystery

It had to be the most beautiful thing he ever heard in his life. Soft and delicate yet commanded everyone’s attention, including his.

Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping

Oh nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping

The body stood, grabbing both silks in her hands and startled twirling down, the strum of a guitar started playing and the audience clapped along with the upbeat tempo. Once the lights shone on her, Jax stiffened, his voice caught in his throat and his heart started throbbing madly in his chest.

The woman holding and sitting on the silks was a jester, with short and shiny brown hair, mesmerising red and blue eyes, along with milky skin that seemed to be smooth to the touch. She wore a regular jester hat, only the bells were replaced with two gold spheres and wore a glittering red and yellow leotard with long sleeves instead of a usual get up he’d come to expect from that line of work.

And her voice, of her voice. How it charmed him, like a river, both calming yet ready to be powerful when needed. His lips began to quirk into a smile as his foot involuntarily tapped along with the music.

You can't take my charm!

You can't take my humour

You can't take my wealth

Cause it's just a rumour!

Putting her body weight into one of the silks, she let go of the other one and started to swing round the ring, putting out her hand to the audience as they tried to reach her. Once the silk slowed, she used her other hand to grab it and twirled upside down as she kept singing.

Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping

Oh nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping

She lifted herself up, twisting the ribbon until she was in a sitting position one knee up to her chest and her other leg pointed out.

Thinking you're so fine

Thinking you can have mine

Thinking you're in control

Thinking you'll change me

Maybe rearrange me

Think again if that's your goal!

She uncurled the silk, twirling back down to the ground in a graceful manner until her feet hit the ground and she faced the crowd. The audience went wild, shaking one another in their seats as the jester continued to dance. Jax found himself cheering along as well.

Queenie took a moment to look at her son, bewildered by the fact that he began to enjoy himself. Sure the act was amazing, but there was something else about him. His posture became more relaxed, his smile seemed to be genuinely happy and free of malice, and his eyes were locked in and focused on the jester…wait a minute. She looked back to the jester and then back at Jax before letting out a gasp of realisation.

“Darling? What’s wrong?” Kinger asked, worry lacing in tone for his wife.

“Nothing, nothing my dear,” she reassured him, “I think our son is in love.”

The jester stopped for a moment, bringing her bare feet together before lifting a hand again. She waved it around her head, a navy night blue mist appearing from it. Just like lightening, she vanished!

The crowd and Jax gasped, whipping their heads round to find where she could have gone.

Cause you can't take my sass

You can't take my talking

They followed her voice and found her in the right corner of the ring, continued her song with her harmonic voice. She waved her hand and disappeared again. This time, appearing in the royal family’s booth. Both Queenie and Kinger exclaimed in surprise and delight.

The jester made her way towards Jax, reaching out to him. His pulse thundered in his ears and heat began to rise to his cheeks. To his shock, she pulled his crown over his eyes and disappeared again, making Jax snap up and pushed his crown back as he tried to look for her again.

You can kiss my ass!

Then keep on walking

She was back in the middle of the ring, strutting as if nothing has happened. She waved her hand one more time, making the silks levitate on their own, surrounded by the blue mist as they neared her.

… Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping

Oh nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping

As they travelled slowly, the red silks slowly faded into the same colour as her mist, the crowd awing at the trick. Jax noticed her leotard and hat doing the same, the yellow and red disappearing, replacing it with a diamond-sequined deep blue with spaghetti straps instead.

No sir, nothing you can take from me is worth dirt

Take it cause I give it free, it won't hurt

She grabbed the silks again and lifted herself, twirling them around her until she was sitting on them like a swing.

… Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping

No nothing you can take was ever worth keeping

The music quickened as she climbed up the silks again, Jax’s eyes following her every move, too entranced to look away. Both she and the music got faster, climbing and climbing and climbing until she grabbed and pulled herself back onto the trapeze swing, saluted the audience – and with one more wave of her hand, sparks erupted from her place, dazzling the audience. Once they had faded, the crowd looked back. She was gone, as if she was never there in the first place with the silks returning to their original red colour.

There was a beat.

The audience stood, cheers and screams ripping from their throats as a thunder of applause ripped through the crowd. Jax couldn’t stand due to Motley in his lap, but he was still just as loud. Motley meanwhile was looking at him, titling his head from the prince’s reaction to the jester. It intrigued the little kitten to say the least.

The entire cast ran out, including the jester, giving one final bow as the crowds cheered louder before disappearing back into the tent.

The lights went back on as everyone began to murmur and whisper to one another about how amazing the show was. Jax was left awestruck, frozen in his chair, unable to process the complete and utter dazzlement that was the singing jester.

“I take it my son has a crown he has to eat now,” Kinger chuckled, brushing his robe a little bit.

Jax didn’t reply, still stuck in his own head.

“Jax, are you alright?” Queenie asked, getting a bit worried.

“That jester…” he breathed.

Oh, now Queenie understood, her suspicions being confirmed. “I see,” she nodded slowly, “I take it you like her?”

Jax turned his head so fast that he nearly got whiplash. “Like her?” he questioned his mother, “She’s incredible! Her voice! Did you hear her voice?! It’s not like anything that I’ve heard, and the fact that she can sing while doing all that in the air! And her magic tricks! Oh mother, she was amazing!”

He caught himself when he saw both his mother and father raising both their brows at him. He decided to save himself further embarrassment, he already knew that they would tease him about this enough as it is. An idea went off in his head. The circus had a while before they went back to whatever inn they were staying at to rest, perhaps he could pay the little jester a visit before he left.

“You guys hold onto Motley for a while,” he stood, picking up the kitten as he mewled while being placed in his mother’s arms. “I’m gonna go give that jester my congratulations.”

“Uh, Jax?” Queenie said, but Jax was already running out of the booth, “Jax!”

“Oh dear,” Kinger muttered, “I believe we made a mistake.”

.

.

.

Pomni sighed with relief, her blue leotard reverting back to its yellow and red while talking off her hat as soon as she was back behind the scenes, everyone hugging one another and giving each other high fives.

“You guys did great!” Kaufmo grinned, “I’m so impressed of how are far you’ve all have come!”

“Not bad for opening night,” Zooble placed a hand on his hip, “Although I think most of it is owed to Gangle and her creative skit idea.” She gave the woman a wink, the ribboned woman blushing at her partner.

“Zooble,” she giggled as they pulled her close, “You were great too.”

“Being out there has never made me feel so alive,” Moon let out a relaxed breath, recalling the euphoria of being on the tightrope.

“I agree!” Sun beamed, practically jumping up and down with joy, “It was spectacular, amazing, show-stopping, fantastic, spectacular- oops, I said that already, didn’t I?” He rubbed his neck bashfully.

“Don’t worry about it Sun,” Ragatha patted his shoulder, using her other hand to pet her lions. “However I can’t deny that Pomni stole the show, as she always does.”

Pomni gave her a shy smile, shuffling her feet a bit, “Stop, you’ll make me flustered.”

“Because its true!” Ragatha exclaimed, the rest of the cast nodding their heads in agreement, “You’re a stable of this show!”

“A true star, and trust me, I know a lot about them,” Moon gave her an amused look.

“You were like a million stars at once!” Sun cried, “Though if you think about it, stars are also suns, so you were like a million suns! Wow!”

“I mean, I agree…I still liked Gangle the best though,” Zooble murmured.

“I always love hearing you sing Pomni,” Gangle took her hand, “You have the voice of an angel.”

Kaufmo came up and placed a hand on her shoulder, “I for one couldn’t be prouder.” He gave it a reassuring squeeze, with Pomni placing her hand on his.

“Thanks Kaufmo,” she smiled back.

“How are you doing kiddo?” he asked softly, “I saw you shaking up there before you went on. Did you have those nightmares again?”

Pomni paled. It was quite jarring how easily he could read her. Kaufmo had been her rock since day one after all, he knew better than anyone when she had hard nights. She opened her mouth to answer when someone barged into the room.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the cast of the show,” Prince Jax jeered, making himself at home, “Don’t mind me, I just wanted to thank you guys for an awesome show. Especially you little lady.” He winked at Pomni.

Pomni choked, why on earth was the prince waltzing in here unannounced? Didn’t he have princely duties to attend to? And why the hell was he calling her little lady?!

“Oh well, that’s very kind of you-” Gangle began to walk up to him but was pushed aside by him and she fell right into Zooble’s arms.

“Hey!” Zooble snarled, checking Gangle for any injuries. “What’s your problem?!”

“Excuse me,” Ragatha placed a hand on her hip, “You can’t just do that to one of our own. Not when we travelled all the way here to put on a show for you and your kingdom!”

“Look doll-face, I didn’t ask for you to be here,” he sneered, before turning his gaze back to Pomni. “Not that I’m complaining though.”

Pomni scoffed, gaping as she looked to Moon and Sun, the former of the duo looking furious. “I have the right mind to drag you out by the ears of you don’t apologize to Gangle right now,” Moon hissed.

Sun gulped, hiding behind his twin sister.

Ragatha’s lions had even began to have enough of his presence, growling and baring their teeth at him as he backed away slowly.

“Now, now,” he tsked, “We don’t want the crown prince of Laphria to go back out with his handsome face all mangled, now do we?”

Everyone’s faces fell. He was right, one wrong move and they’d all be imprisoned.

“All I want is to speak to your little jester here, is that such a crime?” he pouted.

They all turned to Pomni, awaiting her decision on what to do with this situation. “Kiddo, Pomni, you don’t have to do anything he tells you to do,” Kaufmo reassured her.

“Don’t worry Pa,” she said, a little nickname that she saved just for him, “I got this.”

Kaufmo’s eyes flickered to Jax, glaring at him before going back to Pomni. He smiled at her and let her continue.

Pomni walked to Jax, the prince was already acting smug about it too. “So, Prince Jax of Laphria,” she raised a brow at him, “In the flesh.”

“Ah, so you’ve heard of me,” he grinned, it seemed to be starting off well. She looks even lovelier without her hat on.

“Oh I’ve heard of you,” Pomni confirmed, “You’ve got quite the reputation it seems.”

“All good things I bet,” The prince smirked, looming over her.

Pomni didn’t move a muscle, the height difference didn’t affect her for what she was going to say next. “Actually,” she began. “I heard you’re a no-good son of a bitch who spends his days disrespecting those who sacrifice their mornings and nights just to serve whatever little thing he wants.”

Jax’s eyes widened, this was not how he thought this was going to go.

“Awful to the people who not only rule this kingdom but spent every day of their lives raising you just for you to turn out to be a jerk,” Pomni continued to list it off.

Jax was going to admit it, that one stung a little.

“You embarrass those you deem beneath you and refuse to take responsibility when their reputation is ruined because of your words and actions!” she scowled.

Okay yeah, he’ll admit it, he took that one a little too far.

“You cause destruction and mayhem in your own home with the worst of the upper class because you feel like it!” another flaw she pointed out. “And what was your most recent one? Let me think. Oh yeah, you set off fireworks and nearly set fire to a village you’re going to rule over one day!”

Jax rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Word really got round fast about that, huh?

“So excuse me your royal highness, but I would like nothing for you to leave this tent and never step ten feet toward me again,” she gave him an exaggerated bow, still glaring at him. “Now if you don’t mind, leave!”

He opened his mouth to speak, only to be faced with the glares of a protective clown, a ragdoll with a knife, a Moon holding a noose and two lions looking at their next meal. Yup time for him to leave.

Pomni sighed with relief the moment he left. She didn’t think she would have the courage to stand up to someone as important as the prince like that, but she was glad she did. Everyone patted her on the back, impressed with her accomplishment as well, including Kaufmo. “Great job kiddo,” He murmured.

Pomni smiled warmly, “Thanks Pa.”

.

.

.

Jax walked out the tent, meeting the dissatisfied looks on his parent’s faces. “Well, we did try to warn you,” Queenie muttered, handing him back Motley, “But I’m afraid this is one of those cases where your heart is bigger than your brain.”

Motley mewled in seemingly agreement with the queen, rubbing his head against Jax’s palm so he could pet him.

“Let’s head back home,” said Kinger, taking Queenie’s hand lovingly before whispering in her ear. “I have a feeling that star performer won’t be leaving his head anytime soon.”

Queenie nodded subtly in agreement and the royal family headed out of the theatre.

During the carriage ride back, while petting Motley, Jax couldn’t stop thinking about that jester…no, Pomni was her name. That was what the clown said, right? The bite of her words, the ice within her eyes, the sharpness of her tone. All of it was meant to push him away…it was a good thing that Jax was determined and stupid.

He would show her that she wasn’t what she said he was! He’s a prince, he could do anything! He was going to shower her in the most lavish gifts known to man. Whether it be gowns, food, new equipment for her shows, anything! He was going to show her that he was worthy of her time.

In fact, he sure that be the end of the week, she would be fawning at his feet. Jax chuckled, he was way too good at this.

Motley could only watch in despair as his new master set himself up for failure.

Chapter Text

Kaufmo groaned as he pressed a hand to his lower back, tonight’s show hadn’t been kind to him in the slightest. The ringmaster has suggested a few new stunts for his act to make the audience go crazy. Now usually that would be fine…if the ringmaster hadn’t announced it while performing. It gave Kaufmo no time to warm up or prepare before he saw an anvil failing for the sky and aiming right at him. He managed to dodge it just in time and had earned him some good reception, but he had twisted his body the wrong way while ducking, leaving a pretty bad sore spot on his back.

He sighed, at least it was over now and he could have a better chance tomorrow morning to prepare for that new trick (and anything else the ringmaster hadn’t told him about yet). He was going to head to his tent for the tight when he heard light sniffling from the lion cages. He turned and tried to peak through the shadows to see who was inside of Ragatha’s lion’s cage…oh, it was Pomni.

The child was the newest member of the cast, and the youngest. Now that Kaufmo thought about it, no one had joined the circus at her age before, so the experience must have been so much more jarring for a young girl. And she was only five years old, the poor thing.

The girl was patting each lion’s mane as she tried to control her tears, the large animals providing as much comfort as they could. She had been quite nervous around the two felines when she first met them, but after seeing how tame they were, they were a great source of security for her in times like this. Times when she felt overwhelmingly homesick.

Kaufmo tapped one of the bars, alerting everyone of his presence. The lions let out a growl when Pomni let out a startled gasp, only to calm down once they saw the clown. “Easy, it’s just me,” he said reassuringly as Pomni gripped tighter to one of the lions. “Hey kiddo, sorry for scaring you.”

Pomni wiped her eyes as the clown climbed in, sitting on the wall opposite her with one of the lions between her. The other lion came back to sit beside her, nudging her hand for more scratches.

“Huh, Simba and Kovu seemed to have taking a liking to you,” Kaufmo mused. Despite their large size, both of the large felines were rather friendly to the rest of the circus. Give them a snack and scratch their favourite spot and you were practically their best friend.

“Yeah, they’re nice,” Pomni whispered, harshly rubbing her the tears off her cheeks to hide the fact that she had been crying. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, the show just finished up and I was gonna get back to my tent,” he explained, “But, then I heard someone wasn’t feeling that great.”

Pomni paled, hiding her face in Simba’s mane. “It’s nothing!” she mumbled into the fur, “I just had something in my eyes, I’m fine!”

Kaufmo hummed. Pomni seemed to be quite a particularly panicky child, one wrong move and she’ll be shaking like a leaf, in fear for her life. He had to approach her carefully, she had already been through enough. “Here,” he pulled out a handkerchief. Pomni stared at it cautiously. “Don’t worry, it’s joke free. Clown’s honour.” He put a hand to his chest with a mock serious expression.

The child smiled, taking the little white fabric and wiped her cheeks.

“I know you’re scared,” Kaufmo said, “I understand. We’ve never had anyone as young as you join. Well, ‘join’ might be a might of a strong word. And you have every right to be scared, upset, angry. It isn’t fair what the ringmaster did. If you need to scream, scream.”

“Maybe not scream,” she muttered, “But the ringmaster said we’re not allowed to get upset.”

“That’s because he’s void of any emotion and doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” he placed the tips of his fingers on her hand just in case she wanted to pull it away. “Pomni, you’re five. Cry if you have to cry.”

Suddenly, a wall had crumbled and the dams were loose. The child latched herself onto the clown, muffled cries escaping her and tears soaking his costume. He instantly wrapped his arms around her. “Shh, there, there,” he whispered, “It’s gonna be okay kiddo, I got you.”

“I want my Ma and Pa!” she wailed as he stroked her hair. “I wanna go home!”

Kaufmo sighed. She was way too young for this. Curse the ringmaster and his void heart. “I know kiddo,” he hugged her tighter. “I know.”

They remained like that for a moment, Kaufmo letting Pomni cried while he stroked her hair before the child pulled away, her cheeks tear stained. “Sorry,” she sniffed.

“There’s nothing to apologise for,” he reassured her. “Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself, would that cheer you up?”

“Um, okay,” Pomni nodded. “I…I like to sing a little bit, my ma used to teach me.”

“Huh,” Kaufmo lit up, an idea forming. “You know, I like to play guitar, I used to play it a lot.”

Pomni beamed, crawling closer to him, “Really?!”

“Heck yeah,” Kaufmo chuckled, “How about I go get it and I can show you what I can do?”

“Yeah!” Pomni cheered, giggling and falling back, a lion catching her with the side of his body.

“Okay kiddo,” Kaufmo grinned, “You just wait there. I’ll be right back.”

The clown had never run so fast in his life. He couldn’t recall the last time he played his guitar, but he remembered how much he loved it. Once he made it to his tent, he picked up the instrument from the side of his bed and ran straight back to Pomni, the little girl was playing with Kovu’s mane before gasping with excitement when she saw the guitar.

“Okay, it’s been a while,” Kaufmo told her while tuning it, “But I think I remember this.”

He began playing a simple chord, rummaging through his mind before landing on a song he hadn’t sung for anyone.

You can't take my past

You can't take my history

You could take my Pa

But his name’s a mystery

Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping

Oh nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping

“Wow!” Pomni looked absolutely awestruck, it was the cutest thing in the world. “That’s so cool!”

“It’s not finished yet,” he admitted bashfully. “I haven’t really had the time to.”

“I can help finish it?” Pomni suggested shyly, “And maybe…you could teach me too?”

Kaufmo’s eyes widened, not only had he not played for someone in so long, but it was the first time a person asked him to teach them. For the first time, someone didn’t want to now the clown that Kaufmo played, but rather the part of a person that the ringmaster had forced him to bury so long ago. “Yeah,” he nodded, “I think that can be arranged kiddo.”

He carefully placed the guitar on her lap, the instrument was comically big for her little body, but she managed to hold it properly. She giggled with excitement as her guided her hands on where to go. “So, if you put your fingers here, it makes a makes a C chord,” he told her, her fingers making the shape and strummed the strings, her face brightening after playing her first ever note. “Atta girl, and just make this shape and you’ll get a G chord.” He shifted them again, grinning as she played the second note.

“I’m doing it!” she exclaimed.

“You’re doing great kiddo,” he grinned, “Now, have you got any ideas for lyrics?”

The child nodded so fast that he was afraid she’d hurt herself. With a gentle voice, she began to sing.

You can't take my charm!

You can't take my humour…

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.

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Twenty Years Later

Kaufmo hummed cheerily as he walked through the inn the rest of the cast and himself were staying in. They were here for the rest of the week to perform, but everyone had really wanted to explore the rest of the town. And who was he to stop them?

Ragatha had wanted to see if they had any good treats for her lions, Zooble wanted to buy some flowers for Gangle, and Moon and Sun had wanted to wander with everyone and see the sights. Kaufmo decided to stay, wanting to take the day to rest. However, there was one person who didn’t say anything about wanting to go or stay.

Pomni.

Despite last night’s fiasco with the prince, she seemed to be in a good mood. He was heading to her room, just to check up on her and see if she wanted to go out as well. He was about to knock when he heard the faint strums of a guitar and a female voice singing along with the tune.

My mother says I have Irish eyes

Irish eyes, Irish eyes

My mother says I have Irish eyes

They go ever so blue under stormy skies

But they're never so blue as when I let them cry

Kaufmo smiled, Pomni’s voice was always so heavenly whenever she sang. Every song she wrote, he would always be excited to hear. He cracked the door open a little, seeing her standing with her guitar in hand as she sang. She wore a simple shift with brown stays adorned with pink stitched flowers and a light green skirt that reached her black boots. She looked a little bit like spring itself.

My father says I have English hair

English hair, English hair

Brown like the bark of an oak somewhere

Like the bed of a lake where the hemlock grows

Like the thorn in the stem of an English rose

She began to twirl happily, dancing along with her song without a care in the world.

I'm a map of the world and the ones before

One foot in sea and one on shore

Every step, every hope flung high

I'm a map of them all with my Irish eyes

She jumped, whipping round when she heard the sound of clapping, only to soften when she saw that it was Kaufmo standing at the door. “Don’t scare me like that,” she giggled, putting her guitar away.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you kiddo,” he said, “Is that a new song?”

“Yeah, I began to write it when we were on the road,” she confirmed, “Decided to give it a whirl before I went out to town.”

“You’re going out?” Kaufmo asked hopefully. Pomni wasn’t normally someone who liked to be out in busy places when she wasn’t performing but seeing her actively wanting to go out was quite a big step for her. While it left him protective, it left him proud of her as well.

“Yeah,” she nodded, “Gangle wanted to go look and see the dresses here so I wanted to go with her as well. Ragatha and Moon should be with us as well.”

“I’ll come too,” Kaufmo said, “Just in case you want to leave early and come back.”

“Kaufmo,” she sighed, “I’ll be fine.”

“I have no doubt about that,” Kaufmo reassured her, “It’s just, you know…It’s always going to be my instinct to protect you.”

Pomni smiled, walking over and wrapping her arms around the clown, with Kaufmo doing the same. “I understand, what we went through was…its over now,” Pomni said, “I wanna be able to go into towns without being terrified of who I run into, enjoy my time with my family. With my Pa.”

Kaufmo patted her cheek, she never failed to amaze him. “Well then, what are we waiting for?” he asked, “Let’s go have some fun.”

Pomni patted his hand back before Kaufmo let it fall to his side, both of them leaving the room and heading downstairs to greet everyone else before going into town.

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.

.

Jax paced back and forth in the dining room, dressed in a simple white blouse, blue waistcoat and black slacks. The room had been cleared earlier after breakfast, but he needed the space to pace and think about his plan to woo Pomni. She was going to be tricky – if her outburst was anything to go by – so he had to tread carefully about this. Motley watched the prince go back and forth, the kitten perched on the table experiencing the most brainstorming that Prince Jax had ever done in his life.

How would one win over the heart of a spitfire? A being so beautiful and entrances you with its song and dance but can easily scorch you if you make one wrong move. But it was that danger that pulled him closer to her. Only a woman like her deserved the best when it came to courting. But where to start, what should he do?

Queenie and Kinger watched their son’s pacing from the slightly ajar door. The staff had alerted them of the prince’s peculiar behaviour, so they wanted to investigate it for themselves – from afar of course.

“I still can’t believe it,” Kinger muttered, “Never would I have though the day would come where Jax would be so entranced by a girl.”

“Isn’t it wonderful?” Queenie mused, “I’m not surprised it was the jester that stole his heart. She does seem to be such a darling. Although, I will admit, I am slightly concerned with what Jax has up his sleeve with this one. His mind is quite…devious after all.”

Kinger hummed in agreement, “That is true. He always has these great plans when it comes to playing tricks on the servants or his escape attempts. Part of me doesn’t want to know what type of plan he comes up with for courting her.”

“Yes,” Queenie nodded, thinking to herself for a moment. The jester, Pomni was her name she believed, seemed like such a sweet young woman. While she was glad her son was in love, Queenie was completely aware of Pomni’s outburst with him they other day (after all she was outside tent when it happened, and was able to hear every single word). “How about you let me handle this Kinger dear? I’ve had my experience when it comes to men falling to a woman’s feet before. I could help correct him with the proper ways of how to win a girl’s heart.”

Kinger blushed, memories of himself as a young prince falling for a lord’s daughter many moons ago flooding back to him like a tidal wave. “Uh, y-yes darling,” he stuttered slightly, “I believe that would be for the best. The last person he needs advice from is his old man who laned face first into mud when trying to court the person he admired.”

“But I fell in love with you because of that dearest,” Queenie teased, giggling at Kinger’s flustered expression. “Now, if you excuse me. I have a son to steer away from making a fool of himself.”

“Good luck,” Kinger gave her reassuring thumbs up. Truth be told, when it came to Jax (especially since he was in love) she probably needed that luck.

Queenie took a breath, opening the door further and entering the dining room, though it seemed that Jax didn’t notice her presence, still caught up in his planning and muttering. Motley did though, letting out a happy mewl and ran over to her, climbing up her cloak and settling himself in her arms. The queen let out a small laugh, running a finger over his head as she walked up to her son.

Jax jumped as soon as he heard the sound of a throat clearing, exhaling when he saw that it was only Queenie. “Holy shit!” he cursed, placing a hand on his chest, “You scared me!”

“Language young man,” Queenie reprimanded him, “I just wanted to see if you were alright, the servants said that you haven’t left this room since breakfast.”

Jax sighed, the moment word about anything happening to him got out, his mother would instantly be by his side to make sure he way okay. It was one of Queenie’s most admirable qualities. “Yes, I’m fine mother. I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

“I see,” Queenie hummed, her eyes giving off a teasing glint. “It’s definitely not the jester from last night’s performance.”

Jax was so sure that his fur had changed from a periwinkle purple to a cherry red as he whipped round to face his mother, a smug look curved upon her features as she eyed her son knowingly. “M-mom!” he nearly choked on his words.

“Careful now dear,” Queenie chuckled, “The last thing we need is for our heir to suffocate on himself. Besides it was quite obvious, you immediately trailed after her like a loyal pet the moment her performance ended and are still infatuated with the girl despite her verbal lashing with you. Yes I’ve heard it, I’m sure most of the kingdom did too.”

“I can’t help it,” Jax rubbed the back of his neck. “The moment I heard her singing, my soul was bewitched. I had to listen to her song, her voice was telling a story and I wanted to learn it word for word until she’s ingrained into my memory. And her beauty, I don’t think I’ve met another person who radiated starlight just as much as she did. She’s a book that I can’t put down, I need to know more about her! I have to let her know that she’s the one for me!”

Never in all her years did Queenie think her son was capable of being bashful. Everything about Jax, from the way he spoke to the way he strutted down the hall screamed nothing but self-righteous confidence. What type of magic tricks did Pomni possess to reveal this new side of the prince? “Well, well,” Queenie breathed, “It seems that you’re very taken with this girl.”

“Oh, she definitely stole my heart and run off with it,” Jax sighed, “I just need to know what to do that will make her realise just how perfect I am for her!”

Queenie cringed, she had a feeling this was coming. The last thing Jax needed was his ego sabotaging any chance of Pomni liking at least a quarter of him back. After all, it was his arrogance that made him receive her angry and biting tone with him, if he continued down this road he would ending up kissing any plans of courting her goodbye. “Now Jax, I understand the butterflies that come with meeting someone that has you ‘bewitched’,” she spoke carefully, hoping that her son’s head wasn’t already full of outlandish plans already. “However, Pomni has already made her opinion of you quite clear. I will support you if you want to make amends with her, however I will put a cease to that if you try and force her to become yours.”

“Force her?!” Jax gasped, flabbergasted at his mother’s suggestion. Women would throw themselves at him without Jax doing nothing more that blink, how on earth did she think he was going to force Pomni to be his? “She’ll come running to me when I show her how charming I can be, before she leaves she will practically be begging me to marry her. It’s just as easy as that.”

“Jax,” Queenie shook her head with a disappointed frown, “Are you even listening to yourself? You barely know anything about having these types of feelings, how on earth do you plan on courting a girl if you don’t take them time to access yourself first?”

“Well judging how you and father say sappy crap to each other all the time and don’t end up gagging by how overly sweet it is, it’s probably not that hard,” Jax shrugged. His heart sunk at Queenie’s crestfallen expression. He went too far there. Motley gently purred into the queen’s chest, providing comfort for her hurt state.

Despite the saccharine display his parents put on, Jax could tell how much they treasured their love for one another. To insult their bond was an insult to his mother as well, and he hated making her feel awful. “I…mother forgive me,” Jax exhaled slowly, “I got caught up there, I didn’t mean that-”

The door burst open as a guard entered into the dining room, “Your highnesses. The markets have new products after the recent shipment. Would you care to be escorted into town today, or shall I have the servants search for something that you need?”

“I, I suppose it would be nice to go into town today,” Queenie turned to her son, her eyes giving a soft forgiving shine. “What do you think Jax?”

They were okay, Jax nearly sighed with relief. Seeing his mother upset was his own personal torture, and he hated every bit of it.

“I also wanted to inform you that the circus cast from last night are also in town today,” The guard informed them, “In case you have any words to say to them for their performance.”

Jax practically beamed at that, his grin nearly splitting his face. He cleared his throat, putting on a suave look and straightened his back. After all, he had a jester to court. “Well there’s no harm in saying hi to them, now is there?” he smirked, “I think a little trip sounds just delightful.”

Queenie paled. She recognised that smirk, Jax always wore that smirk when he was up to no good. “Jax…” Queenie drawled warningly.

“Go alert my father that we plan to leave as soon as possible, in case he wants to join,” Jax commanded the guard.

The soldier in question raised a brow at that, familiar with the young prince and his antics, before turning to the queen for her verdict.

Queenie sighed, once Jax’s mind was set that was no point in trying to change it. Besides, she really wanted to go out today. “Inform Kinger that we plan to leave soon,” she said, “I would hate for him to miss out on this.”

“Yes, your majesty,” the guard bowed, turning on his heel and walking out the door.

Queenie gave Jax a glare, a silent threat to not do anything stupid.

The prince gulped, whenever Queenie sent him that look it gave him nothing but sinking dread in the pit of his gut. He had a lot on the line today, not only risking it all to win Pomni’s affection, but also to make sure he didn’t suffer from his mother’s angered wrath as well. “D-don’t worry m-mother,” he stammered, “I promise that I have nothing but good intentions going forward.”

Queenie raised a brow as Motley let out a meow – Jax swore the little shit was mocking him. “As for you,” He picked up Motley and set him on the floor, “You’re staying here. The last thing we need for you is to get lost and become someone else’s pet.” Motley mewled, pawing at Jax’s leg with a pleading look on his face. “Nope, I’ve made up my mind. Your tricks aren’t working on me today.”

He turned to his mother, offering his arm out to her, “Shall we?”

Queenie sighed, letting out a little laugh at her son’s outlandish behaviour, “I suppose. But you better behave, got it young man?” She nearly growled.

“…Yes ma’am,” Jax whimpered pathetically.

Queenie patted his cheek, “Good. Now then, let’s go find your father before he chases after another butterfly for his collection. We don’t need a repeat of…last time.”

Jax shuddered at the memory, despite his own bug-like pranks, he certainly didn’t want to do what his father was capable of. “You and me both mother,” he nodded.

He hid the dopey grin that stretched on his features the more he thought about the jester, how he was going to spoil her, give her everything she could ever hope for and more, to do anything to make her his and his alone. He couldn’t wait to see her again.

.

.

.

To tell the truth, Pomni was nothing but nerves when to came to public situations. It was different whenever she was performing, she knew that by the end of the day – as long as she put on a smile and a good show – everything would turn out according to plan. When it came to actually being in a crowd full of people, she always felt like she was going to be sick. It wasn’t easy to put on a façade when there was no pre-planned performance. The thought of being around so many people, not knowing what they were like or what they would say, she could make one slight mistake and everything could go wrong.

She was a bit glad that Kaufmo insisted to come along, to read the signs on her face in case she had to get out of here. But another part of her felt guilty for doing that. She wanted to enjoy herself put in public, to not fear the next person coming here way, to not fear if they had any other ulterior motives. Why did her mind have to be like this? And she hated how she always dragged Kaufmo down with her, he deserved to have one day where he wasn’t constantly worrying over her, how did he not see her as a burden? She just wished could be…normal. But someone like her could never be normal, not in this lifetime anyway.

Still, she wasn’t going to waste her time dwelling on misery, life was too short for that. She remained glued by Moon and Ragatha’s sides, Kaufmo trailing behind them like a guard dog (a rather colourful guard dog but the intention was clear). She wanted to have fun, have a day to just be Pomni, not worrying about the performance for tonight and if it was perfect enough. That was for later, this was now.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Sun marvelling over cakes at the window of a bakery, his mouth watering at each flavour presented through the glass. Gangle and Zooble were at a flower stall, with the latter buying a rose the same colour as the ribboned woman and gifting it to her, making Gangle blush. Pomni smiled at the couple, maybe one day she would find someone to share a bond with like Zooble and Gangle.

She heard a small gasp, turning she noticed two young girls pointing at her while whispering excitedly. Pomni shook her head fondly, they must have recognised her from the show the other night. She gave them a small curtsy, the children become even more excited before bounding over to her. She was a little bit nervous with the sudden closeness and enthusiasm from the children, but Moon and Ragatha were behind her, making sure she was alright.

She was fine, all she got was a fright. “Hello,” she waved at the two girls, “Hope can I help you?”

“Hi miss!” The first girl squealed, “You were so pretty last night!”

“Why thank you,” Pomni cooed, “Did you two enjoy the show?”

“Yeah!” the second girl cheered, “You were my favourite! You were so sparkly and twisty!”

Pomni giggled, they must have been referring to her costumes and her dance flexibility on the aerial silks. It was the main highlights of her performance and what boosted audience numbers. She wasn’t surprised that the girls liked it so much. “I’m so glad you two had fun,” she grinned, her chest fluttering at the girl’s collective beaming faces.

“What you like one of our flower crowns?” the first girl asked, “It has pretty daises!”

Pomni placed both hands to her chest in a flattered manner, “I would love to have one of your flowers crowns.”

The girls jumped with glee, fishing into one of their satchels and pulling out a delicate daisy chain tied into a circle. Pomni lowered her head as they placed it on her hair, the whole interaction made her feel giddy and warm. After all, who didn’t love flower crowns? She never got to do that at their age, so there was something bittersweet having a chance to do this now. She was about to open her mouth to thank the girls for their gift, when a loud and brash voice made her flinch.

“I knew a crown would look good on you,” Prince Jax’s voice made her wince, “Just have it in gold and you’ll look like a real princess.”

Pomni took a breath, plastering on a face of fake kindness and concealed annoyance as she turned to the prince – Moon and Ragatha were protectively standing on each side of her as Kaufmo stood from a distance, ready to intervene in case anything happened. “Prince Jax,” she spoke through gritted teeth, “To what do I owe the pleasure.”

“Your presence is enough for that little lady,” he grinned as she bristled at the nickname, “I was just making my way through town and decided to stop bye and say hi.”

“Well, now you did, so you can go now,” Pomni rolled her eyes and turned to face the girls again. Moon and Ragatha smirked while Kaufmo’s chest puffed proudly.

Jax faltered a bit, he didn’t want this conversation to end so soon! He ran up to her, dodging the ragdoll and Moon, ignoring Kaufmo’s icy glare and shoved himself in front of Pomni’s eyeline. “If you like, I could get you a little souvenir,” he offered suavely, “After all, daisies die pretty fast. Kind of a pathetic gift if you ask me. A little gold chain with a diamond would like nice around that pretty neck of yours.”

Pomni scowled at him, her anger growing more as she heard the two little girls’ sniffle at his insult. They were young, yes, but she knew about much effort must have gone into making this crown. And the fact that she never got to do this as a child only added fuel to the fire. “You have some nerve insulting the talents of your people,” she poked him harshly in the chest as a look of fear spread across the prince’s face. “This is a gift made from the gentle hands of the next generation of your kingdom, don’t you dare degrade this is present in front of them. And even if it were to die quickly, it only means I must cherish it more before that happens.”

“I-um,” Jax stammered, he was barely a minute into talking with her and he was already screwing up. He had to try a new tactic. With quick thinking, he ran over to the flower stall, blindly picked up a bouquet, slammed a few coins down and ran back over to Pomni. “Here,” he shoved the flowers into her face, making her splutter. “As an apology.”

After Pomni regained her bearings, she took a proper look at what was shoved in her face. Taking a note of the flowers in his hand, she gave him a deadpanned look, “Orange lilies and yellow carnations?”

Jax gave her a smug grin, looking as though he won the lottery, “From Prince Jax himself. You’re welcome.”

“They literally symbolise hatred and rejection,” said Pomni. Jax’s face fell, as though lightening struck through him at the realisation. “I think I’ll stick with my daisies.”

With that, she gave him a tight-lipped smile and walked away – but not before giving the two girls a warm hug and reassuring them that she loved her new flower crown.

Jax was about to go after her, until he was stopped by the death glares of Ragatha and Moon, as well and a tight grip on his shoulder. His eyes followed the hand attached to the arm, all the way to the furious gaze of Kaufmo. “I don’t give a damn if you’re royalty or not,” the clown growled, “But you will not disrespect my kid in front of me. Do I make myself clear?”

Jax gulped, the last thing he needed today was to be murdered by an overprotective clown, “Yes sir.”

“Good,” Kaufmo took his hand off, brushing it on his suit and walked away to find Pomni, Ragatha and Moon in tow.

Jax let out a breath, he never knew clowns could be that scary. He froze at the sound of a throat clearing, he groaned as he looked at Kinger and Queenie, disappointment etched on their faces with the royal guards standing behind them. “I ask for one thing Jax,” Queenie muttered, “One thing. For you to behave, and this is what you do?!”

“To be fair…this is me we’re talking about,” Jax gave them a nervous chuckle.

The couple’s expression didn’t change. “Come on,” Kinger sighed, “You’re sticking with us for the rest of the day.”

Jax whined, crossing his arms as he followed his parents and the guards. Queenie stuck by his side though, leaning up to whisper in his ear, “You know, the next time you want to impress a girl, keep the snide comments about simple gifts from children to yourself. You aren’t going to get anywhere if you keep up that attitude.”

Jax grumbled under his breath. But his mother did have a point though, they were just kids, he didn’t have to stoop so low. His stomach churned, hearing those whimpers from those little girls struck him in the heart, how could he be so cold-hearted? “You’re right mother, that wasn’t the best choice of words,” he admitted. Queenie’s eyes sparked a little bit, perhaps her son was finally taking the right step- “That’s why I’m going to spend so much fortune on Pomni and gift her anything she could ever ask for without commenting on the boring stuff she likes!”

Queenie’s face fell. Nope, Jax was still up his own ass.

.

.

.

The minute Jax was back in his room, he started writing a list. He wrote down everything he knew about how to woo a woman, and as someone who was quite popular with the ladies, he felt pretty confident with his abilities. Truly, he was a master of his craft. Once he was satisfied with his plan, he got to work, with Motley watching the trainwreck preparing itself from afar.

Firstly, he went to the best broker he could find and purchased the most beautiful, one-of-a-kind diamond that he had ever seen in his life. It was just as striking as Pomni’s perfect eyes. He had a servant deliver it to her, content that within a day’s time she would be coming to the castle to visit him. However, the servant had come back and instead of his jester, he returned with news that Pomni had sold the diamond to a local jewellery shop, where it was smashed to pieces and turned into lovely necklaces for the other women of the village.

Okay, so she wasn’t a fan of shiny things. It doesn’t matter, he still had a few plans up his sleeve.

Next, he took out a deposit of his spendings (it was at least enough to buy ten castles) and requested it to be sent to Pomni in her name for her to do what she pleased with it. His heart skipped a beat when he found out she accepted it, only for him to choke on his tongue when he found out that she had donated it all to the orphanage of the village. The only thing he received from her was a note telling him to ‘do something beneficial with his spendings since he had so much of it’.

He swooned over the fact that his little jester was so charitable, but he couldn’t ignore the irritation that came with it! He was going further beyond for her, yet she wouldn’t even spare a glance at him. What else did he have to do to make her notice him?!

It continued like that, he would send her the most lavish, expensive gifts that would make any man or woman swoon, and every single time she either gave it away or returned it. Jax was starting to get on his last nerve, she was going to notice his affections one way or another. He still had one more plan, and if this didn’t work (which it would!) then he was truly at a loss.

The next day, he gave instructions to the royal announcer. A royal banquet was going to be held at the castle tonight, with Jax wanting nothing more than to have Pomni to be his plus one for the evening. Maybe it was a bit of a jerk move to announce this publicly, but he was just so desperate to see her again, he was willing to do anything just to catch a glimpse of her lovely face.

He awaited patiently, so sure that his plan was going to work. When the announcer came back, there was a smug grin on the prince’s lips, expecting for him to say that his jester would be attending tonight. However, the situation was much more different than the prince had hoped. When the news went out to the public that Prince Jax wanted to invite Pomni to the banquet, she had merely given the announcer a simple bow and replied:

“I appreciate the invitation, but I will have to decline the prince’s offer and his lack of planning ahead.”

Jax felt as if he had been kicked in the stomach.

She rejected his invite! In public no less! It was one thing to reject an invite to such a regal occasion, but to reject a royal? That was the biggest humiliation that anyone could ever do to royalty! It would leave a mark on his reputation! The only prince known in all the lands to be rejected for all the kingdom to see.

And this is where it left him now, alone at the banquet, swirling a glass of wine as he mumbled to himself. “It was the diamond, I should’ve gotten her the ruby,” he muttered under his breath, “Diamonds are overrated anyways. I don’t understand, I’m great with courting, how could anyone-”

“You know, you can tap a cocoon as many times as you want, the butterfly still won’t come out,” he jumped at the sound of his mother’s voice as she walked up to him.

“Mother,” he gasped, “You can’t keep surprising me like that!”

“Just like how you can’t keep pushing this girl to be with you,” Queenie crossed her arms over her chest, “Honestly Jax. Out of all the ideas you have had in your entire life, announcing to the public to make Pomni join you for tonight has got to be your most ridiculous one yet! Honestly, I don’t blame her for rejecting you, someone had to hit you with common sense eventually!”

“I-I, but!” Jax stammered, but deep down he knew his mother was right. Karma had to hit him eventually, and it hit him with the most alluring, beautiful, one-of-a-kind songbird that fluttered into his heart, only for her to be completely out of his reach. He sighed, “I just… I never felt this way for anyone before.”

“Really?! I couldn’t tell with the way you were constantly making a fool of yourself!” she ignored Jax’s gaping mouth towards her, continuing her speech. “She has expressed to you multiple times that she isn’t interested with what you have to offer Jax! Either you cease these attempts or you actually find something that will let her see you in a different light!”

“How?! If this is all that I can offer her, then it’s already too late for me. You know it, you see it! I’m nothing but a reckless prince who keeps ruining things for myself,” Jax’s shoulder’s tensed, taking a breath while feeling his heart twist in his chest as his eyes drifted down to the ground. “For the first time something finally good came my way and I already messed it up. But I don’t want to let her go.”

Queenie’s shoulders sagged, her face twisting somberly, “You already have so many good things Jax. I wish you could see it too.”

Jax was about to open his mouth to ask what she meant, but Queenie was already walking away. He stared at the wine in his cup, watching the bubbles rise to the top. Through the glass, he could see the other guests spying on him, whispering to one another while pointing at him.

He knew they were talking about his most recent blunder with Pomni, and as much as it hurt, it wasn’t the first time the upper class had gossiped about him. Even before his pranks, before his reputation as the ‘disaster heir of Laphria’, ever since he was a child every lord, duke and count always had their opinions and comments about of him, none of them friendly.

Jax scoffed at them, he didn’t care. At least now that he was older he had a reason for them to talk nothing but rubbish about him, instead of simply being a child.

He took a swig of his wine, it was going to be a long night.

.

.

.

My nana says I have travelling feet

Travelling feet, travelling feet

Slippers for princesses don't fit me

But I dance to my own drum, bright and bold

And my travelling feet always get me home

Pomni strummed her guitar in the dressing room, fully decked in her costume and waiting for the performance to start later. She always got nervous before a show (especially after the public invite she received from the prince) but her music always calmed her down.

My sister says I've a restless soul

Restless soul, restless soul

Easy to catch, but I'm hard to hold

Like a song on the wind that you caught one day

I get under your skin, then I slip away

Gangle, Zooble, Moon and Ragatha were in there as well, adding the last touches to their costumes while listening to Pomni’s song. The girl had come a long way, for better and for worse, but her music was one of the things that gave the circus members hope. After what they went though, they could all use it.

I'm a map of the world and the ones before

One foot in sea and one on shore

Every step, every hope flung high

I'm a map of them all with my Irish eyes

“That’s coming along really well Pomni!” Gangle clapped as Pomni finished up.

The jester smiled, resting her head on the side of her guitar as she faced the rest of the group, “It still has some polishing but it’s becoming a new favourite of mine.”

“I’m glad you have something to focus on after that whole mess earlier,” Moon sneered at the memory of the announcer, feeling nothing but fury at the prince for trying to pressure Pomni to join him. “It took bravery to decline such a heavy offer Pomni.”

Pomni cringed, “I don’t understand, what on earth does the prince see in me for him to keep running back! I mean, you’d think he’d take a hint after what I said to him the first time I saw him! But no, he just wants to keep being annoying. Ugh, men are the worst thing in this realm.”

“Agreed,” Ragatha nodded, “Men are only born with half a brain with not a lot going on in there.”

“I don’t know,” Zooble shrugged, “Granted, women are better. But you seem pretty passionate about someone you find annoying Pomni.”

“W-what?!” Pomni stuttered, nearly dropping the guitar, “What is that supposed to mean?!”

“You know, if you really hate him Pomni you wouldn’t be talking about him this much,” Zooble grinned, crossing her arms over her chest.

Gangle gasped, an excited grin gracing her mask, “It’s true! Pomni, you can say you like him, we won’t judge!”

“I-I, no! I don’t ­like him! That’s absurd!” Pomni stuck her tongue out in disgust.

“Exactly, there’s no way that prince even deserves Pomni,” Ragatha nodded.

“Honestly, you and Zooble might be so head over heels with one another that you both are making up stories in your head!” Moon frowned, shaking her head.

“Or maybe we’re able to see the obvious,” Zooble chuckled.

“No! No! You don’t see anything!” Pomni squeaked. “Besides, Jax is not my type at all! He’s so loud and rude. And has a terrible sense of humour. And struts as if he owns the place. And he has untamed, wild eyes…that shine. And he’s always smiling no matter what’s thrown his way. And his smile, its so…” She trailed off, whipping her head up when she noticed Zooble’s shit eating grin, Gangle’s giddy face and the shocked looks that Ragatha and Moon shared. “…It’s so annoying! I mean come on!”

Her eyes darted between everyone, no one was buying her excuse. “I’m getting some air!” she huffed, setting her guitar down and running out of the dressing room.

Once she was at a good distance, she climbed the nearest rope connected to the ceiling, balancing and swinging on it slightly before jumping onto a nearby trapeze swing. She sighed with relief, despite her anxiety, the vertigo from being up so high was enough to distract her. She smiled a little bit, from up here she could see half of behind the tent and the audience were starting to flood the seats.

Her mind went back to what Zooble said, more so what they said about Jax. Her?! Like him?! How could she ever like him?! They were so different and he oozed nothing but a ‘higher than thou’ attitude, something she despised. She hated him, yup that was her final verdict, she hated him.

But unfortunately Gangle was right, she couldn’t get him out of here head.

She groaned, why couldn’t the rabbit prince get out of her head?!

“Did you hear about Prince Jax?”

Pomni perked up, looking down at the crowd. There was a group of young adults around her age, from the fine fabrics and jewels they wore that had to be belonging to quite prestigious families.

There were two young women and men, each one of them wearing vicious smirks. “This has to be his most embarrassing blunder yet.”

Pomni frowned, she didn’t like their tones at all.

“As if he wasn’t an embarrassment enough,” the first man sneered, “Honestly, I can’t believe that the crown will be going to him.”

“Marriage into the crown is the only saving quality of that man,” the first woman giggled, “That and his parties.”

“Imagine how low you have to sink to be like that,” the second man cackled, “Only being good for parties and nights in the sheets.”

The second woman whacked his arm with her fan, “Don’t talk about such topics in public!”

“He isn’t wrong though,” the first woman pointed out, “He was so desperate to lose his virtue, such a pig!”

Pomni’s heart sank. She only heard the village talk about the prince, his recklessness and pranks and all that, but was this how the upper crust talked about him? He probably had to spend every day with these types of people coming into the castle, did he hear every bit of it in the hallways?

“What else do we expect from an orphan bastard,” the second man sneered, “Only taken in because the royal family felt pity for him. Only one with peasant blood could act so foolishly.”

Pomni saw red. That was the final straw. To think so lowly of someone just because they had no blood relation to royalty, out of all the things to not like about the prince, that was what they hated the most?! He couldn’t control not being born into status! And each comment that they made was an indirect insult to the king and queen taking in a child from the kindness of their hearts!

In fact, having this knowledge made her understand Jax a little bit more, was this why he acted out the way he did? From hearing these comments all the time? After all, she knew better than anyone about being taken care of by someone with no blood connected to them, she didn’t know if she would even be here today if it wasn’t for Kaufmo.

She glared at the ignorant cluster below her, she wasn’t going to let them get away with this.  

She looked up, on the platform next to Moon and Sun’s tightrope, she could see the bucket of water that was typically dumped onto Kaufmo’s head at the beginning of his act. She titled the swing, giving it a bit of momentum before swing over onto the tightrope. She jumped, balancing carefully before tiptoeing over to the platform. She picked up the bucket of water, searched for the group again before dumping the water over them, soaking their clothes and makeup.

They let out ear-piercing screeches, demanding who did this. Pomni jumped back onto her swing, hidden in the shadows as she bit back a giggle. That would teach them a lesson for their vile little words.

She froze when she heard a throat clear, looking back behind the tent, she saw Kaufmo with his arms crossed while frowning. Damn it, he saw what she did.

“Uh…the water was dirty?” she gave him a nervous laugh.

His face didn’t move a muscle. Oh I’m in big trouble “I’m sorry Pa.”

.

.

.

There was so much smoke.

So much fire.

She couldn’t breathe, the smoke was too much.

There was no one there.

Where did everyone go?

She couldn’t be alone.

She can’t be alone.

“Ma!”

There was no answer.

No body

No life.

“Ma where are you?!”

Pomni woke in a cold sweat. She took in her surroundings, she was in the inn, sleeping after another show. She wasn’t a five-year-old girl anymore, she wasn’t stuck in a burning town with faded memories. She was here, she was safe.

She rubbed her face, the nightmares would always change, but they would never become dreams and they would never go away. There had been nights while she was more than willing to sacrifice her sleep, but it only resulted in passing out during the middle of the day. Nothing but a viscous cycle that she couldn’t escape from.

She contemplated getting her guitar out, but she didn’t want to risk waking anyone. She hated it when she got like this, she was nothing but a burden that everyone else was forced to carry. She was weak and stupid and a coward and-

Smash!

She screamed when the glass of her window smashed, a hooded figure climbing in with a knife and rope.

Pomni’s stomach sank. No, no I can’t go back.

She reached under her pillow, pulling out a knife of her own. The hooded man came forward to hit her, she blocked his attack and kicked him away. He let out a yell as he was pushed back. Pomni jumped off the bed as he began to stand back up, slashing her knife on her arms every time he lunged to her.

She raised her knife again, only for her door to be kicked down by another figure. They grabbed her arms, forcing her to drop the knife. The first stranger handed the rope to his associate as they reached into their pockets for something else. “Thought you had her under control,” the second figure spat.

“Don’t blame me,” the first one retorted, “Caine didn’t say how much of a spitfire she was.”

The name sent a shiver down Pomni’s spine. “Help! Somebody hel-” her cries were cut off when the first figure wrapped a gag around her mouth, muffling her screams.

“The pay before make up for this,” the second growled, “I got every mind to cut this little bitch’s fingers off.”

“Easy, Caine said he wanted her in one piece,” the first told him, “Just keep your eyes on the prize and we’ll be fine.”

Pomni heard more screams and crashes coming from outside her room. The others, they were in danger to. She tried to escape from her captor’s hold, but they were too strong as they wrapped the rope around her wrists and dragged out of the room.

She paled as she saw the rest of the circus crew being dragged out of their rooms, with staff members of the inn trying to stop them. In the midst of the ruckus, her captors managed to drag her away and outside into the pouring rain. The first figure pulled him onto his horse, with the second one hoisting Pomni behind him.

“Remember,” the second one spoke, “Meet Caine in the middle of the woods, that’s where he’s doing the pick-up.”

“Don’t need to tell me twice,” the first nodded, whipping his reigns and taking off.

Pomni could only struggle as she watched the inn grow smaller and smaller, while her heart spiked and panic washed over her.

She can’t be a prisoner again.

She can’t let that happen.

She won’t let that happen.

.

.

.

The royal family was awoken in the middle of the night, an emergency was afoot and it needed their full attention.

Jax rubbed sleep from his eyes as he followed his parents into the throne room. This had better be good if he was rudely awoken.

“Your majesties,” a guard bowed, “The innkeeper has requested immediate help, her inn is under attack.”

The fur on Jax’s neck stood, that’s where Pomni was.

“Word has it that they call themselves the gloinks, a group of bounty hunters that has raided many kingdoms before,” the guard continued, “We managed to send over as many as we could to arrest them and they managed to intervene before anyone was hurt. But one already got away with a victim.”

No, no, no, no, no, no. Please don’t tell me its-

“They took the jester from the circus.”

Jax was numb, the rest of the world falling silent.

From the corner of his eye, he could see his parents worrying and giving out instructions of what to do. But Jax? He already had a plan. Get Pomni back.

And so, he ran.

“Jax!” Kinger yelled out to him, “Jax!”

“Jax where are you going?!” Queenie shouted.

He ignored them, he had to. Someone kidnapped Pomni, and they were going to pay.

He ran all the way to the stables, pulling a nearby coat off the rack as he took out his horse. He didn’t bother with a saddle, he had ridden plenty of times without one. Maybe he would get in trouble for disobeying his parents later, but he didn’t care. What mattered right now was Pomni’s safety.

He took hold off his horse’s mane as he took off, running out of the stables and towards the gate.

“Open the gate!” he shouted to whoever was there.

At his command, they opened.

“Come on boy,” he told his horse, “We gotta go!”

The horse galloped faster and faster, running past the gates and into the town.

He had to pick up the pace, Pomni’s captor was probably reaching the edge of the village. There was one thing he knew, tonight, he was getting Pomni back.

.

.

.

Pomni struggled with her binds, her kidnapper’s horse was starting to near the forest. She couldn’t go back to Caine, not when freedom was at her grasp. She closed her eyes and focused, blue mist levitating from her hands. She focused on the knot on the rope, letting the mist carefully pull it out. It took time and patience, but she managed to get it to slip out.

She pulled the rope off, taking the gag off and was about to jump off the horse when an arm grabbed her. “Oh no you don’t!” her captor growled, “You ain’t getting away that easily!”

“I’m not going back!” she screamed, “You can tell Caine to go fuck himself!”

She raised a hand, scratching him in the face, leaving behind three bleeding streaks across his skin. “You stupid cunt!” he screamed.

He struck Pomni across the face. The momentum sending her off the horse, hitting the back of her head on a rock. “Fuck!” he jumped off, going over to her, “Shit, Caine’s gonna kill me!”

“Not before I kill you first.”

A fist grabbed the back of the captor’s hood, and he met the striking yellow and furious eyes of Prince Jax. He swore death was staring right back at him.

Jax used his other hand to grab the captor by the throat, lifting him above the ground. Jax grinned as he watched writhe in pain, scratching at his hands for air. He felt no mercy for this son of a bitch, he put his filthy hands on Pomni. He was going to pay. He slammed the captor against a tree, his head collecting with the trunk as he passed out. Jax threw him to the ground, he would deal with him later. There were more important matters at hand.

“Pomni!” he rushed over to her, kneeling to the ground and putting her head on his lap. When he pulled his hand away, his heart twisted as the sight of blood on his fingertips. Carefully lifting her head, he saw a nasty gash bleeding in the back of her head. He had to get her to a healer and fast. He pulled his jacket off, tearing off a sleeve and wrapped it round her add, making sure it applied pressure to the wound and ceased the bleeding.

He slid his arms under her waist and back, pulling her into his embrace and let her head rest on his shoulder as he stood. He carried her over to his horse, lifting them both up as he cradled her. He could see the rest of the guards coming, they could deal with her captor. For now, Pomni needed medical attention.

Without missing a beat, his horse tore off back to the castle, Jax keeping one hand on his mane and the other wrapped around Pomni to steady her. “Come on boy, come on!” he grunted, the horse snorting back as he ran as fast as he could.

Relief flooded him the moment the castle gates were in sight, opening at the first sight of the prince. Jax jumped off the horse as he slowed to a spot, keeping Pomni in his arms as he ran to the doors of the castle.

The guards positioned outside immediately opening the doors once they saw the royal and the injured jester, not wasting a moment so he could get her inside.

“Medic! I need a medic!” Jax yelled out, running up the marbled stairs.

The servants rushed out at the sound of the prince’s voice, gasping at the sight of Pomni and led them both quickly to a guest room.

Jax gently lay her on the plush bed, a few maids rushing over with bowls of water and towels. “She hit her head,” he told them, “I tried to add pressure to stop the blood but I’m not sure if it did enough.”

He unwrapped the makeshift bandage, tossing it aside before grabbing one of the wet towels to press it against the wound. A maid took it from him, pressing against it instead. He didn’t want to stand there doing nothing, Pomni was hurt and he was hanging around like a useless fly. “Blankets, do we have blankets?!” he turned to another servant, fear and desperation in his eyes.

They must’ve noticed, for they didn’t waste time pointing to a nearby cupboard. Jax rushed over, pulling out every blanket he could find and placed it on Pomni’s shivering body. “Hang in there Pomni,” his hands began to shake, there was more blood. He couldn’t lose her, not after treating her the way he did. His mother was right, now he was paying the price.

A doctor rushed in, medical bag in hand and ready to get to work. Jax’s stomach flipped when he heard Pomni letting out a whimper in her unconscious state. “Be careful with her!” he growled.

He felt a hand pulling him back by the shoulder, he flinched, shoving it away, only to soften that it was his father with his mother behind him. “Pomni is in good with hands with the doctor,” Kinger placed his hand back on Jax’s shoulder, “You got her here in time, let him do his work.”

“I can’t do nothing,” Jax interrupted, “Not when she’s hurt like this! I have to, I need to-”

“Ma,”

Everyone turned to the voice. Pomni wasn’t awake, but a tear slid down her cheek as she shifted in her slumber. “Ma,” her voice cracked, “Ma I’m stuck. Where are you?”

Jax’s heart shattered into a million pieces. Seeing and hearing Pomni so vulnerable, stripped of the glam and sass she wore, leaving behind a broken and frightened person instead. It made the guilt ten times worse. He felt himself sway, his head was pounding and his heart was threatening to burst out of his chest from how hard it was beating. Queenie immediately noticed, already wrapping her arms around her son and led him to a cushioned chair in the corner of the room.

“Pomni, she needs my help, she…” he murmured.

“Shh, it’s okay, you’ve done enough,” Queenie reassured him, running a hand over his ears, “Rest, she’s going to be okay.”

Jax wanted to protest, to insist that he was fine, to be by Pomni’s side. But the promise of sleep was too strong to ignore. And so, he shut his eyes. He’d wake up later, then he would help Pomni.

.

.

.

Kaufmo couldn’t stop trembling. When the inn was under attack, he was roughly grabbed out of his bed and shoved against a wall, leaving him with a bleeding forehead and a black eye. The blood was ringing in his ears and his vision was blurred, but what he did notice was Pomni screaming and tied up as she was dragged away.

He wanted to reach out for her, to give hell to those who hurt his kid, but the pain was too much and his attacker was too strong to escape from. Just hearing the cries of his family, and the fear of…him finding them. It was too much.

He thanked whatever god was up there when the palace guards came, saving them from the gloinks. But it was short-lived, with Pomni being the first thing on his mind. Out of everyone in the circus, it was his kid who had the highest bounty on her head.

He nearly cried when the news of Pomni being safe at the castle arrived to him, but what shocked him was who saved her. Prince Jax. Never in all his days did he think that the arrogant prince would care for anyone’s wellbeing other than his own. Nevertheless, Pomni was Kaufmo’s first priority, he wanted to get to the castle as soon as possible.

And this was where he stood now, in the throne room with the rest of the circus behind him, all praying for Pomni to be okay. The king and queen trekked into the room, Kaufmo running as soon as he saw them. “Where’s Pomni? What happened to her? Is she okay?” tears were streaming down his face, but he didn’t care, his kid was all that mattered.

“It’s okay,” Queenie spoke, “Pomni is safe, she hit her head but we had a doctor attend to her and she is recovering in a guest room.”

Kaufmo let out a giant sigh of relief. All tension leaving him the second the news was told to him. Pomni was okay, they got to her in time.

“However it does leave a question,” Kinger said, his tone serious and avoid of any other emotion, “Why were the gloinks targeting Pomni directly? What’s going on with you all?”

Kaufmo paled, the rest of the circus matching his expression. They had a feeling that after what happened, this question would arise. After all, this wasn’t a normal attack. The gloinks were infamous for their bounty hunting, always demanding the highest pay for whoever that had to go after. So why go after a simple jester?

“Kaufmo?” Ragatha walked towards him, placing a hand on his back, a silent question if he really wanted to get into this mess.

“It’s okay, they have to know,” Kaufmo took a breath to prepare himself, he could so this. “Our circus wasn’t always like this, and I wasn’t always the ringmaster. Many years ago, I wanted to be a clown for my whole life. Performing in a circus was always my dream. But no matter who I went to, they would never hire me. I was going to give up until I met a man named Caine. He was starting a circus of his own and he had everything, except a clown. He practically hired me on the spot, I was so excited that I was willing to look past any warning that were blaring.

It was fine at first, the audience liked my jokes, it was good pay and I got to travel all over the land. However, after a year of being there, I was ready to go home and see my family. But when I tried to leave, that was when I saw Caine’s true colours. The moment I stepped out of that tent, I was attacked by Caine’s hunters. It was then when I learned that no one could leave, and even if you tried, Caine would send his men after you. Either you get attacked, but if you attempted to leave multiple times…I know many members who chose death rather than stay.”

“That’s how Caine tricks people,” Moon spoke up, “He offered me a home for me and my brother. I even fell in love with him. But when I saw what he was doing, I tried to get help. I made it about three feet before his hunters came after me.”

“He said he would help my family,” Ragatha rubbed her arm nervously, “We were poor and he said he would pay for anything as long as I stayed in the circus. I haven’t seen my family in five years.”

“I wanted to run away with the circus, escape from the harm that was in my town,” Gangle sniffed, Zooble wrapped an arm around her, “I never thought how much worse it could get.”

“It went on like that for so long,” Kaufmo continued. “For years we were nothing but puppets for Caine as he fed off our talents. If we weren’t sleeping, we were either rehearsing or performing. And if we showed the slightest sign of fatigue, he’d unleash his fury on us. It only got worse when Pomni arrived. Pomni…I’ll let her tell her story. But she was the youngest out of all of us. She was five when Caine stole her. I took her under my wing, protecting her from Caine. But Pomni was different than the rest of us, her talents are…unique to say the least. It was what attracted audiences however, and as long as Pomni had that power, there was no way Caine was ever going to let her go.

“That was where I came in,” Zooble spoke up. “When the circus arrived in my area, I already had my suspicions. That was when I met Gangle, she told me what happened and I knew I couldn’t do nothing. So I came up with a plan to get them out. I would pretend that I wanted to be in Caine’s show while trying to get everyone out. It took a few buddies of mine and some help from my village, but it worked.”

“We managed to get the enforcers of the town and alert them of what was happening and then managed to detain Caine…at least for a while,” Kaufmo’s face fell. “A while ago, we heard news that Caine had managed to escape, but what really scared us the most was that he didn’t want any of us. Just Pomni. She was irreplaceable, so we’ve been on the run ever since. As long as Caine’s out there, none of us are free.”

Queenie and Kinger stood there, shellshock keeping them frozen in place. How could anyone react any differently to that information?! They wanted to so badly to ask about Pomni, but they knew that they shouldn’t pry her story from others. It was hers and only hers to share. “I appreciate you telling us this, I can’t imagine what you all have gone through,” Queenie told them, nothing but kindness and sincerity in her tone.

“Rest assured,” Kinger straightened up, “We will do everything in our power to make sure Caine doesn’t come near you ever again.”

“But how?!” Kaufmo cried out, “We’ve done everything in our power to get rid of him and he still manages a way to find us! We’re lucky to be alive at this point!”

“Believe my husband and I when I say that Caine will not get away with these crimes,” Queenie informed them. “For your safety, including Pomni’s, we advise you to stay within the castle walls under Caine is no longer a threat. Our soldiers are highly trained to deal with these types of threats. Worry not, your freedom is going to be granted soon.”

Kaufmo opened his mouth and closed it. Freedom? Was it really that possible for him? Would his daughter finally be rid of that monster? Maybe he was getting his hopes up, but by the end of the day, it was still hope. And as long as Pomni was safe, he would take it. “Thank you, your majesties, thank you,” Kaufmo shuddered, feeling a sense of happiness he hadn’t felt in a long time.”

“Of course,” Kinger nodded, “Once Pomni has arisen, we’ll let you see her. As for now, we’ll have your belongings transferred over to the castle. Please, breathe, you are all safe here.”

The circus members looked to one another, was it really possible? Would they finally have a life without fear? All they knew was one thing, as long as Caine didn’t get his hands on Pomni, then they could all finally breathe.

.

.

.

Pomni stirred lightly, her head thundering with pain. She was half tempted to go back to sleep, this bed was the softest she had ever slept in. She eyes shot open, the bed at the inn wasn’t normally this soft. When the bleariness cleared, she could see that she was laid upon the most luxurious sheets she had ever slept in, along with sleek silky pillows that cooled the heat rising upon her flushed skin. As her eyes travelled, they landed upon red wallpaper with embroidered gold stems and leaves, her gaze drifted to the side as she spied some type of curtains tied to each side of the bed.

She lifted herself up into a sitting position, ignoring her throbbing head as she took in more of her surroundings. She was still wondering how she got here, in fact, her memories were just as fuzzy in her. Then, in a flash, it came back to her.

The nightmares.

The break in.

The cries of her family.

The fear of seeing Caine.

The agony of her head hitting the rock…

And then Jax was there. His touch soft and his voice gentle as he lifted her and carried her back to the castle. Jax…saved me.

Pomni turned, gasping faintly as she saw the prince in a chair next to her. The castle she realised to herself I’m in the castle. Jax’s head was resting on the side of the bed as his breathing evenly flowed in and out. She smiled a bit, he looked so innocent like this. Stripped of his brashness and confidence, a small glimpse of Jax was peeking out to her. She was half tempted to brush her fingers through the fur of his ears, but quickly decided against that. He was a prince for goodness’ sake, how improper would that be.

She flinched at the sound of small pattering feet. She had a feeling she was safe due to the heavy protection surrounding the castle, but even that couldn’t keep the nerves at bay. She held the blankets closer to her, as though they would act as some sort of shield. All that worry melted away into awe once she saw the sweet brown eyes of a kitten starting up at her as he wandered into the room.

“Aw!” she cooed, “Hi little kitty!”

The kitten meowed, his tail wagging slowly as he made his way over to the jester. Pomni patted the bed, gesturing for the feline to come up. His claws caught into the sheets, making his way up until he joined Pomni on the mattress. Unable to resist, she scooped his up into her arms, with the little kitten rubbing his head against her cheek as he purred. “You’re just the sweetest little thing, aren’t you?” she scratched behind his ears.

Mew

She pressed a small kiss on his nose, he was just so cute!

Unbeknownst to the duo, the movement and noise that they were making made the prince stir a bit.  

Jax let out a low grumble, the back of his neck aching after sleeping in this horrible position. But he didn’t want to leave Pomni’s side for a moment. Just in case she woke up or something happened to her in her sleep. No, he had to be here. Even if he resigned himself to sleep in a terrible way, Pomni mattered more.

He could feel something move next to him, along with the sound of coos and tiny meows. Wait a minute, he recognised those meows. He straightened up immediately, ignoring the neck ache. Pomni jumped at how quickly got up, hugging Motley closer to her.

“You’re awake!” Jax’s mouth split into a relieved grin, “Are you okay, nothing hurts does it? Do you need anything? Another blanket, water?”

Pomni blinked with confusion at the prince’s many questions. He seemed so…sweet? He did save her life, but still, seeing this side of him was so jarring. “Um, I’m fine thanks,” she smiled awkwardly.

He ran to the door, not wanting to waste a single moment longer, “Doctor! She’s awake!”

It wasn’t long before the doctor came in, checking her over and making sure she was alright, informing her about her extended stay in the castle and the search for Caine. However, all her focus seemed to be on Jax. When the doctor asked for a cool towel for her flushed face, Jax was eager to fetch it. When a breeze through the window made her shiver, he was quick to close it. And when the maid was setting up a tray of breakfast for her, Jax dropped everything to help her. Even the servants and doctors seemed perplexed by his behaviour. What happened to the mischievous prince who made sure to make his crudeness his reputation?

When the buzz died down, the doctor informed Pomni to stay in bed and that he would fetch her family.

Her family. They were safe, it relieved some tension that she didn’t even know she had. It was when Jax turned to leave that she did something that puzzled both of them. “Wait!” she called out. The prince turned back, did she want him to stay? “I-I just…why did you save me?”

Jax was taken aback by that question, staring at her as though the answer was obvious, “I couldn’t just let them take you. Bounty hunters invaded my kingdom and kidnapped one of our visitors. Besides, you hold value to your family and circus. They need you in their lives.”

“R-right, well what I wanted to say was…thank you,” her smile made his heart turn to melted gold. So soft yet so delicate and beautiful. It was burned into the prince’s memory.

“Y-you’re welcome Pomni,” Jax stuttered, sitting himself back down on the chair. He gulped, not once in his life did he get so tongue-tied over another person. It was certainly an interesting feeling to say the least. “And I should apologise for sending you those gifts and the announcement in the town square. Please believe me when I say that I didn’t aim to make you uncomfortable. How does my mother put it? My heart can be bigger than my brain sometimes. But I’m sorry that you had to witness it.”

It was Pomni’s turn to be taken aback. She had never heard words so genuine and sincere, especially with it coming from someone she always saw as pompous and crude. She cleared her throat, “I appreciate the apology your highness. It may take me a while to fully forgive you, but you’ve made a good start already.”

“Jax,” he said.

She hummed questioningly.

“Call me Jax,” he clarified.

“Oh! Well, thank you Jax,” she ran her fingers along the kitten’s fur, listening to him purr to fill the pleasant silence.

“Ah, I see you met Motley,” Jax poked the feline’s nose.

“Motley?” Pomni tilted her head.

“My cat,” he clarified.

Pomni let out a gasp, excitement washing over her. “This is your cat?!” she beamed, holding the kitten up to her face, “He’s adorable.” She pressed little kisses over his small face, Motley purring louder at the affection.

Jax grumbled, ignoring the twinge of jealously, “He’s an obnoxious little shit.”

Pomni scoffed at him, “No he’s not! He’s a sweet little gentleman.”

“He broke in here and decided that this place was gonna be his home,” Jax retorted back, “I didn’t get a say in the matter.”

“But how could you say no to this cute face?” Pomni held Motley closer to Jax’s face, the kitten pressing a paw to the prince’s nose.”

“He’s quite…persuading. But you won’t like him when he’s taking a bath, trust me,” Jax said.

Pomni rolled her eyes, cuddling the kitten again. Jax smiled softly, it was sweet to see her bonding with Motley, after what happened she could use this little interaction to help lift her spirits.

They paused for a moment, Jax letting Pomni take small bites of her breakfast while he prepared some tea for her. He had requested chamomile from the maids, it was what helped him for whenever he had a sick day and he hoped it would help Pomni as well. Once Pomni’s plate was cleared, he gently put the mug in her hands and took away the breakfast tray. She hummed appreciatively at the warm drink, watching Jax’s carefully stack everything together and taking it to the door. It was quite the sight to see, a prince waiting beck and call for a commoner. But she wasn’t complaining, it was rather comforting to be taken care of.

Throughout the silence, simple questions being traded back and forth between the two. “So tell me, how do you know so much about flowers?” Jax asked, “You know, after my abysmal attempt of trying to give some to you.”

Pomni laughed, it was quite funny looking back at it now, “My ma-…my family always loved flowers, they taught me everything there was to know about them. My favourite was always roses, it might be cliché but there are so many meanings to come out of one flower depending on the colour.”

“I see,” Jax murmured, even the smallest thing about Pomni meant the world to him. She was just so fascinating.

“And you,” Pomni spoke, “What is your favourite pastime?”

“Well…I have a passion for reading,” he told her, “Ever since I was young I’ve always had a fondness for books about adventures and swashbuckling pirates! Every page was a new journey and I wanted to devour it all! I wanted to live that life more than ever.”

“That does sound amazing,” she mused, “I haven’t been to a library in so long…” she trailed off. Jax’s face fell slightly, reaching his hand out to her. Pomni noticed the sudden change in mood and smiled again, “But it’s alright, I’m sure I will one day.”

Jax nodded, keeping her sentence locked in his mind. He’d have to come back to that later.

Pomni bit her lip, another question had been burning at the back of her mind and it had made her more curious than she thought she should be. She turned to Jax, “I have to ask, why did you want to see me so badly? What did I do that made you so infatuated?”

Jax blinked, resting his arms on his legs as he clasped his hands together. He took a breath, his face serious as he answered her, “I know it might sound ridiculous, and you’re allowed to laugh. But in all honesty, it was your voice.”

Pomni perked up, her eyes wide, “My voice?”

“Yeah,” Jax nodded, “The moment you started singing, I just wanted to know more about you. You were telling a story simply through song, but you were only telling the first chapter. I got impatient and wanted to read more. From the first note, I knew that there was more to you that I had to know. I just…didn’t go about it the right way at first.” He let out a nervous chuckled, only to freeze when he saw a tear slide down her cheek. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you!”

“No, no, you didn’t,” she let out a choked laugh, wiping the tear away, “In fact, you said exactly what I needed to hear.”

Motley rubbed his head against her arm, offering as much comfort as possible. Jax placed his hand on hers, “Pomni, if I act or say anything stupid just say the word. I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m a massive idiot.”

Pomni giggled, her face twisting into one of mock surprise, “Really, I had no idea!”

Jax rolled his eyes fondly, “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up short stack.”

She snorted, about to say another word when the room was suddenly flooded by the circus members. Each one of them fretting over her and checking if she was okay. “Guys! I’m fine!” she reassured them, Motley scrambling out of the crowd and ran over to Jax.

The rabbit picked him up, giving the circus cast their space as they reunited with Pomni. “You scared me to death kiddo!” Kaufmo squeezed her, “I thought they got you!”

“I’m okay Pa,” she rested her head on his shoulder, “I gave them a piece of my mind before Jax saved me.”

Kaufmo froze, slowly turning to the prince. “You saved my kid?” he asked.

Jax gulped, he still hadn’t forgotten the clown’s terrifying threat, “Yes?”

Kaufmo hummed in thought, it seemed that he judged the prince a bit too harshly. But only a little bit, he didn’t regret chewing him out. “Thank you, your highness,” he gave Jax a simple bow, “It’s good to know that our safety is taken seriously by you.”

“O-of course,” Jax stuttered. He had fought and won battles against much more frightening opponents, how did a clown seem worse than that?

Kaufmo turned his attention back to Pomni, running his hand over her wound and cringing at the sight. He sat on the bed next to Pomni, the girl leaning into her father’s hug as the rest of the circus members watched over them.

Jax decided to take this as a que to leave and give them their privacy. He was just about to head out the room when he was stopped by Pomni’s voice, “Jax!”

He paused, turning back to her.

“Thank you, again,” Pomni smiled at him, “For what you did.”

Jax grinned, feeling a sense of pride fill him. But it wasn’t the usual arrogance he’d come to expect, there was a warmth to it, and a flutter of butterflies in his stomach. Holding Motley in one arm, he gave the jester a bow, “Always. If you’d like, once you’ve recovered, I could give you a tour of the castle?”

“I’d like that,” Pomni nodded.

And with that, Jax took his leave, fully aware of the stabbing glares of Kaufmo, Moon and Ragatha on his back, never did he expect to feel such danger from a circus crew.

Pomni bit her lip shyly, fisting the sheets below her hands before looking up to meet Gangle’s giddy smile and Zooble’s teasing gaze. “So, you got yourself a date with the prince huh?” Zooble chortled.

“S-shut up!” Pomni threw a pillow at him, making them laugh harder. She sighed, that prince really wormed himself into her heart, didn’t he?

Chapter Text

“He’s not at his lessons! He’s not in his room! No one has seen him Kinger!” Queenie cried, clutching her robe worriedly.

“Don’t worry my dear,” Kinger pressed both his hands to his wife’s shoulders, “He couldn’t have gone far.”

He had said that to his wife a few moments ago. Apparently Jax was playing around with the children of the other lords and ladies that had visited the castle, only to disappear after giving one of them a nasty scratch across their face. The child had wailed, saying that Jax had attacked them out of nowhere, but Kinger had a feeling that there was a bit more to the story than what was already told. He was familiar with how some nobles raised their children, and this child in particular came from a family that was full of nothing but spoiled snobs.

And so he was out in the garden, coming across a giant oak tree with a small wooden fort built atop of it. Jax’s treehouse.

Kinger took a hold of the ladder that was attached to the trunk, making his way up and through the hole in the middle of the floor. He found who he was looking for, a small six-year-old rabbit with frustrated tears staining the fur his cheeks as he clutched something in his hands.

“There you are,” Kinger spoke gently, alerting his son of his presence, his little ears shooting up as he glared at the intruder. “Everyone has been wondering where you went, your mother was worried sick.”

Jax’s ears drooped, he didn’t mean to make his mother so upset. He rubbed his cheek on his sleeve, ridding any tears that were still marked upon his face.

Kinger climbed out of the hole, making his way over to the boy and sitting down next to him. “I was told that you scratched one of the noble’s children,” Kinger said, watching as the boy paled with fear. “While I’m not pleased with an outburst like that, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and ask why you did it. I know you wouldn’t have done that unprovoked,” he patted the top of his son’s head comfortingly, Jax leaning into the touch. “What happened Jax?”

The boy turned to his father, his face growing anxious before opening his hand, revealing the head of a little chipmunk fast asleep in his purple palms. “They tried to squish it with a stick,” Jax mumbled, “They said that it was like me, a nobody trespassing onto royal grounds. It was just trying to get some food.”

Kinger felt his heart sink. Of course it was a comment about Jax being an orphan. It wasn’t the first time that he had been bullied for not being blood related to him and Queenie, even those who weren’t children had picked on him for his humble beginnings. Yes while both he and his wife were able to have children, the two had heard of Jax’s birth parents passing away from an uncontrollable illness, leaving the poor baby to fend for himself. He and Queenie immediately took him in as their own, raising and teaching him everything he needed to know about the kingdom. Unfortunately it seemed that the nobles weren’t so happy about their choice and had resorted on taking it out on the poor boy instead.

“Well then, they are forbidden to step one foot into this castle,” Kinger declared, his mind already made up on the matter, “They have no right to treat you or the poor critter so horribly.”

“But they’re right,” Jax whimpered, looking away. “I don’t belong here. No matter what I do, everybody knows that I’m not a true royal.”

“That’s not true!” Kinger interrupted, taking both of his son’s cheeks in his hands. “You might not share our blood, but you are still our son. Your mother and I love you so much, you are part of our family and that makes you a truer royal than any of the nobles could ever dream to be. You have the heart of a king Jax, never forget that.”

Jax gave his father a watery smile, the latter wiping away his tears. The little chipmunk squeaked in the child’s hands, the king and prince looking down at it. “I think he’s feeling better now,” Kinger gestured to the rodent, “It’s time for him to go.”

“But…but he’s my friend!” Jax exclaimed, clutching it tighter, “He has to stay with me.”

“He has a life and a family out there Jax,” Kinger told his son, “I know you care about him, after what he went through, but its because of that care you have for this critter that you must let him go. He might be gone, but the bond that you’ve formed will be a part of you for years to come.”

Jax let out a small whimper, stroking the back of the small creature. His father was right, the chipmunk probably had its own ‘Queenie’ and ‘Kinger’ to go back to as well. Jax stood, walking over to the window of the treehouse and opening his hands, releasing the rodent. The chipmunk looked back at Jax one last time, nuzzling his finger. The child laughed at the sensation, before waving to the chipmunk as it ran back into the gardens.

Kinger got up and went over to Jax, ruffling his son’s ears, the child laughing louder. “Glad to see you’re feeling better,” he said to child, Jax wrapped his arms around his father, squeezing him tight. The king chuckled, returning the hug with the same pressure his son was giving him. “And who knows, maybe you’ll get a pet of your own one day. Perhaps a dog or a hamster or a cat-”

“What?! Ew! No way!” Jax stuck out his tongue at that, “Cats are the worst animals in the world!”

“I don’t know,” Kinger shrugged teasingly, “When you’re older you end up with your own feline companion?”

“Never!” Jax blew a raspberry, The king guffawed, deciding to put an end to his teasing, much to his son’s mercy.

“Alright, alright. Let’s head back inside, your mother is still looking for you,” Kinger was a bout to turn and head to the exit, only for Jax to grab his father’s hand with a desperate look upon the child’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“I…I’m not ready to go back inside yet,” Jax admitted, his ears drooping onto his back. “Can we play a game? Please! Just one game and then we’ll go inside.”

Kinger’s heart sank. Jax was so scared to go inside in case any of those horrible people were there. How could any of the nobles say such vile things? Not just about his son, but about a child! If they had a problem, then the cowards should take it up with Kinger himself instead of a boy still navigating the ways of the world. He would deal with them later – along with some colourful language he had planned for them – as for now, his son was more important.

“Alright,” Kinger nodded, “One game and then we’ll find your mother. The last thing we want is face her worried anger.”

Jax shuddered, he knew all too well what his mother was like when she was overcome with so much panic to the point of frustration. He nodded quickly as he and his father sat down.

“Now then, what would you like to play?” Kinger asked.

Jax hummed in thought, putting a finger to his chin as the ideas ran through his mind, “How about…three rounds of rock, paper, scissors!”

“That sounds like a great idea!” Kinger exclaimed happily.

The two put their fists out, slapping it against the palms of their other hand, with Kinger pulling his hand out in a scissor motion while Jax made a rock shape with his. “Yes!” the child cheered happily, “I won the first round!”

“You’re starting to get better than me,” Kinger told him, “Ready for the next round?”

“Yeah!” Jax grinned.

Kinger prepared himself “Okay, one, two-”   

“What are you two doing?!” Queenie cried out, poking her head through the hole of the floor, making both father and son squeak in terror. “Do you two know how long you have been gone for?! I was worried sick!”

“Apologies darling,” Kinger chuckled nervously, “We just wanted to play a quick game.”

“I’m sorry mama,” Jax brought his knees to his chest, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Queenie sighed, shaking her head as she opened up her arms for her son, with Jax immediately running to his mother and hugging her. He had always been a ‘mama’s boy’ ever since he was a baby. “Just keep track of time, okay dear?” she whispered soothing, rubbing Jax’s back.

“Yes mama,” Jax nodded against her shoulder.

Queenie gave her a husband a glare, “That goes for you too Kinger.”

“Y-yes darling,” Kinger rubbed the back of his head at his wife’s icy gaze, “Again, my apologies.”

The queen was unable to hide a smile at her husband’s awkwardness, eventually giving in and climbing up into the treehouse as well. And so, that was how the family spent their afternoon that day, with them talking with one another about anything and everything, to Kinger and Queenie telling Jax stories of adventurers and swashbuckling pirates, to the parents even indulging with their son’s games of pretend as he recreated those stories with nothing but a stick for a sword and a wooden board as a shield.

The rest of the nobles would probably scoff at them acting like this, but they didn’t care. This was their family, even if they were royalty, and nobody could take that away from them.

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Sixteen Years Later

Jax paced up and down the hall, wringing his hands to help calm his nerves. Never in his life had he been so nervous about anything. Why may you ask? Pomni was finally deemed well enough to get out of bed, and today he was going to give her a tour of the castle. He needed this to be perfect, the poor girl had already been through enough, he just wanted the day to be about her. To make sure she was happy. Her smile left a handprint on his heart, and he couldn’t get it off. He would do anything to see it again.

Motley was perched upon his shoulder, with the prince subconsciously reaching up to run his hand over the kitten’s head as he purred into Jax’s cheek. He would never admit it, but Motley was a really good comfort to him these days. Apparently, the little kitten knew exactly what to do to calm him, it was annoying how easily attached Jax had become with him.

He took a deep breath, he could do this. He walked down the hall until he stopped in front of the room Pomni was staying in, he wrung his hands one more time before gently knocking on the door three times.

“I’ll be one second!” he heard her voice ring out.

“Take your time!” Jax answered back, using the extra seconds to relax himself more. A few moments passed until the click of the doorknob made him jump. He brushed back the fur atop of his head, breathe Jax, remember, be suave.

That all went down the drain the moment Pomni stepped out. Jax was sure his heart had just skipped a beat. Pomni wore a teal-coloured dress, small flowers embroidered onto the fabric. The dress hung slightly off her shoulders with ruffles around her collarbones, the sleeves were long and ended at her wrists but had puffs at the elbows. Around her waist was a matching corset of the same colour, and the layered skirt ended by her ankles. She’s so…so… Jax’s face softened.

Pomni blushed as his eyes focused on her, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. Her hair might be short but she had managed to take two sections and braid it into a crown around her head. “W-why are you staring?” she stuttered slightly.

“Because you’re beautiful,” he answered honestly. He felt a twinge of pride as her face reddened more, contrasting against her dress. Easy Jax, remember, you don’t want to scare her off. When his father had informed him of Kaufmo and the circus’ story, the urge to protect the jester only grew stronger. The last thing he wanted to do was overwhelm her.

“Thank you,” she smiled, “I don’t think I’ve worn anything this nice in my life.”

“Trust me, you look radiant in that dress,” Jax told her.

Pomni had to physically fight back the blush she felt rising to her cheeks. If someone were to tell her a few months ago that she would be flustered at the compliments Prince Jax of Laphria would give her, she would have laughed in their face, repulsed by the notion that the reckless prince would give her any sort of attention. But now, after he saved her life and seeing this new side of him, it made her all the more curious to see what else she could find out about him. Dare she say it, she was excited to have his company for today.

“So, tell me, what’s up first for our tour?” she asked, going over to him and picking up Motley from his shoulders and cradling him in her arms.

Jax smirked, only holding out his hand, “You’ll just have to wait and see little lady.”

Pomni raised a brow, her lips matching his expression as she took his hand, “Then hurry up and show me.”

He let out a laugh, giving her hand a gentle squeeze as he started taking her down the hall. Maybe it was the excitement of the whole thing, but their feet started to quicken, and soon they were jogging and jogging turned to running, poor Motley’s eyes going wide at the sudden increase of speed. They couldn’t stop laughing, not knowing why. In fact, now that they thought about it, this was possibly the first time each of them laughed truly and freely – with no malice or fear attached. It was…nice.

Soon, Jax was leading her into the gardens, past the bushes filled with berries and the colourful shrubbery of flowers. Their steps slowed as they halted near a large oak tree, Pomni looked up to see a wooden house, shaded among the emerald leaves atop of it. Jax let go of her hand, taking a hold of the ladder against the trunk as he began to climb up. Pomni placed Motley on her shoulders, taking the initiative to follow him.

Once Jax made it into the building, he sat next to the hole in the floor and helped pull Pomni up once she neared the top. Pomni sat next to him, letting her eyes roam the place, the subtle breeze of the wind brushing her cheeks as the sun shone upon her. “Welcome to my humble abode,” Jax grinned, “AKA, my childhood treehouse.”

Pomni marvelled at her surroundings, letting Motley down so he could explore the area as well, “This is adorable!”

“Yeah,” Jax suddenly became anxious, rubbing the back of his neck. “I knew that when I gave you all those gems and coins it made you a little uncomfortable, so I wanted to start with something small with our tour so you wouldn’t get overwhelmed.”

Pomni’s mouth gaped a bit. He could have taken her to the most grand, lavish places in the whole palace, yet he chose the most earnest part of his childhood to show her to make sure she was comfortable. She didn’t know whether to awe at the innocence of the act, or gratitude that he was putting her first. Either way, she never felt happier towards the prince than she did now. “Thank you Jax,” she replied honestly. She secretly ate up the way that she managed to make him blush this time.

“Y-yes, well,” he stuttered, “I do happen to be pretty smart.”

“On certain occasions,” she snickered.

“Hey!” he gawked at her, though the smile on his face proved that he was anything but mad. He shook his head fondly, a warmth spread through him at the fact that she didn’t feel anything negative to him while speaking with him. He was getting to know her without his reputation getting in the way of that. “I always loved coming up here as a kid. It was a safe space for me when I wanted to get away from everybody.”

Pomni tilted her head, inching closer to him. Jax was really hoping she wouldn’t see his tail wagging at the close proximity. “Safe space?” she asked, though after hearing that awful group of low lives from the last show, she had a faint idea of what he was talking about.

“Yeah,” he sighed, his ears dropping slightly. “Not everyone was happy about the fact that my parents decided to adopt me when they were able to have children. I was born in a poorer part of the kingdom, so everyone kinda knew what my rank was before I was royalty. There was just so many people who literally hated me for even breathing, it wasn’t like I asked to be born into poverty or for my parents to adopt me. So whenever I needed a break from it all, I would come up here with my parents. We’d always come up with new games in here and turn the treehouse into whatever adventure we chose. Whether it be a pirate ship and I was the captain, or my own castle where I was helping save the princess, it was the best memories I had ever made.”

“That sounds remarkable,” Pomni said, unable to tear her gaze away from the prince’s face. He looked so…happy. Not the cruel smirks that she had come to expect, but genuine happiness that came from reflecting on those memories.

“It really was,” he agreed, his heart fluttering as flashes of him as a boy going to save his mother from his ‘castle’ treehouse with his father as a dragon. That little boy had changed so much, and he would admit it, it wasn’t for the better. “When I started to get older, the comments just started to get worse. My parents started to ban people from the castle who didn’t relent, but they knew that they held importance since most of them owned some of the lands in the kingdom, so they had to be invited to events sometimes to help discuss shit that’s happening. No matter what I did, I was never good enough. It didn’t matter how much I smiled or bowed or trained myself to prove that I wanna gonna be the best heir for this kingdom, as long as I didn’t share royal blood, they already made up their minds about me. So, I decided to become what they wanted me to be. A reckless troublemaker who liked to prank others and throw the most destructive parties. For a while, I started to like it, I liked that for once I was the once who held the cards. But I knew that whoever I invited just used me to get into these parties, to indulge in luxury while talking behind my back. And seeing how disappointed my parents were…all I did was ruin things for everyone.”

He stopped, looking up at Pomni to see tears running down her cheeks as Motley tried to purr to comfort her. “I’m so sorry!” he exclaimed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a handkerchief, “I shouldn’t have gone as long as I did, I didn’t mean to upset you.”  

“No, no, its not your fault,” she sniffed, wiping her eyes, “It was never your fault. You know that right?” She wasn’t talking about the crying, she was talking about his childhood. Jax gave her a half-hearted shrug. “I’m serious. I’ve had my fair share of people in my life who would rather project their insecurities onto those who are vulnerable than decide to be a decent human being. No, you shouldn’t have done the things you do now that you’re grown, but don’t blame your child self simply for existing.”

Jax didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or do both. For years he kept everything in, too afraid to touch the fear and guilt that crept up his spine every day. But the way Pomni spoke about it, with such ease and clarity. It was almost like she had walked similarly in his steps before. He was about to ask her how she knew all this when her hand reached forward to his face. He held his breath, fighting the urge to hammer his foot against the wooden floor with excitement. Her fingers brushed the fur on his cheeks, when she pulled back his heartbeat slowed when he realised the tips of her fingers were wet. Had he really been crying? “Wow,” he wiped any leftover wetness away, “Sorry, kinda pathetic.”

“No,” Pomni shook her head softly, a smile gracing her features, “No it’s not.” This girl. She never ceased to amaze him. “So, tell me. What other games did you and your parents get up to in here?”

Jax laughed wetly before going onto to tell her how he and his father would hide up here from his mother whenever they would steal cookies from the kitchen. Pomni chortled at the image of a small rabbit and the king hiding up in this very treehouse from the disgruntled queen while huddling with a jar of cookies.

It wasn’t until it was near noon that the two realised they had been outside for so long, just talking and enjoying one another’s company. They went inside eventually when Motley started meowing his head off for some food. Jax was confident in saying that he had more fun with Pomni in those couple of hours than all of his parties he had ever thrown. Truly, that girl had bewitched him.

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.

“This is incredible!” Pomni beamed.

The next day, Jax had decided to take Pomni to visit the library in the castle. She had seemed particularly excited about that, he remembered that it was rare for her to see a proper library in her lifetime, and he hoped to change that.

“Just imagine! So many genres from all over the world in one place!” she gasped as she ran her hands along the spines of the books, Motley upon her shoulders once again. The kitten had become quite fond of Pomni during the jester’s stay at the castle. “Can you believe how amazing that is?!”

Jax chuckled as he kept up with her, “I guess I’ve never seen it that way”. But it made sense, his family could afford every single book known to man. Whether it was the most groundbreaking adventure novel in existence, or a simple cookbook, there was without a doubt that the royal library had something for everyone. Even the largest book shop in all the lands wouldn’t be able to do that.  

“It makes me want to cry with joy,” she admitted, picking up a paperback and examining it. “I know it seems silly, but you have no idea how much this means to me.”

“Oh?” Jax’s face became serious, moving towards her. What did this girl go through to make her say that? “Why is that?”

Pomni shifted in her place, worry spreading across her features.

“Please, don’t tell me if it makes you uncomfortable,” Jax reassured her, “You have no obligation to tell me.”

“No, it’s alright,” she smiled slightly. “I’ve never been able to see many libraries in my lifetime, but I will always remember the first time Kaufmo took me to see one. We were allowed to roam one of the villages we were performing in, so he let me see my first ever library. We spent all day in there reading anything we could find. I remember him telling me the importance of books. Each one of them holds a lesson and history for anyone who needs to learn it. No matter how small it is, one book can hold great meaning for a person. It’s why we must cherish them and the morals that they hold.”

She hugged the book tighter in her hold, Motley rubbing his head against her neck as he purred. Pomni giggled and placed a little kiss on the tip of his nose.

Jax inhaled deeply. So many overwhelming feelings were coming afloat after Pomni’s words, he stepped away for a moment to collect himself.

Pomni’s face fell, fearing that she crossed the line, “Your highness, I didn’t mean to offend you-”

“You didn’t!” Jax whipped round quickly, making sure that Pomni knew she wasn’t at fault. “Its just…never in all my lessons and teachings did I feel like I have learned more than what you have told me at this moment. You hold so much passion and joy within your knowledge than any of my tutors have given me. You have more conviction in one memory that I have had within my entire being. You’re remarkable Pomni, and I hope that I can see the world through your eyes.”

Pomni bit her lip as his words repeated through her head like a mantra. No one had ever said something so earnest as he had, and she had least expected it to come from the ‘reckless Prince Jax’ of Laphria. “Well, it isn’t so hard,” Pomni teased, “After all, you wouldn’t have saved my life if you didn’t.”

Did he?

Did someone like him, who spent most of his life building up this reputation to be arrogant and self-centred, deserve a second chance to see the world as she did? Then again, he didn’t know what she went through, but he could see that behind her smile, sass and glam that there was a girl who was deeply hurting yet still chose kindness every single time. He would let her tell him, of course, but one way another he knew he had to find out. “I appreciate your faith in me little lady,” he smirked, deciding to press an arm against the bookshelf as he peered down at her. Was it a risk? Yes. But the way her breath hitched and eyes widened made it oh so incredibly worth it. “You sure it’s not mistake?”

Pomni gulped, ridding any type of flustering she felt flutter in her heart as she pushed him back with a smirk, “I happen to be very good at reading people. So no, I don’t think it’s a mistake.”

He nearly choked on his own spit at the sudden turn in dynamic. With a hum, she walked away, feeling his eyes on her as she did so while opening the book in her hands.

Jax gave his cheeks a tap, snapping himself out of it while a lovesick grin stretched on his lips as he chased after her. This girl had his heart in the palm of her hand and she didn’t even realise it. In all honesty, as long as Pomni had it, Jax didn’t want it back.

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Pomni stretched her arms above her head after she finished warming herself up, wearing a simple cotton shirt with spaghetti straps and dark pink leotard shorts. A few guards had escorted her trapeze equipment as per her request, she wanted to continue practising even if there weren’t any upcoming shows. It gave her peace of mind after the chaos of her attempted kidnapping. Plus, she liked doing her tricks. Apart from her music, she was proud of this being one of her talents.

Her aerial silks, trapeze bars and hoops had been moved into a spare ballroom within the castle along with everyone else’s equipment. She had waited until the rest of the circus cast had finished with their own rehearsals, feeling more at ease when she practised alone.

She wrapped a practise rope around her wrist, preparing to start when she heard a voice echoing around the room.

“Is this what you do on a daily basis?” Jax asked, curiosity and amazement lacing his tone.

Pomni smiled, she was actually really happy whenever he found the time to visit her. Sometimes his duties caught up to him, which left days that they were unable to spend time together. Wait, did she really admit that she liked spending time with Jax? “Not on a daily basis,” she said, turning to face him as he walked over to meet her, “Just whenever I feel the need to practice.”

“Looks simple enough, bet I could do it easily,” Jax knew he was bragging, but he made sure that there wasn’t any mocking in his voice. It seemed Pomni knew that as well with the way she cheekily raised her eyebrow.

“Oh, it looks that simple huh?” she grinned.

“Yeah,” he said, “I’d be able to nail it in ten seconds.”

Pomni hummed as though she were in thought, raising her hand and curling her finger in a ‘come hither’ motion. Jax knew he struck something there as his pulse began to hammer hard throughout his veins. Nevertheless, he did as he was told. She took his hand, he nearly flushed at her sudden boldness. She was bringing him closer to her…until she pulled on the rope, ripping her hand away and sending her soaring up to the darkened roof.

Jax blinked for a second, trying to regain his bearings after the trick she just pulled that sneaky little minx!

He heard a throat clear, making him look up as he saw Pomni descending down from the ceiling, her arms gripping onto the bottom of a trapeze ring as she slowly lowered back onto the ground. “Word of advice,” she spoke as her feet touched the ground, “Don’t immediately throw yourself into the deep end if you barely know how to keep your head above water.”

Jax was unable to tear his eyes away. It was just one simple act from her and yet he was attached to her like a dog on a leash. He had fallen and fallen hard. He ran a hand over the top of his fur on his head, smoothing it back as he grinned at her, “Why don’t you show me how it’s done then little lady?”

He watched as she froze in place while he restrained himself to laugh at her adorable yet slightly angry reaction. That nickname always struck a nerve with her. Pomni’s lips twisted as though she were in thought, “Hmm, okay. If you can handle it.”

“Oh I can handle it little lady,” he chuckled, “Come on, show me what you got.”

“Okay, put your hands on my waist,” she said simply.

Jax had never been more thankful for his fur covering his cheeks, hiding the redness rising to his skin, “I-uh-um-what?!”

“I said, put your hands on my waist,” she stated as if she weren’t suggesting that he touched her with her wearing what was basically close to undergarments. “Unless you’re not able to do this?”

“Well I didn’t say that,” he told her, “I just…don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“Hey,” Pomni let go of the hoop for a moment, taking both of his hands in her. “I wouldn’t be asking you this if I wasn’t okay with you putting your hands on me. If you’re not comfortable with it though then that’s absolutely fine. But don’t worry, I trust you.”

She trusts me. When was the last time someone trusted him? It sent a rush through him and gave him a determination that he never had in his life before. A determination to earn and keep that trust that had been provided for him.

“So, as long as you’re okay with it,” she continued, guiding his hands to both sides of her hips, “Put your hands on my waist.”

Jax nodded, pressing his hands firmly to her sides. Taking a hold of the metal hoop again, she swung it in a circle around the two of them before it went back behind her again. “Lift me up,” she instructed him. Without missing a beat, Jax did as he was told, lifting her onto the hoop while Pomni held on with one arm, using her spare hand to stretch out her body into a line while her legs gripped the other end of the hoop.

She brought her free arm back in, grabbing the top of the hoop and pulled herself into a sitting position. “Hold onto the bar,” she said next, with Jax firmly holding the hoop in place as her legs reached up and wrapped themselves around the top of the hoop, pulling her upside down. “Now here’s where you need to pay attention. This thing is gonna start to pull itself up once you sit down. All you gotta do is hold on and I’ll tell you what to do. Understand?”

“Yes ma’am,” Jax could only stare in awe at how her body twisted and moulded itself into whatever way Pomni wanted. It was simply miraculous to experience.

“Good,” she smiled. Jax carefully lowered himself onto the hoop next to the upside-down jester, gripping it tighter once he started to feel it rise. “Easy, just hold on until I say otherwise. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Jax gave her a nervous laugh, “Should I be saying that to you?”

“Let’s just call this getting even then,” she smiled, “Now hang on there for a second.”

Before he could ask what she meant by that, she swung herself upright and pulled herself to sit on top of the hoop. He gasped when she jumped, about to go after her before she grabbed on a nearby rope. His breath hitched as he watched her swing round the ballroom, her eyes closed in a content bliss as if this whole practice brought her to a peaceful state of mind.

She swung back towards Jax again, letting go off the rope and grabbing the bottom of the hoop, pulling them back onto the ground again. Jax slid off the hoop, going closer to Pomni. “Not bad for your first try,” she mused, “Wanna go again?”

Jax wrapping one arm around her waist and using the other hand to grab the bottom of the hoop. The two shared a grin as the hoop ascended upwards, Jax holding tight to both of them to make sure that they wouldn’t fall. Pomni gulped at the strength he displayed, it certainly wasn’t anything to sneeze at. Wrapping her arm around his waist and joining his other hand on the hoop with hers this time, she started to pick up momentum, making the duo spin faster and faster.

Grinning, Jax jumped down, letting Pomni spin round the ballroom again. “Not bad for a first timer huh?!” he called out to her.

“I have to agree, you’re a little rusty but you’ve got potential,” she giggled back.

An idea popped into his head. Jax ran to the walls of the ballroom while Pomni raised a brow as he started to scale them. As she swung round to him, he jumped off and grabbed the hoop, circling his arm around her waist again. The two laughed freely, without a single care as they flew around the room.

Eventually, they had slowed to a stop, gently pressing their feet against the marbled floor as they panted from the thrill and exhilaration. “That was…wow,” Jax gasped.

“Yeah,” Pomni breathed, “Not bad for a beginner.”

Jax brushed a stray hair away from her face, Pomni watching his finger trailing her cheek as he did so. “Um, I should get back to my duties soon,” he said, “But thank you for the lesson…I had fun.”

“Y-you’re welcome,” Pomni stuttered as he drew his hand back.

They paused, a silent tension growing between them. Pomni was praying that he didn’t hear her heart thunder in her chest, not knowing that Jax was doing the same - practically begging to whatever entity was out there that she couldn’t hear his wagging tail rustling under his clothes. “Good day Pomni,” Jax bowed, before leaving the ballroom.

Pomni lifted her hand to where his was on her cheek. Perhaps it was the rush of the whole practice, but part of her wished that he kept his hand there just a little bit longer.

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If there was one thing that Pomni was grateful for during her and her family’s stay in the castle, it had to be the opportunity to sleep in. While being a performer, there was always a strict schedule that she had to follow. From when she had to wake up, to the endless hours of training, to when she had to eat and eventually find the time to get a full eight hours of sleep without her busy schedule being interrupted. So it was a small blessing that she got to enjoy the longer hours tangled in the soft sheets of her temporary bed.

When she eventually got out of bed and pulled on her teal dress did she hear the commotion going on outside. She walked over to her window and pulled open the curtains, immediately beaming when she saw what was going on.

In the castle courtyard, everyone from the village was setting up stalls and games. From stands with every type of fruit and dessert, to activities such as ring tossing and painting, there seemed to be something for everybody to enjoy. With an excited squeal, she slipped on a pair of sandals and ran out of her room. She wanted to find out what was going on!

She tore down the hallway, her smile splitting across her face. She didn’t notice the figure in front of her until she collided with it. “Oh my god! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“Woah little lady! It’s okay, no harm done!” Jax’s calm voice made her sigh with relief, a sentence she never believed would come to mind.

“Jax,” she brushed herself off before realising the feline companion resting on his shoulders. “Motley!” she picked up the kitten and cradled him in her arms, rubbing her face against his.

Jax huffed I am not jealous of a kitten, I am not jealous of a kitten, I am not jealous of a kitten, I am not jealous of a-

“-So! Do you have any idea of what’s going on outside?” Pomni’s question pulled him out of his internal ramblings as she blinked up at him.

“Oh, that?” he said, “You’re gonna love this.” He gestured his head to the nearby window, encouraging her to follow him towards the glass. “Every year, after our annual harvest, we throw a festival for the village within the castle courtyard. Since it was an event created by my father, royals can attend if they want to, but all of the other nobles are banned from going. I mean, after the shit they’ve said about me, the last thing the villagers need is the upper crust sneering down at them after all their work.”

“And you? Do you go?” Pomni asked as she peered down at the setup from down below.

“Ah…I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to go down there,” Jax admitted, “Like I said, the last thing they need is for the upper crust to mess everything up. And this is coming from the guy who set off fireworks in the village.”

Pomni’s face fell slightly. While she still wasn’t pleased with that stunt he pulled, she still recognised that he was making an effort to not be that person anymore. Even is she didn’t know the catalyst for that change, it was still change. “Well, don’t mess things up then,” she stated, taking his hand, “Just come down and stick with me, I’ll make sure we have lots of fun.”

“Ya sure?” he gave her a nervous tight-lipped smile, “The village ain’t a big fan of me, for good reason.”

“Like I said, stick with me and they’ll see that you’re not so bad,” she said, “I mean, you might still be incredibly annoying but I’m sure it will be fine.”

“Wow! Thanks for that Pomni!” he drawled sarcastically, though he was unable to hide the grin he wore as she laughed at his disgruntled face.

“You’re welcome,” she chortled, Motley mewling along with her as if he was laughing at Jax in his way cat-like way. “Now come on! I don’t want to waste the day!”

She grabbed his hand, this time she was the one dragging him along, running down the hallways. Jax laughed at her excitement, feeling his own arise as well.

But he had to admit, when he went out into the sun rays beaming down on his and hearing the thrilled chatter of the villagers, he was actually glad that he agreed to come out.

There were a few stares, and a few anxious whispers from the villagers who worried that he had a trick up his sleeve. Part of him was tempted to run back inside, to hide from the wondering eyes staring at him. But Pomni’s hand on his helped him feel a bit braver, it made him want to seize the day and lower his walls a little bit. Yeah, he could do this.

“Ragatha!” Pomni squealed, lifting Motley to rest on her shoulder the moment she saw her friend. Jax watched her as she ran up to the ragdoll, hugging her ash their cheeks pressed together tightly. “Look at all this!”

“Its incredible isn’t it!” Ragatha pressed a chaste kiss to the jester’s head, she let her go once the ragdoll saw Pomni’s rabbit companion. “What is he doing here?”

“Well nice to see you too,” Jax rolled his eyes.

“Easy you two,” Pomni glared at them before turning back to Ragatha, “I wanted him to join me today, so please be nice.”

“Him? Isn’t he the same guy that made you say that ‘men are the worst thing in this realm’ to us?” Ragatha crossed her arms.

“Oh? Is that so?” Jax raised a teasing brow.

“W-well, I’m not wrong about that!” Pomni interjected, “But Jax is…not as bad as I thought. I still think men are awful though!”

“I don’t trust him,” Ragatha scowled at the prince, half tempted to pull out the hidden butcher knife she had attached to her thigh holster.

“Ragatha!” Pomni groaned, “He saved my life! And I’ve been spending time with him for the past few days to get to know him better! It’s okay!”

“I promise,” Jax spoke, turning both ladies’ attention to him. “I have nothing but good intentions. I know that it’s a little hard for you to warm up to me, but I swear that I want to keep Pomni safe as much as you do.”

That seemed to convince the ragdoll a tiny bit, judging by how her eyes softened slightly. Though they still held a coldness to them, “Okay…just remember, Moon and I are right here if you need us Pomni, so don’t hesitate to come to us if you need anything.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Pomni assured her, whirling round to grab Jax’s hand again. “Now come on you! They’re making crepes at that stall over there and I wanna try one!”

And so, Jax was dragged away once again, leaving the ragdoll to watch them as they drifted away. Moon and Sun walked up to her, the former placing a hand on her shoulder, “Still unsure about the prince?”

“Pomni says that he’s nice,” Ragatha told her, “I just don’t know what to think.”

“I think we should trust Pomni,” Sun happily suggested, holding an ice cream in his hand. “If she can go from despising his guts to being his friend then there must be something good about him. Almost as good as this ice cream!” He took another bite, savouring the sweet chocolaty taste.

Ragatha and Moon chuckled at this antics. “Maybe you’re right,” Ragatha nodded, “Maybe he is changing.”

“At least he wants to make an effort to do so,” Moon mused, “Unlike…”

Ragatha and Sun brought the woman in for a hug, Moon didn’t need to say his name for them to know who she was referring to.

“It’s okay sis,” Sun whispered, “You didn’t know.”

“Exactly,” Ragatha agreed, “Besides, you were too good for him anyway.”

Moon let out a shaky breath as she melted into their embrace. She might not have the romance she always dreamed off, but to be honest, she found something even better.

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Pomni kept dragging Jax around each stall and game she could find once they had finished their crepes. She had bought a few strawberries, cherishing each one she bit into and shared with Jax. She cheered when she won the ring toss and had even beat Jax in a few rounds. And she even reunited with the girls who gave her the flower crown and sat down for them to put flowers in her hair.

Jax watched on fondly as they weaved each one into her hair while holding onto Motley, until one of the little girls stood up and walked over to him, shyly clasping her hands together. “Um, Prince Jax?” she meekly said, “I have a few flowers for you too. You don’t have to wear them if you don’t want to! I just thought you would like some.”

She held up a few simple purple roses wound together into a crown. Pomni’s favourite flower he recalled. He looked at the little girl, he remembered how crestfallen she and her friend were when he insulted their flower crown for Pomni a while back. He was so wrapped up in his own plans with trying to woo her than he put down the hard work of literal children! Children of his kingdom. He kneeled down gently took the rose crown in his hand and inspected it, even if it was a small gesture he had to attempt to right his wrong – the first of many but it still counted. “I think it’s perfect,” he grinned, placing it on his head, “Its better than my real crown!”

The little girl beamed, “You’re welcome your highness!” She gave him a quick curtsy before running back over to her friend and Pomni. Jax laughed as he stood back up, he had to admit, the crown was pretty good.

But it was in no comparison to how Pomni looked. Tied within her braid and short hair were small daises, white carnations, specks of baby’s breath, lavender and a few small pink roses. She gave the girls a twirl, the skirt of her dress fluttering like the petals in her hair. “Thank you!” she cooed, her smile wide.

Jax’s eyes widened, her beauty striking him in his poor heart. Never before had he seen a being as beautiful as Pomni. Motley gave him a teasing mewl, he swore that the little shit was mocking him, “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up fish breath.”

Pomni skipped over to him, “So, what do you think?”

“I’m dead,” he dramatically placed a hand to his chest, “You killed me with how pretty you are little lady.”

Pomni rolled her eyes at his antics, “Sure princey. Now come on! I wanna go try some cheese!”

This time, Jax was fully prepared to be dragged away again, not minding a single bit.

For the next few hours, that was how their day was spent. They made sure to try every single piece of food from the stalls, bought a few souvenirs from sellers and played every single game that was available (with Jax losing to Pomni every single time of course). One by one, each villager could see a difference within the prince, and the elders of the kingdom felt a sense of déjà vu with the way he looked at Pomni. It was similar to how a young Kinger acted when he saw Queenie for the first time.

Soon enough, the sun began to set and the stars began to rise. Tables were pulled out, hot food and drink were served, and a small space was left for anyone who wanted to dance to the band playing on stage. Pomni and Jax had finished their meals a while ago – a simple dish of beef, bread and mashed potatoes – before ordering two pints of beer and playing a game of rock, paper, scissors while Motley licked at the empty plates. Jax had just lost another round, making him groan in defeat.

“Yes! I have won once again!” Pomni cheered, “That means that you have to give me another confession.”

“What else do I have to confess, I’ve already told you how much of a gem you are to the mind’s eye,” Jax smirked, winking at her.

“Seriously?” Pomni deadpanned, taking another sip of her beer, “Come on. Tell me something, anything! No matter how ridiculous it is.”

Jax sighed, there was one thing that came to mind. He wasn’t sure if it was him or the alcohol, but the next thing that came out of his mouth was, “I don’t want to be king.”

Pomni placed down her mug, her face serious and concerned.

“All my life,” Jax started, “I had everyone tell me who or what I would be. I’ve been confined to my position without having a chance to choose who I want to be. Even my parents, bless their hearts, already have my future planned in their heads. I just…I don’t want to be tied to this role. And even when I tried to make it my own, I had everyone else hate me for it.”

“But you wouldn’t be tied to it. Your parents are rulers, but I’m sure that didn’t stop them exploring who they want to be, and I’m sure that won’t stop you to,” Pomni told him. “And you’ll be in a position where you can change things for the better, to make things better for other people who have less. Just think of the wonderful things you could accomplish!”

Jax nodded slowly, processing what she said. He would be able to do that, he could lead his kingdom with the kindness and greatness the way Pomni viewed the world. “But what if its too late for me?” he asked, “What if I messed things up too much for people to see me that way?”

“Trust me, from my experience, its never too late to try and change how people view you,” Pomni said. “For better or worse, for what role you play, its always up to you with how you want to be viewed.”

Jax titled his head, Motley doing the same once he finished licking the plates, “What do you mean by that?”

Pomni paled, she said too much “My apologies your highness, I didn’t mean to overshare!”   

“Hey, hey,” he gently took her hands into his. “You have no reason to apologize, and besides, I thought I told you to call me Jax.” He wiggled his eyebrows cheekily. Pomni shook her head as a faint smile graced her features, “There we go, better?” Pomni nodded. “Good. You don’t need to tell me anything if you’re not ready to do so, okay?”

Pomni tapped her nails on her mug. Apart from her family in the circus, she hadn’t shared her story to anyone. But with Jax, there was a security to him. He made her feel warm, content…safe. She never got that from any other stranger she met, even if they were the kindest folks she would ever come across, it paled in comparison to what Jax gave her in the past few days. It was peculiar, yet nice. Pomni took a breath, gripping Jax’s hand tighter and looked him in the eyes. She could do this.

“I don’t have many memories before I joined the circus,” Pomni said, “But I remember my Ma’s voice. I remember how gentle her voice was when she sang to me, and how she stroked my hair while I fell asleep. I would sing with her every time until I was too tired, and I remember how she would kiss my forehead the moment I shut my eyes. It was so peaceful…but one day, all of that ended.

I woke up to rubble falling on me while I was still in bed. I kept screaming out for my Ma, but I didn’t know that she was already gone at the time. I don’t know if it was a miracle, but because I was stuck for so long, nobody was able to find me. I was under there for hours, and all that was left of my village was destroyed. Including my family.

The reason why we were raided? It’s because of this,” she pulled her hands away for a moment, cupping them as the same blue mist from her performance hovered above them. “It’s not all a trick of the mind like cards and such. Everyone in my village was able to do this, to master the ability of manipulation, teleportation and telekinesis.”

She picked a daisy from her hair, “From disguising one thing to look a certain way.” She waved her hand, the mist making the daisy change to an orchid then back to its original form. “To making it go one place to another.” The mist formed again, with the daisy disappearing from her hand and reappearing in her other one. “To making it float,” once again, with the flick of the wrist, the daisy hovered a few inches off her hand by its own accord and floated back down again. “Everyone in my village was able to do it. That’s why they wanted us gone.”

Her face fell, but she continued her story nonetheless, “I remember screaming for my Ma once I got out, but deep down I knew that her soul was already within the heavens. So, with no home or no family, I left. I wandered for days, sore and hungry, until someone grabbed me and dragged me away. The next thing I knew I was in a circus tent, with Caine standing in front of me. He overheard that a survivor from my village managed to get out and wanted to use them…use me for his show. And since no five-year-old had the strength to escape, I was trapped there ever since.”

She wiped a few stray tears, she was stronger than this. She shouldn’t be getting emotional over this, it happened years ago! I won’t cry, I won’t cry, I won’t cry-

Jax’s warm hands encasing hers broke her out of her internal mantra, his eyes kind and focused. “I’m here,” he whispered, “It’s okay, you’re okay.”

Pomni sniffed, letting the tears trail down her cheeks as she continued. “Every moment of my life spent there was hell. If I wasn’t sleeping, I was either training or performing with little to no breaks. But what made it worse was what Caine did. He didn’t just want to use my powers for the circus, but for himself too. Ever since he heard of the last survivor, he was given an amulet to absorb my powers and give them to him, so that he was able to do the things that I could do. It hurt, every single time. I didn’t even feel like a person anymore, just his sparkly little possession. And don’t get me wrong, I love my abilities! Its one of the last things I have from my people, but the fact that Caine kept using it for his own benefit made me feel dirty. It’s not his, its mine! He’s stealing my powers! He’s stealing me!” She choked on a cry at the last part, Jax gripped her hands tighter as Motley rubbed his head against her arm, both of them silently comforting her.

Pomni bit back a few tears, calming slightly when the thought of Kaufmo entered her mind. “If it wasn’t for Kaufmo, I don’t think I would have stayed sane,” she admitted. “He made sure that I was who I wanted to be, not Caine’s doll, not the circus jester. My Pa made sure that I and everyone else knew that I was Pomni. When he taught me to play guitar and helped me with my singing, because of that I felt closer to my Ma. I didn’t feel lost or scared, I felt like me. My music is important to me, it’s who I am! It’s the part of me that I can show people so they know what I’m like on the inside, so they can hear my story, my hopes, my dreams.”

“So when I told you that I wanted to know you because of your song…” Jax trailed off.

“Yeah,” Pomni nodded, “That was how I knew you were genuine. You didn’t see the performance, you heard my voice and wanted to know my story. No one ever gave me that. My family in the circus did, obviously. But outside of that, you are the only person who knew my music showed who I really was…thank you Jax.”

Before he could even process anything else, she leaned over across the table and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. Even Motley seemed surprised, his little eyes widening. “Y-you’re w-welcome P-Pomni,” he stammered, “W-wow! I-is it-t w-warm out h-here or i-i-is it just-t m-me?”

Pomni hide a snicker behind her hand, it might be mean but she wanted to get a little bit of revenge for all of his teasing. Her eyes drifted over to the band on stage, they were taking a break and sipping some water to sooth their throats. But what really caught her attention was the lone guitar on stage. “I really want to play that right now,” she said aloud, many ideas of what to sing coming to mind right now.

Jax followed her gaze to the guitar and looked back to her, “Then go for it.”

“Huh?” Pomni whipped her head back round to it.

“I’m serious,” Jax said, “Show them the version of you that you showed me. Let them see how amazing you are.”

Pomni looked back to the guitar again, “You think?”

“I do,” Jax smiled, “And if it goes wrong you can blame me.”

Her lips quirked up into a grin, “I think I’m gonna do it.”

She placed down her mug and went over to the stage, she anxiously cleared her throat as the band leader turned to her, “Hi, um, is it okay if I play something?”

“By all means,” the band leader welcomed her warmly onto the stage.

Pomni picked up the guitar, wrapping the strap over her shoulder and held the instrument in the correct position. Dread finally settled in. So many eyes on her, so many people. Yes she always sang in her performances, but that was when she was doing her tricks and trapeze. That was what the crowds enjoyed, could she really do this? Would they want to see this part of her? Would it be enough?

Her breath quickened and her hands trembled, until her eyes met Jax’s. The way he was looking at her, with so much faith and excitement for what she had to say. Her nerves slowed and she sighed deeply. She could do this.

Her fingers started strumming the strings, a merry little tune filling the air as she began to sing.   

There will come a soldier

Who carries a mighty sword

He will tear your city down

The band started to play along behind her, a few voices joining her.

Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord

Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh, Lord

He will tear your city down

Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh, Lord

The nerves were fading, her confidence building as she continued, her voice ringing throughout the crowd as they awed at her beautiful voice.

There will come a poet

Whose weapon is His word

He will slay you with His tongue

Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord

Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh, Lord

He will slay you with His tongue

Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord

The audience whooped and cheered. From within the sea of faces, she could see Kaufmo with the rest of the circus crew, clapping along and showing his support. Pomni laughed, nodding back at him.

Gangle took Zooble’s hand, leading her to the dance floor along with the other villagers and the two began to dance along to Pomni’s song. Sun and Moon got up as well, Ragatha and Kaufmo following behind. One by one, more people from the crowds collected a partner and started to dance. Even the two girls from earlier took both of Jax’s hands in their own, respectively, leaving Motley behind on the table as he watched his master get dragged onto the dance floor with glee.

Pomni giggled as the prince began to dance along, but she was able to tell that he was having fun.

There will come a ruler

Whose brow is laid in thorn

Smeared with oil like David's boy

Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord

Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh, Lord

Smeared with oil like David's boy

Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord

Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh, Lord

He will tear your city down, oh lei, oh lai

Ohh

Pomni gave the guitar back to the original player, thanking them quickly before running onto the dance floor as they continued the song. She took the hands of another person, skipping and prancing along with the song.

Jax looked ahead and saw Pomni dancing. While the tear stains were still there on her cheeks, gone was the pain that she held from telling her story. Instead, he saw the smart, kind, witty girl who lived freely and for herself. The girl he fell in love with.

Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lai, oh

Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lai, oh

The song began to pick up the pace, the dancing becoming faster and faster. No one could hold back their laughter and cheer, even Jax was unable to hold back the excited whoops from his throat the more he changed from partner to partner.

Pomni had her eyes closed, the bliss and liberty from the music letting her lead her steps. This was her. This was who she was. She never felt happier.

Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lai

Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lai, oh

The music stopped abruptly, Pomni opened her eyes to see who her last partner was that she collided with.

Jax.

The two panted for air, their hearts pounding from the dance and from…something else. Their smiles were starting to hurt their cheeks, but they didn’t care.

Everyone started to clap and cheer, it was another perfect festival that ended with another perfect dance. This time, it was led by a song that was performed by a wonderful singer.

Pomni rested her head on Jax’s chest, exhaustion catching up to her, “Thank you Jax…for everything.”

Jax’s tail was wagging, on full display for the rest of the kingdom to see. But he didn’t care. Seeing Pomni this happy and content was more than he could ever ask for. He rested his chin on her head, “You’re welcome Pomni.”

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A mysterious man in red paced in his office, nursing a glass of whiskey in the shadows as one of his right-hand men looked on with worry and a little bit of fear. “They should have been back with news by now,” the red man growled.

“I’m sure they won’t take long sir,” the right-hand man assured him, trying to save himself from his boss’s wrath.

He nearly sighed with relief when a raider burst through the door, gasping for air and desperate to tell his story, “Sir! I’m sorry it took me so long, but Laphria guards were stronger than they looked-”

“I don’t want excuses,” The man in red murmured, “I want your report.”

“Right,” the raider straightened up, “We managed to get our hands on Pomni but…”

“But what!” the man in red snapped, making the raider gulped.

“B-but she regained some of her powers and tried to escape,” the raider explained, “One of our men hit her head and was then attacked by Prince Jax, who took her back to the castle.”

“So what I’m hearing is that you didn’t capture my jester?” the man in red mused.

“N-no sir,” the raider trembled.

The man in red hummed, before stepping out of the shadows wielding a dagger, stabbing the raider in the chest. He choked and spluttered as a terrifying pair of eyes stared down at him through a pair of teeth. Eventually the knife was pulled out of his chest, leaving him to bleed out on the floor.

The right-hand man could only look on in horror as the raider bled out to death, praying that he wasn’t next.

“No matter,” Caine murmured, sitting back down at his desk. “I can be patient. Soon their guard will be lowered enough and my possession will be back in my clutches soon. It’s only a matter of time before Pomni comes home.”

Chapter Text

(1)

Pomni panted as she stared at the ground below, clutching onto her aerial silk. She didn’t know how long she had been practicing for, only that she was completely exhausted. But rehearsals weren’t over yet, she had to keep going. The ground looked so far down below her, sure she was up high but for some reason the height was giving her vertigo. She never gets vertigo.

“Pomni?” Kaufmo called up to her, placing down a pie he had for his act. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Pomni took a breath, “I’m fine Pa! Just lost my focus, that’s all.”

The clown didn’t seem to buy it, “I don’t think so kiddo, start climbing down slowly, you look exhausted.”

It was true. Her eyes were red with bags underneath, she seemed paler than normal and she was concerningly thin from what Kaufmo could see. But she didn’t want to worry him, not when there were worse things at play, “I’m fine Pa! I promise. I…”

She didn’t get to finish her sentence, her vision blurring and her head pounding with the force of an unexpected headache. Against her control, she slipped into unconscious, letting go of the silks.

“POMNI!” Kaufmo screamed, running to where she was falling. The rest of the cast gasped, halting their own practice as they raced to the collapsing jester.

She was lucky that her father was there in time, catching her in his arms before her body hit the floor. Kaufmo didn’t even want to imagine the type of damage she could have taken. “Ragatha,” he turned to the ragdoll, “Go get her some water, she’s skipping practice for the rest of the day.”

“Now, now Kaufmo,” a low voice drawled, making everyone’s skin crawl when the ringmaster floated into the tent. His eyes sharpened in on Kaufmo and the fainted jester in his arms, “I don’t believe you have the authority to make those commands.”

“Pomni fainted Caine,” Kaufmo hissed, his own tone cold and unafraid, “It takes the slightest bit of human empathy to recognise that she’s being overworked!”

Caine went still, his feet planted on the ground, unhappy with Kaufmo’s attitude. Ragatha’s lions immediately circled round the clown and jester, shielding them from the ringmaster’s unknown wrath, “She’ll be fine, she just needs to keep practising.”

“She needs rest.” Kaufmo spat, “The only reason why she fainted the way she did is because you keep working her to the bone to the point that she can’t even stand. Not to mention the fact that you’re sucking the literal life out of her every day just so you can fulfil your ‘precious’ ego! So excuse me if I find everything that comes out of your mouth to be complete horseshit!”

The clown panted, not tearing his eyes away from Caine even for a second. The next few seconds were nothing but aching silence.

Kaufmo had been used to Caine’s torment for years. The pair of dentures forced him to endure each performance no matter how much pain he was in. As long as the audience was satisfied, he couldn’t care less if the clown had a few broken bones. But Kaufmo would be damned if he was going to let the ringmaster inflict that same pain onto his daughter, not if he could help it.

The clown turned his attention away from Caine when he heard a small whine, turning to look down at Pomni fluttering her eyes open. “Pa?” she whimpered, “What happened?”

“Hey there kiddo,” he rocked her lightly, like he used to do when she was younger after she had a fright or a nightmare. “You fainted, you’re lucky I was there to catch you.” He put a hand to her forehead, wiping away a bead of sweat, “You’re burning up, come on you need to lay down.”

“I didn’t give out that order,” Caine intervened.

“And I don’t care!” Kaufmo snapped, “You’re not pushing her to the brink today Caine! Do what you want with me but leave Pomni out of this!”

“Here,” Ragatha rushed back, a cup of water nursed in her hands as she held it to Pomni’s lips. “Oh sweetheart, you look as pale as a ghost.”

Pomni gulped down as much of the liquid as she could, she didn’t realise how thirsty she was until the water hit her throat. Her head buzzed with a light ache, pressing her hand to it when she finished the water. She really had been overworked, hadn’t she?

“Easy there, kiddo,” Kaufmo raised her upper body into a sitting position, “Let’s get you back to your quarters.”

Caine cleared his throat condescendingly, “I believe I told you that I didn’t give out that order Kaufmo.”

“And I believe I told you that it was complete horseshit,” the clown retorted, not taking his eyes off Pomni as he helped her to her feet.

“I guess you need a gentle reminder,” the ringmaster spoke softly, contradicting his words with the next action he was about to do.

He flicked his hand, a red mist contrasting Pomni’s usual blue appearing. It extended like a chain, wrapping round Kaufmo’s neck and pulling the clown towards him, forcing him to drop Pomni as she landed back onto the ground with a thud. “Pa!” she cried out, the others surrounding her.

“Let me make this perfectly clear Kaufmo,” Caine hissed, the chain tightening around the clown’s neck, suffocating him. “You are under my rules, you obey me. If I say jump, you jump. If you are tied to the back of a carriage while being dragged around on a rope, you will do just that. If you had to bleed out for an act with no one to assist you, you will continue with a smile and be damn pleased about it.”

Kaufmo coughed and spluttered, pulling at the misty chain to get the smallest breath of air, but Caine was too strong.

“Caine, stop! Stop please!” Pomni screamed, the others holding her back, “Let my Pa go!”

His eyes darted to the jester, his gaze making her feel tiny. He threw Kaufmo at a box of crates, the clown grunting at the painful impact. Pomni let out a cry, her hand reaching out to him.

Caine flicked his fingers again, lifting up the others and leaving Pomni on the ground to watch in terror. “You did this, you know,” Caine tsked.

Pomni’s eyes widened with terror, “W-what?”

“They all suffer because of your incompetence,” he growled, “You’re lucky you have a bit of talent and that little magic of yours, otherwise you would be a nothing-filled waste.”

“Caine, let them go, please,” Pomni begged, her lip quivering.

He rolled his eyes, letting out a chuckle before throwing each member in different directions of the tent. Sun hit his head against a pole, Ragatha tore one of her stitches as she landed on her knives and Gangle ribbons were tied up in knots when she landed face first on the ground, putting a crack in her mask.

Pomni covered her mouth, trying to stand yet her legs give way once again. She was too weak.

“Caine, what is the meaning of this?” Moon’s startled voice echoed throughout the tent, gasping when she saw everyone scattered around and furrowed her brows when she saw Pomni’s dishevelled form on the ground. “You have to put a stop to your madness, look at what you’re doing to everyone! Look at what you’re doing to that poor girl!”

“This is merely discipline, Moon, I’m doing whatever it takes to make sure a circus is successful,” Caine muttered, barely paying her any mind.

Moon could even barely recognise the man in front of her, “What happened to you Caine?”

He turned to her slowly, “Come again?”

“What happened to the man I fell in love with?” she continued, “What happened to the promises you made to make this circus amazing? What happened to trying no matter what? What happened to the man I fell in love with?”

Caine scoffed, “I did what I had to do in order to make these dreams happen. You could never understand sacrifice Moon, you believe what you want to believe but this is the way things are.”

Moon’s eyes darkened, she started stomping towards him, “You…you vile, disgusting, monstrous-!”

He snapped his fingers, an axe appearing in his hand as he held it to her chin, daring her to come closer. “Just because I’m soft on you Moon, it doesn’t mean that I won’t take precautions for you stepping out of line,” he glared at her.

But Moon was unflinching, staring him down with the same coldness he gave her, “Do your worst.”

Caine hummed, giving her a shrug, “Fine.”

He waved his hand again, sending the axe into her shoulder. An agonised screech echoed throughout the tent as a group of his masked men rushing in and pulling her away. “You’re lucky dear, this is me sparing you,” Caine sneered, “But make no mistake, I will be dealing with you accordingly.”

Moon screeched as she was dragged away, her eyes looking on with worry at the frightened Jester. “Run Pomni!” she screamed, “Run!”

She wanted to, Pomni really wanted to. But fear had paralysed her when Caine set his eyes on her again. Tears leaked from her eyes, feeling like the five-year-old girl he grabbed from the street the moment he caught of whiff of her power. “Caine, don’t do this,” she sniffed, “I’ll be better, I’ll practice more, I’ll stop singing just please don’t do this.”

“You know, I never did understand your silly little songs,” he mumbled, “You waste so much time on them yet you know the real reason the audience comes to see you, and it isn’t to hear those tacky lyrics of yours. You know exactly what you’re good for.”

That part stung. Yes she knew that her skills as a trapeze artist and her abilities was what got tickets to sell, but her songs were her passion. Her songs were her, something that Caine hadn’t been able to take away yet. She wanted to scream at him, to tell him that her songs were everything! But she was still too frail, and she was certain that it was only going to get worse.

“Caine please, I’m still recovering from last time and we have another show tonight!” she back away, kicking her legs as she crawled backwards on the ground. “Please don’t do this it…it hurts.”

“All good sacrifices come with pain Pomni,” Caine told her, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out the amulet. “You should be thanking me for using this gift, I’m the one who’s actually putting it to good use.”

He held the amulet in front of him, Pomni’s eyes pleading for mercy. “Now my little possession,” he grinned, “It’s time for me to receive my gift.”

The amulet glowed, a loud whine leaving its source.

Pomni could feel her blood boiling, her head pounding and every part of her body shattering with pain when she felt her energy being ripped away from her. Her blue mist was forced away from her, being sealed away into the amulet as Caine looked on with greed.

It hurt, it hurt so much. Her skin was burning as though she had been lit up into a thousand flames, her hair being ripped from her scalp, and she was bleeding out of every pore of her body. She wanted it to stop, it hurts, just stop, please stop, STOP, STOP, STOP!

A pained scream ripped from her throat.

(2)

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Pomni woke in a cold sweat, her heart pounding in her chest. Her head whipped from side to side, scanning her surroundings in a dazed panic. She wasn’t in that lifeless tent anymore with that cruel ringmaster. She was in the castle, she was safe, and she was far away from him.

She let out a sniffle, bringing her knees up to her chest and hugging them tight as she buried her face into them. A few stray tears leaked onto the sheets, her sobs muffled against the blanket. That was the worst thing about her nightmares, they weren’t just that but memories too. It was real and it had happened. All they did was make her relive it over and over again.

Kaufmo told her many times that it wasn’t her fault for what Caine did, that his actions were his own doing. But seeing the repeated moments of her family being hurt over and over again just to protect her only made her guilt increase. Maybe Caine was right. Maybe it was her fault.

She took a deep breath, sitting upright and wiping the wetness off her cheeks. That was the past, there was no need to be self-pitiful about it now. She shouldn’t waste time fussing over stupid memories that only brought everyone else down the longer she thought about them. She just needed to get up and go throughout the day, push everything back until she’s able to manage it on her own.

Pomni swung her legs over her bed, going over to clean herself in the sink inside the connected bathroom, before moving behind the screen the maids gave her to change into a new dress she was given. She first pulled over a simple cream shift over her head, the silky fabric gliding over her skin. Next was a simple blue stays and puffy skirt, with two red hearts on each side of the skirt and ribbon of the same colour in a criss-cross pattern in the middle of her stays, with the bottom of the skirt being layered with red and white trim.

She did a onceover in the mirror as she pulled the strings off the stays shut, giving herself a quick nod before finally exiting her room.

Part of her wanted to bury back under the soft sheets of her bed, to hide whatever the day had to await her, her nightmare clawing at the back of her mind. But the moment she saw Prince Jax outside her door waiting for her, all doubts instantly vanished as a true and natural smile tugged at her lips.

“A good morning to you Prince Jax,” she greeted, giggling as Motley immediately jumped into her arms and climbed onto her shoulder, “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Only your smile little lady,” he grinned, eating up the little blush that dusted across her cheeks. “But that’s not the only reason I’m here. My parents asked me to collect you, they have an announcement for you and the rest of your family in the throne room.”

His brows were furrowed and face serious, this had to be a serious matter.

“Oh, lead the way then,” she said, anxiety started to grip at her again.

Jax sensed her apprehension, scooping her arm up and linking it with his, “Don’t worry, no matter what it is we’ll be able to figure it out. Promise.”

How does he do that? How does someone with the type of reputation that made her want to keep the farthest distance away from him as possible, say the simplest yet heartwarming things that might her heart spark? And how did he say it so honestly that she had to believe him? She cleared her throat, giving him a little smirk, “Don’t make promises you can’t keep Princey.”

His eyes were unchanging, still soft as he placed his other hand over her and rubbed his thumb over her fingers, “I don’t. You’re too important to risk.”

Pomni felt her heart skip a beat. If it weren’t for Motley purring against her ear, she wouldn’t have anything to ground herself from floating up to cloud nine. Her grip on his hand tightened, whispering, “Good.”

With a gentle smile and a steady hand, he led her out of the hallway and made their way to the throne room. Neither of them felt the need to run down the halls like they usually did, that experience would be for another type of day. For this day, the slow steady pace down the long halls of the palace was what the two of them needed. The comfortable silence of each other’s company was enough for both of them, not a single word had to be spoken. Was this what it would be like for Pomni if she were to stay? Just peace? No worries about what or who could come after her? That she could be free to express herself in any form she wished for, song, dance, art, speech? Where her powers would be hers and hers alone without the fear of them being used for someone else’s selfish exploitations? And where she could finally allow herself to open up to the idea of love? To spend her days with someone who would listen to anything and everything she had to say. To feel safe in the loving embrace of another. And she and Jax could live their days in nothing but peaceful bliss…

…Oh…OH!...oh…

Electricity struck through Pomni as the realisation dawned on her.

She had fallen in love with the prince.

Jax looked down at the jester once he felt her grip loosen on his, concern curling through him when he saw the worried look on her face. “Hey, it’s okay,” he said soothingly, capturing her attention as she blinked up at him. “I know that this whole ‘being called to the throne room’ thing seems pretty daunting, but trust me, there’s nothing to be afraid of. My parents always have a plan, so no matter what happens, I’m sure it’ll be alright.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” she nodded, giving him a soft smile before they continued walking. How she wished that were the reason why she suddenly felt so down. But no. She loved Jax, she had fallen so hard for him. But she didn’t have the luxury to stay with him. Someone like her couldn’t afford to love.

Bury it down, she inhaled deeply, don’t ruin this, not like everything else.

She wanted to enjoy this as much as she could before anything else could happen.

The throne room already had a small audience, consisting of the rest of the circus while Kinger and Queenie sat ahead of them on their thrones. The king and queen shared a nervous yet hopeful look, two emotions that could go either way depending on what the topic of conversation that were about to have. It only made the prince and jester all the more nervous.

“Thank you for joining us Pomni, I’m glad that our son is being a good host to you,” Queenie greeted, bowing her head to the girl.

“Well, he has become a very good friend to me over the past few days,” Pomni gave the prince a smile before focusing back on the queen, “If you don’t mind me asking your majesty, but why have you summoned us all here?”

“Hey, it’s okay kiddo,” Kaufmo walked up to her. Pomni detached her arm from Jax’s to put her hands in her father’s, the rabbit already missing the warmth of her touch. “They’ve already informed us that there is nothing to worry about.”

Pomni exhaled shakily, nodding. Though her nerves would get the best of her at times, Kaufmo’s voice was always something that kept her slightly grounded ever since she was a child. Even Motley’s purring added to that as well. With a final breath, she turned to the king and queen, ready to hear whatever they had to say.

Kinger cleared his throat, rising from his throne, “As you know, we’ve had our guards roam outside of our kingdom to make sure that Caine or his men haven’t been planning another invasion. Well, we’ve just had a report back and they’ve told us that the outer realm has been clear of them since the last attack.”

“We’ve told them to do one last surveillance before their final report, just to make sure that Caine isn’t lurking,” Queenie continued, “However, since there’s not been any sightings, we believe that it is safe for you to continue with your travels.”

 “So, how long do you determine that we stay in the castle?” Ragatha asked, “During the last surveillance.”

“Unless anything else comes back, I’d say you should stay at least one more week before you believe that you should go,” Queenie confirmed.

Several of the cast members let out a sigh of relief, the anxiety of Caine’s lurking washing away at the thought of being free to travel again. Though a bittersweetness hung in the air. The kingdom had been nothing but supportive and accommodating to them in their time of need. What was supposed to be a short time here to entertain the subjects here had turned into the kindest experience any of them had ever received in their entire lives.

For Pomni? While the thought of seeing new places (and being as far away from Caine as possible) thrilled her to her core. For the first time in her life, she actually wanted to stay. Don’t get her wrong, she still had her dreams of travelling the realms, to let audiences hear her songs - not watch her acts or witness her powers, but to listen to her songs. To listen to her singing. To listen to her.

But if she closed her eyes for a moment, only a moment, she wanted to let herself pretend. Pretend that she had a place here, to wake up in the morning and plan to do whatever she pleased, to go out into town and greet the other people of the kingdom as though she were one of them too. To sing in the town centre for whoever wanted to stop and hear her.

And perhaps, in the far back of her mind, she would go up to the castle and be greeted by a pair of yellow eyes and a Cheshire grin. Where he would take her hands into his and ask about her day, stroll in the gardens with her as he listened to whatever plans she wanted to venture. To listen to the songs that she only reserved for him and him alone. And until the midnight sky, watching the stars twinkle amongst the inky blanket of the nightly heavens, he would hold her in his arms, a silent promise that he would always love her. No matter what.

But now, she realised that there was no way to have that fantasy be real. Yes, Caine wasn’t spotted by any of the guards, but it didn’t change the fact that he was still out there. Still waiting for the chance to strike and get his hands on her and her powers. As long as Caine was after her, she could never have the life she dreamed of living.

Jax looked over the side of his shoulder, worry striking him when he saw Pomni’s crestfallen expression and the glazed look in her eyes. While he was sad that she was leaving (and deep down prayed that she could stay), a part of him believed that there would be some joy in the fact that she could finally be free to leave. He knew that something was wrong, “Pomni, what’s wrong?”

Pomni wanted to cry right there and then at how kind his words sounded, at how far the prince had come from the stereotype she expected from him. Why couldn’t she just keep hating him, why did he charm and endear her so much that she had to fall in love with him! It could have made everything so much easier. She wanted to tell him how much she wanted to stay, tell him all of the potential plans she could have had here, and how much she wanted him to be part of them. But the words kept getting stuck in her throat, as though an invisible hand had wrapped around her neck, silencing her from making any word that would ruin Jax too.

“However,” Kinger’s voice rang through the room. “There is one last thing we would like to do before you all take your leave.”

Pomni didn’t know whether to feel eased or frustrated at the sudden interruption.

“We would like to host a ball in your honour near the end of the week,” Queenie announced, “To thank you for all that you have done here.”

“For what we’ve done?” Ragatha titled her head in confusion, “Your majesty, you and your family are the ones who took care of us in our time of need?

Queenie eyes softened, a glimmer of a smile flickering in her gaze. A kind look that Jax knew all too well from his mother. “Yes, you and your family may have been under our care,” Queenie confirmed, “But it does not take away from the fact that you have all been an incredible presence in our kingdom. You have brought smiles to everyone, not just from your performances, but by simply being your best true selves for everyone to see. Even if you didn’t bring your tricks or talents, the moment you stepped out into town you all saw the world as authentic and beautiful, that’s what brought our subjects to you. That mind view is an incredible ability to possess, you’re lucky. Many people lack it. That’s why we want to celebrate you, for all of you cherishing the kindness that our kingdom was built upon. Doing that is the greatest thing our foreigners and travellers can do, that is why the entire kingdom is invited, so they can say one more final thank you and goodbye for all that you have done for us.”

Each member looked to one another, like a sparkler had been lit within their souls as they grinned at the prospect of a ball. Neither one of them had been to one before, mostly they would stay as long as they would need to in the town they were performing in, do the performance they rehearsed day and night to do before finally leaving up the time their shows were finished. They had only heard what happened at balls through whispers of stories from the other common folk. And now they could finally be a part of one.

Excited murmurs broke out between them, wondering what they could wear, where they could get their garments, what colours they should choose, what type of jewellery they would wear if they decided to wear them at all. There was just so many choices in so little time! It was all so amazing!

Pomni felt herself smiling. A ball. Like everyone else, she had never been to one. But Kaufmo’s fairytales left so many fantasies in her mind. When she was a teenager - after a rough night of performing and dealing with Caine’s wrath - she would dream about being at a ball, wearing the loveliest gown while dancing under the stars. Sometimes those dreams would include a handsome prince or princess sweeping her off her feet, taking her far away from all that hurt her.

She looked to Jax. She may be leaving after the end of the week, but it was still one night to have all her dreams come true. Even if it would only last for so long. “So,” she lightly nudged Jax’s shoulder, “I’m guessing you already have a plus one to bring to the ball. A princess no doubt.”

“Well I am planning on asking someone,” Jax confirmed. Pomni felt her face fall a bit, a little piece of her was hoping he would ask her. Huh, she never expected that thought to enter her mind. “She might not be a princess, but she has the spirit of one for sure.”

“Oh,” Pomni fiddled with her ring finger, “Well, she’s lucky if you’re the one who’s wanting to ask her.”

“I’m the lucky one if she says yes little lady,” he grinned, “Or rather, if you say yes.”

Pomni’s head snapped up.

“You really think I wouldn’t be asking you?” Jax chuckled, “Did you not see what I was like when I met you? Maybe you hit your head harder than you thought before I heroically saved you.”

“Shut up,” she shoved his lightly in the chest, unable to stop her own laughter from joining his. “I’ve never been to a ball hosted by royalty, I thought since you’re the prince that it was required for you to ask a princess or a noble to join you.”

“Maybe in other kingdoms,” he nodded, “But here, you’re the only lady I want by my side that night.” His breath wavered as his face went serious. His hands slightly shaky as he prepared himself for his next question. Years of his ego being his defining personality trait, to be able to get away with the most rioting pranks and wild parties, it all melted away when asking the girl of his dreams to a simple ball.

And this was the same prince who revelled in the promise of danger.

“Pomni,” he began, taking her hand still on his chest into his own, lacing their fingers together. “Would you do me the honour of accompanying me to the ball?”

She squeezed his hand, her stomach doing an excited little flip as she answered, “I’d love to.” The jester heard a disgruntled cough coming from behind her, and by Jax’s pale expression, she could tell who it was. She turned, coming face to face with Kaufmo, Ragatha and Moon, each of them wearing a stern look on their faces. “Pa, it’s okay. He asked and I agreed.”

“Don’t worry kiddo, I know you did. I trust you,” Kaufmo replied reassuringly to his daughter. “I just have a warning for the prince.”

Jax gulped at the three cold stares coming from the trio, if looks could kill then he was fairly sure he would be singing with the angels right about now. “Let me make this very clear,” Kaufmo began, “If Pomni is even slightly sad at the ball because of you, then I have no hesitation to let Ragatha use you as cat food for her lions.”

The ragdoll nodded, glaring at him with all her might. Moon didn’t even have to say anything, but the way she stood with Ragatha was enough to tell him that she had no problem assisting the redhead. He whipped his head to his parents, who hadn’t uttered a word during this whole ordeal.

“Don’t look at me,” Queenie put her hands up. “I’m not the one to judge a father for being protective over his daughter. Besides, he has a right to be wary of you darling.”

Jax shrugged with a nod, he couldn’t disagree there. He looked back at Pomni, her cheeks slightly flushed with a humoured smile on her lips after that whole interaction. How did she manage to look so beautiful in every way? He probably had a lovesick look on his face again, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care because this was her, nothing else mattered. “Well in that case,” he picked up her hand again, revelling in the way her cheeks flushed even more, “I can’t wait to see you there, my little lady.” He pressed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand, forcing himself not to laugh as he heard a silent squeal erupting from the back of her throat.

“A-and, I-I,” Pomni cleared her throat, straightening her back again and regaining the calmness she had before. “And I you, your highness.” She then enclosed his hand in both her palms, with the upmost gentleness she started running her thumb over his fingers, like he had done so with her hand earlier. All without breaking eye contact with him, she smirked when it was his turn for him to get all flustered.

She let go, giving him a small curtsy, “Now if you don’t mind, I’m fairly certain that the rest of the ladies and non-gender affirming friend are going to drag me to help them find ballgowns soon.”

Jax spluttered, trying to find the words that were in his head a few seconds ago. How on earth did this tiny powerful woman have this much of a hectic effect on him only from touching his hand?! “Y-yeah, I’m pretty sure my father will be doing that but for me,” he wasn’t able to focus on anything but the faint tingling of where her fingers had been on his hand, sending little shocks up the nerves on his arm. He flexed his hand, letting his fingers stretch to see if it would make any difference. The tingling only increased, his fur fluffing up at his neck at the reaction. He huffed fondly, worth it. “I look forward to seeing how beautiful you look.”

She raised her brow at him, rolling her eyes as he chuckled. He was always just so him wasn’t he? But it’s also why you fell in love with him, isn’t it? She sighed, yes, it was. In the amount of since she met him, he had become a far cry of what she believed him to be from the tales she heard. He had proven to be kind, noble and brave. Though still a little bit of a trickster, a good man and a good prince with a tender heart was all she could see. And soon she would have to leave all that behind.

She opened her mouth to say something, she wanted to say something, but she found herself being pulled away by Ragatha, Moon, Gangle and Zooble. Just like she had suspected, they were pulling her away to start dress shopping. “I’m afraid we’ll have to continue our conversation later!” she called out to Jax, looking over her shoulder while Motley jumped out of her arms and trotted back to the prince as she was dragged out of the ballroom.

Jax laughed at the scene in front of him, picking up the kitten and placing him on his shoulder, “I look forward to it.”

Pomni gave him one final smile, before joining in with the excited chatter with the rest of the ladies and Zooble.

However, once she was out of sight, did Jax let himself frown. The girl seemed so strangely down all morning, quieter and more reserved, less of the usual spunk than he had come to expect. Had something happened? Did he do something to offend her? Whatever it was he should at least try and make it up to her.

“You’re overthinking,” A familiar voice murmured. Jax turned to face his father walking towards him.

“I inherited it from you, old man,” the prince snickered. Kinger’s face didn’t move an inch, not willing to change the topic of conversation just yet. Jax sighed, “I’m worried about Pomni. She hasn’t really been herself much this morning. I didn’t want to pry into what it is cause its none of my business and I don’t wanna push her, she already felt pretty stressed out when she told me about her past. I don’t wanna add anymore onto that. But I can tell that something’s wrong, and I hate feeling helpless. I just want to protect her.”

Kinger hummed. He had heard this monologue many decades ago from when he was around Jax’s age. He should know, for Kinger was the one who said it too. “When I fell in love your mother, I was a wreck,” the king began. “Despite going round in circles to think of a way to win her heart, I also had other thoughts in my head as well. I worried that I could never protect her the way I wanted to, she could be sad for only a moment and I would panic that I had done something to hurt her. But when he married and grew together, I had to realise that I wasn’t a magical knight from a story book. Even with my crown I was only a man who loved his wife deeply. It hurts when we have to come to turns that we cannot protect everyone – including the ones we love – but no matter what we still try. We try because we know that it’s better for them to be in our lives than to lose them. We can do what we can and that’s all right, for what is love than the desire to guard what we care for the most?”

Clarity never hit Jax harder than it did right here in this moment. He lifted the hand that Pomni touched again, shifting his fingers where hers had been. His father was right. Even the biggest dam in all of the world would never be able to stop a crack, letting a flood release. And even if he wanted to, he knew that there were bigger forces out there who would do nothing but take Pomni for themselves. He squeezed his hand into a fist, but they would have to kill him first before ever hurting Pomni ever again. Even if he were to fall, her safety would forever and always come first for him. “Yeah,” he nodded, “It is.”

Kinger felt warmth radiate through him, it had been so long since he heard that part of his son speak so earnestly. He missed him, “Come now, it’s time we get you fitted. I’m sure you’ll want to look your best for your lady-friend at the ball.”

He snickered as he heard his son’s splutters, it was fun getting under Jax’s skin sometimes. A little petty revenge if that’s what you want to call it.

From the side, Kaufmo stood, hearing everything they had just said. For the first time, since Jax saved her, he was able to see clearly about what Pomni saw in the prince.

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Pomni was panicking. Which wasn’t a complete shock. Tomorrow was the ball and she had spent the entire week helping everyone else pick out their gowns expect for herself. The ladies had insisted on finding what colour would flatter her the most, but she had turned away in favour of finding something for them, insisting that she would find a garment for herself soon. And yet, here she was. Gown-less and nearing a mental breakdown.

She groaned, honestly she blamed herself. She had been so caught up in the nightmares that she had and the future aftermath of the ball. Caine would always be breathing down her neck, something she would never be able to shake away even after they escaped from him the first time, and soon she would be returning to that fear. When she met Jax, somehow his foolishness and change in behaviour had been able to forget about her worries for a while, despite their first meeting. He only had to say one word and the rest of the world didn’t matter, it was just bliss. Soon, she wouldn’t have that anymore. She’d soon return to surviving for herself and her family, looking over her shoulder constantly to make sure a pair of blue and green eyes wouldn’t be staring back at her.

She just wanted to be selfish, just once and stay here. Stay with Jax, stay in the kingdom, stay in the life that she oh so wanted to have. But the thought of Caine harming Jax because of his obsession with her powers was a risk that she never wanted to take…after all, it was the same risk that her village was raided and burned to the ground.

How dare you think of that, how dare you even think about staying. You could lose everything just because of your entitlement you stupid girl! Pomni felt tears well up in her eyes, You’re selfish! Selfish! Selfish! Selfish! Selfish-

A knock at her door broke her away from her panic, wiping away her tears and smoothing down the fabric of her skirt. “Just coming!” she hoped her voice didn’t give away the fact that she had been crying.

She had expected either Ragatha or Kaufmo to show up at her door, so it was quite the shock when it was Queenie who had appeared, holding a large yet flat box under her arm. “Apologies, I don’t mean to intrude Pomni but I…Oh darling, what happened?” the queen asked, her brows furrowing with worry.

Pomni wanted to rub at her eyes again, to hide any evidence of her tears. But the queen had already put the box down and took the jester’s hands into hers, leaving Pomni unable to hide. “It’s nothing, your majesty,” Pomni brushed off her worries, “Please, don’t mind me, I’ll be okay.”

“Oh honey,” The queen wrapped her arms around the girl, “This is a safe place, your tears aren’t nothing. Whatever it is you’re feeling, don’t ever be afraid to say it.” 

Pomni typically wasn’t one for physical touch, usually it was reserved for those she was close with like Kaufmo or Ragatha – and now it included Jax. But this was different. Queenie’s warmth reminded her of a familiar touch that she had not received in a long time. A touch of a mother reassuring her child that everything was going to be okay. And though Pomni couldn’t remember her face, that small yet significant warmth from her mother stayed with the girl throughout her life. And now, she was receiving the same touch from Queenie, another mother who fiercely loved her son.

Pomni clutched onto the queen, her small body shaking with silent sobs. Queenie was patient and gentle the whole time, rubbing her hand up and down the jester’s back, shushing in her ear like how she did with Jax when he was young whenever he got scared or bruised his knee. She had only heard snippets from Jax about what the girl’s childhood what like, he didn’t tell her everything, after all, only Pomni could be the one to detail her past to another. But what she heard was enough for her to know that this poor girl had went through hell and back. She wasn’t surprised to see Jax so protective over her after their day at the village festival, whatever Pomni had told him there was enough for him to guard her with everything he had.

Once the girl was quiet, she pulled away, leaning into the queen’s touch when the latter lifted her hands to Pomni’s face and brushed her tears away. “Are you okay to tell me what wrong my dear?” Queenie asked, as kindly and patiently as she could.

Now Pomni understood how Jax was able to show kindness the way he did. “Is it…is it wrong for me wanting to stay?” Pomni spoke softly, as though a single wrong word would make everything crumble. “I love my family, and I’m so grateful for the hospitality that you’ve given us and I can’t wait to get back on the road again, but...I never had a real home in so long. That isn’t to mean Kaufmo and the others aren’t! They have always been my home. I’m just…I’m so tired of running. I’m tired of not being able to live a normal life and pursue my dreams because of the threat of one man. Your kingdom, that has been a home for me after so long. For the first time in my life I didn’t have to run, I could be safe in the knowledge that I was protected…and Jax. Your son has to be one of the sweetest people I have ever met, despite his reputation. But the thought of leaving here? It already makes me feel homesick thinking about it…I-I’m sorry your majesty I didn’t mean to overload you with all of that!”

Queenie had not spoken a word, letting Pomni take the time she needed in order to let out everything that was tying her down to the ground, like releasing her from being chained to a boulder. Pomni had more pages than the heaviest book in the world, each piece unfolding a new layer of her that made the queen’s heart ache for the girl. “My darling, I am queen of a kingdom where people need to unload on me,” Queenie told her. “It is my job to help those who cannot help themselves. Do not apologise for letting yourself feel. You might not be my subject, but that does not mean I will not take your problems seriously.”

Was this what having a mother was like? She wouldn’t trade Kaufmo for the world, but that never stopped the lingering curiosity of what her own mother would have been like. All she had left of her mother were blurry images in her mind, the powers she shared with her, and her love of music. If her mother was still here would she offer her the same comfort and security that Queenie did for her in only a few short moments? It was times like this, times her soul twinged with sorrow and doubt when she wished that her life was different. That it could be of her own making. She would be in her village, under the care and singing day and night with her mother, only traveling when she wanted to find new places to play her songs, meet the other members of the circus under different circumstances, and fall in love with Jax without having to worry about leaving him.

Why did life choose her to be so cruel to?

“Thank you, your majesty,” Pomni bowed her head in appreciation, “I’m sorry again for such a heavy topic.”

“You must learn to stop saying sorry, dear,” there was a joking tone in Queenie’s voice as she wagged her finger at Pomni, “Otherwise I’ll have to make a rule to ban you from saying it.”

Pomni laughed at that, tears of mirth pricking in the corners of her eyes instead.

Queenie’s eyes smiled, softening as her hands encased the jester’s again, “Not every bad thing that happens is your fault. Please hold onto that information for when you travel again…Pomni, it’s not my place but if you were to stay, we would be more than happy to protect you from Caine.”

Pomni’s face fell, “That’s the thing your majesty. Caine always comes up with new plans, if I stayed he wouldn’t stop terrorizing this kingdom until he gets what he wants, No one is powerful enough to stop him.”

“He managed to get arrested once,” Queenie pointed out, “He can be again.”

“He also managed to escape,” Pomni said, her face saddening once again. “You’d think someone with powers like mine that I could be able to do something. But even now, he still has a hand around my neck. I could be the strongest person alive yet I’d still be too scared to face him. You have…you have no idea what he put us through.” Her heart squeezed, she felt so damn pathetic.

“I don’t know what he’s done, but I do know that you didn’t deserve it,” Queenie told her. “Never feel ashamed for feeling afraid because of what that monster did to you. Do what makes you feel safest my darling, and if you ever want to come back our castle doors are always open.”

Pomni sniffed, a smile brightening her face once again, “Jax is lucky to have you.”

“And he’s lucky to have you too,” the queen teased, humming laughter as the jester started gasping and stuttering. “Now, speaking of Jax. I understand that he asked you to be his plus one for the ball. I hope it’s not inappropriate but I do have something that you could wear. If you don’t already.”

“I-I don’t,” Pomni’s jaw fell a little in surprise at the kind gesture. “You didn’t have to do that your majesty, not for me.”

“Nonsense,” Queenie shook her head, picking up the box from the ground and bringing it over to Pomni’s bed. “Every girl deserves to have something nice for themselves. Besides, I was hoping you would wear this.”

Pomni bit her lip, the queen had a pleading look in her eyes. Whatever was in that box, it was enough to convince the jester that whatever was in it held significant importance to the royal. “Okay, um, I’d like to look at it,” Pomni answered, fidgeting with her hands for a moment.

The queen lit up, like a sun shining in the jester’s direction as the chess piece’s fingers went lift up the lid of the box. As soon as it was removed, Pomni’s breath hitched at the contents on the inside. What laid in the box was nothing short of the twilight sky stitched and sewn together into a ballgown. It was too much, “Your majesty, I can’t have this! Someone like me shouldn’t wear this!”

“Someone like you is perfect for this gown,” Queenie stated. “It was a gift to me in my younger years, from a good friend of mine in another kingdom. She wanted me to wear this, saying that it would be worn when I was with my true love. I never had a chance to wear it, after all Kinger was already courting me and I didn’t feel good enough to wear it. Ironic, I know. However, something tells me that this dress wasn’t meant for me.” She looked away from the gown to face Pomni again. “But perhaps it was for you.”

“I…” Pomni was speechless, truly. The gown that laid in the box looked as though it was worth all the gems in the realm, if she were to wear that, she would literally be wearing that costed millions. Yet the queen believed that it was perfect for her. She had said it so earnestly that Pomni couldn’t find it in herself to turn it away. “Thank you, your majesty,” Pomni bowed, “I promise to take care of it during the ball.”

“As long as you’re having fun as yourself, then that’s all I care about,” the queen told her. “Now, let me help you get ready. I have an idea on what makeup would go well with that gown.”

Pomni giggled as the queen rushing over to her vanity at the other end of the room. Pomni ran her fingers over the gown’s fabric, perhaps she was worth more than what she believed.

.

.

.

Jax pulled at the collar of his shirt. His suit was nowhere near uncomfortable, but it didn’t stop the anxiety coursing through his veins. The suit in question was consisted of a long navy-blue waistcoat, with ruby embroidery along the lapels and cuffs with matching trousers with the same crimson detailed design. Underneath the button coat was a white blouse with a ruffled collar and a pendant on top, with the final addition of his outfit being a red rose tucked into his breast pocket.

Why was he so nervous you ask? It was all because of Pomni. She had yet to arrive, and though the ball hadn’t started yet, both guests and the circus group had already flooded the ballroom. He hadn’t seen any of the nobles yet, well, the nobles that he normally couldn’t stand. When asking his parents about the matter, they had merely shrugged with a mischievous glint in their eyes, yet it told Jax exactly what they did. And they’re still surprised by the fact that I turned out to be a trickster he grinned to himself.

His hands were shaking. What if something happened to her while she was getting ready? What is she hurt herself and wasn’t able to attend? What if Caine somehow managed to get into the castle and swiped her away?! Oh god he had to go get her-!

“Relax prince boy,” a hand grabbed him by the back of his coat, dragging him back before he could run off. He scowled, turning to see who did that, when he came face to face with Gangle and Zooble. The girl he had rudely pushed upon their first meeting, and her justifiably angry partner. “Pomni’s fine, Gangle went to check up on her a while ago.”

“How did you know I was thinking about Pomni?” he questioned, raising a brow.

“Gee, it’s not like you’ve been spending every waking moment glued to her side ever since she came here,” Zooble replied sarcastically, rolling their eyes at the rabbit’s question.

“Zooble,” Gangle hissed, “Be nice, please.” The body of ribbons looked back at him, not as upset as he thought she would be after their interaction when they met. She was wearing a sleeveless gown the same colour as her ribbons, with a full skirt and rubies sewn atop of it. Zooble was wearing a suit of the same colour, no doubt wanting to match his sweet girlfriend. “Pomni will be here soon, your mother kinda overwhelmed her while getting ready.”

The prince sighed. “Of course she did,” he shook his head fondly at Queenie’s direction, the woman was laughing with her husband at whatever joke he had come up with. He looked back to Gangle, who was looking up at Zooble with nothing but love in her eyes, the other doing the same. He hadn’t apologised to her for what he did, yet she still talked to him as though he had only brushed her shoulder on that day. He wouldn’t blame her if she were to be as upset as their hot-headed partner, yet she didn’t. That only made the guilt sting all the more.

She deserved an apology. “Listen, uh, Gangle right?” he asked, making the ribboned lady look up at him with worried eyes. She probably thought that he was going to be mean to her again, it only rubbed more salt into the wound. Jax was sure Zooble was going to kill him right there and then with the way she was glaring at him. He gulped, “Listen, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for how I treated you when we met. It was ignorant and entitled of me to do that to you and how I treated Pomni as well. I genuinely care for your friend and I’m extremely ashamed of how poorly I was to you. I deeply apologize.”

There was shift in the way Gangle looked at him, she didn’t look as worried as she was before, her posture was straighter as she gazed at him with intent in her mind. “Thank you for your apology your highness,” she replied, “Though I’m still not happy with you pushing me, I’m glad you’re able to realise the error of your ways.”

“Of course,” he nodded, “And please, call me Jax. If I’m going to make a fresh start, I would like if you could call me by my name.”

Gangle smiled, a new determination flickering when she saw this new side of the prince, “Very well, thank you Jax.”

“I’m still onto you,” Zooble growled. “But…I’m glad you’re not a total dickhead…you’re still pretty dumb though.”

“Zooble!” Gangle hissed.

A snort escaped from Jax, surprising the couple when a loud belly laugh boomed throughout the ballroom. The laugh lacked any type of maliciousness or was mean-spirited, it was just a hearty yet a pure and honest carefree laugh. “They-” he snickered, “They aren’t wrong! I haven’t had the brightest ideas in my lifetime.”

Both the body of ribbons and the assortment of shapes were a little surprised by the prince’s reaction. They were fairly certain that he would have made some sort of passive aggressive comment or even get angry at Zooble. But no. It was the same sort of laugh that one of them would have whenever Kaufmo told one of his better jokes or when they all had fun as a family. Zooble smirked, “See Gangle, princey doesn’t mind.”

Gangle groaned, rolling her eyes, “What am I gonna do with you?”

“Hmmm, love me forever?” Zooble retorted cheekily, wiggling his eyebrows.

“If I have to,” Gangle couldn’t keep the grin off her face, resting her head onto Zooble’s shoulder.

Jax’s laughter ebbed away, a softness lacing his heart. That tenderness and comfort the couple shared with one another, he couldn’t help but imagine it with him and Pomni. To let her feel safe with him no matter what, to share sweet moments with him with no other prying eyes. But after tonight, she’ll be gone, along with his wish for all of that. All this because of a power-hungry man who kept her in a state of fright ever since childhood, it wasn’t fair for someone as sweet as Pomni.

“Ah, I see the prince has graced our presence,” a soft voice spoke. He looked up to see that it was Ragatha’s voice he had heard, with Sun and Moon by her side and Kaufmo trailing behind her. She looked towards Gangle and Zooble, “He hasn’t given you two any trouble, has he?”

“Quite the opposite, actually,” Zooble said, “He came over to apologise to Gangle.”

Ragatha raised a brow, shifting a little bit in her place, as if this were a small shock to her. “Did he know?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Zooble nodded, what they said next made it look like they were going to hurl just having to form it into words. “I guess I was…wrong about him. Oh god I hated saying that.” 

“Oh,” was all Ragatha said. The doll in question was wearing a backless gown of midnight blue, sleek and sparkling, no puffiness in sight as long skirt trailed behind her. She wore long silky white gloves and half of her curls were pinned up into a bun while the other red locks pooled around her shoulders.

Moon was wearing something similar, though hers was pure black with little stars stitched onto the fabric, with a double leg slit and a feathered scarf around her shoulders. Sun was wearing a red and yellow striped waistcoat and trousers, along with a simple white blouse and a black bowtie wrapped around the collar.

Lastly was Kaufmo, whose waistcoat and trousers were sewn with a fine grey silk with what seemed to be music notes embroidered into the lapels and cuffs. He pulled at the collar a few times, he hadn’t worn something like this before so it was a bit new to him. But he looked happy with his new attire.

“Well,” Ragatha’s voice broke Jax out of his trance again, “I’m glad you weren’t up to anything foolish, after all I still have two very hungry lions.”

“Don’t forget the meat cleaver you have darling,” Moon pointed out, “It would be such a shame to see such a lovely tool go to waste.”

“Uh…and I’m here!” Sun cheered, not wanting to be left out. While it did relieve some of the tension, it didn’t stop Jax from shrinking under the glares of the women.

“While I support your protection over my daughter,” Kaufmo interrupted, placing a hand on Ragatha’s shoulder, “Let’s wait until the prince does anything before charging headfirst. Besides, something tells me that he would want to join in with that protection as well.” The clown gave Jax a knowing wink. “But make no mistake, you hurt her and not even the guards will stop Ragatha and Moon with what they want to do with you.”

Jax gulped, “Understood, sir.” Despite the obvious threat, the fact that he had Kaufmo’s acknowledgement about how much he cared for Pomni made Jax want to sing. The clown trusted the prince, and Jax wasn’t going to let him down. Pomni mattered to him just as much as she mattered to Kaufmo, there was no way he was going to break that trust.

“I’m surprised that little Motley cat isn’t with you,” Sun said, “Other than Pomni, you two are practically glued together.”

Jax was about to open his mouth to say another word, until a small mew interrupted him. The group looked at him with wide eyes, the sound not going unnoticed. The rabbit sighed, reaching into the side of his coat pocket and pulled Motley out, the little kitten wearing a blue bowtie around his neck.

Everyone’s mouth fell open, it was quite the sight indeed.

“This little bugger insisted that he should join me tonight,” Jax defended.

“Right, a non-speaking animal somehow managed to convince you to let him come to the ball,” Zooble drawled with doubt.

Jax frowned, though he didn’t feel mad. So far, everything was going well. The guests were happy, he had Motley in his arms, there were no sign of the nobles, the music was lovely, the food was delicious, his parents were delighted and he had won over the favour of the circus group. All that was missing is-

“-Pomni,” Kaufmo’s eyed widened as he gazed up to the staircase leading out of the ballroom.

The rest of the group followed the clown’s eyes, their own jaws dropping when they say who he was looking at. The rest of the ballroom had gone silent as well, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Jax whipped round, wondering why everyone was reacting the way they did…oh…he understood perfectly now.

Pomni stood at the top of the staircase, the only way to describe how she looked was breathtaking. Her gown was the most beautiful shade of purple, startling at a light pinkish lavender at the top as it faded into an amethyst shade in the middle before finishing in a plum shade at the bottom. Her skirt was full, layered with organza, rippling like raindrops on a pond. The top of the gown had off-the-shoulder sleeves with a sweetheart neckline, with glistening gem at the centrepiece. And the whole gown twinkled with little diamonds stitched into the fabric. She wore simple makeup, with her normally short hair curled and now reaching her shoulder as it gleamed under the chandeliers.

She clenched her hands, there were so many eyes on her. She didn’t have the façade of her jester persona to help her out, it was only her they were all looking at. Gathering herself, she managed a small curtsey, the shimmering layers of her skirt pooling around her. She stood again, her gown swishing as she made her way down the steps.

Jax couldn’t wipe the awestruck grin he had on his face even if he tried. Not even the stars could compare with how beautiful she looked. He handed Motley over to Kaufmo, “Sir, if you may. Could I please lead your daughter for the first dance?”

Kaufmo smiled, running his hand over the kitten’s back as he purred, “Go on, give her a dream come true.”

Not wasting a beat, Jax turned back to Pomni. He wasn’t sure if he saw him yet, so ever so slowly, he made his way towards her, the rest of the guests parting to let him through.

They had done the same with Pomni, giving her the room she needed yet not being able to take their eyes off her. A little part of her liked the attention, they weren’t drawn to her for powers or the act she had to put on, they were drawn to her for simply being her. This new feeling was strange, but nice…really nice.

She let out a small gasp when she finally saw Jax, how handsome he looked in his garments and how he looked at her as though she were the only person in the room. Her heart fluttered seeing him, making her way towards him as he did the same. Finally they met in the middle of the room, the only ones in the middle of the ballroom floor, their eyes locked onto one another.

“Prince Jax,” she breathed.

“My lady,” his voice held nothing but adoration for her. “You look absolutely exquisite.”

“I’ve been praying all day not to trip in this,” she whispered, “I think I would perish if I ruined something as lovely as this.”

  “That would be a shame, you look too beautiful in it,” Jax murmured, “Um. Pomni, would you do me the honour of letting me lead you through this first…” he trailed off. Could you blame him? She was positively stunning.

“…Dance?” she finished for him, a small grin forming on her lips.

“Uh, yes of course, dance,” he stuttered, laughing awkwardly.

Pomni took pity on him, nodding excitedly. Call her childish, but it was nothing short of magical that she actually got to dance like the princesses she read about in fairytales.

Jax’s face fell, a serious look took over yet his eyes were still soft as he brought his hand forward, pulling Pomni closer to him. The girl’s breath hitched, with these newfound feelings she had for Jax, it made this touch all the more significant. A shiver ran down her spine.

The music of the orchestra began, filling the ballroom with the sounds of the many violinists and pianists’ instruments, a soft yet heavenly tune echoing in the room. Ever so gently, Jax began to sway, with Pomni repeating his movements. Pomni gulped as he led her further into the dance, she could feel everyone’s stares despite having her back to them. Who wouldn’t? After all, she was the prince’s choice to lead the first dance with. “They’re all looking at you,” she whispered.

“Believe me,” he grinned, “They’re all looking at you.”

Normally she would have panicked at that sentence, but the gentle grasp of his warm hand on her waist kept her attention on him. He picked up her forearm with his, letting it glide up and down, “Just focus on me, okay? And follow my lead.”

Pomni nodded, her once quickening heart slowing down as she gazed into his eyes. He took her hand, carefully spinning her before she held she gently grazed the knuckles of said hand against his cheek. He threaded his fingers through her, spinning her again as the skirts of her gown fluttered around her, giving her the appearance of a butterfly.

The repeated the range of movements a few more times before Jax wrapped his arm around her waist again, pulling her closer than he did before, their noses inches from each other as he clasped his free hand into hers again. Pomni’s breath stuttered as their feet travelled around the empty space, never in her life had she felt anything so surreal, so euphoric in all her life. A carefree laugh escaped her lips as both she and Jax spun again, the prince doing the same as the picture of her lovely smile imprinted into his mind again.

He released the grip on her waist to twirl her onto the empty space on the floor, the rest of the crowd aweing at the way her gown glittered each time she spun left and right while holding onto Jax’s hand.

Not even the rest of the circus troupe could erase the butterflies they were having just by the way the prince and the jester looked at one another. It was right out of a love story. “I can’t disagree, they would make a beautiful couple,” Kaufmo remarked, with Motley letting out an agreeable mew in his arms.

“I suppose so,” Ragatha nodded, “As long as he doesn’t hurt her.”

“Don’t worry my dears, rest assured that my son would never do the following,” Queenie told them as she and Kinger snuck up behind the group.

“Your majesties,” Ragatha gasped, the rest of them quickly bowing, “Please forgive me for saying that.”

“Oh that’s alright,” Queenie snickered, “Jax has caused one too many incidents to have a reputation that’s worth your worry.”

“Though I will say, your Pomni has him wrapped around her finger,” Kinger mused as he watched the due dancing on the floor. “I haven’t seen this side of my son in so long, until your daughter arrived Kaufmo.”

“Pomni has always found a way to bright the best out in others,” Kaufmo told them, “Whether they know she’s doing it or not.”

Kinger hummed in agreement, “I can confidently say that without a doubt, this is the best ball this kingdom has ever seen.” Kaufmo nodded, the two fathers turning to look back at their children, smiling at seeing how happy they were together.

Jax had twirled Pomni a few times, still holding her by the waist until he picked her up in both arms and held her high up above him, twirling her in the air as the crowd oo’ed and clapped for the sudden display. Though it was silent compared to the chimes of her giggles at the sudden motions, bringing her back down to face level. Neither of them could stop glancing at each other’s lips, the temptation to swoop down and capture them growing stronger.

Before he could give into it, he saved himself by dipping Pomni once more time as the music slowed. It was for the best, she would be leaving tomorrow. He didn’t want to sour things more for her, not when they had come so far. He could tell by the way she was looking at him that she was silently agreeing, what they had right now was good, good enough in fact.

The music slowed to a stop, with Pomni curtsying and Jax bowing respectively as the crowd thunder into applause. The first dance of the night was a success.

They allowed themselves to breathe for a movement, unable to take their eyes off each other before the music started up again, more fun and livelier than the last. More couples ran onto the floor, including the king and queen as they chortled together while reminiscing how they used to dance when they were younger. Gangle had pulled Zooble onto the floor, squealing with excitement at the thought of dancing with her partner. Even Moon and Ragatha had decided to dance together, the latter shocked when her friend took her hand and led her into a dance.

Pomni and Jax were still together, and quite frankly, they didn’t see themselves dancing with anyone but with one another. And so, they danced again. And again, and again, and again…

After a few songs, they did have to stop eventually, panting heavily and needing food as well as drink. “I must say, you dance pretty good for someone so short,” Jax snickered, handing her a glass of water.

“Shut up, I’m just glad you didn’t stand on my dress,” Pomni retorted, giggling into her glass. She gulped down as much as she could, especially with what she was planning to do next. “Do you mind waiting for a second? There’s something I need to take care of.”

“Oh, of course, is everything alright?” he asked as she handed him back her glass.

“Yes, everything’s fine,” she reassured him, “There’s just something that I need to do.”

“Well, whatever it is, you take care of yourself,” He told her, “Alright?”

Pomni nodded, patting his hand reassuringly before disappearing into the crowd, Jax sighing fondly as he watched her walk away. He nearly jumped when he felt something rub against his leg, looking and scoffing when he saw that it was Motley. “Of course it’s you, you little shit,” he muttered, scooping up the kitten with one hand, “Alright, you had your fun. Now you’re in time out.”

“Well I must say,” Jax turned when he heard his mother’s voice, “I think this is the most you two haven’t been able to keep your hands off one another.”

“Mom!” he groaned, his ears flopping down and pressing against the back of his head as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

“What? I’m just making an observation,” she shrugged, “It does make sense though, with her leaving tomorrow.”

His ears perked back up at the mention of that, his tail twitching in discomfort. Although that statement would ring true every time he heard it, it didn’t mean he liked it. He wanted to get on his knees, beg Pomni to stay with him, stay in the kingdom where she would never worry about feeling afraid ever again. But he knew that it wouldn’t be fair for either of them. He knew as much as she wanted the freedom of her own life, the freedom of this choice was all she could have. And he didn’t want to make her feel guilty about having to travel again. Even if it meant she would be further away from him.

“I…I really love her mother,” he said, earnestly and honestly. “I have become an ocean and Pomni is a storm, raining down on me strongly without resistance, but my waters are able to take her strengths, faults, everything. But I know that…I can’t have her.”

Queenie’s face fell, her son had never looked so vulnerable in that moment. It reminded her how she felt when she fell in love with Kinger when she was her son’s age. “Oh darling,” she murmured, cupping his cheek in her hand. Even Motley had climbed up onto the prince’s shoulder, rubbing his fluffy face against Jax’s face to comfort him.

The queen was going to say another word when a single strum of a guitar made the room go silent. Both the queen and prince turned, for on the stage with the rest of the musicians was Pomni, holding onto her guitar as she looked out onto the crowd. She looked positively petrified, there were more people here than there was at the festival, the confidence slipping as doubt crept into her mind.

But when her eyes caught Jax’s, and as he smiled at her with the upmost reassurance, the doubt started to melt. She could do this, taking a breath as she faced her new audience, “This is a song that I wrote during my stay here. It’s a little bit different than what I’ve written before but I hope you all enjoy.” Her fingers pricked at the strings of her guitar before her voice rang like a bell as she began to sing.

Honey, I hate wine

But I’d gladly down a bottle of your name

Just to get another taste of you

A single drop not on my tongue would be a waste

The audience seemed to be enjoying so far, leaning next to their partners or spouses as Pomni continued to sing.

And I hate mornings

But I like waking next to you

You always wake up before I do

So I can sleep in your embrace

We burn like gentle firewood

We yearn like vines and leaves

And we settle in the comfort of

The bones that rest beneath

And I’d start drinking wine and sleeping at night

To keep your soul with mine

I’d do anything, anything, anything

Anything, anything, anything

Pomni could hear the distant murmurs in the crowd, murmurs of praise and how much they enjoyed her simple song. Her heart nearly skipped a beat form excitement as the rest of her doubts faded away. People liked her songs, people liked her. Her songs meant something!

Honey, I hate travel

But I’d man a boat to glimpse you at the shore

No stretch of miles would ever mean more

Than feeling my hands wrapped around your waist

And I hate time

The minutes shared will never last enough

No amount of time will ever be too much

And parting leaves a bitter taste

At that last word, Pomni turned her attention to Jax, who was patting the side off his leg at each beat of the song. She thought she would hate him, she despised him when hearing about all the rumours that built over the years. But now, nothing tasted as sour than the idea of leaving him tomorrow.

We burn like gentle firewood

We yearn like vines and leaves

And we settle in the comfort of

The bones that rest beneath

And I’d stop staying home and wasting time

To keep your soul with mine

I’d do anything, anything, anything

Anything, anything, anything

She would. She would do anything to change the fate that life had given them. She wanted to have that choice to stay. Jax’s eyes never left hers, not even more a second as he smiled with all the warmth he could muster. If this was truly their last night together, she was going to make it count.

And I love rain

But I’d ruin every cashmere coat I own

Before I let it wash off any kiss you stole

So they’ll keep us dry as I walk you home

We burn like gentle firewood

We yearn like vines and leaves

And we settle in the comfort of

The bones that rest beneath

And I’d lose every penny that I find

To keep your soul with mine

I’d do anything, anything, anything

Anything, anything, anything

With that final strum of her guitar, she finished her song. There was a beat, it felt like years to Pomni as she waited to hear the crowd’s final thoughts on her song. Suddenly, the audience erupted into applause, grins nearly splitting their faces.

She let out a sigh of relief, they really did like it. She placed her guitar backstage as she walked away, letting the band strike up again. She strolled towards Jax, determination set in her mind, she meant it when she said she was going to make this night count. “Another dance your highness?” she asked when she got close to him, holding out her hand, “Or are you afraid I’ll look better than you?”

Jax took her hand into his, his smile matching hers, “Little lady, you could trip and you would still look better than me.”

Pomni hummed, “You’re right, I would.”

They snickered as they want back to the dance floor, dancing the night away until the ball came to an end. It was the most magical thing Pomni had done without her powers.

.

.

.

Jax groaned as he sat up in his bed. He had been trying to get to sleep for the past few hours, but he could still feel the tingles of where Pomni’s hands had been on him while dancing. That night was going to be burned in his brain for the rest of his life. He wished she was here right now, to hold her while she ran her fingers through his ears, his fur, wherever she wanted as long as he felt that simple lingering touch.

The prince sighed, shifting as he reached his hand to find Motley, onto to find that the feline was nowhere to be found on the bed. Don’t tell me that little cretin went back down to go ham on those leftovers. He threw the sheets off his bed, ready to exit the room when there were three soft knocks on his door.

Strange, the servants didn’t use that knock and neither did his parents. He opened the door, it was Pomni holding a purring Motley. “I, um, thought I’d return him,” she spoke quietly, her voice breaking slightly, “He woke me up.”

Jax didn’t take him just yet instead leaning in slightly closer to inspect Pomni’s face. His heart plummeted when he saw dried tear stains on her cheeks, “Have you been crying?”

“W-what?” Pomni stammered, “N-no, of course not! I-it’s probably-”

“Pomni,” he spoke sternly, “I know when someone had been crying, I’m not that dumb. Please, tell me what’s wrong.”

She took a breath, walking into his room as Jax shut the door behind him. She sat on the edge of his bed, the prince sitting next to her as she cuddled Motley closer. “I sometimes have really bad nightmares,” she told him. “Well, I’ve always had them but they got worse when we escaped Caine and he came after us. Some of them are about ways on how he’d find us and how he’d make us suffer, others are…well, memories of growing up in the circus…”

Jax brows furrowed as the girl curled in on herself, making her seem smaller than usual, “And I’m guessing you had one now?”

She sniffed, nodding her head as Motley pushed his face into her neck, purring as much as he could to give comfort to the girl. Jax brought her into his arms, she let out a surprised squeak as he rubbed a hand up and down her back. “It’s okay, you’re safe here,” he told her, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I know,” she whimpered, easing into his touch, “But I won’t be here tomorrow. And I know no one has seen Caine, but it doesn’t stop the fact that he’s still out there looking for us…looking for me.”

Jax wanted to kick himself for saying that. Why her? Why did the universe make her go through the hardest trails life had to offer? It wasn’t fair. “I know what you’re going to say if I asked you,” he ran his fingers through her hair, “But I wished in another life, you could stay.”

“Jax, I…I wish I could too,” she cried, burying her face in his chest.

“I’m sorry,” he sighed, “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that. But, just for tonight, stay…with me?” She peered up at him through her lashes, his fingers wiping her tears away. “For one night, please…be mine?”

She wrapped her hand around his, bringing it up to her face to cup her cheek, “I am yours, as you are mine.”

“For you Pomni,” he mumbled, carrying her over to the middle of his bed and laying her down, “Always.”

That night, they slept in each other’s arms. That night, they pretended tomorrow didn’t exist. That night, they weren’t Prince of Laphria or jester of the traveling circus. That night they were Pomni and Jax, two people in love.

.

.

.

Kaufmo let out a grunt as he closed the door of the trunk connected to the circus carriage, “I think that’s everything.”

“I’ll say,” Zooble whistled, “I feel like we have more than we did at the last place.”

“Well we were here longer than we have been in other places,” Pomni pointed out.

The circus troupe was outside the palace doors, finally ready to leave. The king and queen had guards to travel with them to their next location, to make sure they would have the extra protection they needed in case Caine was nearby. It had been a wonderful dream here, but like all dreams, it had to end.

Pomni was wearing the same dress she wore when she first came to the kingdom, her simple blouse, corset and pink skirt. She gave the palace one more look, out of all the places she had been to, this one was her favourite. And now she had to leave.

“The king, queen and prince had already given us our goodbyes,” said Ragatha, holding onto Moon’s hand. “Our we ready to go?”

Kaufmo looked to his daughter, “What do you say kiddo? Ready to go?”

Pomni sighed as she turned to her father, he frowned as he saw her downed expression. He hated seeing her like that. She was going to open her mouth to speak when-

“-Pomni!” Jax, it was Jax. She whipped round and saw the prince running out the palace doors and towards her.

“Jax? What’s wrong?” she asked, running over to him.

“I know we already said our goodbye inside,” he explained, “But I needed to do one more thing before you leave.”

Pomni nodded, looking back at the rest of her family, “I’ll be a minute, you finish packing.” The rest of the circus gave each other knowing looks, doing as they were told when Pomni gave them a glare. When they went back to packing, she turned back to Jax, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” his voice sounded nervous, “I just…I want you to have Motley.”

She gasped as she looked at the kitten held in Jax’s arms, the little feline already jumping into hers, “Me? Why?”

“Little monster likes you better than me, traitor,” he frowned at Motley.

Pomni stifled a laugh, “He’s a sweetheart, admit it. Plus, he loves you too. I can’t separate you too.”

“Hey, I’ll be okay,” Jax told her, “Besides, it’s better if he goes with you, to let him be a reminder of this place and…of me.”

Her breath was caught in her throat at those words, nothing could ever make her forget all that he had done for her. “Are you sure?” Pomni asked, scratching behind Motley’s ears.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” he bent his knees to be eye level with the kitten. “Listen here bud, you’ve got an important mission. In case Pomni gets into trouble, I want you to protect her. If you need backup, you know where to find me. Understand?”

Mew

Motley lifted his paw, it hit Jax directly on the nose.

“Good,” Jax straightened his back, “So I guess this is my final goodbye.”

Pomni bit her lip, reaching up to kiss Jax’s cheek one last time, “Thank you for reminding me how magical life can be.”

Jax’s breath hitched. He could barely recover from her hands, how could he recover from her lips?! She gave him a tiny grin, that jester was going to be the death of him, “You’re welcome Pomni.”

With that, she curtsied once more before running back to the carriage and hopping inside. There was a call from Kaufmo upfront as he pulled on the reins connected to the horses on front, giving them the command to walk as the guards followed on their own horses.

Jax watched as the carriage was pulled further away from him. And further, and further, and further. Then, it was gone. Pomni was gone.

He sighed, lifting his feet and going back into the castle. He didn’t retreat to his room or to his studies though. In fact, hours after the circus had left, he had been pacing back in forth in the throne room, his arms crossed behind his back while the prince was deep in thought. It caused the staff to alert the king and queen at once, leaving the royals to watch their son as he continued to pace.

“Oh the poor boy,” Queenie cooed as she peered through the crack of the door, “Pomni must have left quite the impact.”

“Tell me about it,” Kinger agreed, “I’m fairly certain that his brain has never worked that hard in its life.”

“Shush,” Queenie whacked him lightly on the shoulder, “This is a good thing. It’s not the bad type of thinking he’s having.”

“Then what exactly is on his mind then?” Kinger titled his head to the side.

“Well there’s only one way to find out,” she took her husband’s hand leading him into the throne room. Jax didn’t even notice them come in, still pacing back and forth as his mind kept storming. “What are you thinking about darling?”

The prince let out a yelp, jumping a few feet before facing his parents with a hand to his heart, “You have to stop sneaking up on me like that!”

“I apologise, but you’ve been so caught up in your head for the past few hours,” Queenie told him, her brows furrowing with concern, “We were worried.”

“Please,” Kinger went up to his son, placing a hand on his shoulder, “Tell us what’s on your mind.”

“Well I…,” Jax sighed, clenching and opening his fists, feeling slightly anxious for what he was going to say next. He hadn’t said or done anything that he was thinking about right now, only hoping that it was the right thing to say and do. “I’ve been having a lot of perspective for the past few weeks, about my place in the world and my role as prince. Even since I was young, I was told that I didn’t belong, that I never deserved my title and I started to believe it. I pitied myself for so long that it blinded me to the potential that I had for myself and for the people of my kingdom. When Pomni came into my life, it opened my eyes to see how fortunate I actually am and what I can be able to do. Knowing what she went through, it made me realise just how privileged and lucky I am, and how I’m able to use my power do help people like her. The nobles were wrong about me, wrong about my dreams being too childish, there is nothing childish about wanting better in this kingdom.”

He took a deep breath before continuing, “That’s why I wanna open a home, a home for people who need to seek shelter if they don’t have it, whether they are from our kingdom or somewhere else. To protect them and give them a life until they can stand on their feet again. I want to give them the safety and security that they were denied. I know that I’m able to do this, I want to do this. I am worth the title of Prince and Heir of Laphria.”

Both Queenie and Kinger were speechless, never before had they heard their son speak with the most graceful confidence. This wasn’t like the times when he spoke with arrogance, no, nothing that he had said held no vanity or selfishness. For the first time, he was speaking like a true prince. “That’s a wonderful idea Jax,” Kinger beamed, sharing a pleased look with his wife, “And you doubted that you’d be a good king.”

“Look at my baby growing up,” Queenie cupped his cheeks in her hands, pressing little kisses to his forehead and cheeks as the rabbit flushed.

“M-mom!” he tried not to grin at the attention, but his wagging tail gave him away.

Mew

He froze at a familiar meow, facing the window when he heard something scratching at it. There was a small little blob on the other side, is that? Jax opened the window, Motley immediately jumping into his arms. “Woah, woah buddy what are you doing here?” he checked him over, his front little paw was bruised as the poor thing was shaking, “What happened?”

The doors of the throne room slammed open, two guards panting and bleeding as they staggered through. “Oh goodness! Someone assist them and get them some water!” Queenie demanded to the nearby maids, the royals and servants rushing over to them. They were led to one of the nearby sitting rooms, urged to sit down and drink until they could get their energy back to speak. One of the servants had brought an ice pack for Motley, Jax immediately took it and held it to his paw while another servant wrapped his paw.

“Easy buddy,” he whispered to the kitten, still trembling in fear. “You’re okay.”

“Don’t force yourself,” Kinger instructed when one of the guards tried to begin speaking, “Tell us what happened at your own pace.”

“We…ugh…we were leading the circus through the forest, there was no sign of danger so far,” the guard began to describe the scene. “But they appeared out of nowhere. We tried to fight back but they were too strong, as though they were having some assistance.”

“What are you talking about? Who attacked you?” Jax was starting to panic. The circus had been promised safe travel and if anything happened to them…he didn’t want to imagine it.

“Caine,” the guard continued, “He and his men jumped out and attacked us. We had the upper hand but then there was this red mist and…” he trailed off, his pupils shrinking as he remembered the horrors of what his mind had deceived him with.

“Easy, easy,” the queen soothed him. “The circus, are they alright?”

“We don’t know,” the second guard spoke up, “We were lucky enough to escape to come back and warn you, but…”

“But? But what?!” Jax raised his voice, he didn’t mean to but fear was rushing through is veins. If anything happened to-

“Pomni,” the guard said, making Jax’s heart stop. “Before we escaped, Caine took Pomni.”

Chapter Text

When Zooble had first heard about a traveling circus, she expected that it was like any other circus that came to her town. Clowns with decent jokes, tricks that would leave everyone scratching their heads with curiosity, and a star class act that kept the entire audience on their toes.

It was like that at first, until he saw Gangle. Never before had they seen someone so beautiful before in their life, they had to go introduce themselves! But when they snuck backstage to do so, was when the ugly truth was revealed to them.

The ringmaster was holding a jester by her hair, the girl screaming out in pain as some sort of blue mist was being sucked out of where her heart was. The rest of the troupe were being restrained by red mist while forced to watch this whole ordeal go down, each time they tried to move a screech of agony would leave their mouths. It was cruel, oh so cruel.

By the time the ringmaster finally let go did both the red smoke and blue mist disappear. He started yelling at the jester, calling her vile names, striking across the face until a clown stood in front of her, demanding for the ringmaster to leave her alone. With a final threat from the pair of dentures did the ringmaster finally leave. The jester had started crying while the clown gathered her up in his arms and shushed her, a ragdoll, a Sun and Moon, two lions and the ribboned lady - that Zooble would later learn was named Gangle – surrounding them and offering as much comfort as they could.

After seeing all that happened, Zooble couldn’t just do nothing! They couldn’t let these people live this type of life any longer!

When the sky was dark, and the place was empty, Zooble had snuck into the ground. She dodged every guard that was there, their detachable body pieces being a massive help with getting into small places. He finally came across some sort of living quarters. Well, they used the term ‘living quarters’ quite loosely. It looked like more of a prison, with each member kept inside a stone building with caged doors.

She spotted Gangle through a barred window, the girl’s mask illuminated by the moonlight as a black tear ran down her white cheek. Zooble felt his heart break right there and then, how could someone so beautiful be subjected to such misery? He had run up to her, easing her fright when she saw them. They explained to her how they wanted to help her and the rest of the troupe escape, that they knew people in their village who could provide them safe passage away from the ringmaster. Never before had Zooble seen so much happiness and relief flood in a person’s face like Gangle’s did.

And so, a plan was formed. Zooble would pretend to be a new performer looking to be recruited. Then once Caine hired her, they reached out to a few of her old friends that they knew could be trusted with something as serious as this to help them get to a safe place. Next would be summoning the town’s guards to handle Caine and his goons while they escaped.

It was all coming together one night, after Zooble’s first performance. It might have been his first night there but the ringmaster had rung him ragged. It didn’t matter though, as long as Gangle and the rest of her family was safe then it would all be worth it. However there was one thing that they all needed, a distraction. Caine had his eyes on them at all times, all they needed was an opening for him to look away and they would be free. But what?

“Everything’s set up, and my folks are outside to help us to the station,” Zooble stated, having been outside the tent and coming back inside. “Anyone got any ideas yet?”

“I could set the stove on fire?” Sun suggested, “Like that last time I made muffins?”

Everyone cringed at that memory. “That won’t be necessary Sun,” Kaufmo intervened. “Besides, there are still civilians in the tent, we can’t let them get hurt.”

Sun nodded slowly with realisation, sheepishly kicking his foot into the ground.

“Perhaps we could have Simba and Kovu cause some chaos?” Gangle piped up. “There’s nothing more chaotic than two vicious lions!”

“Please don’t!” Ragatha paled. “My lions are already getting a bad reputation because of their breed, doing that might make it worse! Besides, I don’t want Caine to hurt them.”

Said lions went up to the ragdoll, pushing their heads in her sides to comfort her as she ran her hands through their manes, like two giant cats.

“Oh, sorry Ragatha,” Gangle whimpered, “I wasn’t thinking properly.”

“It’s okay, you didn’t know,” Zooble reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. The smile Gangle gave them almost made Zooble pass out with glee.

“No, we need something else,” Kaufmo pondered. “Something that doesn’t cause harm yet is easy enough to help us escape.”

“But how?” Moon asked. “We have less than half an hour to get on stage before Caine drags us up there, what can we do to cause a distraction like that?!”

Pomni – Zooble believed that was her name – had been quiet the whole time, deep in thought as her gaze travelled to the crack in the stage curtains. Out of everyone else here, she was the one most desperate to escape. She had something Caine desired that no one else had, which put her in the most danger. Her mind had been in a whirlwind, she had an idea but she wasn’t sure if the others would agree with or even like it. Her fingers flexed when she turned and walked to her guitar, picking it up. “Guys?” she meekly spoke, “I have an idea.”

Kaufmo stopped mid conversation to look at his daughter, his eyes trailing to her guitar before it looked as though his whole world crumbled before him. “Pomni no!” he exclaimed, “I’m not risking you with that insane bastard! He’s put you through enough as it is!”

“Pa trust me!” she pleaded, “I’m not going into this blind, I know what I’m doing!” She sighed, gripping the handle tighter. “We’ve been waiting for a chance like this for years, and we can’t lose it now. Yes, I’m still…so afraid of Caine, but I know that he’s weak and he’ll need more of my powers soon, we won’t be able to get another chance like this. I can’t just stand by being nothing while you risk everything for me. I’m part of this family too, let me help. Please.”

For a minute Zooble forgot the clown and jester weren’t related, the clown matching the same concerned whirlwind in his eyes that his adopted daughter had moments ago. Zooble knew that blood didn’t equal family, of course, but never has he seen such a prolific example of an unrelated family like Kaufmo and Pomni. Eventually, the clown sighed as he nervously rubbed his hands together, “Okay, but no more than five minutes to distract him, got it?”

“Don’t worry, I have a feeling it won’t take that long,” Pomni said.

“So,” the clown started, a little more accepting -he was still scared for her but he knew that his little girl was smart. “What’s the plan?”

.

.

.

Caine grinned as the audience thundered with applause, another performance well done. Hiring that contortionist wasn’t a bad idea after all, their act had drawn enough gasps and surprise from the crowd, which resulted in extra cash to put in his pocket. He floated onto the stage as a few extra claps were sent his way, he waved his hand in faux humbleness as he set himself back onto his feet.

“Please, you’re too kind,” he greeted, waiting for the audience to quiet a little before speaking again. “It has been such an honour performing in your little village, truly. It isn’t easy running a circus like this, to make sure things are running smoothly and no little secrets are revealed – after all, a magician would never do the same so why should we?” His voice lilted in a joking manner, earning him a laugh from the audience.

“But still,” Caine continued, “It’s all worth it if we get to perform in front of such a lovely audience like yourselves. Despite our travels it still amazes us that-” a fit of coughing tore him away from his speech, clutching a hand to his chest with each splutter and wheeze that escaped his throat. He heard the crowd gasp and murmur at his sudden display of weakness. He growled as he clutched the amulet around his throat, he was running out of power again. Nothing a little jester wouldn’t fix.

He cleared his throat, rising to his full height again as he continued to speak, “As I was saying, it still amazes us with how much appreciation we receive from each town we visit, and you lot are no exception! But now is the time to say goodbye. I know, parting is always so sad, but its not forever! Just-”

He was cut off but the crowd whispering to one another with curiosity, looking right past Caine to gaze at something else on stage. Caine grumbled under his breath, who would dare interrupt his speech…“What do you think you’re doing,” he hissed under his breath as Pomni emerged from the curtains, guitar in hand.

The jester gulped, “An encore for our generous audience, they’ve been really sweet to us tonight. It would be rude not to before we leave.”

Anger was boiling in the pit of his stomach, feeling nothing but rage for this ridiculous girl that interrupted him. But the audience started to get excited, the promise of an encore was something they couldn’t refuse. And if Caine wanted to keep the image of a promising ringmaster, he would have to comply. “Sly girl,” he murmured onto his breath before relaxing into his upbeat persona again. “Of course my dear! Please, entertain our dear audience before our departure.”

A shaky breath escaped her lips, gripping the handle of her guitar as she took a few steps onto the stage. Caine’s suddenly blocked her path and glared at her, forcing her to bite her tongue to prevent her frightened yelp from escaping, “But no funny business, you’re a jester little Pom-pom, it doesn’t mean we need your absurdness all the time.”

It seemed like a harmless joke, it gained laughter from the audience. But Pomni knew Caine long enough to detect whenever he was making a threat. Doing such a risk like this meant putting her literal life on the line, making her walk on eggshells. But she would gladly do it a thousand times if it meant her family could gain their freedom.

She watched as Caine retreated off the stage and took a seat in the front row, the only row that was reserved just for him and his guards. Pomni felt herself begin to tremble, feeling every pair of the millions of eyes watching her every move. She exhaled slowly, forcing that fear down. Then, her fingers began to pluck at the strings. A soft melody echoed throughout the tent, slightly melancholy yet somehow still hopeful. When the audience – and Caine – seemed to be focused on her - and only her - she began to sing.

There's blood on the side of the mountain

There's writing all over the wall

Shadows of us are still dancin'

In every room and every hall

She feared choosing this song. If the plan didn’t work then the repercussions of this would leave her in a near death-like state. But she knew it was the only way to get Caine’s focus to be on her, no other song would work like this one.

There's snow fallin' over the city

You thought that it would wash away

The bitter taste of my fury

And all of the messes you made

Yeah, you think that you got away

She glared at Caine, unknowing where she found this sudden bout of courage. Maybe part of her wanted him to hear what she had to say, to finally show him that she wasn’t his ‘possession’ anymore, that she wanted to be free. For a moment, Pomni forgot she was scared.

But I'm in the trees, I'm in the breeze

My footsteps on the ground

You'll see my face in every place

But you can't catch me now

Through wading grass, the months will pass

You'll feel it all around

I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere

But you can't catch me now

No, you can't catch me now

She felt the atmosphere shift ever so slightly, her voice stuttering a bit on that last note. She knew what that meant, Caine’s anger was growing. Her fear started to return, but she had to keep going.

Bet you thought I'd never do it

Thought it'd go over my head

I bet you figured I'd pass with the winter

Be somethin' easy to forget

Oh, you think I'm gone 'cause I left

She stepped forward, not taking her eyes off him for a second. He wasn’t going to let her back down anymore.

But I'm in the trees, I'm in the breeze

My footsteps on the ground

You'll see my face in every place

But you can't catch me now

Through wading grass, the months will pass

You'll feel it all around

I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere

But you can't catch me now

No, you can't catch me now

Ooh, ooh

Ooh, ooh

The audience clapped and cheered at her vocals, whispering to one another about how amazing she sounded. Caine growled at the praise the jester was receiving. How dare she. He worked hard to whip this circus into shape and now the audience that he set this up for was focusing their attention on that stupid little attention seeker?! He was the only one to be given that glory, not this dumb little songbird!

He was going to snap his fingers, to make that little jester get off his stage. But the moment the appendages made contact, nothing happened. He cursed under his breath, the amulet was running out of magic. Caine would have to be forced to wait until after this embarrassment of a performance was over to teach Pomni a lesson.

“Sir,” a voice from one of his hunters made his hands turn into fists. “We have a problem.”

You can't, you can't catch me now

I'm comin' like a storm into your town

“I’m not in the mood,” Caine spat, not bothering to face the hunter. “Get lost.”

“I can’t sir, I’m afraid we have a problem,” the hunter said, his voice verging on worry despite the monotone he presented.

“Bah!” Caine exclaimed, he just couldn’t have a moment’s peace. “What is it?!”

You can't, you can't catch me now

I'm higher than the hopes that you brought down

“We just had word that the town’s guards are surrounding the tent,” the hunter told him, trying to hide the fact that he was dreading his boss’s response.

“Excuse me?!” Caine burst. “And why am I only receiving this information now?!”

You can't, you can't catch me now

I'm comin' like a storm into your town

“It seemed to be a planned invasion sir, but we’re not sure how,” the hunter gulped. “We’ve been keeping an eye on the prisoners so it couldn’t have been them.”

Caine’s eyes faded, realisation dawning on him through the clouded anger, “Or could it…”

You can't, you can't catch me now

I'm higher than the hopes that you brought down

That was why Pomni was singing, it was a distraction. That little rat was trying to escape. The audience could be damned, this performance was ending right here right now. “Pomni!” Caine screamed. “You little brat! How dare you!”

You can't, you can't catch me now

I'm comin' like a storm into your town

You can't, you can't catch me now

You can't, you can't, you can't

He ran onto the stage, ignoring the crowd’s gasps at his sudden shift in behaviour. He got closer to Pomni, reaching his hand out to grab her, only for the girl to disappear into blue smoke the moment he tried to touch her.

Angered pants escaped his mouth, the girl was gone, his magic was gone. The sound of a train whistle far in the distance confirming that she and the rest of those circus freaks were going to be long gone before he could catch them. “Well played Pomni,” he stood back, slightly amused. He could recognise a good chess player when he saw one. “But this game isn’t over yet.”

The entrance to the tent was ripped open, hundreds and thousands of the town’s guards showering in as they took out each of Caine’s hunters. They tried to fight back, spitting in the guard’s faces, claiming that they would never have the power to stop them.

But Caine was still, silent, the complete opposite of his outward personality. He let the guards cuff him as they pinned him down on the stage. He was a patient man, he would escape. And soon, Pomni would be his and his alone.

.

.

.

Kaufmo pulled Pomni onto the moving train, they had barely made it on time. But her hallucination trick worked. Caine was no more. “It’s okay kiddo,” he rubbed her shoulder in a side hug as they watch the world fly by on the carriage. “We’re free now, thanks to you.”

“Yeah…yeah,” she started to laugh, high and carefree. She was still stunned, still in disbelief. Was this real? Was this their new life now? The laughs turned to sobs, her body trembling as Kaufmo brought her close, rubbing her back. “Pa.”

“I know, I know,” he shushed her soothingly. “I’m here kiddo, I’m here.”

They stood there for a while, the clown letting his daughter cry as much as she needed to. She had been through enough, she could finally breathe. After a while she pulled away, rubbing away the excess tears on her cheeks. “I need some air.”

“That’s alright,” Kaufmo told her. “I’ll be at the door if you need me.”

Pomni gave him a watery smile, “Thanks Pa.”

She turned on her heel, heading out the door of the carriage that led to the balcony right at the end. Pomni sighed as the door shut behind her, letting the breeze untangle her locks, taking in as much hair as possible.

There's blood on the side of the mountain

It's turning a new shade of red

Yeah, sometimes the fire you founded

Don't burn the way you'd expect

Yeah, you thought that this was the end

They were free…right?

.

.

.

“Stay away!” Pomni screamed, a hunter was getting too close to comfort for her. She twisted her hands, blue smoke appearing. Two long branches extended from the tree behind them, winding around their waist and throwing them away. The king and queen’s guards had been ambushed during their travels, the hunters coming out of nowhere.

Without the protection, the gloink hunters had easily gotten a hold of the rest of the circus members, with them trying to fight back to the best of their abilities. The lions had put up one hell of fight but the gloinks were quick to wrap ropes around their necks and forced them into cages. There was this red smoke, disabling the king’s guards…bile rose at the thought of who provided that smoke. And how far near he would be.

Pomni tried to help as best as she could, her powers had grown, she could do it…at least, she was trying. Motley was hiding behind her legs, trembling at the scene before him. “It’s gonna be okay,” she reassured the kitten. She had to be strong, they were all counting on her.

She scowled as more hunters approached, trying to look as intimidating as possible. She snapped her fingers, fading into the background to the confusion on the gloink’s faces. She picked up Motley, the kitten camouflaging the moment he was in her arms. Pomni flicked her hand, teleporting behind the hunters. Picking up a large branch behind her, she whacked them in the back of their heads, watching as they stumbled around.

Taking advantage of their dazed states, she rushed to her family tied in ropes. Her invisible state would make it harder for the guards to catch her in the act, so she had some time. A whimper escaped her when she heard more approach, dropping the rope in order to fight back.

She turned her hands in a circular motion, blue mist surrounding the carriage and flung it at the hunters, creating momentary blockage. She turned one last time, picking up the ropes against while a cold liquid hit the small of her back. Pomni yelped, her body seizing and freezing in place, the camouflage wearing off. She couldn’t move. Why couldn’t she move?!

“Did you know that the black market has such wonderful little trinkets?” a low, amused voice made Pomni’s blood run cold. “Apparently they had to raid many witch covens in order to take their potions. Not a lot of survivors either.   

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no-

“It’s wonderful to see you again my little possession,” Caine came into view, tossing and catching a bottle of sparkling purple liquid in the palm of his hand. “You’ve been gone for too long.”

“Caine!” Kaufmo yelled, struggling against his binds. “Get away from my daughter!”

“Ah, Kaufmo,” Caine sauntered up to him, his eyes sneering. “After all our time together, you betrayed me for the girl that you pretend is your child.”

“She is my child,” Kaufmo glared at him. “And I would betray you ten more times with a smile and be damn pleased about it if it meant keeping her safe.”

Caine’s hand twitched against the bottle in irritation, bringing a swift kick to the side of Kaufmo’s face, making the clown yell out in pain.

“Pa!” Pomni screamed, the potion hadn’t affected her voice. “Caine leave him alone! He’s not your problem!”

Caine hummed, turning back to the girl, “You’re right.” He took a few steps back towards her, “You have been nothing but a thorn in my side. I kept a roof over your head, I let you in when no one else wanted you, I made you a goddamn star. Yet you stomped all over that because of your own selfishness.”

Pomni scowled at this twisted tale Caine somehow came up with, as if that were really how it happened, “Selfish?! You kidnapped me off the streets! You forced me to perform until I couldn’t stand! You hurt me and my family every single day and stole my magic – my life force from me! You did that cause you couldn’t stand how small you felt and blamed it on me! A child! How dare you call me selfish!”

Caine grabbed her face, his gripping fingers no doubt bruising her cheeks, “You sure have developed an attitude during your little holiday.”

“I learned a lot when I wasn’t under your control anymore,” she snarled, a new surge of bravery filling her.

The old ringmaster was silent for a while, something that used to make her dread whenever he used to do that. What he said next reminded her why she always dreaded it, “Well then. It seems we need to work on your behaviour.” He looked past her, “Cuff her.”

Two pairs of forceful hands grabbed her arms, the cold feeling of rough metal sliding around her skin as a pair of rusty cuffs were forced onto her wrists. She cried out as the hunters pulled the chain connected to the cuffs, pulling her away, “What are you doing?! Let me go!”

Motley ran from her feet, hiding behind a bush.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, my possession,” he trailed along beside her as she was dragged somewhere else. “Your little gift has been too important to me, the power that runs through me. It’s become more than simply feeling alive. With just you alone, I can use that gift to create a newer, better circus! I wasted too many years on those retched nobodies whining all the time, but it’s finally paid off after having you.”

He reached into his breast pocket, Pomni’s heart dropped to her stomach when she saw that he was taking out none other than the amulet that caused all her suffering. “No, Caine! Please!” she struggled, trying to get away but the chain kept her in place. “Please don’t! I won’t fight you! Just don’t use that on me, please!”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that my darling. Now, stay still,” his thumb smoothed over the gem, the amulet glowing as it did many times before. White hot skin leaving its burning mark on every part of Pomni’s body, an inhuman scream scratching her throat as her familiar blue mist was lifted from her heart. Her eyes teared up as it turned into the same blood red colour of Caine’s jacket, before being sealed away into the amulet. It felt likes hours of nothing but that aching, non-stop torture, until the amulet stopped glowing, allowing Pomni’s body to slump over. Caine let out a satisfied breath, waving his fingers as the red smoke trailed around them, “Now that’s more like it. Take her away.”

She wasn’t given a chance to breathe before her wrists were pulled away, forcing her shaking legs to stand as a metal carriage entered her vision. A small, barred window being her only thing to see out of. Pomni began to tremble, trying to dig her feet into the ground but the hunters were much stronger and her limbs were still aching.

“Pomni! Ack, these damn ropes!” Kaufmo tried to fight against the bindings, to find a loose spot until a hunter pressed a foot into his back, digging his heel in. “Get off me! Pomni!”

“Pomni!” Moon cried out, glaring at Caine. “Let her go!”

“And why would I do that?” he sneered at her. “The rest of you are useless to me, but however it will keep my competition at bay if I give you to them.”

“Y-you’re selling us?!” Ragatha gasped.

He leaned in towards the ragdoll’s face, his eyes darkening, “Be grateful, I could have killed you all right here right now.”

Motley hissed, running from his hiding place and sank his teeth and claws into Caine’s leg. The ringmaster hissed as the little kitten bit harder, shaking his leg until he kicked, sending the cat flying and hitting the side of the circus carriage. Motley let out a pained meow at the impact.

“Motley!” Pomni cried out.

The little kitten wasn’t deterred, hissing at the pair of dentures as he stood, despite stumbling from an injured paw. The feline spat at Caine, before turning and running in another direction. “Stupid little beast,” Caine muttered, looking back at the hunters. “Why are you still standing there?! Take her away.”

The hunters nodded, pulling on the chain and dragged Pomni to the metal carriage, throwing her in and slamming the door behind her. They ignored her curses and yells as they locked the door. “We arrive at the docks in one hour,” Caine told them, making his way to another carriage. “If that prince catches wind of what has happened then he’ll be after us for sure. As for the rest of them, make sure that they are given to someone who’ll never let them see the light of day ever again.”

“No! No!” Kaufmo tried to stand, but he was shoved back down to the ground again. “Let her go Caine! Pomni!”

“Kaufmo!” Pomni yelled from inside the metal carriage. “Pa!”

Caine chuckled as the doors slammed, effectively locking the door inside. The ringmaster had finally claimed his prize.

However, what he didn’t know was the small knife that was currently held in the kitten’s mouth, a knife that Caine dropped during their scuffle. Limping over to two guards tied up at the side, he laid it on the ground next to them and ran off. He had to warn Jax about what was happening. The kitten had gotten a few feet away when Motley before heard the commotion and clanging off weapons as the freed guards trailed after him. His plan was complete.

The ringmaster growled, glaring at two of his hunters, “After them!”

The masked men nodded, not wanting to risk upsetting the ringmaster any further as they took off after him. Caine would have sent more, but time was off the essence. And he needed the remaining hunters to make sure the rest of the circus members wouldn’t escape and another half to transport them to the docks. No matter, he could do it. “Ready the carriage, I want to be at those docks by sunset at the latest!” He stormed off, jumping back into his own wagon.

With a flick of the reins, the horses of the carriages galloped away, further distancing Pomni and the others. “Pa!”

“Pomni!” Kaufmo tried to stand, fight, anything! He had to get to his daughter! But the hunters were stronger than him, keeping him in one place.

The girl ran to the barred window, watching as the clown became a small yellow drop. Then he was gone. Pomni slipped down onto the cold floor of the carriage, bringing her knees up to her chest and hugging them. It was funny how quick she was to lose her freedom. The warmth of her family? Gone. Her dreams of becoming a singer? Evaporated. The hope of seeing Jax again…Jax.

The last thing he would remember her by was their final dance and goodbye, he was never going to see her again. At least she left him with good memories. Instead of this caged bird who was too afraid to fly.

No.

No more fear. She was going to be free no matter what cage or barricade Caine left for her. All she had to do was wait and the moment would come.

She just had to wait…

.

.

.

“Those hunters chased us down, attacked us when we kept running, that’s how the little guy got further ahead when we escaped,” The guard explained, pointing to Motley. “We don’t know how far he’s gotten with Pomni or what he’s done with the others. But we gotta act fast.”

Jax’s chest heaved as the guards finished their story. Their wounds were healed and the kitten’s foot was bandaged up as he held him in his arms, but the thought of Pomni being in the clutches of that monster made his blood boil. She didn’t deserve this, none of them deserved this.

He placed Motley in his mother’s arms, storming out the room.

“Jax!” Queenie called out to him. “Where are you going.”

“I’m readying my horse,” he spoke, not stopping or slowing down. “I’m getting Pomni back.”

“What?!” Queenie exclaimed, clutching to Motley with panic.

“Jax I forbid it!” Kinger boomed. “I will not allow that lunatic to get anywhere near you!”

The rabbit whipped round, “I’m not going to stand here and do nothing while Caine drags Pomni back into isolation!”

Kinger scowled, shaking his head, “Do not be a fool! From what we were told that madman has more power than we can ever imagine. If you head in there without a plan he will end your life there on the spot! I am not losing my son!”

Jax exhaled sharply, “I’d rather die without a plan than let the woman I love suffer anymore.”

With that, he stormed out, not wanting to look at the fear filling his parents faces. He didn’t think he would be able to bare have that printed in his mind and have it hinder his plans. But he didn’t want to leave them with that anxiety brewing, a plan forming in his head with each step he took, “I’ll round up the guards we have here at the castle, they’ll go after the rest of the circus performers. If Caine isn’t with them, they’ll be able to overpower his minions and free them. They can catch up to me while I find Pomni.”

He looked up to the guard at the doors, the latter nodding to the prince as he went to follow his orders. Jax ran down the hallway, ignoring his parents calls as he headed to the stables.

Within moments, he was outside saddling his horse and ready to go. Not a second to lose. He mounted the animal, preparing to leave when-

“Jax!”

His parents ran out, stopping him in his tracks.

The prince sighed, time was off the essence! “Mother, father. Please trust me when I say that I have to do this.”

“It’s not that,” Kinger told him, the rabbit blinking in surprise.

He looked down, in his father’s hands was a brown scabbard, slightly scratched and seemed to be from a time before his own. Gripping the handle poking from the top, Kinger pulled out a sword. The silvered blade gleamed in the sunlight, indents of writing engraved into the weapon.

“Honoris manu iuncta,” Kinger spoke, sliding the blade back into the scabbard. “It means ‘to be welded with a hand of honour. My father used this to defend the people of this kingdom whenever they were in danger, including those he cared about. On my eighteenth birthday, he gave it to me, to use what it was made for.” He lifted the sheath, handing it to the prince. “And now, I give it to you.”

Jax breath hitched, fingers flexing, itching to take it. But held himself back.

“I can’t stop you from your mission,” the king said. “However, I trust you to use this to help get Pomni back.” Kinger stepped forward, placing the blade directly into Jax’s hands, “Let Caine know that his days of misdeeds are over.”

Jax gripped the weapon in his hand, the anger melting and replacing with determination. He placed the scabbard around his hip, brows furrowed as he nodded to his father, “I’ll do right by you father, mother.” He nodded to Queenie.

The brown chess piece still looked nervous, any mother would be if their child was in this position. Nonetheless, she took Jax’s hand gently, whispering with determination, “Find her.”

Jax grunted affirmatively, looking to Motley in her arms, “Look after them until I get back, alright little buddy?”

Mew!

He smiled softly, his frown returning as he turned his horse to the castle gate. He looked at the sun, he had to hurry before it had fully set and the docks were empty. “Hang in there Pomni, I’m coming.”

He flicked his reigns, and he was off. Dust forming behind him as his horse ran out of the gates, through the village and out into the woods. Time was of the essence.

.

.

.

Kaufmo had his face in his hands, his heartbeat erratic. The gloinks had wheeled in a separate carriage, intended for the rest of the circus. Everyone was in chains, Moon comforting her sibling, Ragatha fearing for her lions’ safety, Gangle and Zooble holding one another.

The clown’s fingers gripped his scalp, his baby being caged like an animal. He couldn’t think about himself when his anxiety shot through his bloodstream at the thought about what Caine was going to do to his daughter. He didn’t even know where Pomni was being taken, he could never see her again. Never know about the type of pain Caine could be putting her through.

Get it together Kaufmo, Pomni needs you right now. You can’t get caught up in your thoughts-

The carriage jolted, stopping abruptly, everyone jumping in shock. Kaufmo’s head snapped up, listening at the confused and enraged shouts from the gloinks from outside. The cast’s panic spiked even more, gripping at each other’s hand, whispering reassuring comforts to each other.

Kaufmo blinked, looking around. Every hair on end and ready to defend his family. Another scream and a bang went off outside, Kaufmo immediately standing up to face whatever danger was outside. The door rattled, the clown’s fists tightening, ready to fight as a key turned in the lock. The door opened.

Kaufmo’s jaw dropped, “The king’s guards!”

The others looked up, relief washing through them seeing Laphria’s symbol on the guard’s armour. They were going to be ok.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” the guard replied. He opened the doors wider, Kaufmo couldn’t help the faint smugness as he saw the hunters in the same tied up position they put them in a few hours ago.

“The gloinks have been subdued, we’re here to take you back to the castle,” the guard told them, helping each one of the circus members out of the carriage. With a dagger, each guard snapped off the rope tying their wrists, each one of them rubbing the bruising redness they had received.

Zooble had their arms embracing Gangle, Sun and Moon had wrapped up Ragatha in tight squeeze, and the ragdoll let out a cried laugh as she saw two familiar lions run up to her, having also been freed from their cages.

But there was still something missing. “Wait! Caine took Pomni! We need to find her!” He rambled, his nerves on end when the guard placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Everything is going to be fine,” the guard explained.

“No, no it’s not!” Kaufmo didn’t mean to snap, but he knew what the old ringmaster was capable of, with fear getting the better of him. “We need to get to the docks before-”

“The prince is already on his way,” the guard said. Kaufmo froze, looking to the former slowly. “Half of us will be following him to the docks while the rest of us take you back.”

“He…he is?” Kaufmo’s voice was low and gentle.

“Trust me,” the guard informed him. “The prince will do whatever it takes to make sure your daughter makes a safe return. We believe that this is the last time she will see Caine ever again.”

There was no doubt in the guard’s voice. He had known Jax longer than Kaufmo did, at least long enough for him to have faith in the words he spoke.

BOOM!

Kaufmo jumped as the sound of thunder clapped, a few droplets of rain falling as the clouds turned grey, swarming over the blue sky. “Pomni, hang in there” the clown breathed, looking off to the distance.

.

.

.

Pomni shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. The metal walls of the wagon and the sudden change in the weather making goosebumps form on her skin. She wished she didn’t get out of bed that morning. She should have stayed in the kingdom longer. She should have convinced her family to do the same. It was all her fault that they were now being dragged to their doom, and she was forced to be Caine’s puppet once again.

She bit her tongue, refusing to let any tears fall. She wouldn’t give the brute the satisfaction of having her cry more. Breath she told herself, just breathe. Breathe, breathe, breathe. Just breathing wasn’t helping, she could still feel the chill seeping into her skin, each jolt of the wagon making her gasp. She needed something else. She needed to…sing. Caine might punish her later, but she wasn’t going to let him make her stop singing.

Come back to me and stay by my side

I feel my heart shake

Come, ease this ache

Her voice was shaky, fear making her clam up as she tried to continue her song. Don’t force it out.

I'm standing over here, reaching for you

A million miles away, come back and stay

She would be lying if she said she wasn’t singing this song about anyone in particular. But if there was some omnipotent force out there. She hoped – no – she prayed that somehow this song back it to Jax. That somehow he would hear this plea, realise she’s in danger and try to find her. He did it before, she could only pray it would happen again. Or maybe there was no hope with that, maybe she really was doomed.

Still, she kept singing.

No matter how far the memories may be

When I close my eyes, you're all that I see

Come back to me

A million miles away, come back and stay-

She jumped as a fist banged on the roof of the carriage. “Shut it in there!” a voice grunted, before flicking the reins of the horse again. Pomni scowled, ignoring the voice and returned to her song.

La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

She pretended that she wasn’t in this dingy, cold wagon, dreading what the rest of her life was going to be. In her mind, she was back in the circus tent in Laphria. The lights were beaming, the crowd was cheering, her family was smiling and supporting her from backstage, all the while she sang her song for anyone who wanted to hear.

When the song was over, she would bow to the audience as they screamed her name and pleaded for an encore. But she wouldn’t be wrapped up in that, instead – on the far left of the stage – stood a familiar rabbit prince, grinning from cheek to cheek.

She would return that grin, curl her finger in a come-hither motion to hint to him to join her on that stage. He wouldn’t waste a beat, running on and gathering her in his arms. Everything else didn’t matter, only he did as his fingers ran through her hair. She would pull her head away to look at him, smiling softly.

He would hook his finger under her chin, guiding her lips to his-

The wagon stopped, her daydream fading to dust as her heart plummeted to her stomach. They were here.

No, no she couldn’t let this happen. She can’t leave, she won’t leave!

I’m stronger than I know. Pa saw, Jax saw it, everyone saw it. I need to see it to.

She closed her eyes, the lock of the chains pictured in her mind. She felt her power rush through her, it had been building up overtime since she escaped Caine the first time. No matter how much Caine took from her, she would always be stronger than him. This was her magic, he was just pathetic enough to force it from her and claim it as his own.

The lock shifted slightly, forcing Pomni to suppress a gasp as she heard voices from outside.

“Make sure those chains are secure when you board her on the ship,” Caine’s voice was distinct.

Pomni had to hurry. Blue mist surrounded her and filled the wagon, like steam in a hot room. She could do this, she had to do this. She needed to be free.

The lock snapped open. The chains fell to the ground.

She did it.

Her breath shuddered as she looked at her wrists.

The doors of the wagon opened, the mist pouring out like a raging river. Pomni furrowed her brows, now it was time to really see what she could do.

She snapped her fingers, the feeling of the cold rain hitting her skin the moment she teleported outside the wagon. The gloink hunters whipped round, a mixed sound of confusion coming from the masked men before erupting into raged screams as they raced towards herself. Pomni didn’t move a muscle, flicking her wrist as the blue mist travelled around the wagon and a few other carriage, forming a barricade in front of the hunters, the sounds of weapons clanging and dropping to the ground.

But she wasn’t done, Pomni could hear the marching, running footsteps of more hunters behind her. She snapped her fingers again, camouflaging herself into the scenario, completely invisible. The hunters wasted no time, searching every space in the area to try and find her. Pomni had to keep it up just a bit longer, if she could teleport out of here then she could run away into the woods! Her power might not let her get far but there was no harm in trying.

Pomni shut her eyes, trying to focus on a specific area to disappear to. She didn’t see much from her barred window from the wagon, if she could just-

A hand gripped her hair before an image could appear in her mind, nails digging into her scalp. Red smoke surrounded her, only for a moment before clearing and revealing the wooden ground of a ship. The hand threw her to the ground, her forehead colliding with the hard floor, the burning sting of skin tearing pounding from where her head met wood.

Pomni looked up, of course that hand belonged to Caine. It seemed that he had thought up the same teleporting plan as well.

“I must say, you’ve become quite bold my dear,” Caine sneered. “Though causing a commotion was quite quick to alert me of when you are being a nuisance, doll.”

I am stronger than Caine thinks

“I am not your doll,” she spat, raising to her feet. “You will not treat me like this. Not anymore!”

“Oh how mistaken you are,” the ringmaster growled, raising his hand as the familiar red smoke swarmed his palm. He swung, ready to strike…until blue met red.

He let out a startled grunt, Pomni repeating his action with her own blue mist instead. “You’ve tortured me and my family for years,” Pomni pushed him back. “You abused me for simply breathing wrong. Stole powers that belong to me! I’m done letting you take my happiness from me!”

The rain began to shower harder, drenching the two of them head to toe. Yet despite the chill it gave her, Pomni didn’t back down, glaring harder at the former ringmaster as the blue mist swarmed around her.

It was then that Caine felt a twinge of dread for the first time in his life. He stomped it down, “You will regret disobeying me insolent girl!” His fist raised again, preparing to deliver more pain-

A sword cut through the cuff of his coat, tearing the skin on the palm on his hand, the point landing into the wood of the boat. Pomni’s brows furrowed in confusion, where could that have come from? She looked up, a laugh-mixed gasp escaping her mouth, “Jax!”

.

.

.

The rain was like ice, sharp and freezing Jax’s bones as the chilled wetness ran down his back, arms and face. But he didn’t care, the only thing that kept his fire alive within was the need to get to the docks. The sun had disappeared beneath the clouds, and the rain was blurring his vision. Yet he didn’t stop, not until the docks were in view.

It Caine had so much as touched a single hair on Pomni’s head, Jax was going to chop his hand off. His hands gripped onto his horse’s reins, needing to keep the feeling in his hands for when he finally confronted the monster who tormented the circus’s lives.

That was when he saw it, the ripples of the ocean and the large wooden ships floating atop of it. His heart sped up when he saw something else, a blue sparkling mist that contrasted against the murky clouds and weather. A mist he had only seen one other person create.

He flicked his reins, his horse speeding up faster. When his hooves made contact with the wooden ground, alerting the gloinks ahead of him, did he jump off. He flicked the horse’s reins once again, causing him to run towards the hunters and disorienting them.

The few who hadn’t been run over charged towards him, weapons held high with the intention to kill.

Jax had his fair share of enemies over the years, along with the many self defence and sword techniques his father had taught him. Grabbing the holster on his belt, he swung out the sword his father had given him, his eyes cold as he waited for one of the gloinks to deliver the first blow.   

He dodged quickly when one of them swung, grabbing their arm until it twisted with a sickening crack. As the hunter shrieked in pain, Jax threw him back towards his mates, disarming another as they ran towards him. He grabbed the gloink’s head, bashing it against another’s.

One final gloink tried to strike with a blood curdling yell, but his blind rage was what kept him from seeing Jax brandishing his sword, bringing it forward and stabbing the hunter without remorse. His stared at the hunter, his eyes cold and merciless and when slowly slid the sword out of his abdomen, letting blood stain through his clothing and letting the hunter drop dead to the ground.

It was that final strike, and the prince’s lack of mercy that got the rest of the gloinks to finally run away, not wanting to test the prince’s anger any further. Jax’s blood ran hot, numb to the icy beads pouring down on him. But he didn’t let his adrenaline go just yet, there was still one more person who needed to pay.

 “You will regret disobeying me insolent girl!”

His head whipped round, seeing nothing but red when he saw with his fist raised, and Pomni in front of himself ready to defend herself from his pain. As quick as a gush of wind, Jax aimed and threw his sword, catching the ringmaster’s hand with the point landing in the floor of the boat.

“Jax!”

It was like the clouds were already clearing his mind when hearing Pomni’s voice, and the red vision from his eyes were melting away as she gazed at him with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

He didn’t waste time running up the ramp, avoiding the red smoke the disgruntled ringmaster flung his way, tumbling on the ground to pick up his sword once again. “Motley managed to get back to the castle,” Jax managed a small grin. “Little guy’s a hero.”

Tears escaped Pomni’s eyes, a sense of relief rising she returned his smile. Just that smile alone reassured him that she was going to be okay.

“You,” Caine’s growl was unmistakable, and just how Jax imagined his voice to be.

The prince stood, instinctively standing in front of Pomni, despite the obvious danger in front of him that he was aware could pummel him at any given time. “I suppose I should introduce myself,” Jax gave a mocking bow. “Prince Jax of Laphria, but you can refer to me as ‘your highness’.”

Caine scoffed, “I have no time in fools playing pretend. You think you can be her hero? You have no idea what I’m capable of boy!”

“In case you didn’t hear me the first time, I told you to refer me as ‘your highness’, I don’t think being called ‘boy’ counts,” Jax snickered. Caine irritated eye switch was already providing him with entertainment. But then the prince’s face softened when he felt a hand grasp his. Then he remembered exactly why he was here.

“As for being a fool,” his grip on the handle of his sword tightened. “That title belongs to you good sir. In my kingdom, we don’t take kindly to those who are willing to abuse the innocent for their own gain.”

Caine scoffed, cackling as he glared wickedly at the prince. “Like you?”

Jax bit his tongue, discomfort filling his stomach.

“You think I don’t know about you?” Caine sneered. “You don’t think I don’t know about how you’ve treated your people over the years?! You see the people of Laphria as nothing but dolls! Do you simply pick and choose which ones are best for your little jokes and stories?! Ha! You are nothing but a child playing games, causing mayhem wherever you go! You are Just. Like. Me.”

For a moment, Jax believed him, his hold on the sword loosening slightly. Every time he caused a flood in the town square, released spiders in the hall or even set off fireworks the day he found Motley, he had only one goal in mind. Find entertainment. It didn’t matter who got in the way, as long as he got his vindication. 

“Jax never hurt me,” Pomni’s voice cut through his mental storm. “He never lays a hand on his people, and I’ve seen what he’s capable of in order to defend those he cares about. Unlike you, Jax has proven that he’s able to be kind, brave and loving. But you? You’re nothing but a hollow pit, who used me until I was broken. Comparing yourself to him just proves how weak you truly are.”

Jax didn’t know if he deserved the kind words Pomni spoke about him. But hearing this from her, from the girl who first hated him when arriving in his kingdom, coming to his defence with his morals. Maybe, just maybe, he could become the person she and the people Laphria deserved.

His characteristic grin and confidence returned, turning back to the tooth-faced ringmaster in front of him, “Wanna know the real difference between you and me, dentures?” Jax couldn’t help but snort at the disgruntled reaction Caine had with the nickname. “I might have fun with messing with people, but I don’t let greed consume me. And I’d rather die than stoop as low and as pathetic as you.”

He could see the anger boiling up in Caine, a being as powerful as him mixed with anger would be a recipe for disaster. But Jax knew it could also be an opening for weakness. “I WILL RIP YOU APART!” the screech Caine let out was just as unhuman as he was. At least it proved Jax’s theory, he found the opening.

Caine lunged out, red smoke reaching out to grab Jax. The prince grabbed Pomni as she yelped in surprise, ducking under the smoke and reaching the side of the ship. The smoke was enough to blind them from Caine’s sight momentarily, letting Jax plan his next attack.

However, it seemed that Caine was smarter than Jax gave him credit for. It was only the presence behind him and the hair standing on his neck that alerted of the threat before whipping round and facing Caine towering over him. Jax was quick, slashing his sword underneath Caine’s jaw, the ringmaster cursing with a hiss before disappearing in the smoke again.

“Please be careful,” Pomni begged. Her grip on his hand tightened, “He’s a lot stronger when he’s angry.”

“Don’t worry, I’m familiar with assholes with bigger egos than me,” he winked at her. “If there’s anything my mother taught me, a rich man’s anger can be his downfall.”

Despite the display of confidence he put on, Jax felt his nerves spike the more the red smoke spread. He felt like small prey in the wild, blinded by tall grass that hid a wolf ready to pounce. It also didn’t help that said ‘wolf’ had powers that could kill him if he wasn’t cautious. He had to rely on his instincts and training.

Seconds of silence went by, until it was broken by Caine lunging out once again, this time managing to levitate Jax off the ground. Jax began to feel the air beginning to restrict in his lungs, tears stinging in his eyes as the pressure built, through the blurriness he could see Caine grin sadistically.

Suddenly, he was dropped to the ground, gulping in as much air as he could while trying to regain his vision. His mind was spinning, slowing to a stop to see what or who had come to his rescue.  “Pomni?”

She had put up her own shield of power against Caine, the ringmaster’s eyes widening in shock – and a small twinge of fear. “You are never going to hurt anyone I ever care about ever again!” she pushed him back, the red smoke fading as her mist remained. She looked over her shoulder, a hardened look on her face melting into one of softness and concern. “You alright?”

His heart thudded in his chest, falling in love with her all over again, “Better than ever.”

She reached out a hand towards him, pulling the prince to his feet as they looked at the pair of dentures regaining his strength. A lightbulb went off in Jax’s head, quickly turning to Pomni, “Do you still remember the dance we did at the town festival?”

“What? Why?” Pomni turned to him, puzzled. Why was he bringing this up now.

“Trust me, and trust your gut,” Jax motioned to Caine, grinning.

She looked to the ringmaster getting to his feet. Trust him and my gut yeah, she could do that. “Alright,” she nodded.

He took her hands in his, suddenly spinning her around. Pomni yelped, making sure to remember her footing as Jax dipped her low.

Caine scoffed as he looked towards the couple, “Dancing? Now?” Red smoke swarmed his hands again. “YOU TWO ARE NOTHING BUT LOVESICK FOOLS!”

The smoke formed into a ball within his hand as he hurtled it towards them. Pomni reflexes were quick as she caught it, red turning blue as Jax pulled her back up again. Caine gaped at the sudden action. She never did that before.

Jax spun Pomni back towards his chest, the rabbit smirking and winking at her. Matching his grin, she threw the blue mist back at Caine, sending him back a few feet.

“See, told ya so,” Jax snickered.

“Save it for later princey, we’ve still got work to do,” Pomni rolled her eyes.

“That we do,” Jax agreed.

Caine stood again, his eyes darkening with madness. Pomni tried to calm herself, whenever he used to have that look all hell would break loose. “Jax,” she looked up at the prince, his hand covering hers. “I want to end this.”

His grip on her hand tightened reassuringly, “Let’s do it.”

He spun her around again, her mist following suit as they disappeared within it. Caine growled, “That trick won’t work on me!”

Another ball of red smoke was charged within their direction, cancelling out the mist. However, it wasn’t Pomni that was there, just Jax. “Where did she-”. Jax whipped out his sword, not letting the ringmaster finish his sentence. A cut had sliced into Caine's chest and upper jaw, blood dribbling out. “YOU LITTLE-”

“Hey, it’s not me you should be worrying about,” Jax grunted, his words covered with a protective glint. Red smoke suddenly wrapped around his throat, Jax gasped for air as he was slowly dragged towards Caine, making him eye to eye with the ringmaster. The red smoke tightened.

“Excuse me,” Caine’s voice was dangerously low.

Jax smiled tiredly, glancing up, “I’m just the distraction.”

There was a brief moment of confusion for the old ringmaster before he looked up as well, but he didn’t have time to react with what happened next. Pomni has been floating above him, her mist keeping her up before she jumped down and tackled the ringmaster to the ground.

The red smoke released Jax as the prince gasped for air, keeping a grip on his sword. But it seemed that Pomni didn’t need his help. Her mist kept Caine pinned to the ground, even if took some effort. “You really think you can stop me!” he spat. “YOU WILL ALWAYS BE THAT WEAK CHILD THAT NOBODY CARED ABOUT!”

“NO I’M NOT!” Pomni screamed back. “Because unlike you, I didn’t have to steal anything to be great.” She grabbed the amulet around his neck, glaring daggers. “I always have been.”

With that, she tore it off his neck, ignoring his pitiful yelling as she threw it away, with Jax piercing his sword through the gem. With a shatter, it was finally broken. There was no more red smoke. Only Pomni and her mist remained. She scrambled off Caine, with Jax helping her to her feet.

Caine spluttered, gathering his surroundings as he climbed onto his knees, grabbing the broken amulet as the shattered pieces spilled from his hands like crumbled sand. “You stupid girl!” he barked. “How could you do this to me?!”

She didn’t answer, she didn’t want to waste anymore of her energy on this monster. She was done with him. She gasped when a hand touched her shoulder, relaxing when Jax was the one behind her. She leaned into him, letting him squeeze her tight. As though he had to make sure she was here and in one piece.

The sounds of horses and clanking armour alerted the both of them as a swarm of the palace guards ran onto the ship. Two of them grabbed both of Caine’s arm respectively, ignoring the man’s protests and feeble attempts to escape. Throwing him into a caged wagon similar to the one he threw Pomni in as they wheeled him away.

The rain stopped, clouds clearing as the rays of the sun parted through.

“It’s over,” Pomni whispered. “He’s finally gone.” She was frozen in place, as though she were unsure what her next action should be.

“Hey, hey it’s ok,” Jax took her arm in his, gently leading her off the ship. He guided her back to his horse, carefully lifting her up onto his saddle. He pulled himself up behind her, taking the reigns as he felt her back press up against his front. Her touch reassuring him that she was here.

“I’m taking her back to the castle,” he told a guard. With a flick of the reigns, the horse galloped out of the docks, away from that ship and away from Caine.

They had gotten a few miles away until a gasp from Pomni made him stop, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s just…I think…” Pomni paused between breaths. She wasn’t panicking, but she didn’t seem all quite there. “I need a moment.”

Jax smiled scanning his surroundings. He knew where they were, they could stop for a while. He swung himself off and helped Pomni down off the horse. He took the reins in one hands and Pomni’s arm in his own. “Follow me,” he spoke gently, leading her throughout the forest.

The quietness of the forest helped to calm Pomni down. Along with the feeling of Jax’s warmth and the horse’s hoofs against the soft grass, it was a stark different to the loud, cold docks. They wandered for a while, Pomni wasn’t sure where Jax was taking her. Suddenly, there was an opening to the clearing. And then there were no more trees, a field of pink roses roaming for miles and miles. Her eyes widened, it was so beautiful.

“This was where my father proposed to my mother,” he told her. “No royal balls or banquets. Just the flowers and silence around them. They took me here when I was a child whenever I was sad or afraid. This field is rooted with the memories of what we cherish most. It isn’t tainted with those who wronged us, it is here to remind us of the peace we have and the peace we can create.”

He picked up a rose, twisting off the stem and placed it behind Pomni’s hair, “Pomni. I’ve loved you ever since the moment I saw you, that is the absolute truth. But it was your fiery nature that made me take a look at the man I was, and how much I hated that man. I wanted to be who I truly wanted to be, not to win you over, but to be someone that I was happy with being. Only then did I deserve your kindness.” He cupped her cheek. “I don’t love you for the performance you put on. I kept falling in love with you because you saw the world for what it could become. For the kindness it could create, for the passion it can hold. You hold such a beauty within yourself and you spread it to everyone who appreciates your kindness. And you have been hurt so many times yet still held onto hope. Caine will rot forever for all the damage he had cost you and your family.”

He took Pomni’s hands in his, “I want you to hear this and believe me when I say this. You’re free, free to do anything that you can put your mind to and I…I love you…I love you so much. More than words can ever portray. You have cast a magicless spell that has cost me to be hopelessly and happily in love with you. As long as you’ll have me.”

“Jax…” Pomni’s breath hitched. There was no danger, no fear, no hesitation. Just them. And now, she can finally let herself go. “I love you too!”

In a synchronised fashion, Jax wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her up while she threaded her arms around his neck. With nothing and no one to stop them, their lips seared in a heated kiss. The warmth of the sun wrapped around them as a gentle wind brushed the petals of the rose, making them dance around the couple.

It was their own little world. Their own fairytale. Their own happily ever after.

It felt like hours before they finally pulled apart, their noses touching one another. They kept their arms around each other, they’d return home soon, but right now this was all they needed.

Each other.

.

.

.

Kaufmo paced in the castle courtyard. The rest of the circus and the king and queen were there too. They had not left his side as they waited for Jax and Pomni to come back. Each passing second was filled with panic and fear. Fear that Caine had gotten what he wanted. Even seeing him arrive back in cuffs wasn’t enough to calm his nerves, he still needed to see if his daughter was okay.

The neigh of a horse and galloping hoofs pulled him out of his worry as a grin stretched across his face, “POMNI!”

Jax galloped back towards the castle gates, Pomni in front of him as he held the reins from behind her.

The reunion was nothing more than cheerful laughter and relieved tears when Pomni slipped off the saddle. She wrapped her arms around her father as he pressed a kiss to the side of her hair. “I was worried sick about you!” Kaufmo cried. “I really thought Caine-”

“He didn’t Dad, he didn’t get me,” tears streamed down Pomni’s cheeks. “I’m free. We’re free. We’re all free!”

The rest of the circus whooped and cheered, rushing towards the father and daughter to envelop them into a giant hug. The fears of running for the rest of their lives was finally over.

Queenie and Kinger ran up to Jax, the former hugging him as tight as she could, “You scared me half to death! Never do that again!”

“I know! I’m sorry Mom!” Jax squeezed her back. “I’ll try not to do that again.” He couldn’t fully promise her not to do something as reckless as that again, at least if Pomni was in danger he would dive in headfirst to save her.

 Queenie relaxed a bit, letting go of her son, “I’m so proud of you Jax. For what you’ve done today.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Kinger nodded, patting the rabbit’s shoulder. “You’re truly going to be a great king one day.”

The emotions seemed to be catching up with Jax as well, tears filling in his eyes, “Thanks Dad. Thanks Mom. I love you both.” He surprised them both as he wrapped them up in another hug.

The couple laughed as they hugged him back. “We love you too son,” Kinger whispered.

Mew!

Pomni gasped, breaking away from the group as a familiar little kitten ran into the courtyard while meowing his little head off. “Motley!” she held her arms out to him as he jumped into them, nuzzling against her warmth.

Jax chuckled, pulling away from his parents as he walked up to the woman and kitten, “This little guy helped save you. You did your job well bud.” He starched under the kitten’s chin, the feline purring loudly.

Another festival was thrown that night to celebrate. The kingdom was more than thrilled to see the return of the circus and even more so when discovering their newfound freedom. While the festival was hastily planned, it was just as joyful as the last. With food, drink and music, it was just the right ingredients for a perfect night.

The rest of the circus was congregating each stall, discussing what to do with their freedom. Ragatha was thinking of seeing her family again, Moon and Sun had come up with ideas of starting their own family business, Zooble and Gangle wanted to stick to their duo circus routines in the kingdom. And Kaufmo? It was safe to say that he could finally retire. The kingdom was a proper place he could call home, perhaps find a little cottage and tend to a vegetable garden? The idea had charmed him.

He did worry about where Pomni had gone, having seemingly disappeared from the festivities quite a while ago. But once he looked up, his worries ceased. She and Jax sat atop the castle rooftops, a blanket underneath them while they snacked on berries and chocolate. Motley was curled up between the two, fast asleep.

“I’ve never been so close to the sky before,” Pomni mused. “It’s amazing!”

“Not as beautiful as you little lady,” Jax grinned.

“Ugh, you’re gonna be sufferable now that we’re together, aren’t you?” Pomni inquired with a groan.

That simple conformation of their relationship made Jax’s heart flutter, “For you, love, anything.”

It seemed had a similar reaction to her own words, scooting closer to Jax and laying her head on his chest. Jax wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her close as she instantly relaxed into him – as though they had done this every day of their lives. “So,” Jax spoke up. “What do you plan to do now.”

“I’m not sure,” Pomni murmured. “I’ve dreamed of this day for so long, I never believed it would be true.”

“In your dreams, what did your freedom look like,” Jax asked, rubbing her arm.

Pomni was silent for a moment, humming as those dreams appeared in front of her mind, “I’ve always wanted to pursue my music. Travel around the realm, perform my songs for the world to see. No circus, no acts. Just me and my voice.”

“Nothing’s holding you back now. Do you still want to do that?” Jax looked down at her.

“More than anything,” Pomni replied honestly. “But would everyone else be okay with that? My dad wanted to stay and live here, is it right for me to leave so soon after being granted this freedom?”

“Pomni”, he titled her chin up with his finger. “You deserve to live life the way you want. You aren’t betraying anyone by going after something you’ve wanted for so long. Go live your dreams of music and make them real. We’ll be waiting here whenever you want to return.”

 It seemed to help sooth her worries a bit, but Jax couldn’t help but notice a flicker of apprehension in her eyes. “It doesn’t feel real, this freedom. It doesn’t feel real at all,” she whispered. “But every time I pinch myself I only prove that I’m awake. I don’t feel fully convinced that this is still my imagination. That I’ll wake up and all this, and you, never truly happened.” 

“It’s hard to break that pattern of fear and disappointment you felt for so long, is that right?” Jax asked, Pomni nodded in confirmation. “I get it, at least, I hope I do. I’m going to be opening a shelter here in the kingdom, for people who need to seek refuge. To offer them protection when the world is at their throats. My parents did that for me when I was a baby, they did it for you and your family, and now I want to repay the favour and continue what they laid down as a foundation for me. But I know it’s still going to be hard to adapt to this new part of me, without dreading the nobles breathing down my neck and judging my choices. Their opinions of me don’t matter anymore, so I don’t need to be the version of me that I hated. But it’s going to be hard to fully be rid of their perception of who I am, that judgement that they enforced in me since I was a child.”

Pomni delicately placed a hand on his cheek, turning his face so she could gently meet his lips with her own, the kiss lingering for a moment before she softly spoke, “We have faced scrutiny from those who believe are better than us, but it doesn’t make them right. We might not forget their cruelty, but we can forgive ourselves for the unnecessary pain we gave ourselves.”

“Heh,” Jax smiled against her lips. “You’re right as always little lady.” He snickered as she whacked his arm. “We can only believe that we are living in this reality only if we make it. Otherwise it just stays a dream. So, you’re here, you’re free. You say you want to travel with your music, where do you plan to start?”

“Well…it only seems fair to start my tour in the place that changed my life,” Pomni grinned. “How about the same place where our first meeting was?”

“The day where I fell in love with you and your sharp tongue?” Jax’s eyes glinted at the memory.

“That’s exactly right,” Pomni smiled.

“Now that, love,” Jax pressed his forehead to hers. “Sounds perfect.”

He was about to lean in for another kiss, when a frustrated mew and a swatting paw at the prince’s arm made them look down. Motley was meowing his little head off, swatting at Jax once more before curling his head into Pomni’s arm.

“Motley, you bugger!” Jax growled.

Pomni couldn’t help but chortle at the prince’s pout, scooping up the cat in her arms and holding him tight. “Aw, thanks for protecting me Motley,” Pomni rubbed her cheek against the kitten’s head.

“Hey!” Jax gawked at her, relishing the giggles that fell out of her mouth. Yeah, this was perfect.

.

.

.

It was a full house, perhaps even fuller that the night of their first meeting. And even then practically every seat was taken. Pomni paced about backstage, wearing a night sky blue ballgown, sleeveless with sheer blue opera gloves and tiny moons and stars covering the bodice and the long slim skirt of the dress. She was the embodiment of midnight.

While she looked the part of a professional singer, her nerves said otherwise.

Pomni had performed in large crowds before, both as an acrobat and singer, but this felt different. This was the start of her new journey, her freedom. Her stomach couldn’t stop twisting in knots, she could feel bile rising to her throat, and her hands wouldn’t stop trembling. What if she messed up and her career ended just as it started? What if she let everyone down, including her family and Jax?...what if Caine was right?

“Hey, don’t do that,” she heard Jax’s voice, looking up and seeing the prince walking towards her, Motley draped across his shoulder.

“Jax, what are you doing here?” She hissed. “You’re supposed to be in your box!”

“And miss the perfect view here? Nah, I’m good,” he took her hands in his. “I can practically hear your thoughts when coming down here. I wanted to make sure you weren’t getting cold feet.”

Pomni grumbled, shifting on the spot, “More like full body anxiety. I think about going on the stage and suddenly I feel like I caught the flu.”

“Okay, talk to me,” he ran a thumb over her knuckle. “What’s going on in your head.”

“It just…feels so different,” Pomni confessed. “So many things that could go wrong keep popping in my head.”

“Alright, so let me remind of the things that can go right,” Jax said, Pomni looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. “You could go out there and blow everyone away. You could begin the best journey of your life. You could feel so alive in that moment that nothing else matters. This fate isn’t certain, and it could be the best thing in your entire life.”

“Heh,” she cupped his cheek. “I already have the best things in my life.”

“Then going out there should be a piece of cake then, right?” the prince grinned.

Pomni’s mouth gaped in faux shock at the prince’s loophole he found for her, laughing softly before pursing her lips together, “Then I guess I better get out there, huh?”

“Better do it before I push your cute little behind out there,” Jax chuckled as she swatted his arm. She gently petted Motley’s little head before rolling her eyes at the prince.

“In your dreams,” Pomni retorted, turning away with a smile graced on her lips. She took a breath, she can do this.

She walked out onto the stage, feeling the warm light upon her skin as she arrived in the middle. She could feel her heart beating in her chest, there were so many people looking at her. It would have been easy to panic right there and then, but then she saw her family in the front row within the bottom section of the seats. Their closeness and silent cheers for her helped lift her spirits. Then there was the king and queen in their box, giving her a reassuring nod. A silent blessing almost.

And then there was Jax from behind the wings, holding Motley and looking at her with the upmost loving gaze in his eyes.

She took a breath, she could do this.

Light glimmers in a flower

Like jewels in a dream

The sky breathes life, love to everything

She was trembling so much, but she didn’t want to stop.

At times I've thought "I'm not enough"

The chains that tied my heart

But there's still a path that lies ahead for you and I

Her body still tingled with that familiar nervousness, but there was something else there. Something that she never felt the times she performed before.

Memories fade away

Clouds of yesterday

With no one to love

Is this life worth living?

She reached her arms out.

Come back to me, and stay by my side

I feel my heart shake

Come, ease this ache

I'm standing over here, reaching for you

A million miles away, come back and stay

She leaned her head back, closing her eyes. She didn’t even notice the small circle of blue mist surrounding her softly, lifting her off the ground slightly.

No matter how far the memories may be

When I close my eyes, you're all that I see

Come back to me

A million miles away, come back and stay

Pomni opened her eyes, only now noticing she was a few feet off the ground, her mist surrounding her like a light cloud. Never before had she been so wrapped up in her music for her powers to take hold. She looked towards the audience, biting her tongue as she searched for their reactions. Her heart skipped a beat.

They were crying. Tears of overflowing emotions spilling down their cheeks, her family even more so. Her father was the definition of proud in that moment. She turned her gaze to the wings, Jax has the same tear-stained look, he stared at her as though she hung the stars. Nothing but awe in his eyes.

It was like she said before, she wanted her music to be something for people to understand her. And it happened, they saw the part of her that Caine wanted her to bury. Her fears, her scars, her humanity. And they still liked her. She let out a breathless laugh, trying to reign in her own tears from flowing. It could wait until after the show.

She closed her eyes again, bringing her hands towards herself and cupped them underneath her chest.

La-la-la-la

La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

A small golden orb formed in her palms, growing bright like a small sunlight. It grew brighter the more she sang.

La-la-la-la

La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

La-la-la-la

She stopped for a moment, holding the orb carefully. It was an illusion trick, but it didn’t stop the orb from looking so beautiful. She looked to the audience as they waited in anticipation for her song to continue. Instead, she smiled softly at them, “Sing with me, please.”

Each of the audience shared a confused look with one another, unsure if they should continue, until a voice made that decision for them.

La-la-la-la

Jax sung softly, making sure that he was heard. After all, it wasn’t like he ever dared to refuse Pomni’s wishes.

And it seemed to inspire others to do the same, the circus group’s voices joining his.

La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

It seemed that the audience seemed more at ease with accepting Pomni’s request, softly joining in song.

La-la-la-la

La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

La-la-la-la

Pomni flicked her wrist, the same golden orb multiplying and appearing in front of each audience member, until everyone one of them was holding the same identical light.

La-la-la-la

La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

La-la-la-la

La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

La-la-la-la

La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

La-la-la-la

La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

The stadium grew brighter, resembling the starry night skies Pomni would gaze at each night, dreaming that someday this would happen. And it did…it was real. She promptly burst into tears, all thoughts of holding back her emotions flying out the window.

“Pomni!” Jax panicked, running out on stage, not caring if the audience could see him. He needed to make sure she was alright. “Pomni it’s okay!”

She sniffed, the most radiant smile on her face, “I know! Look! It’s beautiful!” She floated down to the ground, meeting him there. “They’re singing my song!”

Jax couldn’t help but smile too, carefully wiping her tears away on her cheeks. Pomni couldn’t help but laugh, carefree and joyful. Nothing could ruin this for her. She ran to the front of the stage, spreading her arms out once again.

Sing, let your heart soar!

Sing forever!

Sad and so happy! Feelings flow over, now

Our world is full of all kinds of colors

Closing my eyes I can still see the stars

Shine in the sky, sing in their harmony

Flowers, they're blooming, oh it's beautiful!

Sing! Sing! Sing!

Sing this song, I won't stop now

Sing it through, I love you

The voice carries on!

Her voice echoed throughout the stage, peaceful and angelic. The audience immediately stood and applauded, their cheers becoming music to Pomni’s ears. The tears wouldn’t stop flowing. Her family ran on stage, bringing her into another hug as they sang her praises. Even the king and queen had run down to hug her as well, never before had a song like that touched their hearts. But it made sense since it came from the one that made their son the happiest he’d ever been.

Speaking of…

He had been standing back, letting her family shower her with the love she deserved. He wanted to join, but he didn’t want to ruin the moment.

Mew

Motley batted his arm.

“I’ll see her in a second, be patient,” Jax tsked.

Mew

That didn’t seem to appease the kitten, continuing to swat at his arm. “Jeez, okay I’m going to her now,” Jax shook his head, he’s never gonna get a moment of peace from that kitten. Oh well, he’d take this over the kitten being hurt.

He walked over, the small crowd disparaging when they saw him coming. Pomni smiled as her eyes met his, “Let me guess, this is where you say, ‘I told you so’?”

“Nah, you deserved to have your moment. Until this little bastard wanted me to barge in,” he held Motley in front of him, the tiny kitten meowing in protest.

Pomni giggled, taking Motley into her arms, “Hey, if it wasn’t for him then I would never have found you likeable.”

“Careful, anymore wit out of you and I may have to kiss you until my lips are burned onto yours,” Jax wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Oh no, that would be terrible,” she leaned in closer with a smirk.

Jax didn’t wait to pull her in for a kiss, the taste of her was something he would be addicted to for the rest of his life. He could feel the everyone’s eyes on them, but neither he or Pomni seemed to give a single care.

In the morning he knew he would help her pack her things for her journey, give her another kiss before she set of to share her music, as he waited for her return.

But right now. This was the start of their happy ending. And right now, her kiss was all he needed.