The Fool

Our story begins with strange boy in a puffy outfit, wearing a mask and a bell cap without a single bell. Sitting at a table, across from him is a knight with folded arms, very heavy looking sword. The funny dressed boy draws three cards from a deck sitting on the table, rolling them over one by one. There’s a little drop of nervous sweat on the bearded knights face. The boy, focused, after all three cards have flipped over, he speaks.

“It seems you lost a loved one last week… and it seems to be hitting you harder in your home. However! Happiness is not out of reach! I see happiness, one that will last the rest of your life!” the boy says with a grand flare and intensity, “Take your children to the castle park today. There you will find your happiness!” He then throws confetti everywhere in the tent from seemingly nowhere. The man stands, arms still folded, dower expression. Suddenly his eyes water and his former expression melts away, clasping his massive hands around the boys gloved hand.

“Do you really think so, Hisoki?” the knight asks, tears flowing from his face.

“It’s in the cards! And my cards, do not lie,” The energetic boy nods after, assuring the knight

The knight plops down fifteen gold pieces on the table, fire in his eyes, “Alright, time to be the back my family deserves once again!” He runs out of the tent, Hisoki can hear his footsteps, smiling happily, picking up one of the gold pieces, resting his elbow on the table then his head in his free hand. Rolling one of the gold pieces down and in between his knuckles before scooping them all up and putting them away in a medium sized chest full of gold pieces. He puts the chest away and stares at his tarot deck, his smile fades and he sighs. He pulls his chair in to the clothed table and shuffles the deck. He then cuts it and rolls over five cards one by one. Each one… blank. Not showing how he feels. Not sad. Not happy. He checks his pocket watch which slides out from his long puffy sleeve into his hand

He stands and walks around his table to let the sunlight hit his watch, “Just one more hour… then its its time for this jester to become a knight,” his back facing the light, eminating from the tent, a figure soon darkens the opening and a very snarky giggle can be heard, turning to see a white haired girl in heavy metal armor. She carries two daggers on her left and right hips, making her way over she pulls out the reading chair and sits in it.

“So,” she says and leans forward, elbows on her knees, fists under chin. “Think you’ll actually try this year?”

Hisoki nods, “Yep! I’m going to walk in there and finally take those challenges head on!”

She chuckles, “Or walk in and come up with some excuse not to finally take the challenges.”

“Hey… My scrolls needed to be organized,” he says, looking down, playing with his fingers.

“And I could’ve used a partner like you to watch my back,” she says sharply.

He stops playing with his fingers and sighs, “I’m sorry, Nozomi… But, at least the cards said you’d become a knight, right?” The jester tilts his head, shrugging a little with his hands up

“Weren’t the cards wrong about you last year?” she asks, casting some doubt over his readings.

He nervously swallows, “Not exactly… I kind of… Lied about my reading,” he says holding the back of his head

“Oh?” she asks and leans back, looking over the blank cards on the table.

“My cards can’t show my future, nor can any Oracle…”

Nozomi jumps up from her chair, “Hang on… Only God-Knights futures can’t be read,” she thinks for a moment and puts her hand up. “You… You caused that Oracle to swallow her tongue last year!” she says pointing at him, quite shocked, “And you lied… and said she had some kind of disease or something!”

He huffs and crosses his arms, looking away. “Look I didn’t know what happened to her at the time, I was going to heal her but the clerics shoved me out of the way and that’s when you asked me what happened… I didn’t know why my cards came up blank either so I lied to you. I was scared. So, that’s why I’m telling you now, because I found out why. How did you know she swallowed her tongue?”

“I asked one of the clerics after they fixed her, they explained that bad predictions could sometimes cause that and it’s nothing new.”

The Jester begins a hand stand, walking around on his hands, “I know that’s not true for me at least,” he says continuing not to address the situation in full.

“Do you think it has to do with your curse?”

“Yeah… That’s what I think,” he continues his walking around on his hands

She grabs one of his legs that are pointing toward the ceiling, “Look, I know you don’t want to think about this. But this curse could be more than just a danger to you once a week, or some random Oracles,” she lets go of his leg and watches as he jumps back to his feet. “How are the nightmares?”

“Nothing I can’t handle, you know me!” he gives a little thumbs up with a hand on his hip.

She rolls her eyes, as she knows he’s lying. The truth was, his nightmares were getting much worse. “Hey, are you serious about being a knight this year?”

He stretches, “You bet, I’m going in there to win!”

“Good! Because, I know I missed your nineteenth birthday last month. Mainly because I had no clue where you were. I did some dungeon diving and found something,” she pulls from her magic satchel a saber, she removes it from the scabbard slightly, revealing a mirror polished saber blade. “There’s silver etched in the blade, lots of it, so it can handle most beasts.”

Hisoki takes the blade and scabbard, “Not magic,” He says, instantly knowing just by touching.

“Yeah, sorry, all of the magic items get confiscated after missions. I thought this one would be and I knew you’d notice it the moment you got your hands on it.

He slides the weapon in his belt and tightens it. “It’s perfect, Nozomi. I do have a question, who shined it?”

“Found it that way, the tomb I found it in kept it better preserved than the magic items we found.”

“I love it, and I’ll put it to good use in these challenges.”

“I guess that means you are ready?” she asks and opens the curtain to the tent.

“More than ever!”