Chapter Text
Rynn sighed.
I don't want to fucking be here.
The lights were too bright, the food too bland. Her dress's bodice was disgustingly tight, so much so that the Princess's ribs felt like they might just crack under the pressure. Not to mention how badly the skirt itched, or heavy her rings were—
It was just a bad night.
"Princess?"
Rynn plastered a fake smile on her face as she lifted her head up, hands removing from her forehead, and elbows off the table. "Yes?" She gave a kind smile to the person next to her.
It was a Prince. His hair was nicely kept, combed back with heavy gel, but it couldn't hide the anxious expression on his face, nor the green tinting his skin. It was as if he were going to throw up in her face, the poor boy was so sick. "I was just wondering if I might have your hand? For a dance?"
Ugh.
He seemed nice. They always do. It's just—
Rynn didn't care.
No part of her wanted to dance with him, talk to him, even acknowledge his presence.
"I'm sorry, but my feet are incredibly sore." She gave him an apologetic smile, not even bothering to ask for the random Prince's name. It wasn't like she would remember it — there were about a million people here at the ball. "Perhaps another time. If you'll excuse me."
Without giving the man so much as a moment to reply, Rynn moved her seat back and stood up, eyes searching the room for her lady-in-waiting.
Random faces drifted around, many dancing, more drinking. Her father sat at his throne, alone, discussing something with a Lord. Megii's face wasn't anywhere, not in the crowd.
"Damn it, Megii." Rynn swore under her breath, wanting nothing more than her best friend to rescue her right now. "Where are you?"
As she looked around, Rynn could see a gaggle of Court girls, the daughters of rich Earls and Lords, laughing in the corner, a couple snickering at the Princess.
She fought back an eye roll, and continued searching. Megii wasn't near the dance floor, of course, nor was she near the buffet tables, or the small collection of chairs and tables that the Princess had just walked from. Rynn brought her gaze to the balconies, four hallways surrounding the central ballroom, decorated with a pretentious kind of gold and sapphire her father had recently ordered to be built.
Numerous faces were up there, but it was too high for the girl to see them. Perhaps Megii was up there, keeping watch?
With another heavy sigh, Rynn picked the tips of her green ballgown up, making it just a bit easier to walk.
It was a pretty dress, commissioned, of course, by Molly. Embroidered gold leaves and animals decorated the hemlines, with gold petals littering the dress. It complemented the green on her tiara, sitting just perfectly atop her head, hair tied into tight and complex braids. It pulled on the sides of her scalp, bringing a pounding feeling to her forehead.
Distantly, as she maneuvered through the dancing crowd to the maroon-carpeted staircase, Rynn wondered why she even agreed to come at the first place.
Perhaps because Father would punish me if not, she recalled solemnly, the reminder of the King making Rynn's shoulders slump just slightly. If she disappeared for too long, she had not a doubt that he would demand her return. Probably some useless Prince to talk to. It was probably the one she had just rejected, too, knowing Rynn's luck.
As she made it to the staircase, the Princess overhead a woman speak. "I hear she's one of the best. Quite a hoot! According to my son, at least. He saw her in the fall."
"I've heard similar. So excited to see her tonight. Honestly, anyone who works with that Jojo must be incredible. I think her name was AJ?"
"AJ! Yes, A Jester."
"Oh! What a cute play on words!"
Rynn wanted to bash her fucking head in.
She wanted to rip this damn bodice off, throw the tiara donning her hair at someone, and swing from the chandelier, before it fell on her father's head.
Still, a jester was here?
Rynn could deal with a performance.
She liked jesters! Especially the interactive ones. The Princess couldn't care much for tricks or acrobatics, but jokes? At the expense of her father and the monarchy?
It was always quite fun.
Maybe she would stay a bit longer.
Still, she wanted to find Megii. Her lady-in-waiting said she'd be gone only a moment, to talk to a friend, but hadn't returned since. It must've been a half hour ago now, at least.
Rynn turned the corner to the balconies. It was considerably emptier than downstairs, and quieter, although nowhere near the quiet of her bedroom. A handful of girls stood around, most with a boy next to them, hands close to touching as they pretended not to speak, mothers no doubt watching like her father watched her, from below.
Rynn turned left, almost bumping into someone.
"Oh! My apologies, Princess." A purple-haired girl in a white gown gasped, standing next to a larger woman in a pale green one. "I—"
"No worries, continue as you were." Rynn gave them a toothy grin, scooting behind them to get through, wanting nothing less than to converse with any Court girls. There were so many that it was difficult for her to keep track of them all. Some were nice, but most weren't.
Her ladies-in-waiting were more than enough, especially Magpie.
Now past most of the loiterers, the Princess stopped.
Megii wasn't here.
The brown-haired girl looked to the rest of the balconies, now in her vision, but there was no lady-in-waiting in sight.
Ugh. Magpie, where the hell did you go?
A deep pool began to open her chest, worrying that something had happened to the—
What was that?
The Princess spun around, eyebrows frowning as she turned to one of the doors behind her. The balconies were connected to servant's corridors, and a number of meeting rooms, but they were always locked during parties like this.
And yet, Rynn swore she heard…
Someone speaking?
Maybe it's Megii. Maybe she needed privacy to speak to her friend, and forgot the time?
Whether it was a need to check on her friend, or the result of extreme boredom, Rynn exhaled in annoyance, and pushed the gold-plated door in.
It was heavy and took a small push, but she managed.
"That's a horrible plan, Osty." Rynn could hear the annoyed muttering of someone in the room, a female voice. "I mean, what if—"
"It's the only one we have, A—" A deeper one replied, but stopped quickly.
The room was dark, except for the light protruding through the doorway, which Rynn had just pushed open. It looked like a storage room, judging by the dim light shining on stacked chairs, and a clothed piano.
Rynn let the door close behind her, being enveloped in the darkness, not making a sound quite yet. Whoever was in here, which she was sure wasn't Megii, was certainly aware of her presence.
"Hello?" Rynn sounded out to the darkness.
Immediately, a light came on.
"Oh my—"
The voice came from the other side of the room.
It was a woman.
And a man.
One unbelievably short, and one unbelievably tall—
"Sir Osteon?" Rynn asked loudly, shocked by the tall person opposite her, stood next to the side of the room, with a woman who Rynn had certainly never seen before next to him. "What—"
"Princess Rynn." She suddenly greeted, stepping forward from the back wall, which was covered in old oil paintings Rynn didn't recognise.
What in the fuck?
Rynn was—
Confused.
To say the least.
Sir Osteon was her Father's confidant, one of the few Dragon Riders remaining in any of the Kingdoms. He came from the Summer Kingdom, allegedly, the lone Rider to survive in his class.
"Osteon, what are you doing in here?" She asked in wonder, confusion, and vague interest. Rynn's eyes moved to the short woman standing next to him, who was unmoving as Osteon tried walking closer to the Princess.
Her hair was a special jet black, just the length to her shoulders, curling slightly at the ends. A deep scar had been cut across her left eye, a stark contrast with her lightly-tanned skin. For some reason, the girl wore a bright-coloured, ugly, honestly, uniform, both green and gold, the colours of Thornreach's royal crest. It poofed along her arms, stripes all over it. She honestly looked like a circus. The cheeky grin on her face didn't help, either.
Rynn felt immediately annoyed by her.
Greatly, so.
"Princess?" The annoying girl raised her eyebrows at Rynn from across the room, as Osteon struggled to get past a thick table separating them all. "You're Princess Rynn?"
"I am." She raised her chin up at the circus girl. "And you are?"
"AJ." She replied, grinning larger. "Huh."
"Huh?" The Princess echoed, feeling her breath begin to hitch. "What's that mean?"
"Nothing, nothing. Just expected someone different." She shrugged, finally pulling her eyes off Rynn, and looking at Osteon, who had just made it in front of Rynn.
"Princess, my apologies." Osteon smiled down at her, to which Rynn squinted her eyes. "We were discussing our plans for AJ's act, to impress your father."
AJ.
A Jester.
"Oh." She laughed, a satisfied smile growing on her face as her eyes drifted back to AJ. "So you're the new jester."
"Oh, at your service, Princess."
Rynn wanted to punch her.
The way Princess rolled off her tongue, like it was silly. Like Rynn's crown meant nothing — which, of course, to her, it didn't, but still — like she was a fake. It— annoyed her.
"Don't call me that." She snapped, head tilting to the side.
"Oh? Do you command me not to, Princess?"
"If you don't stop, I will."
"Interesting. You don't like being Princess?"
Rynn felt her body stop, her heart stop pumping.
Why did that question affect her so? Why did she care what this silly jester was asking her?
Except, no one had asked her that before.
"Of course I do," was the correct answer, and the one Rynn chose, "it is an honour."
It is an honour to wear this crown, Rynn. Your mother died for it. You will stay here until you learn the meaning of it: honour.
The Princess shook her shoulders slightly, letting the memory roll down her back, and away.
AJ only laughed, and Rynn glared at her stronger. "God, you're so obvious."
"AJ—" Osteon interrupted their bickering with a strong tone, glaring as well, at AJ. Their eyes moved to the Princess apologetically. "My apologies, Princess. AJ is… thoughtless, on occasion. It is helpful as a jester, but, evidently, not all the time."
Rynn clenched her fists when she heard AJ giggle in response.
Giggle! Like a fucking schoolgirl!
"Yeah, I can see that, Osteon. Um." She blinked at her Father's friend. "I was just looking for my lady-in-waiting to retire for the night. You haven't happened to see her, have you, Megii Byte?"
Osteon opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by an irritating voice. "Retiring for bed already, Rynn? Oh, come on! You'll miss my performance." Her lip pouted at the end.
…Rynn didn't know why she noticed AJ's lips so much.
"Excellent, it was just as I planned, then." Rynn gave her an annoyed smile. "I'm sure I won't be missing out on much anyway."
"But you will! I have all kinds of things planned." She sighed dramatically, head leaning on the back wall. "I suppose I'll just have to sneak into your bedchambers tonight and give you a re-do."
Rynn froze.
Again.
Why did she keep freezing, today?
Her cheeks became hot, even in the cold room.
"Ignore her, please, Princess." Osteon gave AJ a dirty look. "She cannot control herself."
"Clearly." Rynn nodded slightly, pretending her cheeks weren't as hot as the irons she would often have to touch as punishment.
"Please! Look at your cheeks, Princess. What an Open Book, wow." AJ laughed to herself, pushing off from the wall and moving slowly between all the storage junk in front of her. "Hey, Open Book! That's better than Princess, isn't it? More original?"
Before Rynn could say anything snarky back, Osteon stole back her attention. "I believe I say Megii as I walked over here, Rynn. Allow me to take you to her."
"Oh." The Princess gave him a short smile. "Thank you, Osteon."
"Don't tell me you're leaving so soon, Open Book!" AJ whined as she neared closer. Rynn could finally see how truly short she was. "I have so much to show you."
"What a shame, AJ, really."
"Perhaps tomorrow night. Did you know your Father booked me out until the Fall?"
It's fucking Spring.
"Did he?" She asked politely, through gritted teeth. If Osteon weren't here, Rynn might just tear the girl in front of her apart. "How serendipitous."
"Right? I agree." AJ looked up at her with a weird grin.
"Perhaps you should stay here for a moment, AJ, rehearse," she spoke slowly, almost emptily, "while I escort the Princess."
"Of course, of course." She nodded, before taking Drift's right hand from her side, raising it up, and placing the lightest of kisses on it. "I look forward to being your jester, Princess."
It's normal for people to kiss your hand. You're the Princess, Rynn! Lock in.
"Likewise." She managed to get out, not believing it in the slightest.