A man in flamboyant clothes of red and yellow walked hurriedly down the unlit corridor that led to the assassins’ quarters. His grey skin was sickly pale and his bright green eyes were worried. He brushed the hair that covered his right eye out of the way but it fell back in place. Jacques the jester had never been so troubled before. He opened an oaken door without knocking and barged into a small room.  

“May! May! Wake up!” he said urgently.

Upon hearing Jacques’ voice, May opened her eyes slowly. The little girl sat on her bed and rubbed her eyes. 

“Jacques?” she asked in a sleepy voice.

“The queen has disappeared!” said Jacques. 

“Huh?” said May, still not fully awake.

Jacques walked back and forth in the small room.

“We have to look for her!” he said worriedly.

“Who knows what could have happened to her,” he croaked, on the verge of tears. 

May was fully awake now. She stared at Jacques. She had never seen him in this state before. But for some reason she did not feel so worried about Queen Malicia’s disappearance. She had tried to kill a new friend of hers recently. Justin, the king of Istus himself. Jacques, who was close to the queen, knew information that she did not. He told her once that the queen had almost died to assassins before, but he was always there to save her. May wondered why Jacques wanted to protect her so fervently. 

“Jacques,” May started.

“How did you become the queen’s assassin jester?” she asked curiously.

Jacques was surprised at the question. He thought she knew. Now was not the time to be chatting about his past. But he started crying. Maybe Queen Malicia was already dead, he thought. May tried to recomfort him.

“Jacques, why are you crying?” May asked sadly.

“It’s just that I care about Queen Malicia so much,” replied Jacques in tears.

“She could have died on the day I first met her,” he cried.    

It was a bright sunny day when Jacques arrived in Velli city. He had left his home, Sefra, on a whim to visit the other kingdoms of the world. He looked at the houses around him. They looked so different from Sefran architecture. Sefran houses were more intricate and less plain, he thought, but Vellian architecture was more colorful. The people had rosy skin, very colorful compared to the grey skin of the people of Sefra. Jacques looked at himself. He looked so drab in his black shirt, he thought. He could have worn a brighter color to be more attractive. No one seemed to pay him any attention. Then he had an idea. He stood in the middle of the main street and used his magic to materialize sharp daggers in his hands. The people around him gasped in fright. 

“Fear not! This is just a trick!” he reassured the crowd.     

Jacques started juggling with the knives.

The crowd had never seen such form of entertainment before. They clapped their hands, impressed by Jacques’ skill. He smiled. He caught the crowd’s attention now.

“How is that man not getting hurt?” asked a child.

“Can I do it too?” asked another one.

Jacques smiled at the kids while juggling.

“Don’t try this at home kids!” he warned.

“Only professionals like me can do it!” he said cheerfully.

The children had turned their attention away from him. They were looking at something else.

“Look, it’s Queen Malicia!” exclaimed one child.

Jacques turned his head slightly to take a look. Then he saw her. A young and beautiful lady with bright violet eyes and short jet black hair. She was looking out of her carriage and waving. His mouth opened slightly and his knives fell with a thud on the cobbled street. He was speechless in the face of such beauty. He had never seen such an attractive young girl before. And it was the queen! Suddenly his subconscious tugged at him. Something that he could not see was disturbing him. He knew it was dangerous and he scrutinized the area. All Sefrans naturally had a sixth sense that allowed them to feel unseen threats. 

A man with a dark cloak made his way through the crowd and  approached the carriage a little. Jacques noticed him. He opened his eyes in shock as he saw the man pull out a small dart from his sleeve. He was aiming for the queen. Jacques instinctively summoned sharp little blades in his hand. He had to act fast. He threw one of the little knives and it pierced the man’s eye. The man had however thrown the dart in spite of his wound before falling. The people next to him gasped. The dart pierced the carriage door. It missed the queen by a few centimetres. The carriage stopped and the queen’s personal guard got to investigate. Jacques ran towards him.

“That man tried to kill the queen!” Jacques told the guard.

“Get out of the way!” shouted the guard.

Jacques stayed silent. The guard was inspecting the man. He had apparently died. Jacques noticed a tattoo on the dead man’s hand. It was a stamp with the symbol of a crown that was upside down. Queen Malicia got out of her carriage and approached Jacques.

“You’re from Sefra, aren’t you?” asked Malicia.

Jacques blushed a little, his grey skin turning slightly rosy.

“Yes,” replied Jacques with a grin. 

Queen Malicia looked at Jacques’ hand. He was still holding his small daggers. Then she looked at the dead man, noticing the dagger in his eye. She looked at Jacques again.

You saved me?” asked Malicia.

“I had to do it. You are the most beautiful queen I have ever seen!” replied Jacques. 

Malicia smiled at him earnestly.

“What is your name, dear Sefran?”

“I am Jacques Pierrot!” said Jacques cheerfully as he bowed.

Queen Malicia invited Jacques to the castle as a special guest. He entered the throne room without hesitation to meet the queen. 

“Mr. Jacques Pierrot, thank you for saving me earlier,” said the young queen.

“What do you request? You will earn any reward we agree upon,” she continued.

Jacques smiled at her.

“I wish to see you smile and laugh everyday,” said Jacques with a grin.

The queen did not understand his hint of love. She smiled at him, thinking that it was a strange request.

“You’re funny,” said Malicia.

Jacques was a bit disappointed. But he took the queen’s words as a compliment.

“Thank you,” he bowed.

The queen laughed. 

“I’d like to hear more jokes from you,” she said.

“Stay for a little while and entertain me,” she asked eagerly.

“I will stay for as long as you want,” smiled Jacques.

The queen laughed again. She liked Jacque’s wit.

“I am serious,” replied Jacques seriously.

Jacques had a funny face even when he was being serious. Malicia thought he was acting and laughed loudly. She had never laughed so hard in her life. When she stopped laughing, she looked at Jacques with a broad smile.

“What would you do if I told you to stay for a long while?” she asked.

“I would stay with you, forever,” said Jacques.      

Jacques looked at the adolescent queen laugh. She could not catch his hints or nuances. But he went along with it. He was only half-joking. If he could entertain her for as long as he could, he was happy to stay. Until the day he would finally confess his love to her. Now was not the time.

“Surely, you jest!” she laughed.

“I am a jester,” Jacques grinned.

Malicia did not want Jacques to leave. Laughing took away her sadness. Ever since her father and brother had died, she had not felt such happiness. She felt less lonely in his presence as well. 

“Mr. Jacques, you may stay. You can become my royal jester,” she told him.

It sounded more like an order than a suggestion. But it made Jacques happy.

“I will, my queen,” he answered.

Jacques was crying his eyes out as he recounted how he met Malicia to May. May never guessed he was in love with her. She wanted to help him.

“Jacques, where did the last assassin come from?” asked May.

“He’s a man from Istus,” sobbed Jacques. 

That was strange. Justin would never send assassins. So who did? She had to find out. She had to talk to the man. He was in Velli prison right now. Jacques had stopped crying but he still looked sad. 

“I am going back to Sefra,” said Jacques.

“Huh, why?” asked May.

“I need to talk to the Seeress, she might know where the queen is,” he stated. 

Jacques left the room without a word. May was puzzled by what he had said. Who was the Seeress? 

***